THE 

 CUBA RLVILW 



"ALL ABOUT CUBA" 



Copyright, 1911, by the !Munson Steamship Line 



Volume IX 



MARCH, 1911 



Number 4 



CUBAN GOVERNMENT MATTERS 



SPAIN S TRADE WITH CUBA SAVINGS BANKS FOR CHILDREN COMPA- 



NIA DE PUERTOS BILL SIGNED 



General Carlos Garcia Ye- 



SoDie lez, Cuban minister to Ar- 



Coiisular gentine, is spoken of as the 



Changes successor of Sr. Rafael 



Montoro as Cuban minister 



to England. At present General Garcia Ve- 



lez will represent Cuba at the head of a 



special embassy to be sent to England for 



the coronation of George V. 



His successor at Argentine probably will 

 be Sr. Aristides Aguero, now first secretary 

 at Berlin, a son-in-law of Sr. Montoro. 



Secretary of State Sanguil}- on [March 

 8th announced that he had named Sr. Mon- 

 toro to act as legal adviser in the state de- 

 partment on special diplomatic matters. 



Secretary of State Sanguily 

 Spain and issued a statement Alarch 

 Cuba's 7th that the Spanish min- 

 Trade ister, Sehor Solere y Guar- 



diola, had informed the Cu- 

 ban foreign office under date of February 

 25th that Spain did not at present desire 

 a new commercial treaty with Cuba, that 

 being just now impossible because of the 

 reciprocity treaty in force between Cuba 

 and the United States ; and because Spain 

 "did not make sufficient concessions to the 

 Cuban products." 



Spain therefore proposed in its stead a 

 modus Vivendi, the basis of which, besides 

 ■"the most favored treatment which Spain 

 has already granted to Cuban products," 

 shall be considerably amplified, allowing 

 Cuba a reduction of 25 pesetas in the duty 

 on cigars ; 50 per cent reduction on certain 

 woods ; 50 per cent reduction on sponges : 

 33 per cent on preserves, and a considerable 

 reduction on rum. 



In return Spain wants the accepted pres- 

 ent tariff to remain unchanged, excepting 

 a reduction of the duty on wines. 



Cuba's main demand for a reduction of 

 the duty on her tobacco is not allowed. 



Spain, from all accounts, cannot grant 

 any reduction in the duty on Cuba's leaf 

 tobacco because of an existing concession, 

 which has 28 years to run, which permits of 

 a monopoly to a native concern. Before 

 this concession was made, Spain took from 

 Cuba on an average of 1,300,000 kilograms 

 of leaf tobacco, while at present Spain pur- 

 chases about 660,000 kilograms. 



A^ery little Cuban hardwood is exported 

 to Spain, while the preserves, sponges and 

 tortoise shells which maj^ be shipped to that 

 countrj- would not in any manner increase 

 exportations to Spain, which at present do 

 not go over $800,000 in value, while Cuba 

 takes $8,000,000 of Spain's products. 



CJiildren 



Taught 



To Save 



The establishment of sav- 

 ings banks for the benefit 

 of the children from the 

 second to the fifth grades 

 of the public schools of 

 Cuba has been authorized by decree re- 

 cently signed bj^ President Gomez, on the 

 proposal of Secretary- of Public Instruction 

 ^lario Garcia Kohly, in order to develop 

 and promote habits of thrift in the young 

 generation. Deposits of from one cent to 

 one dollar will be accepted by the teachers 

 and principals, delivered to the board of 

 education, and later deposited in the Na- 

 tional Bank of Cuba. Bank-books will be 

 supphed the young depositors. These im- 

 portant savings institutions will be imme- 

 diately estabhshed in many of the leading 

 cities. 



Plans are under official consideration for 

 the construction of a cart road between 

 INIoron and ^layajigua. Camaguey Prov- 

 ince. 



