The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-05-11
special to The News and Observer.

sllIlSltl Il
States to Costa RIGA, has returned TO
his home in his city to spend his va
cation. after which he will return 70
his post of duty at San Jose, Costa
RIGA. Maj. Hale was appointed ["
the position in the diplomatic. service
Of the United States on the twenty-hrst
Of June. 1918, and left shortly AFTER
for Costa RIGA, this being his first
visit home since he left for his pos
Being asked 10 give his impressions
as to Costa Rica Ma. Hale SAID:
Costa Rica-FavOred Land.
Costa Rica-that is, the great
plateau Of San Jose, 5000 TO o,GVo
feet above the sea level, WnlcE1 con-
tains the greater portion or lhe Pc,
pulation of the Republics a favored
land. in many ways. There IS neither
winter nor summer: or, as the Sonora
Caivo. wife of the distinguished Costa
Rican Minister at Washington, SAID
to me two years ago; there are no
fans and no fires there. AS a matter
Of fact I have found that the Their
mcmeters at our Legation range from
Ga to 76 degrees Fahrenheit: am mat
humidity. that clement which SO op-
pressively aCcentuates heat m cold
with US, is nonresident. The erect
OF such q climate is TO remove en-
t;rcly from the problem OF life The
hun which, in our so .caied
temperate zone, are imposed by pre-
paration for the alternating extremes
of heat and cold-on storing up OF
fpe, for winter; no electric fans fer
summer. Nor ere ~ e windows o: the
houses screened 70, there ar, pra:.
tltally no flies, not many moSQuittte,
and few of the smaller insects. One
day, an officer of our Coast Artillery
at Panama called to see me. From
the balconies, a splendid panorama
greets the eye-of towering
ia;ns. the understanding green OF
tie plateau, and such skies as [ have
rever seen elsewhere in all my travels
! said ism the scene beautiful?' He
said yes, but what strikes me most is
the look of contentment of the peo-
pie. which seems to result from the
absence of the fierce struggle of life
which We see at home And he was
not from one of our great cities. but
from a rural district.
That set me to thinking. The
men in the business quarter OF a
Jose walk as quickly as with us, but
their faces show more repose. How
much the climatic conditions referred
TO have to do with this, / do not
know. But body and mind must be
greatly affected by the circumstance
that the air one breathes and IN
which he moves and has his being is
so agreeable that he never gives a
thought TO it: 1t is completely
eliminated.
Wet and Dry Seasons.
lit is true that there is, on the
Pacific slope upon which San Jose
lies, the wet or rainy season and The
Gry-the former lasting from May Il
December, and the latter for the res
of the year. But the sky in the rain,
season is clear in the morning, ant
the landscape refreshed by the rail-
Of the day before. 1t begins to raj,
about 2 or 8 o'clock in the afternoon
"a good, hearty rain, but not tor
rental; but. in harmony with the Gus
toms of the country, it stops in tim
for the opera n the evening pro
menade in the parks. 1t is very dusty
OF course, on the country roads dur
ing the dry season; but in the city
the streets are we'll watered then. L
the wet season, in the city. the wide
projecting of the houses pre-
teCt pedestrians in a measure fror
the rain.
Art Sense of The People.
Next in importance to the climat,
though more obvious to the ne
conner from the States, is the al
sense of the inhabitants which cor
fronts you on all sides. That is tn
inheritance of these Latin-descende
people. They take to music lil
ducks to water. The Banda Militia
in the capital city of San Jose is con
posed Of seventy-five pieces, led by
Maestro n assistant of well-know
standing in the music world, and i
performances are not surpassed /
Dan Godfrey's in London This bar
plays in one of the parks every 9th,
night, and at mass in the gre;
cathedral on Sunday. There a
bands of twenty-five to forty piec
in each of the large provincial towr
all raine by the Director Gener;
NJ. Loots
The parks, three in number. a
very beautiful. In the 'pargue ce
trail. which fronts the cathedr
there is a stone fountain of exouisi
design. and a splendid kiosk for Z
band; and board walks laid in brig
tiles wind through grass plots a
flower beds that exhibit landsca
gardening at its best. In the Nor
IAN park. the fashion Of the capt.
city displays itself. The women
San Jose are generally regarded