30 THECUBAREVIEW 



COMMERCIAL MATTERS 



OBSERVATIONS ON CUBAN CONDITIONS 

 Conditions on the island have improved very materially in the past three months and the 

 outlook is more hopeful. 



There is increased activity on the part of American merchants to find markets in Cuba for 

 their goods and the numV)er of representatives for American business houses visiting Cuba 

 at this time is more noticeable than ever before. The old prejudice against Yankee methods 

 is dying out and Americans are at last learning from experience how to get and hold the foreign 

 trade, and the English and other foreign houses are beginning to realize the competition they 

 are about to face. However, other considerations are necessary to secure foreign markets 

 in addition to a broad and accurate knowledge of the trade conditions; local customs and 

 tastes; the character of the goods demanded: the banking and transportation facilities, the 

 prevailing system of credits, the prompt adjustment of the complaints and suggestions received 

 as to the manner in which our goods destined to Cuba are shipped and packed. The care- 

 lessness and indifference which so often characterizes our foreign shipments are well brought 

 out in a letter from an American fu-m doing business in Cuba. The letter states that sometime 

 ago the firm sent to one of our manufacturing houses an order which was shipped and received 

 in good time, sight draft against b'llof lading. When the papers forwarded by the exporter 

 were presented to the Custom House for clearance, the packing list did not conform to the 

 consular bill and neither of the aforesaid with the bill of lading., so it looked as if the importers 

 were trying to get in more goods than the consular bill called for. The letter reads : 



"_0f course, our shipment was sidetracked until the authorities found time to 

 reweigh, recheck and classify — ^heavy demurrage each day accruing. Besides the 

 expense of rehandling this stuff the whole amount of the extra cost was $90, about 

 25% of the value of the goods, which we had to pay. Besides this $90 we lost about 

 $400 by non-completion of contract. These difficulties, losses of time and money, 

 are due to the carelessness in making out proper shipping papers. We sent to the 

 Louisville house, government receipts with explanation from government authorities 

 why we had these charges to pay, sending them a bill for the amount, feeling that they 

 ought to pay for their mistake. Their reply stated that they could not entertain 

 the idea of paying for trifling clerical mistakes.—" 

 The letter goes on to state that 75% of their business goes to England, where the merchants 

 understand exporting and that American goods can be shipped by way of Liverpool to Havana 

 for less money than from New York direct. 



U. S. IMPORTS FROM CUBA 



HAVANA N. J.; Cornelius A. Cole, Hackensack, N. J.; 

 The Bank of Havana's new building next H. A. Bensham, Oradell, N. J. 

 door to the present quarters of this company 

 in Cuba Street will soon be ready for occu- 

 pancy. It is a beautiful addition to Havana's Months of April 10 mos. ended with Apr. 



already large number of similar types of archi- 1914 $16,585,826 $99,677,479 



tecture of Spanish design and will represent 1915 26,054,740 138,534,461 



an investment of $100,000. — ^— . 



U. S. EXPORTS TO CUBA 



DELAWARE CORPORATION INCREASES ,i ^ . -7 m jj -.i a 



CAPITAL Month oj April 10 mos. ended with Apr. 



r. , -r. , , 1914 5,004,572 58,442,061 



Capitalincreases: American Cuban EstM^ ^^^. ^ 61,480.743 



Corporation of New York, from 600,000 to _^ 



$20,000,000. This company was first incor- 

 porated here May 12, 1915, for the purpose of 



constructing railroads in the island of Cuba. James M. Motley of 71 Beaver Street, New 



The incorporators include Alex. F. Garbe, York City, is offering for immediate shipment 



New York; Arthur A. Oakley, Pearl River, 3,100 tons of relaying steel rails, including the 



N. Y.; Robert A. Van Voorhis, Jersey City, necessary relaying angle bars. 



RELAYING STEEL RAILS 



