Transportation and Communication.—The aggregate extent of the Cuban railways was 2,359 miles in 1916. The four systems in Cuba are the United Railways of Habana, 705 miles; the Cuba Railroad, 589 miles; the Cuban Cen tral Railway, 349 miles; and the Western Rail way of Habana, 147 miles. Railways connect the principal towns and seaports of the island; and the principal sugar properties have their own private railways connecting with the main lines. Others were under construction in 1917. Among the more important steamship lines entering Cuban harbors in 1917 were the New York and Cuba Mail S. S. Co. (American) with bi-weekly service between Havana and Neil York, bimonthly passenger service to Guantanamo and Santiago, weekly freight serv ice to the same ports, and weekly service to Mexico; the United Fruit Co. (American), with weekly passenger and freight vessels be tween Havana and New York, New Orleans and Boston; the •P. and O. Line (American), with daily, except Sunday, passenger and freight connections with Key West; the Mun son Line (American), with weekly freight serv ice to Mobile and frequent freight connections between important ports of the United States and Cuba; the United S. S. Co. (American), with bi-weekly freight service from Galveston to Havana; the American and Cuban S. S. Line, with fortnightly freight service between New York and Cuba; the Herrera Line (Cuban), with fortnightly service, Santiago to Porto Rico; the Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. (English) ; the General Transatlantic Line (French), with monthly passenger and freight service, France to Havana; and the Trans atlantic Company of Spain, with monthly service to Spanish north coast ports via New York, and a monthly service to the south of Spain and Mediterranean ports. There were, in
1915, 668 post and 226 telegraph offices; and telephone service.was supplied in 114 cities and towns. A commission to report upon a plan for the nationalization of the railway lines was nominated by presidential decree on 16 Feb. 1916.
Bibliography.— The Americas (Near York, published monthly, 1914-17); Esta distico de la Republica 'de Cuba) (Havana 1916) ; Aspinms11 A. E., cThe Pocket Guide to the West (Chicago and New York 1914); Atkins, J. B., The War in (Lon don 1899) ; Caldwell, R G., 'Lopez Expeditions to Cuba, 1848-1851) (Princeton Univ. Press 1915); de la Republica de Cuba, (Washington 1908) ; Colombo, C., in (Boston 1900); Proceedings of the First Pan American Financial Conference) (Wash ington 1915) ; Griffin, A. P. C., of Books relating to Cuba' (Washington 1896) ; Hender son, J. B., Jr., of the Thomas (New York 1916) ; Hill, R. T., 'Cuba and Porto Rico, (New York 1898) ; Insular Affairs, Bureau of, of Congress, Treaties and Proclamations Relating to Cuba,) etc. (Wash ington 1809) ; Lindsay, F., (Cuba and Her Peo ple of To-day' (Boston 1911); Medina, J. T., (La Imprenta en la Habana' (Santiago de Chile 1904) ; Pan American Union, (Cuba) (Washing ton 1914) ; Robinson, A. G.,(Cuba Old and New) (New York 1915) ; \Terrill, A. H., Past and Present' (New York 1914) ; Wilcox, M., Short History of the. War with Spain' (New York 1898) •, Wood, L., The Military Government of Cuba' (Am. Acad. of Pol. and Soc. Science, Publ. 3(o9, Philadelphia 1903); Wright, I. A. The Early History of (London 1917).