The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-04-23
They STUDY ENGLISH
THE CUBANs ANXIOUS TO LEARN
THE LANGUAGE OF THE
AMERICANS
NO CASE OF YELLOW FEVER

| In Havana, Matanzas or Cardenas
| Having It's Effect on the Death
| Rate - Condition of Red Cross
| Work the Island-Hundreds
| of Homeless Children Are Found.
| Special Correspondence the Globe.
| TULIPAN SUBURB, Havana, April
H.-That Cuba is becoming Americanized
with wonderful rapidity is apparent on
| every hand, and even the most disgrun-
| tied anti-American patriot unwillingly
| admits that the change Is infinitely for
! the better. Never before within the mem
| DRY of man has there been so little sick
| ness at this time Of year. owing to Wig
orous American sanitation, in the way
| of clean streets. Immediate disposal of
all decaying matter and constant use of
| disinfectants. Today there Is not a sin
gle case of yellow fever in Havana, Ma
| tanzas or Cardenas-the three cities of
| consequence in Western Cuba. Yesterday
| I made the rounds or the Havana hos
| pitfalls and gathered the official informa-
! ton that the total number of patients In
all of them combined exclusive of the
| lepers' home) is 173; whereas, In previous
Aprils and Mays it has been away up in
| the thousands with appalling death
rate. For the first time since the set
| Element Of the island by the early Span
iards the streets are actually clean. and
the cutters filled with running water, in
stead Of the foul, putrefying excrements
Of a mongrel population. Medicos and
coffinmakers are complaining that their
business Is being ruined by these med
dlesome Americans; and the vultures-
those unclean scavengers of the air that
erstwhile fattened upon Astounding car
ron-are growing lean and hungry-eyed
No longer Is the Jesus del Monte road
thronged, as Of yore with spectacular
funeral professions, respondent In gold
lace and gorgeous liver1es,. bowling mer-
r1ly along to the music of brass bands;
and the sections of the great. over-crowd-
ed Colon cemetery, like old Uncle Ned,
have lain down the shovel and the hoe
for lack Of employment. Just now the
only prevailing diseases are those incl
dent to the close Of the long dry season
IAN affection of the nose and throat
caused by
CLOUDS OF BLOWING DUST,
and the peculiar complaint locally
known as "nervioso," which, at its worst,
produces commissions in children and hys-
| terra in adults, but is seldom fatal. There
Is no good reason why this balmy and
| beautiful island, with Its bright skies,
fresh sea breezes and delightfully."- even
| temperature, should not be salubrious
as any country under the sun. The lion
in the way of perfect sanitation Is hid
den inside the handsomest houses. Built
after the fashion of medieval Spain,
! none Of them had originally any SAINT
tary arrangements whatever, and the at
tempts Of recent years have taken the
form of fimsy pipes laid outside the
walls. After two or three centuries of
occupation, the result to sight and smell
can be better imagined than described in
print. A fair sample is the once mag
nificent but now somewhat dilapidated
casa in the Cerro suburb of Havana,
which was rented last week by the Amer
| lean National Red Cross for the head
| quarters and residence of it's representa-
| tives in Cuba. The large, imposing resi-
dence, surrounded by ample grounds and
| fronting park, stands in the highest
and coolest portion OF the city, where
| the streets are widest and the residences
all of the better class. In such favor
able environment, one would think that
| it's great, airy, marble-foored rooms
would be comparatively free from unsan-
| 1tary conditions. But listen. Little more
| than year ago-a few weeks before all
Americans were compelled to leave with
| Consul General Lee-the Red Cross So
| ctety took this house for an orphanage
and collected therein 200 reconcentrado
children, under eight years of age At
| first all went well, under the benefcent
care OF Miss Barton. DR.. Lesser, Sister
Bettina and other experienced workers:
and when they were hurried from the
| island, just before the blockade was de-
he had In,
| the asylum. A well-known Cuban ply
sician was left In charge, with ample
| money and food supplies Tor six months
| need. What became of the
FOOD AND FUNDS
1t is now impossible to say. Perhaps
the good doctor, out of the kindness Of
his heart, and like his fellow Cubans
taking no thought for the morrow, forgot
the original purpose of the provisions
and distributed them indiscriminately
among the poor of Havana. Heaven
knows there was need enough every
where, when a nation was dying OF star
vation- AT any rate, in less than one
month the cable brought piteous appeals
for more supplies for the orphanage-7l
which could not be sent because of the
blockade. The worst of all was that in
the second month of the institutions
existence the children began dying by
scores, and in a short time not half a
dozen of the original number remained
alive. The cause Of that terrible death
rate has only now beer discovered. Last
week, when the ong-deserted orphanage
was rerented for Red Cross occupancy
and repairs began. the government SAM
tary inspector was sent for to investi-
gate the plumbing (Which the owner de-
clared to be In perfect ORDER; and then
was discovered state of things which,
uncorrected, would have meant sure
death to the new tenants. Not being
versed in the mysteries and technical
terms of plumbing, 1 may not be able to
clearly explain the situation; but per-
haps you may guess at 1t by knowing
that the pipes from the closets instead
of conducting the deadly gases outside,
were laid in such way as to vent them |
all In the second story of the circular |
hall way. exactly in the center OF the |
casa If the purpose had been to COR
fire the gases within the stately mansion
and distribute them evenly throughout |
the apartments, It could not have been
more successfully accomplished. Thus
after 200 children and score Of nurses
and attendants had been using those
closets couple Of months, the whole