Evening star., 1898-12-31
IN HOTEL CORRIDORS

IN HOTEL CORRIDORS
Il have been very much interested in
reading the letters in The Star from Mr..
Pepper, its correspondent in Havana" said
Mr.. D. u. Fitzgerald prominent lumber
dealer of Port Tampa, Fla. who is stopping
at the Raleigh Il have frequently visited
Cuba and know Havana quite well. More
over. l am in daily contact with travellers
to and from the island, and have an excel
lent opportunity for learning the true con-
ditions there. The Star correspondent, in
my opinion, has sized up the situation and
has detailed the conditions now obtaining
in Cuba with great accuracy and compre-
hcnsiyeness. While his Investigations of
the gambling institutions probably present
many new facts to the people of this
ton, we, who live in the midst of the
cuban settlement at and around Tampa,
have been so accustomed to the character
iSticS and customs of the people of Span
ish blood that We hardly notice them.
The man with the small capital will
hardly make money in Cuba, especially in
Havana. The American styles differ from
those which obtain at Havana SO widely
that the tradesman from the United States
who goes there to get rich selling the
natives bargains will have a hard time.
The Spanish and Cuban people spend i'm
mtnSe sums of money on dress, sums en-
tirely disprGportionate to their financial
ability To indulge themselves. but they
have their own peculiar styles n Cuban
who works for 81 and $40 a week thinks
nothing Of spending 81 for shirt and for
his ether clothes in like proportion. The
money that VIII be made by Americans in
cuba will go to the big capitalists who
invest in land or to those people who are
able 10 obtain franchises.
A large class of the people of Tampa
and Yibor City are violently opposed to
the proposed open door policy as regards
Cuba. In Florida generally we believe that
Cuba will he eventually annexed. The kick
comes in the two places mentioned above
On account of the great cigar manufacture
ing interests which have been established
at Nibar city especially for the manufac-
ture of Cuban tobacco into cigars. The
manufacturers have been protected by an
enormous tariff against the Cuban manu-
factured product heretofore. and the free
importation of Havana cigars will run them
out OF business.
For eighteen years 1 have been a globe
trOtter," said Prof. George Washington
Smith. whose American name would indi
cate that he hailed from the United States
He has adopted London. England. as a
good place to register from in the course
of his wauderings, however although he
was formerly Il native Of Cincinnati. Ohio,
and a professor of ma thematics in the
City College there.
Yes: my travels have taken me far
afeld." ne continued. Il have been around
the world eight times and have crossed the
Atlantic thirty-six times in all There is
not a country of any considerable size in
the world that / have not visited. and l
expect it will be a long day before l finally
drop anchor in port and settle down To
spend the remainder of my days away
from the rattle of the railroad train and
the cEuFn of the steamer : screw
II travel for pleasure, and think that
there is nothing so instructive in the world
as seeing how the thousand million odd
other people in this world outside your i'm
mediate circle of friends and acquaintances
live. Nothing knocks the rough edges of Il
man like getting around and seeing some
thing OF the world
There are two things in this world that
j hav. observed being universal. The
one Is the game Of chess and the other IS
the idea that exists in every community
Of any size that there is something or some
body th-re that excels The whole OF the rest
of the world in some particular quality or
achievement. | have played chess i'll every
port. and everywhere ] have run across the
greatest thing in the world or the person
able 10 excel all others in the world have
taken a certain mOrnse pleasure in attempt
ing. after Investigating the latter local phe-
nomtE0n. to diSproVe his claims TO celebrity,
but have found my work in vain. for the
fond native still clingS TO his beliefs ard
nurses them the more ten1erly because the
doubt upon them
"a good many people in the District of
Columbia will remember DR.. Jas. Mcilhany,
who practiced medicine here about eight
years ago said Mr.. James Hamilton Lew
IS. from the Pacific slope. who has recently
arrived in Washington 10 attend the last
session of the Fifty-fif;h Congress. and who
Is putting up AT the Riggs. After leaving
the District he moved out to Everett one OF
the thriving towns of the state of Wash
ington. and he is now one of the prominent
physicians Of that town as well as a leading
politician in the democratic ranks.
a short while ago he and l were walking
quietly along the streets OF Everett when a
murder was committed within a score or
so yards of US. Now. are summoned to
appear as witnesses in the case and | shall
have 10 return TO Washington to testify as
10 what l saw of the affair when the case
Up for trial
My chances of returning TO the Fifty
sixth Congress. | fear, are rather slim
There are certain contests now pending
which may give me my seat if the lower
courts sustained by the higher courts.
but the fight would be a long and expensive
one and shall hardly make the contest
Il am an out-and-out expansionist. and it
Is 10 my views on the question of annexa-
tiOn thar l attribute the 1900 votes that /
ran ahead of the regular ticket. The peo-