St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1921-02-12
M MILLER TELLS
HOW THINGS
ARE DONE in
BARCELONA
Barcelona, Spain, Jan. 10

Editor St. Tammany Farmer:
| Here in sunny Spain, but you must
keep in the sun to keep warm as it's
real cold in the shade. Fine wealth
er every day. Ten minutes light
drizzle in Is days, and the way they
allow perishable goods to lay about
without covering one would think it
| never did rain. All the large ave-
nues and walks are double lined with
| trees and at the foot of each a hol-
low space is left so that the trees
| will receive enough from the water
ing of the streets. This is done every
| day. Small sprinkling water carts
hauled by a small mule water the
walks, and the ladies have to move
or they will be sprinkled. The old
man that drives is no respector of
persons.
Looking at the people muff1ed up
one would think you were in the
Arctic regions. Shawls, wooden
wraps wound around and around the
throat, leaving little of the face Wis
ible. Some of the girls wear open
and V-shaped waists, but the gen
eral run muffle themselves up above
their faces, but 'below-Oo, La! la!
The small girls dresses are nothing
more than 1uf1es around the waist.
The principal walks ara called Ram
blars, and they are crowded night
and day. Lined with trees, asphalt
ed, well swept and watered, old men
with small cylinder-shaped boxes,
prettily painted and mounted on
wheels, keep the waste paper and
trash picked up with pair of tongs.
Flower sellers line the walks with
regular flower stands where you can
buy everything in the shape Of flow
ers, roses, violets, gardenias, gladi-s
olas, etc. Bulbs, flower seeds, par
rots, canaries, small birds Of all
kinds, kiosks for the sale of news
papers about every fifty yards, papers
in every language of every shade OF
political opinion.
One wonders at the number Of SOL
diers that are loafing about the town.
There seems to be about one soldier
for every ten persons, one customs
officer to every fifteen, and police
without end. l suggested to a resi-
uCAL L1e1L ~ WOuAu OC DCtLOA AOA L0O
country if they were to send two
thirds Of them out into the country
and start them tilling the soil, He
was quite startled at the idea. It
was new point and they do not
like anything new in Barcelona, ana
certainly not in ideas. I was here
27 years ago. OF course the port
has improved good deal, but the
methods of working are still the
same. No electric cranes or ware
houses line the old style docks, and
ships for. the most part moor stern
on to the dock with their own anch
ors as they did in Columbus time.
Lighters are used to bring the cargo
to shore. At the present time the
port is crowded with steamers, and
you have to wait your turn to get
lighters for the cargo. We were
here week before we started, and
there is $4,000 tons of wheat wait
ing for chance to be unloaded from
American ships alone.
There are elevators in some of the
larger Office buildings, but they seem
to be more of an ornament than use.
There is room only for one fat man
and two thin ones, and are all auto
matte. The one in our office build
ing goes up but No one ever goes
down in tit objects, they tell me.
Continued on page 81