The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-03-23

merry lot and careless, fat withal. and
not unpicturesque in their scanty linen. dir
ty calico or homemade alpaca. Three years
ago there were more than 100 beggars,
mostly children in Havana known to the
police and endured as a necessary evil. That
number has been greatly increased by the
troublous time and lack of work. The
young boys and girls ply their trade in all
the most frequeTlted places. not only with
absolute freedom. but generally sure of the
courteous answer from Spanards or Gu
bans, In Gods name, pardon me-" This
courtesy. even in REFUSAL breeds impudence
and a pertinacity past all belief. They
cling to the garments or run by the car
riages of the Americans who, when newly
come, are any easy prey. While some are
repulsve-made more SO by beggars' arts
and nearly all are annoying, few among
the children are so pretty, naive and jolly
that they reap copper, even a silver har-
vest daily. Take four-years-old Josef, who
has become Notwithstanding to the
corps of correspondents. Her plump little
figure, bronze skin, deep melting eyes and
flowing head dress Of dingy silk are at
tractiye in their way but pale their ineffec-
smile and the conscious certainty of her
demand for luna peseta" twenty cents)
She scorns centivea penny and that
She has mother, however, and seven
brothers and sisters, all fat, so the four
year-old family manstay can stand pretty
big receipts.
Another picture and sadder. Several
days ago your correspondent, walking on
Obispo street, near Villegas. heard a low
song from a doorway and looking within
saw little lad OF nine or ten years, to
whom was clinging a very atom of a baby
and face it must have been eighteen months
old. The lad stopped his singing and looked
up as the correspondent stopped. but did not
by voice or gesture crave aims. The two
had three garments among them. the baby
using one. From its socket, recently, one
OF the boys eyes had been torn, and the
CHASTITY wound was innocent of dressing or
care. He accepts the proffered coin with
smile and 'gratios, senor" but when
a into fnF In h l,fe
he maintained for long q reserve born of
fear, cruelty and sad experience. 1t is not
necessary to repeat his story Suffice it that
a year before he had played among the
canes along and beneath the palms of a
happy home in far Puerto Principe, played
with brothers and sisters and was cared for
by mother and father Guerrillas came and
with them death, restitution, famine. The
lad. Luis, escaped with the loss of an eye
and saved his baby sister. With the little
one on his hp-the load grew lighter as
food grew harder to get and scarcer--Luis
walked all those weary scores of leagues to
Havana where he hoped to find his aunt.
He found her former home but she had
gone to the States, so Luis and his little
charge went out into the city streets to live
on chance, charity Che would not beg) or
to die in doorway as he tried to hush the
cries of the baby he loved. The boy and
girl were well cared for now and moder-
about the hundreds of similar cases which
never come within the purview of the char
itably disposed?
Cuba is the land of the outstretched hand
and 1t is good to know that the hand is not
pushed aside empty any more. Great strides
have been made in relief work within the
last week The orphan asylum which Gen.
Lee started and now under the care of Dr.
Lesser and his wife, is doing a wonderful
amount of good and Louis Klopsch's soup
kitchen and relief stations will soon be in a
state of effectiveness which Spaniards and
Cubans did not believe possible So far as
may be, every needy family on the island
reconcentrado or otherwise is being sched-
uled. If any still doubts the need of sys-
tematic relief, let him read this list of towns
within a radius of a few miles from Havana
The list Is official Mark the percentage of
the distressed in the total populations