THE CUBA REVIEW 



21 



CUBAN COMMERCIAL MATTERS 



PORT OF BOSTON 



The following tabulation shows the 

 value of Cuba's Imports and exports 



through llic port of Boston for the month 



of April and 12 i iths ending April :;<>, 



1919, as compared with corresponding 

 periods of 1918: 



Year Ending April 30, 191M 



Imports— April 1919. . .$2,904,536 $23,605,405 



Exports— April l!)l!t... $()L's,7l2() +]L , ,!iii!t,soo 



Year Ending April 30, 1918 



Imports— April 1918. . .$2,404,037 $13,977,407 

 Exports— April 1918. . .$1,165,625 $7,105,645 



jeel the French Governmenl may have In 

 view in regard to this matter, it will be 

 del rimental to the Interests of the cigar 

 manufacturers in < !uba." 



CIGAR TAX 



Great anxiety lias been caused in the 

 Havana tobacco industry through the 

 news, cabled recently from Paris, that the 

 imposition of luxury taxes by various 

 war-ridden European nations will curtail 

 exports of fine tobacco leaf and Havana 

 cigars to the extent of millions of dol- 

 lars. 



During the war, with the German mar- 

 ket cut off, Havana tobacco from the best 

 Vuelta Abajo districts, fabricated into 

 the popular brands which have won world 

 renown, was fairly plentiful, despite the 

 unfavorable weather of the last two sea- 

 sons. This year, with a liner crop than 

 for a long time, the entire Cuban tobacco 

 industry has been experiencing a series 

 of misfortunes of which the luxury tax 

 policy of Europe comes as the climax. 



E. S. Houston, manager of the Henry 

 Clay y Bock Gompafiia, Havana, is quoted 

 as follows in a recent edition of Hcraldo 

 ili- Cuba: 



"Such a drastic taxation measure as 

 has been introduced in France will in all 

 probability decrease the sales in France 

 lo about a fourth of their recent volume. 

 In default of more definite news about 

 the matter. I venture to say that it is 

 likely that the French Government pro- 

 poses by this measure either to increase 

 its fiscal ingress, or to reduce the con- 

 sumption of the leaf throughout the coun- 

 try, considering tobacco as an article of 

 luxury. At any rate, whatever the ob- 



MARK.ET FOR HORSESHOES 

 The latest available statistics give the 

 number of horses in Cuba at 560,000 and 

 the number of mules at about 60,000. The 

 relatively small number of these two 

 • lasses of live stock on this island is due 

 in part to the large number of cat t hi used 

 for draft purposes, especially on the sugar 

 plantations, and the absence of general 

 agriculture on an extensive scale, together 

 with climatic conditions not especially 

 favorable to the raising of heavy draft 

 horses. The adoption of automobiles, mo- 

 tor trucks, and tractors is also having its 

 effect in reducing the use of horses and 

 mules for driving and for draft purposes. 

 In a trip into the country one is likely 

 to see scores of small horses used in part 

 for riding purposes, and not observe, per- 

 haps, a single heavy team of horses such 

 as would be seen on a well-conducted 

 .Middle West farm. 



Under these conditions it necessarily 

 follows that the horseshoe required is con- 

 siderably lighter in weight than that of 

 the typical American. The consulate is 

 informed that in the rural districts, in- 

 cluding the sugar plantations, British- 

 made shoes are chiefly in use. This shoe 

 is lighter in weight and is said to cost 

 about half as much as the American shoe. 

 It is said that for some time past there 

 have been delays in the shipment of Brit- 

 ish shoes. 



American shoes are imported in consid- 

 erable quantities and are said to be in 

 use for Cuban cavalry horses and for the 

 heavier draft horses and mules in and 

 around Havana. Such shoes as are used 

 on cattle are said to be made chiefly by 

 native blacksmiths and are crude and in- 

 expensive. Prices of imported shoes un- 

 der existing conditions are not fixed, and 

 it woidd be difficult to obtain any figures 

 likely t<> he of much value. — Consul Oen- 

 i nil H. W. Harris, Havana. 



