American inquiry was thrown upon it from the beginning of the war
for Cuban liberty early in 1895. Although our next-door neighbor
to the south, with a perfect winter climate and a host of
interesting and picturesque attractions for travelers, tourists
had been comparatively few, measured by the numbers that might
have been expected. All of the reasons for this were those which
naturally followed the characteristic Spanish rule of the island.
Publicity was not welcomed, inquiry was not welcomed, travelers
were not welcomed. The cities and the accommodations they offered
were in many ways far behind those of like age and size in the
other countries of the globe. Railway construction and the making
of highways had lagged disgracefully, because the exorbitant taxes
collected were looted by the officers of the government as their
own spoils. No other country so near to the highways of ocean
commerce and so accessible from the United States was so little
known.

A few travelers had journeyed to Cuba and had written books
descriptive of their experiences, which were read with interest by
those who had access to them. But these books were usually simply
descriptive of the people, the manner of life, the scenery, and
the things of surface interest. It is proverbial that Spanish rule
conceals the resources of a country instead of exploiting them.
The person of inquiring mind had no way in Cuba to obtain prompt
information concerning the material facts of the island's wealth
of resource, because the Spanish authorities themselves knew
nothing about it. Spanish statistics are notoriously unreliable
and incomplete. No census of Cuba worthy the name ever has been
taken, and there are few schools and few sources of accurate
information. With all this handicap it was a foregone conclusion