davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1899-02-04

and one 1-pounder rapid-fire guns Taken
altogether, they are stanch and tidy little
craft and Will undou ubtedly prove of sery-
ice to the United States.
The Sandoval was chased into the harbor
OF Caimanera by the cruiser Marblehead
Captain McCalla commanding, and was
sunk by her own crew in order to prevent
her falling into the hands of the Ameri-
cans. Captain McCalla succeeded in rails
ing her, however, and putting her in con-
ditton for temporary use. The Alvarado
was in the harbor of Santiago when the
Spanish forces surrendered to General
Shafter, and was one of the trophies of
that victory. After undergoing slight re-
pairs they were able to make the trip from
Santiago to this city under their own
steam. 1t was a slow voyage, however as
1t was necessary for the vessels to make
frequent stops to avoid exposure to stormy
weather
The original plan of the department was
to send the vessels direct to the Ports
mouth, N. H, navy yard for repairs. but
when they reached Annapolis 1t was
deemed advisable to have them come TO
Washington for the purpose of exhibiting
them to members of Congress and other
officials who had expressed a desire to see
what they looked like. They have been at
the Washington navy yard for several
weeks, and. as already stated, are likely to
remain there until the early summer.
Lieutenant Victor Blue. who has been in
command or the Aivarado since her SER
vice in the United States, has just been
detached and ordered to duty on the AL
nance His successor has not yet been an
nounce6- The -Ssndoval is in command of
Lieutenant E. A Anderson.
Evening star., 1899-02-04

tries do not bear apples and peaches.
have seen a weakly peach nurtured with
much care on one of the plantations in
Hawaii, but it was tasteless. and the man
goes made a much better substitute for the
Delaware peach. An apple orchard had
some guarlcd fruit, which was unpalatable.
The same is true of peaches and apples in
Cuba But the lands which will not grow
peaches and apples do grow oranges. On
the Providencia there are orange trees. Mr..
Goicoechea told me that he was thinking
of starting some orange groves with
view to marketing the product. l have
heard other sugar planters say the same
thing. Their suggestions have impressed
me that within few years both fruits and
vegetables may become side product on
the sugar plantations, and thus add con-
Siderably to their value. ProVidencia also
has large tobacco drying house but 1 do
not understand that the cultivation is to be
continued in connection with sugar This
drying house was put up during a period of
the insurrection when it was possible to
utilize for tobacco some of the cane lands
which would otherwise have been unpro-
ductive. The common rule is that the cul-
tivatiOn of the two staples does not go to-
gether The best tobacco lands are not
good for sugar and good sugar lands are
too valuable to be used for tobacco.
Prospects of Sugar.
After we had gone through the mill and
over the plantation, and were back in the
Casa de Vivenda,' or residence, gathered
some further points about the prospects of
sugar in Cuba None of the big planters
seem to be discouraged as to the ultimate
restoration of the industry, though many
of them are embarrassed for immediate
means of restoring their plantations. Yet
they are coming back from Europe and
from the United States. At ProVidencia
daughter of the house had just returned
from Paris. and other members of the
family We're to return from England. The
sugar planters expect to resume. in a meas
ure the old social life. This means that
they are expecting to settle on their plarta-
tions and to remain on them. They do not
know how soon revival of the sugar in
dustry will come, but they are not afraid
that beet root will ultimately destroy it.
1T will take two years for Provdencia to
get back to its former production" said
Mr.. GoicOechea. "Other plantations will
need a longer time because they suffered
more during the insurTection and have not
the same resources that we have" AS to
the processes of production he believed they
would be improved. our cane" he said,
"by chemical analysis should yield II per
cent of sugar. We only get ten. The de-
ficiency is somewhere in the mills. We are
trying to find out where this loss lies and
to correct it
Mr.. Goicoechea is Cuban annexationist,
he is not proceeding in the belief that an
nexauon is coming soon. THE United
States" he remarked, collects $40000,0O0
Evening star., 1899-02-04

years ago the regular hotel fiends began
springing new one. They wouldn't have
any room the number of which was divisi-
bic by 13 AT first we were able to give
these cranks other rooms, but after awhile
they increased SO largely in numbers that
now we haven't any 26, 80, 81 65, rs, 91.
104, III or 100 rooms.
Whenever a man walks in now and hands
me that list of numbers, saying that he
can't accept under any circumstances a
room with any one of said numbers tackled
on the door. it's pleasaut to be able to
smile cheerfully in his teeth and tell him
We amt got no such numbers on our chart
of the house. But there are lots of men
who have prejudices against particular
numbers which they regard as unlucky.
Some OF them have as man. as half
dozen of these hoodoo numbers on their
lists, and they can't be talked or cajoled
into taking rooms bearing these Jonah
numbers even for little while. until
rooms with non-Jonah numbers become
vacant. There is one man who always
comes to this house who has violent de
testation for the number II. You'd natural
ly think that a man who is big enough to
be the postmaster of one of the biggest
cities in the whole world. as this man Is
would know better, but he doesn't. Queer
thing about ii is that he was born on the
18th Of the month. and that, he says is the
reason he hates the number. which he de-
Clares has always been u real. live sure
enough hoodoo to him. 1t happened that
Evening star., 1899-02-04

fire one bell boy for telling one old lady,
after she made her careful scrutiny of the
bed. that de sheets dun bin changed,
ma am. And while I'm on the subject of
beds, let me tell you something weird and
dismal About five years ago the propri-
etor of this hotel fitted up about half of
the rooms in the house with fine folding
beds, at an average cost of about $125 per
bed. He was strong advocate of the fold
ing bed idea, and lie wanted to be UP to
date. Well, after the beds We're nicely in
stalled. there began an epidemic of folding
bed accidents throughout this country and
the papers ms.de a great deal of these ac-
cidents. A lot of chaps with jags got
tangled Up in their hotel folding beds and
the next morning their families We're wild
dies and orflings. Gentlemen from the
country took their SHES at the hotel fold
ing beds, and stIaightway, when they woke
up, they We're no more. The newspapers
as a horrid, lurking instrument of death
and, / believe, anti-folding-bed societies
were enthusiastically organized, with large
membership lists, in various parts of the
country. Consequently the doom of the
folding bed was sealed about three years
ago Not one man or woman in five who
puts up at a first-class hotel will have any
part OF folding bed, and We lose a lot of
guests every day over the folding-bed uues-
ton. for folding beds are our long suit A
man comes IN here and picks out on the
chart just the room with-a-bath that he
wants, and just when We handing the
key of the room to the bell boy, we saw to
the about-to -be-a-guest, of course you have
no objection to folding bed?' He gener-
ally takes a couple of quick sidesteps and
replies, sarcastically, oh, / haven't, hey l.?
Well, you don't know mel 1t generally
winds up by moving a stationary bed
into his room, warranted not to collapse
or slay.
"Once in while some wild reckless
blade comes along upon whom we can
work off folding bed, but we usually get
kick even from this kind before he leaves
the house. Result: The boss is now dick
ering with secondhand furniture man to
have the folding beds all taken out of the
house. and, after he has refftted all of the
rooms with brass and brass and white
beds. as he intends doing. his folding bed
experiment will have cost him something
neat and tidy.
People Who Practice.
We've got an iron-clad rule in this house
against dogs of all degrees, high or low.
but they get in on us, all the same Wo-
men guests smuggle them in, and, once
the dogs are under the lintels, they can't
be got out by any other means short of
ordering the women guests out which isn't
often practicable or possible. The whining
little CANNES are all right in the rooms
Evening star., 1899-02-04
ARMY AND NAVY.
fersonal and other News of Interest
In Uncle Sans Service

Rear Admiral ]. Irwin, retired has been
detached from duty as prize commissioner
LOT the district of South Carolina and or
dered home
Lieut.. Commander r. p JASPER has been
detached from command of the Terror and
ordered to command the Marcellus. reliev-
ing Lieut. Commander H. WinsIow. who Is
ordered TO the Constellation as executive
officer.
Lieut.. F. Ellery has been honorably dis
charged
Lieut.. Victor Blue has been detached
from command Of the Alvarado and order
ed to the Alliance
surgeon A. c. H. Russell has been de-
tached from duty in the bureau Of medicine
and surgery and ordered to the Newark to
relieve Surgeon g. E. II. Harmon. who has
been ordered to the Amphitrite.
FIRST Lieut.. James T. Ord, 9th L. S. V.
Infantry, recently appointed, has been or
dered to join his regiment at Santiago,
Cuba
capt. George w. Roberts, assistant sur
geon, Sd Tennessee Volunteer Infantry has
been honorably discharged the service of
the United States, his services being no
longer required.
Capt. Charles L. Tayman assistant quar-
termaSter, L. S. V, has been ordered from
this city to New York city, n. Y for dut,
as quartermaster and acting commissary
OF subsistence on the transport Rouman-
ian, to relieve Capt. Charles M Wrigley
assistant quartermaster.
Second Lieut.. Cromwell Stacey 10Th L.
5. Infantry, now in New York city On sick
leave. has been ordered to join his regi-
ment in Porto Rico.
Under the provisions of an act of Con-
sresS and upon the adverse report of a mill
ltary board appointed in conformity there
with, the following named officers have
been discharged the service of the United
States with one months pay and allow
ances: Second Lieut.. Arthur Sayre. lGOth
Indiana Volunteer Infantry and Second
Lieut.. Henry Johnson, 16Uth Indiana Vol
unteer Infantry.
Maj. George w. Fishback. additional pay
master, L. S. V, has been ordered from
New York city, n. Y, to this city. and re-
port for instructions to the paymaster gen.
eral of the army.
Col. Charles r. Greenleaf assistant sur
geon general, u. S. A, has been directed to
proceed from this city to Savannah. Ga,
where he is to take passage on the hospital
ship Bay State to Cienfuegos, Cuba, stop
ping at intermediate places for the purpose
of inspecting the medical department at
those stations From Cienfuegos Col
Greenleaf is to proceed to such other points
in Cuba as may be found necessary for the
purpose of inspecting their sanitary condi-
ton and perfecting arrangements for the
care of the sick.
Evening star., 1899-02-04

of duties on sugar and tobacco from Cuba.
L can see why that is obstacle to an
nexation." He added that when Americans
began coming to Cub& to engage in sugar
raising with their energy and their i'm
proved methods the output of the island
would be enormously increased. When
that happens said Mr.. Goicoechea. there
is an end to the beet root competition of
Europe.
AN Industrial revolution wHI follow and
it will be Of character of which now
have little conception" Mr.. Goicoechea
did not speak hopefully of the system of
colonias, or leased cane lands Providencia,
as before stated, had a dozen Of these
colonias. The system is one by which the
planter leases or subletS for a period of
years a tract of cane land. AS much is
leased as the tenant cares to cultivate,
either by himself or with the help of others.
The cane he raises is taken to the central
mill and ground on shares 1t may be that
this system will ultimately justify the
hopes that were entertained when IL was
inaugurated. ! have thus far found few
planters who were satisfied with the re-
suits. One trouble seems to be that the
planters who at certain seasons themselves
need heavy loans are also compelled TO
advance money to the colonos. Perhans
when Cuba has country banks from which
the colono can borrow directly the system
will work better.
The Smallest Sugar Industry.
The largest sugar plantation in the prov
word about what is probably the smallest
sugar industry. 1t is back in Guines and
is at once a dwelling house, mill and a
refinery. The industry is owned and man.
aged by Mr. and Mrs. Becerra, Jointly.
They have a small furnace into which an
old negro feeds the fuel. Mr. Becerra puts
the cane through the crusher and Mrs.
BeceTra boilS the syrup. Some of this is
marked as guarapa and some is made
into waX cakes. 1t is something like max
ing maple sugar in the woods of Ohio or
Vermont. The interesting thing is that this
Becerra sugar mill and refinery shows the
capacity of a Cuban family to develop an
industry. The Bacerras had a small place
on one of the plantations in the country.
The concentration drove them into the
town. They got a little cane. crushed it
by hand and made some syrup and sugar.
After that they got a furnace large enough
for their growing trade. Now their dwell
ing house is too small and they are going
to move the sugar mill away from 1t.
That shows what one family can do
CHARLES NJ PEPPER.
Evening star., 1899-02-04
Compromise Upon Reciprocity Ex-
pPcted.

The work of the Canadian joint high COM
mission yesterday included session of the
subcommittee on the Alaskan boundary and
a meeting Of the American members Of the
reciprocity committee. A meeting of the
full committee reciprocity was set for
clock this afternoon The difficulties en-
countered in the reciprocity clause discus
sion have been great, but 1T is thought
that a compromise of some sort will be
embodied in the treaty. Some of the
American members feel that Ii may be pos
sible to get vote on the treaty at the
present session Of Congress, although the
final ratification by the English side will
be delayed several months
Evening star., 1899-02-04
Many Visitors to the Spanish Gum
hoats at the Navy Yard.

All Washingtonans interested in trophies
of the Spanish war will be glad to know
that the Spanish gunboats Sandoval and
AIvarado are to remain at the Washington
navy yard for some time to come AL
though not yet fully determined, it is not
likely that they will be ordered away be-
fore the early summer, when the condi-
tions will be more propitious for their sea
cruise to Portsmouth, n. H, where they
are to be overhauled and put in thorough
repair for Sc vice as vessels of the United
States navy Since their arrival at the
Washington navy yard they have been
visited by a great many people, including
hundreds of excursonists, to whom they
have proved objects of great interest
The Sandoval and the Alvarado are twin
ships and were built by the Clydebank En-
gilleering and Ship5uiding Company of
Clydebank, England in September, 1893,
for the Spanish navy. They were designed
specially for service in the shallow waters
around the Island of Cuba, and proved of
great value in that respect. They are what
are known as steel gunboats, and are each
provided with one screw, one funnel and
two pole masts Their dimensions are:
Length, 110 feet; beam, Is feet 9 inches,
and draught, 5 feet inches, with a dis
placement of 100 tons and coal capacity
of from 10 to II tons. They are provided
with triple expansion engines capable of
developing a speed of twelve knots an hour.
Their armament consists of one 6-pounder
Evening star., 1899-02-04

well. / thought. though, when I read The
account of it. that she might have i'm
proved her reading hugely had she done
about a one-month stunt as a hotel clerk
This would have made her reading prac-
tIcany perfect. for she would then have
Known just exactly how the old gentleman
of the sonorOus phrases felt when he was
delivering himself of his views. l am not
trying to detract from the quality of Jobs
patience, but there was one respect. at
least, wherein he had the best of US: he
was at least left to himself. Now. after
fifteen years experience in standing behind
a hotel desk. 1 am convinced that were l
left completely to myself way out in the
woods somewhere. l could stand any old
affitction that came along and evolve
quality of patience that would be 24-karat
fine and every bit as commendable as the
Evening star., 1899-02-04
AMERICAN PRISONERS IN MEXICO.
w. f. Lewis Released and McKax
Sent to Prison for Three Months

Sent to Prison for Three Months.
Minister Clayton has reported to the
State Department that W. F. Lewis. whose
trial has been pending in Mexico for a
long time, has been released and has left
Mexico to visit his home in Texas. He al
so reports that Mr.. McKay's sentence has
been reduced to three months in the Tux
pan prison.
1t was reported from Tuxpan by Consul
Jones, June 2, 1898, that Mckay shot
Lewis in a quarrel over some land Mckay
was charged with disturbing the peace
Lewis made every effort possible to have
a trial. but for various causes the case
was postponed and dragged along vexa-
tiously, Notwithstanding the interyention
of the Department of State to secure a
prompt trial
Evening star., 1899-02-04
EXtradition Will Follow.

The United States ambassador at Mexico,
Mr.. Powell Clayton, has notified the State
Department that the Mexican government
has consented to grant the application Of
the United States authorities for the de-
livery to them, under eXtradition proceed
ings, of James Temple, the American rail-
road man who is now held under arrest in
Mexico for killing a Mexican on the Ameri-
can side of the border in Arizona
Evening star., 1899-02-04
Confirmed by the Senate.

The Senate. in executive session yester-
day afternoon. confirmed Col. John H. Pat
terson, Goth Infantry, to be brigadier gem
eral and James Fuller Mckinley to be
second lieutenant of cavalry.
Evening star., 1899-02-04

article developed by Job. Gaze upon me
/ regard myself as the patientest bit of
work that ever stood in brogans, barring
the rest Of the hotel clerks. In the course
OF a single watch l have so many oral
rocks heaved at me- / am bombarded by
80 many diffarent kinds Of
Evening star., 1899-02-04
Trouble With Folding Beds,

"a lot of the elderly ladies who come
here make 1t a practice to turn down the
bed coverings when they are shown
room. They want to make sure that the
bed linen is of the proper degree of white
ness. This always makes the bell boy at
tending them very tired. and we had to
Evening star., 1899-02-04
The Man With the Big Diamond Has
Plenty of Trouble.
DEALS WITH ALL SORTS OF CRANKS
Worst Are the People Who Are
Flnicky About Their Rooms.
BUT THERE ARE OTHERS

NOTICE THAT 4
New York society
young woman recent
~ gave a reading
from the Book of
Job" said the chief
clerk of one of
WashingtOn's most
famous hotels, TAX
ing things easy dur
ing an off-watch pc
riod the other after
noon. to a Star man.
THE reports state
that she did it very
Evening star., 1899-02-04
Divorce Granted.

Justice Cox, in Equity Court No. 1, today
signed a decree granting Roger Cole a di-
vorce from Sarah Cole. In his petition the
complainant alleged gross intidelity on the
part of the defendant.
Evening star., 1899-02-04

the last time he was here the only room
that fitted his requirements was No. II, but
when we told him the number of it he like
to have had fit. He took another room.
w hen he went away, the cashier cooked up
a little job on him and made his bill an
even S1I-the bill really amounted to S17.25.
L thought this postmaster of a big town
was going to wilt from heart disease when
he saw that bill. gave a stage clutch
at his forehead and turned white and | had
to stOop down behind the desk to smile at
the absurdity of the thing. He spent half
an hour with the cashier trying to figure
the bill either over or under the pat $17.
but the thing couldn't be done, and so he
missed his train by going into the dining
room and eating another dinner. That
made his bill SIS, and he went away with a
satisfied smile.
Queer Notions.
Then there is large and miscellaneous
list of Others who have queer notions
about rooms. We had suicide in this
house back in 1884. 1t happened in one of
the best rooms in the house. The room
was completely refurnshed, but people who
stop at hotels read the newspaper dis
patches about these affairs, and, as this
particular suicide was rather a prominent
man, and the number of the room was
given in the newspaper accounts of the
tragedy, they had us pat about that room
until we changed the number. Well there
are still remaining about ten or twelve old
W
ber that suicide, and you couldn't drive one
OF EN- into that room with a pack of shep-
herd dogs. They were not fooled by our
changing the number of the room, and they
know its location to a T I've often tried
the experiment of getting one of these old
timers into that room. 1t never works
After the bell boy has shown the old-t timer
up to the room, he always comes back
with sour look on his face and inquiries,
Didn't little affair of gas and gun hap
pen in that room you've given me about
steen years ago? Then l have to suddenly
rem mber that the old-timer is right and
fix him out somewhere else. We have a
large list of patrons, especially elderly
ladies, who make it an invariable rule, be-
fore putting their names down on the reg
ister to inquire If anybody has died in the
house from contagious or infec tious dis
"a Sc since they last put up with us. In
gcnuous on their part to ask US such a
question, isn't 1t? / wonder if any of em
really expects that we'd say yes whether
or no?
Evening star., 1899-02-04
Didn't Like the Water.

Specify? On, I wouldn't know where to
begin. The people who put their names on
hotel registers have as many kicks coming
as there are animalculae In this glass Of
oh. by the way, that reminds me of a kick
i had last week. Now, all of the water
used for any purpose whatever in this ho-
tel is filtered. Last week a part of the fill
tering apparatus broke down. SO that the
bath tubs throughout the house, while re-
pairs were in progress had to be supplied
with plain. unedited Potomac water which
Is pretty good article of water at that
when you get on familiar terms with II and
come to understand it. Now, ii happened
that the rainy weather of last week rolled
the Potomac up a whole lot. so that the
water that flowed into the tubs was-er-
well, somewhat burnt-orangtsh in nue. but
perfectly wholesome for all that. You
ought to have heard EN- pile into mel They
came singly. in pairs. triCs and quartets.
and for two days they hammered me like
league team hammers a rUbe pitcher. Just
released from the Waybacks. Honest. to
hear EN- stand up there in front of that
desk and soak me, you'd have thought that
i had sneakad out to the hotel reservoir in
the dead Of the night and chuCked a couple
dozen pounds of powdered Ochre into it,
There was no use in my trying to explain
to them that when IL came to the coloring
of a mighty. historic river l was not nor
could / possibly be. 1t; they held me per-
sonally responsible for the tint of the wa
ter, and | had to stand for it. One old En-
gltshman yelled at me that he was going
to write TO the Times about it-Lunnon
Times. y know-and 1 am now trembling in
daily fear of being held up TO obloquy and
scOrn in the pages of the Thunderer before
the eyes of the whole blooming Hamerican
colony in England.
Drummers Kickers.
Now. you might have got the idea into
your head that the least kicky of the
whole tribe Of hotel guests belong to the
jolly brigade Of commercial travellers. If
you've got any such idea eliminate it-that
is, cut il out The drummers have got a
kick coming for every hour of the day
and they don't let any chance to kick get
away from them. either. Their most deeply
rooted fad Is that they're entitled to the
same room every time they turn up at the
hotel at which they're in the habit of stop
ping. They telegraph ahead a couple of
days, as a rule, for my room and when
the drummer who does this arrives at his
hotel and finds that his room is already
occupied he invariably puts up a snort