Putnam patriot., 1924-05-02
Havana, March 26th

 l suggestion had been made by one Of | #0ar party that we devote the first whole day in Havana ts seeing the | sights Thanks be to Heaven, we've seen them and now we can enjoy Ha- vanai it has always seemed to us that there is something ghastly about | the dutifulHess af seeing the sights. ] In Paris. for instance. one is never happy or content until one has viewed l the aetuaiities of the Louvre, Fon- tainebleau with it's beds of kings and queens and efnperora, the Grand Tri- mon with more fur niture. the interiors Of the Grand Chateau at Versailles. and hosts of other objects. sometimes | interesting and frequently boresome. 1 Yet they must be seen and the con | science of the traveller Is never at ease until he has seen them. Once the decks are cleared of sights then the traveller may become a delightfully lazy SO journer. seeking out the place or the impression that smuses him, peoplinR historic places with visions of the past, gathering that wealth of local color that any situation foreign to the eye may have to offer. Today we have seen the sights of Havana and we are both tired and content. The rest of our stay we shall enjoy in our own way and not according to Baedeker. or. in the ease of Havana, Hergesheimer.
 Old Havana
 Havana, we have found, is divided into far more parts than Gaui. There is the old section of the city, a maze of narrow streets with scarce room for the steady stream of motors to pass in one direction. and practically no pro vision whatever for the pedestrian. This is the section that lies closest 10 the harbor extending from the wide avenue ef The Prado down to the wa ter's edge On the other side of The Prado lies a new section Of broader and more modern streets, and still fur ther beyond begins the new suburb of monumental and palatial residences known as the Nedado. Still further out tx Marianne, with wide avenues, great hotels for the winter season, the gambling casino. the yacht club, and the bathing beach Havana as if spreads from the harbOr ta the west is n panorama 0f an old city built un der Continental influence growing steadily into modern metropolis.
 We liked the old city best, We l stralled through the O'Reilly and the Obispo streets, the two principal shop ping ceufers. whose stores in some cas- I es equal those one finds in Fifth Ave nue or the rue de Ia Paix. We stop ped to buy excellent Panama hats at i a price that seemed less than reason able We saw beautiful Spanish shaWls fmade in Chinal obtainable at prices that only could be afforded by ] the wife of an oil magnate or movie king. We saw the haherdashery of i London and the gowns of Paris at prices that proved the prosperity of l the Cubans. and We soon knew that l merchandise in Havana is no whit less in cost than | Is in New York or Put nam.
 The stern-Faeed Cuban
 But thore WIS fascination about the shops open fo the street without windows. with the exceedingly civil lit= Gle tan faced clerks who fought always a losing fight with the English lan- guage. And there was something about the crowds that impressed Us. The Cubans. one gains the impression, haven't the volatile quality of the French, for instance. There is se- rinusnesa of both demeanor and ex- pression They go about their busi- ness with A directness and energy which does not accord with the tradl- tional idea of Spanish ease and quiet gaiety.
 Once out of the business section. we plunged into some of the narrower residential streets where the grilled windows. open wide Co the daylight, gave us an idea nf the Cuban home. 1 The Cubans live eternally in an at moaphere of fresh air Their windows are opened night and day to the breez- es that blow. Within one saw paved rooms about a palm-planted patio, sparse of furniture, and never failing | to contain as the chief object the in- ayitahle rocking chair. for the Cuban ] is en ineessant reeker. The seneFas and senoritas rock on the balconies the seners rock in their offices. and an animated conversation between fam ilies takes place with the various mem. Ibers necessarily rocking at varying an ules. It was much easier tp picture the romantic Cuban proposing mar ringe while violently rocking back and forth than in the pictured manner of | serenade to his love as she languished bright shawled behind the iron griii' of the parental balcony
 In the Spanish Section
 In the Plaza des Armes We found the old palace of the Spanish governor general facing the tiny park with it' close clipped lime trees. Then thers was the gray Cathedral where fo' so many decades lay the mueh-disput. ed bones of Columbus. since transport. cd n Spain And then there was the old fort with its bronze statue of an Indian maiden whose name, La Ha- bana. Is said Co have given the city its name.
 Later NC asked a Cuban gentleman about the name of Havana and he told us that its origin was a mystery. The old fort. quite the oldest building in Che city. stands where the seamen of old could get as their first sight of the city. this tiny bronze statue of the ln- dian maiden. lt Is claimed that as the ralleons rounded the point ef old Meffa te enter the harbor. the sailors would cry out La Hahana or the nickname which they had given 10 the Indian girl. and thus the settlement became known as Hahana, But, We were assured, this was hue legead. However. there she stands and has stood for centuries, excepting for a