THE CUBA REVIEW 



27 



A Cuban Hnt Among the Palms 



Una cliosa cubana entre las palmeras. Un americano escribe de La Gloria ensalsando a los 



ciibanos de sti vencidad, los ctiales dice son miiy sociables y hospitalarios. 



Social Life of Americans 



"Most people imagine that life in Cuba 

 is extremely lonely for the American. 

 While it IS different, it is nevertheless far 

 from being isolated and lonely. In fact, 

 not near as much so as in many places 

 in the States," writes very interest- 

 ingly H. E. Kilmer of Palm City. "All 

 the holidays of the United States ': Fourth 

 of July, Washington's Birthda}^ Thanks- 

 giving Day, Christmas, New Year's, are 

 all celebrated in their turn with banquets, 

 beach picnics, ice cream socials, weekly 

 singing meetings, fishing excursions on 

 horseback or by boat. Then there are al- 

 ways visitors from other colonies or tour- 

 ists from the States." ^Ir. Kiemer says 

 further that "even if there were not many 

 Americans, there would be no need to be 

 lonely, as the Cubans around here are very 

 sociable and hospitable. Treated properly, 

 they respond with showing their good will 

 in all ways possible. Whenever you call 

 at their shacks, 'bohios,' they serve you 

 either with fruit or with the typical Cuban 

 coffee, which only the Cubans know how 

 to make. According to their code, they 

 are probably more polite than we are. In- 

 stead of being lonely, we often wish for 

 more time to ourselves — for reading and 



writing, and when our friends in the States 

 write expressing sympathy for us in our 

 great loneliness, we must smile at their 

 wasted sympathy." 



New Life Insurance Company 



Col. Le Gage Pratt has accepted a prop- 

 osition to become vice-president and man- 

 ager of the Compania Nationale de Le- 

 geiros de Cuba, a new life company just 

 about to begin business in Havana. This 

 is the iirst company to receive a Cuban 

 charter from the Cuban government. Ac- 

 cording to the director of public health for 

 the island, the mortality there is 13 per 

 1,000,* and the moral hazard is not partic- 

 ularly serious. Col. Pratt was formerly 

 Superintendent of Agencies for the Mutual 

 Benefit, but for a year or so past has been 

 vice-president and general manager of the 

 Puritan Life of Providence. The experi- 

 m^ent of founding a company in what was 

 once regarded as a region to be avoided if 

 possible, says Insurance of New York, will 

 be watched with interest. The change is 

 an evidence of the achievements of sanitary 

 science. 



* See official chart on page 21. 



