THE CU B A R i: V I i: W IT 



the island. There is n famous drive known as the Malecon, extending 8 or 10 miles 

 along the waterfronl .-it Havana, which is frequented bj tourists and resident society, 

 and tiic Departinenl of Public Works bas under consideration n plan for the 

 construct inn of n similar drive and a sea wall ai the beach suburb of Marianao. 

 There arc also excellent r<>a«ls leading from the city and suburbs t" the more distant 

 sections of the Province, in January of this year the Cuban Congress approved a 

 project granting a credit of $1,500,000 for the construction and repair of roads in 

 Havana Province. The work is to ho done within six years, the appropriations to 

 be delivered gradually. 



An appropriation of $170,000 was made bj Congress in L918 for road work in 



Pinar del Rio, the westernmost Province of Cuba. A good road <• -is the city of 



Pinar del Rio with the city Havana, 110 miles distant, and another popular highway 

 is from Pinar del Rio to the resort city of Vinales, 13 miles north, where there are 



mineral baths. This Province is one of the si picturesque in the island, with it- 



mountain chains, brilliantly colored soil, and numerous streams. It produces the 

 finest of the Cuban tobacco and enjoys fairly g 1 transportation facilities. 



East of Havana is the Province of Matanzas, which ha- good roads along the 

 coast to the city of Cardenas, 98 miles from Havana city. The porl of Matanzas 

 is the nearest to the United States, being nearly due south of Key Wot. and is the 

 chief port for the exportation of sugar. While nearly all of the automobiles re- 

 ceived in Cuba come through the port of Havana, in 1917 .Matanzas imported nine 

 motor ears direct from the United States and five others came through the port of 

 Cardenas. Matanzas Province, in addition to the production of sugar, raises henequen 

 fiber and manufactures it into cordage. 



In Santa Clara, the Province east of Matanzas, the topography is varied, the- 

 mountains being interspersed with stretches of plain which afford outlet to the 

 coast for the enormous production of sugar and the different varieties of tropical 

 fruits. A considerable part of the sugar of this Province is exported through Cien- 

 fuegos, the largest port on the southern coast. Roads leading to Cienfuegos from 

 several towns 20 miles distant were constructed in 1917, thus opening to transport 

 service a large farming area. Recent paving of the streets of Cienfuegos and railway 

 construction work in that vicinity have increased the local demand for motor cars 

 and trucks. 



PROVINCE OF CAMAGUEY HAS FEW GOOD ROADS. 



The Province of Camaguey, which adjoins Santa Clara on the east, has few good 

 roads, even in the towns. However, work was begun in 1918 on the improvement of a 

 central highway from the city of Camaguey to Santiago de Cuba, the chief port 

 in the easternmost Province of Oriente. American cars are popular in Camaguey, 

 and the people in that rich farming section are prosperous enough to buy them, hut 

 the poor roads do not permit much motoring, hence the purchases have been com- 

 paratively few. In the larger cities motor trucks are employed to some extent, and 

 in Nuevitas taxis and busses are used to save climbing up the steep hills. This port 

 has the distinction of having received in 1917 the largest number of automobiles, 

 outside of those entering Havana Harbor. Plans have been discussed for the con- 

 struction of a road from Camaguey city to Nuevitas, since this is the principal port 

 of the Province and seems destined to become of considerable importance. The pro- 

 posed road would practically parallel the Cuba Railway, and would offer additional 

 facilities to a number of sugar mills. There is also a project to connect the city of 

 Camaguey with the north coast of La Gloria, crossing the Cubitas Mountains. The 

 large American colony at La Gloria did some volunteer work on this road, and it is 

 now passable for automobiles except during the rainy season. The road is about 30 

 miles long, and if entirely macadamized it would prove an attractive route for 

 pleasure cars, as well as a valuable transport line for motor trucks. At present the 

 one good road outside of Camaguey city runs east from that capital for about 10 



