28 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



PRESS COMMENT ON CUBAN AFFAIRS 



THE HIGH COST OF FREE SUGAR 



A curious sidelight on the poHcy of dis- 

 couraging the home ])roduction of sugar and 

 the stimulation of imports by the sujjpression 

 of duties is afforded l)y recent figures issued 

 by the Department of Commerce. It ap- 

 pears that in the calendar year 1914 the im- 

 portation of sugar from foreign coimtries 

 amounted to 2,261,771 long tons, with 

 a value of $119,217,053. Deducting the ex- 

 port of 14,334 tons, worth $772,198, the net 

 amount bought abroad was 2,227,434, and 

 $118,444,855 was paid for it. 



The sugar people have taken these figures 

 and set over against them the year's exporta- 

 tion of wheat, 173,861,944 bushels, with a total 

 money value of $187,184,100. The price 

 averaged the highest for wheat in ten 

 years, $1.07 a bushel, yet even at this 

 price some 63 per cent of the total shipment, 

 or about 110,696,126 bushels, was needful to 

 pay for the importation of sugar. 



Now it is argued that to grow this quantity 

 of wheat at the average yield of the last ten 

 years required 7,806,500 acres, or one-eighth 

 of the normal wheat acreage of the United 

 States. The amount of sugar imported could 

 have been raised on approximately 1,800,000 

 out of the 278,000,000 acres of land in the 

 country suitable to laear this crop. 



Apart from the immediate economy of 

 raising the sugar crop at home and exchanging 

 our surplus wheat for commodities we cannot 

 produce, there is the remoter consideration 

 that whereas the wheat crop is enormously 

 exhausting to the soil the sugar crop is so in a 

 much less degree. The wheat crop needs 

 25 per cent, more nitrogen than the beet crop 

 and the nitrogen is exported with the grain, 

 whereas the sugar contains no nitrogen what- 

 ever and that necessary element is returned 

 to the soil through the decay of the refuse or 

 its use in feeding stock. The loss to the soil is 

 rated at 100,000 tons on nitrogen annually as 

 between producing a domestic sugar supply 

 and buying it abroad with wheat. 



It seems as if the attitude of blind cocksure- 

 ness which has prevailed of late regarding the 

 beneficience of free sugar might have some- 

 thing to learn if it were capable of learning 

 anything. — New York Evening Sun. 



CUBAN PORTS COMPANY AFFAIRS 



There has recently been a revival of agita- 

 tion among the British investors, and efforts 

 have been made to induce the Cuban govern- 

 ment to modify its position with the view to 

 protecting a certain number of investors who 

 are dissatisfied with their treatment. The 

 London Observer's comment states: 



"As regards the Cuban Ports position, 

 rumor has it that some definite official news is 

 not unhkely to be pubUshed within the next 

 week or two. But whether matters have pro- 



gressed very far remains to be seen. Person- 

 ally, we rather doubt it. There is a rumor to 

 the effect that the President is only awaiting 

 the sanction of Congress before issuing a bill 

 to deal with the matter. That stage was, 

 however, reached months ago, when a bill was 

 promised. Then some insignificant Indem- 

 nity Bill was introduced, connected with a 

 feud between a couple of members, and the 

 Cuban Ports measure was shelved. Not long 

 ago the British and American Foreign Offices 

 were able to bring pressure to bear on the 

 Cuban Government, a slight technical inac- 

 curacy giving them the opportunity. Little 

 importance attaches to any decision in Cuban 

 courts in regard to the Cuban Ports position 

 because appeal follows appeal. The Govern- 

 ment itself must act, and until legislation is- 

 carried through there is little reason to expect 

 satisfaction. Unfortunately, the old diffi- 

 culty still exists, there being a strong faction 

 opposed to the settlement and these people 

 have influence with the President." 



The London Financier and Bullionist says: 



"The Bill which is about to be introduced 

 into the Cuban Congress wiU give the Presi- 

 dent a free hand in the matter of setthng the 

 claims of the Cuban Ports Company. Holders 

 of the company's securities are not without 

 hope of an adequate settlement, even at this 

 late stage, though it must be remembered 

 that Cuba, in common wdth the rest of the 

 world, has been considerably incommoded by 

 the war, and the Government may not be in 

 a position to grant any too generous terms. 

 The common stock recently changed hands at 

 2834 but it is quite impossible to say whether 

 that represents its true value." 



The London Times article is more vigorous 

 in tone in stating the following opinion : 



"The Cuban Ports affair, which has many 

 disgraceful features, seems not much nearer 

 settlement than ever it was. On Thursday 

 we recorded the statement of Mr. E. H. Cuth- 

 bertson, who has just returned from Cuba, 

 made to the Shareholders' Committee, which 

 statement was to the effect that "he had had 

 very friendly conversations with President 

 Menocal, and the late President, and other 

 influential Cuban gentlemen, that he felt 

 assured that the authorities now recognized 

 the injustice which the Government's action 

 in declaring the concession invalid inflicted 

 upon holders who had made bona fide pur- 

 chases of stock in the open market, and did so- 

 on the strength of the agreement made with 

 the Government. All of them had expressed 

 their sympathy with the shareholders, and 

 had assured him that their legitimate claims 

 would be saitsfied." The Cuban Minister in 

 London now informs us that the Cuban Secre- 

 tary of State, Senor Desvernine, has cabled to 

 the effect that "there is no gi-ound for this 

 statement of Mr. Cuthbertson in so far as it 

 refers to declarations attributed to the 

 Cuban authorities." 



