Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-01-04
DRIVE TIM NEGRO our.


fan Juan. Porto Rico. Dec. is-lcor-
respondent OF the Associated Press. l.
In the matter Of cleanliness this city IN
deceptive. II one comcr from other
island towns To Fan Juan. or better yet.
" one comes from the average West
Indian port to Nan Juan. San Juan win
az nrHt seem clean in comparison. This IL
because the streets Of Porto iicoH cap
itnl are FOR the most part very well
paved and are kept actually fairly
clean. a comparison can be- made To-
"a shiny steel tire ON very muddy
wagon wheel The city streets there
arr for the mort part clean, but the
houses ana the numherlvHH interior
courts and connecting nlloywnyH are
indcarrihuhly dirty. II you ask what
should be- done Tor the sanitation uf
the city you VIII very likely be- un-
awcrrd everything" There IL NO
doubt hut that the question needs very
thorough hundllnr, and one can well
say that everything must be- done. Tor
nothing 10 speak ~ has been done In
the past and % their own viii
the people win do nothing today
Ran Juan ciiy N built on the western
end Of long aud narrow island that
runs almost due east and west across
the northern slide ~ San Juan harbnr.
The northern side OF this island h the
highest, being sixty or seventy feet
above sea level, and from this ridge
the land slopes evenly to the south or
harbur side Of the island. Tho hnr-
Dor IN large and has an eastern ana
western cntrancei the Western entrance
only can be- used hy ships. the eastern
entrance II shallow, but there IN "A fair
current OF water through the harDur
with each slight raise ana fan OF the
tide. The prevailing winds are from
tho north.
a noticeable feature of the city
streets II that the iirat nuprs, In eases
WHORE the houses have two stories. arc
either given over to offices ana ware.
houses, or are inhabited by tho poorer
classes. Everyone knows that n ~
healthier 90 live above the ground
ilopr, consequently all those who can
anurd 10, do liN" there. 4 doctor OF this
city. man who has studied the quas-
ton ~ the city'a health. has declared
that In order 20 make the cts stny
clean and healthy. these poorer olasrrs.
mostly composed ~ negroes. should b.
driven away 10 the country. This ar-
ton h. considers imperative Tor the
lasting success OF any measures toward
city sanitation. As one walks through
the streets one catches gllmuses OF IN
terror courts that seem alive with peD.
Pie; enter these courts and you are Inn
pressed with the great number NJ poO-
pie who live In small spaces and dc-
priyed VI air aud llght. Americans
have wondered how this Cfty could
house the thirty thousand Inhabitants
attributed 10 u; visit to tho Interiors
~ the houses would quickly lnforih
them. In these toncmrntH tho sanitary
arrangements are practically NIL There
are NO public lnvntorica Ia town and
the Nnat amount Of ClothoA that ~
weekly washed In this nv la mr. Central
American cities, Is done In these house.
AllcyNayn, halls ana crowded runna
are forever hung with damp clothing:
dirty water stands In foul tubs and N
cmptled Into drains that probably ~
not drain, The houses are crowded
with naked children. food N cooked
over charcoal fires In any corner aud
an wutOr comes from underground
reservoirs In the yards that catch the
rain from the roofs. All tho water
that the city has today IL cistnrn
water. The mnl-ndors from those
many tencmcnts blow out into tho
streets and rise 10 the people who live
above. II ~ almost impossible 10 mud
today In San Juan u second story FOR
living purposes under when thera ,iO
not reside several families with habits
such az IN here described.
Whether these people can be driven to
the country N a question. The negro
would prefer 20 live ON olght square
feet OF dirt In the capital than IN the
fresh air OF the country, and such tone
ment property is highly profitable 10
the owner here Ms elsewhere. You cannot
drive the negro to the open fields un-
leHs you there provide shelter for him.
and even II you told him he must move
within three or six months he would
make no effort to ind himself quarters