Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1900-12-13
Letter From Earl.

NEW OhLEANS. 1IA., OcC. o, lJOO.
After extensive travels and various
experiences Newton and / are now in
New Orleans, the winter mecca of the
northerner prone to travelling. Either
to q person who has read or travelled
it is supertiuous to say that this Sec
ti0n OF the country is without an equal
in the United States, speaking from a
climatic standpoint. When we left
Chicago the small creeks were covered
with ice, the trees barren of their YER
dure and the prairies vast area of
desOlatiOn. but when we awoke the
following morning in Kentucky some
of the foliage had yielded to the suns
radiance and sent forth their fragrant
foliage. All day we Travelled through
the cotton and sugar country of south
ern Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi
and Louisiana AS during the day We
progressed nearer to the equator the
beauty and fragrance of the flowers,
ETC., increased and when we reached
New Orleans in the evening about z
o'clock the air was fragrant with the
scent OF the rose, and in fact all the
flowers usually grown in the north in
the summer time are now in full bloom
here.
But, there appears to be an enormous
Impression existing in the north con-
cerning the climate down here. In
the day time between the hours of q.
m. and 4 p. M it is as hot in the sun
as it is in Hades on reception days,
but, through some popularity of the
atmospheric condition here, the in
stsnt one steps from the sunlight into
the shade they feel exceedingly chilly.
At night everybody wears their heavy
clothes, the ladies their furs and the
men their overcoats. If anyone ever
acuses me OF saying New Orleans is
nice place can with absolute truth
fulness stand up and answer "Not
Guilty" or all the cities of the
United States ever honored by my
presence, think New Orleans is the
most cosmopolitan, and q peculiar
feature which soon attracts the atten-
tion of the northern traveller is the
mixed up condition of the languages.
Down here one must not Judge man
by the language he speaks. One hears
q negro speaking French with fuency.
The French have adopted the tongue
of the native citizens, with the excep-
tion of the residents of the Latin dis
trict and if one is to Judge their
rhetoric from samples 1 heard last
night am firmly of the conviction
these people selected their language
from the scrap heap behind the town
of Babylon after the rest of the
'powers" had their "ssy." Last night
heard an American girl conversing
with Chinaman in the language of
the flowery kingdom and the way she
handled the crooks and curves of the
rodent eater would have done credit
to old Confucius himself.
To the uninitiated. the existing sani-
tsry conditions in New Orleans are
deplorsble. The city has the surface
sewerage, that is, the entire sewerage
flows away to some nearby swamp on
the surface of the ground. alongside
the curbstone. When the pavements
are put down small ditch about four
inches deep and fourteen inches wide
is constructed alongside the curbstone
on each side of the street and through
this the entire sewerage of city of
over 100000 people finds vent, or at
least is expected to. 1t Is common
sight to see man standing in front of
hts store, sweeping the filth, ETC., which
has accumulated in the sewer (?) in
front of his establishment, on down to
the next mans district A person
with but slight imaginative powers
can appreciate the odor which comes
from this obnoxious accumulation.
but be it said to the credit of the new
generation of the city these conditions
will exist but short time longer as
work on q new twelve million dollar
system of sewerage is now progressing
and will be complete before next sum-
mer. A "Dago" has just stopped in
front of my window and is proceeding
with thoroughly artistic rendition Of
that soul inspiring melody "You will
Iget ell that's coming to you" Well,