The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-01-11
IN Cape TOWNS DARKEST SIDE
Human Cormorants Preying the nen Return
ing From Boer War

! able occupation than robbing Jack of
the pound or two with which he is sent
adrift.
None of the soldiers coming down
from the North had less than twenty
or forty pounds in his possession. Aft
er the long privation Tommy had en-
dured on the veldt, he naturally wanted
recreation and a dash Of something
snappy for a change. He got it with
| a vengeance. At every train the touts
OF the boarding house keepers were to
be met. They were all jolly fellows
ana 1t did not take them long to get
the soldier lads along with them to
their dens. Once there, it took them
still less time, in most cases with the
aid of their harridans, to rob them.
| Many a disconsolate Tommy has found
himself penniless 5000 miles from
nome within few hours of his arrival
here.
And what did he get for. his money?
Had he gotten the best that Cape Town
afforded he would have had little worth
striving for. Villainous so-caIled
champagne at two guineas a bottle!
Board worth 6 2 for 210 a week and
all the little etceteras at war prices!
what wonder that in the face of such
treatment, men finding themselves in
sucn pred1cament as that indicated.
some Of these men turned 'sandbag-
gers, themselves and went out to try
ana make some other unfortunate devil
pay the price of their own losses?
Iaken as whole, under the provo
cation given, it is a question whether
these victims have not suffered a good
deal more than others would have
done without making more serious re-
prisal.
Some of the old inhabitants are or
gan1Z1ng purity leagues and raising a
great discussion over the exuberances
winch Tommy has displayed under a
few temptations, aud these goody
goodies have done their best to make
the city a closed town, but neither the
americans or English here would lis
ten to such a proposition.
Better class hotels and other social
amenities are much needed here
Ihere is not single hotel in Cape
IoWn in which either the food or the
service would be accounted fairly good
IN a provincial town In the United
olates' ana there are not three that
can De ciassed as partially clean. Some
OF the smaller suburban hotels and
boarding houses are rather better in
THESE respects than the Cape Town
hotels. -
The only "swagger''- the ex-
observation-disclosures where siIded
youth takes the passing theatrical star
70 uine, and where the parting officer
enterta1ns the girl whom he is on the
point OF leaving behind him, is a dull
and fusty establishment
In the center of the main dining
room is circular bar, around which
hang the inevitable loafers, who fiji nm
the intervening space across the room.
Through this unpleasant crowd ladies'
who are dining there must elbow their
way, and they are condemned to over
RI l,,o3,.
spoken views of the bar loafer, who
does not always define a spade as an
agricultural implement
But the aforesaid gilded youth and
sentimental military man do not as a
rule frequent the main saloon; they
aitect what are called private rooms
The privacy of these apartments. how
ever, merely consists in paying about
twice the price charged in the main
dining room. Not only are there many
tables in these private rooms, but anv
stranger who feels inclined may come
and share your table with you. This, of
course, is very friendly arrangement,
but 1T has its drawbacks.
In Cape Town, as rule, LIQUID re-
freshments are superior to- the solids.
and are not unduly expensive There is
plenty of decent whisky, and there are
drinkable Cape wines and beer. There
is a CHASTITY local brandy known as
cape SMOKE, which is about four
times over proof, and is not unlike
spirits of wine. There is, too, a fasci-
mating local liquor, called Van der
Hum, which requires knowing, and a.
cast iron lining to ones alimentary
canal, to be appreciated. It's founda-
ton is, am told, the aforementioned
Cape Smoke, and its least noxious in
gredient is tangerine peel 1t smells
like that tonic, hairwash which enter
prising Strand BARRIERS are wont to
force upon the intelligent foreigner at
81 Is per bottle. In Cape Town, at all
events, you know where you are with
champagne. Wherever you go, and
whatever the brand or date may be,
the price Is always It's Sd. Pol Roger
1874, or efferveseing gooseberry from
the Fatherland, 1902, it is all the same
Sometimes the one tastes remarkably
like the other, and he who would be
sure that he is getting what he pays
for should eat the label, which is al
ways right. rather than drink the con-
tents of the bottle, which are some
times wrong.
There is only one theater here, and
that is called the Opera House. There
is also a large hall where theatrical
companies play. There are several
music halls for the Tommies and their
friends, where audience and artistes