The age-herald., 1898-11-10
THE GOVERNMENT
 LOTTERY IN HAVANA
,rom the st. Louls elobe-pemocrat.


 the drawing" The voice of the lottery vendors were shrn and persistent. It was almost the last call of the auctioneers. One two more drawings and the gov- ernment lottery passes into history along with Spanish sovereignty in Cuba Noth- ing on the surface shows that 1t is a "go- ing'' institution. The order-change houses, where money Is changed, still display the lucky numbers which they have sold. These are a past guarantee and a present advertisement. Some of the shops continue to offer lottery tickets at par as an induces ment to other purchasers. The vendors old men, women and little children-have to charge a slight premium l have noticed no lessening in the number of persons en- gagged in sening lottery tickets. 1ney come into the trains out ln the country and throng the cafes the city. Their chief customers are the Spanish officers and sol- dierS, but everybody buys at least tho tenth part of ticket, just as everybody in Kentucky has stable tip on the races and backs it.
 There were 4,372 tickets sold for the draw ing which took place this week. The lucky number which drew the grand prize Was 1O,377, and was held in Havana. The government got its one-quarter rake-off, or reservation, out of the lottery, as usual, and had the further advantage of covering
 
 second and third prizes, which were not ofawn. When the last drawing has taken place a considerable number of persons Will be without employment The Cubans declare that all the lottery vendors are spanish. That may be true, but the patronage Is not limited to the Spaniards. ana when the lottery is gone no one imag1nes that the gambling instincts of the people will cease to assert themselves Chance will still be the goddess at whose n Iap of xunr h asked Cuban what would happen when the lottery was gone He was rejoicing over its disappearance as a government in-
 '.Oh," he replied, there will be great increase in what you in the states call rafnes, and there will be more small gam bling in the cafes We won't be able to stop that, but we will be free from the lottery That demoralized and debauched our people, because it was official Even the church tolerated it."
 ihe DUH fight. apparently, has already gone, and the last of this Spanish national institution has been seen in Havana. pull fight was to have been given in tba Plaza at Regla, across the bay. Sunday With Peruano as the star Peruano was i, the Cuodrilla," or support of the great dazzantlni, who was here last year. but his iaurels were yet unearned. Mexican bulls which are not so valiant as those from An dalusia, were to have furnished the snort Everything indicated that the performance was not going to be up to the standard It was with relief that the true lovers of pastime learned Sunday afternoon that Captain General Blanco had prohibited the pull hght Failure to procure license was said to be the cause. but the prohibition was attributed to the captain generals fear that the discontented soldiers would raise a row.
 Compensation was found for the failure or the bull fight. The crack jockey of Ha- rrrI,o rsI i,4o .t..-
 nificent white Andalusian stallion and re- eeives the keys from the president of the day, was enabled to parade up and down the Prado. This jockey is a weazened lit tie fellow. Perched on his steed, he looks like midget. I had been wondering whether he had dried upu and blown away during the blockade. His reappearance was made with eclat. Only the effect was marred when. he drew up in front of the hotel for closer inspection and to receive the homage always accorded him. The Mississippi man who is in Cuba prospecting for land was curious about the Andalusian steed. So he opened the animals mouth and looked at the teeth "Humph," he said, with contempt, "25 years old if he's a day. A baby could ride that horse.'' The prestige of the crack jockey of Havana was eclipsed.
 However, the riders were not the only 1 ones on the Prado Sunday afternoon. Some family carrages, which had evidently not seen service for months, were rolling along with the cabs and coaches, which were seeking to monopolize the drive. The num- Der of persons taking the Sunday afternoon stroll from the Parque Central to the wa ters which were beating against the rocks of Moro castle much larger than on recent Sundays. In a faint way It was the Havana of former days, when the Prado was full of life and animation. This 1m- precision was confirmed by Cuban or wealth, who had just brought his family back from Europe. He complained that he had not been able to find suitable house either in the town or in the suburbs. On inquiry I was told this was correct For the first time in three years no desirable houses in Havana are for rent. The stag nation in business continues, and 1t must last till American control is in force, but the community is preparing for the change. The misery of large portion of the in- habitants exists yet, even if it is becoming cloaked
 With the appearance of the Cubans tho Spanish officers are becoming less in evl- dence Their numbers have not been sensl- bly, decreased by departures for Spain yet their presence is not so prominent feature of the city life as formerly. When the Span- ish officers have all gone back to the penin- sula, half the cafes of Havana will be clos ed for want of patronage It IS to De sald for these officers that their behavior is dis erect. Whatever bitterness they may feel toward Americans is masked, and their feelings toward the Cubans do not betray them into public exhibitions. One evening this week there was a stir in one of the cafes, which was filled by Spanish officers. Americans and Cubans The latter were falling over one another in their efforts to to embrace hero of the insurrection. He was Brigadier Carlos Macias. Three or four years ago Marcias was one of the young swells of Havana, rich and idle, pass ing his time in the cafes and theaters. Pro- found surprise was caused one day when it was known that he had gone out into the Hong grass" and joined the insurgents in Puerto Principe province The Havana dandy ultimately became the commander of a brigade of ragged soldiers. His well come was effusive but 1t did not interest me so much as the haste with which tho Spanish officers guped down their coffee and disappeared. In ten minutes not one remained. It was two hours before they returned. The incident suggested the thought that the delays. in getting the