THE CUBA REVIEW 



GENERAL COMMENT ON CUBAN AFFAIRS 



EDWIN F. ATKINS ON CUBAN BANKING 

 METHODS 



At the hearing at New York on January 

 22nd in the government's suit to force the 

 dissolution of the American Sugar Refin- 

 ing Company, Edwin F. Atkins, of Boston, 

 the chairman of the defendant corporation, 

 was asked by James R. Knapp, assistant 

 United States attorney, some questions re- 

 garding Cuban banking methods. He re- 

 plied as follows : 



"Some Cuban banking companies do 

 queer business." 



"What do you mean by queer business?" 

 "Well, starting a bank on wind I should 

 call queer business." 



Some Cuban bankers, Mr. Atkins went 

 on to say, charged customers 18 per cent a 

 year on loans, and for commissions besides. 

 "How would such a procedure in the 

 United States be regarded by you?" asked 

 Mr. Knapp. 



"Seems to me," said the witness, "that it 

 would be mighty hard for an American 

 banker to find such a sucker." 



Mr. Knapp by further questions sought 

 to find out what becomes of the differential 

 accorded Cuban sugars under the existing 

 tariff, Mr. Atkins contending that it was 

 divided between the Cuban planter and the 

 American consumer, depending upon mar- 

 ket conditions. 



"You cannot cut that differential up like 

 you would a pie," said Mr. Atkins. "What 

 the refiner gets as his piece he passes on to 

 the American consumer." 



Just now, he went on to say, in answer 

 to a question as to the effect of the im- 

 pending removal of the tariff, all American 

 sugar refiners are scared to death lest they 

 get stuck with a stock of high-priced sugar 

 on which duty has been paid. It was pos- 

 sible, he said, that when the duty came off 

 the price of raw sugar might advance, all 

 depending on the amount of stock on hand 

 March 1st, when the new law becomes ef- 

 fective. — Report of the New York Tribune. 



CUBA AND TENNESSEE 



"Cuba is not properly advertised. With 

 proper advertising and boosting these bar- 

 ren hills about Havana would soon become 

 dotted with homes and farms," said Mayor 

 T. C. Thompson of Chattanooga while in 

 Havana recently. 



He said further : "With absolute stability 

 of government, and this fact known 

 throughout the commercial and financial 

 world, Cuba will become, as it were, one of 

 the garden spots of the world — except of 

 course Chattanooga and East Tennessee." 



CUBAN TOMATOES IN ARIZONA 



Tomatoes are a sure barometer of po- 

 litical conditions in Cuba and Alexico, ac- 

 cording to Tucson commission men. When 

 iNIexico is inwardly disturbed the Mexico 

 supply of tomatoes is cut off, as it is at 

 present. A similar contraction occurs in 

 Cuba when a revolution is in progress, says 

 the Tucson Star. It seems to be an ac- 

 cepted fact that one cannot grow tomatoes 

 and revolutions at the same time. Happily 

 for Tucson tomato lovers both republics 

 have not revolted at the same time — hap- 

 pily in that they are not deprived of toma- 

 toes altogether but not so happily in the 

 price which they have to pay. 



TREATMENT OF MINORS 



It was recently that a steamer arriving 

 from Spain brought 241 minors, none of 

 whom it is believed, know how to read or 

 write, and this contingent of arrivals, every- 

 body knows, is not brought here to be 

 educated, but that instead they will soon be 

 seen working in our factories and mills. 



This is extremely harmful to Cuba, be- 

 cause this country is not in the same con- 

 dition as that of Greece or other impover- 

 ished nations of Europe. It is a fact that 

 we need to increase our population, and that 

 It is almost virgin and open to all sorts of 

 exploitations, but the men we are after are 

 not of the kind that the shipment above 

 mentioned was composed of. 



While the government can, if it wishes, 

 put a stop to the exploitation of minors, it 

 lies more easily within the scope of its au- 

 thority to prevent the introduction into this 

 country of the young and illiterate immi- 

 grants brought here to be exploited at our 

 shops and mills. It could for instance fix 

 the age of thirteen and fifteen years re- 

 spectively for girls and boys brought for 

 labor purposes into the nation, the parents, 

 guardians and persons having them in 

 charge to be subject of heavy penalties for 

 violation of the law, while it would not be 

 a bad idea to gather all those who have 

 already been brought into the country and 

 send them to the agricultural schools 

 which the government has recently created 

 and thus turn them into useful citizens for 

 the future. 



The present administration has done- 

 much to protect the industrial and agricul- 

 tural interests of the nation to allow the 

 present opportunity to go by without tak- 

 ing the necessary steps to protect those 

 poor unfortunates who are seen to grow 

 into manhood without training or edu- 

 cation. 



