14 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



ALL AROUND CUBA 



INTERESTING NEWS NOTES REGARDING VARIOUS MATTERS PERTAINING 



TO THE ISLAND 



The initial concert of the Havana Sym- 

 phonic Orchestra, the first attempt made in 

 this hne in Havana, took place on Decem- 

 ber 17th, in the afternoon, at the Polyteama 

 Grand Theatre. The orchestra is com- 

 posed of sixty-three musicians, counting 

 among them the best soloists and pro- 

 fessors. 



A fire at Caibarien, on December 28th, 

 destroyed the warehouse and the branch 

 office of the Cuban Central Railways. 



The Cuban government is preparing to 

 fittingly celebrate the event of the seconJ 

 anniversary of the restoration of the ad- 

 ministration of the republic by Cubans, 

 which will occur on January 28th. 



One hundred and twenty-five members 

 of the International Association of Ticket 

 Agents are due to arrive in Havana on 

 March 24th for a week's sojourn in the 

 Cuban capital. 



Senor Don Cristobal Fernandez ValHn 

 y Alfonso will succeed Senor Don Pablo 

 Soler as Spain's minister to Cuba. He is 

 related to the Cuban family Alfonso, of 

 which Vice-President Zayas is a member, 

 and he had an uncle on the Cuban side in 

 the last war of independence who fought 

 side by side for Cuba libre with the present 

 Secretary of State, Senor Julio Sanguily, 

 at the battle of Pitajones. 



The Cuban State Department has de- 

 tailed a government expert to aid Amer- 

 ican engineers in measuring the length of 

 the harbor of Manzanillo. The measure- 

 ments will be taken from a government 

 vessel. 



The State Department also granted per- 

 mits for the establishment of three obser- 

 vatories, one in Havana, one in Caimanera 

 and one in Manzanillo, but the American 

 Minister Mr. Jackson has waived the first 

 two, not deeming them necessary. 



Secretary Meyer, of the United States 

 navy, selects Guantanamo as one of the 

 seven most important naval bases the gov- 

 ernment can maintain, and recommends 

 that the ultimate expenditure of $1,500,000 

 be made to improve the naval station in 

 Cuba. 



By decree of the president, the applica- 

 tion made by Tiburcio Perez de Castaheda, 

 to be allowed to establish an electric plant 

 in the City of Havana for the sale; of fluid 

 for lighting and power, has been denied 

 on the recommendation of the department 

 of post and communications. 



A new market building, constructed of 

 steel, brick and corrugated iron, was in- 

 augurated at Guantanamo, on December 

 19th. It occupies a floor space of 1,741 

 square meters, and has all the latest im- 

 provements. It is lighted by electricity, 

 and all the stands for meats and fish are of 

 marble. The market was built by a corpo- 

 ration of merchants of this town and Ha- 

 vana, who have a concession for twenty 

 years, when the market will revert to the 

 town. 



Eugenic Jiminez, the man who promoted 

 and financed the great American game of 

 baseball in Cuba, does not speak a word 

 of the English language. He employs an 

 English interpreter to assist him in all his 

 business transactions. Mr. Jiminez comes 

 from one of the first families in Cuba, and, 

 despite his intimate connection with this 

 typically American game of sport, he has 

 never tried to master the English language. 

 When baseball in Cuba was confined to 

 the wealthy class of people, Mr. Jiminez 

 was regarded as the best first baseman on 

 the island. His great love for the game 

 caused him to finance the baseball sport 

 when the Cuban fans demanded that they 

 should see the best the game afforded. It 

 cost him practically $15,000 to bring the 

 Philadelphia and Detroit teams here for 

 a test of twenty-four games, but he made 

 a big profit. Mr. Jiminez intends to visit 

 the United States next season during the 

 league games. 



A presidential decree issued late in De- 

 cember unifies the National and the Secret 

 Police Service under the command of 

 General Rivas, who up to the present has 

 commanded only the former. 



A bill was introduced December 14th in 

 the senate providing an appropriation of 

 $621,950 for improvements in the port of 

 Santiago de Cuba. The importance of this 

 port within the next ten years, when the 

 Panama Canal shall be opened for traffic, 

 is pointed out in the bill. 



According to Secretary Pasalodos, the 

 Cuban government intends to celebrate 

 January 28th as Restoration Day, since it is 

 the anniversary of the end of the American 

 provisional administration and the com- 

 mencement of the present regime. The Na- 

 tional Exposition of Agriculture, Industry 

 and Arts will be inaugurated in the Gar- 

 dens of the Villa of the Mills in the morn- 

 ing; there will be a military parade in the 

 afternoon and a ball at the palace in the 

 evening, to which the diplomatic corps will 

 be invited. 



