THE CUBA REVIEW 



sugar industry will again thrive as well as ever in spite of what now seems to be 

 a tremendous handicap. 



Financial Situation : There has been very little change in the financial situation 

 during the past few weeks. Various rumors arrive from time to time regarding the 

 loan issue, only to be immediately retracted or contradicted. It may be safely stated 

 that the proposed $50,000,000 loan is still a long way off and as the need for such 

 a loan is much less urgent at this time than was true a short time ago, it is not 

 expected that the administration will carry the negotiations which have been pending 

 for several months very much further. One of the representatives of the house of 

 Morgan & Company, bankers, recently paid a short visit to Havana, and while he did 

 not make any official statement, the newspapers of the city have almost unanimously 

 concluded that the loan question will soon be dropped. 



Economies in public expenditures are being made right along, and with increasing 

 revenues which may be expected as business continues to improve, the necessity of 

 the Government having to secure outside aid or even having to float an internal loan 

 issue as has been suggested at various times, may be obliterated. 



While there has already been an appreciable improvement noted in most branches 

 of industry, so far very little change has been noticeable in the retail field. Sales 

 in all retail lines, excepting perhaps foodstuffs, are still stagnant. Liquidation has 

 been in progress for some time: lower prices prevail but are seemingly still too high 

 to attract the attention of the purchasing public. 



Considerable thought has been given the executive and legislative bodies of the 

 Government to the question of new taxation for the raising of revenue and with a 

 view to the distribution of such taxation as equitably as possible and without disturbing 

 to too great an extent the present taxation system. Among several measures under 

 consideration is a Sales Tax Law, which seems to meet with as hearty approval of 

 the people as a whole as any tax law which has been under advisement. This system 

 of taxation has been in satisfactory operation in several countries and apparently 

 has given quite satisfactory results. 



Work of the Liquidation Committee appointed to straighten out the affairs of the 

 several insolvent banking institutions is still under way, no report as yet having been 

 forthcoming. Quite a number of changes in the personnel of this Committee have 

 taken place since the work was begun and an occasional charge is made against some 

 member which is later retracted and the work goes along quite merrily again. Just 

 when the public may be expected to know what is left for it out of the wreckage 

 is problematical. Commercial paper issued by these banks while still solvent is still 

 being sold and traded, at a considerable discount from face value however. 



Political Matters: Since the return of ex-President Menocal last month the 

 political pot has once again begun to boil. Several conferences have been held between 

 the ex-president and President Zayas, presumably upon pressing governmental problems, 

 the former President having volunteered his support to the President in assisting 

 all possible towards a restoration of normal times. Ex-President Menocal has repeatedly 

 denied that he would again become a candidate for the presidency. 



Aside from the opposition encountered at times on the part of Congress, the 

 legislative program of President Zayas has been successfully carried out and the 

 administration is giving a very good account of itself indeed. 



Tourist Season Unusuali,y Heavy: It is claimed that more tourists visited 

 Cuba during the season which is now drawing to a close than ever before, demonstrat- 

 ing the growing popularity of the Island as a winter resort. The number of people 

 visiting Cuba during the tourist season from November to April, has been estimated 

 at about 50,000. 



Thievery from Bonded Warehouses Causes Stir: Hundreds, if not thousands 

 of cases of goods have been pilfered or tampered with and substitution of trash 

 made in place of the merchandise taken from bonded warehouses. Investigation has 

 been started to learn to what extent this robberv has gone and where the responsibility 



