The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-03-30
THEHASKINLETTER
HAVANA STREETS
BY FREULKIC J. HAoKIN.

HAVANA, Cuba, March SOTO the
visitor who has just landed and goes
Tor his first stroll along the PradO,
the leading Cuban indus ries seem to
be the purveying OF smokes and drinks
and the shining of shoes
The impression will be corrected when
he pushes up some of t. narrow bust
ness streets lined with all stores of
all kinds, but of the .srado and the
| principal squares it is certainly true.
| You can turn in anywhere and buy the
| best cigars in the world at amazingly
| low prices, and you can generally get
| food and drink at the same place, while
! it Is never more than 30 or 40 feet to d
shine. Havana must support more
bootblacks per thousand population than
any other city in the world. And they
, are kept fairly busy, too
I The term bootblack does not seem
to apply to these gentlemen of COM
! paratve leisure, each of whom owns
a chair for his customer and another
! for himself. Between shines he almost
invariably improves his mind with d
. newspaper or a book or by gracious
and polite conversation with any who
! Happen to be near. Besides being d
| beautirier of shoes, he is an infor-
nation bureau and language teacher
! for the benefit of visitors. He knows
his city. Ask a policeman how to get
Z
bly, go and ask the nearest bOotblack.
! II, will then write the necessary in
/ formation in Spanish on sheet from
little notebook which he carries for
the purpose. The visitor gives it to a
jitney driver, and is promptly set down
at his destination for one peSeta, hay
! ing received the assistance of three pub
! lie functionaries,
| The Cuban shoe sinner is an interest
! ing contrast to the type who practices
| the same calling in our American midst.
| The shoe sinner in the United State !
! is often poor foreigner who works
| for a corpora ton The Cuban is an IN
| dependent and dignified operator. He
| sits down to the job. and having fin
! iShed one shoe leisurely moves his chair
over to the vicinity Of the other. Neither
does he affect the vigorous rubbngS
| and slappingS of the vulgar American
bootback His attitude toward shoe
leather is uontemplative rather than ag-
| greSsiVr. He is more an artist than an
athlete. He takes long time and doe
pretty good job, though he does not
go in FOR a very high luster. Tie also
your clothes. You go away with The
| impression that your shoes have been
shincd by one who is a gentleman ami
a scholar, and is saving his energy foc
som" great effort to be made in the
future,
( the boo black in sending you wher'
you want 70 go is also wOr ny of Il
! word Tie is man of feroCiouS ap-
pcarauce. who carries an enormous six
shooter strapped on the outside Of his
clothes in addition to his club; but his
! severe look Is deceptive. He never
bothcrs anyone. He Is not heard tell
ing people to move on or to get back,
nor does he prOwl around and peer into
windows and rattle doors He dis
charges his duty by selecting shady
spot with congenial company and stand
ing there You get the impression that
nothing less than murder or larceny
would galvanize him into activity and
20 q man from q country where the
carrSiNG of = hriSS case makes one an
object of suspicion ana whore not only
ones conduct, but ones conversation
and reading are subject to censorship.
this unaggressive attitude on the part
| of authority is welcome eelief The
fact OF the matter is that the vanishing
boon of personal liberty may still he
enjoyed i'm cuba to a surprising extent,
| Next to the ubiquitous boOtblaCk the
| thing which most strikes the eye Of the
visitor is the vast swarm of jitneys
which fills the streets, There can not
be a more completely jitnified city on
| the face ~ the earth. You can catch
a jitnEy in two minutes literally any
where in havana They are along both
SUES 81 NV i'lbN sNi'''T IL N'b'A ~
lines They dart and circle about the
squares like minnows in a clear pool
And they are the hardest jitneys on
earth to dodge. The reason for this is
that traffic in Havana moves o" prin-
ciples which it takes years to grasp
| The Spanish custom ia for all sorts
of vehicles to keep to the left side
Of the road, and this custom still obtains
in most Spanish speaking countries. In
Havana IL appears to have come in
| conflict with the American idea that
one should travel on the rioht-hand side
of the street on some streets traffic
keeps to the right and on others il
keens to the left There must be some
underlying principle, but u can not be
deduced by observation When II comes
! to squares all traffic goes around one
| way, cutting the corners very fine
causing the unwary pedestrian 70 make
many sudden back jump. The iit-
neys frequently collide with each other
| hut they seldom run down pedestrian
/ A native desiring to cross crowded
! street. proceeds to do SO in leisurelv
fashion, putting his safety entirely In
the hands of the drivers who exhibit
greaa skill In missing him.
| A jitney in Havana Is not the drah
affair that il is in the United States,
| Whatever Cuban jtney may lack, /;
Is bound to have suit Of highly orna
mental seat covers, usually stamped
leather in bright green or buff or some
mixed pattern with bright nickel mount
tngA big brass horn Is also very