18 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



GENERAL NOTES— (Continued). 



Isle of Pines — Coming Automobile and Horse Races — West India Hurricanes, Etc. 



Status of the Isle of Pines. 



The status of the Isle of Pines will have 

 to be settled definitely within the next 

 twelve or eighteen months. That island is 

 just about the size of Rhode Island. It is 

 highly nroductive of fruits and vegetables 

 and is dominated now and has been for the 

 past eight years by people who have gone 

 there from the United States. 



The Cuban government has claimed that 

 the island still belongs to it. But the late 

 Senator Morgan of Alabama maintained 

 stoutly to the 'day of his death that the Isle 

 of Pines was ceded to the United States 

 in the Paris treatv by Spain just as Porto 

 Rico and other islands were. For some 

 cause a combination among the Republicans 

 in the Senate would never permit this mat- 

 ter to come to a settlement. 



Senator Morgan was the staunch friend 

 of the Americans who have invested their 

 money in the Isle of Pines, and their com- 

 mittee sent to Washington to demand rec- 

 ognition used to make his committee room 

 their headquarters. Senator Morgan, if 

 he was unable to have the status of the 

 island fixed managed to prevent any action 

 which gave Cuba the right to dominate 

 affairs in the Isle of Pines. 



It is said that the finest oranges and 

 pineapples sent to our markets are grown 

 on the Island of Pines. The oranges are 

 so solid and juicy that they are said to 

 average about 95 pounds to the box. Am- 

 ericans own most of the groves. — Washing- 

 ton despatch to the Montgomery (Ala.) 

 Advertiser. 



Studying West Indian Hurricanes. 



The observatory of the Jesuit Fathers at 

 Belen, in Havana, has recorded atmospheric 

 conditions and for thirty years has studied 

 cyclones. In doing this a work of enor- 

 mous value to humanity at large and to' the 

 shipping world in particular has been done. 

 Father Vifies in 1877 published his "In- 

 quiries Into the Question of West Indian 

 Hurricanes," which became the keystone of 

 all future knowledge on the subject. When 

 the exactitude of his forecasts had been 

 proved, the Spanish government, the great 

 steamship companies, the cable lines and 

 the chambers of commerce issued orders 

 that captains on their arrival in port should 

 transmit to the observatory notes of any 

 observations of meteorological interest which 

 had occurred during the voyage. 



Father Vines died in 1893, but the records 

 are still taken with the same exactitude, the 

 forecasts are still made from the barometric 

 readings and cable observations, and the 

 results cabled all over the Caribbean and 

 the Gulf. 



On September 18, Havana's City coun- 

 cil finally decided to include in the com- 

 ing year's budget the sum of $10,000 to 

 aid the Belen Observatory. 



Automobile Course Ready. 



With the construction of a small piece of 

 road from Guayabal to Caimito, the much- 

 needed circular course of 28 miles from 

 Havana for automobile races has been com- 

 pleted. The course now leads to the main 

 road to Guanajay, turning before reaching 

 Artemisa to Guayabal and thence to Cai- 

 mito, reaching the main road near this 

 point. 



The new stretch of road has been built 

 at the request of farming interests in the 

 neighborhood of Caimito and the repeated 

 requests of the automobile interests who 

 have long wanted a course for their annual 

 meetings. 



It is expected that races will be held next 

 February. 



Horse Racing in Cuba. 



Many of the owners racing on the 

 Northern circuit have made plans of 

 shipping their stables to Cuba. Most 

 of them will go via New York and Balti- 

 more. F. W. Gerhardy, one of the of- 

 ficial handicappers of the Ontario Jock- 

 ey Club, and also clerk of the scales 

 here, has been selected as secretary of 

 the Cuba Jockey Club.— Buffalo (N. Y.) 

 Express. 



Immigrants Needed. 



"Cuba," says the Havana Telegraph, 

 "has an area four-fifths as large as 

 England, but a population of but 2,000,- 

 000 to England's 34,000,000. Cuba's 

 arable area is equal to that of Java, 

 which supports a population of 20,000,- 

 000. In view of these facts can there 

 be any doubt that Cuba's greatest need 

 is immigrants?" 



Baracoa, on the Northeast coast, suf- 

 fered severely on October 3 and 4 from 

 a heavy storm. The custom house, 

 which was in the course of construction, 

 and many other buildings, were des- 

 troyed. Many banana plantations and 

 fruit groves were badly damaged. 



The United Electric Company of Cuba 

 has been authorized to install for public 

 lighting purposes an electric plant in the 

 town of Placetas, Santa Clara province, 

 and another has been authorized at San 

 Luis, Pinar del Rio. 



