Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-07-15
Business Methods of Uncle Sans
West Indian Subjects.
how GOODS ARE BOUGHT and sold
All the Clerks Have Long Hours
and Small Salaries.
A LOOK AT THE MARKETS

Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
SAN JUAN, Porto Rico, June 80, 1899.
Take a walk with me this morning
through the city of San Juan. We are in the
capital of Porto Rico, one of the strangest
of all the new towns which Uncle Sam has
taken from Spain. What a queer piece OF
YaEkee property it is. 1t is only the Amer
lean flags which fly from the buildings our
soldier boys upon the streets and the heavy
wagons drawn by army mules, which are
gathering up the garbage, that remind us
of home.
The houses are of brick, covered with
stucco. They are painted all colors of the
rainbow, and their green shutters cover
holes in the walls, without glass or win
dow frames. Most of the shutters are open
now. for it is day. At night they will be
sealed up as tight drum head and the
only ventilation will come through the little
square holes in the shutter, each of the
size of a playing card.
We can see into the houses as we go along
the streets. The ground floors are as open
as the homes of Japan. There a woman is
combing her hair. Next door one sits with
hand sewing machine on her lap, while
another in the same family is making her
toilet in full sight of the passers-by.
The rooms along the sidewalks are work
shops by day and sleeping places by night.
Here is a shoemaker. with his boys sitting
at their benches about him. all pegging and
sewing The wife, rather pretty young
girl Is running machine at the back and
a bright-eyed, nude baby rolls about on
the floor.
Next door is grocery and further on are
dreSSmakers' establishments. See, each has
half dozen or more black and brown Por-
to Rican girls working machines or sewing
and stitching by hand. There is a shoe
store further or. As we pass it we see that
II has little stall just off at one side, out
OF the top of which ladys head peeps
That Is the stall where women go when
they try on their shoes. They are very
chary of showing their ankles, although
their children or little sisters may be trot-
ting around half-naked.
In the shops of San Juan.
But let US take a close look at the
stores. They are like caves walled with
shelves. They seem exceedingly small, but
they are filled with buyers and sellers For
week after l came here / thought San
Juan had no business to speak of. know
better now. These little caves or box-like
rooms are only show rooms and sample
rooms to the great quarters at the back
which are filed with all sorts of goods
hnd that some of the merchants carry
large stocks, and that not a few do bus
mess of several hundred thousand dollars
a year.
The most of the trading Is done in cash
although it was different before the war
Then credit was given from coffee crop to
coffee crop. but now all money transactions
are unsettled. and trade is suffering from
change of government. The rich Spaniards
lave left, and the Americans who have Sc
FAR come are not money spenders. They
are army and navy officials who make most
of their purchases of the commissary de-
partment. They receive comparatively
email salaries, and much of their money
goes back to America.
But here We are at dry goods establish
ment. 1t is one of the biggest of San Juan
1 know the merchant. and he will show u!
over his store The little cubby hole W.
enter Is walled with shelves. 1t has hardly
room for the clerks to turn around In, anC
you would not suppose that the stock al
told was worth more than $1,000. You arr
mistaken. This man has $500 900 worth OF
goods packed away in the rear. He is a larg,
wholesale dealer and he has several branch
stores in San Juan We walk with hin
through one dark room after another filled
with boxes and bales. Some of the good:
are yet unopened They lie in their origina
packages awaiting orders. We find the
same thing in the drug stores, in the hard
ware stores and, in fact, in all stores.
Queer Business signs.
All the business of Porto Rico is done ir
Spanish. 1t would be foolish for our peo
pie to send commercial Travellers here who
cannot speak Spanish. and an American
merchant who dill not understand the Ian
guage would fare badly. The business
signs here are in Spanish. You see then
over the stores They are not the name.
of the owners and give indication OF
the character Of the goods for sale. There
Is one named La Perla, or The Pearl
goods establishment. over which see tn,
words "El Gallo de Oro,' or THE Colder
Cock while further down the street is
hardware store labeled THE Flower o.
.July.' There is a Ia lai Il q
Nina. or The Maiden which really sell.
gentlemen's shirts and hats and a barber
shop labeled La Hija de Borinques," The
daughter OF BoriLquen- a man neval
puts his own name over his store. 1 sup
pose he chooses the name of the masco
which he thinks is TO bring him luck.
l am much interested in the Porto Rical
clerks We see many of them as we wall
throT sh the streets. Some do not wea
coats or vests, but clean white shirts anC
pantaloons, with a fancy belt between
They are sleek looking. dapper young dan
dies. and excellent statesmen. Their wages
however, would not keep a New York cierl
in cigars-and soda water. The averag
salary Is 10 pesos a month and board Dis
count the pesos at 40 per cent and you hav
a salary of six American dollars, and yo
can cut down the board TO about The sam
ratio. 1t consists of cup Of coffee an
a piece OF dry bread for breakfast o.
soup. meat and vegetables and a desser
for luncheon, and of about the same 70
dinner The clerks live in the back room
OF the stores on the ground floor. Lac
has his cot. which is folded up in the ia
time. and he takes turns for his primpin
at the common looking glass. The mer
chant usually lives in the swell quarter
over the store. for all wel-to-.lo people Il
San Juan live above stairs.
The Porto Rican clerk puts in from six
teen TO seventeen hours per day. He take
down the shutters at { in the morning an
by 100 trade Is In full blast. 1t keeps o.
all day. with the exception of an hour a
noon. say from u;30 to 1890 and con
tfnues on until 10 or IL at night. Some o
the smaller stores do not close for the moo