THE CUBA REVIEW 



CUBAN GOVERNMENT MATTERS 



HAVANA SCHOOLS 



The r>nort of Dr. Jose M. Carl)()iiell, chief 

 of the Service of .School Hygiene, states that 

 the school rooms in Havana are too few in 

 number and defici.^nt in hjgienic (jiialities, 

 and in eciuipment for teaching. 



Only four schools were approved by the 

 report. The others are lacking in ventilation, 

 capacity, light, isolation and other demands 

 of modern school hygiene. 



There are 21,489 children enrolled in Havana 

 schools, and for an average daily attendance of 

 14,700 children, there are onlj 76 schools with 

 379 class room-s in all. 



CUBAN TARIFF 



With a view to encouraging the domestic 

 shoe industr}', the Cuban Governm.ent, by a 

 decree promulgated December 1, 1916, 

 exempted the following articles from the sur- 

 taxes established by the decree of Februarj- 1, 

 1904, provided the goods are imported by 

 shoe manufactureres for use in their own 

 establishments and that a sworn declaration 

 to that effect is presented: 



Ornaments for shoes and bows of all kinds ; 

 celluloid for covering heels; fabrics for lining, 

 insoles and toes; pasteboard in sheets; yarn 

 and thread of all kinds; varnishes, polishes, 

 waxes and pastes; tanning materials; emery 

 and sandpaper. 



The following articles are exempt from sur- 

 tax if intended for use in the shoemaking 

 industry, whether or not imported by man- 

 ufacturers of shoes for use in their own 

 e.stablishments: 



Shoemakers' lasts and tools; nails, tacks, 

 eyelets, buttons, wire, loops, and laces of 

 all kinds for boots and shoes; tanned skins 

 of all kinds (except chamois skin for cleaning 

 metal articles and sole leathers) ; split sole 

 leather for insoles and special sole leather for 

 leggings; counters of all kinds; fiber and 

 leather board for heels and insoles; canvas, 

 elastic webbing and other fabrics specially 

 prepared for boots and shoes. — Customs 

 Circular No. 24, 1916. 



GOVERNMENT BUILDING 



It is announced that the new building of 

 the department of Government will be opened 

 on Mav 20. 



NEW ISSUE CUBAN POSTAGE STAMPS 



The accompanj'ing photograph is a repro- 

 duction of a new issue of the Cuban 2c post- 

 age stamps which were put in circulation re- 

 cently. It is expected that new issues of other 

 denominations will follow, the 3c, oc and 8c 

 stamps appearing about May 10th, and the 

 Ic, 10c, 20c, 50c and $1.00 stamps, about 

 June 1. On the new 2c stamp there is a photo- 

 graph of General Maximo Gomez, and on the 

 issues that follow the subJ3cts will be other 

 generals of the wars of Cuban Independence, 

 as has been the custom in the past. 



GOOD ROADS 



The necessity of the construction of good 

 roads throughout the Island of Cuba, es- 

 pecially in the Eastern provinces, is again 

 being agitated. The Cuban Government is 

 hampered by lack of funds for this work, and 

 it is hoped that sufficient credit will be given 

 in order that this work may be vigorously 

 prosecuted. 



CUBA'S TRADE WITH THE UNITED STATES 



The predominating part which the United 

 States plays in the commerce of Cubg, is 

 shown by the fact that in 1913 — a normal year 

 — we exported to, and imported from, Cuba 

 more commodities than all the other countries 

 combined. In that year Cuba exported to 

 the United States $132,581,549 out of total 

 exports of $165,208,265; and imported from 

 the United States $71,743,872 out of total 

 im.ports of $135,810,590. And for the fiscal 

 year 1916 Cuba's total trade with the United 

 States exceeded $300,000,000, made up as 

 follows: Exports to United States approx- 

 imately $257,000,000 and imports from the 

 United States approximately $90,000,000; 

 an increase of more than 35*; ^ in the exports 

 and more than 20% in imports for the period. 



