THE CUBA R E \- I E W 



19 



PEACE NOT REXOLLTION WANTED 



Juan Fredcrico Edelman, chief judge of 

 the court of appeals at Havana, who ar- 

 rived in New York early in July was in- 

 terviewed by the -Vt'rc York Sun regarding 

 trouble in Cuba. He said : 



'"All Cubans who have au inteiecjt i'; 

 the future of their country are desirous 

 of peace and prosperity. They are aware 

 that to start another revolution, witl! the 

 prospect of a third intervention by the 

 United States, would mean a risk of losing 

 their native land and nationalit}-. 



'"All this talk about the discontent of 

 the Cuban people against President Gome^ 

 and his administration, in my opinion, has 

 been made to serve some political purpose 

 with wliich I am not acquainted. 



"The present administration was elected 

 impartially after the second intervention 

 by the United States government. It was a 

 popular selection which was admitted to be 

 such by all parties at the time. The next 

 presidential election takes place in Xovem- 

 i)eT, 1912, too early to start an election fight 

 when there is more than a year for the 

 poHtical parties to select their candidate." 



"Have you heard that there was any se- 

 rious dissatisfaction with the president for 

 ■extravagance under his administrat£©o?'" 

 he was asked. 



"I have heard that there was some dis- 

 content," he replied, "but I am conaSdesit 

 that there will not be am- revolution; 

 The Cubans are too wise." 



PAY OF RAILROAD LABORERS 



I had under me 135 men of all classes^ 

 mechanics, carpenters and laborers,, ire- 

 centh" said, W. P. ^Murphy, superinteraJsiit 

 of the Rancho Veioz extension of the Cur- 

 haTi Central Railroad. The railroad cotti- 

 pany furnishes them sleeping quarters. 

 pays the laborers $1 a day American, 

 money, and the expert laborers $2.50 to- 

 $.3.50, feeds them well and allows extra 

 time for night work or for work in water. 



Mr. D. J. Lewis, Jr., most popular in 

 trade circles as the manager of the Bundy 

 Department of the American Radiator 

 Coinpany, has opened offices at 50 Church 

 Street, Xew York, as general sales man- 

 ager of the Lytton ^lanufacturing Cor- 

 poration, of Franklin, Va. This company 

 manufactures a very high grade of steam 

 specialties, including steam traps of a new 

 and advanced type, blow-off valves, pres- 

 sure reducing valves, etc. Their goods are 

 in extensive use in the navy and war de- 

 partments of the United States govern- 

 ment and are giving most satisfactory ser- 

 vice in many sugar and other manufac- 

 turing plants. 



Ll\ I.NG COSTS LARGELY INCREASED 



While there has been a great deal of talk 

 in the United States that the cost of living 

 has increased so much that it has created 

 untold harships upon the masses, the same 

 conditions of things has taken place in 

 Cuba, says Tobacco, of Xew York. High 

 duties on all the necessities of life and 

 higher rents have been followed by a 

 raise in the wages of employees, and this in 

 combination with the almost doubled cost 

 of leaf tobacco have made the position of 

 the small cigar manufacturer a serious 

 problem. It was possible twenty years ago 

 for a small cigar manufacturer, who pro- 

 duced from 1,500 to 2,000 cigars daily to 

 not only make a living, but to actually 

 make money at the ruling prices for Hav- 

 ana cigars, and he was thus enabled in 

 time to become a moderate capitalist. This 

 continued up to the year 1906, and some 

 poor years were experienced, to be sure, the 

 small manufacturer still prospered upon 

 the whole. But since that time, while he 

 may have steadily increased his produc- 

 tion, he finds that his accumulated capital 

 has been shrinking from year to year and 

 that now with a daily output of 7,500 cigars 

 he is actualh' going behindhand from week 

 to week. He has made economies in his 

 own private living, and whenever he could, 

 in the factory, and still it has been to no 

 purpose. If he could sell enough cigars to 

 make at least 15,000 per day he knows that 

 he could save himself, as his factory rent, 

 and the cost of his salaried monthly help 

 would be the same, but the question is, how 

 to do this? Through competition the sell- 

 ing prices on the principal current sizes, 

 have been reduced, and though the in- 

 creased duties in Germany, France, Spain- 

 and England the consumption of Havana^ 

 cigars has materially decreased. 



Cuba needs to export 100 million cigars 

 at least more per year, or otherwise all of 

 our small cigar manufacturers will have tO' 

 go out of business. There might be a solu- 

 tion also in co-operation, or amalgamation 

 of several small factories into one, pro- 

 vided the several owners could be brought 

 to harmonize and pool their interests, 

 \yhich would reduce the cost of produc- 

 tion for each of the interested parties and 

 finally result in a profit for all concerned. 



Dr. :\Ianuel Delfin, president of the Hav- 

 ana board of education, who has charge 

 of the administration of the public schools 

 in Havana, wishes the government to send 

 fifty Cuban boys yearly to the United States 

 for a two-year course in the English lan- 

 guage. They would absorb ideas of re- 

 publican government, he believes, and re- 

 turn to Cuba with nobler ideas of civili- 

 zation and higher ideals of life in general. 



