The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-11-23

| submitted to tho Senate by President Roosevelt the last day of February of the same year, and 1t has been in the records there since that time. Went In With Eyes Open. Furthermore, in commenting upon l in the same report. approved by Sec retary Root and submitted to Presi- dent Roosevelt, General Wood says: No special action was taken to pro- tect the interests of the citizens of the United States who have purchased property and have settled in the Isle of Pines, for the reason that no such action was necessary All Americans in the island are living under exactly the same conditions as other foreign CTS, and if they comply with the laws in force 1t Is safe to. say they will not have any difficulty or need of special protection. At the time these people purchased the property they understood distinctly that the question of the own ership of the Isle of Pines was one pending settlement and in locating there they took the risks incident to the situation"
 Finally the administration is not dIs- posed to look with patience upon these disturbers of the pleasant relations be- tween Cuba and the United States There is an old statute which the American carpetbaggers in the Isle of Pines probably are not acquainted with. It makes it high treason for any American citizen to interfere in the relations between the United States and any foreign government There Is no danger of this old statute being executed, but it shows the way in which the law looks upon such inter- ference with the proper functions of the State Department.
 Isn't Worth Having, Anyway.
 Furthermore, the Isle of Pines is not worth having. It is not accessible for anything except the smallest draft steamboats Not an American gum boat could anchor in it's principal har- bor. The great part of 1t is surround ed with swamps, and there is official authority for the declaration that the island as a whole is not fit for any thing except for grazing purposes.
 It Is only a larger variety of the sandy keys which border the southern coast of Cuba from Cape Cruz west ward. It is not necessary to defend it by Qualifications, because no bat tleship could get within range of the shore at any point. It never can have large foreign commerce, because navigation throughout all that section Is extremely dangerous, and 1t never can become valuable as a naval sta- tion.
 It Is within a few miles of the coast of Cuba, and 1t certainly can never be of use to the United States until we take over the island of Cuba itself Inasmuch as this country has refused to consider the possibility of annexa- tion at the present time of such val 1 uable possessions as Santo Domingo and the Danish islands, which has been a dependency of Cuba ever since | it was discovered in 1494 by Christo- pher Columbus, who called 1t La | Evangelista"
 Only Good For Grazing.
 In the report submitted by Dr. HayA of the geological survey. which was issued officially by the government | several years ago. before the treaty | was submitted to the senate. the val ue of the Isle of Pines was summed | up as follows:
 Considered from an economic view pofnt the Isle of Pines Is scarcely to be | compared with Cuba. It's soil Is not adapted for sugar raising, though cer- tain parts probably are adpated as well | to tobacco culture as the famous Vuel- ta Abajo district
 "The industry for which the island | appears pre- eminently to be fitted is grazing and doubtless in time it will | become an important source of supply | for cattle and sheep for the West In- dian markets. Unfortunately the is- land is without deep harbors. which largely neutralizes it's values from a
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