io8 The National Geographic Magazine 



who are accustomed to generations of 

 officials careless of the course of public 

 funds. It is now planned to continue 

 the wall some distance further. Thou- 

 sands of people come here for their daily 

 promenade to watch the breaking of the 

 great waves and enjoy the fresh breezes 

 from the sea. 



It should be remembered that every 

 dollar spent for the improvements of 

 the capital and elsewhere in the island 

 of Cuba has come from the pockets of 

 the Cubans, and not one cent from the 

 United States. 



The Cubans have not liked the pro- 

 cess which has made them cleaner and 

 healthier. If they could have voted on 

 it, probably they would have vetoed to a 

 man the house and street cleaning prop- 

 osition. What was good enough for 



their fathers and grandfathers was quite 

 good enough for them. But now that 

 the parks have been made enjo\ 7 able and 

 sea promenades built where they can 

 loaf at ease and in safety, the}' begin to 

 take pride in the improvements to their 

 capital. 



The reputation of the city of Habana 

 is rapidly changing for the better. The 

 beautiful surroundings which Nature 

 has given it and the mildness of its cli- 

 mate in winter make the city a Paradise 

 to northerners during the harsh season of 

 the year. There are many who believe 

 that Palm Beach and the winter resorts 

 of Florida are many times eclipsed b\- 

 the charms of the Cuban capital, and 

 that in the near future it will rightly 

 become the most popular of American 

 winter resorts. 



CUBAN RAILWAYS 



By Albert G. Robinson 



CUBA was no laggard in the adop- 

 tion of steam railways as a means 

 of transportation. I have not at 

 hand the date of the opening of the first 

 Cuban railway, a 43-mile line from 

 Habana to Guines, but it came within 

 a few years of the opening of the first 

 American line. Following a concession 

 granted by Governor General Tacon in 

 1837, the Puerto Principe and Nuevitas 

 line was opened in 1851. The Matan- 

 zas-Sabanilla road was opened in 1854. 

 Others followed until, at the time of 

 the American occupation, on January 

 1, 1899, Cuba could boast of 124 rail- 

 roads, with a total length of 2, 100 miles, 

 representing a valuation of $70,000,000. 

 The Puerto Principe-Nuevitas system 

 deserves a passing note for its peculi- 

 arity. Its capital is $1,000,000, repre- 

 sented by eight shares, though no 

 printed stock certificates have ever been 



issued. It is practically a private cor- 

 poration. Three stockholders are elected 

 annually to serve as a director, a treas- 

 urer, and a secretary. They serve 

 without pay and are not eligible for re- 

 election. The road has neither mort- ■ 

 gage nor outstanding indebtedness. Its 

 expenses are paid from its receipts. For 

 the fiscal j-ear ending June 30, 1900, its 

 earnings were $292,442.42. Its oper- 

 ating expenses were $191,120.33, leav- 

 ing $124,312.88, which was paid as 

 dividends to its eight stockholders. 



The number of Cuban railways (124) 

 seems out of proportion to the mileage 

 until it is understood that onh' 17 are 

 public lines. The remaining 107 are 

 private roads for the transportation of 

 sugar-cane in the vicinit}' of the large 

 centrales, or grinding mills. The 17 

 public lines cover 1,135 miles. Of this 

 all except 162 miles are in the western 



