Throughout the hardships and hazards of the war of independence the _insurrectos_ were supported by the belief that American enlistment in their cause, upon which they counted for success, would be followed by an era of permanent prosperity for the masses. The man who bore the brunt of the fighting, buoyed by these high hopes, realizes now that he was exploited by a handful of his own countrymen and deserted by his expected saviour. The desertion was repeated after the need for protection had been emphasized and the exploitation continues in an aggravated form. On the _guajiro_ falls most heavily the burden of supporting the most expensive and extravagant government in the world. This because that government dare not bear too hardly with taxation upon the great corporations and wealthy property owners. An important part of the game of finesse which is necessary to the life of any administration in Cuba consists in keeping in the good graces of the money interests, for it is in the power of these to stop the fat grazing in the political pastures by forcing American reoccupation, and even perhaps annexation. So we have one of the most striking of the many anomalies in the Cuban system of administration,--the customs duties. Here, in a country with no industries to protect, the tariff exaction is at the rate of $12 per head. In the United States it is no more than $3.50, while in other countries it is considerably less. At first hand the importer pays this tax, but, of course, it ultimately falls upon the consumer. And, as [Illustration: A GUAJIRO’S SHACK.] more than half the importations of the Island are foodstuffs or articles of clothing, it necessarily follows that the masses discharge the great bulk of the customs duties. At the same time large tracts of land that are held by their wealthy owners at high figures are exempted from taxation entirely.