The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1903-10-21
COMMERCIAL STATE OF CUBA.
Interesting Review Of Conditions in
the Island.
TRADE With UNITED STATES.
Exports TO This Country About
What They Were Before The
War, But imports Have
Fallen Off.

Washington, Oct. 14.-"Commercial
Cuba in 1902 is the title of a mono
graph just Issued by the Department
Of Commerce and Labor. through its
bureau Of statistics. It appears as a
part of the monthly summary Of COM
merce and finance, and will also be
printed as special report, separate
from that document. It contains a
large amount of information concern
ing the trade and industries Of Cuba,
which will be found especially timely
and valuable at present and in the i'm
mediate future.
The monograph begins with gen.
eral review of Cuba's physical feat
ures, soil, climate, natural produc-
tions, etc., it's population, and the va
rious occupations of the inhabitants,
and description Of the principal ag-
ricultural activities, such as the raising
of sugar cane, tobacco, fruits, vegeta-
bles, coffee and live stock, the mining
Of iron and other metals, and the pro-
duction of timber, vegetable fbers,
etc. It is shown that although nearly
al Of the land in the island is OF ex-
celient quality and susceptible of a
high degree of cultivation, not more
than half of the area has been even
partially developed, and only about
one twenty-hfth of it reduced to scien-
tiic and advanced cultivation. While
the total area of the island is about
%, 600, 900 acres, the acreage of Cuba's
magnificent cane fields is less than
100000 acres, and her extensive crops
of unrivaled tobacco are grown on the
insignificant total of not to exceed
1OO,OOO acres. The comparison be-
tween what Cuba has been and is do
! ing in agricultural lines and what she
is capable of doing, as presented in
this work. is striking and full of sug-
gestion The same is true as to the
statements regarding the manufactur-
ing industries and possibilities Of
Cuba, and her abundant mineral for
ested wealth, as yet hardly begun to
be exploited.
A chapter is devoted to the reorgani-
zation of the administration of the isl
and under the United States protect
crate and the new Cuban republican
government, and it is pointed out how
greatly the business interests of Cuba
have been advanced and benefited by
the reforms in the laws, in the curren-
cy, in the tariff and tax regulations,
in the municipal systems, in the public
sanitation, etc., so that Cuba has now
been transformed into a healthy and
.well-ordered community, solvent, self
governing, reliable, and prosperous,
with its business affairs settled upon a
solid and stable financial and govern
mental basis.
One Of the most important features
of the monograph relates to the recent
tariffs of Cuba with relation to their
effects upon Cuban trade and COM
naerce. A comparison is made of the
tariff rates on several leading articles
ofcommerce in the last four tariffs,
namely, the old Spanish tariff in force
previous to 1890, the reciprocity tariff
of 1891, the Spanish tariff of 1897, and
the present tariff framed under Unit
ed States auspices in 1900. A tabular
list Of the exports Of these articles
from this cuntry to Cuba under each
\ Of these tariffs is Also given; and thus
ii becomes easy to at least approx
mate the practical effects of the vari-
GUS tariff rates upon our trade with
Cuba.
The different reciprocity agreements
and propositions of the past, with
their practi ,al results, are narrated,
and history is given OF the recipro-
city negotiations and debates of 1902,
with the full text of the bill of that
year and also Of the pending Cuban
reciprocity convention.
Full tables and other details of Gu
ban foreign commerce are presented,
including particulars regarding immi-
grafton, revenues and expenditures,
customs receipts, tonnage, steamship
lines Of communication, etc. It ap-
pears that the volume of Cuban foreign
commerce, which naturally suffered a
serious diminution during the recent
war, has lately experienced an encour-
aging increase, and promises soon to
outstrip the record Of it's palmiest days
before the war. During the insurrec-
tion no Official returns were made of
the commerce of the island as whole,
but it is known that it's volume was
greatly curtailed. For example, Cuba's
most important export, sugar, which
amounted to over $50, 600 tons in 1894,
and will amount to over 1000, 600 tons
in the present year, was only about
200, 600 tons in 1893 and likewise the
Cuban export of tobacco to the United
States, which will equal sl3, 600, 600 in
value in 1905, amounted to only about
81, 100000 in 1897 and 1893. So also
Cuban imports from the United States,
which have amounted to $40, 600. 600 or
S25, 600, 900 annually since the war.
were only about ST, 900, 600 in 1895 and
1897. A table showing the total COM
merce of Cuba in 1894 and 1895, and
since the war. with the share Of the
United States therein, is as follows:
It will thus be seen that the United
States trade with Cuba has nearly re-
gained it's antebellum proportions, but
thas there has been somewhat dis
Quieting decrease in our exports to
Cuba durinezshe past year.
Other interesting and valuable feat
ures of the monograph relate to the ex-
tent in Cuban enterprises; the posi-
tion of Cuban sugar with relation to
the worlds market; details Of Cuban
tobacco culture and manufacture the