Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Print project.) Every attempt has been made to replicate the original book as printed. Some typographical errors have been corrected. No attempt has been made to correct or normalize the printed accentuation or spelling of Spanish names or words. (etext transcriber's note) [Illustration: _Frontispiece._ ENTRANCE TO HAVANA HARBOUR.] INDUSTRIAL CUBA BEING A STUDY OF PRESENT COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS, WITH SUGGESTIONS AS TO THE OPPORTUNITIES PRESENTED IN THE ISLAND FOR AMERICAN CAPITAL, ENTERPRISE, AND LABOUR. BY ROBERT P. PORTER SPECIAL COMMISSIONER FOR THE UNITED STATES TO CUBA AND PORTO RICO WITH MAPS AND 62 ILLUSTRATIONS G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS NEW YORK AND LONDON The Knickerbocker Press 1899 COPYRIGHT, 1899 BY ROBERT P. PORTER Entered at Stationers' Hall, London The Knickerbocker Press, New York TO WILLIAM McKINLEY PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES THIS BOOK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR INTRODUCTION This volume deals with the living questions of Cuba--the questions which confront the United States in the reconstruction of the Island. It aims to give a description of Cuba as it appeared to the author when, as Special Commissioner of the United States, he was sent by President McKinley to report on its industrial, commercial, and financial condition, soon after the signing of the protocol of peace, August 12, 1898. It is the result of nearly seven months' inquiry and hard work, in which the Island has been visited three times, over five hundred witnesses have been examined, and innumerable statements have been studied and analysed. In the course of this inquiry the author has visited all the provinces and nearly all the principal cities and towns. The merit of the book lies in the freshness and originality of the material brought together, and the demerit in the fact that it has been written by one who was obliged to snatch a few hours at a time to map out or write a chapter. The author realises the defects and asks the indulgence of the reader on the ground that it is the first attempt to discuss the economic and political future of Cuba under its new form of government.