THE CUBA REVIEW 



33 



Central Tacajo. 



GUADELOUPE 



In the opinion of experienced planters the 

 sugar crop for 1918 will probably fall short of 

 the average production of 40,000 tons. This 

 is due to the dry weather of December and 

 January, which took a great deal of moisture 

 and saccharine matter from the canes. The 

 deterioration was augmented by the failure of 

 the centrals to commence operations as usual 

 on January 1. There haa been some unrest 

 among the laborers, who aemandert higher 

 wages, and none of the mills would start work 

 \mt 1 the matter had been settled. 



At a meeting held on January 21 the repre- 

 sentatives of all interested classes agreed that 

 the wages and prices to be paid during the 

 harvesting and grinding of the present crop 

 shovdd be as follows: Wages on plantations 

 — irregular day laborers, $0.56 per day, an 

 increase of $0,085; laborers working 10 full 

 days per fortnight, $0.63 per day, an in- 

 crease of $0,085; wages in centrals, an increase 

 of $0,085 per day. The price of cane was 

 fixed at $7.14 per metric ton (2,204 pounds), 

 an increase of $1.01 over 1917. This price is 



based on the net value of the sugar and 

 molasses contained in a ton of cane, ana as 

 the Government may decide to pay more 

 than 100 francs per hectoliter of rum made 

 from molasses ($0.73 per gallon at normal ex- 

 change), it has been agreed that the profits 

 resulting from such increase shall be equally 

 divided between the planters and the cen- 

 trals. 



The entire production of sugar has been re- 

 quisitioned by the Government at the price 

 which was paid last year, viz., 77 francs per 

 100 kilos ($6.74 per 100 pounds). Some 15,000 

 tons will be kept on the island to provide for 

 the local consumption until the commence- 

 ment of the 1919 crop, and the remainder will 

 be sent to France. The retail price for sugar 

 has been fixed at 1 franc per kilo ($0,088 per 

 pound). 



During 1916 and 1917 the great demand in 

 France caused an increased production of 

 rum in this colony. The demand for this 

 product being much less than heretofore, it 

 is understood that the Government will now 

 take measures to discourage the distiUation 

 of rum from pure cane juice. 



