12 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



On May 23d President Menocal, on 

 recommendation of the new Secretary of 

 Sanitation, Dr. Enrique Nuiiez, signed a 

 decree removing the six provincial sani- 

 tary supervisors who were appointed about 

 a month ago by President Gomez, and 

 which was understood to be merely a ruse 

 to give good berths to a group of ex- 

 members of Congress , the law having 

 been passed by the Liberals in Congress 

 with just that end in view. President 

 Menocal believes that the $48,000 per an- 

 num required for the expenses of the new 

 inspectors can be used for better purposes 

 and suggested reconsideration of the law 

 creating these new officers. He believes 

 the employees in the Sanitary Department 

 can do whatever inspection work is neces- 

 sary without additional expense. 



Secretary of Sanitation Xuiiez has con- 

 firmed Dr. Juan Guiteras, the eminent 

 Cuban sanitarian, in his post of Director 

 of Sanitation, also Dr. Jose A. Lopez del 

 Valle as local health officer for the city of 

 Havana. 



Secretary of the Interior Hevia favor- 

 a decree to be issued by his department 

 canceling all licenses to carry arms, and 

 only to issue them in accordance with the 

 law which takes them. This decree will 

 do away with about 10,000 licenses to carry 

 arms which have been issued during the 

 past four years. 



Secretary of Sanitation Nunez found 

 conditions at the Mazorra State Asylum 

 for the Insane, situated a short distance 

 from Havana, so bad that he terms them 

 an "ignominy for Cuban society, for men 

 and for physicians." He urged at a re- 

 cent cabinet meeting in the name of "the 

 honor of the Republic to ask Congress for 

 the funds necessary to put the asylum in a 

 condition required by civilization, science 

 and humanity." 



The charges of conditions found at the 

 asylum were so serious in the opinion of 

 the President and the other members of 

 the cabinet that it was decided to imme- 

 diately name a committee of the Secretary 

 of Sanitation, and the Secretary of the 

 Interior to make a full report at once to 

 submit same with all its details to the 

 attention of Congress. 



Two Japanese waiters were recently de- 

 tained at Triscornia, Havana, because they 

 did not have identification papers. All 

 Japanese are barred from Cuba unless they 

 are merchants. 



Morro Castle's light at the entrance to 

 Havana harbor will be made four or five 

 times more powerful. Colonel Jane, the 

 recently appointed captain of the port, 

 plans to place two strong lights on opposite 

 sides of the channel, as a help to incoming 

 ships at night. 



Roberto L. Luaces, the Camaguey agri- 

 cultural engineer, whom the American 

 residents in Cuba, and especially the plant- 

 ers and horticulturists urged for the po- 

 sition of Secretary of Agriculture in Presi- 

 dent Menocal's Cabinet, has been appointed 

 head of the Division of Agriculture in the 

 Department of ^Agriculture, Commerce and 

 Labor. 



The office given to the young and com- 

 petent Camagueyan was the one formerly 

 held by Professor Jose Comallonga of Ha- 

 vana University. He will be in charge of 

 everything directly connected with agricul- 

 ture, the experimental stations, the farmers' 

 schools, distribution of seeds, granting of 

 prizes to agriculturists, the inspection of 

 all experimental work, the study of the 

 extirpation of disease among cattle and 

 plants and the organization of fairs, ex- 

 positions and the high supervision of the 

 cattle registry. It is one of the most im- 

 portant offices in the department, and un- 

 der Sr. Luaces' management will become 

 of great value to the agricultural interests 

 of the country. The office carries with it a 

 sa'ary of $.3,600 a year. 



The representatives of England, France 

 and Germany called on the Secretary of 

 State on June 3d to learn the government's 

 intentions regarding the claims of the sev- 

 eral countries mentioned against Cuba for 

 damages done by insurgents during the 

 war against Spain, and to insist on an 

 early settlement. The claims aggregate 

 several million dollars. 



Cuba's contention is that it is not re- 

 sponsible as at the time the damage oc- 

 curred there was no Cuban government, 

 and Spain held dominion over the island. 

 It insists the claims be referred to a com- 

 mission of arbitration. The Senate had 

 previously accepted a committee report 

 recommending that arbitration be resorted 

 to in settling the claims. 



The claims have been pending ever since 

 the war in 1898. The nations first took up 

 the subject with General Wood, but he said 

 that it was one for the Cuban government 

 to solve when it came into power. Presi- 

 dent Palma succeeded in keeping the 

 powers quiescent during his administration. 

 Then the Magoon administration took the 

 same stand that General W^ood, viz. : that 

 the powers should wait until the Cuban 

 government was re-established. During the 

 administration of President Gomez the 

 powers presented a joint note of such 

 strength that the subject could not be post- 

 poned any longer, and President Gomez 

 sent a message to Congress asking that the 

 matter be taken up. 



The House tabled the Arbitration bill on 

 June 22d owing to President Menocal's op- 

 position. Apparently the bill places all re- 

 sponsibility on him. 



