The Decline of American Trade
From the opening of the large export trade until recently, Americans were supreme. But the failure of the great house of Russell & Sturgis made a change. Other traders rose upon their ruins, and of late years England has gained the bulk of the trade. The downfall of the Americans was completed after the outbreak of the Cuban troubles in 1895. The Spanish hatred of the Yankee was reflected in these far-off islands, and, by petty annoyances that soon became intolerable, the last American firms were crowded out.