THE CUBA REVIEW 



23 



have now been practically weeded out, the 

 business remaining in the hands of sub- 

 stantial merchants almost entirely of Span- 

 ish nationality. These men have been able 

 to secure credit from the banks when such 

 support was refused to many sugar and 

 tobacco firms. The present lumber im- 

 porters and dealers have not been engaged 

 in the business merely for the duration of 

 the war. They are all determined to 

 weather the storm and carry on in spite of 

 the present depression. 



Few failures have been reported in the 

 lumber trade and some of the most im- 

 portant brokers who have been in business 

 for a score or more of years declare they 

 have not lost a cent on poorly placed credit, 

 being enabled to do this because of their 

 intimate knowledge of local conditions and 

 in selecting the most desirable and sub- 

 stantial clientele. 



Drop in All Commodity Prices 

 Shortly after the crisis in the sugar in- 

 dustry, which occurred during the autumn 

 of 1920, approximately 12,000,000 feet of 

 American lumber, made up chiefly of 

 Southern pine, was rejected by Cuban im- 

 porters and this stock was stored in Habana 

 for shippers' accounts. In addition to this, 

 large quantities of lumber acquired at high 

 prices were held by importers and dealers. 

 The stagnation of the principal Cuban in- 

 dustries, sugar and tobacco, caused a de- 

 cided drop in prices of all commodities and 

 lumber suffered with the rest. Stock which 

 had been purchased at $70 to $80 per M 

 feet recently sold for as low as $20 to $30. 

 To be sure^ this has caused heavy losses, 

 but these losses are being accepted as a part 

 of the general liquidation, as they are in 

 this country, and dealers and importers who 

 had been enjoying a prosperous trade up 

 to a year and a half ago realize that they 

 must accept them. 



Lumber Trade on Firm Foundation 

 It is the opinion of those most con- 

 versant with Cuban conditions that it 

 would be a serious mistake on the part of 

 American exporters having outstanding ac- 

 counts in Cuba to force the importers to 

 liquidate their stocks at the present time. 

 This trade is far too valuable to do aught 

 to sacrifice the good-will of those firms 

 who have taken such large quantities of our 



lumber in times past and have always been 

 willing to pay its market value. Cuban 

 bankers believe that our exporters can well 

 afford to make concessions in the present 

 crisis, realizing that the lumber trade is on 

 a far sounder foundation than any other 

 Cuban industry. By exercising patience 

 and forbearance and giving the Cuban 

 market time to absorb the present stocks, 

 our exporters stand a far better chance of 

 minimizing their losses as well as establish- 

 ing a good-will for the future, and in many 

 cases this procedure would seem to be the 

 only solution. Little can be accomplished 

 by forcing matters through the courts, as 

 the Cuban laws are peculiar in that they 

 offer greater protection to the debtor than 

 the creditor. Litigation is costly and unde- 

 sirable from every point of view. 



Sugar Industry Cuba's Mainstay 

 It is impossible to say how long present 

 conditions will continue. Lumber prices 

 have only just reached their ebb and are 

 beginning to show an upward trend, yet 

 radical improvement can hardly be ex- 

 pected for another twelve months. Eco- 

 nomic life in Cuba centers around the sugar 

 industry and until it returns to normal no 

 great improvement can be forecast in the 

 lumber trade. Much depends upon the 

 outcome of the present tariff question in 

 the United States and the prices the sugar 

 planters may hope to realize in the future. 

 In spite of the unsatisfactory conditions of 

 the sugar market and the general depres- 

 sion in all business throughout the Island 

 at the present time, a certain amount of 

 new construction is going on and at an en- 

 couraging rate, and Cuban importers esti- 

 mate that the present lumber stocks may 

 be consumed during the current year. 



American Exports of Lumber 

 The Cuban lumber market has always 

 been an attractive one to American export- 

 ers. During 1912 it absorbed 125,000,000 

 feet of American woods and 139,000.000 

 feet in 1913. The post-war demand was 

 very much greater. Our lumber exports in 

 1919 amounted to 187,000,000 feet and to 

 298,000,000 feet in 1920. Under normal 

 conditions it is safe to say that this market 

 could care for approximately 200,000,000 

 feet of American logs, timber and sawn 

 lumber. Naturallv, it is not advisable to 



