THE CUBA REVIEW 



burden too great for the present facilities to bear and the congestion of today will 

 be the congestion of a year from now if conditions are not remedied — and quickly. 



NEW INDUSTRIES: With a capital of $500,000.00 the Atlantic Trading Company 

 has been reorganized to transact a general machinery business on the Island of Cuba. 

 The officers elected are as follows : T. Carlisle Ulbrecht, president ; Henry W. 

 Brooks, vice-president and general manager ; Artura Primelles. vice-president ; Nestor 

 G. Mendoza, secretary ; George P. French, treasurer. This concern has leased for a 

 term of years a large warehouse on Empedrado Street, Havana, and expects to carry 

 a large stock of merchandise on hand at all times. Sugar mill machinery and steel 

 articles are the commodities that will be dealt in principally. The officers of the 

 company are all well known business men of the Island of Cuba and the directors 

 are also officers of the American Steel Company of Cuba. 



STRIKES: At the present time the City of Havana and the Island of Cuba as a 

 whole, as far as we are able to ascertain, are absolutely free from strikes of any kind 

 whatsoever and business has resumed its activities. The efficiency of the present day 

 laborer is woefully behind what it was before the World War. As far back as 1918 

 vessels arriving in Havana Harbor with an average of 5,000 tons of freight could be 

 discharged in from 48 to 60 hours, whereas today these steamers bringing the same 

 quantity of freight require 8 to 10 days. The interest in the work which was foi-merly 

 so very manifest is not there. The stevedores' attitude seems to be one of delaying^ 

 the discharge rather than hastening it, and with the tremendous amount of work to 

 be done in the Bay of Havana, the Shipping Organization was permitted little oppor- 

 tunity for combating organized labor and the result has been that union demands 

 have been universally acciuiesced in and the people bear the burden. The first direct 

 result of the high wages paid stevedores for their inefficient work has been in the 

 increase of wharfage and handling charges by the steamship companies. Storage 

 charges have also been materially increased, yet steamship companies and clock coni- 

 panies cannot show that they are making any great headway against increased over- 

 head costs. 



RICE CONTROVERSY: It has been hinted that President Menocal has issued in- 

 structions pertaining particularly to the question of storage of rice cargoes in the 

 Bay of Havana, but to us it would seem that this question is one Avhich almost defies 

 settlement. The rice importers of Cuba stand to lose a tremendous sum of money in 

 the final settlement of this annoying business and it would seem that their attitude 

 is one of putting this disagreeable business off as long as possible. President Menocal 

 has rescinded the decree instituting price control over rice and yet the merchants do 

 not take up their drafts in the banks and market their product. There is little doubt 

 that large quantities of this rice have suffered very materially during the past few 

 months from the weather, as many of the barges in which this rice is stowed are 

 insufficiently covered, and a trip around the Bay will reveal hundreds and hundreds 

 of sacks of rice which show every sign of being decayed. In the meantime importations 

 of this commodity have been prohibited, and this measure may force the merchants 

 to extract this rice from its storage places. 



SUGAR: Just what the future holds for the Cuban sugar grower this year it is 

 hard at this time to tell. The crop, from all indications, will be a good one and all 

 parts of the Island report that the cane is in excellent condition. What price will 

 maintain this year is the big question at this moment. Newspaper articles which seem 

 to possess official knowledge of conditions would indicate that the United States Gov- 

 ernment is to take a hand in the situation with regard to high prices. It is a well 

 known fact that very large quantities of sugar are on hand in the States and the 

 opinion is that Cuban sugars are not to have the tremendous demand that they enjoyed 



