The sun., 1903-11-05
WHAT CUBA NEEDS.

riep for November presents maas OF IN
formation which Ia both greatly interesting
and highly important. The tone OF the
various articles is distinctly optimistic.
and there is no doubt whatever that general
conditions in the island fully justify this
view. Yet il Ia rot so very many months
since Cubans Of all casses, among them
some Of tho optimistic writer's OF the Den
Repien articles, were loudvoiced in their
predictions Of general irdus,r'al and
commercial calamity.
As an instrument of propaga ada in favor
of reciprocity with Cuba the Dun pam
phet ia OF doubtful value Its very OPP
timism furnishes strong weapon 10 tne
oppoNens Of that measure The ar9u-
men, of greatest weight with the American
people in that matter has been Cuba's need
and the moral responsibility of the United
States for it's relief The Dun pamphlet
at least implies that the industrial stress
of two years ago exists no longer, and that
Cuba. with her sugar output restored 10 lts
maximum figures, her tobacco in pros
porous condition, and her central areas
once again the pasture for hundreds OF
thousands Of cattle. is now well on her feet
and quite able to walk alone. This would
probably he the conclusion OF the general
reader after a review OF the Dun publl-
cation.
Such a conclusion would be both true
and untrue The calamity wall Of few
months ago was equally compound OF
fact and fiction. The one is quite as mis-
leading and quite az liable to misinterpre-
tation and misuse as the other. Many OF
the points presented by the Dun pamphlet
have been considered in the columns OF
The Sun during the last six months. and
there is nothing in the document which
modifies the opinions which have been pre-
viously expressed.
Cuba is potentially one OF the richest
areas in the word IL not the richest, taken
acre for acre. Her fertile soil, her sunny
skies. her ample rainfall, her freedom from
FROST and her comparative freedom from
tropical tempests, all combine to constitute
her land of immeasurabe wealth. Be-
yond that, she has the supreme advantage
of contiguity TO markets easily capable
of absorbing her products. The time will
come, probably before many years have
passed, when Cuba will be we'll on the way
toward the realization Of her possibilities.
A foundation for that has been we'll laid
during the last five years. Virtually without
any governmental assistance whatever,
except for the establishment OF conditions
of peace. in which the peace-loving and law
abiding Cuban people have been more
efficient factor than any act or influence
of political administration, the Cubans have
produced, in the matter of quantity, prac-
tically the equivalent Of their maximum
crops of ante-bellum days.
This means that with only fraction OF
the mechanical and financial facilities OF
earlier DAYS, and with a smaller number
of hands, they have done an equal amount
of work and have produced an equal result.
The fact is both eminently significant and
suggestive. But there has been no corre-
spondence whatever in the returns. For
the work done last year, approximately
that done In 1894. Cuba receives only little
more than one-half of the money payment
of the earlier period. Assuming. as We
may, an approximate equality OF home
consumption for the periods. Cubas export
Of her surplus in 1894 brought her about
Sic, ,OOO. 600. as against about S85 600 600 for
last year. This is largely accounted for by
a smaller tobacco crop and by the fall In
sugar prices.
The boasted surplus in the Cuban ma
tional treasury should not be misconstrued.
II is not an indication of general prosperity
II is no more than an evidence OF an econom-
ical administration. The question is even
raised as 10 he real wisdom OF the accumu
lation The morey is greatly needed In
circulation. The boarded sum represents
very considerable percentage of the avail
able cash Of the island. and each month
effects a further withdrawal of some hun
dreds of thousands of dollars Another
point appears in this connection which is not
TO Cuba's credit and which has not been
overlooked in her efforts to place her ma
,ional loan That lies in her neglect to pay
the overdue interest on the bonds issued by
the Cuban .Junta during the last revolution,
The face value of these bonds is somewhat
below $1,000, 900, and we believe that the
interes on them was made due and payable
twelve months after the establish ment Of
Cuban republic. Nearly eighteen months
have passed and the interest remains un-
paid. while Cuba boasts of her large treasury
reserve The point has not escaped notice
and comment.
To make Cuba that which Cubans and
the friends of the island hope and believe
she will yet become. three factors are i'm
perative. These are the investment OF
capital a large increase in the number OF
her laboring people, and diversity Of crop
products.
1t is no, possible TO give with accuracy
the amount Of capital in the island, either
domestic or foreign. Unless development
be greatly retarded, industrial extension
must depend largely upon the investment
in the island of capital from other countries.
A rough estimate of the foreign capital now
there would place it at $50, 900 900, nearly
two-thirds of which is American. There
can be no doubt that Cuba is an attractive
field for many times that amount, provided
tina. the second OF these factors be supplied.
Upon the very eve OF the American with
drawal. on May 20, 1902. the immigration laws
Of the United States were broadly applied
to Cuba Because Of the terms OF Article
w. Of the Plat amendment, the Cubans
are under an impression that this law is
nailed upon them irrevocably. In this view
they are unqucstionably under grave
misconception. That provision Of the
Platt amendment should not be construed
into an attempt on the part of the United
States to abridge the right of people
whose Constitution declares that they con-
stitute Sovereign and independent State"
ta hair at