The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1903-01-12

Il
| Cuba and had got Sir William Van
Horne Interested. Mr.. Van Horne
stopped over on his way to Demerara,
and decided that the proposed line was
practical and practicable. With the
prestige of his success in the Canadian
Pacific. he persuaded other capitalists
to join him in a Cuban railway enter
prise which would have 10 be begun
and probably completed without
| franchise. They satisfied the Washing
| ton authorities that their purpose was
| to put real money into Cuba and take
! their chances Of getting it out. All
| they asked of the American military
authority was that it should not inter-
| fcre. After they gaYa evidence that
the money was to be spent in Cuba, and
| that Their was no possibility Of claiming
| a franchise, they went ahead with con-
struction and had spent 0,000,000 when
| the American coHtr0I was withdrawn
| and the government of the island turn
ed over to the Cub ms. Thu military
authority gave them revOcable licenses
| for crossing the rivers and public high
ways, and the same privilege was
granted to the existing railway lines
| which wanted to make extensions. The
municipalities gave the necessary per-
| mitS to pass through their boundaries,
and that is about everything in the ma
| ture of a franchise that was allowed.
| The company bought the land for its
right of Way-at least in the first stages
| of construction, sometimes getting
strips of territory from Individual
| landholders for twenty miles in
straight line.
| The American authorities helped the
| enterprise in two ways. The tariff
gave tariff concessions on railway ma
| terial imported into Cuba. AT first most
of this material was brought from the
United States, but when the great de-
mand for iron and steel products came
and the material could not be had in
the United States, it. was imported
| from Europe, chiefly from Germany.
| The other way in which the American
military authorities aided the enter
| prise was by the enactment under mill
| tary degree of railway law and the
| creation of a commission. This rail
| way law is generally agreed to be a
| very good thing for Cuba, and it was
also a good thing for Mr. Van Horne
and his associates in the Cuba COM
pany The right of eminent domain
| under the Spanish law was avery COM
| plicated matter, and individual land
| holders were delaying the joining Of
gaps in the line by their exorbitant de-
mands Under the new law, which was
|. promulgated by General Wood, the
railway company was enabled to go be-
fore the local judges, have the land APP
! praised and by paying into the court
! the sum fixed. was allowed to continue
the work of construction. Under this
policy in few months the right Of way
| everywhere W secured for branch
lines as we'll as for the trunk line.
| The law combines some of the feat
ures Of the Canadian law with the
statutes of the different states of the
| Union. The Railway Commission is
similar to the Interstate Commerce
| Commission in the United States. It's
powers are somewhat broader, or at
| least not so doubtful, because the
| Cuban nation is an entity ard there
! are no conflicting questions of juris
diction or Of states rights. The COM
mission fixes maximum passenger and
| freight rates, and in other ways exer-
| cises a supervision over the railways
of the island. Without it's license or
permission no line can be operated.
! When the decree was affirmed by
| General Wood enacting the railway
law very little objection was made.
One criticism was that while it was
good law it was special legislation of
| which no (N1Iho t1>a ohiaf
beneficiary This was partly true as
matters then stood, but it was said that
! the ends justified the action taken, and
the Cuban Congress has shown little
disposition to amend or modify the
| law.
In the beginning the Cubans were
suspicious of the Van Horne project.
They thought in some way it was an
| evasion Of the Foraker amendment
and was meant to secure a franchise
| by underhand means, but as the work
! Of actual construction went on and as
employment was given large numbers
of those who otherwise would have
been idle the railway was welcomed
While he has had to meet obstacles it
is the testimony of Mr.. Van Horne that
| he has Deen DGL(GT treated III MS rail-
way building in Cuba than in either
canada or Illinois His chief reliance
is the good will of the municipalities
and districts through which the line
passes. The Cuban government is
friendly to the enterprise, although the
I company has had to pay 100000 trans
fer axes, which, it is alleged. should
have been paid under the American au-
| thorities. Its only relief is in taking
the case to the Supreme Court of Cuba
! In going over the route Of the line
sometimes on horseback and sometimes
on construction trains l have been i'm
pressed with the adaptability of Amer
! lean character. Engineers. supeIin-
tendents, construction bosses, gang
foremen, all have stories to tell of their
experience everywhere on this con-
j tinent, from Mexico to Chile. | met
three or four who had been with Henry
| MeiggS in his great " Orks In Peru 9th
| ers had helped to construct the Chilean
| lines, and to many Of them the Andes
were as familiar as the Alleghanias or
! the Rockies. Nearly all Of them had
| been in Central America. They were a
practical set Of men, having little no.
| ton Of the romanccs Of their careers
and usually were talking Of moving on
to China or South Africa. They all
| liked Cuba hut their work is railway