The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-21

Nueva oerona, Isle of Pfne4 Jan., 20 l--Whatever may be the outcono Of the dispute as to the sovereign title to fthd Isle of Pines, 1t remains fact ana will remain 90. that in everythinG sx- cept scverei&nty the Isle, of Pines sis thoroughly American. Nihety-five per cent of the cultivated lands Is thled by Americans. The American setticrs are living on their lands. bpfidine homes for themselves. founding towns and hustling. Everyone of them be- lieves that President Mckinley and Secretary of state John Hay were right when they interpreted the Treaty of Paris to mean that the IsleSof Pines was American territory. Most Of the land owned by Americans was acquired Iupon the assurance of Mfr. Mcktuley and the Washington governments that the island would remain under the American flag. The people here are unanimous in expressing the belief that President Roosevelt and Secretary ot State Root ware mistaken and misied lwh4n they reversed the dcisions of their predecessors in offices They are unsnimous in< hoping that sne Senate will continue to refuse to rati- fy the Isle Of Pines Treaty, thus keep ing the question open. M ' The political status of the island sfs of great moment. of course. but the pe0UiG% NefG HTO nOL tthsssAAs6 activities because the question 1s stiii unsettled They are going ahead with lthe development of the island. They are planting citsms fruit groves ana pineapple fields. confident that frpit will grow in this fertile country what ever may Be the flag that flies over tne custom house '. The Isle of Pines lies . little south oI % Cuba. It is about the size of the stase lof Rhode xsiand, and is naturally divided into two sections. northern anu southern. by a salt marsh. The DOT ren V. ern section is the larger, and 1t is tns only mart which has been developed. The southern section Is heavily tim-i bered with hardwood trees anu wss wholly uninhabited until after ene :. Americanst came. There is now . sman colony at work getting out hardwood Lumber, but there is no permanent set tlement The hardwood forests of tnis section tof the island win produce mh- lions of dollars worth of rare iunioer. l The Isle of Pines was first visited by Columbus, but 1t was not occupied untii the Spanish government in HavanA made 1t a penal colony. There mas been some agriculture for centuries but no general development until now. The native inhabitants, the Pineros, Hive as near to nature as possible Their houses are the matched huts. or Ibohios. familiar in Cuba They live with very little work, for the remark, ably productive soil yields them suste- nance with almost no cultivation. The banana Is everywhere, and with sa banana patch in the backyard, the wolf lat the door. is not to be feared 1
 0eologicallEs the Isle of Pines Is very Interesting. It and . portion of the proyiree of Pinar del Rio in Cuba form the oldest land known in the American lhemlsphere It, is c striking coinci- dence that this island and Pinar del Rio have the only lands on earth which will produce the famous yueita aoajO tobacco The Isle of Pines has a huge mountain of white marble. It Is owned I by Pittsburg millionaire but it is not being developed. Many years ago the marble uuarr1es of this mountain were worked. and there are handsome, stair-. cases and rnanteis in Havana h0usea which attest the5 beauty of the Pinero marble. 3Iv
 deny that the Iele of Ranes will pro- iduce true vualta alASo ktobaCco! Nevertheless. 1t is A fact tizae in tlle years 1888. 1887, and 1898 wheng the war was on in Cuba, all Havan2 cigars were made of tobacco grown in the Isle of Pines. when the war ended and agriculture was resumed in Pinars del Rio.g the tobacco industry In this island perfshed. Only last year tobac-y co grown on the Isle of Pines was tac-i lceptei by Havana experts. who were deceived into believing t. came from Pinar del Rio. It is possible that the business will be revived here, safd 1fhe leaf shipped to the states for consumps tion.
 The Americans here are going in for fruit growing. William Mason. a New aasNs4w l. has the oldest and finest citrus groves on the Island. Mr., Masofi's tvre <Aons, Yale men, are actively in charge of the plantation and stay Shere the year round. A net profit of s400 an acre in 0 poor citrus fruit year is not so bad, and the Messrs. Mason are entire- lily content with their island home in the summer seas. | At Mckinley, a settlement named in honor of the president, there is ono of the biggest orange groves in the world. It has 800 acres of citrusNtr trees. -all of
 which will come into bearing next year. The immigration 3 from the United States is increasing all the time. The land owners of the island are selling their property to actual settlers. There is no absentee land. lordism to contend with in this Ameri- can colony.
 Driving from the Mckinley grove to the Mckinley town site. one sees scores, of American farmers hard at work clearing away the pine trees and get ting ready to set out fruit trees. On the drive from Santa Fe te Jueero, over a great highway built during General Woods administration. one is never out of sight of the bright green leaves of the orange. grapefruit, lime and lemon trees. Grape fruit will be the making of the Isle of Pines. Oranges here are delicious, but the grapefruit has a superiority that is all its own. lPineapples grow here to a size that is almost unbelievable, and their flavor is most delicious. There is no doubt that the Isle of Pines Is fruit country.
 The question is. how to get the fruit to the market It must be shipped to Batabano, transferred by rail to- Havana ana thence by ship to New York. Fruit shipped in this way Isl paying big returis to. the grower. but there Is a very heavy freight charge which may mean disaster. The colony is fortunate in the classes of men com posing it. There are several very wealthy men who have come here to