The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-05-15
Milwaukee sentinel.)

They say good Americans when they
die go to Paris, but ''live" Americans
go to Havana.
Havana. gay. wicked. wide open, it
is the n city today t. no Stunned or
visited. according to ones point Of
view. Several cities have been called
the w%ickedest city-Reno. New. Port
Said and Irkutsk, Siberia. for instance.
They are wicked cities. but their
~wickedness is of a sordid variety. Ha-
vana is wicked and gay. And five
hours from the United States.
In Paris the might life" gay res.
taurants and dances are for English
and American tourists. In Havana
the gay life" is for the natives. It's
wickedness is part Of its life.
Everything in Havana is wide open.
And of its 81 varieties of wickedness
the mildest is gambling. Gambling
houses In van are open to both
men and women. All that is neces-
sary is a bank roll. Roulette, faro,
hazard and good American poker are
fsh game of skill, on which such big
sums were won and lost. no longer
honrislles. but it is scarcely missed.
Rurbridge's Miramar hotel is a tenn
pie of chance where one can WOO the
tickle goddess as she can be wooed
nowhere in America. And, what is
more. 1T is fashionable to do SO.
Even as one sips his chocolate in
the morning the daily round has its
beginning. A half dozen peddlers of
lottery ticket interrupt the meal. The
lottery in Cuba is run by the govern
ment n there are drawings every
three months for enormous prizes.
The first prize is 800, 900.
The tickets are hawked about the
streets and sold at every corner store.
But the fact that the government con-
ducts it does not grauarntee its being
on the level" At a recent drawing
the first prize was not awarded for
the reason that that particular ticket
had not been sold. The public didn't
like it, but they kept on buying tickets,
for 1t is their instinct to take a
chance"
If n sits around a cafe any length
Of time-and a large part of every day
is spent in this way-one is certain to
be invited to witness a cock fight.
Cock fighting is one Of the commonest
sports in Cuba, and while it is against
the law 1t Is rarely interferred with.
Large sums change hands on these
bloody exhibitions.
But it is not until after dark that
Havana takes on its air Of gayety.
the Prado and the Malacon and
the various parks become a fairyland
of lights. A band plays at the Mala-
con, as the boulevard along the ocean
front is called. All Havana energies
from its cool and comfortable stone
ready for a night of pleasure.
The cafes are crowded, there is a
stream of automobiles and
carriages up and down the boulevards.
The sidewalks are filed with people
h1pr1ir0 IN tho thno$nrc The,
nearly all dressed in the height of
fashion. Havana is one of the richest
cities in the world. It's styles come
direct from Paris. The only cheap
things are tobacco and matches.
At s O'clock performances begin in
a dozen theaters. At the Payret grand
opera is sung by a company Of artists
by Constantine, Of the Metro
politan forces. At the Albisu a Span
Mexico is singing The Chocolate Sol
der. and The Count of Luxem-
At the Martt farce comedy
In the moving picture and variety
theaters n finds real wickedness.
The grizzly bear" the bunny hug"
are modest compared with the dances
on the stages of the variety
theaters. where the public is admitted
LOT 90 anu oU Genus. Inc iltt&e plays
are beyond description and the &C.
tresses wear very scanty attire.
At midnight Central park. which
is in the heart of the city, is as crowd
ed and filled with life as Broadway
and Forty-second street before the
theaters swallow up the crowds. The
cafes are filed with people. but in
stead of eating Holsters and draining
cold bottles they eat ice a and
sip soft drinks. There is very little
drinking of alcoholic liquors in Ha-
OF course, all of Havana does not
go to the theater. Many Of the FASH
set seek the clubs. some seek
the gambling palaces and others at
tend mask balls. which are given
The dancing, ven at the
fashionable balls. would be called
in America.
The gayest affairs are given on Sun
day nights at the Theater Nacianal.