THE CUBA R E A' I E W 



A committe of leading Zay- 



Life of istas, composed of two sen- 



Zayas ators and nine representa- 



Thrcatcncd tives, called on President 



Gomez October 14th and 

 officially notified him that they possessed 

 information of a conspiracy to assassinate 

 \'ice-President Zayas, General Pino Guerra 

 and Congressman Campos jNIarquetti. The 

 last named is the most prominent negro 

 Zayist. 



The callers warned the president that if 

 any of these men lost their lives during the 

 coming political campaign they would hold 

 the government responsible. The president 

 replied that the government knew nothing 

 of the alleged plot, but he had heard ru- 

 mors of conspiracies in which members of 

 the committee present were supposed to 

 be implicated. However, he had paid no 

 attention to such reports and he hoped that 

 the committee w-ould repose similar con- 

 fidence in the government. In closing he 

 gave the committee cr.rnest assurance of 

 his determination that the approaching 

 elections should be conducted with abso- 

 lute fairness, his own attitude being that 

 of perfect impartiality. 



The committee also told the president 

 that they knew a great many licenses for 

 carrying" weapons were issued free of 

 charge by the government to those who are 

 opposed " to the candidacy of Dr. Zayas 

 and that blank licenses were being given 

 out to be filled in as needed by the partisans 

 of the rival who is known as "the official 

 candidate." 



The principal candidates at 

 Candidates present named for the presi- 

 Now dency are Gen. Asbert, the 



Discussed present governor of the 

 Province of Havana ; Gen. 

 E. Hernandez and Dr. Alfredo Zayas, the 

 present vice-president. They are all Liber- 

 als. The election does not come until a 

 year from November. The Conservatives 

 want to nominate Gen. Mario Alenocal, the 

 general manager of the Chaparra Sugar 

 Company, who is a high-class man of great 

 influence in the country. 



The Cuban Congress opened its fall ses- 

 sion November 6th. The Zayas Liberals, 

 it is said, may withdraw their support from 

 President Gomez, with whose party they 

 have hitherto voted, and go over to the 

 Conservatives, because Gomez refuses to 

 support Zayas for the presidency. Should 

 this happen, the administration will lose its 

 majority in Congress. 



The president's message is 

 Tlie a long summarj' of affairs. 



President's He hopes that the veterans 



Message who fought for Cuba in the 



past would in the end 



adopt democratic ideas and shun all violent 



methods. 



Consular revenues are showing an in- 

 crease over the previous j'ear of $30,924, 

 and a further increase is expected under 

 the new consular fee law. 



Cuba up to the present has made postal 

 treaties with Mexico and France for the 

 exchange of money orders and parcel 

 posts, and negotiations are now on foot 

 with England. 



Referring to the question of pardons, the 

 president informs Congress of the new 

 system adopted to restrict them and re- 

 commends a change in the law. 



He wants jury trials, and says that Cuba 

 is one of the few countries which has not 

 completed its judicial legislation with the 

 establishment of trial by jury in criminal 

 cases. 



He also urges an amendment to the 

 mortgage law^ where it afifects liens created 

 by dowser rights and the cancellation of 

 the "'royal liens," w^hich are troublesome 

 in real estate operations. 



A law to authorize the executive to ex- 

 pell pernicious foreigners is also urged, 

 and a new census before the coming elec- 

 tions is desired. 



"The last census," says the president, 

 "gave Cuba a population of 2,220,278 in- 

 habitants, but later investigatjons show an 

 increase of 58,616 more persons. 



The Cuban treasury department will ap- 

 point a special commissioner to go to Mariel, 

 near Havana, to investigate fishing in that 

 district. Many complaints have been re- 

 ceived that dynamite is used by fishermen. 



Sixty days are given by the 

 N'ezv Health Department of Ha- 



Sanitary vana to owners of bakeries 

 Rules in the citj^ to comply with 



nineteen dififerent orders, 

 which will make these establishments con- 

 form to modern sanitary laws. 



A term of six months is likewise granted 

 them to provide wagons or covered hand 

 carts in which to deliver the bread, the 

 present baskets, which are placed on the 

 floor or on the sidewalks while the bread 

 is being taken indoors, being abolished as 

 an unsanitary custom. 



Wooden tables now used on which the 

 dough is mixed must be changed to marble 

 slabs ; screens must be placed on all the 

 windows to bar flies ; walls must be painted 

 with durable oil paint and the storage of 

 flour and other materials to be in dry and 

 well ventilated rooms; workmen must 

 w^ear w^ashable duck suits while doing their 

 work, and in no case are they to be per- 

 mitted to go w-ithout shoes. 



Drastic reforms are also being enforced 

 in the distribution of milk, and greater 

 cleanliness in the receptacles used. 



