10 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



There were due to arrive in 

 Importing Santiago de Cuba, in Janu- 

 Laborers ary, three ships, bringing a 

 to Cuba part of the thousand Nor- 

 wegian famiHes contracted 

 for by the great sugar estates San Manuel, 

 Las DeHcias and Chaparra, under the man- 

 agement of General Mario Menocal, and 

 also 400 families from South America, for 

 the same destination. 



As these ships landed their passengers at 

 Manati, Puerto Padre and Cascareto, the 

 secretary of the treasury sent special cus- 

 toms inspectors to grant admission to the 

 immigrants. 



The recently constructed 

 Water reservoir has proved a fail- 

 for ure in supplying sufficient 



Santiago water, and as this was built 

 under American supervis- 

 ion, it has come in for much criticism. 



On January 18th, President Gomez sent 

 a message to the house, requesting an ap- 

 propriation of $2,000,000 to be used in the 

 construction of a new aqueduct for the City 

 of Santiago de Cuba. 



A department of immigra- 

 New tion is projected at the 



Immigration port of Santiago de Cuba, 



Department and is under examination 

 by the department of public 

 works. 



After a recent conference by the cabinet 

 it was decided to advertise immediately for 

 the construction of the necessary works 

 at Cayo Duan, where the new department 

 of immigration will be established. 



This is considered a much needed im- 

 provement, in view of the fact that many 

 objectionable immigrants succeed in land- 

 ing on the island, through the lack of a 

 department of this kind in Santiago de 

 Cuba. 



Congressman Masferrer's 

 A National "national sugar mill" bill 

 Sugar was read January 18th in 

 Mill the house and referred to 



the committee on agricul- 

 ture. It provides for the appointment of a 

 committee to get a company interested in 

 the construction of a sugar mill on 5,000 

 caballerias of land near Manzanillo, belong- 

 ing to the government, which land is to be 

 transferred to the company on condition 

 that the company shall install the machin- 

 ery and give work to five hundred families 

 who are to be provided with homes, oxen, 

 a horse, poultry and three caballerias of 

 land to be planted by them, representing a 

 value of $1,025. Exemption of duty on 

 machinery and the inclusion of the r-ailroad 

 lines in the general railroad subsidy act are 

 benefits to be granted the company. 



According to the figures 



The of the census compiled by 



Population the department of the inte- 



Increasing rior, Cuba's population in 



three years, to July, 1910, 



has increased more than 100,000. 



The compilation covers a period from 

 Januar.v 30, 1909, to July 30,1910. The 

 comparison by provinces with the ofiicial 

 census taken in 1907 follows : 



Province 1910 1907 



Pinar del Rio 252,221 240,372 



Havana 555,178 538,010 



Matanzas 255,178 239,812 



Santa Clara 497,142 457,431 



Camaguey 128,669 118,269 



Oriente 461,394 455,086 



Total 2,150,112 2,048,980 



A workingmen's exchange 



An in Havana has been created 



Admirable by the municipality. The 



Project city will pay $4,000 per year 



for its maintenance, besides 

 furnishing it to carry on the business in a 

 proper way. It purports to become a home 

 for all trade unions, the representatives of 

 which will be given office accommodation ; 

 it will have a meeting hall and a reading- 

 room. Employers will have facilities in 

 the exchange for securing labor, and em- 

 ployees will be given the opportunity to se- 

 cure positions, while the adjustment of all 

 controversies as to labor will be facilitated. 



Under the law as it exists 



The Veiito to-day, the matter of pass- 



Aqitediict ing on the leasing of the 



Lease Vento aqueduct rests solely 



with the municipality and 



not with congress. 



"The attempt on the part of the national 

 legislative bodies to usurp the rights of the 

 municipality of Havana," says La Lucha, 

 "is an interference with the rights of the 

 community." 



On the other hand. Senator Cisneros 

 holds to the opinion that the leasing of the 

 aqueduct does not come within the author- 

 ity of the municipality. 



The president, in a message 

 to the senate on January 

 23d, recommended the im- 

 mediate purchase of several 

 revenue cutters and an ap- 

 propriation of $78,000 for repairing those 

 now in service. 



Neiv 

 Revenue 

 Cutters 



The exact reading of the text of the 

 minimum-wage labor law recently approved 

 by President Gomez, which provides for a 

 minimum daily wage of $1.25, excepts from 

 the obligation all contracts made before 

 July 1, 1911, when the law goes into effect. 



