The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-04-13
the CUBA or TO-DAY.

L
on it's own account as a nominally tnde-
pendent and self-governing republic. On
My 20. 1907. 1t emerged from the control
| OF o semi-military administration, virtu-
ally autocratic In it's methods. to essay q
new political life under untried and In
experienced leaders. Assertions OF Cuban
incapacity for self government had been
frequently made by Americans, both Of
fetal and civilian. Predictions OF early II
not Of immediate disaster to the new or
ganization had been equally frequent
The assertions and the predictions have
been alike COMPOUNDED.
Governmentally, the island has shown
no retrogression. Many assert that the
new regime has been an improvement upon
| its predecessor. Peace and order have
prevailed. with the single exception OF a
speedily suppressed labor strike in the city
Of Havana. Public work sanitation and
educational processes have been main
tanned The national treasury has &C
cumulated q surplus OF some q, ZOO, 900. In
| addition to the $4,000 left by the former
administration. Viewed broadly. the pro-
| ductive industries OF the island show a
measure Of improvement. While the island
Is really In a much less prosperous and
dustrially than many have recently asserted
it to be, the Cuban record for the past eleven
months commands the respect and approval
Of all right-minded Americans.
Another point II to be noticed. The
present industrial situation in the island
requires some explanation. A general
misunderstanding has followed a general
lack OF adequate information concerning
10 It'd, ,tr:o r,ial 0ondi-
ton. A year ago II was asserted that the
island was confronted with tho menace
Of widespread industrial disaster. The
President Of the United States had urged,
and continued to urge, the vital need OF
American tariff concessions to the prod
ucts OF the island. The Secretary Of War
In his report had stopped little short OF
prediction OF anarchy in Cuba unless some
thing were done for the relief Of the
islands industries. The Military Governor
declared that q continuance OF the existing
tariff meant the utter ruin OF the great in
dustries on which the people OF the island
depend. The press Of the United States.
with few and insignificant exceptions.
echoed these expressions. But the Ameri-
can Congress was obdurate and nothing
was done. None Of these predictions OF
disaster was fulfilled, and Cuba actually
stands, at this immediate time, In better
place than she did year ago.
In view Of these assertions and predictions
the situation presents no small measure
Of perplexity for the superficial observer.
Yet 1t is entirely plain to the few who have
made close and careful study OF the Cuban
people and Cuban affairs. A clear under
standing OF the causes OF this unexpected
outcome is imperative for any intelligent
comprehension Of the Cuban situation and
Of those relations to it which the United
States must inevitably sustain.
The factors which have influenced this
situation, and which have brought about
the present condition, are OF two kinds.
One OF these may be called moral. while the
other is distinctly material. Beneath all
the froth and fume which appear on the
surface OF Cuban life, and the volatile ex-
citability which too many hold TO be the
dominant Cuban characteristic, there runs
q strong undercurrent Of patient endurance
and q persistent tenacity Of purpose and
aspiration. The long years Of Cuban sub
mission to Spanish exaction have been
counted as evidence Of weakness and I'M
worthiness OF character. They were rather
q time OF passive resistance and protest,
marked with periods Of open revolt. Re-
sistance and protest assumed the form Of
open and prolonged rebellion in the Ten
Years War Qses-7s), when there was
hardly less Of ground for American inter-
vention than there was when that inter-
vention came, twenty years later. Rsvo-
luton came again in 1895, and had lasted
for more than three years before the Ameri-
can Congress passed the Joint resolution
OF April, 1898. For nearly a hundred years
Cuba has chung tenaciously TO her ambition
for broader and fuller life. At times she
has struggled. At all times she has en-
dure !, maintaining her purpose.
Cuba has seen periods Of abundant pros
perity. but industrial distress is no stranger
in her experience. These times Of distress
have even called out another strongly
marked trait in Cuban character. That
is their charity and mutual helpfulness. In
days Of need, those who have help those
who have not. They lend and they give.
They stand together and battle through
days OF stress as a body rather than as in
dividual units in suffering and struggling
mass. Along with this there is hopeful-
ness OF spirit. The deprecated and ridi-
culed doctrine OF smaHana' is not without
its redeeming feature. II may involve.
and does involve, representation, but it
also involves an anticipation Of and . belief
in q day OF better things. 1t may rain to-
day, but the sun will surely shine mdHana.
The word does not exclusively mean, as
many suppose, Tomorrow 1t Is also
morning as tdrde is Afternoon and Is
often used in the sense Of our some day
1t conveys tho sense Of hopeful anticipa-
ton as well as the evidence Of postpone
ment.
Personal and national pride and q sense
OF responsibility also operate foroefully
upon Cuban mind and action. Charged
as they 90 often have been. with incapacity
for self-government. and with political
likeness to certain other nations Of Latin
America, their pride appears with purpose
to demonstrate the falsity Of both charge
and. parallel. A sense Of responsibility
will often turn the most blatant Of ultra
radicals into the quietest OF conservatives.
These, then, may be set down as the
moral factors in Cuba's disappointment Of
predictions which we're pessimistic. though
they may have been entirely honest and
seemingly fully justified. They are the
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