14 



THE CUBA R E V I E W 



ALL AROUND CUBA 



INTERESTING^ NEWS NOTES REGARDING VARIOUS MATTERS PERTAINING 



TO THE ISLAND 



Telephone connection with Santa Clara, 

 distant from Havana 184 miles, was estab- 

 lished on January 22d, several prominent 

 officials making the test at the Cuban Tele- 

 phone Company's offices in Havana. Ma- 

 tanzas is also on the long-distance circuit. 



The sugar central "Santa Lucia" at 

 Puerto Padre began grinding cane on 

 January 22d. 



Sr. Justo Navarro has been named by 

 the president as Cuban consul in Sevilla, 

 Spain, and Sr. Cruz Crescencio de Varona 

 for the same office in Chicago. 



Havana's lumber dealers are contem- 

 plating a combination to prevent price 

 cutting and to maintain a regular schedule 

 of rates binding on all form.s in the or- 

 ganization. 



The new officers of the Cuban Chamber 

 of Commerce, elected at a meeting in Ha- 

 vana in January, are as follows : Narciso 

 Gelats, president, re-elected ; Manuel Vil- 

 lar, vice-president ; and Elias Miro, a di- 

 rector of the National Bank of Cuba, 

 treasurer. 



A writer in the Havana Post advises 

 and advances a plan for widening the con- 

 gested business thoroughfares near Ha- 

 vana's harbor front, and the city architect 

 has a plan for the same improvement, 

 which is a prime necessity for the city. 

 The idea suggested is to cut away a portion 

 of the first story of the buildings fronting 

 on these streets and build supporting col- 

 umns, thus enlarging the sidewalks. 



The Vedado Tennis Club will liave a new 

 building. The corner stone was laid by 

 Mavor Cardenas of Havana on January 

 21st. 



The American Institute of Banking has 

 made special recognition of Cuba in its 

 work by appointing William M.- Morales, 

 secretary of the National Bank of Cuba, 

 as a member of the press and publicity 

 committee of the association. 



The Cuban branch has grown consider- 

 ably since its organization in Havana two 

 years ago. 



Cigar operatives at a factory in Guana- 

 bacoa near Havana, to the number of 400, 

 went on strike February 3d as a protest 

 against a reduction in the price of their 

 work. The managers threaten to move the 

 factory to Havana. 



General .Manager Frank Steinhart of 

 the Havana Electric Railway has dis- 

 covered that his cars are carrying free 

 daily some SCO mail carriers and messen- 

 gers, for w^hich he receives inadequate com- 

 pensation and wants the matter adjusted. 

 An order has been issued by the director 

 of post prohibiting the use of the cars 

 except when on duty. 



According to the Post, the post-office 

 department plans to collect and deliver 

 mail matter in Havana and the suburban 

 districts by automobiles. 



Havana's Fire Department ordered the 

 flags of all the city's fire stations at half 

 mast in memory of the death of Deputy 

 Fire Chief Walsh of New York City, who 

 lost his life at the Equitable Building fire. 



La Lucha was right when it predicted a 

 few weeks ago that there would be no new 

 treaty between Spain and Cuba. The 

 latest news is that all negotiations are off. 



Havana bakers will charge more for their 

 bread, contending that recent sanitary im- 

 provements ordered by the Health De- 

 partment had so increased their expenses 

 as to make a raise in prices necessary. 



L. L. Newsome of La Gloria has again 

 been awarded for the fourth time the first 

 prize by the Cuban National Exposition, 

 now open in Havana, as having the best 

 exhibit of citrus fruit. 



For manufacturing alcohol and selling it 

 without paying the tax, thus violating the 

 revenue laws, a firm at Bayamo was re- 

 cently fined $28,000. What led to the in- 

 vestigation were the statistics of the prod- 

 uct which, while it showed a largely in- 

 creased consumption, it also showed de- 

 creasing collection of taxes. 



An offer has been made for the old 

 cannon in Cuba of $2.96 per ton for those 

 of English iron, and $136.40 for the bronze 

 cannon. An attempt previously to sell 

 tliese old weapons for a very small sum 

 created such atagonism that the project 

 was abandoned. It seems to have been 

 resurrected and bids fair to be successful, 

 although opposition from the press is 

 present. 



It is urged that these old cannon are 

 eloquent historical records which should 

 not be taken away. As the president in 

 response to popular clamor prohibited their 

 sale, it is believed that he will disapprove 

 the second sale. 



