Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1921-04-18

by excursion parties, adds zest.
My stay in that neighborhood
was cut short by what. l think,
could hardly have happened any,
where else. The boat was to leave
Limon on the arrival of the train
from San Jose with the mail, on
Friday, March %, and / had plan
ned to spend Thursday in sight
seeing at San Jose and Carriage. 1t
appeared, however, that the train,
the only one, would not run that
day, because it was Good Friday.
Every other day in the year ex-
Cept, perhaps, New Years, but not
excepting Sundays, the train runs,
but not on Good Friday. / returned
therefore Limon on Thursday,
such being the decree of fate"
and on Friday, the San Bruno, not
being under the Good Friday code
was loaded with $4,000 punches of
bananas in a few hours time, and
started for Cristobal, which the
port at the Atlantic end of the zone
is now called, instead of Colon,
which is not in the zone. The place
has changed much and for the bet
L
there eight years ago, but rather to
my surprise, found that the rail-
road across the isthmus is not yet
operated by electric power and
that there is no highway, at least
none which can be used by autos
across to Panama on the Pacific
coast, where. at Balboa Heights,
is now the seat of the zone admin
istration instead of at Culebra,
where it was under Col. Goethals.
1t seems strange that such a high
way should still be lacking. Some
who are, perhaps, prone to suspic-
ion, claim the governments failure
to construct the road is due to its
desire to avoid the competition of
auto truck with its railroad.
1t was a pleasure to see vessels
passing through the Gatun locks
and on through the Gatun lake, so
regularly and easily as they did.
We were told that sometimes when
the water was let out of the locks
barrels of edible fish were left
stranded on the bottom, which the
employees appropriated.
There is talk that there will soon
he another canal in process, prob
ably by the Nicaragua route, which
the United States controls. 1t is
claimed that the commerce of the
world is now so dependent on the
canal that an alternate canal should
be provided to minimize the harm
in case either should be made i'm
passable by an earthquake or acci-
dent. The recent visit of President
Harding at the zone is believed to
have significance on that point.
Habana Gay" City.
1t is pretty well known by this
time throughout the country, II
suppose, that Habana, being rather
easily accessible from New York,
is doing more probably than any
other one place toward gratifying
the desires of our sporting de
ment for "boo2e" and gambling
in various forms. If its minis
trations We're confined to the snort
ing class, it would not be 10 Ia
mentable, perhaps, but in fact its
lure has n much broader scope, it
would seem. One of our Boston
passengers told me he met, at the
hotel Seville, where rich Ameri-
cans most do congregate, a bust
ness man of his acquaintance in
company with a handsome woman
whom he did not introduced
drunk as to be disgusting. He said
he had flown over from Miami,
Fla. that day, and was going back
the same way that night. The
round trip from Miami was SIPS,
for one, l was told.
But those able TO pay for flying
are by no means the only ones
who share Habana's hospitality |
with demoraliZing effects. AS you
know, trains run from New York !
to Key West and are there put on
train-boats which take them bod
lily to Habana. Excursion steam
ers run across from Key West. |
Men who are too poor to reach |
Habana in other ways ship as
sailors on boats going there from
northern ports, and occasion no
end of trouble for their officers |
by promptly getting drunk as soon
as they are free to go ashore,
make gluttons of themselves" |
the officers say, because they have
only a short time before they will |
be again unable to get liquor.
Charges on Garbage Cans.
One stalwart and usually well !
appearing member of the San |
Bruno's crew, with the rashness
born of booze and possibly in EMU
lation of Don Quixote's assault on
the windmills, charged on the |
garbage cans, which in Habana
are set out to have their contents |
collected at night, was told. Per-
haps they reminded him too vivid
ly of his mental handling of garb- |
age on shipboard, as the price of |
his trip to that delectable town. |
But his fate was similar to that |
of the Knight of La Mancha. The !
police are, of course, tolerant there |
of ordinary inoffensive drunken
ness, and take drunken sailors to |
their captains to be dealt with |
usually. But kicking garbage
holders about and strewing their |
contents on the streets in the |
tropic heat was a more serious |
matter, and although the offender
was taken to his captain, he was
so drunk he talked back" The
sailor was forced to spend the rest |
of that balmy night in going about |
with the garbage teams, and emp
tying garbage holders into the |
proper receptacles. In the morn
ing he was fined five dollars for
good measure. The example and |
the threat of thirty days in a Ha-
bana Jail in case of further mis-
behavior had salutary effect. |
The next night. our last one there,
the crew did not venture to take |
shore leave. They had not faith
IN their ability to drink a little,
stop and come back sober.
1t should be said to the credit |
OF Habana that there is not much |
drunkenness among the natives
and the same is said to ha trua of |