10 THE CUBA REVIEW 
and other diseases caused by improper water supply and bad living conditions, 
Haitian and Jamaican labor has not proved as satisfactory as Spanish and Italian 
and there is always a demand for the Spaniard, whereas the other class of labor is 
only encouraged when an acute scarcity is felt. 
The Sugar Commission which was appointed by President Menocal has perfected 
its organization and is functioning well. In issuing the permits and allocating the 
percentage of sugars to be shipped by the different centrals, the Commission always 
allots a certain percentage of the last crop to assure the consumption of this sugar 
before the grinding ceases for this year. The price is not expected to advance very 
much beyond the present one (5.25 cents), although June and July shipments usually 
bring slightly advanced prices, but with the price firm at 5.25 cents, sugar can, even 
today, be profitably ground and a return that will warrant a dividend is guaranteed. 
PORT CONGESTION: As to this we find that there is very little to be written, 
since the congestion in Havana Harbor has been practically cleared up. The work 
of Col. M. Despaigne has been done quickly and effectively and he has earned the 
praise of all in Havana who have had an opportunity of viewing his splendid work. 
From our close observation, the question of clearing up the wharves and ware- 
houses of the waterfront was simply one of contagion since, as soon as it was 
observed that Col. Despaigne was in earnest in his determination to relieve these 
distressing conditions, the consignees of freight in Havana immediately co-operated 
with Col. Despaigne and the result was very soon evident. 
Today there are less than fifty vessels in the Bay of Havana, and of this number 
only a very few are awaiting discharge, and those are, singularly, ships operated 
by so-called fly-by-night concerns which brought cargo to Havana at exorbitant freight 
rates and whose agents and operators had no docking facilities in Havana. Then, 
too, these ships, after having lain in the bay for months awaiting discharge, attempted 
to assess consignees for so-called demurrage incurred to the vessels and these con- 
signees promptly refused to accept their merchandise. The result is that the operators 
of these vessels are awaiting an adjustment of some kind before discharging. 
Both shippers and consignees have learned their lesson with regard to entrusting 
their shipments to new shipping concerns. The established lines into Cuba will 
have little difficulty in the future in retaining this business. However, it cannot be 
gainsaid that American shipping interests suffered a setback when these new con- 
cerns operated into Cuban ports, since the importers have gained the impression that 
the whole matter was a worked-up affair and done to afford these new enterprises 
an opportunity to abuse the confidence of Cuban business men. 
FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENTS: Much satisfaction is manifested throughout the 
Island at the splendid showing made by the different banks of Cuba to meet their 
obligations as they have fallen due under the Torriente Law. AIl of the banks, with 
the exception of the Banco Internacional de Cuba, have made payments promptly 
and confidence has again been restored in the Island’s financial institutions. 
A recent development was the retirement from the presidency of the Banco 
Nacional de Cuba of Mr. William A. Merchant and the installation of Sr. Porfirie 
Franca to this important position. Sr. Franca has been for years managing director 
of the Havana branch of the National City Bank of New York and is a man of 
pronounced ability and has a great many friends throughout the Island. 
The Banco Espanol de la Isla de Cuba (known as the Spanish Bank), we under- 
stand, has under consideration a plan for the sale of the bank and bank property 
to New York bank interests and in this manner it is believed that the Spanish Bank 
will be able to meet its obligations in full. Should this plan not mature, it is deemed 
certain that, unless the depositors will be willing to accept new bonds representing 
the amount of the indebtedness of the bank to them, this bank will find itself unable 
to carry out the provisions of the Torriente Law and will be forced to close its doors. 
