12 THE CUBA REVIEW 
Government license. The jai alai Fronton (a very popular Spanish sport in Cuba, 
somewhat similar to lawn tennis except that no net is used) is enjoying a tremendous 
prosperity and a new building to house this sport is being completed at a cost of over 
$350,000. This building will have a large dancing floor, palm roof garden, and 4 
special restaurant for the entertainment of the sport lovers of the City of Havana. 
With the Cuban national lottery, horse racing, the Casino furnishing roulette, the 
jai alai, cock fighting, garden play (lawn tennis), and a dozen roof gardens with 
all-night cabaret, it would certainly seem that Havana is well provided with the 
means for relieving the fun-loving public, both native and tourist, of its supply of 
surplus cash. To one watching the passing throng no indication could be found that 
a moratorium is in force nor that the principal product of the Island has reached 
the lowest price in many years. 
PORT CONGESTION: ‘The progress being made by Colonel M. Despaigne, who is 
working under a special appointment from President Menocal, in his endeavor to 
elean up the wharf conditions in Havana is everywhere evident and it must be con- 
eeded that, should he be allowed to continue unhindered, conditions in the next few 
months in the Bay of Havana will be vastly improved. The fore part of this month 
Colonel Despaigne directed his efforts principally against what are known as the 
“Public Wharves” in the Bay of Havana and the improvement there is indeed notice- 
able. Many thousand dollars’ worth of merchandise that was in a rotted condition 
has been hauled to sea and dumped overboard, while thousands upon thousands ef 
packages which have been left by consignees upon these wharves have been carted 
to various open lots and yaecant spaces in the city and there stored at consignees’ 
expense. Shippers should not gather from this that these goods are abandoned when 
deposited in these vacant places in the city. When they arrive they are carefully 
ehecked: and records taken of each and every lot and customs guards are on duty 
day and night’ proteetidg them for..ultimate delivery to consighees. They are pro- 
tected from the elements by tarpaulins and despatched in every case the same as 
though they were on the wharf. In this work of clearing the wharves, Colonel Des- 
paigne is demonstrating his sterling worth to his country. 
The vessels entering the Bay of Havana showed a slight decrease last month and 
to us it appears that the bay seems less crowded than it was six months ago. There 
are several vessels lying at anchor, however, that have been here six months awaiting 
discharge, but these, in most cases, are vessels that are being operated by the so- 
ealled “fly-by-night” concerns and the agents thereof have not been supplied with 
sufficient funds for the proper handling of said vessels. Several of the agents of 
these new concerns that have entered this field have repudiated their obligations with 
lighterage companies in the Bay of Havana and it is becoming very difficult for these 
concerns to obtain floating equipment to handle the discharge of their vessels. Noma 
of them is equipped with either wharves, lighters, or tugs of their own. 
Another feature of the situation here is the recent extension of the moratorium 
by the Cuban Congress until June of this year. The bill has been passed by the 
Cuban Congress, but must be ratified by the House of Representatives before it be- 
comes law, and it is generally felt that if this takes place; conditions in Cuba will be 
badly affected. Today those merchants who are anxious to receive the merchandise 
that they have on order, and who are making an honest effort to improve conditions, 
are hindered in their activities on account of the scope of the moratorium, which 
permits those who wish to do so to withhold payment of their obligations until the 
moratorium has been lifted. As a consequence, many merchants have not sufficient 
funds to pay duties on incoming merchandise, and the immediate effect is felt on the 
wharves and in the warehouses of the established shipping interests who have no 
other alternative than to permit the goods to remain in their warehouses and accumu- 
late storage charges. Just here a word on the storage charges assessed on merchan- 
dise in Havana might tend to clear up misunderstandings which we have noticed 
