Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-08-09
SHOPKEEPERS IN CUBA.

CUBA and Its Resources a book filled
with interesting facts regarding the ISL
anu was written by Pulaski F.. Hyatt
and John j. Hyatt, respectiyelv consul
and wee consul of the United States at
Santiago &c uba before the war with
Span. Not least among the me- tiers to
be read with profit is an account Of the
manner in which the Cubans keep SHOE.
selling to the retail trade in the cites and
towns. The customs are as different from
ours as may be, and it is possible that we,
as we'll as they, may learn sometime
from a comparison.
TO begin with, land IN Cuba is not so
dear that frontage is expensive. Though
there are no displays in shop windows to
amount to anything, the stores have their
long way on the thoroughfare instead Of
at right angles to it. and everything they
contain can generally be seen from the
sidewalk because they are so shallow. It
is customary to give every establishment
a single street numbe regardless of the
space it takes up, but this is not so much
IN use as some fanc-ful name, whereby
the shop Is known abroad. The Golden
Lion. the Gateway Of the Sun, the Royal
Princess, these and the like serve instead
Of firm names and addresses. Dry goods,
of course, is the first consideration in the
way Of merchandise. Here it is to be
noted Immediately that there ar> no WOOL
SA SooSS ~ oolC, ldCCS dl.f kill
broideries making up for the lack. Even
the tailors keep an assortment of linens
rather than woods.
The mantilla, in universal use among
the women of the island until within a
few years, had kept such a thing as mil
linery in our sense of the word from be-
ing placed on sale. Lately, however,
ready-made hats and bonnets have been
shown in dry goods stores and-of all
places-the mems furnishing goods
stores. The styles for women are PARIS
ian: those for the men rather Spanish
than anything else. Straw hats are in use
for all occasions except those Of complete
Formally. Shoes are seldom worth much,
all being of Spanish importation, inferior
in make and lasting qualities as COM
pared with American shoes, now conceded
to be the best and cheapest in the world.
Gloves are seldom worn, except at af-
| fairs of state, and are as bad as the shoes
"a curious commentary on Spanish retro
| erosion. for the nation was at one time
! known throughout Europe for the excel
| lence of it's leather manufactures. The
hardware stores are better equipped than
most of the others and show care in de-
! tail. The best appearance is put L" by
the drug stores, which thrive on patent
| medicines, most of them made in France
| or Spain, but some of them familiar to
| Americans as having composed part Of
the scenery of this native land since re-
collection first aWoke. These are adorned
with real works of art, paintings, statues
and the like, rather than with large and
vari- colored bottles. All grocery stores in
| Cuba sell run and tobacco, as a matter
| of course. American canned goods also
find a market in them, with rice, beans,
goldfish and dried beef. But they are
filled with reaches.
1t is not yet permitted to Cuban women
to serve in the shop, and they are not to
be found in business, either as salesWo-
men. typewriters or clerks. The conven-
lions are those long outlived in America
and nursing is about the only thing left
for the Cuban woman outside of the other
mental ~employments. AS a matter of
fact, the common people do not know
enough to take positions of the sort, SO
far as their women are concerned; and
the better classes, of course, will not. Mr..
Hyatt notes that it is the custom for the
nearest surviving kinsman to incorporate
the entire family of a departed brother
or cousin or uncle into his own, without
anything being thought of it, except as
an inevitable duty necessarily done.
AS a result all the attendants are men
in every place where goods are sold,
These men are uniformly obliging and
courteous, willingly handing down all the
goods within reach and making no demul
if nothing is sold. But Their manners are
different from those of the American
clerk. For one thing, smoking is univer'
sal, and the politest clerks will pause q
moment in this display Of the stock te
roll and light a cigarette. The heat, too
constrains them to wear neither coat MOI
linen shirt, and it is with considerabl
surprise that the American shopper find.
herself confronted by a smiling youns
man arrayed in a gauze undershirt dne
linen trousers. Nothing is delivered. a:
a matter of common use. the customer:
having their purchases deposited in the
carriages without. By special arrange
ment this can be done, however, but thu
messenger expects a fee.