Evening journal., 1899-03-22
IHg POOR IN CUBA

FREV Au'FlNcE ClF BlEGGlAlR5 AND
FuRlAs AND SMOKERS IN THE
CITY CiF HAVANA.
Eartcn, Md, AIarch 2L-4Major james
Claylonl lMu.lkln, OF EastOn, chief Com-
mLssnry ola subsistence al Havana.
Cuba, wrlJes avn linterss,ing letter from
there After describing the city, tine
hlcuess THE lllIrow E5reets. the filth
the lack of eanitatLcn and Jhle univer-
saiity CT garbage, HE says;
"Beggars ami fieals abound. The for
mer meet you at every turn, ami II y1u
happen 10 give cne "a penny, you will
soon be surrounded III you refuse. they
take ID rs a matter OF course and do
n,t aetm disappointed. The other day
mam at THE wauehOu5a asked me for
a cam OF roast beef, saying HE was
huneFy and had lhred little Chldren.
WAS about to d-oart from my Hule
not Ito give away anything at the ware-
house, butt before g,t to the place
where the meat VIE crowd OF twenty
e.elht or thimty, WI h their hands out
.s.nstChed, iabbenllng Spanish and tell
ing about THE number of hungry dhill-
dram tlsy had athome. srruoumded me-
/ had to refuse them all. They are as
much given TO th.ev-hg as to bagslmg
Even The msnl we have at work at the
warehouse On. coed wages have to be
watchad none careiu.Ly than would a
gazing from cur penlltenlt,ary. When
am receiying or shipping ratl-rs we
have sometimes SIXTY or seventy men
at work. We make Them leave their
coaIs ait tlle door, and as they go out
iheg are exam'ndl TO see dhat they
have eaoraltsd nothing; besdes, there
| are men Watching fhdm all the time,
and yet they manage b9 steal a great
d1gl. Butt Do is net confined TO this
class. The hac'Nmn, the merchants.
lihs h.-.el-kespers- body saems
bent On cheating yuu in scme way. and
a Stranger mere, unlless lse understands
this bellcndlard. viii soon learn it, but
Ihis educat.-n viii cost him consider
able
"Eyeryhody smokes hsne. 1t is no UNI
Icommon dihhng TO eee a LefOumsd beg
gar sitting with cutstuo5ohdi hand and
lpuffing away on a Havana ciGar WO-
men smoke oigans and cigarettes In
the saueet. There lis no prchIlbldon of
smoking anywhere.
"Evenyhcliy seems 'baInt On getting
allthe pleasure and enjoyment possible
out of l5le Nearly every day tIhsre lis
s me kind OF paralie-ilhe military, the
hremen, ,the poI1ce force. scc.ebies etc,
day after day. But the 2iih of Febru-
ary surpassed anythinlg / have ever
seen. Tt was The public entry of
Gomez into Havana. 1t was a grand
ovation for the cid warrior. The city
was rns mass of flowers and flagss-Cu-
ban and United States. Triumphal
aroIhss spannlsd the streets thlrough
which he passed. In the procession
w-re sahccl children, societies OF men,
Of women young and Old, white and
cOl-ued. United States soldiers and
! lGcmezs veterans some on foot, some
mounted. The cavalry hlorses were
lsmall and poor, like their r,ders. Both
had a WEARY, wornout look. Very few
lof ihla men showed any elatiOn. White
amid lblack rode I'M the ranks tSgether
and many OF tine officers were full
i bIOcdeti Africans. l was partlcu-arly
struck with the youth of some OF dhem
some were boys not Over IA years
'lcri Ihl.lr uniform was linen, eoiled amid
l ragged. MANY of them were almost
barefoot: tihey wore al kinds OF straw
hats, amid their accCutremsrlts were rr
ihe simplest kind. Br1t they looked
ais IL tIhley would fight i'm their way
skIrmIlsIhing and bu5hwacking.