Mower County transcript., 1903-01-21

Venezuela and
Her Troubles

'SAe1ue1duS udVe So many IrOu-
Dies that it is a relief to turn to the
more pleasing aspects of their daily
life.
Despite their fondness for revolution
which possibly is due to abuse of
power by some of their presidents
Venezuelans are the most courteous
people that can be imagined. Impo-
nteness is objectionable. The clerk
with whom you deal over his counter
expresses his wish that you may live
long and prosper and thanks you CRATE
tully for giving him the pleasure of
showing his goods, whether you pur-
chase anything or not. When a gen.
tleman meets a lady, be she his sweet
heart or his grandmother, he always
says he "is lying at her feet" and he
would rather be shot than be guilty Of
passing before her. They are not the
semibarbarians which some people in
the northern continent suppose. They
have accomplishments which ought to
make the rest of America ashamed.
Usually they are able to speak three
or four languages, have refined taste
In art and music, and, while they lack
ingenuity and usually do things in the
hardest way, they are nevertheless pos
sessed Of the keenest perceptive fac
ulties and almost seem to read your
thoughts. 1t is not difficult to make
known your wants even if you cannot
understand word Of their language.
They do not allow smoking in the
street cars and public places, as in
Mexico and Havana, and, although it
is the privilege Of the masculine gen.
der to stare at the feminine with all
the eyes they have, the men are never
rude and beg the pardon of a beggar
when they refuse to give him aims.
They always put the locks upon the
wrong door and wrong side up. When
they build house, it seems as if they
studied the most difficult mode of con-
struction. They erect solid walls first
and then chisel out places for the tim
bers to rest upon. There are no stoves
or chimneys, and charcoal is the only
fuel. Gas is produced at $3.50 per
thousand feet from American coal,
which costs $40 ton. There is no glass
IN the windows, but grating of iron
bars keeps out intruders, and heavy
wooden. shutters keep out the air and
light Such blinds as are common IN
North America would be the most ad-
mirable protection in this country, but
no one has ever introduced them, and
the people will continue to swelter be-
hind solid shutters until the end OF
time. =. r.
The rooms Of houses are not plastered,
but. the jodsts are all exposed. The
hooss are of tile, and gaudy paper IL
Ipasted upon the walls OF cement and
Stone. "a the court Of every house are
the most beautiful flowers. TuberoseseI
grow in great trees. and the oleander Il
90 common as the lilac in. New Eng:
land. The parks look like the botan-
ical gardens OF the north and in the
evening are always thronged with gen.
tlemen and ladies until late hour.
+ The police regulations are very. strict.
The other day child was kidnapped in
Caracas by man in hack. Every
coach driver ip the city was thrown in
to prison, and not wheel was turned
until the child was recovered. Drunken
men are never seen in the streets. To
become intoxicated is to. invite yourself
to work ten or twenty days in the chain
gang, and to see the way in which pris-
oners are treated is an inducement to
be temperate.