THE CUBA REVIEW 



GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES, NEW LAWS, CONSULATES, 



TAXES, ETC. 



Probably no other civilized 

 Havana's city in the world has a more 

 Crude inadequate or unsanitary sys- 

 Systems of tem for the disposal of house 

 Waste wastes and domestic sewage 

 Disposal. than the city of Havana. In 

 the main part of the city 

 rectangular stone drains serve both for house 

 sewage and rains. These drains are mostly 

 constructed with sides, bottom and top of 

 soft stone, the bottom in many cases not 

 lined and without mortar in the joints, al- 

 lowing the sewage to leak away. These 

 drains do not follow any system of grades, 

 and in most cases the fall is slight with 

 consequent decomposition of sewage, form- 

 ing accumulations which must regularly be 

 removed at large expense. During heavy 

 rainfalls these drains are inadequate to carry 

 off the rain water and consequently many 

 parts of the city are flooded. In the sub- 

 urbs provision for the disposal of domestic 

 wastes is even more unsanitary, cesspools, 

 street gutters and brooks serving the pur- 

 pose. 



It is only the fact that the Havana water 

 supply has been kept uncontaminated that 

 no serious epidemics have occurred from 

 these unsanitary conditions in the city and 

 suburbs. 



The new sewerage sys- 

 A New tem on which work has be- 

 Modern gun is based upon a popula- 

 System tion of 600,000, with 200 

 Begun. people per acre for the old 

 part of the city and 80 people 

 per acre for the suburbs. An allowance of 

 150 gallons of water per capita per 24 hours, 

 with 50% additional for maximum con- 

 sumption, is made for the maximum flow in 

 the sewers, and 150 gallons per acre per 

 day was allowed for ground water seepage. 

 As the present consumption of water in the 

 city of Havana is 125 gallons per capita, 

 this being high as compared to American 

 and European cities, it follows that the sys- 

 tem will be ample for future needs of the 

 city. 



The general plan also contemplates taking 

 eventually the sewage of Casa Blanca, Regla 

 and other nearby towns. 



All sewage will be brought to a collecting 

 well at the foot of O'Reilly street, Havana, 

 and by means of one or two siphons carried 

 to the general pumping station at Casa 

 Blanca. The capacity of the centrifugal 

 pumps to be installed there is 138,000,000 

 gallons per day. From the station the 

 sewage will pass through a tunnel to a point 

 north of Morro Castle and then 600 feet 

 into the gulf. 



Another pumping station in Vedado will 



take care of the low areas of that section. 



The bid submitted and 



Street accepted for the paving of 



Paving. the city of Havana was 



$5,185,919, and will comprise 

 500,000 sq. meters brick paving 

 400,000 " " block and sheet asphalt 



50,000 " " Medina sandstone and 



granite block 

 90,000 l.m. curbing. 



Streets to be paved are at the discretion 

 of the chief engineer. 



The work will not begin until the sew- 

 erage work is well under way, and the con- 

 tractor must keep all streets in repair for 

 a period of five years after completion. 



The specifications are very strict regard- 

 ing the manner in which the work is to' be 

 carried on and little danger will result to 

 the public health from open trenches or 

 old sewers. All dirt excavated will be cov- 

 ered with lime or other disinfectant and all 

 old deposits removed after being thoroughly 

 disinfected. 



Chief Engineer Daniel McComb is in 

 charge of the sewering and paving of Ha- 

 vana. 



Decrees will be issued by 

 Many the provisional government 



New of Cuba before the end 



Laws. of the American occupa- 



tion, more clearly defining 

 the powers of the Cuban government in 

 its relation to the provincial govern- 

 ments. Many old Spanish political laws 

 will be superseded by statutes more ap- 

 plicable to rules and usages of a repub- 

 lican form of government and to present- 

 day needs. Many laws will be entirely 

 done away with, and to have in opera- 

 tion practically a new set of laws, estab- 

 lished since the formation of the Cuban 

 Republic. Col. Crowder is hard at work 

 drafting these decrees. 



Governor Magoon has or- 

 Tax on dered that the Provincial 

 Unimproved and Municipal Organic Laws 

 Real Estate, adopted by the Law Ad- 

 visory Commission should 

 go into effect on October 1, and a 

 law of municipal taxation which forms an 

 appendix to the Municipal Law is also de- 

 clared effective. Among the leading points 

 in these laws is a clause declaring a tax 

 on unimproved real estate within the 

 municipalities. Heretofore tax has been 

 levied on improved real estate only. 



A decree issued Septem- 

 New ber 21 by Governor Ma- 

 Consulates. goon creates a Cuban gen- 

 eral consulate in Holland, 

 with residence at Rotterdam. Mario 

 Garcia Velez is appointed consul. The 

 honorary consulates at Rotterdam and 

 Amsterdam have been abolished. Cal- 

 ixto Enamorado, Consul to Montevideo, 

 goes to Genoa, Italy, the post recently 

 occupied by Mr. Velez, and Pedro Men- 

 doza Guerra goes to Montevideo. 



