Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-04-07
TELLS Of VISIT
TOFLOR|DAC CITY
Perth Amboy Resident De-
scribes st. Petersburg,
Where the Sun is Al
ways Shining

uowh mere Wnere ~allgators. pelfcans
and negroes thrive. and white folks
gain their health. 1 have an object
in view in being here, but I'll have
to go back to Syracuse, N. Y, where
my brother is to explain why. He
is the youngest and only living
brother l have out of a family of
fourteen. 1t Is true hat I have a
sister wno Is over lightweight years
old, as l am in my nincties. My
brother has been In Uncle Sans SER
vice as mail agent for twenty-nine
years. and he has a daughter now in
her seventeenth year, a graduate of
the Central high school at Syracuse
and h is also a member of the
amateur club connected with the
school.
I was up to Syracuse on q visit
and while there the club gave an
entertainment in the Central high
school building. The building was
crowded to the doors, and my niece
was q very prominent figure in the
performance, and I had the pleasure
of listening to the congratulations
Of her many friends who crowded
around her after the entertainment.
Some months ago she went under
an operation for appendicitis and
since then has been gradually fall
ing in health. While there / noticed
her struggle to resist from coughing
and my sympathy went out for her.
l have learned from her fSsher that
the old family physician had or
dered her to Florida on account of
her health. I finally concluded that
IL was more serious than / had an
ticipated.
1 next learned that the mother and
Aars~A1. rA~ a.. 6 DAfA~grr~- 20.
the winter. I frequently had letters
from them but nothing definite as
to my niece's condition, but I re-
ceived letters from her father hat
his correspondence was unsatisfac-
tory. so / packed my grip and after
two nights and two days l arrived
in st. Petersburg at the st. Peters,
burg station on the Sea Board line.
As / alighted from the train ap-
parently Every hotel was represent
cd by n Iorter with a tag bearing
the name of the hotel he represent
cd. From this crowd 1 selected a
taxi which carried to No. 500, cor
ner of Fifth street and First ave-
.nue, to the apartment house called
the Cherokee Lodge. This is such a
peculiarly constructed building that
l shall give you a description of 1t.
1t is a two story stucco. You
enter it through an arch. under
which are two broad stairways
leading TO the second floor. In pass
ing the stairways you enter a court
some 200 feet long and 60 feet
wide, in which you find palm trees
and other tropical trees and how-
crs, i~nterspersed on each side, and
en- the rear cross walls are arches
sprung some eight feet wide, q
entire length of the court. Back OF
these arches is a paved
about eight feet wide paved with
red blocks about eight inches square.
Back Of this walk are the inside
walls of the building, and the suite
OF rooms are divided into the parlor
or sitting room, dining room, kitch-
en- and bath room, with k~itchenette
or dining room combined. The par
lor or sitting room Is about 24xl5
About one-half of this space Is the
parlor or sitting room. the ped
room, kitchenetted an bath room
occupy tho remainder OF the space.
on the rear cross walls there are
three Chinese images. One with ms
hands owe his eyes. one with MS
hands over his ears and the third
with his hands over his mourn. lou
must see no evil. you must near NJ
evil, and you must speak no e'n:
The second floor is the duplicate OF
the 18rst. with arches similar. On
reaching the apartment occupied by
Mrs Linele and her daughter, what
should rush at me Gas I was not
pected) but an excited young q
exclatming. ooh, Uncle Tom." she
ave me a hug and q kiss and when
/ had the opportunity to size her up
/ found a young lady brown, lfech-
led. sunburned, and black a. .
snuaw. Since then she and I nave
been hammering the sidewalk every
day. or else In some Of the street
cars sizing up the city OF when
will give you a description:
It il known as the C.ty,
and a. . record has been kept LOT the
past eleven years sna.
sun has failed to shine only nve oays
esch wear during that time, n
there II no record Of anyone havins
a sunstroke in the state OF Floriaa.
before I attempt to give you a DE-
a~criptfon Of the city ! want 70 say
that IL has q population OF lf,Vov
rasidential citizens and fully -FOUR
timea hat number of transients.
including In the city II some 10.Ooo
acres OF land and has a modineo
Commission form Of government.
The ofncials consist OF q mayor
director OF finances, a director OF
public utility. and a director OF pun
In the mayors department Is
chief Of police. and . force ~ tolo
~ eieven men. There 10 the chief on
the are department. . city attorney
ana = municipal judge. a fooo m
injector. q building inspector, an eiec-
tric fnspector, q plumbing inspector
: CITY physician and also has a cnam-
her Of commerce. I learned that tne
civ was Incorporated in 1903: Dur
ing the last twelve years II mas
moved from 18th to 3rd.
an increase Of over 245 per cent
II Is ideally situated on the Soutn-
ern Point of the very famous fine-
lass Peninsula. 1t Is on the oppo-
site side Of Tampa Bay with whic1
il connected by the Goa anu
the sea board railroads. A. troiley
line running over a paved stree
with The same kind of blocks as tne
CITY Both the railroads ana the
troliev mass through h county sea-
called Clearwater. some tnirty,nse
miles from St. Petersburg ana, ike
81 Petersburg, is a model city.
Irnder municipal government Cen
fraI svenue is the dividing n norm
and south. This street is the Broad
wav Of ST. Petersburg ana mas
donble line of trolleys from Tampa
~ Rocha Bays. There are . num-
her ~ trolley lines all over the city.
Tha cars are all substantial iron
ar uu-to-date, they are what =
oar AnleIl0k Oh