The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-06-16
Accounts OF Battles Cost a Dollar
Per Word.
WEST INDIAN LETHARGY
NATIVES CANNOT UNDERSTAND
THE WORD HURRY.
Girl Operators Languidly Touch the
Keys and Wonder Why the Ameri-
cans Should Make So Much Fuss
Over Little War-News Delayed
By Etiquette.

patch Boat Wanda, in Kingston Har
bor Jamaica, West Indies, June T.
The city of Kingston, with its narroV
streets and picturesque people, has
population of 10000, and of that mum
Der only 5000 are white. The womel
fill the places of horses and wheels b.
carrying most Of the city's supplies OF
their heads. The buzZardS are tn
seavengers, and aid the street cleaning
department. Back of the city thu
mountains tower, and beyond the
mountains lie the interior, with its an
cient villages and simple people, every
inch of 1t interesting and historic. L
IS in an ideal place for dreaming, anC
if the American fleet were not lowering
about Santiado de Cuba, only $50 miles
distant. one would be content to forget
the modern world and study for months
the picturesque corner of early Ameri-
can history.
But the outside world is waiting for
news and that is the one fact that the
native jamaican cannot seem to I'M
derstand. He cannot comprehend why
there should be such a delirious hurry
about telling the world about what is
happening down here in these placid
seas. The government is English, and
the crown controls almost everything.
It is an excellent government, satisfac-
tory to the people, and sure always TO
secure for them almost everything, but
for American neWsgathererS it is most
trying. The main office of the line TO
New York by way of Halifax, is To-
Gated here On the north side of the
island. and much nearer to Cuba, is
Port Antonio. From Port Antonio to
Kingston is a telegraph line running
over the mountains. 1t occurs frequent
~ that a dispatch boat with an impor-
tant piece of news runs across from
Santiago de Cuba to Port Antonio, with
the hope of sending the story overland
to Kingston. But if the office has
closed the news must wait until the
next day If a correspondent knows,
however, that he is likely to have an
important dispatch during the hours
the office is closed, he may make writ
ten application to have it kept open,
and by paying So an hour may secure
the use of the Office until his dispatch
is sent over the mountains to King
ston.
When it reaches the cable office, how
ever, it may be delayed several days
on account of matter ahead. The reg
Ular press cable rate from Kingston to
New York over the West Indian Gable
company's line. is 16 cents per word.
The commercial rate is 4S cents a word.
That is the lowest rate given by any
of the cable lines from the West Indies
TO the United States.
Press dispatches sent over some of
the lines cost more than 81 a word. and
many of the stories of the war read by
the American people have cost thou
sands Of dollars for transmission alone,
to say nothing of the enormous eX-
pense of equipping the dispatch boats
Much of the work in the cable and
telegraph office throughout the West
Id
intelligent and obliging in their man
ner, but, like ali the natives, cannot I'M
derstand why it is necessary to hurry.
The rush of the Americans is q source
of never-ending Wonderment to them.
All through the burning days the girls
sit languidly tanning themselves as
they work the telegraph keys, wonder
ing why the Americans are making SO
much fuss over a little thing like the
war in Cuba.
The telegraph and cable offices are
usually found in old buildings, dating
back to the Spanish era, with matched
roofs, and great palm trees shading
them.
UNWELCOME ATTENTIONS.
But the writer's on the dispatch boat
encounter even more picturesque diff
culties. Last week one of the boats put
into a port on the Haytien coast. The
president Of the island and a thousand
or more natives were at the wharf to
meet her. The correspondents had no
other thought but to get To the cable
Office, but, OF course, the government
controlled the cables, as we'll as it does
everything else on the island, and the
had nothing to do but !
humor the local officials caprices. The |
chief executive Of the city met the cor i
respondents at the wharf ana after /
go to his house. A cOncourse Of natives |
followed. on reaching the house the Of |
fetal Cwho is to all intents and purposes |
the local king forced upon his guests |
several presents. All this time the cor |
could feel the dispatches |
fairly burning in their pockets; but |
they must await the kings pleasure /
The time lost, however. in the Of
fcial's company was not the worst of I
IT, There is a fixed rule of official
in Hayti that when the local
ruler favorS a. guest with a gift the ia
vor must at once be acknowledged by I
/ gift of equal or greater value in re-
urn. Tho correspondents had no ar
icles Of value with them, and were in
great straits to know what to do. If
hey offended by failing to make q
present, the HaYtien official was likely
% close the cable office to them alto
yether. They went to the boat to talk
)ver the matter and discover if there
vas anything aboard suitable for a gift.
T only article that could be spared
as fine, fat ham. A jug of rum was
at one of the shops, and the
lam and the rum were sent to the Of
iciaI. His excellency was in raptures.
lie felt he had been honored in a most
way. The correspond
nts were given every attention.
The men who wear Uncle Sans uni
orm are not the only ones who are
to the danger of the Cuban
var The men on the newspaper dis
atch boats, without arms and without
are in constant danger. Not
My are they likely at any time to be
aptured by the Spaniards. but when
light comes they are in danger of being
red on by the Americans and sent to
he bottom
Were it not for the more important I
ews of the warships. the dispatch (
oats themselves might relate incidents
nd experiences of a thrilling nature.
carcely a night passes that one is not
fired on or threatened with /
ire punishment if she does not obey
rders and keep outside of the fleet