The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-03-18
OUR Mr.. CREWS
IN r RICO
VIE Sees Many Interesting Things In and
About San Juan.

L have heard no unfayorable conment
about him from the papers or the nuh.
lie. puo
This is March LIST, and on YESTERDAY
afternoon / visited the towns Pc.
man n Catano. Catano is Just across
sne haipo from San Juan. while Baya-
man Is a few miles beyond. To ger m
them the harbor is crossed in a farrv
or sail boat to Catano and then a train
on a narrow gauge rack CONVEYS one
70 Bayaman- 1t do not know how
many Inhabitants these towns CON
ta1n' a thousand or SO each.I wouId
say and they are about like all Span
ISM toWns-some of the people engage
IN hing-som making cigars and
oners In farming, etc. On this short
Trip many fine cattle, ponies. cam
nelds and some mills were seen The
Lrst coHee trees, or bushes, [ have
ever seen were at Bayaman. From the
DuSnes, which are some eight or ten
Ieet nigh, l gathered some green cof-
zee, n a merchant gave me some of
the ripe still in the shell. The sight of
the bearing coffee bush was as inter-
esuhs n new to me as grown and
open cotton on the stalk in the south
"oulo be to a person who had never
seen 1t before.
Inls morning / called on Mr.. SamueI
al. the new Porto Rican COM
missioner of education and who is
from PENNSYLVANIA. Under the law he
is a member of the executive council
he is a young man, very courteous.
OF hne personal appearance and seems
TO have the subject of education much
at heart. He knows. or knows OF.
Governor Aycock. He promised to fur
nlsh me with valuable educational
matter after the Legislative adjourns.
which is today.
Thursdays BOAT from New York
brought me four copies of The Mes
senger and other mail. The papers
were OF the dates. February 10. 16. IS
and 18th n gave an account of the
Dig snow and severe weather in North
Carolina and elsewhere in the states,
while down here the temperature at
the same time was from 20 to 80. etc.
like July weather in North Carolina.
L nave now oeen in San Juan one
week and in all my rounds in the city
L have not seen a single new building
being constructed. The nearest APP
Droach to it is the putting a new roof
on a business house nea the water
front The reason is. 1 am told, hat
there is not a vacant building lot or
which a house can be put in the busi-
ness part of tEe CITY. 1t would be
difficult to find anywhere a denser
population than in San Juan. There
are more children in it than | have
ever seen in a CITY of it's size. New
York. London or Hong Kong not ex-
cepted, and many of the little fellows
run about on the streets as clothless as
when they came into the world, but ]
was told yesterday that since Ameri-
can occupation. this habit. especially
In the interior among the larger chill
dren. was being discontinued
While it seems to be the habit of the
people here generally to sleep with
scarcely and ventilation at night-so
much so that in cases of sickness the
government had to regular it. myself
n Mr.. Allen, my room mate, sleep
with both doors to W room open and
every day since 1 have been here l
have two baths a daY and feal much
the better for it
Hoping all connected with The Mes
senge are well. / am.
Respectfully yours,
J. A. CREWS.