THE CUBA REVIEW 



15 



Cuban Commercial Matters 



Cuban Market for Slot Machines 



Cuba at the present time offers an open 

 field for the sale of American-made slot 

 machines, provided the machines do not 

 involve any principle of chance. By a 

 ruling of the Cuban Department of Gov- 

 ernment the importation of slot ma- 

 chines is prohibited if such machines do 

 not return for each insertion of a coin 

 goods relatively equal to the value of the 

 coin. This ruHng, however, does not ex- 

 clude machines vending gum, candy and 

 perfume proportionate to the worth of 

 the inserted coin. Further, the regulation 

 does not debar slot-machine scales, if they 

 are such that one may weigh once for each 

 insertion of a coin. But if there is any 

 chance involved in the machine's opera- 

 tion, the use is forbidden. However, 

 slot-machine scales which permit one to ob- 

 tain again the coin if he guesses his weight 

 have been admitted and are being operated. 



So long as there is no possibility of ob- 

 jecting to slot machines on the ground of 

 gambling, it seems that such machines 

 could well be introduced. Their introduc- 

 tion is favored by the fact that the Cuban 

 people are already accustomed to the use 

 of small coins in purchases. At present in 

 Habana gum and candy are sold in amounts 

 of 1-cent and in 5-cent packages. 



One drawback to the use of slot machines 

 is found in the climate of Cuba, which is 

 such that goods may spoil if they remain 

 long in the machine, and the machine itself 

 will deteriorate more rapidly than in 

 many parts of the United States. An- 

 other obstacle to an extensive use of slot 

 machines would be the necessity of fur- 

 nishing constant protection for the ma- 

 chines from theft and burglary. 



Cuban Exports to the United States 



The total value of merchandise declared 

 for export to the United States from vari- 

 ous ports of Cuba during 1922 amounted 

 to $245,719,563 — an increase of nearly 

 $25,000,000 over the exports in 1921. 

 From this figure, and from import statis- 

 tics now available, it seems practically cer- 

 tain that Cuba holds fourth place among 



the countries of the world as regards total 

 value of exports to the United States dur- 

 ing 1922, the first three being Canada, the 

 United Kingdom, and Japan, in the order 

 named. 



About one-third of the Cuban exports 

 to the United States were shipped from 

 Habana, while Nuevitas (the most impor- 

 tant sugar port on the island) ranked 

 second. 



Declared exports for 1922 reveal an un- 

 usually large amount of returned American 

 goods, amounting to more than $4,000,000, 

 as compared with about $2,500,000 in 1921. 

 This increase was largely due to the in- 

 ability of Cuban importers to make good 

 their commitments, especially with regard 

 to consignments of textiles, and it was 

 deemed advisable by American exporters 

 to recall these goods rather than burden 

 the market with excessively heavy stocks. 



Tire Market 



There is a good demand for tires in 

 Habana, Cuba, owing to the rough usage 

 to which they are subjected. Vulcanizing 

 is mostly done by small shops, in which the 

 proprietor is the mechanic. Prices are 

 reasonable and the larger garages and 

 dealers do no vulcanizing, but send their 

 work out to the shops. Practically no re- 

 treading is done, the practice being to use 

 tires until they are so far depreciated that 

 retreading is impossible. 



Imports of Textiles 



Imports of textiles into Cuba during 

 1921 amounted to $42,674,342, of which 

 the principal items were: Cotton manu- 

 factures — plain fabrics, 13,286,095 pounds, 

 $15,175,400; twilled fabrics, 3.086,425 

 pounds, $4,176,889; knit goods, 1,379,271 

 pounds, $3,196,224; ready-made clothing, 

 1,578,789 pounds, $3,235,237; other cot- 

 ton manufactures, $4,352,098; bags for 

 sugar, 56,208,668 pounds, $5,919,727; other 

 manufactures of vegetable fibers, $2,648,- 

 804; wool manufactures, $2,453,029; silk 

 and manufactures of, $4,100,798. 



