THE C U P. A R K \' I E W 



acres shall l)e ready for the 1913 crop. ]\Iany new buildings have been erected for the 

 l)etter acconmiodation of employees, a steam plowinjj" outfit added to the equipment and 

 additional facilities furnislied in all departments for the better handling of the operations. 

 The properties are maintained in splendid physical condition. 



"The company issued $920,000 in 6 per cent debentures due June 1, 1917, being the 

 balance of the authorized issue of $4,000,000. There were redeemed within the year 

 $1.54,000 of the 6 per cent debentures in accordance with the provisions of the agreement 

 under which they were issvied, and there were also redeemed $149,000 in live-year notes 

 of the issue of $3,500,000, maturing June 1, 1914. 



"A comparative statement of cultivations and lands owned by the company on Septem- 

 ber 30, 1911, and 1910, follows: 



Acreage 



Cultivations— 1911 1910 



Sugar cane ' *23,829 21,847 



Pasture 13,36.5 12,617 



Total acres cultivated lands 37,194 34,464 



Total acres land owned 127,792 127,792 



Roads and fire lines 6,893 4,668 



Unimproved land 83,705 88,660 



Includes acreage in preparation for the 1913 crop." 



Annual Report United Railways, Western and Cuban Central 



From the report of the fourteenth ordi- 

 nary general meeting of the United Rail- 

 ways of Havana and Regla Warehouses, 

 Ltd., held in London, October 20th, and 

 printed in the Financial Nezus of that city, 

 the following interesting facts regarding 

 the road were obtained. 



Though business had decreased somewhat 

 last year owing to damage by two cyclones, 

 the company not handling as much cane as 

 expected, the chairman, Mr. J. C. Cater 

 Scott, recommended a dividend of 4 per 

 cent, the placing of £15,000 to the general 

 reserve and the carrying of £25,000 to the 

 general renewals fund, this making prac- 

 tically a 5 per cent earning on the ordinary 

 .stock. 



Total receipts for the year were £1,232-- 

 719, or £22,000 less than last year, but busi- 

 ness was made up in other ways. For in- 

 stance, the road carried 1,183,000 more pas- 

 sengers with a consequent increase in re- 

 ceipts of £47,000, much of which was placed 

 to the credit of the electrification of the 

 railway to Marianao, a thriving town just 

 outside of Havana. Freight, too, increased 

 71,000 tons, adding £35,000 to the receipts, 

 or a total for the two departments of 

 £82,000. 



Working e.xpenses showed increased 

 percentage on the earning capacity and 

 amounted to £49,000, the ratio having in- 

 creased from 54.72 per cent to .59.76 per 

 cent, for which increase the shortage of 

 the sugar crop was held responsible. 

 Maintenance expenses increased £18,000, 

 but of this, £11.000 went for improvements 



on the road and in buildings. The board 

 allows £60,000 per year for betterments, and 

 of this sum £55,000 were expended last 

 year, all in permanent benefits for the road. 



Rolling stock had been considerably in- 

 creased, 351 new cars having been added, 

 759 more cars have been ordered to be in 

 readiness for the next crop. Deducting 

 some 300 or more old cars thrown aside, 

 the figures show that 1,200 new cars will 

 have been placed on the road. 



In the locomotive running, a saving of 

 £7,000 was effected, but transport expenses 

 increased £18,700, caused b\- an increase in 

 electric operation expenses. 



The Havana Central earnings for the 

 past year were £104,758, as against £70,927 

 during the past year, an increase of nearly 

 .50 per cent during the twelve months. 



An extensive report was made on the 

 Havana terminal, giving the plans, the esti- 

 mated expenses, the reasons for making 

 the change from the present Villanueva 

 site and the benefits expected from the 

 change. 



As to the prospects for the coming year, 

 the chairman was greatly encouraged over 

 reports he had received of the road. Mr. 

 Orr, the general manager of the road, had 

 estimated a very large amount of traffic 

 for the coming year — 660,000 tons, which 

 is 24,000 tons more than the road ever had 

 before, even in the bumper year. The 

 chairman had heard rumors of drought in 

 Cuba during the last few weeks and he 

 had cabled to Mr. Orr concerning this. The 

 answer was that the general manager had 



