El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-05-06
The Cuban Race Question
By
Frederic
I. Haskn
1.-THE Trouble in Cuba.

/, they also feel the drain upon their
| pocketbooks
1 Instead of attributing their poverty
| stricken condition to their own vice of
gambling, they are apt, like a great
many more enlightened people in more
enlightened lands, to charge their
financial difficulties against the exist
| ing government. This is another cause
for discomfort.
A Different Negro.
1t must be remembered that the Gu
ban negro is entirely different from
the negro of the United States. The
| negro Is essentially creature of his
environment The slaves brought from
Africa to the United States and those
brought to Cuba were surrounded by
entirely different circumstances. The
American negroes in slavery days were
widely distributed and nearly always
were in the minority in every com
munity.
While few southern planters in the
years Immediately preceding the civil
war owned large numbers of slaves,
as general rule there were but few
negroes on every plantation and they
lived in more or less intimate relations
to the white people. Very, very few
of them were badly treated, and the
vast majority were cordially devoted
to their masters. This was proved dur
ing the four years of the civil war,
! when the great majority Of the negroes
remained loyal TO their old masters and
stayed at home and cared for the fam
lilies of the men who were fighting in
the confederate army. These southern
negroes learned TO initiate the manners
and customs of their white masters, for
got practically all of their barbaric
ed &f,<a
remnants of their savage religions to
the requirements of the Baptist and
Methodist forms of the Christian faith
In short, the American negro is civ
ilized-
Conditions Differ.
In Cuba the conditions were entirely
different. The negroes were massed IN
large numbers on huge plantations and
were forced TO work by task masters
who were cruel as only the Spanish
know how to be cruel. The negroes
had practically no relations with the
whites They learned little or nothing
of the habits and customs of their ar
rogant masters, and for the most part
were left to themselves. Under these
conditions they maintained the barbarie
rites and customs which took the place
of religion and government in their
African home. They adopted, under
more or less duress, the Roman Catho-
lie religion. but they maintained their
fetish or voodoo worship. They main
tanned, and still maintain, in many parts
of the island, the tribal relations and
government imported by their grand
parents from the west coast of Africa
Voodooism exists to some extent even
among the more enlightened negroes of
the United States; in Cuba 1T is the
jority of the full FLOODED negro popula-
ton
VoOdooism Among Negroes.
This devotion of the ignorant blacks
to voodooism means simply that they
will follow without protest or murmur
the leadership of any negro who can
obtain. by the use of money or other
wise, the approval Of the voodoo priest
hood. If these priests. or leader hav-
ing their support. should preach a holy
war for the determination OF the whites
and the establishment of purely negro
government in Cuba, the result would
be q horrible struggle Of savage bar
barians on the one side against a more
or less defenseles minority of anaemic
whites on the other.
The color line in Cuba is not drawn
as sharply as 1T IS in the United States
, Educated and wealthy negroes have
high social standing and are deserved
ly reckoned among the ranks of the
best citizens of the republic In theory
the two races are entirely equal But
IN practice the white men have most
OF the property and most Of the power
They let the negro come so far and
no farther. The educated negroes. and
there are many of them. may not be in
sympathy with the radical notions OF
their ignorant brothers. but they will
be unable to stem the tide of race con-
flfct should it once gain Roadway.
Negro Politicians TO Blame.
Probably the negro politicians who
have been active in organizing the new
negro party have not contemplated any
general race war They are. most like
ly. following in the footsteps of the
present president of the Cuban republic
who was leader in the revolution of
1906. simply because he wanted TO be
president and to divide 1.-THE spoils of
office among his friends and followers.
That this revolution was successful.
and that its outcome was approved by
the American government, is a good
and sufficient excuse for the cheated
and disappointed negro politicians TO
emulate the disting uished example of
president Gomez.
But the troubule is that these leaders.
should they go into power at the head /
of purely negro organization, would
be unable TO hold in check the passions
and prejudices Of their own followers.
They would be overthrow by more in
temperate and more radical and blacker
negroes, and the fair island of Cuba
would be reduced to the low level of
semisavage Hayti.
Tomorrow-The Problem of Annexa-
ton.