Times-promoter., 1908-02-21
WRITES OF MID.WlNTER
STATE FAIR AT TAMPA
Tampa, Florida, Feb. 16, 1908.

Tampa, Florida, Feb. 16, 1908.
have had six very interesting days
at this place, which is a city of about
$4,000 Of mixed population, on the
west coast or Gulf side of the state.
The people are Spanish and Cuban
cigar-makers, Italian laborers, me-
groes-mostly mixed blood-and a
good-looking, hustling, business class
of white people, mostly southern.
learn there are nine thousand
cigar-makers, whose pay roll is an
average of $165,OOO per week. The
great interest here is tobacco. The
imported fine wrappers costs several
millions and the revenue from it is a
good many millions. 1t is Interesting
to see the operations from start to
finish. The boxes are made by men
and boys. The fancy papers are
pas led on by women and girls, and
boxes are filed by machinery. The
interior OF large factory is study
all colors, all nationalities, all ages
from six to eighty, both male and fe-
male, all working, all jabbering, all
smoking, seems to be a bedlam and
to a stranger, it seems life and limb
are in danger, but / learn that is
habit and there is rarely any trouble.
The large factories have readers to
interest and entertain the hands while
at work. The reader must have a
strong voice and fair education.
One reads from ten to twelve, another
from two to four, from stand in the
centre of factory. They read home
papers of the Spaniards and others,
and are paid thirty dollars week.
Tampa is ten miles from the Gulf,
but Hillsboro river runs through the
town and divides it into East and
West Tampa and ships large and
small come up into the centre of the
town and gives busy scenes for twen-
ty-four hours of the day with the ves-
sels-of all sizes and nationalities-
loading and unloading with all the
products of the tropics.
They had an immigration conven-
tion here this week, called to induce
immigration to the southland, but it
was a failure. Florida had at least
half of the conyentionand complained
that the foreigners here had lowered
prices, had demoralized labor and
were all round obnoxious citizens
and proposed to help move those here
to any place that wanted them. 1t.
created little breeze and the con-
vention suddenly collapsed and left
the matter as before.
Florida is now on dress parade in
its mid-winter state fair. / am glad
to be here to see the Floridians In
masses, and am agreeably surprised
t. see how manly, business and in
t tslligent looking the average citizen
il, instead of small, sallow, poorly
dressed and pooI-looking citizens. /
have seen more two hundred and fifty
Founders, and more over six footers
than ever saw in like number be-
fore, and they come out of the swamps
and backwoods well-dressed. They
are patriotic too. They claim this is
Gods country. They are. proud of
their fair. I expected to see oranges,
lemons, pine apples and pretty flow
ers mainly, and while see these in
great masses and mountains and
great variety, see other things too.
They have corn, rice, long staple cot
ton, cured bacon, molasses, more tur-
nips and sweet and irish potatoes and
larger than / ever saw. Some of
their turnips and sweet potatoes
would require broad axe or cross
cutsaw to, get them in shape to cook,
and their cabbage beats the world.
The show Of machinery, wagons
and buggies is creditable; some Here
ford cattle arc very fine. The ladies
shows very beautiful
work of both useful and ornamental.
The fish exhibits fine showing eigh-
ty kinds, among them six foot tar
pom (the prettiest and gamest Of all
the fish, and Jew fish weighing four
hundred and fifty pounds. The vege-
table and small fruits, embracing the
entire list with us is fine. 7 can't
name the one hundredth part Of the
exhibits, but viii say the fair is a per-
feet success and with the races,
crowds the town to it's limit.
I met two Of my former neighbors,
T & /. "a. - 4