Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1892-01-16
GOING BACK TWO CENTURIES.
This May he bone by Merely Taking a
Trlp to Cuba.

NOHNo DAWN wv OGNi htCo
This May BE Done by Merely Taking
Trip to Cuba.
"lf n desires 10 experience tn,
novelty of stepping back two hundred
years and living a season in the seven,
leenth century, he may do so by taking
a trip to the island of Cuba, which oc
cupies only four and one-half days
said Sigmund Rothschild in converse
ton with a Free Press representative.
Mr.. Rothsohild returned the other day
from his regular au,umnal visit to
Havana.
"The financial condition of Cuba, is
simply deplorable," said Mr.. Roths,
child. "The taxation'is awful, and ap.
piled to everything. Not a thing cs.
eapes. There is even tax on signs such
as Fer Rent or For Sale In order
to evade this TAX when a householder
has a vacant room to let he will hang
out a sign with simply a key painted on
IT. If he has two Don he paints two
keys, etc. Every guest who registers
at a hotel must pay a tax of ten cents,
god value. for registering his name,
and the clerk must afix a revenue
stamp opposite the name; then, when
the government official comes around
and cancels the stamp the guest must
pay him 5 cents as his fee. The plaster,
or Spanish gold dollar, is worth only 90
cents of the American dollar, and the
silver only Is cents, yet the paper
money is 50 poor that it takes s.. 40 to
equal a plaster The government has
recently offered to redeem this paper at
81 in silver for ~ in paper, in amounts
not over 50. This has resulted in an
almost total loss of small change. The
small change was in shinplasters, and
now that these have been absorbed
there is nothing to take their place. ]
paid 10 per cents for change for a bill
in order TO pay a bootblack a dime for
backing my boots.
"The government lottery is another
great cause tf the poverty of the pco.
pie. A drawing is held every two
weeks and it seems as though the en-.
tire earnings of the people went into
the thing. From the time one Ian S i
Havana till the moment he leaves he is
continually followed and importune |
to buy lottery tickets. The sellers out
number the newsboys, and like all ped
dlers they constantly sing their stock
without a moments let-up. The social
evil is everywhere glaringly plblir.
The saloons, which contain nearly
every form of intoxicating drink vet
invented, are wide open day and night,
Sundays and all days; brit it must be
said to their credit that the Cubans
are a very moderate people. | have
never seen one of them intoxicated.
Outside of the center of Havana the
people ms a rule go stark naked. In
deed, | took dinner with the mayor of
a small town one day, and at the table
were his eight chill lren, all of whom
were as naked as tie day they were
born. The people eat but twice a day,
the first meal being from eleven to
twelve and the last between six and
seven in the evening. Trains on the
never run at nigh. The
longest road is one hundre and six Y
miles. The cars have NJ wind rvs. In
the firSt-class cars there are can seas
in the second-class wooden seats. The
passage costs lust twice as
much as the second, ,bnt neither car has
any window. While riding into the in
terror II day ! became burg V aboat
ten a. m. and asked the con uc'or, as
we stopped at a station, if | colld not
get something t. eat.
"'Why, certainly, he sail, get off
md get something and I'll wait TO,
'on'
the on | OF twenty minutes, hav-
hg sa'iShcd M hunger, | returned to
ne ear ana asked the conduct T. if he
vas ahead OF tine, Or why he hld al
wed me rcarl' half an hour in wh'ch
eat lie sad he had no rtgu ar time
iaoIc; all he had to 10 was to go up to
he end OF the line n dav an back
next The arrival OF the tain a
'aI1 honr CARRIER or latcr was n IN !t,el
no ace unit
'ihc motel nc ~'ommoiatioHs are YER
lhey advertise American clcva.
or in order to catch custom. but the
do rot e.cvatc. Tney are
here bat they might As well be pain
'd on the wal, for they a"e seldom
'rcratcd Ole OF the unpleasant fca.-
mes Of life in Caba and one that offset,
he delightful climate is tbe onnoyinr
insects II Is ;mnossible +, have o,,