THE CUBA REVIEW 



15 



CUBAN COMMERCIAL MATTERS 



MOSQUITO ELIMINATION IN CUBA 



The demand for mosquito netting and 

 canopies has fallen off to some extent 

 within the past few years tlironghout the 

 island of Cuba, owing to the fact that the 

 people in general are gradually coming to 

 realize the necessity, from a hygienic stand- 

 point, of preventing the breeding of mosqui- 

 toes in and near their residences. In all of 

 the larger cities and towns there is a pe- 

 riodical house-to-house inspection by rep- 

 resentatives of the sanitary department to 

 discover if there are mosquitoes breeding 

 in deposits of water within the houses or 

 anywhere in the surroundings. As occu- 

 pants of the houses are fined if mosquito 

 larvje are found during these inspections, 

 the result has been a great diminution of 

 these pests and a corresponding lack of 

 necessity for mosquito nettings and cano- 

 pies. It is my observation that here in 

 Havana nettings are not now generally 

 used on the beds. There is, however, still 

 some demand for these articles, though 

 ver}' little for the canopies made up, as it 

 is cheaper and usually more desirable to 

 buy the netting and make at home a canopy 

 suitable for the bed for which" it is in- 

 tended. — Report of Vice Consul General 

 Joseph A. Springer, Havana. 



[A list of the leading Havana importers 

 of nettings and canopies may be had from 

 the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Com- 

 merce, Washington.] 



CRATE MATERIAL FREE 



A bill granting exemption from duty on 

 fruit and vegetable crate material, lumber 

 and veneering prepared and cut for their 

 manufacture, shipped into Cuba in "knock- 

 down" form when imported by growers 

 direct, was presented February 21st in the 

 Senate. 



The bill, if passed, will remove the pres- 

 ent duty of 16 cents per 1,000 kilos, plus 8 

 cents port charges, which averages about 

 1.4.5 cents per crate. 



NEW PORT OF ENTRY 



-At the Board of Directors of the Xew 

 Orleans Board of Trade meeting recently, 

 President Jeff D. Hardin advised the board 

 that he had received a letter from Con- 

 gressman Broussard and a copy of the bill 

 introduced by him in the House of Rep- 

 resentatives looking towards including 

 Xew Orleans in the ports of entry for the 

 importation of cattle from Cuba, ^lexico, 

 etc. 



LOSSES AND DELAYS IN\'ITED 



Cuban consuls are accused of careless- 

 ness or ignorance in their treatment of offi- 

 cial papers. 



Cuban laws require that all bills of lad- 

 ing be either typewritten or made with pen 

 and ink. Pencil copies will not be. accepted. 



When a shipment of goods for Cuba is 

 ready, the bill of lading is presented to the 

 consul for his official seal. But should any 

 portion of the bill be made out with a pen- 

 cil or some other minor detail of the regu- 

 lations be left undone, the shipment is tied 

 up, indefinitely, in the Havana custom 

 house pending correction. A little watch- 

 fulness at both the consul's and shipper's 

 office would Ijring a correction of these mis- 

 takes, and save merc'^ants time and money. 



NIPE bay's EXPORTS 



From the custom house at Antilla, Xipe 

 Bay, come figures of the exports of this 

 region during the calendar year 1913. The 

 customs collections are also given and these 

 in 1913 aggregated $736,142. In 1907 the 

 collections were $284,911, which is the best 

 evidence of Xipe Bay progress in six 

 years. 



The exports for 1913 amounted to $8,923.- 

 937 and were in part as follows : 



Quantity Value 



Sugar 1,064,264 bags $6,857,708 



^lolasses ... 5,598,309 gallons 295,405 



Oranges . . . 30,786 boxes 64.642 



Bananas . . . 471,911 bunches 144,701 



Iron ore 495,442 tons 1,221,210 



Cedar 22.604 logs 145,807 



Mahogany .. 20,145 logs 108,499 



Other woods 29,401 logs 42.873 



Lemons 208 boxes 501 



Grape fruit. 1,775 boxes 3,630 



Coconuts ... 512 bags 920 



Pineapples... 50 bushels 218 



Okra 448 crates 627 



Cacao 100 bags 3.024 



Tomatoes 137 boxes . 186 



TRADEMARK LAWS 



Under existing Cuban laws simple use of 

 a trademark does not create any property 

 right, and the ownership of a trademark is 

 acquired solely through application and 

 registration to the government. This sys- 

 tem is responsible for the many piratical 

 registrations that have so often caused »the 

 indignation of many a negligent foreign 

 manufacturer or merchant. See important 

 Government decision on page 7. 



