The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-04-20
HAVANA AS IT IS TO-DAY.


 Things Seen and Heard There By United States Traveller-Guard Mount on the Prado-Few Bicycles
 and No Dogs--Costumes of Women Who Resort to Cosmetics to Make Up Their Beauty.
 The one predominating element in Havana at the present time is the sol diery. The streets are literally filled With uniformed men and youth. The average Spanish officer or soldiers would not impress an American favor ably. As a rule they are not we'll set up and they are generally undersized. They all lack the West Point cut which is so much admired by Americans. They may understand the theory and practice of war but the true martial ardor does not seem to reach down into their backbone and legs. None of the officers would ever be accused of wear ing corsets, as some of our fieldlings in the military service are. The uni form of officers and men seems to be of the same material-a fine green and white stripe gingham or some similar fabric for both coat and trousers. The officers wear few gilt stars on their 1 COelI SlGcNSS dllll ct Wultc CctllNdo Ncp, l the enlisted men Panama straw hat, with one side folded up and fastened with rosette. The volunteers, cores bonding to our National Guard, are | doing duty in the city as an adjunct to | the police. They have an inspection and guard mount every morning on the Prado I twice saw this ceremony per l formed and never saw anything so slovenly done before. There was no sizing up of the men; boy of feet ? | inches would be between men six or eight inches taller. Talking in the ranks seemed to be allowed at all times. At the inspection the man be- came immovable only when the officer approached him and relaxed into soci- ability immediately after the officer had passed. Some had leggings, many | had not. They were a job lot of mis- | fits, assorted sizes and colors, from 15 l to 40. The regulars are having hard i time of it. In summer about 50 per cent. sicken and die. At the present time some of them are begging on the | streets, not having received their pay for more than six months. This refers to the enlisted men. The officers are paid and, apparently enjoy themselves. They seemed to have just war enough on their hands and no desire to in crease the volume of that kind of busi- | ness. Although their bullets might l have as much penetration, they are no iI match for the American soldier in in I telligence. One might imagine that ev- | erybody in Havana was rich, as there is an utter absence of dogs, which can not be accounted for by lack of pow | erty Without asking for an explana- ton, one may conclude that they have I gone with the reconcentrados. The bi- cycle fad doesn't seem to have taken hold of the Havanese. I saw but two I bicycles on the streets and those were on the outskirts of the city, where there was little patch of concrete | pavement. There are very few streets in Havana where it would be pleas l ure to ride wheel. The business por- tion is paved with block granite in very good condition. The roads in the suburbs are execrable. The favorite drive is on the beach road, but there is l very little pleasure in driving-the road I is so full of ruts and depressions that 1 carriage springs are severely tested. The condition of the streets and the al- most entire absence of country roads is probably the excuse for not indulging in bicycling. There are few lines of street cars with mules for motive pow CT. The charge is 10 cents, and travel by this method is naturally somewhat restricted. When the war is over there ought to be a grand opportunity for enterprisng Americans to put in first class trolley system with scent fares. The favorite means of transportation in the city is by their one-horse vic torias, of which there are thousands
 and they will carry two persons from one point to another within the city limits for a pesata, or 20 cents of their money, equal in value to IA cents Uni- ted States currency This is about the only cheap article in Havana. A casual
 observer would say there was very lit tie difference between the gowns and
 costumes of the Havanese ladies and those in the large cities of the United
 States or Europe. They catch on to the
 prevailing fashions without much de.
 lay and adopt them to the extent oi
 their purses. One does not see sea
 cloaks or other furs on the streets even
 in the winter months, when the tenn. | pcl lo DCLWCCh tV cAAN oV uCSICcS
 although I saw one fur cape for sale
 in one of the shops. If a sale of then
 ever occurs, the purchaser is undoubt-
 edly one who contemplates a triI
 north. Most of the women who appear
 on the streets in the daytime hood their faces with blacklace scarfs ant use fans to protect their faces from the
 sun. Frequently you see young womer
 walking together dressed exactly alike
 This is so frequent as to be noticeable
 to strangers. On a Sunday afternoon
 I noticed in front of fashionable res. idence five women, probably member:
 of the same family, all gowned precise. ly alike, in heliotrope colored fabric It was suggested that the head of tht family was pleased with the goods ant
 bought whoe piece. Very few of the women are pretty, according to tht
 American standard of beauty. They , age early and rapidly, and resort tt cosmetics and powders to continue their youthful looks long after theil
 beauty, if they ever had any, has pass ed away. The Hotel Inglaterra is con
 sidered a fine looking hotel for Cuba
 You would not be satisfied with tht
 cooking and general conduct of the din , ing room if in the United States. There