Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1900-01-23
CONDITIONS IN Gu
~
Nor
Excellent Openings On the +.
For Americans.
CORDIAL WELCOME FOR GEE.

S'As1A0o " AoOoNo Wv NJ u. 'ktE%
Reforms Which the Rev e$o~s4r}3}
General VIII Inauwuratc-=.I.&
Hibbard's Story of II Visit se2Sssr
vann-Ex-Mayor Of Newton. Mir,
Will Educate Young Cubans. r.
Ex-Mayor II. q. Hubbard Of Newtoi;
Mass. has recently returned from q
exceptional privileges Of intimate con,
! ~ersction with General Leonard Hil,}u
the new governor general, who went
down to his new duties on the same
steamer with Mr.. Hubbard and who.
In the course Of the voyage. told. as
, man tells his friend. how he proposed
to conduct the affairs Of the island
some of the first reforms he intended
to inaugurate and his general ideas OF
control and organization. Mr.. Hib.
bard consented to talk with reporter
for the Boston Herald on his trip and
especially on his interviews with Gen
eral Wood, for whom he has conceived
| great admiration.
General Wood" said Mr.. Hubbard.
''is the man that Cuba has been wait
| ing for, and the beauty of the situation
Is that the Cubans know and appreci-
ate his worth. The first thing he will
do, according to the statements he
made to me In the course Of our long
and familiar talks on the trip down
on the steamer City of Mexico. Is to
untangle the currency problem. In
| Santiago province, where General
! Wood has been in power, American
money is in circulation, exclusive Of
everything else, and there has even
been a little premium on Spani~h sill
yer on account Of it's scarcity. But in
Havana there Is a disagreeable nncer-
tainty about money. American gold
! Is now at premium Of Is per cent,
and Spanish silver has a premium Of
81 per cent over the paper currency OF
the island. When you pay for goods
purchased in American gold and re-
ceive change in Spanish silver. it takes
professor of mathematics to know
! whether you are being cheated or not.
So most people content themselves by
looking as wise as they can while the
! counting Is going on and pocket what
ever the merchant Is pleased to give
them. venture to say that within
three months American money will
have crowded out the rest in Havana.
as 1t has in Santiago. under the man
agement of General Wood. Another
matter t. which the new governor gen
eral will devote his attention is the
reOrga niz8ti0D Of the courts. There
are said to be 600 men now in prison
(; in Havana about whose Incarceration
there 10 more or less mystery.
1.-THE educational system Of the is
land will also be thoroughly organized
so that all children shall have the OPP
porturity to acquire at least the rudl-
ments Of learning. | was furnished
With passes to all the government in
stitutions Of Havana and visited saver
al schools, but found none worthy OF
the uame In one of them, which was
located in series Of rambling build
ings around central court. the head
master was making his rounds OF in
spection to oversee the work being
done by his subordinates in the various
rooms. This functionary was devoting
most Of his attention to a plump young
pig, which he led about by a string at
tached to one Of the hind legs of the
QuadruDed. When asked him, through
/; my interpreter, what he was going to
do with the animal. he replied that he
expected TO eat him when Christmas
came and meantime wanted to be sure
that no one stole him, so kept him in
sight all the TIME. The students In this
school were about half of them negroes
and seemed to be doing very little work
es far as could see.
Notwithstanding the miserable
schools of Havana. a tremendous ca
gerness to learn English is now appear
Ing The very bootblacks will shine
your shoes for nothing but the privi-
lege of getting a chance to talk with
you for few minutes. In response to
this general demand there are numer-
Gus private schools springing up which
advertise to teach the English language
+ promptly. But they are all managed
| hy Cubans, few Of whom can speak
English we'll themselves. In one pri-
vate school l visited, calling itself a
college, the lesson for the day was
written on the blackboard. 1t consist
, ed of the word baby and its pronun-
! citation. which was spelled babe l
think there Is a fine opening for bright
American teachers. for any one can get
pupils at the rates given by the school
just mentioned-$S.5O per month for
beginners. day only. and $3.50 per
month for the boarding pupils. These
figures are for the rates reckoned In
American gold:
I'm speaking Of his intentions re-
tarding the of1lceholders Of Havana,
General Wood said, little grimly. that
he intended to make otficeholding a
disagreeable business. so that there
might be fewer applications for
'plums' 1t seems that the business
hours in the city and insular govern
ment have been regulated according
% the leisurely Spanish notions. If an
officer feels energetic. he strolls down
| 70 his desk the middle of the forenoon