The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-01-22
BIRMINGHAM GETS
 CLOSER TO CUBA Havana Man Discusses Condi-
 tions on Island
INTERESTS OF AMERICANS
General Passenger Agents of Ameri- can Lines Are to Hold Their An nual Meeting In Cuban Cap
 itaI This Year.

Birmingham and the republic of Cuba are coming into closer relations each day. says Edgar W. Dennison. the sec retary of the Publicity league of Cuba in the National Bank building Havana. Cuba. who arrived here yesterday from Jacksonville.
 This is accounted for Tn the fact that the Birmingham people are preparing to spread their business into the Latin American countrie and the first to receive their attention in this extension has been the republic of Cuba. They seem 10 have better understanding of the long credits to which the Latin-A merican countries have been accustomed and ap- pear to accept this condition with better have heretofore done.
 President Jose Miguel Gomez Of Cuba at all times endeavors to secure closer relations with the American business houses and this applies particularly to the more progressive southern cities He Is an honorary member of the Liza Gu bana de Publicdad. as the league is known in Spanish. and Is much interested in the work of the secretary, which tends toward bringing to the young republic new capital for new industries and which opens up new trade channels with the United States.
 Havana is fortunate In having two new hotels this year the Hotel Man haitian, with 150 rooms and the Hotel Plaza with 300 rooms. The additions to the Hotel Inglaterra. Hotel Sevilla and the Hotel Pasaje have made many more rooms in which to house the visit ing Americans
 '.The railroad men are now much in terested in Havana as a winter resort, and are to have their convention of the American Association of General Passen- ger and Ticket Agents in that city in the latter part of March. The Cuban as sociation has prepared an elaborate pro- gramme for their entertainment and all the transportation lines on the island are furnishing special trains for trips extend ing from Pinar del Rio on the west, through Matanza, Cienfuegos, Santa, Clara, Sagua la Grande and San Luis, to Santiago de Cuba on the east. Great benefits will be felt from this trip on next years tourist traffic. as many of the far western railroad men have sent on their aceeptances. their personal visit to the island assuring additional adver- Using appropriations from their com panies.
 Alabama and Georgia have many in vestments in Cuba, applied most gen. orally to the sugar mill interests of the Americans
 MT. Dennison is also the secretary of the McIrvin company, which Is exploiting Oriente province virgin sugar cane lands of General Mario Garcia Menocal, the defeated candidate for president of the republic of Cuba. The company will shortly erect sugar mills for the grinding of their planted cane and the work will be done under the supervision of Gen eral Menocal as a director of the com pany and consulting engineer.
 The Chaparra Sugar company at Cha para, Cuba, which has the largest sugar mill in the world. producing last year 4S3,- 900 bags of 325 ponds each, is under the management of General Menocal, whose ability as an engineer is well known. American sugar mills at this time are under construction at Is different points on the island.
 On January Il Mir Dennison returned to Havana, after having made a trip of $500 miles through the middle west section of the United States. He says that the farmers in these states are more inter- ested than ever in the winter trips to Florida and Cuba, their knowledge Of the fact that they could take P. and O. steamers from both the east and west coast of Florida, thus giving two trips through Florida, one way going and an- other coming. showing evidence of the study they were devoting to the arrange ments for the trip to the south land.
 On this trip the secretary expects to cover about 1000 miles after leaving Bir- mingham. He will go to Chattanooga, Cincinnati, Chicago and points west.