Industrial Cuba Part 36

"In the course of human events, time alone will cause considerable changes; just as before 1884 all planters firmly believed that greater profit was obtainable by the manufacture of white sugars than lower grades. They then realised that the unexpected improvements in the manufacturing and refining processes in Europe indicated the necessity of changing their system. Those countries which had, up to that time, imported fine grades of sugar from Cuba have been able since then not only to manufacture better sugar at lower cost for their own consumption, but also to export immense quant.i.ties of this article both raw and refined to the princ.i.p.al markets of the world. The production is to-day considerably greater than that of Cuba.

"The change is so marked that there are no longer any estates in Cuba where the white sugar is manufactured which was so desirable from 1856 to 1884.

"Instead of this high-grade sugar, planters are manufacturing the fourth of the above mentioned cla.s.ses. The founding of these estates or _centrales_ requires investing considerable capital for the erection and running expenses of the works. These _centrales_ require excellent machines and apparatus, furnaces to burn the green _baga.s.se_, transportation facilities, usually narrow-gauge railroads, and fuel--without counting the necessity of having well-paid superintendents, aided by competent workmen.

"Many will accuse planters of hasty action and imprudence for having invested so heavily in the sugar business, but this would be an unjust charge, since their object was to keep up an industry which was threatened with destruction, and which is the main source of wealth of the country.

"The consequence is that since 1884 the general condition of planters, considering the circ.u.mstances, is remarkably better than it otherwise would have been, and had it not been for the numerous obstacles which have always prevented the growth and increase of Cuban wealth there is no reason why their work should not have been crowned with success. It is the obstacles that have been put in their way at the time when these changes were being carried out that made their work so much more difficult, but upon it depends the fortunes of the present generations.

"It is the principle of acc.u.mulation of capital produced by work and thrift, put into effect during one century, which has created the colossal fortune and solid civilisation of the United States; and this simple and natural procedure is the only one that can produce in Cuba results of any importance tending to alleviate the present necessities. To organise a sugar factory of any importance it is absolutely necessary to invest a capital of, at the very least, one half a million dollars, and if the work is to be of great importance the first expense must be increased to from one million to two million dollars. The annual expenditure of the sugar estates can be divided into the following groups.

"First. Cost of cane and its transportation to the mills, whether bought from outsiders or grown on the estate itself. This will absorb fifty per cent. of the gross receipts of each crop.

"Second. Salaries and wages, ordinary and extraordinary.

"Third. Interest, whether on mortgages, running expenses, or accounts current.

"Fourth. Management and running expenses, which are so considerable that a statement of them would seem exaggerated.

"Fifth. The redemption of loans invested therein, taking into account the wear and tear of the plant.

"Sixth. The loss of interest of the capital invested in the lands, factories, and other works of the plantation.

"The gross receipts of the crop are the source of the planter's income, and naturally the six items specified have been deducted therefrom before the net profit can be estimated.

"In the above expenses no repair items have been included, since they are often virtually an increase in the value of the property and therefore merely const.i.tute an additional amount of the capital invested. Although some companies insure parts of sugar estates, they only take limited risks; so many losses by fire, in addition to hurricanes, impair the value of the property. The fire insurance companies charge very high premiums for the insurance that they effect.

"The result of the crop depends naturally on two factors--first, the quant.i.ty of sugar made; and second, the price at which it is sold.

"Before the year 1884 the average price was eight rials the _arroba_ (equal to one dollar for twenty-five pounds) of cane sugar, number twelve, Dutch standard; or centrifugal sugar, 96 degrees polarisation; and when sold under this price the planter could not cover expenses.

"Since 1884 the price of sugar has decreased so considerably that it has reached a ruinous figure. During the last ten years, as can be seen by official quotations, 96 degree centrifugal sugars have been quoted from four to five rials, and although from 1889 to 1893 the prices have several times exceeded eight rials, it has only been for a very short while.

"At the end of 1893 and during 1894, the average price has been five and one-half rials, which is simply ruinous for the planters.

"In Europe there are facilities for obtaining money; and besides, it happens that the beetroot only takes five months from its planting to the making of sugar, while sugar cane, besides having to struggle against many obstacles, requires fifteen months.

[Ill.u.s.tration: APPARATUS FOR PACKING SUGAR AT THE SAN JOSE CENTRAL.]

"The consequence is that the periods of high prices are always of short duration, since as soon as the prices commence to rise the sowings of beet increase, thereby causing an obstacle to the continuance of the rise.

"The lack of capital makes the problem insoluble to the Cuban planter, and whatever means he can use to overcome his difficulties, the final result will always be the same, as he cannot reduce the expenses of his plantation beyond a certain limit.

"There is no doubt that to-day (1894) the sugar estates do not cover expenses, and this fact is of immense importance, not only because it explains the present misfortunes, but because in it will be found latent the germs of many future misfortunes.

"The causes of the dangerous situation have been well studied; some will be found in history and in the economic management of the Island and others in the effect of beetroot industry on cane.

"Consequently, the unfortunate situation of the sugar industry in Cuba is due to three princ.i.p.al causes which by a strange coincidence have acted simultaneously, to wit: the economic regime in the Island, the abolishment of slavery without indemnifying the owners, and the great reduction in the price of sugar since 1884.

"The efforts of the planters to save their industry have been interpreted by the Spanish Government as signs of prosperity, and that has based on this misunderstanding of facts the indefinite continuance of a disastrous economic system that is moulded on the old colonial system and is bound to ruin this Island, even if it were as rich and prosperous as the Government states that it is.

"This official optimism is deplorable for more than one reason. It is to be noticed that as Cuba's poverty increases the pretensions of perpetual exactions are greater, and that the bulk is borne by the planters, who, together with the rest of the Cuban population, are possessors, judging by these exactions, of sources of unlimited wealth."

This chapter may be fittingly concluded with the following table compiled by Messrs. Willet & Gray, January 5, 1899, giving the entire sugar production of all the countries of the world, including those crops which have heretofore been ignored in statistics. These figures include local consumptions of home production wherever known.

-----------------------------------+----------+----------+----------+--------- | 1898-99. | 1897-98. | 1896-97. | 1895-96.

-----------------------------------+----------+----------+----------+--------- United States: | Tons. | Tons. | Tons. | Tons.

Cane | 270,000 | 310,000 | 282,009 | 237,730 Beet | 33,960 | 41,347 | 40,000 | 30,000 Porto Rico | 70,000 | 54,000 | 54,000 | 50,000 Canada--beets | 300 | 300 | 300 | 500 Cuba--crop | 450,000 | 314,009 | 219,500 | 240,000 British West Indies: | | | | Trinidad--export | 50,000 | 52,000 | 51,000 | 58,000 Barbadoes--exports | 47,000 | 52,000 | 58,249 | 47,800 Jamaica | 27,000 | 30,000 | 30,000 | 30,000 Antigua and St. Kitts | 22,000 | 25,000 | 29,000 | 24,000 French West Indies: | | | | Martinique--exports | 32,000 | 35,000 | 35,000 | 35,000 Guadeloupe | 40,000 | 45,000 | 45,000 | 45,000 Danish West Indies: | | | | St. Croix | 12,000 | 13,000 | 13,058 | 8,000 Hayti and San Domingo | 48,000 | 48,000 | 48,800 | 50,000 Lesser Antilles, not named above | 8,000 | 8,000 | 8,000 | 8,000 Mexico--exports | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 Central America: | | | | Guatemala--crop | 9,000 | 9,000 | 8,000 | 7,000 San Salvador--crop | 4,000 | 4,000 | 3,000 | 2,000 Nicaragua--crop | 1,500 | 1,500 | 500 | 500 Costa Rica--crop | 500 | 500 | 200 | 200 South America: | | | | British Guiana (Demerara)--export| 98,000 | 98,000 | 99,789 | 105,000 Dutch Guiana (Surinam)--crop | 6,000 | 6,000 | 6,000 | 6,000 Venezuela | | | | Peru--crop | 75,000 | 70,000 | 70,000 | 68,000 Argentine Republic--crop | 75,000 | 110,000 | 165,000 | 130,000 Brazil--crop | 165,000 | 195,000 | 210,000 | 225,000 +----------+----------+----------+--------- Total in America |1,546,260 |1,523,656 |1,469,405 |1,409,720 +----------+----------+----------+--------- Asia: | | | | British India--exports | 50,000 | 50,000 | 50,000 | 50,000 Siam--crop | 7,000 | 7,000 | 7,000 | 7,000 Java--exports | 635,000 | 541,581 | 473,420 | 605,025 j.a.pan (consumption 125,000 tons, | | | | mostly imported) | | | | Philippine Islands--exports | 140,000 | 165,000 | 197,000 | 240,000 Cochin China | 31,000 | 30,000 | 30,000 | 30,000 +----------+----------+----------+--------- Total in Asia | 863,000 | 793,581 | 757,420 | 932,025 +----------+----------+----------+---------- Australia and Polynesia: | | | | Queensland | 65,000 | 65,000 | 70,000 | 60,000 New South Wales | 30,000 | 30,000 | 30,000 | 30,000 Hawaiian Islands | 240,000 | 204,833 | 224,220 | 201,632 Fiji Islands--exports | 30,000 | 30,000 | 30,000 | 30,000 +----------+----------+----------+--------- Total in Australia and Polynesia | 365,000 | 329,833 | 354,220 | 321,632 +----------+----------+----------+--------- Africa: | Tons. | Tons. | Tons. | Tons.

Egypt--crop | 105,000 | 85,000 | 100,000 | 92,000 Mauritius and other | 150,000 | 120,000 | 150,000 | 140,000 British possessions | | | | Reunion and other | 45,000 | 45,000 | 48,000 | 44,700 French possessions | | | | +----------+----------+----------+--------- Total in Africa | 300,000 | 250,000 | 298,000 | 276,700 +----------+----------+----------+--------- Europe: | | | | Spain | 8,000 | 8,000 | 8,000 | 8,000 +----------+----------+----------+---------- Total cane-sugar production |3,082,260 |2,905,070 |2,887,045 |2,948,077 Total beet-sugar production |4,790,000 |4,825,529 |4,916,586 |4,285,429 (Licht.) | | | | +----------+----------+----------+---------- Grand total cane- and beet-sugar | | | | production |7,872,260 |7,730,599 |7,803,631 |7,233,506 Estimated increase in world's | | | | production | 141,661 | | | -----------------------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------

The above table shows the relative importance of the sugar-producing countries of the world. The time will come when Germany and the other continental countries will become tired of paying a bounty on the production of beet sugar. Then Cuba will take her rightful place as the greatest sugar-producing country of the world. If Cuba then belongs to the United States we shall control the sugar market of the world just as we now control the world's market in so many other staple products.

CHAPTER XXI

TOBACCO

The companions of Christopher Columbus on the first voyage of discovery in 1492 found what has since been known as tobacco. Two weeks after sighting the first known land in the New West, that is to say, on the 27th of October, the ships of Columbus anch.o.r.ed off the sh.o.r.es of a great land, supposed to be the Kingdom of the Khan, to whose ruler Columbus bore letters of introduction from the King and Queen of Spain.

Here--in the Island which is now called Cuba--exploring parties went ash.o.r.e and proceeded into the interior seeking mines of gold and silver, which they had been told existed. They found no gold or silver, but many strange things, among them natives, with firebrands in their hands, and puffing smoke from their mouths and noses. After investigation into the nature of this peculiar custom the sailors tried it for themselves; but its adoption by the Spaniards was not immediate. The herb bore several names, but tabago, or tobago, or tabaco, seemed to be the one of most general adoption. It was the name of a peculiar-shaped implement, or pipe, which the natives used in smoking, and from this the name tobacco easily grew--though various European writers attempted to fix more romantic or poetic names upon the new narcotic.

Although tobacco was first known to the Spaniards in 1492, it was not until 1560 that it was known at all in Spain, and not until 1586 that it was used in Europe, when Ralph Lane, sent out to Virginia as Governor by Sir Walter Raleigh, returned and smoked the first pipe in England.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLANTING TOBACCO.]

Thence very quickly the habit grew, until in the middle of the seventeenth century tobacco was sought and feted in every civilised country of the world.

It may be appropriate in this connection to call the reader's attention to the fact that, although every known climate and soil of the earth have been tried in the cultivation of tobacco, Cuba, where it was discovered more than four hundred years ago, is still first in the quality produced, and Cuban tobacco need never fear a successful rival in excellence.

The cultivation of tobacco in Cuba was not begun until 1580, when the Spaniards laid out small plantations in the neighbourhood of Havana.

Three hundred years later there were over ten thousand tobacco plantations in the Island. These first plantations were located in or near the Vuelta Abajo (Lower Valley) to the south-west of Havana; and although even at that early period these plantations produced the best tobacco in the Island, the product of the Vuelta Abajo did not reach its world-wide fame until two hundred and fifty years later. Having once reached the summit of tobacco glory, however, the Vuelta Abajo product has never lost its proud position, and to-day ranks as the first tobacco in the world.

This is due, of course, to soil and climatic conditions; for that peculiar skill or strange power, or whatever it may be, which the Cuban tobacco grower possesses is not more a characteristic of the Vuelta Abajo farmer than of other growers in the Island. Indeed, the Partidos leaf is larger in size, finer in texture, and richer in colour than its neighbour, the Vuelta Abajo, but it is lacking in the flavour which can only come from water, soil, and air. The Vuelta Abajo district occupies an area of about ninety miles in length by ten in width, and its province (Pinar del Rio) leads in the Cuban tobacco output, both as to quality and quant.i.ty.

Tobacco is the second leading industry of Cuba, with sugar first, and its cultivation is considerably in advance of sugar as concerns not only profit to acreage, but conditions of plantations and labour. A sugar plantation is a wide waste of monotony in appearance; while a tobacco plantation, or _vega_, as it is known, with its kitchen garden, its _plantanos_ for feeding the hands, its flowering and fruit trees, its stone walls, its entrance gates and, pretty houses, is the most charming agricultural sight in Cuba except a coffee plantation. The average acreage of a _vega_ is, say, thirty-five acres, and from a dozen to forty men are employed in each _vega_, chiefly lower-cla.s.s whites.

More skill, too, is required in the cultivation of tobacco than sugar, and the cla.s.s of labour is considerably superior to that employed in sugar planting.

Only a small portion of the acreage of Cuba is occupied by tobacco plantations, notwithstanding tobacco is its second product in value. The bulk of it comes from the western end of the Island: the provinces of Pinar del Rio, Havana, and Santa Clara.

The following report on the tobacco product will show the amounts raised in each province, the grade, the amount consumed, and the amount exported:

"The production of leaf-tobacco in the Island of Cuba before the revolution of the year 1894-95 amounted to about 560,000 bales, averaging about 50 kilos each, say 28,000,000 kilos or 62,173,800 pounds. Of this amount about 260,000 bales are harvested in the province of Pinar del Rio, known in the trade as Vuelta Abajo leaf, which is of the finest quality and of which about 140,000 bales are used by first-cla.s.s cigar and cigarette manufacturers of Havana, the balance being exported to the United States of America and Europe.

"The province of Havana on an average produced, before the war, only about 70,000 bales known as Partido leaf, one-fifth of which is used in Cuba for cheaper grades of cigars and cigarettes and the remainder exported to Key West, New York, and Europe. The quant.i.ty of tobacco grown in the province of Matanzas is so very insignificant that it is not known in the market at all.

[Ill.u.s.tration: TOBACCO FARM AND DWELLING.]