THE CUBA REVIEW. 



13 



MINOR NOTES. 



The construction of the 710-ft. concrete 

 bridge over the Almendares River, near 

 Havana, is progressing satisfactorily. The 

 work was started in December, 1908, and 

 one small and two large spans are now in 

 place, assuring completion during 1909. The 

 original contract price was $180,000, but 

 changes in the plans will make the cost 

 somewhat higher. 



President Gomez has requested the De- 

 partment of Public Works to make a spe- 

 cial study of providing all the towns in the 

 island, wherever lacking, with an adequate 

 water supply. These works, like all public 

 works, must be advertised and public bids 

 invited. 



The official act of opening the courts of 

 justice of the Republic for the judicial year 

 1909-1910, in accordance with the provisions 

 of the organic law of the judicial power, 

 took place September 1. President Gomez 

 presided. 



Offices of the American legation in Ha- 

 vana are now in new quarters in the Lonja 

 del Comercio building. The Spanish lega- 

 tion is also in the same building. 



The new Municipa^l Emergency Hospital 

 in Havana was formally opened September 

 3. It is housed in a modern two-story steel 

 and stone building and is one of the best 

 in the city. 



Resulting from personalities in "El Co- 

 mercio," its editor, Wilfredo Fernandez, 

 and Maj.-Gen. Enrique Loyanz del Castillo, 

 a former Congressman, fought a duel in a 

 private house in Havana on September 21, 

 with cavalry sabres, the latter being slightly 

 wounded. 



General Gerado Alachado and Commander 

 Morales Coello were appointed by Presi- 

 dent Gomez to represent the Cuban Gov- 

 ernment in the Hudson-Fulton celebration. 



Arturo Betancourt, who killed his 

 brother, Roberta A. Betancourt, general 

 manager of the Camaguey Electric Railway 

 Co., on June 26, and who was subsequently 

 declared insane by examining physicians, 

 was removed on September 17 to the insane 

 asylum at Mazorra. 



The law governing executions in Cuba 

 provides that the executioner shall be a 

 convict who, when he takes his office, is 

 transferred from the penitentiary, where he 

 does hard work, to the carcel in Havana, 

 where he leads an easy life. He receives a 

 considerable commutation of his sentence 

 for good behavior and for every execution 

 the sum of $17 Spanish gold. 



A comparative table of births and 

 deaths in Cuba for the first six months 

 of 1908 and 1909 show the death rate per 

 thousand in Cuba to be in 1908 I4-I7. 

 and for 1909 12.76. "Sanitary laws are 

 enforced with scrupulous care," says Dr. 

 Martias Duque, secretary of Public 

 Health and Charities, "and methods are 

 being constantly improved, which ac- 

 counts for the almost complete extinction 

 of malaria and yellow fever, and the de- 

 crease in general mortality." 



Fifty-eight laundry workers, mostly 

 women, arrested in connection with the 

 women ironers' strike last May, face four 

 months imprisonment if convicted of the 

 charge against them of "conspiracy to 

 alter prices." 



The trial of the former editor of La 

 Defensa, on charges of criminal libel, 

 made by the Raja Yoga school in San- 

 tiago de Cuba, began September 8. The 

 p^torneys for the school entered their 

 specifications, charging twelve counts 

 .ipon which libel and calumny are alleged 

 and ask that an aggregate sentence of 

 thirty-six years be imposed. 



The insane asylum at Mazorra has 

 been modified radically with respect to 

 the service of the school for nurses. 

 An expert American lady has been 

 placed in charge and with two others 

 from London will thoroughly instruct 

 the Cuban nurses in the work of caring 

 for their insane charges. The hospital 

 buildings will also be greatly improved 

 and long needed appliances and equip- 

 ment installed. 



The Riverside (Cal.) Y. M. C. A. has 

 introduced in its work a course of popu- 

 lar lectures for citrus fruit growers by 

 leaders in the industry. These have giv- 

 en very helpful discourses from the prep- 

 aration of soil through to the harvest. 

 The sessions, held every two weeks, are 

 attended by up-to-date growers and are 

 becoming a veritable citrus institute, with 

 short addresses and general discussion. 

 Very helpful to all interested. 



A national asylum for the poor of 

 Cuba, with accommodations for 200, will 

 soon be inaugurated. 



A new Cuban consul, Senor Julio R. Em- 

 bil, formerly of Havana, Cuba, has been 

 appointed honorary Cuban consul in Jack- 

 sonville. 



Charles E. Magoon, former Governor 

 of Cuba, arrived in Paris September 16. 



