10 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



The laws governing the ad- 

 Iiniiiigration mittance of immigrants to 

 Laws Cuba provide that people 



showing symptoms of tra- 

 choma and favtis, the latter being ringworm 

 or scalp disease, may be confined at quaran- 

 tine to permit of treatment. The usual pe- 

 riod for this inspection by the doctors is 

 one month. The cost of keeping these im- 

 migrants in quarantine is 80 cents a day, 

 and the steamship company which has 

 brought the immigrants to Cuba has to bear 

 the expenses. 



• The new department of immigration, 

 colonization and work will soon be in- 

 stalled on the upper floor of the Machina 

 Building, Havana, and it is expected that 

 under the new regulations the frequent 

 iabuses on the part of second class hotel 

 runners and other speculators will be defi- 

 nitely done away with. 



The officers of the department will be 

 organized and a strict system will be put 

 in force by the Secretary of Agriculture, 

 Commerce and Labor. 



The work of assessing the 

 Growth real estate property of Ha- 

 in the vana for the purposes of 



Suburbs taxation will be undertaken 

 by a new board, the terri- 

 torial tax commission, which was formally 

 constituted December 15th. 



The same work done by a previous com- 

 mission, organized shortly after the inaugu- 

 ration of the Cuban republic, occupied t^YO 

 years. The present commission's labors will 

 be greatly increased, as the city and its 

 suburbs have grown greatly. 



The Cuban State Depart- 



Coffee Claim ment has again made a re- 



Again ply to the note which was 



Denied presented by Galban & Co., 



of Havana, through the 



American legation, asking the return of 



$91,805 alleged to have been paid as excess 



duty on coffee. 



This claim has been passed on several 

 times, and the Cuban government has again 

 informed the claimants through the lega- 

 tion that they have had no reason to change 

 their previous view on the matter. It grew 

 out of the fact that Galban & Co., as well 

 as other merchants, imported in the year 

 of 1904 large amounts of Brazilian coffee, 

 which was first taken to the United States, 

 where it was roasted and then brought mto 

 Cuba. . , . , , , 



When the coffee arrived m the island, the 

 custom authorities refused to grant the cof- 

 fee the benefits of the reciprocity treaty, 

 inasmuch as it was not a product of the in- 

 dustry or soil of the United States, the 

 operation of roasting or grinding it not 

 being considered as within the purview of 

 the treaty. 



The necessity for im- 



Six Hundred proving the port of San- 



Thousand Dollars tiago de Cuba because of 



for Santiago the coming opening of 



the Panama Canal, on 

 the favorable recommendation of the com- 

 mittee on public works, caused the house, 

 on December 22d, to grant an appropriation 

 of $600,000 to carry out improvements, the 

 principal part of which is the dredging of 

 the port and construction of wharves. This 

 bill is one of those that congress left hang- 

 ing when it made bulk appropriations for 

 public works by the act of June 30, 1910. 



The appropriation will undoubtedly be al- 

 lowed by congress, which reconvened Jan- 

 uary 9th. 



Sealed proposals for the 



Palace construction of the pro- 



Bids posed provincial palace 



Opened were opened before the 



committee appointed for the 



purpose on December 31st. 



The committee is composed of Governor 

 Asbert, Provincial Engineer Franquiz, 

 President Bustillo of the provincial coun- 

 cil, Senator Augustin Garcia Osuna, Con- 

 gressman Garcia Ensehat and Sr. Manuel 

 Corroalles, state engineer for the province. 

 Five construction firms, three of which 

 are Americans, the other two national 

 firms, presented bids. Each bid bears a 

 "motto," and after the bids and plans are 

 examined the contract will be awarded, 

 and the name of the successful firm an- 

 nounced. 



Peace and Prosperity 



The news from Cuba is of peace and 

 prosperity. It concerns few persons in 

 the United States, and least of all the 

 government at Washington, what political 

 disputes the Cubans may have among 

 themselves. The transference of the com- 

 mand of Cuba's tiny army, which is a much 

 less effective force than its rural guard, 

 from General "Pino" Guerra to Col. 

 Marti is not a matter of international im- 

 portance. President Gomez has not held 

 his seat as chief executive for two years 

 without exciting much hostile comment and 

 some show of opposition. Neither has 

 President Taft. The fact that Gomez has 

 held his office successfully, and admin- 

 istered the affairs of his country to the 

 satisfaction of a large majority of its in- 

 habitants is the essential fact. 



There is no present need of worry 

 about Cuba. There is no revolution in 

 sight, and there is no possible excuse for 

 any wild talk about a third intervention 

 by the United States. The government is 

 stable. There is plenty of work for the 

 laboring classes and trade is generally 

 good. — New York Times. 



