20 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



CUBAN COMMERCIAL MATTERS 



ENGLISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 



It is reported that the English mer- 

 chants of the city of Havana will open 

 a chamber of commerce in Havana, with 

 the object of giving every impulse pos- 

 sible to trade between Cuba and the 

 British empire. 



BRITISH HARDWARE 

 According to statistics published in 

 The Hardware Trade Journal of London, 

 hardware exports to Cuba during 1918 

 and the two preceding years, were as fol- 

 lows : 



Quantity. Value. 



1916 1917 1918 1916 1917 1918 



16,375 12,223 5,966 $237,592 $209,464 $143,912 



AMERICAN STEEL OFFICE FURNITURE 



Until recently, with the exception of 

 small files, and in that particular to a 

 very limited extent, all office furniture, 

 whether constructed locally or imported, 

 has been composed of wood, very little 

 impression having been made upon the 

 trade by steel furniture. Inquiry now 

 elicits the fact that during the past six 

 months there has been a perceptable de- 

 velopment of both interest and inquiry 

 to the extent that during the past month 

 one local firm has sold steel furniture to 

 the value of $3,000, but is handicapped 

 by failure to secure sufficient desks to 

 meet the demand. 



The equipping of this office with up-to- 

 date steel furniture during the past year 

 has been the means of bringing to the 

 attention of merchants and others who 

 have had occasion to visit the consulate, 

 the desirability of durable furniture em- 

 bodying modern conveniences heretofore 

 practically unknown. No opportunity 

 has been neglected to demonstrate the 

 convenience and utility of a modern office 

 equipped with steel furniture. 



There is a determining factor, aside 

 from the increase in the price of native 

 furniture woods, in connection with the 

 duration of furniture manufactured in 

 the United States, which is now having 

 great weight in the desirability of steel 



as the component material. All northern 

 woods, even many in Cuba, are suscepti- 

 ble to insects in a very short time. 



Another noticeable factor in the mak- 

 ing for efficiency is the absence, in the 

 locally made office equipment, of many 

 devices, simple in themselves, but of 

 great convenience as well as of economy 

 in time and labor, especial features of the 

 modern steel equipment. 



With respect to comparative price, 

 steel furniture is more costly, but will 

 prove more durable. If, however, the 

 native woods continue in their upward 

 tendency of price, a normalization of 

 metal prices will eventually have a ten- 

 dency to equalize prices. 



The prospects seem bright for a very 

 large business in equipping offices with 

 modern steel furniture in this section of 

 Cuba. — Consul Charles S. Winans, Cien- 

 fucgos. 



CUBAN PYRITES 



In the near future it is expected that 

 supplies of Cuban pyrites will begin to 

 move steadily into the United States. 

 According to recent advices mines have 

 been opened up by prominent sulphuric 

 acid interests who have been producing 

 acid from Southern sulphur since the 

 cessation of Spanish pyrites shipments. 



It is now intimated in the press that, 

 with the output from Cuba assured, acid 

 production in quantity is certain, and the 

 valuable by-products are expected to 

 completely offset the cost of the Cuban 

 material. 



FOREIGN RICE 



The following table shows the exports 

 of foreign rice from the United States to 

 Cuba during the calendar year 1918, as 

 compiled by the Division of Statistics of 

 the Bueau of Foreign and Domestic Com- 

 merce : 



Uncleaned. Cleaned. Rice, flour, 



meal, etc. 

 Pounds. Value. Pounds. Value. 

 3,326,230 $244,276 78,495,029 $5,499,870 None 



