The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-12-18
ID. 3. LONGsTREET=s SAYS 1T IS STILL
CONsPICUOUsgBY ITS Alb.
sENCE.
LOCOMOTIVE AND MULE ARE
FURNISHING LOCAL ETRANsPoRTA-
TIoN TO THE DENIZENs OF
THE REPUBLIC.
ZENITH CITY's IT. LOWRY ALSO
day-Gossip of the City
Hotels.

city registered at the Metropolitan, and
guest for few days of J. M. Haw-
thorne. Mr.. Longstreet has been en-
gagged for the past eighteen months as
assistant general manager of the street
railway system Of Mexico, and it was
in that city that he made Mr.. Haw-
thorne's acquaintance year ago. Mr..
Longstreet has a national reputation in
street railway circles, having been
connected with the management of the
systems in Boston, Providence and Den
yer and at one time was president Of
the Street Railway association Of the
United States. He has just resigned
his position in Mexico and is on his way
to Boston, where his family resides. In
speaking of the Mexican roads, he said
to G o b e reporter:
The system was first built by native
capital and was sold two years ago to
an English syndicate for $7,500,000
That seems big price, but the present
owners are making money on it. The
lines are of two kinds, mule cars and
locomotives. The former are drawn by
a span of mules and sometimes by only
one mule, and the lines intersect the
city proper in every direction. The
locomotives run on lines to neighboring
suburbs and merely draw the same
kind of cars as the ones propelled by
mule power.
The fare about town is six cents. On
the suburban lines there are both first
and second class coaches and the fare
runs from two to thirty cents. The
conductors and drivers are all natives
or Cubans and are polite and attentive.
They have just been uniformed; prior
to that time they wore any old thing
and looked villainous. The cars are
fitted with registers, to record the fares,
and eighty inspectors are employed to
look after things in general. Altogeth
er there are about 200 cars.
Il was kept pretty close, attending
to business, and cannot tell you much
about the condition of the country,
but judging from the street car receipts
and they make a pretty good barome
teri imagine that everything is fairly
prosperous. l cannot say, personally,
that 1 like the country very well, es
pecially the arrangements for winter.
They have about two months of very
chilly weather and as they have no
heating stoves 1t is sometimes quite un-
comfortable. A man is at disadvant-
age, too, unless he can speak the Ian
gUage, although that did not bother me
as 1 had Cuban interpreter"
How are the prices of commodities
under the free coinage?" inquired the
reporter.
Local products are as cheap as in
the United States. That is one of their
silver dollars will buy as much as one
of ours will here. But when you want
foreign made goods, the6priees rise out
Of sight. You not1only have to pay the
tariff but also pay a big advance on
account of the fact that the goods are
sold at gold prices.
There is quite an English colony in
the city of Mexico-probably about 49,
coo English speaking persons, of whom
1900 are Americans. There are two
daily papers published in the English
language and both of them seem to be
paying. Every large store, so far as
1 observed, kept an interpreter for the
benefit of the English customers. There
are a great many American tourists
there during the winter, but there was
a big falling off this year compared
with last"
Mr.. Longstreet by the way, is
nephew of Gen. Longstreet, the famous
Confederate leader, and by the singular
fortunes of war, he was found fight
ing under the Starssand Stripes at sew
eral battles where his noted uncle was
cheering on the hosts of the Stars and
Bars
ST. Paul entertained another prom
inent street car man yesterday. S. L.
Norvin, the Tom lowry Of West Su-
perior' Superior and Duluth, is a, guest
of the Ryan, coming down on a short
business trip. He announces that the
contract has BEEN. secured from the
government for carrying mail on the
street cars between the three cities,
and it will go intof effect next month.
The mails will be carried on the same
plan as between st. Paul and Mime
apolis.
E. L. Bonner, the wealthy Montana whole
saler, accompanied by Mrs. Bonner and the
Misses Bonner, are registered at the Aber
deem from Missoula.
Mr.. and Mrs William Bateman and daugh-
ter. of Winnipeg, registered at the Metro
po;itan yesterday.
C. w. Parker, of Brainerd, is guest of the
Metropolitan.
]. A. Moore, of Winnipeg, is at the Metro
politan.
A. M. Branding, of Detroit, Mimi, is a guest
of the Ryan.
A. D. Southworth registered at the Ryan
yesterday from Mortified
j. c. Fisher of Duluth, was among the ar
rivas at the Ryan yesterday.
R. L. Mccormick and wife, of Hayward
Wis. are at the Merchants.
Merchants guest yesterday was H. Spald-
ing, of Brainerd.
John Grant of Faribault, is registered at
the Merchants.
]. E. O'Brien, of Crookston, registered at
the Merchants yesterday.
N. H. Ingersoll, of Branerd, a guest
of the Windsor yesterday.
Windsor arrival yesterday was R. H.
Mccoy a well-known lumberman of Lake
land.
j. Geary and wife, Of Hibbing, are stop
ping at the Windsor.