The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-12-13
.Aiacchus' Advice
NEWS HND COMMENT

Says the Youths Companion: In Cuul
laSt winter eight cents day sufiiCcd to
keep reconCentrado alive. Consul Gen
cral Lee distributed money for u time to
the people who needed it, but he found
that in spite of the eight cents, they were
still starving. lie investigated a little.
Then he cabed to Washington: Don't
send cash. Send corn meal and goldfish. >
The living skeletons had been spending
the money sent to keep them from starV-
Ing for tickets in the Royal Lottery of
Cuba. This hoary swindle was once
known as the Royal IIanava Lottery. and
whole tickets cost SD apiece. Later years
nave brought the cost down to a hard
times basis. The price of tickets Is a
dollar and there are a quarter Of a mill
ION or them, a drawing Is supposed 10
take place every ten days, the capital
prize being $JO.0B, and the other prizes
agSregatng SlO0,Ol0 more. The man who
has drawn capital prize is vet to be
discovered. Nevertheless the lottery has
been popular. Its little red tickets are
spread over the island like so many
smallpox pustults. Gomoz's soldiers So
laced their empty stomachs with dreams
or the wonders to be wrought by the num-
bered slips of paper that We're tucked
away in their ragged trousers so did
Blanco's men. Even today. half the beg
gars in Havana sell the tickets The
thieves are nervous and unhappy They
have always paid a subsidy to the crown
of Spain. amounting to One-quarter of
their gross receipts, and they would will
ingly continue that bribe to the new
Cuban government; but they fear that the
influences that are to prevail in Cuba will
he distinctly unfavorabie to their scheme
And they are right There is ample room
for the Royal Lottery of cuba IN the
same grave that holds the extinct infamy
which hailed from Louisiana.
According to Carlos de Quesada. q chi
CagO Cuban. there were many parties to
the conspiracy which resulted in the theft
Of the De LONE letter. IN the first
place. the junta had worked trusted
agents into the employ of the Spanish le-
CATION, These clerks kept US posted on
all matters which they could, but that
was not enough. So IL was arranged
that a woman was to start up a firta-
ton with Senor de LONE and endeavor to
gain his confidence. At that time ! was
in Washington under fictitious name ~
a gentleman from Venezuela My duty
was To watcn some OF the people whom
we thought to be our friends and to sound
certain people and enlist them i'm our
cause. The woman selected to ensntrc De
LONE was "A Miss Millburn. she g very
clever and attractive, and is now III
New York. De LONE was ATTACKED On
his Wcat point. He yielded. ana ConfidCd
many things TO her which he should not
When Canaloias came to this country.
he was, of course. watched every minute.
Through the influence of friends the iunta
managed to get a Cuban as u waiter into
the hotel whcrc he was stopping He was
supposed to he Il Venezuelan. As he
spoke Spanish he was naturally assigned
10 wait on DC lone. When the Spanish
M - 1at h..
promptly informed that "A letter. contents
unknown. had been written TO CANA
leias, The letter reached it's destination
at the hotel, but ii never got to Canalaipe
The Venezuelan waiter took it out of the
package of letters and turned il over ia
the junta 1t was given out that the let %
ter was stolen in Havana to avoid trouble
with the United States postal authorities
Secretary or State Day saw it before II
was published" 1t Is only fair to add
that this story is flatly denied by the Gu
ban representatives at Washington
Those who have advocated government
control Of telographs in the United States
Will be interested in the experiment which
the government will conduct in Porto
Rico and Cuba. The lines established
by the Spanish authorities are now being
operated by the war department of the
United States, The military control of the
wires Is to be continued until a civil gov
ernmcnt has been established, and consi l.
cradle int, rest is expressed as to The dis
position Of he lines eventually The en-
forced obtcC lesson In federal manage
m"nt Is to have considerable influence. II
IS expected. pro and con i'm the agitation
for like control in The United States
proper The cost for maintenance and
long delayed repairs is al the present
time moro than the income from the lines
In six months from the first Of January
IT is expected by the Utica Press that
some interesting data rs to the profit in
the insular wire service may he fur
nisrcd.
FX-Governor Roswell p. Flower. al
though a Democrat. Is an eXnansionist
ana an optimist. He believes the United
states is on the eve Of a period OF nm
precedentod prosperity. Saws he "Our
manufacturing industries are Wei ostab-
lished, ana We have no trouble I'm finding
n market for our Oyerproductinn. Take
the iron and steel industries as an in
stance. In 1870 We imported so. .O)0, 90
worth OF steel and iron, and exported only
S12 900 900 TO $4,000 900 worth. To-day the
figures are completely reversed. and from
our ore beds and mills and foundries we
export 10 every part of the globe. In
nearly every branch of industry we are
today sellers, where fifteen or twenty
years ago we were buyers. The whole
commercial world is at our feet. The net
results of lS97-'9S bring 10 our credit the
stupendous sum of $4,000. 00G 900. That
has come TO us i'm gold and i'm securities
hotter than gold, During 1S9l-'96 the bal
nnce of trade was Cnlv slightly I'm our
70, L.