Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/748

CUBA. 644 CUBA. side of that derived from its purely banking rise of wages to the detriment of the planters operations. who could not expect a corresponding rise in I'lXANCE. The history of the currency of prices of their products in the foreign markets, Cuba does not differ much from the lamentable the Spanish silver money was also declared legal record made by nearly all of the Spanish-Ameri- tender. The old inconveniences of a fluctuating can countries as well as Spain. It is the story currency were done away with by giving the of desperate, but in the end of vain, attempts to coins a fixed rate in exchange for gold as follows : make the fiat of Government pass for eommodi- peso, 60 cents; medio jjeso, 30; peseta, 12: real, ties of intrinsic worth in the monetaiy trans- G ; medio real, 3 cents. A fixed value was also actions of the people. For a time, such attemjits given to the bronze and copper coins, which were succeeded, but in the end the Government was 'made legal tender for sums not exceeding one compelled to refuse its own worthless currency, dollar. As the legal value given the silver coins Tills is particularly true of the paper currency by the Presidenti.-il order is somewhat below the of the Spanish Government, which was worth at value at which it is accepted in Spain, it be- the time of American occupation but seven cents comes profitable to ship that coin to the latter on the dollar. Even before that event, when the country. Tlie ultimate result of this operation Spanish Government accepted 10 per cent, of will be the gradual disappearance of Spani.sh customs dues in that currency, the price rose silver from the island without sudden distressing only to 15 cents, varying between that value and effects upon its industry and commerce. 12 cents. The last issue of Spanish paper cur- During the last thirty years of Spanish reney took place during the late war, when $20,- sovereignty in Cuba the budget of the island 000,000 of paper money was put in circulation remained "almost stationary, at from 26,000,000 through the Spanish Bank of the Island of to 30,000.000 pesos. Although the entire rcve- Cuba upon the security of .$6,330,000 (silver) nue was derived from the people of the island, deposited with the bank. In spite of having been only about 15 per cent, of the expenditures was made legal tender, the paper went at a discount incurred for local needs, while about 85 per cent, from the start, and as soon as the Government went to defray 'sovereigntj' expenses,' that is, had shown by its illegal withdrawal of the silver the expenses of the general government. The fund from the bank that it did not mean to de- following tables serve to illustrate the budgets part from its old-time methods, the paper was under the Spanish and American regimes: repudiated throughout the island, until, as stated „ , ,„„„ above, the action^of the Government in accepting ^verase Annital Bcdgej^ roR^ ™e Period July, 1890. tlie paper in payment of 10 per cent, of customs dues raised it "from 12 to 15 per cent, of its customs '. $11,699,270 (TJ. S. Standard) par value. Internal Revenue B,asa,'205 The standard of money in Spani.sh Cuba was Lotteries Hl^'ifS Spanish gold, the centen or alfonsino-a 25-peseta Other Sources " ^'"^^-^^ piece — being the principal coin. In addition to Total $22,459,725 that there was a large amount of silver currency. expenditure The principal silver coins in circulation were; GoTernment ^'S'f?? ,, ' K , ,, , J. ,, If 1 11 Justice and Instruction 902,449 the peso (dollar), medio peso (nall-doUar) , rinance 664,911 peseta (quarter-dollar), real (bit), medio real Public Works 880,685 (half-dime). Since silver was not exchangeable Total Civil Administration . . S6,082,484 for gold at its face value, it tended, as is always . , ., « monoi ,, -^ , „ , V i J • ii ij Armv and Navy 6.493,281 the case (see Gresham's Law), to drive the gold service of the Debt 10,334,421 out of circulation. To eoimteract that tendency the Government by a royal decree artificially j,'^"*^' ^""'450461 inflated the value of the gold centen to .$5.30, the real value being only about $4.80. In 1893 Hevenue and Expenditures^of^Cuba for thb Fiscal the French louis, a 20-franc piece (real value eevencb $3.86) was similarly and for the same reason customs $15,945,666.42 inflated to $4.24. Postal 367.950.28 On takiiig over rte island the Government of i5Steous:;zzz;z::;;r::z::vz:::.: ^fife the Lnited States found itself m a predicament. The only rational course lay in reducing the coin Total $17,154,889.68 to its face value and putting an end to all in- expenditure flation and artificial substitutes for currency of |*t^cr.*':°^..™!!*.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.'.V.V.r.V.V.V.V.V; "laelS intrinsic worth. On the other hand, the people public iiistruction!!'!"."'"^.""^""'.'"""^ 734!.335!78 had become accustomed to existing conditions; Finance 2.363,863.61 prices had adjusted themselves to the level of ^^^^^:'^:Z:^^^^^^^Z:Z:::: iMl^H the inflated currene.y and all contracts had been Municipalities 8.226J48..S9 concluded on that basis. Nevertheless, by order Military Department 1,732.885.04 of the President of the United States, which took Total $17 644 494 81 eft'ect .Tanuary 1, 1890, the United States gold dollar was declared the standard in which "all The chief sources of revenue under Spanish customs, taxes, public and postal dues in the rule were (1) taxes and excise duties, yielding island of Cuba shall be paid," and "foreign gold less than one-fourth of tthe total; (2) import coins such as the Spanish alfonsinos (centen) and and export duties, which furnished about 55 the French louis" arc accepted at their real per cent, of the entire revenue ; ( 3 ) stamp taxes, value, i.e. at $4.82 and $3.86 respectively. At 6 per cent, of the revenue; (4) lotteries, over 7 the same time, since retail prices and wages have per cent.; (5) State property — rent and sale of been usually fixed on the island on the basis public lands and rent from, docks — producing of silver money, and in order to prevent a sudden about 1% per cent, of the total revenue; (6)