Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1907-04-26
SOME SIDELIGHTS ON CUBA.
JOSES AND CARMENS ARE IN
PLENTY THERE.
The English Speaking Cook a Rarity
Freedom under Cuban Flag = The
American Flag Also Floats There.
CUBAN PRESS VALUES ADvER-
TISING SPACE.

the male servant up to the owner of
| the sugar plantation. There are more
Joses here than anybody else and more
Carmens. One is safe To call any
male attendant at the hotel, in the
restaurant or the coachee of the pony
victoria Jose, and every female at
| tendant maid, or waitress Carmen and
one will hit il correctly nine times
out Of ten.
The Cuban serving person speaks
| Spanish, as this is the universal Ian
guage here, but TO accommodate the
American tourists who visit here by
hundreds and thousands during the
tourist season, the walters usually
carry about with them little book
with Spanish and English side by
side SO that one can order what he
wants by pointing out the English by
the side of which is the Spanish name
| for the article of food or drink. The
| Spanish language, however, is easily
learned, and the tourist readily ac-
quires certain knowledge of it,
enough at least to express his wants
and desires. Many Americans, es
peeially wives and daughters of the
Army officers, take up the study of
Spanish here and have native tutors,
WDlA0 tnc lAllit VI tiit AUlGl-
lean colony easily acquire good
vocabulary from hearing the servants
and their nursemaids talk, and the
children soon chatter in Spanish as
we'll as in English.
The greatest difficulty a housewife
encounters is when she has cook
who does not understand a word of
English. Cooking under these cir
cumstances become delusion and
snare to the American housekeeper in
Cuba, and more often than otherwise
| the obstinate Cuban cook has her own
way in the culinary department just
because her mistress does not under
stand Spanish, nor the cook English,
and sometimes when the cook does
understand what is required of her,
she pretends she does not just TO dom
mate the lady of the house.
Every day and almost every hour
| in every day we see our flag floating
from some masthead or public build
| ing in our own country, but we
never appreciate ii so much as when
we sec it flying in a foreign land.
Under tropical skies it's "broad stripes
and bright stars" appear more beau
tiful than ever before and we admire
IL as we never did at home, besides
we are SO proud to acknowl ledge the
"Star-Spangled Banner as our very
own. As a ship is sighted from the
Signal Station at MORO Castle, and as
she is about to enter the harbor, the
| flag OF the ships country is run up
| the singal pole. Ii was from MORO
Castle Signal Station that we first saw
the United States flag floating in Cuba,
but after this we frequently saw it
from the Palace, where Governor
Magoon lives, from the American
consulate, from the American Club,
from the Officers Club at Marianao,
from the flag pole in the centre of the
parade ground at Camp Columbia, and
from the front of the tents of heads of
| departments of the Army of Cuban
Paeification. 1t was an inspiring sight
to see both officers and men salute
| the flag whenever they passed, and
| to see all-even the little Army chill
dren stand attention when the band
of the Twenty seventh Infantry played
| the Star Spangled Banner and the
Stars and Stripes were lowered each
evening.
One feels certain freedom and pro-
| lection under the flag of ones own
| country, bat in Cuba one comes and
| goes as freely under Cuban flag as
under the Stars and Stripes. Pass
ports, once so needful here, are no
| longer necessary and the system OF
passports was practically abandoned
in 1899. As one agency Of espionage
and control, Governor Miel Tacon,
(who came to Cuba as Governor-Gen-
eral in 1884 and left an indelible inn
press upon the character and develop
ment of Havana instituted among
many other things, rigorous system
of passports and travelling permits.
stranger coming to the island
could not leave his ship until he had
sent his passport to the Governor and
had received in return q permit tC
land, and had found a fiador. (bonds.
mani to go security for him while in
the city. Il scarcely understand,
wrote traveller OF the time, ''how 6
man arriving here quite unknown and
without friend could ever disembarh
himself or his goods, as it is neces
sary, after the passport is sent in, fol
some resident in the town to apply in
person for the permit and to give bal
for the conduct of the newcomer dur
ing his stay A permit was required
also for passing from town to town OF
Il EOlHk lIOHi ilaNdnd Oub AnbO li1O COulA-
try and if one desired 10 spend th'
night away from home at a friend
house, he must have a special permis
sion TO do SO. A strangers newspaper
and letters were subject to examina
| tion.
To evade the law was difficult
for there was an army of guards and
spies TO halt the traveller and demanS
his passport. AT every ferry, wharf
stair or stone for embarkation, il
every lane, street, alley, in ever,
hole and corner, - complained an Eng
lish visitor, ''you encounter the
chaco Ga kind of military policeman
with his bright barreled musket
linen coatee, yellow worsted epau
lettes and saffron visage." The pen
atty for being without a passpor
was Imprisonment, and this was visit
ed even upon such unfortunate per
sons as were driven ashore willy
nilly. 1t happened once in Tacon'
time that an Engiishman named Potts
sailing in a pleasure boat off ia
maica, and blown of the coast by
storm and driven across to Cuba
sought refuge in Santiago, where b.
was promptly thrown into prison TO
having landed without q passport
Another ..nglishman named Campbell
shipwrecked on the bahamas and
landed in Cuba on his way back L