THE CUBA REVIEW 



11 



CUBAN GOVERNMENT MATTERS 



presided over by the wife of the President, 

 and attended by all the Cuban Red Cross 

 directors, and representatives of various gov- 

 ernment departments and the Cuban j)ress. 

 It is realized that the work of equipping such 

 a pretentious hospital unit will be regarded 

 as an ambitious one, even from standards set 

 in the present war, but the encouragement the 

 Red Cross has received from capitalists 

 throughout the island republic and the pro- 

 gress made in assembling of equipment and 

 the training of volunteer workers, indicates 

 that ere the fund has been completed, 

 the imit will be ready for service. Co-opera- 

 tion, which was recently inaugurated between 

 the Cuban and American Red Cross officials, 

 has helped make this Cuban unit possible. 



With upwards of S100,000 already in hand; 

 in advance of the canvass for the million-dollar 

 fund, various steps, some of them unusual in 

 this connection, are being utilized to bring 

 the fund to a quick completion. 



Each sugar "ingenio," or plantation mill, 

 in Cuba, has been asked to set aside $1,000 

 for the Red Cross, and many of them already 

 have done so. This in itself will place the 

 fund well on its way to the aim set b}- the 

 Cuban women. A special drawing of the 

 Cuban national lotte];y likewise will be held 

 before the lioUdays when a large sum will be 

 added. A national Red Cross "tag day" to 

 be observed in all parts of the RepubUc, is 

 likewise planned and, according to the an- 

 nouncement of Mme. Menocal at the meeting, 

 workrooms have already been opened. In the 

 old Havana post office a complete Red Cross 

 workshop is in operation with electrically- 

 operated sewing macliines, donated by .Mme. 

 ]VIenocal and Senora Blanca de Marti, wife 

 of the Cuban Minister of War and Navy. 



Representatives of the Cuban press have 

 donated space for the enterprise, and todaj' 

 the Red Cross flag in this city is almost as 

 famihar as the national colors. Instruction 

 in the making of Red Cross material is being 

 supervised by Mrs. Carlton R. Kear, wife of 

 the United States naval attache here, and 

 Mrs. W. G. Ames of the Havana branch of 

 the American Red Cross. 



The unexpected success attained in the 

 raising of the fund of $1,000,000 has em- 

 phasized the fact that Cubans of the wealthy 

 class have been impatient that their country 

 should contribute more tangibly to the aUied 



cause, to which Cuba is bound, and .Mrs. 

 Menocal, as well as prominent Cuban finan- 

 ciers, that the million-dollar mark will be 

 passed. 



RAILWAY LOAN 



It is reported that the Cuban (iovernment 

 will lend the diiTerent railway companies of 

 the island the sum of $5,000,000 for the pur- 

 pose of bm-ing locomotives and rolling stock 

 to meet the heavy demand for means to con- 

 vey the large sugar crop which is expected this 

 year to the United States and other aUied 

 countries. 



In view of thi.s loan the railway com- 

 panies are sending orders to the constructors 

 of railway rolling stock in the United States. 

 The Commission of Subsistence has com- 

 municated with the American firms who have 

 been favored with orders, requesting them to 

 hurry up the delivery as much as possible, 

 and all except two have promised to do so 

 and will start the work immediatelv. 



CUBAN MINT 



Senor .Montoulieu, cliief of negotiations for 

 the minting of money for Cuba, has proposed 

 to the Secretary of the Treasury that a mint 

 shall be built in Cuba where the Government 

 can coin its own money. 



If this mint is built, the Cuban Government 

 could also mint money for any other nation 

 that may desire to have it done at the Cuban 

 mint. 



RAILROAD SUBSIDY 



By presidential decree, the sub.sidy to the 

 Northern Railway of Vuelto Abajo has been 

 transferred to the Southwestern Railway of 

 Cuba, which will build and operate the road 

 to Bahia Honda, Dimas, Consolacion del 

 Xorte and Guane. 



CYCLONE 



The Provincial Council has unanimously 

 voted the sum of $10,000 to be spent in assist- 

 ing those who have suffered from the recent 

 cyclone, especially those who reside in the 

 Isle of Pines. 



GALVESTON. TEXAS 



Imports from Cuba year ended September 

 30, 1917, amounted to $4,309,125. j 



