The Washington times., 1901-10-06
RED TAPE IN FREE CUBA.
experience of an American With
Hayana's Ornamental Officials.
rc,cuteen Signatures Required on
an Ordinary Laundry Lir".se-one
Hour of Routine Stamping ut
Cost of SI::.25-Aucient Methods.

nm Ordinary Laundry Lirc.se-One
Uour of Routine Stamping ut =
Cost of SI::.25-Aucicut Methods
It cost me Sl3. = ORC Americana, but l
consider it cheap at any price OF all my
curios, from Dinwiddie's autograph at
Tampa Heights to the piece of rope that
George X. Leet Cnow of Washington y.
c. cut from the lanyard that lowered the
| Spanish flag on Morro Castle, ] hold this
my latest, as most priceless.
On behalf of Hop Lee, Viilegas, A. l
entered the side of the Governor General $
palace that fronts Ubispo Street,
wherein are the offices Of ayuntamiento,
| the mayor and the city offices in general
| was in search of a license that would
enable the aforesaid Hop Lee to washee
washee until it should become necessary
| for him to again comply with changed
| conditions. Near the entrance l found a
| llindly-faced old gentleman whose name
| | lost in the shuttle that followed. He was
not satisfied to simply direct me, but ris-
| ing from his seat conducted me TO an
ornament fortified behind any amount or
! iron ratings, and who was very much
annoyed ut my interTupting tete-a-tete
with friends whom he had probably not
| seen since the night refore. He sized me
up as one of the destroyers of the lber-
ties of his beloved Cuba, and yelled across
two or three bar-icades for somebody to
come and :alk English. EXcusinG myself
for the annoyance / was giving him,
made him understand that Ollendort
mission was not exactly a failure, and
that if he had the time to spare l would
Try and endure the ordeal that l already
saw was before me.
Between chat or two and several Gig
arettes he filled out two receipts and l
handed him So %, which he returned, and
| was told to take receipts and money to
the treasurer, who duly stamped upon
the face thereof that Hop Lees mon
ey was duly received; from thence 1t was
in order to go to the secretary, where the
payment was duly registered and stamp
cd upon receipts. My next move was up
stairs. where, after three or four tedious
enquiries, / was sent to the record clerk
to see if Mr.. Lee was in arrears. The
fact that he was not was duly attested,
when l was told to return to the place
from whence l came, where l was taught
now to approach the person and the place
whence the real thing itself Cthe license)
omanates.
/ timidly enquired il l would be allowed
to search for him among the seventy-two
white clerks. if he was upstairs or down,
in the middle chamber, or holy of
holies-none of which being answered
in the affirmative, l escaped by the east
gate and made a bee line for the Old gen
tleman-Whose sOrroWful expression In
my behalf / can see as / write. He pilot
ed me as far as he consistently could. |
paid the other so, got seven nourishlng
signatures certified to by as many rubber
stamps, and with sign my conductor led
me to the foot of spiral staircase, bid
me rise and fear no danger. / only got
four signatures on this floor and two
seals by stamp. ] had escaped Jubilow
aud Jubilah.
This last clerk, whom viii callJubiiung,
,Xdm.ued my papers and very carefully
placed them on the bottom Of what might
have bc.n a week s issue. l heard him
ask the man who sat opposite what
time2 Two forty-fiVe, " was his answer.
/ had only been in the building forty-hve
minutes. but l had during this time
punched the breeze al a lively gait up and
down hill, wide open and down in the
corner, a Tight train and a full head of
steam" By the enquiring look upon my
face he read my thoughts, which were
When can hope to see my treasure res
directed from the white mans burden on
top2' for in tone of sympathy l was
Informed that el senor the Alcalde never
signed anything u til the clock struck
three. Mentally | cried to figure out how
many miles of fiourishes would have to
be linked out ere my documents were
reached.
1 was told to be seated and wait with
time and patience. ! wanted to sit down
and would gladly have accepted his kind
invitation, but American dignity must be
maintained, and a seat on the floor among
Cuba-libre would not have been au rigeur
and might have been construed as fur
ther infringement Of their liberties.
Ny uneasy meanderng to and fro had
an effect VIII, ,ch was not malice afore-
thought; | saw my document taken from
the pile and carried upstairs. where his
honor the MAJOR quickly signed it, and
1t was handed to me. What relief Just
one hour getting a document that in Gin
cinnati would have taken five minutes.
Havana is divided into wards called bar
rios each barrio has an official at its
head known as lieutenant mayor, sort
of ward president. or sub-mayor, and all
documents issued from the ayuntamiento
mayors office must be recorded in the
ward tbarriuJ to which 1t pertains. Con-
sequently Hop Lee had to go to 20 Iesu
Maria Street to register his license. While
he was gone a policeman came along and
made an enquiry, asking to be shown the
authority under which the business was
conducted and. not finding any assessed
a fine of so. and further your deponent
sayeth not.-Cincinnati Enquirer