The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-06-15

| 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. 1t
! is an excellent government. too. salts
| factory to the people and sure always to
| secure for them the best of everything,
| but for American newspaper work the
conditions are trying. The main office
of the cable line to Halifax is located
here. On the north side of the island
| and much nearer to Cuba is Port An
tonic. From Port Antonio to Kingston
is telegraph line running over the
mountains. It occurs frequently that a
dispatch boat with an important 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 next day. If a cores
pondent knows that he is likely to have
an important dispatch during the
hours the office is closed he may make
written application to have it kept open
and by paying 1 pound $50 an hour
may secure the use of the office until
his dispatch is sent over the mountains
to Kingston. When it reaches the ca
BILE Office it may be delayed several days
on account of matter ahead.
The regular press cable rate from
Kingston to New York over the West
India Gable company's line is 16 cents
cents word. This is the lowest 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 a dollar a word and
many stories of the war read by Amer
lean people have cost thousands of dol
lars for transmission alone to say moth
ing of the enormous expense of equip
ping the dispatch boats.
Much of the work in the cable and
telegraphic offices throughout the West
Indies is done by negro girls who are
intelligent and obliging in their manner.
but like all natives, cannot understand
why it is necessary to hurry. The ac-
tiVity and rush of the Americans is a
source of meyer ending wonderrnent to
them. All through the burning days
the girls sit langufdly tanning them
selves as they work at the telegraph
keys, wondering why the Americans are
making so much fuss over a little thing
like the war in Cuba
The telegraph and cable offices are US
ually found in old buildings dating
back to the Spanish era with matched
roofs and great palm trees shading
them But the writers on the dispatch
boat encounter even more picturesque
difficulties. Last week one of the boats
put into port on the Haytien coast.
The president of the island and thous-
and or more natives of the island were
at the wharf to meet her. The CORES
pondents had no other thought but to
get to the cable office, but of course the
government controlled the cable as we'll
as it does everything else on the island
and the correspondents had nothing to
es. The chief officer of the city met
the correspondents at the wharf and af-
ter great show of welcome, invited
them to go to his house. a concOurse
of natives followed. On reaching the
house the official (who is to all intenJs
and purposes, the local king),. forced
upon his guests several presents. All
this time the correspondents could feel
the dispatches fairly burning in their
pockets; but they must await the
kings" pleasure The time lost, how
ever. in the officials company was not
the worst of it.
There is a fixed rule of official cour-
tesy in Hayti that when the local ruler
favOrs a guest with a gift, the favor
must at once. be acknowledged by gift
of equal or greater value in return
The correspondents had no articles of
value with them, and were in great
straits to know what to do If they Of
Tended by not making a present the ca
BILE office would likely be closed to them
altogether. They went to the boat to
talk over the matter and discover if
there was anything aboard suitable for |
a gift. The only article that could be |
spared was a fine. fat ham. a jug of |
rum was purchased at one of the shops /
and the ham and rum We're sent to the |
official His eHcel1ency was in raptures. |
He felt that he had been honored in the |
most extraordinary way. The cores
pOrdents were given every attention at |
the cable office.
The men who wear Uncle Sans uni
forms are not the only ones who are
subjected to the dangers of the Cuban
war. The men on the newspaper dis
patch boat, without arms and without
protection, are in constant danger Not
only are they likely at any time to be
captured by the Spaniards, but when
night comes they are in danger of being
fired on by the Americans and sent to
the bottom. Were it not for the more
important news of the warships, the
dispatch boats themselves might relate
incidents and experiences of a thrilling
nature Scarcely a night passes that
one or more is not actually fired on, or
threatened with dire punishment if she
does not obey orders and keep outside
Of the fleet limit.