14 



THE CUBA REVIEW And Bulletin. 



"Owing to her geographical location 

 Cuba finds herself within the sphere of 

 North American influence. That influ- 

 ence, however, niu.st be exercised in a 

 fashion not to offend the susceptibilities 

 of a people whose worth and dignity 

 would invariably oppose oppressive and 

 humiliating constitutional formulas." — 

 Diario de la l-amiiia. 



"Cuba wants no protectorate, because 

 she needs none nor is she even satisfied 

 to endure the Piatt amendment, which 

 'was accepted in the pages of her consti- 

 tution merely because of the uncertainty 

 of the times when that document was 

 formulated, or j^erhaps because of an im- 

 patience justifiable at the moment." — El 

 Partido Liberal, Havana. 



FINANCIAL 



Havana's Chamber of Commerce is ac- 

 tively interested in the endeavor to make 

 American currency the only medium of 

 exchange in Cuba. In that case, Spanish 

 coins would be recalled to Spain. The only 

 difficulty is whether prices of provisions 

 will be regulated in accordance to exchange. 

 Since the Royal Alliance and King Al- 

 fonso's close relations with England, Span- 

 ish silver has gone up. Not long ago the 

 rate of exchange was one dollar and forty 

 cents for an American dollar, now it is 

 only one dollar and thirteen cents. But 

 prices have not been lowered in proportion. 



A commission from the national liberal 

 party called upon Governor Magoon to re- 

 quest a national currency for the Republic. 

 As already stated, there is some talk of 

 ■adopting American currency as the only 

 medium. It is already current in Santiago 

 de Cuba, and has been for several years. 

 The difference in exchange between Amer- 

 ican and Spanish currency is somewhat 

 confusing owing to the difference in value. 



The National Bank of Cuba is also- an 

 United States depositary for Cuba. S'aving 

 accounts are opened for the soldiers at 

 three per cent, interest, credited every three 

 months. 



The Nova Scotia Bank has acquired 

 the property comprising land on the cor- 

 ner of Cuba and O'Reilly Streets with a 

 handsome building for a bank. 



GENERAL NOTES 



Governor Magoon states that the 

 Commercial Cable Company shall have 

 no monopolj', although a decree will 

 authorize said company to make land- 

 ings on the coast of Cuba and to con- 

 nect said landings with their central 

 office in Havana. The government of 



Cuba makes a proviso reserving the right 

 to suspend such privilege and take i)os- 

 session of the installation if occasion 

 arises to warrant sucli a procedure. In 

 that case, the government would deter- 

 mine the proper indemnity to allow said 

 company. The Postal Telegraph Com- 

 pany has obtained the franchise and the 

 representatives of this company have al- 

 ready purchased a site in the Vedado, 

 preparatory to establishing their works. 

 The copper mines of Ernesto Fernan- 

 dez and Julio Cuevas in Vinalcs, Province 

 of Pinar del Rio, are valuable property, 

 and the copper trust of New York has 

 offered $150,000 for it. This company 

 owns the rich copper mines of El Cobre 

 in Santiago de Cuba province. 



r.ETTER SERVICE FOR I..\ GLORIA. 



The steamer La (Gloria, designed for the 

 service between Nuevitas and La Gloria, 

 came mto Havana on tiie morning of De- 

 cember 7. She came across the Gulf from 

 Florida under her own steam. Her meas- 

 urements and plan, which have already 

 been printed in the Cuba Review, are as 

 follows : Length, 75 feet, width 18 feet, 

 and her draught is 27 inches. She can 

 accommodate forty passengers, and, of 

 course, what is more important, can carry 

 considerable fruit and vegetables to the 

 steamers on regular service to New York. 



SI.X NEW WIRELESS ST.\TI0NS. 



The establishment of six new wireless 

 stations has been decreed by the Provis- 

 ional Government. The contract was made 

 some time ago. The same system which 

 is now employed at Mariel statirn will be 

 employed. The Llavana station will be 

 at Atares Castle. Other station-; will be 

 located in Baracoa, Santiago de Cuba, Cam- 

 aguey, Santa Clara and Pinar del Rio, at an 

 estimated expenditure of $163,000. 



INCRE.\SING THE RUR.\L GU.VRD. 



Five hundred men are to be enlisted in 

 the Rural Guard, and it is purposed to 

 still further increase this force. 



The blockhouses are to be preserved 

 by order of the Provisional Government, 

 a judicious measure as they were fast 

 becoming unfit for further use. 



S.\NITARY MAITKUS. 



According to Dr. Barnet's report, there 

 is only one case of yellow fever in Cuba 

 now and that is at Nueva Paz. The hy- 

 gienic measures taken to exterminate the 

 disease have been successful. Sanitation 

 has been greatly improved in every re- 

 spect. 



SANITARY INSPECTION RIGID. 



The Provisional Government is deter- 

 mined to put Havana in good condition and 

 improve sanitation. Major Kean submitted 

 an exhaustive report , on the condition in 

 which he found restaurants and cafes, as 

 well as private dwellings, wherein the 

 plumbing is defective. Improvements will 

 be made as soon as possible in this respect. 



