T i-1 E CUB A R E \" 1 1- W 



PRESS AND INDIVIDUAL COMMENT ON OUBAN 



MATTERS 



]\lanuel .\delantatlo, a friend of President 

 Gomez of Cuba, who has just returned to 

 \\ ashing ton from Cuba after an extended 

 visit to Havana, said to a reporter of the 

 JJ'asliiiigtoii (D. C.) Star that at the ex- 

 piration of his four-j-ear term of office 

 President Gomez will retire to the large 

 plantation bequeathed him In- his father, 

 and will devote himself to the pursuit of 

 agriculture. He believes that President 

 Gomez is the first Latin-American presi- 

 dent who has sincerely declined re-election 

 to public office. 



General Demetrio del Castillo y Duany, 

 superintendent of the national prison at 

 Havana, and Jiminez. Lanier, subsecretary 

 of state. Havana, were honor guests of the 

 University Club of Omaha, Xeb., on 

 October isth last. 



Senor Lanier thanked the members of the 

 club for their entertainment and assured 

 them of the lasting love of Cubans for the 

 L^nited States. 



"Although not ungrateful. Cuba has alto- 

 gether forgotten Spain and wants civiliza- 

 tion to come from the north," he said. 



In an interview with a Xew York Sun 

 reporter. Senor Lanier said further : 



"Cuba is going in for industrial under- 

 takings. The latest is the manufacture of 

 rope, particularly in the province of Ma- 

 tanzas. where a big American concern has 

 started work on a large scale. We are 

 getting a good manj- immigrants from the 

 Canary Islands and a lot of Spaniards and 

 Germans. As soon as thej' arrive, the 

 government offers them employment on 

 farms. The government offers all kinds of 

 facilities for the establishment of new in- 

 dustries. If a man starts a manufacturing 

 enterprise the government will not tax it 

 for a few years, until it has got well 

 started, and machinery at first would prob- 

 ably be admitted free of dut}'. There are 

 many thousands of acres of fertile land in 

 Cuba that have as yet not been exploited. 



Eligie Bonachea, of Havana, accompanied 

 by his brother, JNIariano Bonachea, a pros- 

 perous propert}' owner, and Manuel Cert 

 Penalver. lieutenant of the national police 

 of the Cuban capital, recently visited 

 Jacksonville, Fla.. and to a representative 

 of the Metropolis of that citj^ expressed 

 himself as follows regarding the Cuban 

 politics through Mr. Embil. the Cul:!an 

 consul : 



"The political conditions of Cuba are 

 ver}- much exaggerated. The ciuestion that 

 parties want to get the governmental 



power arc given too much iiuportance by 

 outsiders who do not know the e.xact situa- 

 tion, and who paint in high and glowing 

 color the account of trivial affairs. Cuba 

 has a bright future in store for her. The 

 greatest tranquility reigns almost con- 

 stantl}'. President Jose Miguel Gomez is 

 a great politician, and he knows his people 

 from the heart. He has made untiring 

 efforts to smooth any trouble that could 

 in any w^ay threaten the condition of the 

 country or harm the aft'airs of the republic." 

 "Do you think that the United States 

 will make intervention at the next political 

 election."' asked ]Mr. Embil, at the request 

 of the Metropolis reporter. 



^Ir. Bonachea's answer came quick : 

 "There will not be any disturbance in 

 Cuba warranting an intervention by the 

 United States at the next election,'" he ex- 

 claimed. "We have leaders who will not 

 hesitate to forsake their personal aspira- 

 tions and to unite in the task of making 

 the election fair in ever}- way and to keep 

 down ever}- shadow of disorder. Xo. I 

 firmly state that an intervention will not 

 be necessarv.'" 



Forbes Lindsaj- says in the X'ovember 

 Lippiiicotf's that Cuba is a country of con- 

 trasts — a land of anomalies. 



"One of the manj- curious anomalies of 

 the Cuban system of administration is 

 found in the customs duties,"" he says. 

 "Here is a countr}- which has practically 

 no industries to protect ; yet its tariff' ex- 

 action falls upon each soul at the rate of 

 twelve dollars per head. The per capita 

 contribution of the people of the United 

 States to the customs revenue is three dol- 

 lars and a half. In other countries it is 

 considerably less. This tax falls upon the 

 importers, but it is hardly necessary to say 

 that ultimateh- the consumer pays it. 

 Since more than half the island"s importa- 

 tions are food-stuff's or articles of cloth- 

 ing", the masses necessarih- discharge the 

 great bulk of the customs duties. In short, 

 here as elsewhere, the everlasting pressure 

 falls most heavily on the peasant. 



"AMiat is the remedy for Cuban condi- 

 tions?" he asks. "Annexation to the 

 United States appears to be the only com- 

 pleteh' efficient one. The measure would 

 have the unanimous support of the prop- 

 erty, and business interests. The guajiro 

 and the negro would be indifferent to it 

 as a political matter, but if they could be 

 persuaded that it would entail their mate- 

 rial welfare, they would welcome it. The 

 only element of the population from which 



