Middletown transcript., 1915-03-20

- THE patriotic American who
wearies Of the rigors of his home
climate In winter wishes to seek
solace farther south, 1t is not nee
essary for him to abandon the pro-
lection of his own flag. let him pick
out Porto Rico for his holiday, and he
Will simply be transporting himself
from one section of the republic to an
other. Four and one-half days sail
from New York will land him at the
quaint old capital city Of San Juan,
girdled with ancient walls, and boast
Ing combination of Spanish-tropical
and modern American civilization of
SURPRISING interest.
Porto Rico has been called square
as a brick" and this is literally So
It is a parallelogram in shape, 100
miles long and SO miles broad, and on
Its $500 square miles It supports a
population of 100000 souls, 100000
Of them whites Of Spanish extraction,
$4,000 negroes, and the remainder col
ored people. 1t is one Of the most
densely populated islands of the West
Indies, and under American rule It has
progressed noticeably, both CONNER
cially and socially.
To the traveller its chief attractions,
Of course, are its picturesque scenery,
old world customs, and luxuriant trop-
ical vegetation. From far out at sea
the voyaging American sights the tow
ering mass of FL Yunque, or The An
vil," the crowning pinnacle of the
rounded range Of hills forming the
islands backbone. which scars 1880
feet above the sea. Then presently
one perceives the bulk Of old Morro-
every fortified Spanish town in the
Caribbees had its MORO, as one soon
discovers with the muIti-colored
house roofs of the city shelving up be-
hind it, tier on tier. and stretching
away along the seaward face the cren-
ellated wall built by Spanish Conquis-
tadors. which connects with the for
tress of San Cristobal.
City Of Enchantment.
San Juan is a city Of infinite en-
chantment- Here one flrI1s bewilder-
ing. but delectable, labyrlnths of mar
row, canyonlike streets, over which 1ut
old world balconies, latticed and mys-
terious, through which jangle upto-
date American trolley cars, shoulder
ing aside the bullock carts of the ma
tives. There is the great gray pile of
the cathedral, which costains the
ashes OF Ponce de Leon, first Adel-
antado of Florida, first Conquistador
and governor of this Island of Juan"
and many another famous don. There
is the famous Casa Blanca, or Castle
of Ponce de Leon, which he built for
himself, hundreds of years ago, on a
point projecting out into the ocean,
still complete and every bit as medi-
e eyal as when he left to venture on his
last quest for the Fountain of
Youth" There is the vast mass Of the
Cuertal de la Ballaja, the barracks
erected for the Spanish garrison.
ponderous pile Of masonry, three sto-
ries in height, covering. with its patio.
a space of 7T,OOO square meters, and
now housing the Porto Rican regiment
Of our army.
It is hopeless to try to enumerate
the out-of-the-way attractions Of San
Juan, a city which is utterly unlike
anything the stay-at-home American
has ever seen. II is Europe--and yet
it possesses an abundance of charms
that European cities lack. 1t is Span
ish, Moorish. tropical, and. above all,
Caribbean. Just fancy a city. for in
stance, which is inclosed by walls, and
to enter which you must pass through
massive gateways-and an American
city at that. But there is a modern
side OF San Juan, a very modern side.
1t has all the facilities of business and
comfort to which Americans are used.
Here are fine banks, Office buildings,
hotels, retaurants and clubs. And aft