Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-01-01
OUR NEW POSSESSIONS
Their Commerce, Conditions, Producing and
Consuming Power.
Interesting Data Compiled Regarding
CRba, Puerto Rico, the Hawaiian.
Philippine and Samoan Islands

Cuba. Puerto Rico. the Hawaiian. Philip
pine ana Samoan islands: their commerce.
conditions and producing ami consuming
power, is the subject of 4 monograph just
Issued by the treasury bureau uf statistics
in response to the renewed demand for in
formation regarding those islands. In this
volume. two previous editions Of which
have been entirely exhausted. an effort has
been made TO picture present physical con-
dltions, as well as the presentation Of sta
| tistics of commerce, and the prospective pro-
ducing and consuming power Of the islands.
| Their present consuming power is estimated
| in round terms al s1oo.oe0. 0pr. about equally
divided between the products Of agriculture
and manufactures.
The imports into Cuba in lS.ll when nor
NAL conditions of prosperity prevailed were
so2 1O16So: those of Puerto Rico in 1886.
S2.656,51S, those of the Hawaiian Islands in
1898. 81 6-o.S'a: of the Philippine. Islands
in 1896, SoS,Slo,019. while those of the Sa-
moan Islands in 1898 were SilS. $40. the
chief commercial value of those islands be-
ing as a hareor and port OF repair, refuge
and supplies
The exports of the islands have in years
OF prosperity exceeded considerably Their
imports. In 1882 Cuba's exports were $751;
| 01S22s, against So. 1o1.eS2 of imports: those
Of the Hawaiian Islands in 1S9s. sl7.546 744
against I'll 900, $50 of imports. and those of
the Philippines in 1896. 81, AL .4S4. against
s2s,Slaoi5 of imports. Puerto Rico's eN-
ports usually about equal her imports. the
density Of population in that island rcquir-
Ing large importations of manufactures and
the agricultural products of the temperate
zone. The expectations of these Islands
consist chiefly of sugar, tobacco. coffee
tropical fruits, and in the case of the Phil
ippines, hemp. From Cuba the sugar eN-
ports under normal conditions formed fully
four-ffths of the total value of articles eN-
ported From the Hawaiian Islands sugar
forms probably nine-tenths Of the total eX-
portations. From the Philippines exports
of sugar and hemp are about equal in value
together forming about four-f1fths Of the
normal expectations, while from Puerto
Rico coffee is the largest item of export, its
expectation having been in 1886 more than
three times great in value as sugar. and
forming considerably more than one-half
the total exports of the island.
Producing Capacity.
That the producing capacity of certain Of
these islands, especially Cuba and the Phil
ippines, may be greatly increased by the
creation of improved methods of internal
communication cannot be doubted. OF the
S5O0o,000 acres composing the Island of
Cuba, not more than 2,Do,N0 have eyer
been under cultivation. There are lI,hh0.-
600 acres Of virgin forest and 9.U0.un acres
of fertile plains which have only served up
to this time as pastures, and as most Of
this land is extremely fertile its producing
capabilities when reached by roads aii
railways. are almost beyond present
conjecture. Similar conditions exist in
the Philippine Islands. In the Hawaiian
Islands the suger-producing area is
being greatly increased by the in
PRODUCTION of irrigation. The exports
of sugar from the Hawaiian Islands
in 1896, 1897 and 1898 are nearly double
those of 1856, 1887 and 1883. In Puerto
Rico the coffee-producing area may be very
materially increased by the Introduction Of
roads and facilities for reaching the interior
of the island and transporting its products
to the coast, large areas in the mountain
Gus portions Of the island being capable Of
producing coffee of high quality so soon as
they can be brought under cultivation and
their products transported to the seaboard.
In Cuba coffee was at one time the principal
source of wealth, the value of its product
having reached during the early part of
the century about $20.OG0,o00 in a single
year The industry was established by the
French refugees from Santo Domingo. After
their expulsion the plantations passed into
the hands of Spaniards and Americans and
1t is estimated that there We're at one time
six coffee estates to one of sugar, coffee
plantations containing from 5o0.pO0 to 1.00o.-
UD trees being in existence in the island
prior to 1880. when the decline in the price
Of coffee led to the introduction of sugar
growing. The tobacco-producing area in all
Of the islands may also be materially in
creased while the hemp production of the
philippines may be doubled with proper
facilities for transportation.
The great increase In areas devoted to
I'll and Central America, has materially in
creased the worlds product and lowered
prices, which is illustrated by the fact that
in the United States the average import
price of coffee has declined from IA cents
per pound in 1894 to 81 cents in 1899 In
sugar production similar conditions prevail.
The rapid development of the beet sugar in
dustry has resulted in a marked increase
of beet sugar-production and at low prices,
until about two-thirds Of the worlds sugar
supply is now from beets, thus greatly re-
ducing the price of sugar. This reduction
is shown by the fact that in the United
States the average Import price of sugar
has fallen from 500 cents in 1878 to gel
cents in 1897. Somewhat similar conditions
exist in reference to hemp, which has re-
Gently encountered strong competition from
sisal and from jute, whose production and
use in certain lines Of manufacture have
been greatly increased. Thus, while the
producing area of these islands may be
greatly enlarged, 1t can scarcely be eX-
pected that the prices obtained in earlier
years for their principal products will again
be realized.
Principal Products.
All of the principal products of these is
lands are largely imported into the United
States and seem likely to continue indef-
nitely among our largest items of importa-
tation. OF our total importations of the
fiscal year 1900, sugar amounted TO s94,-
964, 100; coffee, sos, 275, 40; fbers, $50, BOO
U53, lrulIS ana nuts, SlS,3l4rZVOs cruQe ruD-
Der and tropical products, $31, S75.207; raw
silk, with which successful experiments
have been made IN Cuba land the Philip
pines, 81, 479,627, while numerous other
products of the Islands, including tea cabi-
net woods, gums, indigo and spices, amount
to many millions of dollars The average
annual importation of tropical products
into the United States exceeds $3.50 90 600
and ALL or nearly all of them, may be pro-
duced in the islands in question.
At present the total imports of these is
lands amount to about s103, 600 that of
Cuba in 1892 being So l01 $50; the Philip
pines in 1896. SIS s15,075; the Hawaiian Is
lands in 1898, S11,650s9O. and Puerto Rico
in 1886, S3.656, SIS. Their importa tons are
already being stimulated by recent develop
ments as is shown by the fact that the
exports from the United States to the Ha-
waiian Islands in the fiscal year 1899
amounted to s9,305,470. against $5.9O7, 155
in 1888 and 81 .690. Q75 in 1897; to Cuba SIS
616,317 in 1899. against 1861 656 in 1898
and $S259.77G in 1897: and to Puerto Rico
,SiS in 1899. against 81, sos, 94G in 1898
and S1,9SS, SSS in 1897. With increas ei
producing areas and producing power from
the Introduction of modern methods of Gull
tivation and preparation of products FOR
fha rlyot fhe