78 CUBA AND PORTO ItICO 



industry -is in a desperate state, warranting special com- 

 missioners to inquire into its illness and its needs, the 

 Cuban industry has gone ahead and prospered under a 

 government which pillaged it steadily, and in spite of 

 outrageous railroad freights, bad shipping facilities, the 

 heart-breaking question of European bounties, and dis- 

 crimination to its detriment by American buyers. The rea- 

 sons why it has prospered are quite clear. First, the climate 

 and soil are admirably adapted to the needs of the cane; 

 secondly, the Spaniards and Cubans have had the courage 

 to centralize their sugar-houses and go at the business 

 individually, on a scale unequaled in any other country on 

 the globe. Old, small places were replaced by powerful 

 factories equipped with the best of modern machinery, 

 narrow-gage roads were built in all directions, and, in 

 short, great sums were spent, and spent well. The main 

 essentials of competing with the beet-sugar countries were 

 understood and complied with, while the other islands are 

 still hesitating. 



The machinery used in the manufacture of sugar on a 

 large estate is very extensive. A large central will grind 

 one thousand tons of cane in twenty-four hours, or, say T 

 one hundred thousand tons in a season of one hundred 

 days. A boiler-capacity of twelve to fifteen hundred horse- 

 power is necessary to do this, nearly all of which power is 

 used for driving the various pumps and engines, the evap- 

 oration being performed by the exhaust steam. Such an 

 establishment is worth in Cuba about half a million dollars, 

 and its annual output is worth about the same amount. 

 Three or four locomotives and about one hundred cars are 

 necessary to haul the cane, and about one thousand men 

 are employed in the field and the works. Besides, one to 

 two thousand head of cattle for hauling and slaughtering 

 are needed. There are many such establishments in Cuba, 

 and there is room for more. 



Tobacco, while secondary to sugar, is far more profitable 

 in proportion to acreage. This product grows well in all 



