THE CUBA REVIEW 17 



Service of the interior funded debt §3,000,000 



Special trust funds 1,510,000 



Pensions 2,000,000 



Wages, salaries, and expenses 6,920,000 



Reconstruction, etc., of public works 60,000 



Departmental obligations: 



Public works 2,800,000 



Other departments 1,250,000 



Cost of collection of sales tax 186,000 



Expenses of the commission 28,000 



Total $17,754,000 



Commercial Attache Paul L. Edwards, Habana, Jidy 15. 



Money in Circulation in Cuba 



A recent report from the United States Commercial Commissioner at Habana deals 

 with this subject as follows: — 



Cuban Treasury Department officials estimate United States gold coin in Cuba at 

 $2,000,000 to $2,500,000, and United States paper money at more than $100,000,000. 

 The amount of American silver in the form of dollars in the island is considered negligible, 

 while American fractional silver is reported to be in circulation to the extent of approxi- 

 mately $100,000. 



Recently there has been some discussion as to whether nickel coins in circulation in 

 Cuba are in excess of the requirements of business. These coins are in great part Cuban. 

 In 1919, $300,000 in 10-cent pieces and $200,000 in 5-cent pieces were imported from the 

 United States, and in the latter part of 1920 another importation of 5-cent pieces amount- 

 ing to $150,000 was made. At the present time it is considered by Treasury officials that 

 $300,000 is a high estimate for the amount of United States nickel and bronze coins in 

 Cuba. 



At the date of the latest coinage of Cuban money (1921) the total amount of Cuban 

 nickel pieces, including 5-cent, 2-cent, and 1-cent pieces, which had been coined was 

 $1,449,560. Recent reports show that of this amount $570,164 is held in the Treasury 

 and in the banks. This leaves a remainder of $879,396 as the amount of Cuban nickel 

 coins in circulation. If to this is added the estimated amount of American nickel and 

 bronze pieces in Cuban circulation, a total of $1,179,396 is arrived at, which is considered 

 by Treasury officials to be a satisfactory estimate of the quantity of this class of coins 

 now in actual circulation in Cuba. It is maintained that this sum, which is at the rate 

 of $0.41 per capita, is not in excess of Cuban needs. 



Over-supply of Small Coins in Habana. 



However, owing to difficulty in securing proper distribution of small coins, reports 

 have been made of a surplus of this class of money, especially in the city of Habana. 

 The Union of Tobacco Manufacturers has appealed to the Treasury Department for 

 permission to exchange the nickel small coins, which are received in large quantities by 

 the cigar stands, for the Government stamps required in the sale of cigars and cigarettes. 

 The Treasury Department in reply maintains that there is no surplus of small coins re- 

 quiring special action. 



From the interior of the island requests have come for increased supplies of frac- 

 tional coins to meet the demands of the labourers in the sugar har\-esting. As the 

 Government has no appropriation for transporting coins to the interior to meet local 

 demands, it has not been able to comply with requests to make monthly shipments of 

 small coins to sugar mills. Until recently the supply of fractional coins in the interior 

 has tended to flow steadily to Habana because of administrative methods whereby re- 

 mittances of sums received by the Government for taxes, customs, etc., were made by 



