THE CUBA REVIEW 



13 



ALL AROUND CUBA 



GOOD ADVICE TO NEW SETTLERS 



Hon. Robt. L. Luaces, director of agri- 

 culture for Cuba, has given some good advice 

 and information to prospective settlers 

 coming to Cuba. He says in part: 



"The prospective settler coming to Cuba 

 must bring some money, some brains, and a 

 good big dose of common sense. 



"After arriving in this country he must 

 look around, get familiar with local conditions 

 in the place where he is to make his home, and 

 take advantage of the experience of those 

 who came before him. 



"Having no choice made in regard to place, 

 'tis well for the new arrival to take a few 

 trips into the country to personally look over 

 the propositions of land agents and the in- 

 ducements of colony sites, and then make his 

 choice." 



Mr. Luaces is especially insistent on look- 

 ing into titles, and he describes very clearly 

 the various kinds so that the new settler may 

 not go wrong. On this point he says: 



"But above all let Mr. New Settler look 

 up the title deed that he receives from the 

 seller, for he W'ill hear from all sides that in 

 Cuba a title deed is good if such is on record 

 on the office of the recorder of deeds, or land 

 register's office (registro de la propiedad). 

 But there are two kinds of title deeds that are 

 issued and may be recorded; one bad, the 

 squatter's title, and one good, the warranty 

 deed; the first is called in Spanish, 'titulo de 

 po sesion,' and is good against all except the 

 man who can show a better; the second is 

 called 'titulo de dominio,' and is good against 

 all comers, except in a few and rare cases, and 

 when such shall appear then he has the right 

 to file a suit against the seller. 



"So far everything is all right, but few, very 

 few, think for a moment that there is such a 

 thing as a municipal law (ley de impuestos 

 municipales) in force, and that under it all 

 productive properties are subject to a tax, 

 tax that although small, can be collected as 

 delinquent just as such ai'e collected in the 

 United States ; also, that property owners are 

 under the obligation of making their own re- 

 turns and that although the law states that 

 unproductive properties are not subject to 

 taxation, it also states that when the owners 

 fail to make their own returns they are sub- 

 ject to a fine and that the board of assessment 

 can fix a tax on such property, even if it is 

 unimproved, a tax that can be collected as 

 delinquent by foreclosure. Once the tax is 

 declared delinquent it is recorded on the books 

 of the land register's office, and if the owner 

 wishes to redeem it he has to pay, not only 

 his back tax and fine, but also the recorder's 

 fees that don't amount to one dollar but may 

 run up to any old amount. 



"As things stand, few or none of the 

 municipalities have paid much attention to 

 these things, but they may do so at any time; 



so 'tis well for not only the new settler, but 

 also for the old resident and the non-residents 

 to get a move on themselves and do such 

 things as they ought to have done before. 



See Art. 19 of Ley de Impuestos Munici- 

 pales. — Procedimiento de Cobranza. — Put in 

 force under decree of the Hon. Chas. E. Ma- 

 goon, dated Sept. 21, 1908.— Isle of Pines 

 Appeal. 



AN AMERICAN KILLED 



Race riots were threatened in the Isle of 

 Pines over the murder of Duncan Campbell, 

 an American, on June 11th, by a revengeful 

 Cuban, against whom Campbell had testified 

 in a petit larceny case. 



When the murderer was caught and con- 

 fessed his guilt there was an attempt at 

 rescue, which the Americans checked only 

 by threatening to lynch the prisoner unless 

 the natives drew off. 



Americans sent the following telegram to 

 President Menocal: 



"Lawlessness on the island has culminated 

 in the murder of an American resident by a 

 Cuban, who has confessed. Americans are 

 highly incensed and demand a quick trial and 

 justice. They ask that a special judge be 

 sent from Havana, with power to try the 

 prisoner without removing him from the 

 island. Removal of the prisoner may cause 

 riots." 



The law provides that persons accused of 

 crime on the Isle of Pines be brought to 

 Havana for trial. Americans there refuse to 

 permit removal in this case, fearing that the 

 murderer will be rescued or otherwise escape 

 adequate punishment for his crime. 



WILL NOT VISIT BALTIMORE 



President Menocal, in declining the invita- 

 tion of the Mayor of Baltimore to attend the 

 flag anniversary celebration in that city in 

 September, stated that under the law he 

 could not leave Cuba while Chief Executive. 

 He appointed Dr. Cespedes, the new Cuban 

 Minister to the United States, to represent 

 him. 



The President also said he would send the 

 schoolship "Patria" to Baltimore on the occa- 

 sion referred to. 



MAY EARNINGS INCREASE 



The earnings of the Santiago Light and 



Traction Company compare as follows: 



1914 1913 



May gross $40,335 $38,167 



May net 19,977 16,985 



1st 5 months gi-oss. . 190,609 187,271 



1st 5 months net.. . . 93,523 83,478 



