oat THE CUBA BEVIEW 
HAVANA CORRESPONDENCE 
November 238, 1920. 
HAVANA WINTER RACE MEET: The 1920-1921 Havana Winter Race Meet, which 
is to open Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, seems to have been gotten ready with especial 
care this season, as several new owners of race horses are to have their stables trans- 
ferred to Havana for this meet. Improvements have been made to the Club House at 
Oriental Park. The grounds have been attended to with much care during the summer 
and the management are deserving of great praise for the work that has been accom- 
plished. The Oriental Park of the Cuban-American Jockey Club has been numbered 
among the most beautiful race courses in the Americas and the reputation is indeed 
well earned. Many splendid races are to be run this season for very attractive purses 
and the officials of the club are sure of hearty support not only from the local Cuban 
population, but from the large tourist population that is assured Cuba for this year. 
~~ DESTRUCTIVE FIRE ON OFICIOS STREET: On the afternoon of November 18th 
fire destroyed the plant of the West Indies Oil Refining Company of this city, which 
is the subsidiary of the Standard Oil Company in Cuba. The fire raged the entire 
afternoon and part of the night and damage to the amount of about $400,000 was 
done, The cause of the fire has not been ascertained. 
AEROPLANE MAIL SERVICE ESTABLISHED: The much talked of aeroplane mail 
service between the United States and Cuba has been established and daily trips are 
now made between Key West and Havana. The aeroplanes carrying the mails are 
spacious machines indeed and bring passengers as well as mail. The contract entered 
into between the two Governments and the aeroplane company calls for a daily trip 
between the two cities—which is being maintained, The trip of 90 miles takes about 
an hour and a half. 
NATIONAL LEAGUE BASEBALL CLUB HERE: The appearance in Havana of the 
New York National League baseball players has been enjoyed by the Cuban baseball 
fans for the past four weeks. The famous home run hitter, “Babe” Ruth, made 
his appearance and drew large crowds to the grounds to watch his performances. A 
three-team league was formed with the “Giants,” “Almendares” and “Havanas” and 
many interesting and close games were played. “Babe” Ruth did not make as many 
home runs as it was expected he would, but he was a great attraction, since he 
shifted his position from fielder to first base and then to pitcher and again to catcher. 
HAVANA’S TOURIST OUTLOOK: From what we are able to observe, this coming 
winter is to be the banner year for tourists in Havana. Many new buildings have 
been splendidly fitted up as boarding and rooming houses to take care of the crowds 
and the hotels are ready for record crowds this year. Tourists will find Havana 
this winter still more modernized than ever with the introduction of the “Palisades 
Park” on the Malecon, which very much resembles the world famous Coney Island in 
New York except that it has not the proportions. Then, too, the number of English- 
speaking residents of Cuba has increased considerably during the past few years and 
the inability to speak Spanish is not the handicap to the present-day tourist that it 
was in years past. Today the number of Cubans speaking English is very large, and 
with its twelve months of sunshine, delightful breezes, and hospitable, fun-loving 
people, the Island is fast becoming what has always been said of it, “The Garden Spot 
of the World.” 
HAVANA TEMPLETE OPEN: The Havana “Templete,’ said to have been erected 
on the very site where the City of Havana was founded in 1519 by the Spaniard 
