THE CUBA REVIEW 11 



HAVANA CORRESPONDENCE 



January 16th, 1919. 



CONGRESS: Since our last letter the Senate has approved the House bill re- 

 pealing the Obligatory Military Service law and it will now be sent to the President, 

 who is expected to sign it. The Senate has also passed a bill repealing what is 

 known as the "Subsistence Law" doing away with the Food Administration Board 

 and its rulings, and similar action is expected of the House of Representatives. How- 

 ever, it is rumored that the President will veto the bill on the grounds that the U. S. 

 War Trade Board, a similar organization, is still in operation. 



PEACE CONFERENCE OF THE ALLIES: Cuba has been allowed one delegate 

 and it is reported that he will probably be Dr. Antonio Sanchez de Bustamante, 

 one of the most noted and able lawyers in Cuba, and that he will leave here about the 

 end of the present month. 



BELGIAN MILITARY MISSION: Last month Havana was visited by this 

 commission which arrived via the United States to thank the Cuban Government for 

 the assistance rendered the Belgians on the part of the Cuban Red Cross and also 

 because the Cuban Government had declared July 21st, the anniversary of Belgian 

 independence, a national holiday. Members of this mission were the object of con- 

 siderable attention on the part of the government during their brief stay here. 



FOOTWEAR: Reference has previously been made to the establishing by the 

 Cuban Food Administrator of standard types of shoes, to be manufactured and placed 

 on sale for the purpose of supplying the demand for inexpensive grades of footwear, 

 contracts for which have been let to American factories. These shipments have been 

 coming forward in considerable quantities and the distribution of this footwear began 

 this month to retailers throughout the Republic. The latter, however, apparently are 

 not much interested in handling these goods as on account of the low fixed selling 

 price which has been published by the Food Administrator the margin of profit on 

 these shoes is of course smaller than dealers make on footwear imported directly 

 by themselves. 



WAR TRADE BOARD: The Havana office of the United States War Trade 

 Board was closed on Jan. 1st, as there was no longer any necessity for its being 

 conducted here. 



UNITED STATES BLACK LIST: The American Minister here announced 

 under date of Jan. 3rd the following addition to the American Black List: W. Arm- 

 brecht, Amistad 108. This is the only change in the List since our last advices on 

 the subject. 



HARBOR CONGESTION: During the recent strike of the bay workmen there 

 was naturally great delay in discharging vessels which were continually arriving, with 

 the result that when accumulated cargoes were discharged, it caused a great con- 

 gestion on all the wharves and warehouses around the bay. Import cargoes continue 

 to be heavy and there is not yet much improvement in the situation as regards the 

 clearing up of this congestion. With a view to relieving the congestion referred to 

 above, the Food Administrator has issued a decree to the effect that if imports are 

 not despatched and promptly taken away by consignees, he will arrange to have 

 the goods stored in a warehouse designated by his administration or if necessary left 

 in the public way without liability for any prejudice the consignee may thereby suffer. 



CUBA'S FOREIGN TRADE: As a matter of interest we publish the following 

 data taken from "Mercurio" of this city, showing the foreign trade between Cuba 

 and the United States during the past five years: 



