The History of Cuba, vol. 5

by Willis Fletcher Johnson

Under the direction of the same Section are six poultry stations, one in each Province, where experiments are conducted with reference to poultry raising and to the cure of infectious diseases that may afflict. Three breeding stations, too, dependent on this Bureau, have been established in the eastern, central and western districts.

The Division of Forests and Mines, owing to the incalculable wealth of Cuba’s mines of iron, copper, manganese, chrome, etc., and to the immense value of her virgin forests of hard woods, scattered throughout the mountainous districts of the interior is of special importance. Forest inspectors are maintained whose duty is to see that timber is not cut without authorization from either government or private lands, or surreptitiously smuggled away from the coast. The enormous acreage, too, of the red and yellow mangrove, remarkably rich in tannin, that encircles nearly all the islands bordering on the interior lagoons, and the making of charcoal carried on in these districts, are supervised by the forest inspectors.

Every mineral claim located in the Republic must be reported to the Director of Mines in charge of this Division, where it is registered in books kept for the purpose in the name of the individual petitioning, with the date and hour of record, together with the dimensions or boundaries of said claim carefully indicated. With this registration a payment of $2 for each hectare of land is made and receipted for, which entitles the owner, after said claim has been surveyed by the engineers pertaining to the Division of Mines, to the sole privilege of working the claim, or taking either mineral asphalt or oil from beneath the surface.

In the Division of Trade Marks and Patents, one of the most important in the Department, patents and trade-marks are granted for a nominal sum to both citizens and foreigners. Companies that have secured patents in foreign countries, after producing evidence to that effect, may duplicate or extend their patents in this office, and trade-marks that have been established in other countries may be registered in Cuba on proper application. Patents for books and publications are also handled in this Division.

The Department of Meteorology is responsible for all astronomical and meteorological observations, and for the publication of data in regard thereto. The Weather Bureau and all observatories come under its jurisdiction, together with the publication of official time. It is responsible for the collection of all data concerning weather and climate that may affect crops, which data is published weekly, monthly and annually.

Under the Division of Immigration, Colonization and Labor matters pertaining to subjects connected with immigration, wages, hours and working condition of laborers and their connection with capital or employers, are handled and adjusted. During the year 1918, this Bureau amicably settled eighteen labor disputes, thus avoiding threatened strikes. Records of all accidents to labor are kept on file.

Every immigrant entering the Island of Cuba from any country must be provided with $30 in cash before being released from Triscornia, the receiving station on the Bay of Havana. From this station immigrants without means are looked after by the Division of Immigration, and the company or person, who, desiring his services, takes him out, is required to give a bond that he will not become a public charge. This Department also issues permits to sugar estates, corporations or companies who wish to import labor on a large scale.

Under the direction of this Division, the Government has started a colony for laborers at Pogolotti, a suburb of Havana, where 950 houses have been built, each with a parlor, two bedrooms, a bath, kitchen and a yard. They are rented to laborers only, at a monthly rental of $3.12. Of this $2.71 is applied to the credit of the renter towards the purchase of the house, the remainder going for expenses of administration and water. The purchase price is fixed at $650, and when this has been paid the laborer becomes the owner.

In addition to the above mentioned Divisions or Sections there are several independent Bureaus or offices, reporting directly to the Sub-Secretary and acting under his instructions. Among these is the Bureau of Game and Bird Protection, organized to enforce the law regulating the open and closed seasons for hunting deer, and the various game birds, ducks, pigeons, quail, etc., that abound in Cuba. The work of this Bureau is conducted along lines and methods similar to those employed in the United States. The duties of the Director of this most worthy Institution are onerous and unending and to his indefatigable energy is due the saving of thousands of valuable birds and animals.

A Bureau known as the Bureau of Publications and Exchanges is charged with the publication in Spanish of an Agricultural Review, intended for the enlightenment of the agriculturists of the Island. In this monthly are printed the reports of the many experiments and important work carried on at the Government’s Experimental Station at Santiago de las Vegas, and other matters pertaining to Agricultural industries.