THE CUBA REVIEW 27 



THE SOLUTION OF THE DISTRIBUTION AND 

 TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS 



AS RELATING TO THE 1917-1918 WEST INDIES SUGAR CROP 



Now that sufficient steam tonnage has been allocated for the transportation of the 

 balance of the West Indies 1917-18 sugar crop, a retrospective survey of the develop- 

 ing process which has paved the way for the successful conclusion of this campaign, 

 beset as it has been with the trying conditions created by the world war, may be of 

 special interest to the readers of this magazine. "The Cuba Review" takes pleasure, 

 therefore, in publishing the following article regarding the modus operandi of the 

 various committees organized for the benefit of all concerned in handling the great 

 problems which, a year ago, confronted all parties interested in the sugar crops of 

 the West Indies. 



At the beginning of the crop the scarcity of tonnage available in the West Indies 

 trade was so pronounced as to cause, in addition to much anxiety among most planters 

 and shippers lest their production should not be moved, a commensurately serious 

 concern here among the American public lest, for the want of adequate transporta- 

 tion, what otherwise promised to be a most propitious season might prove without 

 avail. Eventually the situation became so serious as a continually increasing number 

 of Centrals began to grind, and the interests involved were of such recognized mag- 

 nitude, not only of themselves, but also in their necessarily important relation with 

 the national interest in the emergencies of the war, that it commanded the attention 

 of the respective governing bodies of f he countries of the grower and of the consumer. 



This resulted in the organization by the Cuban Government of the Cuban Pro- 

 ducers Committee, which had for its object the protection of the interests of the ship- 

 per and planter, in so far as the transportation problem was concerned, and also to 

 take care of other details, relating to the welfare of the producer. A similar com- 

 mittee, known as the Porto Rico Producers' Committee, likewise was appointed to 

 handle corresponding matters in connection with shipments from Porto Rico; and a 

 committee was organized in the United States, known as the Joint Committee on 

 West Indies Transportation of the United States Shipping Board and the United 

 States Food Administration, whose duty it was to protect the interests of the United 

 States Government in the vital matter of the economical and efficient operation of all 

 steamers allocated through the United States Shipping Board for the transportation 

 of West Indies sugars. For the sake of uniformity in handling this situation and for 

 the proper functioning of these three committees it was established as a prerequisite 

 that all requirements for sugar space from any producer in Cuba should be presented 

 through the Cuban Producers' Committee, and similarly with reference to require- 

 ments ex Port Rico; while on the other hand, all miscellaneous tonnage available, 

 in addition to that received from the United States Shipping Board, should be pre- 

 sented to the Joint Committee on West Indies Transportation and by them allocated 

 for assignment to such loading ports as in their judgment seemed proper, along with 

 the tonnage placed at their disposal by the Shipping Board. 



The basic principles of steamship operation which were to govern the many 

 ramifications of the transportation problem were promptly formulated and agreed 

 upon by the committee involved which, in the course of its deliberation, always kept 

 prominently in mind the prime object of transporting the entire West Indies sugar 

 crop destined for the United States with the employment of a minimum number of 

 steamers. It was, therefore, imperative for the Joint Committee to speed up loading 



