Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 3, 1906, (In two parts), Part I

Chargé Sleeper to the Secretary of State.

American Legation,
Habana, January 16, 1906.

No. 1441.]

Sir: I have the honor to advise the department that a presidential decree of general application, providing a sanitary organization for the whole island and regulating in minute detail all matters pertaining to sanitation, has been published in the “Official Gazette” of January 12, 1906.

This decree, which contains 30 chapters and 662 articles, is now being rendered into English by the legation, and upon the completion of the translation will be transmitted to the department.

Opinion in official and business circles seems to indicate that considerable opposition to the enforcement of the provisions of the decree will be encountered among the business interests, business men declaring that it unduly interferes with their individual independence in the arrangement of their own affairs.

I have, etc.,

Jacob Sleeper,
Chargé d’Affaires ad interim.