Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-08-10

Volstead refugees who plan to seek
the damper climate Of Havana this win
ter after the prolonged drought of the
hot weather UP here are not going to
have such an ideal time as they an
ticipated. Not that Cuba isn't going
to be sufficiently wet to suit tnem-it
Is there has been no drop in the
figures registered for humidity in bot
tied form.
But accommodations for visitors are
going to be extremely hard to find.
Likewise they are going to be extremely
hard to pay for. and man with lin
tied means might as we'll give up all
thoughts of the glorious winter he has
dreamed of.
The American rush was not officially
expected to begin until September at
the earliest. But. greatly to the sur
prise of the government passport Office
and of the shipping companies, the rush
began some time ago and Is now equal
to what was looked for next month.
a man at the Custom House said
I'VE cannot give any figures, Of course,
because we do not issue passports here.
But certain percentage Of people
think we do and come in here to get
them. Consequently. the visitors to this
Office are fair indication Of the larger
number who apply at Washington.
Coming for Months
1--WE have been having these appli
cations in unusual numbers for a month
! or more. They have come so frequently
as to be very noticeable to us. At first
we thought they would be the class Of
people that would naturally go down
before the rush, to lay their plans to get
hold of some of the money that the visi
tors will spend. That class would. Of
course, be the race track men. the peo.
pie of more or less shady methods Of
search of jobs during the rush season
men identified with liquor and gambling
interests. But that is. surprisingly
enough, not the class we have had. Tht
applicants have evidently been people
of means who are Of the spending
class"
That these people are going to fnt
it hard to get accommodations Is in
dicated by the observations Of Captain
Leslie c. Cofill. of the United State
shipping board steamship Coquina. jus
returned from Havana and loading a
Reed street wharf for another voyage.
Conditions in Havana aren't yer!
promising for Americans said Captain
| IOHlll. Inc Strlke OF tne lOnEsnOre
men down there has absolutely tied NJ
building operations because the building
material sent from this country is still
lying on the docks or in the holds o
ships that haven't been unloaded or oil
lighters in the harbor. waiting to b
taken ashore. Consequently the nev
hotels and clubs that were projected a
the end of last season have not beei
built and the old ones are alread
crowded.
The harbor situation is. in fact. S
bad that the shipping board has agai
put an embargo on ships for Cuba.
have been notified that this comm
trip will be my last until the situatio
is relieved.
Many Americans There
II have been sailing to Havana o.
and on for good many years. but
have never seen. even in the height G
the winter season. more American
there than are there right now.s
heard as much English spoken on tn
Prado as Spanish. In the middle G
July you could go into any restauran
on the Parque Centrale-the Inglaterre
the Colonnade or any of them-an
more than half the people at the table
would be Americans. This was in July
mind YOU.
II noticed in the Havana newspaper
the daily list of guests at the hotel
and practically all of them were Amer
leans and the lists were as long as i
the best winter seasons. And they ar