Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-03-21

00 az 1CVVs
dictious, and for the solution Of the
great and everpressing question, what
next" there is nothing to do but wait. !,
II you make q pilgrimage into the
heart Of the island, the first thing that
strikes you forcibly is the extreme prev
alence Of the sc!diery. The railroad
trains are all guarded. much as they
were in the western states during the
strike. Every town seems to have its
resident garrison, and in exposed places
little forts made Of heavy timber enable
half a dozen men to guard . commu-
nifty. The lightest Of artillery would
knock most of these into match wood.
but they are perfect protection against
travelling forts-cars like an ordinary
freight car. but lined with boiler iron
and supplied with Sits. through which
the soldiers can shoot while their enc
mics bullets can never reach them.
There are soldiers everywhere. You
meet the officers in every first class
coach, and every station platform has its
quota of civil guardsmen, regulars or
volunteers. But, after all. this is not
surprising in land SO prolific Of plot
and counterplot and sudden and disas-
trous uprisings of the people. And yet
perhaps the most amazing thing that
the traveller has always found in Cuba,
whether she were quiet or in eruption,
is the mild semblance of peace that
seems to pervade the air.
Spirit of the People.
For the spirit of the people is light
| and gay. The Latin mind is volatile
and not given to mourning. Grief here,
like hatred, is violent while it lasts, but
smiles and laughter follow swiftly.
The race characteristics are distinctly
Latin. The Cuban lady is charming. She
moves with simple elegance, invariably
| having that great desideratum of most
American women-an unaffected and
graceful carriage. Bonnets and hats are
things which, for the most part, she
happily knows not at all, but she wears
across her glancing shoulders or lightly
thrown over her head a shawl of white
or black lace. The highest examples of
her are almost matchless as types Of glo-
rious, dark, feminine beauty, with their
slight, well rounded figures, their wealth
Of billowy, blue black hair and the
finely chiseled features of their sweet
oval faces, which seem. after all, but the
fit setting Of glorious eyes, dark as
night. soft as velvet, yet bright as win
ter stars. That the Cuban lady is not
lacking in mentality, in native wit.
cleverness and understanding she has
often proved when transplanted to more
stimulating climates. She has been
leader in the brilliant intellectual salons
of Paris, and if at home she is seldom
distinguished by high intellectual &C.
complishments it may charitably be
supposed to be chargeable to a climate
which renders protracted mental effort
a real pain even to trained minds
| Under the favorable conditions of
peace, when homes have not been mar
red and polluted by the rough and de-
grading touch Of the trooper, the Cuban
girl Of quality is reared in the strictest
refinement, and even the poor are more
regardful of the proprieties than they
are under the demoralizing influence of
war. But the education of Cuban chill
dren has been sadly neglected. As late
as 1866 not primary school could be
found in towns boasting 1850 or 3, 900
inhabitants. In 1851, when Cuba was
compelled to contribute 1900, 900 in
support Of the army of Spain, the
amount appropriated for public instruc-
ton i'll the island was less than $50, 600.
| A few years ago Baracoa, with /, 1866
children, had no more than two public
schools, with accommodation for 1856
children, and costing for teachers sal
aries, rent of building and other ex-
penses the yearly sum of $3.50. Man.
zanillo. with 3,O79 children, had four
public schools, with an attendance Of
1856, their full capacity, at yearly ex-
pense of 3d. for salaries, rent of
buildings, school material, etc. Las Tu-
mas, with 1927 children, had two
schools, with 156 children, at an an
nual total cost of 81, 100. The children
Of the well to do families were either
educated at homo or at private schools
at cost entirely beyond the means of
the lower classes of the population.
The gentleman of Cuba is we'll known.
His hot blooded impetuosity, his open
handed generosity and his occasional
treachery are characteristics with which
all the world is acquainted.
And now, when his visit is at an end,
and his explorations are completed, and
he dwells in pleasant retrospect upon
the illimitable richness of this singular
~ interesting isle. the stranger is forced
to admit that, with all her wealth Of
resource, Cuba must be accepted, as it
has been classed by Cubans, as the
country of manana tomorrow, for,
though partially developed, her re-
sources are to large extent lost to all
good purposes. and it is to the morrow
Of liberty, the advancement of educa-
ton and the concurrent emancipation Of
thought and action that Cubans must
look for the rehabilitation of their loved
isle and her requirement of that place in
the grand march of nations to which
her innate wealth and worth entifle her.
Nv II