18 



THE CUBA R E V I E W 



over it and in this way be kept in condi- 

 tion for the opening of the meeting. 



The grandstand will be patterned after 

 the new one at Laurel, although on a larger 

 scale. The betting ring will be about the 

 same size. The offices will be built follow- 

 ing the erection of the stables, which will 

 house at least nine hundred horses. 



The stakes will be of a good value. There 

 will be a $10,000 derby, which will be the 

 feature stake of the meeting, although a 

 special will be run on the same plans as 

 the Florida Special was at Jacksonville last 

 •winter. This will be almost as valuable 

 as the derby. 



There will be a straightaway track, built 

 for the holding of automobile races, and 

 good purses will be given for these with a 

 view of attracting the best of the drivers 

 on this continent. 



WORK ON THE MAINE 



The cofferdam has been pumped out 

 more than ever before and the cutting 

 away of the wreckage reveals the double 

 bottom of the ship with part of the keel 

 standing in a perpendicular position some 

 twenty-six feet higher than the natural 

 position. 



It confirms general belief that such a 

 tearing of a ship's bottom could not have 

 been produced by an interior explosion, 

 and that no regulation militarj- mine could 

 have wrought such terrific havoc. 



The engineers say further that the de- 

 struction wrought b}' the magazines when 

 they exploded was so great as to completely 

 obliterate all traces of an}- outside explo- 

 sion, if there was one, thus making that 

 point forever in doubt. Whether Capps 

 agrees with this view is not known. 



The}- expressed no doubt after a thor- 

 ough examination on October 3d last of 

 the feasibilit}- of building a bulkhead and 

 floating the wreck out of the cofferdam 

 Consequently, the fitting of the bulkhead 

 will be begun as soon as the material for 

 it is received from the north. There is 

 also possibility that the engines of the 

 "]^Iaine" can be restored to service, and. 

 with temporary boilers, permit the wreck 

 to proceed out of the harbor under her 

 own steam. 



Congress will be asked in December to 

 provide means for further work. 



Spanish newspapers in Havana of Sep- 

 tember 2Sth attacked the work on the 

 wreck of the "]Maine" and declared that 

 coft'erdam engineering is a failure. They 

 allege that the Americans are cutting away 

 the wreckage with a view to concealing the 

 real truth about the explosion. 



The engineers are also keeping the water 

 level well up, so that there will not be too 



nr.ich pressure on tlie sides of the cotter- 

 dam should a cyclone hit this part of the 

 island, as the season for violent storms is 

 nearing. 



The bodies of twenty-two of the twenty- 

 three men so far recovered are being 

 guarded by the United States in Fort 

 Cabanas, near ^lorro Castle, in Havana. 

 They will be held in Havana until the re- 

 mainder of the ship has been carefully 

 searched, after which they will be trans- 

 ported to the United States for military 

 interment in Arlington Cemeter3^ 



A QUEER LAW 



There are one or two laws in Cuba which 

 could be modified or eliminated entirely 

 without inflicting any great injustice upon 

 the present officials, or casting any reflec- 

 tion upon the ancient farmers. One that 

 is particularly onerous is the law forbid- 

 ding any gatherings without permission 

 from the officials. Permission must be 

 obtained to give private or public dances, 

 card parties, socials of the Ladies' Aid 

 Society or any gathering where more than 

 twenty people congregate. The law is a 

 relic of old daxs of Spanish rule and was 

 probably necessary at that time to prevent 

 the oppressed Cubans from any concerted 

 action. Xow that the necessit}' for the 

 law is passed, it is difficult to understand 

 why the Americans and Cubans should 

 bear the burden of it. — Isle of Pines 

 Ai^peal.' 



TRADE OF CUBA THROUGH MOBILE 



In the calendar year 1910 importations 

 from Cuba through Alobile totalled $373,- 

 3.J9, as compared with $303,918 in 1909, 

 and the exportations to the island aggre- 

 gated $9,043,288 in 1910 and in 1909, 

 St. 666.357. Lumber exportations in the 

 same period were 79,614,924 superficial feet, 

 valued at $1,594,223, as against 52.892,000 

 feet, valued at $793,380, in 1909, consigned 

 as follows : 



Havana . . ., 27,071,523 feet 



Cienfuegos 10,226,923 " 



Caibarien 7,332,701 " 



Cardenas 5,996,416 " 



Santiago 5,922,678 " 



Sagua 4,756,316 '" 



:\Iatanzas 4,587,278 " 



Xipe 2,722,137 " 



Guantanamo 2,936,457 " 



Puerto Padre 2.201,694 " 



Gibara 1.350,947 " 



Banes 446,930 " 



Daiquiri 439,875 " 



Xuevitas 378,170 " 



Baracoa 128,419 " 



