THE 

 CUBA RLVILW 



"ALL ABOUT CUBA" 



Copyright, 1914, hy the Munson Steamship Line 



Volume XII 



JULY, 1914 



Number 8 



CUBAN GOVERNMENT MATTERS 



NEGRO POLITICAL PARTY IN THE FIELD— CUBA'S BOSTON EXHIBIT EX- 

 TENSIVE—STOCK IMPROVEMENT PLANS 



The negroes of Oriente pro- 

 Negro Party vince have formed a pohtical 

 Formed party under the name of the 

 party under the name of the 

 "Friends of the People," and have perfected a 

 regular organization. The principal movers 

 behind the organization are two of the lieu- 

 tenants of Generals Estenoz and Yvonet, the 

 leaders of the disastrous race uprising two 

 years ago. 



Their object, as they frankly state, is to 

 compel the whites to give up more of the 

 political offices of the country to them. They 

 consider that they did most of the fighting 

 during the revolutions and are therefore en- 

 titled to a large per cent, of the public offices 

 in the gift of the country. 



It is well known that this has been their 

 argument and their grievance for years. 



When they were organized they elected 

 Dr. Cristobal de la Guardia, Secretary of 

 Justice, honorary president, because, when in 

 the senate, he had opposed the bill prohibit- 

 ing the negroes from forming a political party. 

 The doctor's opposition was founded on the 

 unconstitutionality of the prohibition rather 

 than on any sentiment in favor of the negi'oes. 

 In acknowledging his election, Dr. la Guardia 

 gave the negroes some very good counsel. 

 He said: 



"It is true I worked in the senate so that 

 the negroes should not be deprived of the 

 right which they have to form their political 

 party; but understand, that I have always 

 said, and maintain now, that such a determina- 

 tion, and all that is relating to it, is a tre- 

 mendous error. I believe that the negroes 

 have not one true and well founded reason to 

 complain of the whites of Cuba. The whites 

 on their part should recall that the white 

 generation of 1869 lost all in the war of that 

 year, while on the contrary, all was won by 

 the negroes. I also understand, in the same 

 way, that the negroes should not ask for any- 



thing as negroes, but as Cubans, and to the 

 end that the elimination of the negro is not 

 in the greater or smaller number of political 

 offices which they can manage to obtain, 

 but that they realize the precept and the 

 request of the great negro educator, Booker 

 T. Washington, which is 'Let what the negro 

 does, be done in such a way that no one may 

 do it better.' That is the way to better and 

 perfect the race." 



A committee of the Havana 

 Rice Association of Merchants, re- 



Growing cently called on President 

 Project Menocal and stated that there 

 was a large number of capi- 

 talists in Cuba wilhng to invest in rice- 

 growing in Cuba, and that they wanted to 

 know tlie support they would receive from 

 the administration. President Menocal told 

 them that they could count on his entire 

 support. The first field of rice which is to 

 be planted will be in Pinar del Rio Province. 

 According to the last available figures, 

 those for 1911 and 1912, the imports of rice 

 were as follows: 



1911 1912 



Pounds. Pounds. 



United States 8,439,415 5,607,046 



Germany 99,032.060 115,460,692 



Belgium 3,914,571 5,224,071 



Spain 3,546,053 2,418,305 



Great Britain 88,049,208 77,166,051 



India 56,815,219 51,804,397 



Total value $6,093,134 S7,215,236 



A petition has been made to the govern 

 ment to construct a building for the custom 

 house of Santiago de Cuba, which is to be 

 rat proof and with all the modern sanitary 

 installations. 



