Industrial Cuba / Being a Study of Present Commercial and Industrial Conditions, with Suggestions as to the Opportunities Presented in the Island for American Capital, Enterprise, and Labour

by Robert P. Porter

The total expenses for salary would be $56,360 per month, or $676,020 per annum. In addition there would be expenses for rent of office, telephone, telegrams, patrol service, 100 horses for use in suburban districts, and other expenses, which would bring the total cost of the police up to about $723,660 per annum.

It is proposed to put the entire police management under charge of an officer of the volunteer army, and to give him a deputy chief, who shall be a resident of the Island, and, if possible, experienced in police matters. Similarly, to put officers of the army of junior rank as inspectors in the principal districts—six in number—and to give to each a deputy inspector, who will be a resident. At the beginning, it is deemed essential that the police management should be in the hands of army officers who can be relied upon, but each will have a deputy who will be a resident, and if possible thoroughly experienced in the police service. It may be necessary to change these resident officers once or more before the best men for the positions are finally found. After the system has been in operation, and the men have proved their efficiency, it will be possible for the army officers to be relieved, and the native or resident officers to assume full control.

In his report on the organisation of the Havana police force General Greene says:

“There are three sources from which the men can be obtained, namely, the existing police force, the Cuban troops under General Menocal, and the discharged Spanish soldiers. The President’s instructions are positive that this force should be selected without reference to previous affiliations, either for or against the revolutionary movement, and by drawing from the three classes above named; these instructions will be carried out in letter and in spirit.”

In accordance with the President’s instructions, every officer and member of the police force will be required to subscribe the following oath, which will be printed in both Spanish and English:

“I do solemnly swear that I will bear true and exclusive faith and allegiance to the Government of the United States existing in the Island of Cuba, and that I will faithfully and obediently perform my duty as a member of the police force of Havana under the said Government. So help me God.”

The uniform of the new Havana police officer will consist of straw hat, dark blue blouse and trousers, tan-coloured shoes, and white gloves.

The public works needed in Havana are sewers, pavements, a new slaughter-house, buildings for the police, fire, and health departments, and new hospitals. All of these will require a very large sum of money, and the ability of the city to raise this money is not yet evident. For the present, all that can be done is thoroughly to clean, disinfect, and repair the existing public buildings, either owned or rented, so as to make them habitable for the public officials, both American and native. The means of communication are entirely inadequate. They consist of lines of tramways running out to Jesus del Monte, Cerro, and the foot of the Principe Hill. The tracks are in bad order, the cars are old and dirty, and they are drawn by three horses each. The live stock is in bad condition, and the stables are filthy. These lines are owned by a company called the Ferro Carril Urbano y Omnibus de la Habana, under a concession granted February 5, 1859. The same company also runs, in the suburban districts, a few lines of very small omnibuses, drawn by two mules. The service is extremely bad. In addition to these facilities for transportation there is a “dummy” line, running from the centre of the city to the western end of the Vedado, a distance of about four miles. The track is in bad order, and the service is unsatisfactory.

Undoubtedly one of the first enterprises that will be pushed to completion in Havana will be an entirely new tramway system, with mechanical traction. General Greene recognises the necessity of this when he says in his report:

“There is a great need of a thorough and modern system of electric street railways in this city. While the streets are narrow, yet a single track could be laid on each street, near the curbstone on one side, in such a manner as not to impede traffic. It is a question, however, whether these tracks should be laid prior to the laying of the sewers, which would cause the tearing up of every street in the thickly populated portion of the city.”