THE CUBA R E V I E W 



:23 



J.a ijiiaijua 6 carrnaje de los calles de la Habana y stiburbios. 

 The "guagua" (city omnibus) of Havana's streets and suburbs. 



THE "GUAGUAS" OR STAGES OF HAVANA 



The "guaguas," or stages, may be seen in all parts of Havana. They tap the suburbs 

 in all directions, going as far as the government agricultural experiment station many 

 miles away. If the visitor wishes to see these sections thoroughly and to study the people 

 at first hand, the "guaguas" afford him a most enviable opportunity. They form a part 

 of the Havana electric system, and from the company's last report for the year ended 

 December 31, 1909, the following statements regarding earnings are taken : 



On that date the equipment consisted of 17S stages and 1,467 mules and horses. 



The gross receipts for the year 1909 amounted to $381,886, an increase of $42,876 over 

 the previous year, and the net income was $86,073, an increase of $21,762 over 1908. In 

 the balance sheet for this period the value of the stage lines is placed at $171,339. 



The gross receipts for previous years were as follows : 



1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 



$279,343 $329,500 $348,801 $332,234 $339,009 



In an interview with Mr. Frank Steinhart, the second vice-president and general man- 

 ager- of the Havana Electric, the following additional interesting facts regarding the 

 operation of the "guaguas" were given : 



There are 130 men employed, and the company, to save the expense of inspectors, 

 "allows them to be their own cashiers, requiring every driver to turn in a certain amount 

 of money per day, while the surplus, if any, they may keep for themselves. 



"In round figures we receive about $1,000 a day. That is $30,000 a month. But we pay 

 out $12,000 for help, $12,000 more for feed, $2,500 more for repairs and about $1,000 for 

 rent of stables So, after all, it is no great gold mine for the company." 



All the employees of the company are well taken care of. 



Premiums, amounting to $600 per year, are distributed semi-annually among motormen 

 having the best records for avoiding accidents. 



The regulations and rules, by which the best records are obtained, were drawn up by 

 the men themselves. 



How this system works is best shown by the following total number of accidents : 



1907 1908 1909 



2,566 2,267 1,975 



Then there is an employees' mutual benefit society, which enjoys a membership of 971. 



All infractions of employees are judged by a committee of men taken from the ranks, 

 one conductor and one motorman constituting this body. This system has had an excel- 

 lent moral effect on the employees, and has resulted in a higher conception of the mi- 

 portance of discipHne which the jurymen impart to their comrades. After serving four 

 months, new men are chosen. Out of 8,716 cases, in only 54 was a discharge merited. 



General Funston, in his fourth paper on 

 his Cuban experiences, in the Christmas 

 Scribner's, upsets the accepted American 

 view that the Cuban insurgents were poor 

 fighters. He says, "for swift marching and 

 almost continual fighting, there was noth- 

 ing in the American Revolution that ap- 



proached Maximo Gomez's great march of 

 more than six hundred miles from east 

 of the Cauto River to the very environs 

 of Havana, striking column after column 

 of Spanish troops sent to intercept them. 

 There was more fighting in that^one march 

 than in our whole war of 1812." 



