Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-05-07
is NOW THE WIckEpEsT CITY.
Havana the Most Wide-open Place oI
n the Western Henoisnhere

Il
| g the Western Hemisphere.
| They say good Americans when they
die go to Paris, but live" Americans
go to Havana
| Havana, gay, wicked, wide open, 1t
is the one city today to be Stunned 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 wick
edness is of sordid variety. Havana
is wicked and gay. And five hours
from the United States.
| In Paris the might life," gay restau-
rants 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
houses in Havana are open to both
men and women. All that is necessary
is bank roll. Roulette, faro, hazard
and good American poker are at hand.
skill, on which such big sums are won
and lost, no longer fiourishes, but it Is
scarcely missed. Burbridge's Miramar
| hotel Is q 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 it's begin
ming. 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 government con-
ducts it does not guarantee it's being
on the level" At a recent drawing the
| first prize was not awarded for the rea-
son 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 chance"
If one sits around a cafe any length
Of time-and a large part of every day
Is spent in this way-one is certain 10
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 rarely interfered with. Large
sums change hands on these bloody ex
hibitions.
But it is not until after dark that Ha-
vana takes on it's air Of gayety. Then
the Prado and the Malacon and the va
rious parks become a fairyland Of
lights. A band plays at the Malacon,
as the boulevard along the ocean front
Is called. All Havana emerges from
its cool and comfortable stone houses
ready for night Of pleasure.
The cafes are crowded, there Is a
constant stream Of automobiles and
carriages up and down the boulevards
The sidewalks are filled with people
hurrying to the theatres. They are
ion. Havana is one of the richest cit
les in the world. Its styles come direct
from Paris. The only cheap things are
tobacco and matches.
At 8 o'clock performances begin in
dozen theatres. At the Payre grand
opera is sung by a company of artists
headed Constantine, Of the Metro
politan forces. At the Albisu a Span
ish opera company from the City Of
Mexico is singing THE Chocolate Sol
dier" and "The Count of Luxembourg
At the Marti farce comedy reigns
In the moving picture and variety
theatres one finds real wickedness. The
| grizzly bear" the bunny hug" are
shown on the stages of the variety
theatres, where the public is admitted
| for 25 and SO cents. The little plays
are beyond description and the actress
es wear very scanty attire.
At midnight Central Park, which Is
in the heart of the city, is as crowded
and filled with life as Broadway and
Forty-second street before the theatres
swallow up the crowds. The cafes are
filled with people but instead OF eat
| ing Holsters and draining cold bottles
they eat ice cream and sip soft drinks.
There is very little drinking Of alco-
holic liquors in Havana.
| OF course, all of Havana does not go
/ A.. Nfnn nf a.
BILE set seek the clubs, some seeking the
gambling palaces and others attend
mask balls, which are given nightly.
The dancing. even at the fashionable
balls, would he called immoral In
America.
The gayest affairs are given on Sum
day nights at the Theatre Nacianal.
They begin about midnight and last
until and 9 o'clock Monday morning.
The New Miramar, which is run by
Walter Burbridge, who used to be as
sociated with Garfield. is the Mecca for
tourists. Dinner there costs about
twice as much as any place in New
York or Paris. If one is well dressed
and loks prosperous he is asked If he
wishes to play.
The second floor is one big gambling
room, and it Is thronged nightly by
scores of American visitors as well as
lrich Observation-Disclosures Sentinel.
l
Recognized Authority.-A little lad
was desperately i'll but refused to take
the medicine the doctor prescribed.
His mother finally gave up. "Oh, my
boy will die, my hoy will die" she
sobbed.
Presently a voice piped up from the
bed.
Don't cry, mother. Fathern be
home soon and he'll make me take
Monthly.