THE CUBA REVIEW 



HAVANA CORRESPONDENCE 



Havana, May 4, 1918. 



A\'e (lij not recall any imi)i)rtant l)ills having been introduced or passed by the Cuban Con- 

 gress since our hist letter. The obligatory military service bill is still the i)rinci])al one under 

 discussion. It is reported that the I'resident threatens in case Congress does not pass this 

 measure within a short time, that he will issue a decree establishing such a law, but it is ex- 

 plained this should not be coastrued to mean that Cuban troops would be sent to Europe, but 

 it was necessary that Cuba should recruit her army to its proper quota. Another important 

 bill now pending in Congress is the food control law on which they have been working for some 

 time past, but without reaching a satisfactory agreement as to the final form in which the bill 

 will be gotten up. 



The Department of Agriculture, Commerce and Labor has recently made i)ublic some very 

 interesting statistics regarding Cuba's import and export movements, as well as other items of 

 interest, some of which are as follows: Cuba's total foreign commerce for the calendar year of 

 1917 amounted to $638,051,759 divided as follows: exports 3()t>,77l,9-i5 iinports, 271,279,814, 

 leaving a balance of trade in favor of Cuba of 95,492,131. Figuring this on a per ca])ita basis, 

 it gives foreign exports $125, foreign imports, .$100, and balance of trade $35, per head. This 

 report also calls attention to the fact that the value of the I91t>-17 sugar crop was $316,800,000, 

 that the tobacco crop was valued at $30,000,000; citrus fruits, pineapples, vegetables, cocoa 

 and honey totalled $4,000,000; hardwood, woods and dye woods amounted to $1,000,000; cattle 

 hides, etc., was $3,000,000; ore, such as iron, copper and manganese, and asphalt, were valued 

 at $12,000,000. It is further stated that Cuban exports and imports have been increased 

 100'^ in the last three years, that now all but 15' ^ of Cuba's exports go to the United States 

 and thait 90' c of her imports come from the United States, the Republic's foreign commerce 

 having increased 500% since its inauguration in 1902. The population is given as 2,700,000, 

 the yearly increase being about 90,000, 70 /o of the inhabitants being white and the balance 

 colored. Attention is again called to the claim that Cuba is the healthiest country in the 

 world, as per the following figures, giving the number of deaths per thousand : 



Cuba 12.54 



Australia 12.60 



Uruguay 13 . 40 



UnitedStates 15 .00 



England 17.70 



Germanj' 17 .80 



France. 20.60 



Spain 29.70 



In conclusion, it is stated that Cuba has but 60 persons to the square mile, while the 

 Bermuda Island have 1,000; Belgivmi, 600; Java, 595; Rhode Island, 500; Holla,nd, 454; 

 England, 425; Porto Rico, .330; Ja!pan,3l7; German Empire, 316; and Italy,310; and thatwith 

 all her natural resources this Island can easily sustain more inhabitants per square mile than 

 an}' of the above-mentioned countries. 



It is reported that an effort will be made by the sugar planters to secure an official price of 

 5c a pound for the next crop of sugar, which represents an increase of about J^oc over the 

 official fixed price for the present crop, the ground for requesting this increase being based on 

 the fact that the cost of producing sugar has considerably increased since the former price was 

 fixed by the International Sugar Committee. 



As regards the food situation, while the allotments specified by the War Trade Board are 

 coming forward as arranged for wath the Food Committee here, there has been a good deal of 

 well-founded complaint of the manner in which the distribution of th'^se foodstuffs are handled 

 here. As a result the National Defense Council has ruled that all dealers in foodstuffs must 

 make a report of stocks on hand and continue to do so. Also it has been ordered that all 

 flour, which is the article regarding which most difficulty is had, shall come consigned to the 

 food commissioner here, who will then arrange for its distribution. The principal complaint 

 here regarding overcharge in prices or profiteering has been directed against the retail grocers, 

 etc., but they in turn have complained that while the Government had fixed official prices on 

 many foodstuffs at which the wholesalers were to sell to them, and official figures at which they 

 in turn were to retail them to the public, yet it was impossible for them to maintain the latter 



