THE CUBA REVIEW 



The new Secretary of the 

 Appointment Treasurj' Senor Francisco 

 on Paula Alachado is running 



Merit Only his office on business prin- 

 ciples, as his disposition 

 of a recent request for office as a 

 matter of political expediency shows. Some 

 local politicians desired a post for one of 

 their adherents under a certain custom 

 house collector. They were told that if 

 the collector for that district recommended 

 the appointment it would be made. This 

 was a precedent and the politicians endeav- 

 ored to argue against such procedure, but 

 the secretary would not hear of it, saying 

 that he held the collector responsible for 

 the work in his district and he could not 

 do so were he to appoint men who were 

 not of the collector's own selection. Still 

 the politicians demurred, "for this once," 

 but were given to understand that the 

 Treasury Department was to be run for 

 the best interests of the state and not m 

 the interest of any group. 



The result has been all of the chiefs feel 

 that thev are promoted to the special con- 

 fidence o.' their superior officer and are im- 

 bued with the desire and determination to 

 merit the trust placed in them. 



Wants 

 Lighting 

 Contract 



Havana at present buys its 

 gas and electricity from the 

 Havana Gas and Electric 

 Company for the sum of 

 $400,000 per annum and the 

 contract ends in December, 1911. Recently, 

 however, the citj^ council extended this con- 

 tract for a period of 30 years, and that 

 point is now being contested, because it is 

 alleged that the concession granted by the 

 city has not been tested in the courts as 

 good. 



Another appHcation to establish a plant 

 has been approved by the Department of 

 Posts and Communications, which under 

 the law decides upon all applications in the 

 first instance but which does not conflict 

 or affect the authority of the municipality 

 interested. The new company promises 

 to give the city double the present num- 

 ber of lights without increasing the annual 

 cost and will turn the property over to the 

 city at the end of thirty years. They 

 promise to have it finished by December, 

 1911. 



The town of Holguin, 

 Agriciil- Oriente Province, wants 

 tural the agricultural school, 



Schools scheduled for that prov- 

 ince. It offers free to the 

 government for the purpose some access- 

 ible and suitable lands. 



Bids are asked for the construction of 

 agricultural schools in several provinces, 

 and authorization has been granted the sec- 

 retary to purchase the necessary equipment. 



Proposals are asked for the 

 The construction of the new 



New presidential palace to be 



Palace built on the lands now oc- 

 cupied by the Villanueva 

 station of the United Railways in Havana. 

 Proposals will be received up to August 

 15, 1911. 



The total cost cannot exceed $985,000 

 currency, which must include all the work, 

 except value of the land which the state 

 pays for. Two prizes, one of $10,000 and 

 another of $5,000, are oft'ered for the best 

 plans. 



El paradero en la Habana del Ferrocarril Villa 

 Nueva, el sitio de la propuesta Casa Blanca Cu- 

 bana. Ahora todos los Irenes de los Ferrocarriles 

 Unidos de la Habana salen de este paradero, para 

 todos los puntos orientales. 



The Villa Nueva railroad station in Havana, the 



site of the proposed Cuban White House. Trains 



of the United Railways of Havana now leave this 



station for all points east. 



A contract was recently ap- 

 Cannon proved by Secretary of 

 Selling State Sanguily, selling all 

 Cheap the iron and old cannon and 

 mortars stored at some 

 twenty places in different parts of Cuba, to 

 Jose M. Cabrera for $1.40 per ton. By 

 decree of the President recently the sale 

 was suspended for further inquiry. When 

 the signing of the contract was published, 

 the newspapers called attention to the mat- 

 ter, pointing out that the last price for 

 this material was $3.55 per ton, and Sec- 

 retary Sanguily immediately asked for an 

 investigation. 



It seems probable that there are not less 

 than a quarter of a million tons of old 

 guns, projectiles and other old iron at the 

 different ports. 



