Francis Samuel Philbrick

“ In material prosperity the progress of the island from 1902 to 1906 was very great; but in its politics, various social and economic elements, and political habits and examples of Spanish provenience that ill befit a democracy, led once more to revolution. Congress neglected to pass certain laws which were required by the constitution, and which, as regards municipal autonomy, independence of the judiciary, and congressional representation of minority parties, were intended to make impossible the abuses of centralized government that had characterized Spanish administration. ”

“ Among those who waged the war were men who fought to compel reforms, others who fought for annexation to the United States, others who fought for independence. The reformists demanded, besides the correction of the above evils, action against slavery, assimilation of rights between peninsulars and creoles and the practical recognition of equality, e.g. in the matter of office-holding, a grievance centuries old in Cuba as in other Spanish colonies, and guarantees of personal liberties. ”

“ A study of the family names appearing on the census rolls of two prosperous and typical American counties, one distinctively urban and the other rural, in 1790 and 1900, has confirmed the popular impression that the British element is growing little, and that the fastest reproducers to-day are the foreign elements that have become large in the immigration current in very recent decades. ”

“ But in all other parts of the country the increase is faster than in the South; since aside from agriculture, which has long been in a relatively stable condition, there is not by any means so strong a movement of women into professional services in city districts. The increase is universal. There is not a state that does not show it. The greatest increase for any section between 1880 and 1900 was that of the North Central division from 8.8 to 14.3%. Here too both factors—farm-life, as in North Dakota, and manufacturing, as in Illinois-showed their plain influence. ”

“ Sugar has been the dominant crop since the end of the 18th century. Before the Civil War of 1895–1898 the capital invested in sugar estates was greater by half than that represented by tobacco and coffee plantations, live-stockSugar. ranches and other farms. Since that time fruit and live-stock interests have increased. The dependence of the island on one crop has been an artificial economic condition often of grave momentary danger to prosperity; but generally speaking, the progress of the industry has been steady. The competition of the sugar-beet has been felt severely. ”

“ The best buildings in Havana are constructed of a very rich white limestone, soft and readily worked when fresh, but hardening and slightly darkening with age. There are extensive and valuable deposits of beautiful marbles in the Isle of Pines, and lesser ones near Santiago. The Organ Mountains contain a hard blue limestone; and sandstones occur on the N. coast of Pinar del Rio province. Clays of all qualities and colours abound. Mineral waters, though not yet important in trade, are extremely abundant, and a score of places in Cuba and the Isle of Pines are already known as health resorts. ”

“ Health.—Convincing evidence is offered by the qualities of the Spanish race in Cuba that white men of temperate lands can be perfectly acclimatized in this tropical island. As for diseases, some common to Cuba and Europe are more frequent or severe in the island, others rarer or milder. There are the usual malarial, bilious and intermittent fevers, and liver, stomach and intestinal complaints prevalent in tropical countries; but unhygienic living is, in Cuba as elsewhere, mainly responsible for their existence. ”

“ Thus, the illiteracy of non-Caucasians was 44.5%, of their children 30.1%, and of such in cities of 25,000 inhabitants, 7.7%.
In the total population of 10 years of age and over the female sex is more illiterate than the male, but within the age-group 10 to 24 years the reverse is true. In 1890 females preponderated among illiterates only in the age-group 10 to 19 years. The excess of female illiteracy in the total population also decreased within the same period, from 20.3 to 10.8 illiterates in a thousand. The tendency is therefore clearly toward an ultimate higher literacy for females ”

“ After the first American occupation a private company built a line from Santa Clara to Santiago, more than half the length of the island, finally connecting its two ends (1902) . The policy of the railways was always one rather of extortion than of fairness or of any interest in the development of the country, but better conditions have begun. There was ostensible government regulation of rates after 1877, but the roads were guaranteed outright against any loss of revenue, and in fact practically nothing was ever done in the way of reform in the Spanish period. ”

“ Since 1880 the proportion of illiteracy has steadily declined for all classes, save the foreign-born between 1880 and 1890, owing to the beginning in these years, on a large scale, of immigration from southern Europe. Illiteracy is less among young persons of all classes than in the older age-groups, in which the foreign-born largely fall. ”

“ The constitution is republican and modelled on the Constitution of the United States, with some marked differences of greater centralization, due to colonial experience under the rule of Spain, notably as regards federalism; the provinces of the island being less important than the states of the American Union. The president of the Republic, who is elected for four years by an electoral college, and cannot hold office for more than two successive terms, has a cabinet whose members he may appoint and remove freely, their number being determined by law. ”

“ The droughts to which the island is recurrently subject are, however, a not unimportant drawback to the industry; and though the best ranges, under favourable conditions, are luxuriant, nevertheless the pastures of the island are in general mediocre. Practically nothing has yet been done in the study of native grasses and the introduction of exotic species. The possibilities of the stock interest have as yet by no means been realized. The civil wars were probably more disastrous to it than to any other agricultural interest of the island. ”

“ Independent of the government are various schools and learned societies in Havana (q.v.) . A school was established by the government in Key West, Florida (U.S.A.) , in 1905, for the benefit of the Cuban colony there. Finally, the government sustains about two score of penal establishments, reform schools, hospitals, dispensaries and asylums, which are scattered all over the island,—every town of any considerable size having one or more of these charities.
Under the colonial rule of Spain the head of government was a supreme civil-military officer, the governor and captain-general. ”

“ The range near Baracoa is extremely wild and broken. The region between the lines of the two coastal systems is a much dissected plateau, imperfectly explored. The Cauto river, the only one flowing E. or W. and the largest of Cuba, flows through it westward to the southern coast near Manzanillo. The scenery in the oriental portion of the island is very beautiful, with wild mountains and tropical forests. In the central part there are extensive prairies. In the west there are swelling hills and gentle valleys, with the royal palm the dominating tree. ”

“ The median age of the aggregate population is highest in New England and the Pacific states, lowest in the South, and in the North Central about equal to the country’s average. The average age of the country’s population in 1900 was 26.2 years. The United States had a larger proportion (59.1%) within the “productive” age limits of 15 and 60 years than most European countries; this being due to the immigration of foreign adults (correspond in figure 80.3%) , the productive group among the native whites (55.8%) being smaller than in every country of Europe. ”

“ In very recent years gardening has become an interest of importance, particularly in the province of Pinar del Rio. Save on the coffee, tobacco and sugar plantations, where competition in large markets has compelled the adoption of adequate modern methods, agriculture in Cuba is still very primitive. ”

“ In 1790 there were about 600,000 white families in the United States. Speaking broadly, there were few very rich and few very poor. Food was abundant. Both social traditions and the religious beliefs of the people encouraged fecundity. The country enjoyed domestic tranquillity. All this time, too, the land was but partially settled. Mechanical labour was scarce, and even upon the farm it was difficult to command hired service, almost the only farm labourers down to 1850, in the north, being young men who went out to work for a few years to get a little money to marry upon. ”

“ Cuba is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic in religion, but under the new Republic there is a complete separation of church and state, and liberalism and indifference are increasing. Illiteracy is extremely widespread. In 1907 the census showed 56.6% (43.3 in 1899) of persons above ten years who could read. Of the voting population 53.2% of native white, and 37.3% of coloured Cuban citizens, and 71.6% of Spanish citizens could read. A revolution in education was begun the first year of the United States military occupation and continued under the Republic. ”

“ The status thus created is very exceptional in the history of international relations. The status of the Isle of Pines was left an open question by the treaty of Paris, but a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States has declared it (in a question of customs duties) to be a part of Cuba, and though a treaty to the same end did not secure ratification (1908) by the United States Senate, repeated efforts by American residents thereon to secure annexation to the United States were ignored by the United States government. ”

“ A central agricultural experiment station (founded 1904) is maintained by the government at Santiago de las Vegas; but there is no agricultural college, nor any special school for the scientific teaching and improvement of sugar and tobacco farming or manufacture.
Stock-breeding is a highly important interest. It was the all-important one in the early history of the island, down to about the latter part of the 18th century. Grasses grow luxuriantly, and the savannahs of central Cuba are, in this respect, excellent cattle ranges. ”

“ In the markets of the world Cuban tobacco has always suffered less competition than Cuban sugar, and still less has been done than in the case of sugar cane in the study of methods of cultivation, which in several respects are far behind those of other tobacco-growing countries. The crop of 1907 was 201,512 bales (109,562,400 ℔ Sp.) .
Coffee-raising was once a flourishing and very promising industry. It first attained prominence with the settlement in eastern Cuba, late in the 18th century, of French refugee immigrants from San Domingo. ”

“ On an average throughout the 110 years, the population in cities of 8000 considerably more than doubled every twenty years. [6] The rate of rural growth, on the other hand, fell very slowly down to 1860, [7] and since then (disregarding the figures of the inaccurate census of 1870) has been steady at about half the former rate. In Rhode Island, in 1900, eight out of every ten persons lived in cities of 8000 or more inhabitants; in Massachusetts, seven in ten. In New York, New Jersey and Connecticut the city element also exceeded half of the population. ”

“ Tobacco is most generally cultivated on loose red soils, which are rich in clays and silicates; and sugar-cane preferably on the black and mulatto soils; but in general, contrary to prevalent suppositions, colour is no test of quality and not a very valuable guide in the setting of crops. Almost without exception the lands throughout the island are of extreme fertility. The lowlands about Cienfuegos, Trinidad, Mariel and Matanzas are noted for their richness. The census of 1899 showed that farm lands occupied three-tenths of the total area ”