ome little bit of ground they call their own or rent from its owner,
or they are employed by the proprietors of the larger estates. Such
proprietorship is, of course, open to only a few. The problem, which is
both social and political, appears in a class that cannot or will not
engage in manual labor, the well-educated or fairly-educated sons of men
of fair income and a social position. Many of these take some professional
course. But there is not room for so many in so small a country, and the
professions are greatly overcrowded. The surplus either loafs and lives by
its wits or at the expense of the family, or turns to the Government for
a "job." It constitutes a considerable element on which the aspiring
professional politician can draw for support. Having such "jobs," it
constitutes a heavy burden on the tax-payers; deprived of its places on the
Government pay-roll, it becomes a social and political menace. If a Liberal
administration throws them out of their comfortable posts, they become
noisy and perhaps violent Conservatives; if discharged by an economical
Conservative administration, they become no less noisy and no less
potentially violent Liberals. But we may not criticize. The American
control that followed the insurrection of 1906 set no example in
administrative economy for the Cubans to follow.

The productive industries of the island have already been reviewed in other
chapters. The development of Cuba's commerce since the withdrawal of Spain,
and the substitution of a modern fiscal policy for an antiquated and
indefensible system, has been notable. It is, however, a mistake to
contrast the present condition with the condition existing at the time
of the American occupation, in 1899. The exact accuracy of the record is
questionable, but the returns for the year 1894, the year preceding the
revolution, show the total imports of the island as $77,000,000, and the
total exports as $99,000,000. The probability is that a proper valuation
would show a considerable advance in the value of the imports. The
statement of export values may be accepted. It may be assumed that had
there been no disorder, the trade of the island, by natural growth, would
have reached $90,000,000 for imports and $120,000,000, for exports, in
1900. That may be regarded as a fair normal. As it was, the imports of that
year were $72,000,000, and the exports, by reason of the general wreck of
the sugar business, were only $45,000,000. With p