The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-04-25
NOTICED IN CUBA's CAPITAL.
observations of an American Visitor
TO the Island.
FrOm the Indianapolis News


NO American who looks upon Cuba,
said Albert Lieber. who has returned
from nearly four weeks spent in the ISL
and, can help but covet 1t for this coun-
try Well is it named the Gem of the An
TILES, and as the United States IS now
getting u q collection of tnsular gems,
the necklace will be Incomplete without
it On the way TO Cuba We passed
through the Gulf Stream The people on
the boat saw many flights OF the wonder
full flying fish Some of them made short
flights, a hundred feet OF So others long
er sprints Of perhaps 100-yard daSheS-
First TO loom IN sight is MORO Castle,
very picturesque, but utterly worthless as
a defence against modern guns Inc mar
bor is beautiful and the sin Of covet-
BUSINESS as an American speeds through
its waters. grows stronger and stronger.
The wreck Of the Maine, q grim Teni ndeT
of the greatest tragedy IN the annals OF
our navy viii soon be removed
Colonel Young comma deT Of the port,
introduced ne to the engineer who is to
raise this hulk Of horror. ] asked the en-
gfneer whether, in his opinion, its de-
struction was of design or accident. He
said he was absolutely certain that the
STANDARDS blew up the Maine, that II was
known where the gun cotton ana other
material used in it's destruction were OBJ
tgInpd- that all was known In detail. That
if was known. or could be definitely de
ternined. who rad destroyed the battle
shin and limited that there were reasons
for not pursuing the enquiries and bring
@On landing at Havana the traveller is
surrounded by fully fifty agents shouting
their battle cries, recommending various
hotels. II reminded me Of the bowling
haCkmen who used to 1ufeSt the old Tn
ion depot of Indianapolis They do every
thing except to actually lay violent hands
upon one.
understood. thin, almost cadaverous,
poorly clad and certainly poorly fed They
are far inferior to the negro as we see
him in the United States It is altogether
out of the question that this preDOndcrat-
ing class should govern Cuba. No AmeTi-
can who has seen them can for moment
hold the idea that they are fit for self
government.
we went sixty miles into the country.
There. at least we were far from the
metropolitan influences of Havana We
saw the farming people IN their huJs-
Imagine tWO-rCOmCd hut. each room no
larger than eight by ten feet. made Of
boards that We here could hardly use in
8 she'd no floor. a palmetto roof, and that
~. We entered one of these huts. 1t
= - occupied by q farmer, his wife and
e-Z-at children. As TO density OF pOpUla-
ton / do not think that can be exceeded
In our most populous city districts. 1t
was at this hut we had the most delicious
pineappIes We ever ate. They stake pigs
out as we stake out dogs at a kennel.
IT is said that the soil is SO Ticn that
were one to drive a stick into the ground
il would grow to \ board priced some
of the tobacco growing land, and was
told that one could harry buy it at 5000
an acre. But the people living on this
land DO not own It Miserable creatures
they are mere tGiIeTs for the Spanish
owner They do not live, they scarce V
exist But they dearly delight in cock
fighting If they go to church on Sunday.
they atone for it by going to a cock-fght
afItrWdrd.
Havana has many theatres While
we were there two operas were going,
one in italian, the other in Spanish. we
saw Carmen It was beautifully pre-
seute,i The bun fight was sufficiently
realistic There were live horses, and
the stage setting was complete. When
the climax came the audience went wild
Edward =. Thompson, formerly post
master at Indianapolis, is exceedingly
well thought of in Havana. His gra-
Gious. gentlemanly, accommodating ways
have made him many friends. Iieuten-
ant MartindaIe is stationed at Havana
and Is getting along well. All the Ameri-
with whom / talked, ar1 of the opinion
that there can be but one way for Cuba
- be prosperous, @nd that is to be an
nexed to the United States There are q
good many Germans in business in Ha-
vana. and they seem 10 have caught on
20 the ways of the people better than
our Americans have The latter are
waiting until things are settled
The hotels are mainly In the hands
of Spaniards, and would be greatly i'm
proved If they were given some of the
features of our hotels ! think Henry
Lawrence, Of the Bates, could give then