davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-01

Europeans are donl:ciled in that portion
Of the town fronting the sea Even
the European residents live in houses of
the native type. more or less modified to
conform with their different habits and
to furnish comforts and convenences to
which the native population is stranger.
The common language is Arabic but
Turkish is spoken and many of the Turk
ish officials. both civil and military. are
more or less familiar with French. Since
the influx from italy the language of
tia; country has assumed importance,
ard Maltese which is a peculiar tongue,
having both European and Arabic af-
finitiee, is the mother language of a CON
sidera BILE portion of the European pop,I-
laticn.
The native popu alton of the town as a
whole seems prosperous, but there are
cases OF direst and most distressing pow
erty. especially among the nomads stray
Cling in from the wastes of the desert
on the sands frnging the town there
are occasionally seen little torn and tat
tered tents appearing hardly large enough
10 shelter a litter of dogs bat which are
the only homes of entire families Here
are sometimes seen sickness. squalor and
distress equal in pitifulness to anything
which can pe witnessed in the slums of
our own great cities. The Turkish au-
thorities have established in a grove OF
trees the edge of the duEes of the
desert a camp where the most direful
cases are cared for at the expense of the
public eXcheQuer. Ophthdlmia, a scourge
of the orient. is common, perhaps in
tenSilied in its effect by the dust and
glare Of the sand.
There are three hotels in Tripoli. usu-
ally more than enough for the number of
tourists, ard rates average about eight
francs t$1.G0l a day for everything. but
the quarters are most primitive. and one
must not look for luXuries or indeed,
many convenicnces TO a traveller inter
eSted in the multitude of strange sights
OF this fascinating city however. actual
essentials TO comfort can be reduced to
minimum. The writer had quarters in
what had been an Arab house, and the
room, a long Cell-like place, with a floor
of huge squares of stone had an enor-
NOUS door opening to the balcony of
the central court, With a wooden bolt
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-01

toria order with two horses. Every one
drives, and the carriage one has at
o clock may be occupied at ; by any of
the strange desert people. The drivers
encourage their horses With an express
sive grunt of apparent disgust, the equiv
aient of the sound of active nausea
employed by the coachmen of Biskra.
both Arab renderingS of the Yankee, CIT
ep thar The trappings of the carriage
horses are fairly somber. in contrast to
the CAV decorations of the saddle horses.
Embroidery on leather is remarkably we'll
done in 'Fripoli. and saddle blankets, sad
dies. reins and brides are al gay with
red yellow gold and silver embroidery.
Beside all this color, the horses also
carry broad bands heavily embroidered,
on velvet, extending around
the breast with matching side straps for
the head. There is also "A saddle bag-a
piece of red, yellow or black leather.
with large pocket of ten inches on one
side and smaller on the other. each com
pleteIv covered with artistic designs in
silver thread and contrasting co'ors.
x x
The chief occupation the residents
of the town in addition to those en-
gagged in ordinary trade. are rug and
silk weaving. working on leather or sill
yer, and during the season, spongins,
Tripoli having a large export trade Ill
SpOngcS. The 'SOukS. as the niue SHIPS
are called. are segregated in kind, the
leather workers being in one part of
town, silversrniths in another, and rug
merchants in third. Each shop is
very tiny sometimes q mere hole IN the
wall. hardly more than nine by six feet
and some seem even smaller. The cross
legged workmen devote themselves to
their tasks during the morning until the
breakfast at II, which usually consists
of ''kouSkous, or an allied stew WIN
meal and then follows a rest until 3,
W hen work begins again. The silver
smiths, whose shops are also their WORK
rooms do really beautiful work in their
tiny places but a stranger * hera.ded
from affair." and from the moment OF en-
tering the street ia surrounded by
cIamorous crowd, offering Roman coins.
silver bangles, necklaces, .pins-eNery-
thing one can imagine in the JeWeiry
line Some of the rug souks are pro-
tccted from the rays of the sun py
heavy trelised grape vines whose leaves
and tendrils, extend quite across the mar
row street and add greatly TO the pic
turesuueness The workers on ivory are
not many. but produce exquisite results.
Tripoli is the focus of three great car
avian routes from the Sudan, and from
Tfmbuctoo and Lake Tchad come the car
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-01

Spaniards during their occupation IN the
first half of the sixteenth century. THIS
wall is by no means the oldest piece OF
interesting masonry, for there il a trium-
phai arch in the city. rectangular IN
shape. made of white marble he'd to-
getrer with clamps. begun in the reign OF
the Emperor Antonius tas shown hN
still deciphera BILE inscription ana finish
ed under Marcus Aurelius- The lower
courses OF this arch are buried iii the ac
cretions of the centuries, and the four
original openings are closed By modern
masonry. Past and present are here in
touch through the use Of this structure
a theater for the exhibit Of moving
pictures. TIE carvings though sadly
mutiiated. still give evidence OF f0:me
great beauty and excellence OF workman
ship.
Beyond tie 'kasba." where the troops
are stationed. is the marche. or big mar
ket. plain c: sand crowded on market
days by cemels. horses, donkeys. cara
vans from the Sudan. Berbers ard Z
mixture OF all the peoples that go to
make up the life of the desert. II is a
fascinating place, and one never tires OF
wandering about staring al the strange
sights and queer articles offered for sale
1t is place of exchange for ali the pred
ucts OF the region-fruits and vepeta0le +,
rugs and blankets. baskets. wool. skins.
horse trappinss. yellow bread OF the
camels-all change hands at this busy
place.
Tripoli was perhaps is. the last Quite.
of the slave trade on the shores % the
Mediterranean. The traffic is supposed TO
he suppressed. but it il difficult to de-
termine whether ii may not still be car
ried on surreptitiously and on small
scale.
The "fondouks. or large stable yards.
in which the camels are loaded and prep
arations for the trip to the Sudan made.
are busy and animated places. and the
ears are constantly assailed by the sroan-
ing complaints of the camels, which dis
tend themselves as much as possible to
prevent the tying on of a big load The
market, the fcndouks and the souks are
the objects of interest 10 the tourists who
reach the city. though few leave Tripoli
without a visit TO the desert at her dc ors.
All who have read Kitchens Garden
of Allah have exclaimed at the beauty
of his descriptions OF the desert. butt
wonderful as they are. they hardly do
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-01

avans over the desert bearing ivory and
feathers and carrying back to those re-
mote regions the products of Europe
cutlery. cotton cloth, etc. The round
trip occupies one year. Esparto grass
which is highly important part OF the
exports is harvested near the town. 1t
is struggling growth, growing in clumps,
and is plucked by hand, as its quality is
said to he injured by cutting.
1t is gathered largely by nomads ana
by the natives of the oasis, in the dull
times when their crops of dates and
olives, oranges, lemons and barley do not
demand their attention. The dates of
Tripoli of the highest repute of any
of the north coast of Africa. and one who
has not lived in the country can hardly
understand their Importance to the Arabs.
both as food and articles of export. Tn
like the GASES at Biskra and at Gabes,
which are watered by streams. the PAIN
gardens and the little fields at Tripoli are
irrigated solely with water drawn from
wells in great skin buckets, raised by
COWS. in the old primitive method evolved
when the world was young.
The population of the city of Tripoi
embraces representatives of all the peo-
pies living on the shores of the Mediter-
course, native, but this IN itself is COM
pick and various. the heirs OF the IN
Vulnerable coloniZati tons and migrat-onS,
which peaceaby or IN conquest have
from tine to time flowed into the coun-
try There are the BerbeTs, no, il not
the primative, We're at least very early
inha bitants, blended Perhaps TIL Il faint
stream OF the Fhoenician and Roman
blood which a ore time or another domi-
mated the seacoast and extended into the
interior, there are the Arabs, who came
with the flood of Islam to the west; Jews.
who in the centur.e s past colonlZed here
and were a potent factor in repopulatng
the devastated city; Sudanese. stately and
ma jest.c blacks whose many rne quail
ties are recognized, from the far-oT coun-
tries to the south; Syrians and Armenians
and Turks, most of the latter soldiers or
officials. There Greeks from the
Spora1es and Greeks from the Cyclades.
manv of whom are engaged in the sponge
fishing, which is important both at Tripod
and Benghazi. There are F'renchmen and
Spaniards Maltese and Italians. Ger
mans and English and one American VINO
repre- sents his country as consul. These
are the principal clements in the popuia-
ton. further complicated, however by Va
iious odds and ends and blends
There is hardly a distinctive foreign
quarter in Tripoli, although most OF the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-01

the personal tax can be obtained than
from an incident which happened to one
of my assistants. Deputy Collector Collins
walked into certain place. the pro-
prietor of which was known to be very
bad about paying taxes and explained
his mission. He explained that unless
the tax was paid lac would seize goods
sufficient To meet the debt. The man
ha ppened TO he extremely excitable, as
well as being very proud OF his boosted
KNOWLEDGE of the law. At this threat he
rushed To the rear of the shop and re-
turned brandishing a revolutionary saber
and shouted at the top of his voice:
:. .
That tax is unconstitutional, because
it is taxation without representation.
protest against the tax and the seizure Of
my goods
There was more along this same line,
Collector Collins calmly proceeded to levy
upon about seventy bottles of whisky
AS he was leaving he turned to the irate
merchant and remarked
- hope there is no hard feeling.
Why not at ALL was the surprising
reply. Il wouldn't give anything for an
officer who did not perform his duty
"a somewhat similar affair happened To
me- continued MT. Rogers. Nbodt
thirty men have attempted to collect the
taxes from certain man during the last
five wears His rule was always 10 pro
dUce an ancient law book of some And
and argue the right of the man TO collect
the money, claiming, as the other dld,
that il was unconstitutional. Finally l
got tired and went to see the man myself
1t was following my seizure OF certain
property here, and after | had told hlflf
who | was he paid without any trouble
Another amusing incident which Mr..
Rogers cites is the case of resident IN
enc of Washingtons suburbs who was
three years in arrears on his personal
tax BESIDES a small amount of house
hold goods. he possesses nerd OF goats
and several hives Of bees. He not fie |
Mr. Rogers that he did not intend 10 pay
the tax and that if he tMr. Rosers) " ish-
ed 10 collect the money he could come out
and levy on the goats and beehives.
Mr.. Rogers acknowledged this TO be a
'facer," but hit upon the scheme OF
sending out one of his bailiffs, who
weighs about 300 pounds and has the
of being invincible when it
comes to collecting taxes This giant
of the collectors force sailed forth Win
determination. bat came back crestfalien
and minus goats, beehives or money. All
lie could do TO suggest that Inc col
lector himself go and make the ieNy- MI
Rogers himself is far from being
featherweight, but as yet the case Is
still pending.
4
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-01
S'Wken IS 4 CkinanaN "a
- ! Nor = CkinamaN2&D

of the night, and without anything be-
ing done about it by way of punishment
1t was taken for granted that they Liked
their national pipe pastime when they
We're shipped, and equally accepted as the
ia that they'd want to indulge their
habit at such times as they chose.
One needed to have but one look al this
Chinese cruiser from cathead TO mzzen
rail to see that China is going ahead. and
fast
THE pel-patetic clothes presser is the
new and decidedly handy man now
making his rounds OF the Offices of this
town i'm his wagon. There are about
a dozen OF MIN already, and the number
w.r rapidly increase. for the pTesser who
does the job while you vain the prop
er seclusion, of course-is distinct hit
TIE presSer goes about III wagon all
rugged up with the necessary gear Tor
pressing clothes just perfectly they
can be pressed in a shop. He stands IN
with the ianitor of the big office build
ing for the excellent and elemental rea-
son that. for the privilege Of making the
rounds OF the Offices, he slips the janitor
something.
Your suit feels bit ha2gy upon YOU.
for YOU haven't had 1t unde~ the iron
for week or ten days, We'll say. The
peripatetic tailor appears in your office
Have en- pressed. sir? says he, win
an engaging grin.
You look at your buds. Yes. they 90
need pressing But. Il 6eirg your first
experience with the perpatetic tailor,
yoU don't understand
They need it. you reply. but YOU
don't press EN- while mans wearing
em, do your
Another engaging grin.
There's a screen in your office. says
he pointing thereto. Or. If there ism I:
a screen. there's another room into which
YOU can go. Or. if rot that. why in all
likelihood, YOU occupy the Office alone and
are privileged. barring out visitors. to
so about your Office YOU choose for at
least a little while.
:
:,
You're due 10 dine with your wfe-er-
or with somebody-that evening, and you
haven't the time to go home and change
your clothes.
So you ask the peripatetic tailor about
it. Very simple. He has his pressing
gear hot irons, wet cloths and all. rugged
,Ip in a spare room provided by the
ianitor down in the basement.
How long will it take you?" you in
quire.
= Bout fifteen minutes, sir, sayk the
tailor who goes around In the cart
So, instantly catching the beauty of the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-01

between the thumb and forefngeT OF his
carefully manicured left hand, OF mono
Gle suspended around his neck by Chin
black cord. lie gazed at the young
women with an eXpr ssion OF mingled
amusement and something else for mo-
men1, particularly al the young woman
who had assumed the duty of spokes-
woman.
Er-ralely. madame. | hope you're not
spoofin me. yknow?" he ASKED her in a
tone of genuine inquiry with uplifted
brows.
TIE girl flushed and remained silent
and the yourg leftenant saw that she
wasn't spoofin HIM. So he became OK
cess'veiy polite again
Because. y'know. madame" he said 70
her. we consider cur little freate q
little bit Of all right, yi;now,' he went
on. We're not precisely what We should
he today, fear. because We ve been
coalin. and were not yet exactly IT <
ahfter that. Bat. r you'n he good enouG. 4
to make allowances. | ehail be delighted,
raiely, to show YOU about.
x ::
You could have closed your eyes and
imagined that you were listening TO Il
highly born and carefully cultivated en-
sign OF the British navy Even the final
''g's" We're dropped after the best form
of the grade like English folh who can
drop any old thing in the way of speech
that they elect to drop.
And why not? The young .eftenant had
been educated at the British naval school
had spent seven of the formative years
OF u : life there.
Folk OF al nations resident ia New York
went or board the Chinese cruiser. SO far
as speech was concerned. they found
themselves at home. Among the officers
of the Hal Chi We're men who could speak
any Cd eXtant language, and even for
ard. among the enlisted men. were many
linSUistS, men who had served long terms
In other navies of the world. There was
q gunDer'S mate VINO took care OF all oi
the huckS of Italians who visited the
cruiser. lie could talk not only the ltal-
ian Of the hterati. bat large number OF
the Italian dialects. lie delighted the
Italians. and they ShoWered him witt
gifts. a party Of Greeks OF the merchant
class found : bo'sgn's mate, just as slant
eyed Chinaman as eyer trudSed around
with the garment worn OUTSIDE instead Of
tucked inside. who could unspool the
modern Greek as if he had been born an6
bred in Athens He'd learned il by serv-
ing on board one of the very few Greek
men-o'-waT. There were plenty Of Span
ish-sp inning memSers OF the crew for ard
Several IF them had participated in the
disaster which overlook admiral Ger
Tciat feef or Santiago harhor-
tn@ .J~c}. Sets aboard beiter-kep
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-01

a province of the Ottoman empire.
Whatever may be the outcome of the
present embroglio. Tripoli stands on the
threshold of change. Whether the
Turks retain possession or the italians
assume ii. the old purely oriental charac-
ter of the place is doomed The new life
is stirring, European commerce and COM
mercial methods are gathering force. and
European customs in social and civic
matters will soon displace more or less
of the oriental they have in Algeria
and Tunis Commerce will undoubtedly be
gamer, civilization may be, but II is
doubtful If i'm picturesqueness and inter-
est there Will be much To add to The
Tripoli of today.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-01
Collecting Back Taxes in the District.

would require the work of about thou
sand men, he nevertheless declares that
ne is going 10 collect what il due the
District government If il necesstate s
his Selling he will do il if ii takes months
Last year nearly ss.eEe,OJo was coll
iected. Every dollar of revenue is paid
into the office. from the single tax bin
OF more than SlooGJ0 paid by one large
Office 10 the small sum of - cents for "A
copy OF plumbers regulation. Each
year the sale Of property for unpaid
realty TAX numbers several thousand
pieces of land. buildings. etc. Last wear
the money obtained from the annual tax
sale amounted TO almost S5ogD0 Some
idea Of the size of the total personal tax
levied upon citizens of the District can
be obtained from figures for last year
when nine hundred and twentv-odd thou
sand dollars was owing the District for
personal taxes alone. OF that amount
CHS aggresating almost $1,000 were re-
turned 10 the assessor by the baiiffs for
the reason that the persons assessed
could nc be iocate
When il is taken into consideration"
Said 1r. Rogers. that personal taxes
are assessed in July each yea. and arc
not due and payable until tho follovir~
May. ten months later. IL is renarkahIe
that such a small percentage of nerSons
are not located.
In speaking of the unpaid balance i'm
connection with the taxes. M Pon,rg
said that the inadequacy of The tax laws
are responsible To a considerable extent.
While our present sale law" he said.
Is the hest the District has eyer had
and by its operation materially reduced
the arrears OF taxes due the District
without much hardship. il is defective i'm
the means provided for the collection of
really taxes in arrears. that is by the sale
OF the property. In cases where the &C
cumulated taxes and costs equal or ex-
ceed the value of the property offered for
sale, which class comprises "A large per
centase OF property, il is practically inn
possible to reduce the debt
There are persons who eVade pay
ment OF taxes who at the same time are
enjoying the possession of income from
their property and are sure of continuing
10 own il from the fact that the accumu-
lated taxes and costs deter purchasers al
the tax sale OF the property. In such
cases the District il powerless to act
further, except by the sale of the proper
~ lay private sale, In which case the
same deterring factor holds good"
The collector of taxes has no small
number OF duties TO perform. He re-
ceiVes and collects all the revenues of the
District, and no other officer has any
authority to receive any money whatso-
ever. All the money collected by the
sealer of weights and measures and the
Police, Municipal and Juvenile Courts are
turned into the collectors Office and are
deposited in the United States Treasury
every day, as are all other funds that
pass through the hands OF the collector.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-01

YER the desk OF
a certain District
official is one OF
Walt Mason's po-
ems. Its subject is
Heroes and the
closing sentiment
is this: "All others
wilt and fade when
they are brought
beside him. No
greater shall be
found while earth
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-01

It'll Italy's war
ships before Tripoli
and the Turks pre-
pared for war the
city on the Medi-
terranean is, indeed.
in the public eye.
To Americans espe-
cialiy il is of inter
est. for our own
Decatur burned the
captured warship
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-01

tons the official document. with its inn
posing Turkish stamp. would he of great
Nalue-ln TACT passport vised by
Turkish consul general in the country
from which one comes is absolutely re-
CURED by the Ottoman government. and
under the present conditions in the city
should be of protection TO the travelling
foreigners there. The document referred
to above was returned through the acting
consul. who had the opportunity of plac
ing upon 1t the first wise ever inGorSed on
The passport of an American tourist in
Triroi
Passing from the customs one enters at
once the narrow. ill-paved streets of the
CITY winding, turning. Glowing and be-
ing elDowed. lodging canels. tiny don
KEYS almost buried beneath their burdens
Arabs BerberS, SudaneSe Turkish sol
dlerS and many Jews with tiGht white
trousers and long loose blue coats. The
luggage is borne by Arabs. clad in loose
tunlcS OF brown. with bare legs and arms
ana supporting poles ON their shoulders
rom which the burdens are hung. The
houses. built directly on the streets, arc
seldom more than two stories high and
give but little idea o. the comfort one
sometimes finds within. The larger and
more pretentious are built around a cen
trial court, open sometimes 10 thc sky and
always to the height Of The building,
and designed t. afford as great freedom
from heat as possible. The furnishings are
mixture of tive products and French
cheap furniture. The Arab at his work
sits usually on the ground or on low
bench, and in his house the same fashion
is followed.