14 



THE CUBA R E \' I E W 



NOTES FROM ALL SOURCES 



HAVANA S TUNNEL FINISHED 



The IGO-meter tunnel, dressed with con- 

 crete, which connects the sewer outlets 

 in Havana, ending at the foot of Ena 

 syphon, which will he necessary for the 

 purpose of conveying to Casa Blanca, 

 across the harbor, and then through the 

 tunnel under the Cabaiias hill to the Playa 

 del Chivo, Havana's large amount of 

 sewer disposal in Havana, was finished 

 April 20th, says La Lucha. 



Over at Casa Blanca, the work which is 

 now to be done is the construction of a 

 syphon, which will be necessray for the 

 purpose of connecting the underground 

 tunnel with the tunnel built about two 

 j^ears ago under Cabaiias fortress. Three 

 electric pumps, absorbing 1,000 gallons 

 per minute, will be installed at the top of 

 the syphon and this will drive the sewer- 

 age through the Cabaiias tunnel and out to 

 a great distance in the sea at the Playa 

 del Chivo. 



SPECIAL VIGILANCE ORDERED 



According to the United States Tobacco 

 Journal, a stricter and uniform standard 

 of classification has been ordered for Ha- 

 vana tobacco imports at Tampa and Key 

 West. It says : 



"As a result of the recent conference, 

 which was held by Assistant Secretary of 

 the Treasury Curtis, Chief Wilkie of the 

 Secret Service, and the tobacco examiners 

 of the Treasury Department at the va- 

 rious ports of entry, steps have been taken 

 by the secretary of the treasury to insure 

 a general uniformity in the inspection and 

 appraisal of imported Havana tol)acco. 

 A circular has been sent to the collectors 

 of cucjtoms at Tampa and Key West, ad- 

 vis'ng them of the adopted basis, which 

 has been approved by the Treasury De- 

 partment for the making of all appraisals. 

 This basis is generally that which has been 

 in force at the port of New York, where 

 satisfactory results are claimed to have 

 been secured by Collector Loeb in the 

 classification of wrapper and filler tobacco. 

 For the future, examinations will be more 

 rigid and strict and the uniform basis in- 

 sisted upon at all ports of entry for Ha- 

 vana tobacco." 



A BLACK MATHEWSON 



The well-known Cuban liaseball player 

 Mendez is known in Havana as a modest 

 and well-behaved gentleman at all times, 

 both on the field of play and off, as he 

 seems to apparently realize that his color 



bars him from many of the privileges ac- 

 corded to the white baseball hero. While 

 l»itching he is constantly smiling, showing 

 his teeth in a broad grin, their whiteness 

 forming a vivid contract with his black 

 skin. Every cent ^Nlendez earns through 

 his baseball playing goes to the support 

 of his mother, whom he can now afford to 

 give every pleasure of the wealthy class 

 of Cubans. 



Baseball affairs in Cuba are operated on 

 the co-operative basis, the players dividing 

 among themselves and the management the 

 receipts of the games, the batteries getting 

 a half share more than the other pla\-ers. 

 Mendcz's share in these receipts for the 

 month of November of last year was $584, 

 as every time Mendez works down there 

 they play to capacity, the fans in Havana, 

 white as well as colored, idolizing their 

 "Black ^lathewson" much in the same way 

 as New Yorkers idolize their white one. 



CUBAN SCHOOLS CRITICIZED 



"The poorest little school in Hennepin 

 County is better than any school in Ha- 

 vana, or in any other city in Cuba." said 

 S. J. Race, who was the principal speaker 

 at the morning" session of the Hennepni 

 County Teachers' Association, which op- 

 ened its annual meeting in the assembly 

 hall at the courthouse. More than one 

 hundred teachers and their friends attended 

 the meeting. In discussing social and 

 educational conditions in Cuba. Mr. Race 

 asserted that "Cuban schools have abso- 

 lutely no equipment whatsoever and are 

 poorly taught." Mr. Race recently com- 

 pleted an extended tour of inspection of 

 Cuban schools. — Neiu Orleans Planter. 



The Cuban Treasury Department has 

 ordered $50,000 put aside to pay for 899 

 acres of land which were appropriated in 

 Bahia Honda in 1902 for a United States 

 coaling station. 



The land was ceded to the United States 

 by treaty, but the Washington government 

 later decided to abondon it in favor of 

 the station at Guantanamo, which it ac- 

 quired at the same time. A treaty is now 

 pending to exchange the Bahia Honda 

 concession for additional lands at Guan- 

 tanamo. 



The warehouse of Valentin Serrano and 

 Co., importing liquor merchants in San- 

 tiago de Cuba, was destroyed by fire on 

 April 16th. The loss is estimated at 

 nearly $100,000, $70,000 of which is covered 

 bv insurance. 



