30 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



SUGAR ESTATES 



CENTRAL SANTA LUCIA 



The central "Santa Lucia" in Oriente 

 Province began grinding between the 15th 

 and the 30th of December. 



This great central will have one of its 

 best crops, as the cane fields are in excel- 

 lent condition on account of sufficient 

 rains. Last season was a bad one for the 

 colonos on account of the low price of 

 sup;ar and it was feared that there would 

 not be sufficient funds for the necessary 

 clearing of the fields, but each one by mak- 

 ing sacrifices was able to put his cane in 

 condition. 



Regarding the machinery, little repairing 

 has been done, as nearly all the apparatus 

 of the Ingenio is of new installation. 



The number of bags that will be pre- 

 pared next season cannot be foretold ex- 

 actlv. but it is believed that it will exceed 

 2.50.000. Last vear's yield was over 2.56.000 

 ba£^«. Tm Lucha says that Messrs. Sanchez 

 y Hnos.. owners of the Santa Lucia Sugar 

 Company, show bv their work that the in- 

 sinuation that Cubans have not the ability 

 or the industry for great commercial en- 

 terprises is pure invention. Everv one. 

 from the director of agriculture to the last 

 cowherd, are natives : althousrh thev have 

 to denend on some foreigners, but these 

 are in the great minority. 



SUGAR CENTRAL CHANGES HANDS 



A new cnmoany. thp Comnania Azuca- 

 rera de Altamira. has been formed, to ac- 

 nuire the central ".Altamira" located at 

 Ziiltieta, Santa Clara Province. 



This central in the last cron made 77.000 

 basrs of sugar and it is expected to make 

 verv much more ^''hen the new comnanv 

 takes Dosse'jsion. The president is Pedro 

 Podrignez Ortiz : vice-president. Sr. Fran- 

 risco A. Xetto ; sfcretary Dr Fernando 

 Ortiz: directors, ManiT^l .A Gimenez and 

 Alfredo Rodrieuez Ort'' Tl-'p administra- 

 tor of the estatf> i"; 'Ht- T.inn Perez Aeuela, 

 succeeding Jose T. Solturo. 



THE JOBABO MILL 



Last year the estate made a fine crop with 

 one mill, since then another has been in- 

 stalled and the output for the new crop is 

 figured at .300,000 bags of thirteen arrobas 

 or 32.5 pounds each. 



Mr. Evans, the administrator, is one of 

 the best known sugar men in Cuba and 

 generally spoken highly of, especially at 

 Jobabo, for his considerate treatment of his 

 employees. 



NEW CENTRAL FOR CAMAGUEY 



The work of constructing another sugar 

 central in Camaguey Province will shortly 

 begin. The location of the new mill is be- 

 tween Florida and Vertientes where some 

 seven hundred caballerias (23,324 acres) 

 are owned by Sr. F. Silva, don Julio Rodri- 

 guez, don Francisco Fernandez and others 

 of Cienfuegos and Ldo. J. C. Toujillo of 

 Colon. The new company will bear the 

 name of "Central Camaguey S. A." don 

 Pedro Arenal, Proprietor of the central 

 "Socorro" at Pedroso, will be president and 

 don Juan Zumalacarregui, a well known 

 sugar man of Matanzas, will be the treas- 

 urer. These two men are the principals in 

 the new enterprise. The latter has made a 

 contract with an accredited house repre- 

 sented in Havana (name not given) for the 

 construction and installation of the neces- 

 sary machinery, which, of course, will be of 

 the most modern type, electrically operated 

 with a capacity of 150.000 bags. The new 

 mill expects to begin grinding in the begin- 

 ning of December, 1915. 



The new owners are Cubans. 



NEW NIQUERO SUGAR CO. 



At a special meeting of stockholders of 

 the New Niquero Sugar Co. held Decem- 

 ber it was voted to issue $1,500,000 first 

 and refunding mortgage gold bonds, pay- 

 able December 1, 1933, and to increase the 

 capital stock from $500,000 to $1,500,000, of 

 which $1,000,000 will be 7 per cent cumu- 

 lative preferred stock. 



It is planned to issue at once $1,000,000 

 of the $1,500,000 new bonds as security for 

 loans and as opportunity presents pay off 

 these loans. Part of the $1,000,000 pre- 

 ferred stock will be sold or exchanged to 

 retire the $271,000 gold notes due December 

 1, 1914. The new common stock ($500,000) 

 will be exchanged, share for share, for the 

 present outstanding common stock. 



The company at Niquero, Oriente Prov- 

 ince, Cuba, owns, leases and controls ap- 

 proximately 34,500 acres of land. 



DEMAND HIGH PRICES 



The colonists of some sugar plantations 

 in Matanzas Province have refused to cut 

 any sugar cane unless they get seven arro- 

 bas of sugar to every 100 of cane in the 

 new crops. 



The scarcity of labor which is marked in 

 several busy sugar sections accounts for 

 the demand. Many estates have yielded to 

 the demand. 



