If the desire of a majority of the Cubans were all that was necessary to bring about annexation, the matter might be accomplished without serious difficulty. There are, however, many obstacles in the way when the question is viewed from the standpoint of the other party to the transaction. The United States would derive important advantages from the possession of Cuba, but in several respects the American people would suffer by the arrangement. At the outset a difficulty would arise as to the terms of admission. The most enthusiastic advocates of annexation among intelligent Cubans would not be willing to come under the American flag with anything less than the status and rights of a state. This attitude is easy to appreciate. Cuba’s population, wealth, resources, commerce, industries, and strategic position would fully justify her aspirations to the highest rank among America’s possessions. She would not be content with a territorial position, and the proposition, which has been advanced, that she should accept the indefinite status of Puerto Rico and the Philippines, is not worth a moment’s consideration. Despite official figures to the contrary, it is the conviction of many who have had the best possible opportunities for judging, that a large majority of the native population of Cuba have negro blood in their veins. Practically one hundred per cent. of the people profess the Roman Catholic faith and Spanish is the mother tongue of the same proportion. Would the American nation agree to the construction of a sister state out of such material? The admission to the United States of Cuba’s products free of duty would constitute a serious menace to Louisiana’s chief industry and to the growing beet sugar industry of our northwestern territory. The fruit growers of California and Florida would suffer from competition with products raised by cheaper labor, and to a less extent the tobacco growers of Virginia and Kentucky would feel the same pressure. As to the advantages that Cuba would enjoy from annexation, there can be no question. The most obvious and pronounced would be the assurance of good government, perpetual peace within her borders, an incalculably better administration than the present at one-third of its cost, free trade with the United States, and a market there for all her products and purchases.