The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1915-10-02

Macoris there are thousands OF
acres of land devoted to the raising
of sugar cane, and millions of dollars
of American capital are invested in
this enterprise. The plantations are
all equipped with the most modern
machinery, and the cane is cultivated
and gathered by colored laborers from
the English and Danish West Indies.
Relics In the Capital.
Seventy miles from La Romano and
40 miles from Macoris is Santo Do
mingo City, the capital of the repub-
lie. In Santo Domingo we find our
selves in the midst of modern civiliza-
ton, surrounded by innumerable relics
that carry us back to the fifteenth
century. Here can be seen the ruins
of the first church, San Nicolas,
built some time in the early part of
1900, and three or four years ago the
mahogany taken from these ruins
was in a perfect state of preservation.
Here, as claimed by the Dominicans,
can be seen the bones of Christopher
Columbus, left by mistake by the
S%paniards when they evacuated the
island, and who removed from the
crypt in the cathedral to Havana the
remains of a brother of Columbus,
thinking they were taking the bones
of the great ~discoverer.
The ruins of the~house of Diego Co
lon, the son of Christopher, are
still standing, where. according to
history, a court was established
whose entertainments rivaled in
splendor those we read of in the
Arabian Nights. On the bank Of the
river still stands the massive ceiba
tree to which were tied the caravels
| of Columbus. In Santo Domingo City
| Columbus was put in chains and sent
home to Spain a prisoner in disgrace.
The city is built on the west bank
of the Ozama river and is under the
administration of the department Of
public works. A magnificent macadam
boulevard, bordered on either side
with native elms, interspersed with
tropical foliage, extends from the CEN
ter of the city for 20 miles in the di-
rection of Bani, the birthplace of the
famous Cuban hero, Maxine Gomez.
On this same boulevard can be seen
the well-preserved ruins of the Fort
San Geronimo, which in early days
withstood an attack of the English
under Drake. The entrance from the
town to this boulevard is through an
arch constructed by the government
in memory of those who fell fighting
for the independence of the country,
and the arch bears the inscription
"Dulce ct Decorum est pro Patria
MORT"
Life at the capital, while not as fast
and gay as at the larger cities of
the South, is still very agreeable.
There are two w~el!-equipped and con-
Quoted clubs, Club Union and Casino
de la Juventud, where there are fire.
quent social entertainments. Auto
mobiles are plentiful and the ride
from the capital to San Cristobal
along the new macadam boulevard is
most attractive. Automobiles can be
procured for 81 an hour. There are
several hotels in the city, of which
the Hotel Francis is the best known.
There is quite a large foreign colony
at the capital and in Macoris and
Puerto Plata. The whole trip from
New York, including a stop at all
ports, is about eight or nine days.
A very impression pre-
walls that the climate Of Santo Do
mingo is unhealthy. From its geo.
graphical position it cannot be I'M
healthy. The winds have a clean
sweep across the island, and there has
be n no serious epidemic there since
the cholera outbreak some time in the
early sixties.