Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-18

tropical light. It's tiled roof is bright
red and It is surrounded by smooth.
sloping lawns A combination of
beauty. orderliness and strength. 1t is
- splendid symbol OF American
triumph.
But to the visitor Panama City is
the most interesting Of all. 1t 10 a
town OF $4,000 people crowded in the
space Of an American village on a knob
OF land that tuts into Panama bay. The
halconied houses Of old Spanish type
many Of which are 80 narrow that only
one vehicle can pass. There Is not room
Tor tree or q shrub along any street
In Panama, but every few blocks there
is q public square. where royal palms
shade bandstand. and loafers OF
many races doze on the benches.
The prevailing architectural feature in
Panama City is undoubtedly the balcony.
~ there are nifty miles Of street in
Panams there must be hundred miles
Of balcony. for nearly every house has
at least one, many have two, and some
have three or four
Every balcony in Panama is a garden.
The lack Of all growing things in the
vine and flower that hang over every
railing. Incidentally. as you pass be-
meath, while the senorita Is at her morn
ing task Of caring for the flowers. the
cading through the rickety floor and down
tho back Of your neck. This dripping Of
water from the balconies upon the narrow
sidewalks Is q subject Of constant munic-
ipal agitation In Panama, and OF many
brilliant editorials in the local press.
~
The residence section Of Panama 10 d.
rectly over tho business section. I am
reliabIv in
Residence Section formed that
Over Business Houses. an. n,au u -
Panama who owns residence in the city
devoted exclusively to residence pur-
poses Even a millionaire. who enjoys
an income Of $4,000 gold a month. lives
over his place of business, which is q
drug store.
tensive cab services in proportion to its
size in the world. A cab in Panama
Is a sort Of one-horse shay. or. as one
caustic critic from Kentucky put 1t. a
Panaman cob stands only about eleven
hands high and weighs about 1.S00
pounds. His disposition is morose. medita-
tive and unstable. He has to be hitched
to keep him from kicking the dashboard
to pieces.
All Of these cabs are owned by a sort
of trust or combine which is a strik-
ing example of organised inefficiency.
When the day is fine and you would
like to take a walk the cabs fairly mob
you. II you accidentally wrtggle your
little finger while walking down the
street three of them stop and implore
you to ride. But II you arrive at the
depot when 1t Is pouring bucketfuls, as
1t always pours at Panama, you cannot
get a cab either by bribery or force.
All the drivers inform you that they
have been engaged ahead of time. You
must either part with a perfectly ex-
tropical storm. which is just like
river Furthermore, while you can go
downhill very nicely In Panaman
cab, going uphill is something
of speculative venture. An attempt
to reach the summit of Ancon In one
of these vehicles resulted IN the har-
ness breaking in two places while the
intelligence and the penknife of the
passenger were necessary to mend 1t
The Panaman cab man will take
you anywhere in the city for 10 cents
American money, unless the harness
breaks, the horse balks or trafiic gets
permanently congested in one of the
side streets. all of which frequently
happen. Why two Panaman cab drfv-
ers will approach each other from OPP
only room for one vehicle and then
stop In the middle and curse each other
for twenty minutes is something which
the American intelligence cannot com.
prehend.
Another favorite amusement of the