THE CUBA REVIEW 



CUBAN-AMERICAN COMMENT 



A CLEAN JUDGE S OPINIONS 



Judge Leon Annisen. a justice of one of 

 the higher courts in Santa Clara Province, 

 a court which corresponds somewliat to 

 the state supreme courts in the north, was 

 recently a visitor to the United States, 

 being engaged in examining its penal in- 

 stitutions, with the purpose of introducing 

 improvements in the institutions of his 

 own country. In an interview with a rep- 

 resentative of the Pittsbiirij (Pa.) Dcs- 

 l>atcJi he said that what he had seen of 

 x\merican corrective institutions led him to 

 believe that they are good things for other 

 nations to pattern after. 



He was particularly impressed by the 

 way in which the prisoners are restricted 

 from indiscriminate free association with 

 one another. This method, said he. will 

 be one of the first things he will embody 

 in his recommendations when he gets 

 home. 



Another thing that has deeply impressed 

 Judge Armisen is the juvenile court pro- 

 cedure. Cuba knows no such court, but 

 Judge Armisen will strive to have his 

 country take it up. Cuba is sadly in need 

 of the juvenile court system, he said, and 

 once adopted, it should make certain con- 

 ditions immensely better, especially in 

 Havana. 



He also said that the beHef prevails in 

 Cuba that Japan will go to war against 

 America before the completion of the 

 Panama Canal. Xo. the Cubans didn't 

 get their information from Japs, said he. 

 for there are few Japs in the island: 

 however, there are a lot of Chinese, he 

 added. 



Another thing about which the Cubans 

 have convictions, said the judge, is that 

 Roosevelt can't "come back." A year or 

 so ago everybody down there was sure 

 he'd be president again in 1913. but now 

 — v.ell things will take a turn. The Lu- 

 br.ns are fond of Taft, said he. 



As to trusts. Cuba is showing symptoms 

 of the evil, he said. He hoped it would 

 stop at S3-mptoms, for the operation of a 

 trust in Cuba would be worse for the 

 people than it is in America. Judge Armi- 

 sen is not strong for the initiative, refer- 

 endum and recall in government, especialh' 

 with regard to its application to the ju- 

 diciary. All judges, he thought, should be 

 appointed for a probationary period, and 

 if they then make good, should be ap- 

 pointed with no limitation save that of 

 good behavior. 



Cuba's greatest problem to-day. he de- 

 c'ared, is the color question. Only in 

 recent years has race prejudice been stirred. 



but is now very acute. The negroes, 

 stronger numerically, are demanding a 

 yreater part in the government and are 

 not getting it. 



Germany, said the judge, is not getting 

 much of a commercial foothold in Cuba, 

 the United States and Spain still practi- 

 cally control the markets there, with 

 America leading. Spain, he said, is still 

 sending lots of immigrants — and good 

 ones, too — to Cuba, and shortly after they 

 arrive they graduate into full fledged base- 

 ball fans, for that's the "national game of 

 Cuba." 



LOW SUGAR ESTIMATE 



Dr. ^lanuel Ortiz, secretary- of the 

 treasury of Cuba, expressed the opinion 

 late in September, after an extensive 

 journey through the four largest sugar 

 producing provinces, investigating new- 

 crop conditions that the next hars'est will 

 not be greater than the one of last year. 

 According to the Havana Post, the secre- 

 tary stated that the scarcity of rain this 

 summer had caused the spring cane to be 

 retarded in its development and that it 

 will be impossible to grind it this 3-ear. 

 He says that the cane is in very good con- 

 dition, but will not develop sutficiently to 

 be ripe by grinding time. The harvest will 

 l^e made exclusively from the winter cane 

 and tlie spring cane of the year before. 

 The secretary's low estimate will come 

 ^ a surprise to many who have been read- 

 ing of predictions for a monster crop of 

 1.900.000 tons. 



"Cuba is in excellent condition, and this 

 year's sugar crop promises to be the best 

 in the history of the island.'' said ^lajor 

 \\'. H. Barbour, militarv attache of the 

 United States Legation at Havana, during 

 a recent visit to Baltimore. "I can't tell 

 you a word about Cuban politics." he con- 

 tinued, "as that subject is tabooed to men 

 of our profession. There is nothing, how- 

 ever, in the situation to make one predict 

 aught save what is hopeful as to the 

 countrv's future. The sanitary- conditions 

 are excellent and Havana continues to be 

 a model of cleanHness." 



Samuel ^L Jarvis, vice-president of the 

 National Bank of Cuba, ret.irned recently 

 to Xew York from a visit to Cuba. ^Ir. 

 Jarvis expresses the belief that the island 

 republic will enjoy an exceptionally pros- 

 perous business throughout the remainder 

 of this vear. 



