Arizona republican., 1899-02-19
BLOCKING TO HAVANA.
Americans Go There to Get Soft Berths
 and to Invest.

! A letter has been received in Wash | ingtOn from an official of the treasury
 department, now on duty in Havana,
 which contains interesting references concerning matters of which but few
 persons are informed. The letter is dated January 31, and, in part, is as follows:
 ''This week has begun with the ar
 rival of the largest number of Ameri-
 cans of any week since the beginning
 Of the year, except, of course, days
 when United States troops arrived in
 the city. Americans are hOcking here
 by the score, seeking soft bertES for
 their money, and looking for invest
 ments that will bring in rich harvest.
 It is needless to say that in this one
 thing they have been disappointed. The
 majority of the adventurers have small
 capital, and it is only the man with
 heavy rolls of United States money
 that has a chance of surviving the fight
 for fortune
 ''In one respect the Americans, all
 I have seen. have been pleasantly sur
 prised upon thelr arrival. Stories of
 starvation. desJitItlon and distress
 have been ringing in the ears of the
 people of the United States until the lcelief has become general that Havana is pest hole, where there are only dis
 ease and starvation. and where the
 only two things that are surely to be met are death and starvation. The filth that one hears of; the narrowing stories of plaques that fill the yellow journals of the north; the agonizing pictures of souely stricken people sup posed to be within the city of Havana. are, in so far as one sees, myths that
 IL H. .1E do not mean to say there is no good ground for some of che stories that have gone the rounds of the press, for outside of the city, in the 'by-ways and hedges of the province of Havana, and in the other provinces of the island, there is a deal of suffering, such as is never known in our native land.
 t@The people Of Havana, like these of New YC:k, represent every class and condition. Here one sees the same handsome equipage that is used in the cities of the states, the women are dressed in the same style, and in the evening, when the Cuban band gives | its daily concert, there is grand [ promenade about the Predo, in which l the leading social belles and beaaX take part, and the scene is one of rare beauty
 Il and, after a rain, are very muddy and | agreeable, even if one is riding-and ! every one rides here. The weather now | is similar to our May and June weather | and. the people, natives and Americans, dress accordingly. There are many | kinds of Cubans, the faiT-skinned. the | daTk-eyed, darkroom mplexioned, Span iard like and the blacks. The blacks are exactly like the colored people of the south and take the same relative position in society. They are nearly all poor, living in dirty, filthy adobe houses near the harbor and on the suburbs of the city. They dress ill flmy gauze clothing, many of the chiI- dren going on the streets naked, not because they have not clothes to wear, but for the sake of comfort. They speak only four words of English, and these are spoken to every American at least once CT twice every block he walks. The. four words are: Give me l cent"
 "I had the pleasant duty of paying he first eInp1oye of the new govern men his salary, and there is a little story connected With the man and his purpose for getting his salary at this -inIe. 1t has become generally known hat the idea of the United States gov g l ions as possible to native Cubans, and hat every Spaniard now in the employ If the government is to be let go. The nan who received the first payment for t. alacy is a Spaniard. He believes it = c be for the best interests of all con- ' erned for every Spaniard and Spanish ,, to leave Cuba as soon as [ possible. So it was that on last Satur- ' lay, when his salary had reached the r mount necessary to take him back to 'pain, he promptly presented his resig- ' lation and was handed the amount due . Jim for services since the 1st of Jan / Jary. Ills name s Tonguin CabanerO.
 ''The Texas is here, Captain Sigsbee, r crmer captain of the battleship Maine, f commanding, and it is safe to say that ' with the Cubans he is the most popular 2 ran on the island
 General Brooke, governor general r If Cuba, is also popular with the peo- }le, but he has been too busy to give t much attention to them personally, and f or that reason he is not understood by ( H. He was cheered as he entered the i heater few evenings ago, and as he f COk his seat in the governor generals S loX there were heard many cheers of I Tive Brookel c
 Good cigars here are more difficult C c obtain than in the United States c The best can be bought fer about ents, American money. Washington V Star. -t- I 7F3II MADE THEM COMPANIONS =