The evening times., 1898-12-24
HAVANA SPECTATORS.
All Sorts of Schemes Anoat in the
City.
From the Chicago Record. !


From the Chicago Record)
Havana is thronged with spectators OF
all classes. They are having various ef-
fects on the community. One man from
New York put up at, one of the leading
hotels and talked loudly and ait all times
of the great things he was going to do
with the vast amount of capital at his
back He priced tracts OF suburban real
estate. pine lands and mines. He made
arrangements with railroads for special
| trains to carry capitalists to various prop
critics on inspection tours. At the end of
three weeks he had run his course, but
before getting to the end he borrowed $50
of n Spanish officer and did not pay 1t
back. The Spanish officer made a vigor-
Gus protest and said that all Americans
who were coming down were of the same
kind.
These cheap or broken-down spectators
are numerous Another financier made
extensive arrangements for Investments
and fairly daZZied the eyes of hotel visit
ors for a few days by the magnitude of
| his schemes. His room at the hotel
| looked like an Office and the few citizens
| he was able to lure there came back deep
| ly impressed. y day or SO ago ne moved
! from the hotel and now is "A seeker for
| employment. He did not sWindle any one
out Ol any IlibItA, 81 ldt StS 'ihN Z
| learned but those who pass him sitting
on n bench in the Pgrque Central twid-
! ding his thumbs point him out and laugh
These cheap and irresponsible adven-
! turers are giving the American investors
a bad name The man. who is here trying
| to buy corner lots and unoccupted tracts
| is also numerous. He has not yet learned
| the Havana ways and, OF course, is doing
| himself but little good. Havana does not
| do much in the real estate business and
| values are hard to get. A property re-
! mains in family for 100 years. There is,
| of course, more or less realty exchanging
| and trading, but nothing like what there
! would be in d northern town of the same
! size When a prospective buyer rushe5
| to q Havana man and wants To get an
! option on a corner lot he is viewed with
as much astonishment as though he were
! trying to buy the mans children.
This is the humorous side of what the
| Havan people are taking very seriously
! Many are forgetting their grief over their
! political orphanhood for the time being
! and are trying to understand what the
! Americans are going to do with their
! money. seI'roperty that never had any
value in their eyes is now assuming i'm
! portance Before ii was only a home or
! a place to pasture a COW or two goats.
| Now they think that the Americans may
! Ndill IL II any MlItlSoeNtI d. Z
made they are suspicious. They shut up
! their mouths like CLAIMS and look very
4 wise. They are nervous for fear they will
| be talked into doing something that Will
| lose them a lot of money.
! a gentleman who came herd to establ sh
a business looked at eleven acres of land
| near the bay. The price had gone up TO
! SIS, eco. Perhaps II had a value before. If
So no one had thought of IT. But there
/ JS hat q &c ynrth bnf
| now. II certainly is If the gentleman
| wants land. Other land Is going up at
| the same rate. Amercaias are not In close
| touch with these ownefs. and Go not know
! the process Of fixing values. II is pFoba-
bic that the prices will all be fixed before
| they learn the game. From the inquiries
being made it seems certain tina: Havana
is in for lively speculative period. The
proposition is pretty apt to bewilder the
| Northerner when he comes TO prospect.
He will find that so far as location is con-
cerned. the corner lot that should he the
most valuable has small one-story build
! ing. perhaps l50 years old with siX-ilch
sidewalk and a twelve-foot street.
This speculative curiosity has caused
| the officers of some of the larger enter
prises in Havana to refuse to answer
any questions One of the large finan-
cial houses in New York notified its Ha-
| vana rrespoDdent-one who had re-
! manned here during the blockade-to
make some inquiries as to the Havana
| street railway properties. The Havana
! correspondent had an intimate acquaint-
ance with the railroad men, but he found
1t absolutely impossible to get the desired
! information. He asked for the last re-
port TO the stockholders, and was told
that none had been made for long
time. He refused the slightest and
most trivial information about the prop
critics. He could not find the amount
invested or anything about the financial
| history of the property