Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-03-11
Havana, March l. 1905.

l can readily believe the statement
nat Havana is the cleanest as well as
zone Of the best policed cities in the
world. After noticing closely the
tanner In which the streets are kept
Jean here I am convinced that there
q no reason whatever why cities like
Z Ottumwa should not be kept just as
clean as the city of Havana, and that
too without any greater expenditure Of
money in the street cleaning depart
ment than is now made in the cities.
It is astonishing to note how clean one
man with a refuse cart, q bgoom and a
shovel, can keep a large number Of
blocks in the course Of one day. The
streets are SO clean here that one feels
ashamed to throw even a scrap of
paper into the street, and I have myself
carried the wrappers Of the newspa-
9ers which I received by mail In
u ~ pocket for blocks at a
me before I could find what seemed a
..litable place to throw them, and U.S.
ally this has been into n Of the
push.carts of the street cleaning bri-
gsSgade. There is absolutely no reason
or xcuse for the unsightly litter,
waste and filth with which American
..cities permit their alleys and streets
Ito be filled. Considerations of health
Gas well as common decency demand
radical reform on the part of not only
our municipal authorities but of the
entire American population along this
line. A visit to the city Of Havana,
which before the American occupation,
was one of the dirtiest in the world,
and which is today one of the %cleanest,
is certainly a revelation as to what
system and intelligent and honest e
penditure Of money will do with refer
ence to keeping a city clean.
The large number of police which
one sees, not only in the large cities,
but in the small villages as well, to-
Sgether with the rural guard system,
seems to the visitor to be an unnec-
essary expense. 1t is to some extent
an inheritance from the old Spanish
i regime, when the police were used not
fonly for police protection proper, but
FLOR the purpose Of overawing the pub
! lie and keeping down instruction.
Havana, which is a city of 300, 900
people, has a police force of over 1000
men, who are paid a salary of about
$50 dollars a month in gold. AS a re.
suit life and property Of persons re-
siding in cities and towns are as we'll
protected in Cuba as in any place
Eprobably in the world. In addition to
The protection afforded In the cities
Ethe maintenance of safety in the rural
/ districts, and along the highways, is
equally Is thorough and complete.
This work is entrusted to the care OF
the rural guard of Cuba, a body of ex
cellent men, well mounted and
equipped, numbering one chief, one
hundred and sixty-three officers, and
two thousand enght hundred and fifty.
six men. So complete is this service
that a man driving stock or hauling
1 merchandise along the public highway
at night will be stopped by the guard
and compelled to show papers indicat.
ing that the property in his possession
\ has not been stolen. Americans in
! vesting capital in the rural districts Of
Cuba speak In the highest praise of the
\ value Of this service. 1t puts a com,
| plete stop to thieveing and also does
away with rowdyism and carousfng in
1 the country districts, which are Sc
! frequently a drawback and a detriment
Il to some rural communities in the
Estates. The expense of this service
Il is heavy, but 80 far the government re