12 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



ALL AROUND CUBA 



INTERESTING NEWS NOTES REGARDING VARIOUS MATTERS PERTAINING 



TO THE ISLAND 



AMERICAN AUTOMOBILES POPULAR 



American cars are popular in the section 

 of Cuba on the south coast around Santiago, 

 because of their unmatched hill-chmbing 

 qualities, very much needed in this moun- 

 tainous section of the island, as the accom- 

 panying illustrations show. 



A report from U. S. Vice-Consul H. C. 

 Morgan, in Santiago, says: 



"One of the best and most attractive auto- 

 mobile roads in Cuba is that from Santiago 

 to Puerto Boniato and San Luis, built during 

 the American occupation of Cuba in 1898 

 and 1899. This road is very steep and winds 

 up the side of a mountain over 2,000 feet 

 high. It is considered by chauffeurs as a 

 severe test of the hill-climbing abilities of 

 any car, and they assert that no car repre- 

 sented here can climb this road as easily as 

 the American cars, and at the same time 

 overheat the motor little more than in 

 ordinary driving. 



The most popular type of car in this 

 district is the open five or six seated car. 

 Closed cars such as the landaulet, coupe, 

 and limousine have had no sale in this section 

 of the island because of the hot climate, and 

 there is only one closed car, a limousine, in 

 the city." 



There was a decided advance of the auto- 

 mobile business in Santiago in 1913, and there 

 are now about 86 cars in the city, of which, 

 72 are American, 8 Italian, 2 French, 1 

 German and 3 miscellaneous. As the figures 

 show, the American car is most popular and 

 there are about twenty different makes from 

 the United States in the city. Several Ameri- 

 can manufacturers are represented in Santiago 

 by local agents, but there is no agency de- 

 voted exclusively to the sale of automobiles, 

 and considering the limited mileage of good 

 roads available for motoring, and the number 

 of cars already in use, it is doubtful if it 

 would pay automobile manufacturers to 

 establish an agency here for the exclusive 

 sale of their cars. It is believed that there 

 is an opening here for the sale of repair parts 

 and accessories. A list of automobile dealers 

 in Santiago may be obtained from the 

 Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce 

 at Washington. 



The International Brewing Co. of Havana 

 has been opened with a 300-barrel brew house 

 plant equipped with the latest machinery, 

 all electric motor driven. 



WHAT THE RAISING COST 



Raising the "Maine" from Havana Harbor 

 by the use of an elliptical cofferdam of 

 interlocking steel-sheet pile cylinders cost 

 $785,774.83, according to the recently pub- 

 lished final report of the board of engineer 

 officers, consisting of Col. William M. Black, 

 Lieut.-Col. Mason M. Patrick and Major 

 H. B. Ferguson. The total appropriations 

 for this work amounted to $900,000. The 

 fh'st pile of the cofferdam was driven Decem- 

 ber 6, 1910, and the last March 31, 1911. 

 The wreck was floated, towed out to sea and 

 sunk on March 16, 1912. 



ISLE OF PINES' CORN 



Three crops of corn per year from the same 

 ground for three years in succession, with an 

 average yield of 40 bushels per acre, is what 

 has been secured on the Isle of Pines, accoi'd- 

 ing to a statement in the Isle of Pines Neivs. 



It was found that the fall crop is the 

 heaviest of the three, and the summer plant- 

 ing the smallest, because of the damage by 

 heavy rains. 



The second crop is planted between the 

 rows of the first crop when it begins to mature. 

 After harvesting this crop, the stalks are cut 

 and plowed under, giving the needful fertilizer 

 to the ground. A crop of corn it is stated can 

 be harvested in four months. 



A CANNERY SOLD 



According to the Isle of Pines News, the 

 sale of the McKinley canning factory for 

 debt was brought to a head last week, when 

 the appraisers for the Cuban government 

 visited the ite of the building and placed a 

 valuation upon it. It is expected that it 

 will be put up at auction in May, and if a 

 bid is received of two-thirds its value, it will 

 be promptly knocked down to the bidder. 



Should the cannery be taken over by a 

 real estate business concern, it will give the 

 Isle two large canning factories and certainly 

 stimulate the pineapple industry. 



The Government has purchased the neces- 

 sary land and has established a soldiers' camp 

 at Ceiba Mocha, Matanzas Province, for the 

 Infantry regiment No. 2. The new camp is 

 connected with first-class roads with IMatan- 

 zas and Havana. 



Punta Brava and Cangregeras, two towns 

 in Havana Province, ship daily in the season 

 about 6,000 crates of pineapple. 



The Spanish colony in Guines are building 

 a new club house to be finished July 27. 



