The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1902-08-06
COTTON in CUBA
EFFORTS BEING MADE TO RAI3E
1T ON LARGE SCALE.
It Has Been Tried Twice Before, But
Circumstances Did Not
Favor Success.

Cotton promises to succeed sugar within
a few years as the staple crop of the Is
land of Cuba. 1t was grown upon a
small scale, though not extensively. here
more than a century ago-introduced by
the indigo planters and rice growers. from
the sea islands of the Carolina and Geor-
gia coasts; and, again. in 1S61-when the
outbreak of the civil war in the United
States threatened a blockade of the whole
Atlantic seaboard and gulf ports of the
South-some far-sighted Cubans associ-
ated with British capitalists from ia
maica and the Bahamas. planted great
fields of cotton in Eastern Cuba. around
Bayamo and in the suburban districts of
Manzanillo adjacent to streams tributary
to the Cauto River, northwest of Santk
ago de Cuba; but the Spanish government,
famous for its official encouragement of
agricultural enterprise, placed such diff
culties in the way of the introduction of
the necessary machinery to gin and bale
the fibre, and demanded such an eaor-
nous export tax upon the cotton pro-
duced- and shipped. as to discourage the
planters and capital interested in their
enterprise. Th,n the Cuban revolution,
which was sprung in 1865. put an end to
the efforts of people of the east to de-
velop an industry, to which the soil of
their portion of the island had besn
shown by these experiments to be so well
adapted. Yet, today. hundreds of aban-
doned estates scattered through the
"Oriente'' Santiago province) have oc-
casional clumps of cotton trees %, here
and there. some of which plants are
twenty to thirty feet in height, bearing
bolls much larger than the cultivated cot
ton of the American sea island cotton
fields are ever known to produce. But,
the fibre of this wild Cuban product has
naturally degenerated, both in fineness of
texture and purity of color.
Inquiry develops the fact, not generally
known, that Charles Manuel De Cespedes
Header of the outbreak near Bayamo In
'6S, which resulted in the Ten Years
War-was one OF those prominent Cuban
planters who had, some years previously
been interested In the effort to introduce
sea island cotton to Cuba; and that his
''El Yara' estate, near Manzanillo, where
the cry of viva Cuba Librev was first
raised and the lone-starred flag of the
republic of Cuba first unfurled, had been
a cotton field before IL was planted in
sugar cane! And the wealthy Terry
family of Santa Clara province-original-
ly Americans. being lineal descendants of
Captain Nathaniel Terry of the LIST Vir-
ginia Continental Volunteers, who served
through the American revolutionary war
upon Washington's staff-did some exper-
imenting In cotton culture further east,
before finally settling down as sugar
planters near Cienfuegos, where they now
own the largest estate in all Cuba.
But, the discovery of the cotton belt of
Cuba and the taking of steps looking to-
ward its practical development would
appear to have been left to the modern
Yankee-to the enterprise of Philadelphia,
Boston and Ohio capitalists who. in close
touch with Sir William Van Hornes An
syndicate engaged in Cuban
railway construction are bending every
energy and sparing no expense to place
themselves in position to materially as
sist In the development of new Cuba.
Mr.. George w. Ireland of the Quaker
City. who has made the island of Cuba a
special study and ridden horseback thou
sands of miles through the country, ex-
tending his Investigations as to the adap-
tibility of the Cuban soil to the growth
OF cotton into every province, from Ma
ceys Point to Cape San Antonio; repre-
sents the new cotton idea-which has
been eagerly seized upon as feasible so
luton of the insular economic situation,
which the failure of this government to
secure a lowering of the American tariff
upon sugar and other Cuban products has
left verging upon a serious crisis. In
deed, both President Palma and Secre-
tary of Agriculture Terry, as well as
other members of the cabinet. Senators
and Deputies of prominence in Congress
who are all beginning to realize that,
some other staple crop must be found to
take the place of the sugar cane in Cuba
took kindly to Mr.. Irelands proposition
when he first
and are naturally elated at the results.
After months of travel and research, the
party OF explorers and chemists taken
along by Mr.. Ireland as ''soil experts"
are back in Havana, and their chief is
enabled to announce the happiest of re-
suits. Mr.. Ireland, in explaining his
success to the Executive and Cabinet,
upon his return yesterday from Eastern
Cuha-showed the President some beauti-
full samples Of long-staple cotton picked
In the historic Bayamo district, which
his scientific and agricultural experts
pronounce the cotton belt of Cuba. The
soil. these gentlemen declare, is just suit
ed to cotton and. If anything, better
adapted to its culture than any lands
upon which II has ever been grown in the
South Atlantic and Gulf States of the
Union.
49, 'A'"NNiP+iic &c represented
BY Mr.. Ireland. proposes to go into the
cotton business IN Cuba upon a large
SCALE having secured. for such purpose,
Ititc body of lands In the vicinity of
Bayamo and adjacent to the line of the
Cuban Central Reilway (which company.
President Palma thinks, will have
hroush trains running between Havana
md Santiago de Cuba long before New
Years next. and the branch railroad to
connect the city Of Bayamo with the port
# Mansanillo. Improved cotton gins, de-
inters and presses will be brought into
he island and set up on the premises
md, though Cuban labor will be employ
d as far as possible in the cotton fields. |
may little later on he Of |
cred to settlers from the Southern States |
Who have had experience in cotton.
For the first few years. the fibre will be |
xported to the hest markets of the |
world where a good grade Of sea island |
ctton 10 in demand; but within five years !
he syndicate expects to have its owr |
otton mill I'm operation to manufacture |
10th for the Cuban home trade,
Congress and President Palma are al |
eady discussing the ACCESSIBILITY Of &c |
moving all duties upon cotton machinery. |
n order to encourage the Philadelphia |
nd those who. proflting nv his invcstiga- |
ions, may follow his syndicate mp in the |
development Of the Cuban cotton helt hy |
he planting of the new staple" in the |
everal provinces of the island.
In the development Of the cotton indus |
ry in Cuba, the present government Of |
he island. Secretary Of Agriculture Ter |
Y states, will lend all who engage in the |
ulture Of the fibre it's most active sup
ort.
The possibilities are great.
CanitaI alnne Il neodcd