The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1924-04-23

trivance which would have enabled the
United States Senate to cotint the votes
on roll call in a jiffy. He went to
Washington full of dazzling hopes.
They were dashed to the ground. He
was informed that the taking Of a roll
call was part and parcel of the ma
chinery of politics and often employed
purposely to consume time. Edison de-
parted, vowing to himself that in fu-
ture he would strive to invent only
things which the world would readily
buy. sss
This Edisonian experience came to
s my mind while talking the other day
with Charles e. Mitchell, president Of
the largest bank in America.
Cuba fills a vital place in the
4 world" ,emphatically declared Mr..
Mitchell, recounting a recent visit to
that island. Cuba can produce more
sugar than any other place on the face
of the earth. And it can produce
sugar cheaper than any other country
can produce and market it. Like other
countries, Cuba may have--has had
its ups and downs; but 1t is bound to
go ahead and prosper. ss,+a
I think of lit This little island Of
44.164 square miles-about the size OF
the state of Pennsylvania-with its
3,122,000 people, last year exported
S440, 00O, 900 worth of products. 1t i'm
I ported $226, 000, 900 worth. This left a
balance of $212,O00, 900 in favor of the
Cubans, equal to about $3.50 per family.
That's for only one year. How can
people showing such balance sheet
fail to prosper? g.
The fact is continued Mr.. Nit
chell, that Cuba. despite the fact that
she suffered painful slump when
sugar dropped from % cents to about
: two cents pound when the war boom
collapsed, is maxim gremarkable prog
: ress. There have been enormous inn
provements since went over the island
two and half years ago. A few weeks
ago | motored from Havana to Car
'1enas, about sixty miles to the east.
over very fine roads, and motored still
farther west of Havana, to Pinar del
Rio, over excellent roads Road build
ing. has been going on slowly but
steadily and the improvement is
marked. AK
Then it makes one feel proud to be
NAhtrHACdhl Which, lit SECS lliC rWOuQEE-
full developments being carried on by
electric light and power people from
this country. High power lines are be-
ing constructed right and left.
''In the same way telephone poles
and wires are springing up every
where.
I'm the homes all the modern con-
veniences which have been introduced
- Ro11 Al. =
ment of electricity are now taking hold
throughout Cuba. In short the Cubans
are improving their scale of living in
this and other things.
"AmalgAmations have been much in
vogue in the United States during the
current century. Cuba has been fol-
lowing our example.
Not SO long ago." declared Mr..
Mitchell, Cuba had more than
q thousand sugar mills. Small, poorly
equipped plants were then the rule.
To-day Cuba has not more than 200
active mills.
But she now has some of the finest
plants in the world. Capital and science
have combined to create the most eff
cient mills. Operations are conducted
on large scale and therefore, more
economically.
"In sense, Cuba has been under |
going the ordained transition from the |
disorganization that is inherent in
small scale operation TO the organiza-
tion inherent in big plant operation. |
The sugar business used to be mainly |
on a small scale, agricultural basis,
largely in the hands of the individuals or
groups of growers. Now the handling |
of sugar is on big industrial basis. |
The day of the puny, individual mill |
has gone and in its stead there are up
tovdate industrial plants.
"The world needs what Cuba pro- |
duces. Eighty-fiye per cent of the |
islands exports consist of sugar, ten |
per cent of tobacco and five per cent |
of miscellaneous products
"Cuba, to my mind, will in time have
another crop almost as important as its |
+ agriculture. / refer to the tourist crop. |
q She has the finest of scenery and a |
5 climate that is not second to any in the |
world-you can wear dinner coat out |
side any evening of the year. The con-
struction of excellent roads will open
up more and more Of, the island to |
tourists. Hotel accommodations of the |
first class will be provided. Sanitation |
is even now receiving the most careful |
attention. The Cubans are polite,
friendly people, the kind tourists like
to meet.
Cuba has reduced her public debt |
d and she has a sales tax that has yielded |
twice as much as was estimated, with |
out hurting anybody. Her public fl
nances are in splendid shape.
FRI
You can best judge what I think of |
HCuba's prospects by the fact that we
have just bought quite a number of ad- !
ditional bank buildings through the |
island and are erecting in Havana one !
of the most attractive modern bank |
Buildings to be found anywhere. Our |
y business there has quite outgrown our
present facilities. Our deposits in Cuba |
have multiplied four-fold within three
wears"
What does Cuban trade mean to the
United States?
Cuba's exports to us last year totaled
S3S0, 100000, while our exports to the
sland reached $154 100000. That
means that Cuba sent SO per cent of
her products to us and bought 81 per
rent of all her imports from us.
A customer with whom we do a total
business of more than half a billion
dollars year is worth cultivating, is
The not? a.
METAL MARKET
NEW YORK, April 22.-copper firm:
lectrolytic. spot and futures 1SSc: tin