Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-08-03
Remains the Same Grimy,
Poverty-Stricken City That
Tourists Know.
NEWS FROM THE FRONT
OUTRANKED BY LOTTERY
Owing to Strict Regulations, Cost of
Living Has Been Little
Advanced.
Copyright. 1915. by Herbert coreyA

NAPLES. July 20.-Life in Naples in
wartime Is surprisingly like life in
Naples in peace time. The guides and
hotel keepers are like toads under a
harrow. of course. The cab drivers
moan bitterly. No one who has tenn
porarily sustained the relation of en-
ployer to a cab driver of Naples will
deeply regret whatever may happen to
them. The shopkeepers and manufac-
turers and business men generally are
keeping their doors open only by draw
ing upon their capital Yet upon the
surface Naples looks Naples always
did. There are few more soldiers clad
In gray linen. and there are no be-Bae
dekered tourists. The smells are quite
the same rich. compelling, almost gravy
like odors they always were The same
naked ba bies sit about in deep door
ways The disturbing influences from
without have been removed. Naples is
her own dirty, slatternly, altogether
charming self
Monsieur will pardon me-" said my
driver on my first ride in Naples He
left his equpage a t the corner, where
upon the hapless inmate was beset by
q beggar with a withered arm, mother
with a very dusty little baby, an old
woman who cursed and a small boy
who threw untiring fipfaps. For FIVE
minutes he battled with a thronG at the
door of a lottery ticket shop. Finally he
returned, waving his ticket above his
head.
II had not the money for ticket at
the last drawing" said he. But now
that monsieur has become my patron.
/ shall have plenty.
AS we drove along continually
sighted crowds which extended from a
store window into the middle of the
these
an avid interest in the war news. But
the few windows in which the war bull
letins were posted were deserted. The
throngs were in front of the esta bl1sh-
ments where the winning numbers were
posted. Each man and woman in the
crowd had a more or less dirty note
book in which the lucky numbers were
entered for comparison with lucky
numbers of the past. Apparently the
lottery players engaged in some sort OF
calculation. though how one can make
a game of skill out of a lottery is be-
yond the American mind.
Crime and Crime.
Pretty soon the guide desired again
that 1 pardon him. He engaged upon
some theatric tinkering with the bride.
Promptly touts for the various dis
reputable entertainments of Naples
sailed forth from the crevices in
sun and announced their list of offer
ings. They would not be driven away.
The bride seemed unmendable. SO
that I stepped out of the carriage and
driver was on my heels in twinkling.
IF had noticed" he said. blandly,
II would have desired these touts not
to bother the patron"
Through an open doorway we saw
a mother passionately searching the
tangled recesses of a child's head. In
q dentist shop which was hardly more
than doorway a small boys bowls OF
anguish were being smothered under
the operators arm. while circle of
Mortified juveniles looked and listened,
An elderly gentleman sat upon a curb,
patiently trimming the stiff and up
right hair-hair by hair-of a younger
man with what seemed pair of mani
cure scissors. A goldfish peddler sold
little globes with a pair of brilliant
swimmers for 10 cents American. They
made a sharp note of color against
the faded blue of the costume of the
small-footed Chinese woman one
wonders how this fallen aristocrat
came to Naples-who was patiently Of
fering paper flowers to a throng of
grinning gapers. Then one came upon
In front of the Arcade sat the public
letter writer's. Perhaps a dozen of
them were there, each with his little
table and his paper and his ready pen
"A
come shade. waiting their chance to
send word to the husband. who was
far away in the firing line. We sent
our shameless driver to listen along
the lines that we might know these
mesa ges. He came back Struggling his
shoulders.
They are very poor. these women"
said he. 1T is only of trouble that
roni, the sick baby
Italy has done all that is possible
10 protect the poor mans budget. AT
the very beginning of the war the gov
eminent took charge of the food sit
uation. Now it is forbidden to send
any food out of the country. Macaroni
makers who import wheat are permit
ted to send only fixed percentage OF
the finished article across the borders.
While there has been no attempt to
buck the law of supply and demand,
the government has restricted the
wholesale and retail price of all the
more common articles of food. The
dealer is permitted a profit. but a COM
bination against the poor mans break
fast table is impossible. AS conse-
ouence living is very slightly more ex-
pensive in Italy than in normal times.
Food Prices Kept Down.
BY the latest price list issued by the
government the choicest cuts of Italian
beef. for example. may not be sold for
more than 30 lire per kilogramme.
That is equivalent to "a cents for
little more than two pounds. It is
true that this beef is not equal to
American beef But then we have been
spoiled by Injuries that we have
learned to think necessities. The run
ty. sourish, seed-filled Italian orange
Is not to be mentioned in the same
day with a California navel. One might
make a list of comparisons if it were
worth while. But the point is that