The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-04-02
THE
TWO KINDS OF AMERICANS
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

HAVANA, Cuba, April 1.-The other
night in crowded cafe we witnessed
meeting between two family parties
of Cubans who were evidently old and
dear friends long |separated. They
greeted each other in the emotional
Cuban manner, everybody embracing
everybody else. The men embraced
each other as well as the women, lay
ing cheek to cheek, and hammering
each other on the back with vehem-
ence and a loud humping noise, after
the fashion of ring fighter delivering
kidney punch in a clinch. There
was one fine old gentleman with white
hair and long white mustache, who was
especially enthusiastic in his greet
ings. and one could see that some of
the younger members Of the party were
trifle embarrassed by his heroic
caresses, CHANGING around and appear
ing i'll at ease.
And they had some right TO feel i'll
at ease, for all OF the Americans in
the cafe-meaning by Americans, clti-
gems of the United States--regarded this
exhibition of a charming local custom
as a free show. They all stopped eat
ing to look on, and they all laughed
openly, as though this was the fun
niest thing they had seen in long
time.
The incident Illustrated the fact
"llkll lE So apparent HtlNI Nllht wv
is very little sympathy or understand
ing or natural human intercourse be-
tween the Latin American and the An
glo- American. Here in Cuba, just 90
miles from his native land, in a coun-
try which his own country helped to
set free, where the memory of Theo-
dore Roosevelt is worshiped where
the government is modelled after our
own. the man from the United States
finds himself none the less m an ut
terly foreign country. He would
scarcely feel less at home II he went to
Abyssinia, or Thibet He has abso-
lutely nothing in common with these
fellow Americans of his, except that he
belongs to the same species Of mann
NAL There are some 10000 North
American residents in Havana, and
nearly twice that many visitors; yet
IL is "A rare thing to see Cubans and
Americans together on the streets or
in the cafes.
And the thing which impresses you
is that these two kinds of Americans.
who share the ownership of a hemi-
sphere, are kept apart chiefly by such
superficial differences as those Of
language and social custom. No doubt
there are some fundamental differences,
too, but II is the superficial ones which
prevent the two from really knowing
each other. If they can speak and
associate together, men can thresh out
cnces q polistce, religion and point Of
view but II they c&nNc, uneerptand
each others remarks or Tolerate each
others manners, they remain cternally
foreign 10 each other
Now the Cuban's manners are very
strange to the American The Cuban
is at once more polite and los hyp-
ocritical He is much leaA fank in
telling you what he thinks, and much
moro so In showing what he feels,
ia st.t..
to compare the evening promenade on
the Prado here with the similar event
which takes place every warm after
noon on Fifth avenue in New York. or
+ street In Washington, and in less
professions and formEl way in a hos;
promenade Is one OF the immemorial
and universal customs You find some
form or trace OF II almost everywhere,
and even in villages Of no more than
thousand souls there is usually GER
tain hour when the girls go for walk
and the fellows gather in front of tho
drug store to watch them go by.
This mutual interest Of the sexes in
each other is the real motive, of
course, in all these pomenades, from
the least TO the greatest. But in the
United States our traditional Puritan
hypocrisy makes il incumbent upon Ills
70 conceal the fact that we walk down
Firth avenue mainly to look at the
girls. II man wants to stop and
look At n woman on Fifth avenue Il IL
customary for him to stall in front of
shop window and pretend to look at
the goods before he turns his eyes to-
ward the real object OF his interest.
This explains why so many men arc
found absent mndedly looking at win
dow displays Of millinery and ladies'
footwear.
The Cuban feels under no obligation
to conceal his interest when young
woman who pleases his eye passes him
on the Prado, he stops, turna around,