New-York tribune., 1902-01-30
SUPREMACY IN AMERICAN WATERS.


In the present International struggle for COM
meTcial supremacy some nations create mar
kets, some struggle for them and some find
them but it is not often that nation finds
market thrust upon it, Such, however, is the
situation which obtains between Cuba and the
United States to-day. Cuba stands knocking at
the door of Congress asking the United States
to come and sell all the island needs to buy and
yet Congress seems TO think there is a wooden
horse concealed in the offer
No better opportunity was ever presented to
make profitable reciprocal compact, whereby
the entire trade of Cuba would be turned to the
United States, and this without destroying a
single industry IN this country. In return for
tariff concessions on Cuban sugar Cuba offers
to modify her tariff by fixing maximum and
minimum rate (the latter to apply only to the
United States, amounting to from 16 % per
cent to so per cent which would throw at least
S5 per cent of the islands trade TO the United
States, TO the benefit of every line of agricult-
ural and manufacturing industry. We would
under such a tariff arrangement supply all the
glass. jewelry, iron, steel. cotton linen. woolen
and silk textiles, the lumber, furniture, hard
ware implements, machinery breadstufs, boots
shoes, leather goods-in short. would supply
the imports of Cuba.
This Is however only half Of what Cuba
offers. Poor as she is, she is not begging and
asking to look to a clear conscience for our
reward. Cuba is offering valuable exchange
for all concessions granted. The Cuban people
propose not only to buy of the United States
but they agree TO confine the carrying trade be-
tween the two countries to United States and
Cuban vessels, and to grant Cuban registry only
TO such vessels as may hereafter be built in the
United States. AS first stated in The Tribune
this is a most valuable consideration. The
United States coastwise regulations now apply
between the ports OF the United States and
those of Porto Rico. An arrangement such as
Cuba offers would make them apply practically
between Cuba and the United States, and with
the entire trade OF these two islands secured TO
us the commerce Of the Gulf Of Mexico would
be in our hands-a commerce sufficiently large
to be worthy of the earnest efforts of statesmen
anywhere.
The German, Norwegian and English vessels
which now ply the Gulf can do so with profit
only because of the trade of those islands to-
gether with the trade Of the mainland With
the certainty Of freight at all Cuban and Porto
Rican ports. and possibly all those Of the Dan
lsh West Indies, American vessels would make
stops at the ports OF Venezuela. Colombia. Cen
tral America and Mexico. and it is an admitted
truth that trade follows a nations vessels. In
this manner the peaceable conquest of all Span
ish-American markets bordering on the Gulf
would be secured. This would be worth to the
United States both In freight and trade. many
times the amount Of duty we should be called
upon to sacrifice by granting substantial reduc-
uons OF the present high duties on raw sugars
Thus the high moral duty to deal fairly with
Cuba demands that Cubas prayer be heard; but
there is also an opportunity to make a bargain
and make the United States commercial ma
rine supreme in American waters