THE 
CUBA REVIEYV 
“ALL ABOUT CUBA” NEW 
Copyright, 1921, by the Munson Steamship Line 
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Ua AL IX I 
VoLtumME XIX 
NOVEMBER, 1921 
Numser 12 
Cuban Government Matters 
U. S. Loan to Cuba 
There has been no halt in the loan ne- 
gotiations for either the $5,000,000 for 
immediate pressing necessities or the pro- 
posed $50,000,000 credit. 
Two formal permissions must be ob- 
tained before signatures can be affixed 
to the loan contract. One of these is 
the permission of the United States De- 
partment of State, which already has un- 
officially announced that it favors such a 
loan. The other is the permission of the 
Cuban Congress, where more difficulty 
may be encountered. 
The proposed terms of the loan are ap- 
proximately as follows: It will be for 
$50,000,000 to $60,000,000; it will run for 
thirty to forty years, probably the longer 
maturity; it will be a 7 per cent. issue; it 
will be endorsed by the Government of 
Cuba, but will not be a direct obligation 
of the customs receipts. 
Some of the bankers here and in Cuba 
hold the theory that a 61% per cent. coupon 
is sufficient and the $50,000,000 or $60- 
000,000 of non-callable bonds bearing 
the 614 per cent. rate can be readily sold. 
However, there are differences of opinion 
about this, and the rate is a problem for 
further negotiations. 
Emergency Commercial Treaty 
In a memorandum filed with the State 
Department Cuba has proposed that an 
emergency commercial treaty be drawn up 
between the United States and Cuba to 
replace the existing convention. 
Under the proposed treaty a preferen- 
tial of 50 per cent. in customs would be 
extended under a reciprocal arrangement, 
so that goods shipped from the United 
States to Cuba would be admitted 
for half the duties imposed on similar 
commodities from other countries. In- 
asmuch as Cuba would be granted a similar 
concession by the United States it would 
be possible for the planters to have sugar 
admitted to this country at 1 cent a pound, 
almost half of the present tariff. 
Under the treaty now in effect there is a 
20 per cent. preferential in customs duties 
in favor of the two countries. What Cuba 
proposes to do is to raise this to 50 per 
cent. The text of the memorandum has not 
been given out by the State Department. 
At the present time Secretary of Fi- 
nance Gelabert, of Cuba, and Colonel 
Manuel Despaigne, the Administrator of 
Customs of Havana, are in Washington. 
No definite time for the life of the con- 
vention has been stipulated, it being the 
idea of the Cuban Government that the 
treaty shall run until replaced by a per- 
manent agreement. 
The officials point out that the execution 
of the treaty would enable American 
manufacturers to win out in their markets 
over the competition of the Huropeans 
by virtue of the lower customs provided 
for in the treaty. This competition is 
reported to be growing more keen with the 
entry of Germany into the Cuban market. 
