“Such permits shall first be approved by the general in command of the forces of the United States in Cuba.
“Vessels entitled under this paragraph to engage in the coasting trade of Cuba shall carry a distinctive signal, which shall be a blue flag and the union of the flag shall be a white field.
“The form and manner of the issue of permits provided for in this paragraph shall be prescribed by the Secretary of War.”
The following table of distances is given for reference:
| Key West to Havana | 93 | miles |
| “ “ “ nearest point on Cuban coast | 86 | “ |
| New York to Havana | 1413 | “ |
| New Orleans to Havana | 475 | “ |
| Cape San Antonio to Cape Catoche, Yucatan | 125 | “ |
| Santiago to Kingston, Jamaica | 200 | “ |
| Santiago to Greytown (entrance Nicaragua Canal) | 700 | “ |
CHAPTER XXVII
EDUCATION AND RELIGION
WHATEVER the Cuban people may have thought of Spain and her methods, it is plain that in one regard, at least, the child deemed its mother a pattern of excellence and followed her example far beyond the pattern,—and that regard was education. Spain has always been at the head of the ignorant list among European countries, but Cuba is far worse, for she has the sloth of climate against her, in addition to other handicaps, and the people are slow to avail themselves of even such opportunities as they have. Indeed, the opportunities seem not to be lacking for a great many, for there are laws for general education, even compulsory education, and there are schools and colleges; but neither those for whose benefit the laws were made nor those to whom their execution is entrusted care to work any harder than is necessary, and the result is that the proportion of scholars to population, including all kinds of schools, is as 1 to 40. The rates in the United States are 1 to 4.39, except in the South, where they are 1 to 8. Nowhere in rural Cuba does the country schoolhouse prevail as we know it and feel its influence all over the United States, and possibly, quite surely indeed, it will never exist there as it does with us; but a great deal of improvement can be made, and to the 300,000 children of school age in Cuba who do not yet know their a, b, c’s, may be given an opportunity to get, at least, a little sip at the fountain of learning. Although the country schoolhouse was entirely absent, in the city there was a pretence of having so-called “common schools,” but their teachers were usually selected by politicians, and the pay was so small and precarious that even the political “scum” did not become school-teachers until every other chance was gone. What these teachers were like may be guessed at nearly. On the subject of common-school education, Mr. Charles M. Pepper, in a newspaper letter from Cuba, says:
“It is tolerably clear that military control will not be able to do much for Cuba in the way of education. The most that can be done will be to encourage the reopening of municipal schools and to sustain the local authorities in rigorously enforcing the laws against truancy. The reconcentration has left large numbers of children on the streets. After a time, when homes are found for them, it will be important that they shall go to school. Before that the various towns will have to get the schools opened and provide means for keeping them open. That will come when the municipal revenues again appear, and these revenues will be slow in making their appearance. As for the teachers, there is little prospect for those from the United States. It is a common delusion that the need of Cuba is a school system of which the basis is the English language. One tongue is all that the mass of the children can use during their primary schooling, and that is the tongue which is heard all around them. Reading, writing, and arithmetic can be taught in Castilian as well as in English. The first two are taught the easier because in Spanish every syllable is pronounced as written.
“A large number of young Cubans who have been educated in the United States are now wondering what they will do to earn a living. Most of them are thinking of getting office. The best office that they could seek would be that of schoolmaster. If any educational system can be provided under which they will find employment, their energies and their knowledge will not go amiss. Most of them are full of sentimental patriotism. They want to help raise their people above the plane to which Spanish rule had degraded the mass of the inhabitants. The schoolroom is the place in which to do it, and it is the only place. These educated young Cubans will be better employed in teaching than in talking politics or in fretting about the independence of the Island.