The Hawaiian gazette., 1903-05-22

:
various kinds have added their dollars
by hundreds and by thousands. The
total has made q very considerable sum
of ready cash which has been distrib-
uted directly to the people of the coun-
try.
The unexpected continuance OF the
insular revenues at their former point
has enabled the Government to increase
the number of the Rural Guard, to con-
tinue the force employed In sanitary
processes, to maintain the former num-
Der of teachers in public schools. and To
|expend various sums in labor-employing
public improvements, such as the i'm
provement of public parks and the
westward extension of the Malecon In
Havana. All these enterprises. public
and private, have played their part in
.averting a general disaster.
The weak point in the last four years
of Cuban experience has been the fail
ure of the American authorities to fos-
ter and to further the industries of the
island, to establish the Cuban people
in that economic prosperity which Is
the basis of all successful government,
The strong point of that experience has
been the commendable efforts of a
poverty-strlcken people, inhabiting
land devasted by the three years of
war, to reestablsh their destroyed in
dustries, and, as well, their patience
under adversely. their pluck their in
dustry, their charity toward each other
and their mutual helpfulness. To them
and not to the United States there be-
longs the credit for the averting of the
predicted disaster. The special pity OF
it all Is that the past year has cost the
United States distinct loss to Cuban
confidence and respect. They turned to
their supposed friends and guardians
in their hours of trouble and encoun-
tered closed door, from behind which
there came declarations of friendly con-
Germ, but no dollars and no helping
hand.
Cuban administration has been, thus
far. chiefly notable for its mastery in
activity. In that which some are dis
posed to condemn, lies, properly, the
key to their success. There has been
no plunging. In a most commendabie
fashion. the Cubans have cut their
garment according to their cloth
Financially, their handling of their af-
fairs has been vastly better and wiser
than was that of Gen. Wood. Their
revenues have not varied widely from
those of the American official. Their
necessary expenses have been greater
than his. They have been obliged 10
maintain their executive and legisla-
tive departments, President. Cabinet
and Congress. Diplomatic and consular
services have been maintained. These
did not exist under the Government OF
intervention Notwithstanding all this,
comparative statement shows strong
ly in favor of the Cuban Administra-
ton. During his control of Cuban af-
fairs, Gen. Wood overspent his revenues
by some $l,fOO0O0. This he drew from
a balance of some s1,900,000 left in the
treasury by his predecessor, Gen. John
r. Brooke. The sum which Gen. Wood
turned over to the new Government
(about $40, 000) was what remained Of
the Brooke surplus after Gen. Wood
had drawn upon it to the extent above
stated On April l, 1908. after the pay.
ment of all current expenses, the Gu
ban treasury showed a surplus of Sc
63S, 900.
Politically, the Cuban situation is
somewhat confused, though not inju-
riously So Political parties exist and
their names appear in political activi-
ties. But there is little or nothing
which constitutes a well-defined issue.
To some extent, the Plat Amendment
has figured as an issue. a radical element
opposing It's ratification and conser-
vative element advising or urging its
though the division Is not
made strictly along party lines. Other
questions, such as the national loan and
the payment Of the army, and the ap-
prevail or disapproval OF a reciprocity
treaty with the Emitted States. stand in
a similarly vague political position.
President Estrada Palma has amply
justified his election to the leadership of
his people. Some friction has been in
evitable between the two houses of leg
islation, and between the Legislature
and the executive. But 1t is not for the
American people to criticise the Cubans
for that
Industrially, the island is showing
slow but steady Improvement SO far as
the great mass of the people are con-
cerned. Their patient industry is bear
ing fruit in increased domestic COM
forts, although the life of the majority
of Cuba's peasantry, even as it Is today,
would be regarded by Americans as
barely removed from pitiable and abb
ject poverty. Small farmers compose a
notable percentage of the population OF
the island. The census of 1899 shows
upward of $4,000 of these farmers whose
holdings, either owned or rented, are
under fifteen acres in extent. 1t Is the
large planters who have been and who
are now most heavily hit by the indus
trial conditions. These are compare
lively few in number but the fact that
each of them is possible employer of
anywhere from 500 to $500 hands, for
their field operations makes their reas-
enable prosperity a matter of incalcu-
liable Importance to the welfare of the
island, and makes their misfortune
danger to all. Many, probably most Of
these, at the time OF the American &C.
cupation, were little better than bank
rupt They have borrowed money uDOn