IMPORTS The following table gives the imports, by articles or classes of articles, for the years 1908, 1909, 1910: The following table shows the value of the principal articles exported from Cuba during the last three years: IV RAILWAYS At the end of 1910 the extent of railways in the Republic was 3,416 kilometers (2,123 miles). This makes Cuba, in proportion to its size, one of the best served countries in America in respect to railroad transportation. Cuba was one of the very first countries to build a railway, for there was a line put into operation in 1837, twelve years in advance of Spain, the mother country. There are four great systems, which have stretched their lines almost from one extremity of the Island to the other. Through trains run daily between Habana and Santiago, but over tracks belonging to three different systems, and many branch lines from this main trunk connect the principal ports on both the north and south coasts with the interior. The four systems in Cuba are: The United Railways of Habana, the Cuba Railway, the Cuban Central Railway, and the Western Railway of Habana. The first and last named have terminal stations in Habana. The United Railways of Habana offer the first section of this through route, which extends as far as Santa Clara. It has also branch lines north and south, one of which runs to Batabano, where it connects with regular steamship service to the Isle of Pines. Other ports reached by this system are Matanzas and Cardenas on the north, and the road is extended to within a few miles of Encarnacion, on the Bay of Cienfuegos. The Cuba Railroad is the eastern system of the Habana-Santiago route running between the last named point and Santa Clara. It serves an immense and relatively new territory in the Island, among the principal ports being Antilla, on Nipe Bay, which is becoming the centre for American activity of all kinds. The Cuban Central Railroad runs from the ports of Concha and Caibarien on the north coast, and connects these two ports with Cienfuegos on the south coast. A portion of this system is used to form part of the through line from Habana to Santiago. The main line of the Western Railway of Habana serves the famous tobacco district of Vuelta Abajo and extends through the Province of Pinar del Rio. The Habana Central is an electric suburban |