COMMERCE AND TRANSPORTATION 91 



Rico, the Windward Islands, and South America; and to 

 New York via Cape Haitien. Nearly all of these cables 

 were cnt by the Americans, as a war measure, early in the 

 summer of 1898, in order to isolate the Spanish forces on 

 the island. 



Before the latest war broke out, the wealth and commerce 

 of Cuba were derived from one hundred thousand ranches, 

 farms, and plantations, valued at $200,000,000, which, 

 besides supplying the food necessities of the island, with 

 the exception of salt meats and breadstuffs, yielded a sur- 

 plus valued at $90,000,000 for export. This consisted 

 mainly in enormous products of sugar and tobacco, which 

 constituted ninety per cent, of the total exports. The 

 product of sugar in the fiscal year 1892-93 amounted to 

 815,894 tons ; in 1893-94, 1,054,214 tons ; in 1894-95, 1,004,- 

 264 tons ; and in 1895-96, 225,221 tons ; all of which, except 

 30,000 tons per annum, was exported. 



The commerce of Cuba is large in proportion to the 

 population. It consists of exports of raw material. The 

 imports are largely foods, machinery, hardware, leather 

 goods, wooden ware, and all kinds of manufactured articles 

 used by a people who manufacture nothing. 



The commerce of the island is best illustrated by a nor- 

 mal year. In 1892 the exports were valued at $89,500,000 ; 

 the imports at $56,250,000. The balance of trade in favor 

 of the island was, therefore, $33,250,000. This could be 

 maintained under ordinary conditions of government, and 

 increased by creating trade with adjacent islands. Of the 

 exports $85,000,000 were classified as vegetable, $3,500,000 

 as mineral, and $750,000 as animal. The vegetable exports 

 included 241,300 bales of tobacco (one bale=110 pounds), 

 155,000,000 cigars, and 1,000,000 tons of sugar. The minor 

 exports included under the above heads were : rum (10,000 

 pipes), beeswax, bananas, honey, mahogany and other 

 woods, valued in all at $2,000,000. 



The essentials of this conmieree are: (1) a large balance 

 of trade in favor of the island; (2) the preponderating eon- 



