The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-03-09

I gem of the Antilles, stands at our
/ threshold.
Cuba occupies today a most singular
attitude toward this Republic. Geo
graphically it is but prolongation of the
Florida coast, which in some remote age
was cut off from the mainland by vol
| canic upheaval or depression. Certain it
| is that its proximity to our territory
makes it a most valuable and desirable
acquisition.
| 1t has, by its last census, 1,572000 peo-
pie. 1t has rich soil and pleasant eli
mate.
| Her chief products are sugar, tobacco,
| fruits, hard woods and minerals, which
she exports. while her purchases are rice,
| cotton goods, boots and shoes, paper,
machinery, crockery, glassware, furn-
ture and wood manufactures.
| In her present depressed and impover-
| ished condition she buys of other nations
annually about
| Rice. :. :. :. :. :. =. E. ....$ 1000, 900
| Low class wines. e. >. E. :. :. 1900, 900
| Metals and machinery. =. =. :. 100000
| Cotton Goods. >. :. =. :. .... 1000, 900
| Boots and shoes. :. =. :. -. 400, 900
| Crockery and glassware. =. :. 100000
Furniture and woodwork. -. :. 3,000,0
Total. :. ia ,OOO,OO0
Besides this she purchases many mil
! lions of dollars worth of food products.
Her purchases for 1891 amounted to $685.
| 100000. Much the larger portion of all
| her purchases of manufactured products
are obtained from Europe when recipro-
cal trade relations at the resent time
! would enable our factories and people to
sell them at least 80 per cent of all
these purchases, and final annexation
will practically secure it all.
And why should we not induce Cuba to
enter our ports on terms more advant
| ageous to both countries? Will it injure
| seriously or in any degree any existing
industry this nation?
1t has been claimed by only two indus
| tries-that of beet sugar and the cigar
| manIfacturer-that they would be af-
| fected.
| Let us examine these claims In refer
ence to the sugar beet industry we sec
| that for the year 1901 the entire amount
of sugar consumed in the United States
was 2,372,316 tons.
The entire product of the sugar pro-
Queer for 1901 was from
| Tons.
| LOUISIANA. ..@oo,ooo
| Hawaii. e. =. e. 1870, 900
! Porto RICO. 49,. ..lZO,UVO
American beet sugar. E. e. =. 10000
| Making a total Of. :. .. :. =. $3.50, 900
which still left a shortage in American
| consumption for said year of 14S2,316
tons. Cuba's sugar product estimated for
| 1912 is 500 900 tons. If the whole of her
product were allowed to come in free,
| there would still be a shortage in the
American demand of 6S2,316 tons, which
we would still have to import from other
nations of the world and yet the beet
sugar trust is not willing to allow the
! people of the United States to be gen
erous to nation whose good will we wish
| to hold and which Is virtually asking to
| be admitted into our Union as a part of
| our territory!
In the matter of the cigar makers
claim, have this to say: The quality of
| tobacco which Cuba produces and manu-
| features does not seriously come in COM
petition with the American product. But
| few States in the Union cultivate tobac-
co for cigar purposes. Neither Virginia,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama,
Mississippi or Louisiana cultivate it at
all for that purpose, while Ohio, Connec-'
ticut, wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New
York, Massachusetts and Florida to a very
| limited extent,
And even in Cuba her exports of
cigars to the United States has fallen off
| from 1889 to the year 1900 of nearly 81
per cent; last year even less. In 1900
| Cuba only exported to the United States
| three fourths of / per cent of all the
cigars consumed in this country. Even
| if Cuba should be encouraged to aspire
to producing per cent of the American
| cigar consumption she would have to
| double her present output, which she
could not do, because of the recognized
| fact that she has not the land adapted to
| the growth of tobacco suitable to our
| market.
| Why. then, is it not good business poll
| cy to reduce the tariff sugar and
! cigars 40 per cent of the present rates
| for a corresponding reduction of the Gu
ban tariff on cotton goods. rice, furni-
ture, woodwork, boots and shoes, machin-
cry, glass and crockeryware?
| This is a matter not only of general
good to the people of all sections of our
country, but especially so to the section
which / represent.
Cotton manufactures are growing at
very rapid rate in the States of North and
South Carolina and Georgia.
| In the census returns for 1900, North
| Carolina has advanced ahead of all the
States of the Union in the number of cot
ton manufacturing establishments.
| Mills