Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 9, 1906)
k 40 0 00? Jmmm&mfi ' n Cold Facts About the Present Revolu- ""mB lipJi, That- Will Interest Every American BT FREDERICK UFHAM ADAMS. . THE present revolution in Cuba .has literally Bet the eyes of the world on that island, and the issues at stake are so important to the Unltad States that every American -wants to know the "basic facts which have resulted in the present crisis. The plain truth of the matter is that. the average well-informed American takes it for granted that it is only a question of time when Cuba will be an nexed to the United States, and this as sumption is shared by a large faction, if not a majority of Cuban voters. One would be rash to predict that the present insurrection will be at once fol lowed by annexation. ' At this writing it Is idle to attempt to forecast whether or not the Palma administration will be able speedily to suppress - the revolt against its authority, and as a matter of fact it makes little difference which fac tion is returned victor in the appeal to arms. The significant fact is that the existing government has been compelled to resort to force in order to maintain its existence, and in the further fact that this outcome was expected and pre dicted. The serious feature of the situ ation has its basis in the well-founded fear that the victorious faction will find ita supremacy challenged by one or an other of the various sections of political and military malcontents. When Cuba was admitted into the family of nations it was on the under standing that she should abstain from the custom immemorial in Latin-American countries of indulging in revolu tions and revolts. It was stipulated that she should "be good"; also that she should abide by the rules and regula tions tacitly in force and effect in na tions pretending to civilization. The world did not take her unsupported word for this pledge. The United States went on her bond to keep the peace, and as a consequence there was inserted in the Treaty of Paris a clause which is known as "the Piatt Amendment." We shall hear a great deal of this Piatt amendment in the coming months. What the Piatt Amendment Means. It is not worth while to quote its exact language. Stripped of its verbiage it gives the United States Government the right to interfere in Cuban affairs at any time when the peace and prosperity of Cuba is threatened. Under its provisions we are privileged to land troops on its territory and to anchor warships in its harbors. In blunt terms it means that we have assumed a protectorate over. Cuba, and that if they are not able to maintain an adequate and safe form of government the United States will do It for Ihem. Cuba can govern if able; otherwise the power reverts to its sponsor and pro tector. Now. if Cuba were owned entirely by Cubans there would be no material rea son why they should not be permitted to "revolute" annually or semi-annually. The average revolution In the tropical republics to our south Us not more san guinary than a football game or the se lection of a Tammany district leader. Those excellent gentlemen who urge that we should stand aside and "permit Cuba to work out her own salvation" are as logical as the outsider who as sures a country gentleman that he has no right to interfere with two lads who are lighting over his lawns and flower gardens. In any consideration of this Cuban problem and the people of the United States will have to consider it and settle it, whether they wish to or not there are certain essential facts which must be kept in mind, and I will attempt to state some of them as they appear to me after a careful study of- the conditions from personal investigation. In the first place Cuba is too valuable a piece of property to be made a per petual battlefield. If the Cubans do not I ttll 1Z.C L 1 1 JO iav,L 1 IlCi C AC TI HV V v. Not in all the world is there within reach of speedy development so matchless an area of territory awaiting the application of labor tempted by money. Cuba has a tillable area almost if not quite equal '. to that of Java Cuba has a scattered 1 population of perhaps 1,750,000. Java sup ' ports a swarm of nearly 30.000,000. Cuba is inevitably destined to become the ag ricultural Golconda of the earth, and from her exhaustless soil there will be taken riches beyond the present wildest of estimates. Nor is this all. Havana, Matanzas and other beautiful cities are destined to. become places of Winter resi dence for tens of thousands of our citi zens who can afford to escape from the discomforts and dangers of our northern climate. In every avenue which makes for civilization and advancement there Is awaiting for Cuba so great a develop ment that no statement can fairly be deemed an exaggeration. The Cuban Kip Van Winkle will be more dazed when he awakes than was the sleeper on the slones of the Catskills. Such is the first reason why the fu ture spells peace for Cuba. The second reason is associated with the one just clven. and may be briefly stated. The development of Cuba will be the result of the investment of American money in undertakings which will be, executed by thA jannlicAtlnn of American eenius. skill and labor. Native Cubans and Spaniards will share in this work, and citizens of Canada, England and other countries will flock to this center of activity, but Amer ican enterprise will bear the brunt 01 the task, and will reap the bulk of the rewards. There has been Invested, in . fuba within the last five years from , Jia.000.000 to J15O,O0O,O00 and the amount nf thi vpftr'd installment on the mlr- chase price of Cuba will not fall far short of $fiO,000.000. There are a lot of elo quent arguments in that amount of money which proclaim against the con tinuation of a system of government wmcn is imeiy 10 erupt at any moment. Massed capital, selfish and calculating as it Is, has one redeeming feature it wishes peace, because peace means profit, while war menaces them. Americans Large Owners. The time is not far distant when a large part of the . productive land of Cuba will be owned by American citi sens. It need not be assumed that our investors will obtain these lands by " oharp practice or through the isnor- ance of the present holders concerning their value. There does not exist a shatper bargainer than the Cuban, be ite WtkMrJih It ' : Wl m,: - mm z?- iintv . -7 ll 'p -,r ..... m he merchant or landowner. Both are Immeasurably better off than before the American . flag floated above the roofs of Havana. Undeveloped lands then had no market price. Tracts which five years ago could have been purchased for less than a dollar an acre now command-from $10 to $100, and these figures will be multiplied before the end of this decade. In most of the great enterprises now under way the original Cuban owners are allied with the American purchas ers. This is true of sugar plantations, orange groves, railroads, mines, hotels and the numberless enterprises which are springing into being.' Cubans who never dreamed that the Jungles which 1 stood In their name would be or" ap- j proclAble value suddenly find them selves men of wealth and affairs. Farm laborers who once were glad to accept 40 Or 60 -cents a day now receive more than double this amount, and their standard of living has been so . im proved that they find it difficult to realize what has taken place. Five years ago an overland journey front Havana to Santiago took weeks, now it is a railroad trip of less than a day. In these few short years American en terprise has opened a vast wilderness to the poftibillty of development. Is it reasonable to suppose that this de velopment will long be checked be cause .disappointed politicians have in cited a small proportion of the natives to armed revolt? The tTnited States Kept Faith. Let us consider the third factor in this Cuban situation. Thus far I have called attention to the stupendous nat ural wealth of the island; also have pointed out that far-sighted American investors have risked millions in pur chases and have predicted that the movement will not ceas until our cit izens hold the title deeds to a lrge share of the productive assets of Cuba. Our investors were impelled to take this step by reason of their belief that that the Piatt amendment meant what it said. They considered an invest' ment in Cuba as safe as one on Man hattan Island, and unless I am mis taken they will not long be disap pointed. The United States kept faith, and gave full effect to its promises when it turned over to the people of Cuba the administration of the affairs of the newly created republic. It withdrew its troops and its ships. Before do ing this we gave them a splendid ex ample of what can be done by an effi cient government. When Havana was wrested from Spain it was one of the foulest cities in the world, the dreaded breeding place of yellow fever. Dur ing the period of American interven tion it became oile of the most health ful of cities. Yellow fever was stamped ouv, and our scientists discovered the cause and remedy for this disease. Ha vana was beautified by splendid boule vards, and steps taken which will soon make her the Winter capital of the New World. The Cuban government came into existence without a national debt of any amount, with ample money in its treasury, with the best wishes of all the world, and with the pledged support of its powerful ally, the Unit ed States. Three Things the Matter With Cuba. What is the' matter with Cuba Why was the present revolt not only possible but inevitable? Are the Cubans capable of self-government? These are Important questions, and they must be answered. There are1 three things the matter with Cuba. . In the first place her people are not Immune from that predilection of all Latin-American countries which makes them prefer an appeal to arms rather than recourse to the peaceful arbitration of the ballot-box. In the second place too many of the male inhabitants of Cu ba of voting age desire to hold political or military positions, and there are not and never will be enough paid positions to go around. In the third place there are several thousand men on the island who have been engaged in -wars since they were boys, and who do not know how to do anything else and who do not care to learn. That is what is the mat ter with Cuba. It is .not as serious as it sounds, but it is serious enough to make it reasonably certain that Cuba is not fitted to administer what our conservative financiers and statesmen call a "safe and sane national government." Ever since Columbus discovered Cuba. .t r 'Tir; a" 1 lit-1-? -fiiku jji III It has been a battlefield. For one hun dred and fifty years prior to the Spanish American War the native Cubans and the negroes were at almost constant warfare against the Spanish authorities. Time and again, until the record is tiresome, the Island was devastated.. Sugar cane fields and mills were burned, tobacco plantations . laid waste, and the land marked with ruin from Capes Maisl to San Antonio. Yet such was the natural productivity of the soil that fortunes were made in the intervals of peace, and billions of wealth poured into Spain from the land it misgoverned. Our war with Spain was waged to the purpose that the long era of oppression, bloodshed and lawlessness should forever end. In order that we might be acquitted of any na tional ambition for new territory we freev ly permitted Cuba to attempt the task, and to assume the responsibilities of self government. If we made a mistake it Is not too late to rectify it. - Dates Back to Spanish 'Misrule. There is the best reason in the world why the- patriotic Cuban should desire to hold office and to enjoy the sensa tion of being a responsible factor in ad ministering the affairs of an Independent government. It is the first time in all history that he has had a chance. Dur ing all the long years that Spain ruled Cuba it was rigidly decreed that only Spaniards born in Spain should hold any office, civil, military or ecclesiastical. Even the sons of pure-blooded Spaniards who were so unfortunate as to be born in Cuba were forever debarred from hold ing official position in the land of their birth. The old saying ran: "A Spaniard can do anything in Cuba save raise a Spanish son." And now that the Cubans are sovereign citizens of an independent republic they are eager to. quench their century-long thirst It is probably true that there was sharp practice and open fraud in the last na tional election in Cuba. There Is good reason to believe that President Palma. of the Moderates, is not the choice of the majority of the qualified voters of the new republic, but it Is equally certain that an armed revolt would have followed the election of any Liberal candidate who might have been named. The race Issue is a vital one in Cuba, and the unsatisfied ambltionb of the negro leaders Is at the bottom of much of the present difficulty. There are scores of complications and jealousies which enter into this problem, but they all tend to confirm the one con clusion, and that is that the character of the Cuban population , is such . as to render the continued experiment of na tional self-government, too hazardous to be tolerated by the United States. This is not the language of diplomacy, but It expresses a truth which will be recog nized sooner or later. One Specific Instance. Let us take a specific instance and measure the effect of this and of pos sible future insurrections as it applies to citizens of the- United States. Six years ago Sir William Van Horne be came convinced that with the perma nent establishment of peace there was a great future for railroads in Cuba. He submitted his plans to American and Canadian capitalists, and they pledged millions for a railroad to con nect Havana with Santiago. The road was built and is now in successful oper ation. Thousands of American citizens have made investments within reach of the new road, and most of them have made Cuba their place of residence. The most feeble of armed revolts ia sufficient to cripple the railroad and to throttle the activities of all those who are dependent on it. The capture of .Santa Clara by revolutionists would mean the same thing to Havana as if all the country west of the Ohio River were cut off from communication with New York City. - In the new towns of Ceballos and Sil veira, respectively to the north and south of the ancient city of Ciego de Avila, are two typical American set tlements. In Ceballos there have been invested millions of dollars by capital ists of New York, Boston, Cincinnati and other centers. Here are to be found great "modern hotels, electric light and power plants, a mammoth refrigerator and other accessories of modern civili zation new to Cuba. This section is already famous and is destined to be come the most famous orange and grapefruit district i" the world. Thous ands of acres are now planted to fruit trees. Akron, O., is represented by more than 20D citizens who have set tled in Ceballos. In Silvelra the enter prise of American capitalists has cre ated a sugar plantation, comprising 40 square miles of cane in a single tract. These great enterprises are giving em ployment to not less than 5003 Cuban workmen, who receive good wages and who are contented and happy. In the town of Chaparra, on the north coast near Puerto del Padre, Americans have spent millions in the erection of the largest and perhaps the mos xeuccessful sugar mills in the world. In the scores of towns where American Influence predominates there has been a complete absence of the spirit of revolt or unrest. From Jungle to City. Five years ago the sites of these towns was an impenetrable jungle. The question arises whether or not the United States will tolerate . a Cuban form of government which is so little respected that a few political malcon tents will dare incite brigands and pro fessional guerrillas to espouse their cause and to wage war on the landed property of American citizens who have had faitb in the efficacy of the Piatt amendment and whose enterprise has made possible the new and prosperous Cuba. Since it is certain that revolts will menace or interrupt the efficiency of any Cuban administration, and since it is equally certain that the United States will not tolerate a repetition of the present one, no matter what its out come, it is conclusive that the experi ment of Cuban national Independence Is in its final stages. It is too early to forecast the method by which the Unit ed States will assume direct responsi bility for the maintenance of order. A way may be found by which actual an nexation may be avoided for the time being, but it- must come sooner or later. The present uprising against the Palma administration will not check the Influx of American settlers and American money; on the contrary,- it will stimulate It. The spirit which im pels our pioneers to seek wealth wher ever it is to be found will not halt be cause of the presence in Cuba of a small element which does not yet know how to adapt itself to new conditions and which does not yet realize that it Annexation to the United States Likely to Become a Political Issue in 1908 has been decreed that lawlessness shall cease. Population Will Double in 10 Years. The population of Cuba will double within the next ten years, and it will double because of American immigration. This is not a rash prediction, and even its partial' fulfillment will Insure actual annexation. The problem becomes sim pler when it is taken ' Into consideration that a large minority, if not an actual majority, of the present population of Cuba would today vote 411s a state for annexation if given a chance. All classes save the politicians and professional sol diers are trending toward this settlement of an otherwise Insoluble problem. There is no question that the Cubans have evinced marked aptitude in the ad ministration of local and provincial af fairs. There is every reason to believe that were Cuba a state or territory of the United States the will of ite freely elected officials and legislators would be respected and obeyed. There Is not and will not be any necessity for a carpet oag regime, no matter what steps be taken by the United States to keep the pledges It made when its representatives signed the Treaty of Paris. ! the dis satisfied and half-lawless factions on the island know that the armed authority of the United States will be exerted the moment they resort to force we shall have no more such tales from Cuba as those of recent date. If. on the contrary, the principle is established that the Cu ban national or state administration must war with successive rebellions without help from the United States until its very existence Is threatened, then Actual encouragement Is given to all malcon tents who And their ambitions denied by the ballot boxes. The whole situation resolves itself to this: The United States must either in sure peace in Cuba or wipe its hands of the whole affair. The Piatt amend ment does not mean that Uncle Sam IA to act as a police officer whose sole duty it Is to interfere with prizefights when the participants become too aggressive or to favor one battered fighter when his opponent is getting the better of it. Cuba agreed to behave herself. She is not do ing so. and there is not the slightest rea son to believe that any political faction of her people can maintain a stable and effective government. There, is only one solution, and the sooner it is applied the better it will be for the people of both countries. . Despair of the Poet. New York Time. Somebody has stolen the old garden cates. The mltlwheel has gone to decay. The old oaken bucket In mlMlnc of late. It moot have been taken away. The little red schoolhouse is wrecked and torn down. Neglected, its sad ruins lie. The moth have quite eaten up grandmother's gown, . The old swimming hole has gone dry. Somebody has taken the old trundle bed And broken the old cookie Jar. The old milking stool in its wreckage is spread Out there where the chopping blocks are. The old lilac buahea that grew in the yard Are pulled up and mining somehow. Ah me, but the prospect la bitter and hard. For what shall we write about now? The old rustic bridge is a wreck by the hrook. They've paid oft the mortgage, I see. Whose trials and tears have filled many a book. And cut down the old apple tra. The old drygoods box at tlie grocery store Is split into kindlings at last. The day of the neighborhood poet Is o'er, Hla verses are things of the past. The old log and dead that was there by the creek Has fallen down into the stream. No more may we sit there and patiently aek To weave the old days in a dream. The old attic bedroom' a thing of the past. The old iron pump is no more. And here by the kitchen we stand aulta aghast They've pulled up the old cellar door! The old cottage organ is hopelessly lost. The rain barrel's gone to decay. The old stepplng-fitones we so frequently crossed Somebody has taken away. They've rebuilt the house, so old-fashioned and aueer. And butchered the old brindte cow. Ah, Muse, let us go! We are not welcom here! But what shall w write about bow?
