The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1912-05-16

they die go to Paris, but live
Americans go to Havana.
Havana, gay, wicked, wide open,
it is the one city to-day to be shun-
ned or visited, according to ones
point of view. Several cities have
been called the wickedest city-Reno,
New, Port Said and Irkutsk, Siberia.
for instance. They are wicked cities,
but their wickedness is of sordid
variety. Havana 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. Its
wickedness is part of it's life.
Everything in Havana is wide
open. And of it's 81 varieties of wick
edness the mildest is gambling.
Gambling houses in Havana are open
to both men and women. All that is
necessary is a bank roll. Roulette,
faro, hazard and good American
poker are at hand. Jai Alai, the
popular Spanish game of skill, on
which such big sums are won and
lost, no longer fourishes, but it is
scarcely missed. Burbridge's Mira
mar hotel is a temple Of chance
where one can WOO the tickle goddess
as she can be wooed nowhere in
America. And, what is more, it 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 tickets interrupt the meal.
The lottery in Cuba is run by the
government and there are drawings
every three months for enormous
prizes. The first prize is 100000.
The tickets are hawked about the
streets and sold at every corner
store. But the fact that the gov
ernment conducts it does not guar
antee it's 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 it is their
instinct to ''take a chance
If one sits around a cafe any
length of time-and 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 it is rare
ly interfered with. Large sums
change hands on these bloody exhi-
bitions.
But it is not until after dark that
Havana takes on any of its air OF
gayety. Then the Prado and the
Malacon and the various parks be-
come a fairyland of lights. A band
plays at the Malacon, as the boule-
ward along the ocean front is called.
All Havana emerges from its cool
and comfortable stone houses ready
for a night of pleasure.
The cafes are crowded, there is a
constant. stream of automobiles and
carriages up and down the boule-
wards. The sidewalks are filled with
people hurrying to the theatres.
They are nearly all dressed in the
height of fashion. Havana is one of
the richest cities in the world. Its
styles come direct from Paris. The
only cheap things are tobacco and
matches.
At 8 o'clock performances begin
in a dozen theatres. At the Payre
grand opera is sung by company OF
artists headed by Constantine, of the
Metropolitan forces. At the Albisu
a Spanish opera company from the
City of Mexico is singing 1.-The Choco-
late Soldier" and The Count of Lux
embourg." At the Marti farce COM
edy reigns.
In the moving picture and variety
theatres one finds real wickedness
The ''grizzly bear," the bunny hug,
are modest compared with the dances
shown on the stages of the variety
theatres, where the public is admit
ted for 25 and so cents. The little
plays are beyond description and the
actresses wear very scanty attire.
At midnight Central Park, which
is in the heart of the city, is as
crowded and filed with life as Broad
and Forty-second street before the
theatres swallow up the crowds. The
cafes are filed with people, but in
stead of eating Holsters and draining
cold bottles they eat ice cream anc
Gin coft drinks There is Very little