18 



THE CUBA REVI E W 



Some Valuable Cuban Stamps. 



Increasing interest is taken by American 

 collectors in the stamp issues of Cuba and 

 it has had a decided influence on the stamp 

 values, says the Pittsburg, Pa., Post. Many 

 new prices of the surcharged Cuban stamps 

 will be placed in the 1909 catalogue for the 

 first time. 



Among these are the stamps of Puerto 

 Principe. Chief of these rarities is the 

 orange brown stamp surcharged "three 

 cents" on a Cuban stamp of the denomination 

 of three milesimas. This stamp has beeen 

 erroneously quoted by the foreign catalogues 

 at from $15 to $30, although a specimen sold 

 for $87 last winter in New York city and 

 it is now catalogued at $100. 



_ The new quotation on the used three mile- 

 simas orange brown stamp of the same issue 

 with the "three cents" surcharge, but with 

 the letters on the surcharge upside down, is 

 $75. The five-cent surchase on the unused 

 one milesima orange brown stamp is now 

 quoted at $75, and the used five-cent sur- 

 charge on the three milesimas orange brown 

 stamp is also placed at $75. 



Of the Puerto Principe blue green stamps 

 with the black surcharge very few were 

 quoted in the 1908 catalogue, but the 1909 

 issue will show many new prices. Among 

 these the used five-cent surcharge on the 

 two milesimas blue green stamp is quoted 

 at $65 and the five cent on four milesimas 

 blue green stamp at $100. The unused 

 three-cent surcharge on the one milesima 

 blue green stamp is quoted at $30; the three 

 cent on two milesimas blue green at $40 and 

 the same stamp showing the misspelled sur- 

 charge "cents" for "cents," at $60. 



One great attraction to the collector of the 

 surcharged Cuban stamp is their very recent 

 issue. Careful watch of correspondence 

 often enables a collector nowadays to pick 

 up a rare specimen of these makeshift stamps 

 for little or nothing. 



Motoring in Cuba. 



The center of the street is the automobil- 

 ist's ; other vehicles keep to the sides, where 

 when a crowd is out, as at carnival time, 

 the police hold them in lines moving in op- 

 posite directions. There are no rules or 

 regulations governing automobiles once they 

 are outside the city limits, excepting at 

 Camp Columbia, where army authorities 

 have fixed eight miles an hour as the speed 

 limit while passing through the reservation. 

 Cars should slow up on approaching ham- 

 lets and villages. This is a courtesy which 

 should be the more readily accorded because 

 it is not demanded but merely confidently 

 expected as a matter of course. 



As few accidents have occurred on coun- 

 try roads of Cuba, the automobilist is wel- 

 come everywhere. It is customary for per- 

 sons meeting on the road to salute each 



other. The surprising variety of smiles and 

 grave inclinations of head and body received 

 in recognition makes the effort well worth 

 while. 



A knowledge of Spanish is not necessary. 

 He should, however, learn to pronounce 

 properly the name of the place he means 

 to reach or have the name written on a card 

 in plain characters. Then, in case of doubt 

 as to his way there, he need but pronounce 

 the name or show the card to persons he 

 meets. The tourist will find everybody will- 

 ing to help him. The Cuban who directs 

 him may not speak a word of English, but 

 he will converse so eloquently in pantomime 

 that the traveler, even without any knowl- 

 edge of Spanish, will understand. 



It is quite impossible to get really lost in 

 the country; there is always the alternative 

 of turning back to Havana (or Matanzas or 

 Pinar del Rio), for in the provinces all good 

 roads leading in the general direction of the 

 capital city inevitably arrive there. Cuba is 

 properly policed, in the city and in the coun- 

 try; but even were provincial police in blue 

 and rural guards in khaki entirely absent 

 from the Government highways, which they 

 patrol in pairs, no traveler would be in any 

 wise molested. — From Bulletin of the Inter- 

 national Bureau of the American Republics. 



Havana Races. 



The track is located in a suburb of Havana 

 called Almandares, from which it takes its 

 name. There is a good trolley service to 

 the course, which is about three or four 

 miles from the city. The plant was erected 

 by the Cubans, and is a rather crude affair. 

 The track itself is a mile and a furlong and 

 100 yards in circumference. The paddock 

 and stalls are open affairs, but so as to give 

 the horses plenty of fresh air. 



While it is doubtful if the present meet- 

 ing will be a successful one financially, says 

 Racing Form, still it is almost a certainty 

 that in a few years racing will be a big 

 thing in Havana. 



Up to date the racing has been much bet- 

 ter than expected. There are a number of 

 good horses entered, and some fast time has 

 been made considering the construction of 

 the course. The Cuban Racing Association 

 has but little idea of how a race meeting 

 should be conducted and had to overcome 

 the many mistakes made last season. 



The Cubans are the greatest bettors in the 

 world. They are good losers, too, and it is 

 only a question of time before racing on 

 the island will be a national sport. In the 

 early days of the Jai-Alai in Havana this 

 game was run at a loss. The profits now are 

 enormous, the yearly dividends being some- 

 thing like 150 per cent. Baseball was a 

 losing venture here for the first few years, 

 yet a few weeks ago 21,000 persons wit- 

 nessed a game. 



