The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-19
MASSEY RETURNS
 FROM CUBAN TRIP
Says Good Roads of Island
 Impressed Him
GOMEZ IS UNPOPULAR
President of Chamber of Commerce Says Cubans OutdO America in Construction of FireprOOf
 Buildings

Enthusiastically voicing his delight te again reach Birmingham after a tour oi several weks in Cuba Richard w. Massey president of the Chamber of Commerce and one of the most popular business men of this city, arrived home last night about o'clock MT. Massey, who was accompanied by Mrs Massey, was sched- uled to reach the Magic City at t O clock yesterday morning, but owing to some delay in the transfer boat, did not come in until some II hours later.
 There is no place like Birmingham, and we are certainly glad to be home teresting sightseeing trip" said Mir. Mas sey last evening.
 ''The one thing in Cuba that impressed me most was the general prevalence of fireproof construction, ranging from the largest buildings to the smallest cottage. The Cubans have set an example that might well be followed by Birmingham people to a decided advantage, as learned down there that the average fire loss is only Is of 1 per cent, while here we have many. many hundreds of dol
 
 ly. The style of architecture is heavy and each building Is detached making il still more safe from fire. Concrete is universally the material employed in he erection of the dwellings and other ssrrc- lures, while tile roofs are to be seen every where. It is one of the most successful demonstrations of the value of Sreproot construction that have yet seen put into q broad practice such as the Cubans have done and is one that merits imitation.
 Wonderful Roads
 Another striking feature of the repub- lie is the magnificent chain of perfect highways spread over the country, max Ing interurban motoring a genuine out of door treat We journeyed in an auto mobile over 60 mile boulevard that af- forded as smooth riding as our own High land avenue and aroused the envy of out party that we have not such splendid roadways here in Alabama. l was roid that another stretch of 200 miles was equally as fine as the one .e traveled over and that the roads throughout the country were most admirable.
 ''The Cubans have plan of dividing their roads into sections to be directly under the supervision of overseers, whc are appointed by the president. These overseers are responsible for the condition: o1 tnelr respective dllOteu fOauDeuS sile in that way each part is so well attended that a perfect whole is the result.
 When we take into consideration tha over $i4,000,000 were spent during the pas year for roads in the south and that ovel S5 per cent of this amount was expenGee in the making of roads that will veal away within short time, the Cuban method of road building Is one that woul, admit of American consideration, of wha is to my mind an excellent inea.
 "There is great deal of political un rest in the Cuban republic at present. al President Gomez is very unpopular there and the general feeling is that Genera Aspert. the hero of the hour, will be tht next occupant of the Cuban White House Gomez is regarded as a grafter and |. the cause of much dlssatisfact ton. Bn one characteristic that is attributable tl every Cuban is the uniform courtesy ex tended to the Americans. Their feelings of gratitude for the United States in tervention is still as actively demonstrated today as just after the Spanish war ant nothing Is too good for the American tour ist there. Every man, woman and chill is interested in extending courtestes t' Americans and they certainly give thei visitors a royal welcome"