THE CUBA REVIEW 



ISLE OF PINES NOTES 



NEW SYSTEM OF TAXATION 



A radical change from the present sys- 

 tem of taxing the vast rural acreage of 

 tlie Isle of Pines will oecome effective 

 with the openmg of the new liscal year, 

 July 1, 1911. All owners of real estate 

 on the Isle of Pines, located outside the 

 municipal boundaries, will be compelled to 

 pay a fixed tax, regardless of whatever 

 contracts may exist between the individual 

 owners of the property and the land com- 

 panies from which the property was pur- 

 chased. This tax to be imposed is a very 

 low one and will in all probability be in 

 the neighborhood of thirty dollars per 

 acre. The officials have ruled that the 

 fixed legal rent of rural property shall be 

 two per cent of its fixed valuation, and the 

 tax imposed will be four per cent of this 

 two per cent rental. 



In compiling the new tax lists only six 

 p-eneral divisions of the Isle of Pines are 

 recognized. These are the districts of 

 Xueva Gerona, Santa Fe, Sierra de Ca- 

 ballos. Sierra de Casas, Cuchilla Alta and 

 Punta del Este. s\ rough estimate places 

 the individual property owners in these 

 divisions at about four thousand in num- 

 ber. 



The change in the system will come as 

 a startling surprise to many land owners 

 and companies. In some ways the meth- 

 ods of land t ansfers will be revolution- 

 ized. 



Some promoters have given contracts 

 to their settlers, stating that the land pur- 

 chased shall be free from taxation for a 

 specified number of years, the supposition 

 being that the promoters would be allowed 

 to pay the gross tax on their entire estates. 

 When asked what disposition would be 

 made of such cases, the officials stated 

 that such contracts were between the com- 

 panies and the purchasers and that the 

 rural property would be assessed to the 

 owner as shown bv the deeds on record. 



Referring to the use of lime, I men- 

 tioned air-slacked lime because it seems 

 impossible to get the ground lime-rock, 

 which would be much better. It seems a 

 pity that some company does not put in 

 a crusher to supply us with crushed lime, 

 for we have an abundant supply of splen- 

 did lime-stone. — D. H. Hoive'U. 



A well-signed petition, rraying for quick 

 action on the matter of a calzada through 

 Santa Ana and San r'rancisco to San Pe- 

 dro and the West Coast, was sent to the 

 proper authorities in Havana the other 

 day. 



IMPROVEMENTS HELD UP 



Notwithstanding that the appropriation 

 was regularly made and is a matter of 

 record, the $17,000 pr(jmised the Isle of 

 Pines for roads and bridges, may revert 

 to the treasury of the Cuban government, 

 as all efforts to collect the amount have 

 been in vain. The appropriation was 

 made last July. $10,000 of the $17,000 

 was to be expended on the three principal 

 bridges on the Nueva Gerona-Santa Fe 

 calzada and on the <-onstruction of a road 

 running throuo-h the island north and 

 south from Nueva Gerona to San Pedro, 

 crossing Santa Ana, San Francisco, La 

 Cunagua and a corner of the Las Tunas 

 estates. 



A petition has been drawn which it is 

 intended all land owners shall sign, and 

 then be forwarded to the government offi- 

 cials at Havana. 



Since the broad statement was made 

 some time ago that American schools, 

 maintained by the government, would be 

 given to the Isle of Pines, "if those en- 

 gineering the matter were given free hand 

 and no interference," little has been heard 

 of the matter. The time will have soon 

 passed when the appropriation for these 

 schools can be made for the coming year 

 and witii.^ut appropriations there can be 

 no schools. — Isle of Pines News. 



A vaccination corps will soon start out 

 on the Isle of Pines, it is slated, just as 

 soon as a supply of vaccine and other 

 necessary materials arrive, and every 

 American, not already wearing the mark 

 of a previous vaccination, must submit to 

 the ordeal or pay a fine and possibly go 

 to jail also. 



An epidemic of smallpox, alleged to ex- 

 ist in some of the cities of the United 

 States, is responsible for the order. The 

 sanitary authorities fear infection through 

 the mails. 



A modern American school building that 

 will eclipse anything on the Isle of Pines 

 and rival in architectural beauty and con- 

 veniences the best of the public schools 

 and colleges of Cuba, is to be erected in 

 Xueva Gerona. The plans now under 

 consideration are for a building of native 

 marble rock. The structure will embrace 

 a large assembly hall, reception and class 

 rooms, storage closets and a commodious 

 suite of living apartments. 



The Whitney Telephone Company has 

 been authorized by President Gomez to 

 extend its telephone lines on the Isle of 

 Pines. 



