32 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY 



DUTY ON CUBAN SUGAR. 



Mr. E. F. Atkins, in an address on "Cuba — 

 Past, Present and Future, ' ' is quoted as stating : 



"The continuance of the high rate of duty 

 on sugar will luiduly stimulate late domestic 

 beet production at the expense of our refining 

 industry, and of the Cuban producers, who 

 largely provide the refiners with their raw 

 material. 



"With the opening of the Panama Canal 

 and the recent reduction of transcontinental 

 railroad freight rates to meet water competi- 

 tion, there is no longer need of the present 

 high protection; the California producers of 

 beet sugar are jiroducing granulated sugar at 

 an average cost, we may say, of 3 cents per lb., 

 and shipping it into Philadelphia and New 

 York at an all-rail rate of 75 cents per hun- 

 dred. 



"A reduction of duty from a cent per pound 

 to three-quarters of a cent would afford more 

 than ample protection to the domestic in- 

 terests, and would produce a revenue of full}' 

 $33,000,000. 



"The collections during the last fiscal year, 

 to June 30, were some $49,500,000, out of 

 which was returned in drawbacks for refined 

 sugar exported to Europe $5,400,000, leaving 

 in roimd numbers $44,000,000 of net revenue 

 to the United States. Should it be impera- 

 tive to raise more than $33,000,000 from sugar 

 I would urge the imposition of an internal 

 revenue tax, upon all refined sugars, which has 

 long been in vogue in European countries, 

 and known as the "consumption tax;" such 

 a measure would be strictly for revenue, the 

 law could easily be repealed when the need 

 no longer existed, or the rate could be in- 

 creased or decreased to meet requirements, 

 without throwing the whole sugar industry 

 of the Western Hemisphere out of gear. 



"This tax would be collected at equal rate 

 from refiners, planters and sugar manufac- 

 turers throughout the United States, and 

 upon all imports of refined sugar whether 

 foreign or from our colonial possessions. Such 

 a measure would leave our trade relations with 

 Cuba undisturbed, with a reduced differential 

 amounting to about 19c. per 100 pounds, and 

 under such conditions the United States 

 could hold its large and increasing export 

 business with Cuba against its European com- 

 petitors when the w^ar is ended; otherwise a 



great part of this business will be lostas Cuba, 

 like all other countries, will eventually Iniy 

 where she can buy the cheapest. 



CUBA 



A native mechanic of Las Cruces, in the 

 province of Santa Clara, named Felino Villa- 

 real, has invented a centrifugal machine for 

 use in the manufacture of sugar, and it is said 

 to be capable of greatly increasing the output. 

 Already steps have been taken to secure the 

 patent throughout the United States, and 

 some of the various British-owned sugar 

 estancias are making experiments with the 

 apparatus. At the important port of San- 

 tiago-de-Cuba a new and imposing aqueduct 

 is to be constructed according to the plans of 

 the well-known local firm of engineers, 

 Messrs. Vega and Duke, at the cost of $1,- 

 624,000 (say, £324,800). The annual cost 

 of ujjkeep and operation is estimated at $32,- 

 500 (say, £6,500). The population of Santi- 

 ago to-day is about 60,000, but the plans 

 adopted make allowance for a water supply 

 for 96,000. The new waterworks are to be 

 l)uilt so as to furnish from 6,000,000 to 18,- 

 000,000 gallons of water daily. All the water 

 used is to be passed through settling and 

 purifying reservoirs with the exception of the 

 subterranean waters of the valley of San 

 Juan and those of Mogota and Bocanao. It 

 will take two years to complete the construc- 

 tion of the new aqueduct.- — The Engineer, 

 London. 



GUANTANAMO SUGAR COMPANY 



Reports are current that promoters are 

 working with a view to merging the Guanta- 

 namo Sugar Company and the South Porto 

 Rico Sugar Company. The proposed plan 

 would result in a grea,ter concentration of the 

 sources of sugar supply, and it is thought that 

 the recent erratic fluctuations in the price of 

 raw sugar have made the backers of this plan 

 believe that this would tend to make the price 

 of raw sugar more stable and would, further- 

 more, have the effect of producing a large 

 output at a great saving. The South Porto 

 Rico Sugar Company has under cultivation 

 19,000 acres of sugar land, the greater part of 

 which is in Porto Rico. In Santo Domingo this 

 company has about 5,000 acres under culti- 

 vation. The company has outstanding 



