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CUBA RLVILW 



"ALL ABOUT CUBA" 



Copyright, 1917, by the Munson Steamship Line 



Volume XV 



MAY, 1917 



Number 6 



CUBAN GOVERNMENT MATTERS 



FOOD COMMISSION 



In view of the high cost of food in Guba, 

 President Menocal has appointed a commis- 

 sion consisting of the Secretary of Agricul- 

 ture, the Secretary of Justice, the Mayor of 

 Havana, a representative of the Camara de 

 Comercio and the Secretary of the Sociedad 

 Economica de Amigos del Pais. 



It is the purpose of this commission to 

 carrj' on a campaign of education whereby 

 Cuban agriculturists will pay more attention 

 to the cultivation of crops other than sugar 

 and tobacco. It is well known that the soil 

 of Cuba is suited to the cultivation of ar- 

 ticles necessary for food, but it has been the 

 custom of the Cuban farmer to devote his 

 attention almost exclusively to the cultiva- 

 tion of sugar cane and tobacco, consequently, 

 Cuba imports vast quantities of foodstuffs 

 which might be raised in Cuba. The second 

 object of the commission is to effect prompt 

 and practical relief to the poor Cubans by 

 means of an appropriation of $200,000 which 

 is to be used for the purchase of the neces- 

 sary articles, the purchases to be made 

 through Cuban foreign representatives and 

 Consuls. It is proposed that articles pur- 

 chased be brought to Havana and from there 

 distributed throughout the island as may be 

 needed and sold to the consumer at the prices 

 fixed by the commission. This scheme, if 

 successful, will be in effect a national co- 

 operative agency and will result in the 

 prompt distribution of foodstuffs at a low 

 cost to the ultimate consumer. 



ELECTIONS 



The final results of the elections'were an- 

 nounced on April 12, and it is shown that the 

 Liberal party won in the Province of Havana 

 with 32 electoral votes and in the Province 

 of Camaguey with 12 electoral votes. This 

 makes the total electoral votes of the Liberals 

 44. The Conservative party won in Ma- 

 tanzas with 1.5 electoral votes, in Santa Clara 

 with 28, in Pinar del Rio with 15 and in 

 Oriente with 2S, making a total of 86 elec- 

 toral votes for the Conservative party. ^This 

 insures the reelection of President IMenocal 

 for another four-year term, and it is to be 

 hoped that these four years will bring political 

 tranquility and material prosperity for Cuba. 



GOVERNMENT LAND 



A bill introduced in the Senate in 1913 

 providing for a division of Government 

 owTied land now idle for stock raising or 

 farming is to be again presented, and an 

 effort will be made to get the bill passed. 



The plan is to give from one to five ca- 

 ballerias of land to any Cuban citizen who has 

 a good record, and can show that he knows 

 how to farm or raise stock, and who has a 

 family. He would be obliged to construct 

 a house on the property within the first 

 eight months, either raise stock or cultivate 

 the land, and would pay no taxes for the first 

 three years. He would be subject to oc- 

 casional visits of inspection of experts of 

 the Department of Agriculture and could not 

 sell the land or transfer it to a third person. 



