The times., 1899-09-18
separated by but few miles and are inter-

separated by but few miles and are inter- |
dependent.
The above mentioned roads are those |
specially recommended as Immediately nee
essary. General Wilson dwells at some
length upon the necessity of a bridge over
the river Damuji, one of the largest rivers
in the island. This river is navigable be-
tween Rodar and the bay at Cienfuegos.
Harbors Need improvements.
The harbor of Cienfuegos is first class In
every respect, and is the only good harbor
on the southern coast west of Manzanilla
unless another should be found in the bay
of Cochinas. Boats drawing over nine feet
of water cannot come up to the dock, but
have to be unloaded by lighters. With I'M
proyements the largest boat may be able TO
come to the dock. The harbors OF Casilda
and Las Tunas do not accommodate podts
drawing over seven feet of water. the Two
harbors on the northern coast of Isabella
and Caibarien are very shallow and steam
ers are obliged to anchor NUMBER Oh
miles out and be unloaded by lighters
Santa Clara has custom houses at Cien-
| fuegos, Trinidad, ZaZa Sagua la Grande
| and Caibarien, and General Wilson thinks
| that the duties therefrom for 1899 will ag-
| gregate over 81 COO The manufactures
! of the province of Santa Clara are sugar,
| alcohol and tobacco. OF these by far the
most important is sugar. of which the
province in 1899 furnished az per cent OF
1 the total exports OF the island. The prov
! inces of Santa Clara and MatanZas together
furnished in 1898 81 per cent, and in 1889
| 70 per cent of the total sugar produced.
The war left in operation Al sugar centrals
| and q others not in operation, but IN
working order. The number destroyed was
| nf a DESTROYED
were lying idle and did not have much
modern machinery, which is now requisite,
| and had largely been driven out of business
by the competition between beet and cane
sugar.
The tendency of sugar making is to the
concentration of the work at the large
centrals. The mills now operating are sup
piled with modern machinery employing
more scientific processes. Their capacity
will be sufficient for all the cane which
can be raised in the next two or three
years, and it is believed by experts, can
be enlarged to accommodate any probable
| increase of production The ownership
of the centrals in operation is divided as
follows: Americans, 4; Spanish, /; Cubans,
81
Employment and Wages.
In the province of Matanzas the owner
ship is divided between % Cubans, 20 Span
iards, Americans, 2 Germans and 1
Frenchman. Of the total population 1922
600 are children under eighteen years OF
age. Excepting Cienfuegos, the population
is engaged in farming and the manufacture
of sugar. Some cigars are made, but not
many more than are required for local
consumption. The crop of tobacco fol-
the year 1899 amounted to $1,000 bales.
|, Garden produce is raised in quantities
sufficient for local consumption, but the
: prices for the same in the towns are high.
Fruits are not plentiful. Fowls and eggs
are excessively dear, owing to the destruc-
ton of all poultry during the war
The pay of laborers on the sugar estates
varies from 40 cents day for unskilled la
Dor to s1.75 for skilled. General Wilson
thinks that daily wages must necessarily
rise as work is undertaken, as the supply
of labor is limited. The skilled laborers
are generally Spaniards or foreigners. The
field hands are Cubans, colored or white.
) Many Chinese are employed about the su-
gar mills in business requiring close atten-
tion rather than mechanical skill.
General Wilson says that the revival Of
agriculture has rapidly progressed under
) very discouraging circumstances. He says
that the people very greatly lack animals,
> it requiring three yoke of oxen to plow
some of the stony fields. He says that in
ulSlrlclS less stony mules WOuiu prove
more useful, as they are more active. The
, grazing lands of the province formerly pro-
yided all the cattle required. Pigs, sheep,
and fowls have disappeared. The small ma
tive horse has fine saddle gait and tray-
els over the rough stony trails at a rate
, of six miles an hour, while the American
horse, on account of the footing cannot
break his walk of three miles an hour.
When roads are made passable for wheels
American animals will be in demand. The
7 same remarks apply to the native mule, a
I very small pack animal.
: The value of sugar land ranges from
three to sixty dollars per acre. Farms vary
in size from single caballeria Thirty five
: acresl TO "colonias" and ''ingenios" of
many thousand acres The foreign invest
: CIR will be at disadvantage in the exam
; ination of titles as compared with resi-
, dent until responsible companies are estab-
) lished to look up deeds and grants.