The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1949-04-14
THROUGH
HAZEL
EYES

ieio DS odiiSikO lnuSt De the I.
most beautiful city in the world. |
The natural loneliness of the har-
Dor and surrounding mountains is !
unsurpassed in exquisite beauty
and form the setting for Ameri-
cas- most glamorous city.
When dusk descends a million
lights spring up and the city
spread out below from the peak
Of Pao De Assucar, or Sugar Loaf
mountain, is one never to be for
gotten. Ascent to Sugar Loaf is
by a small cable car and the ride
at night resembles tiny FREELY
vending its way from one noun
tain peak to another. Rocked to
and fro by gentle breeze and
swaying in the wind the ride gives
a thrill never before experienced.
The wide streets Of Rio are out
lined with gorgeous palms and
the drives around the bay are out
lined with trees and flowers and
illuminated as bright as day a
brilliant sight by day and fairy
land at night.
Even the skies conspire with
the magic that is Rio - for here
it is bluer and when seen from
the 2,300-foot summit of Corco-
vado appears to form the first
stair to the gate of Heaven itself.
On Corcovado is mounted huge
statue of Christ whose outspread
arms seem to take unto Himself
the city and all its two million in
habitants.
Broad beaches with sugar white
sands dot the bay and Copacabana
beach is the most amazing in the
world lovelier by far than the
famed beaches of the French and
Italian Rivieras.
Rio derives its living from three
principal sources. 1t is the capital
of Brazil, nation larger than the
United States with another state
OF Texas thrown in. It is an inn
portant harbor for importing and
exporting. Last Of all it looks to
tourists. Perhaps the fact that it
has developed along these lines
rather than industry is responsible
for the fact that it has remained
so much like jewel.
The skyline Of Rio Is ultra
modern with skyscrapers and
n3odernistio apartment houses.
The buildings all look brand new
and most Of them have been built
in the past fifteen or twenty years.
Little here remains visible to the
casual eye of the picturesque ar
chitect and courtyards of the past
- Rio seems concerned only with
the present.
Making a startling contrast to
this overwhelming splendor are
the bleak little huts which occupy
the hills opposite some of the most
fashionable residential sections of
the city. These huts are lived in
with droves of children and they
have neither lights nor water. The
women trudge downhill to get
their water for cooking and drink
ing - and at the public watering
places they wash their clothes
and hang them on the bushes to
dry.
Living Comes High Here
The overall cost of living in Ric
has been set at about forty pei
cent above New York. Canned
goods from the States cost foul
to five times as much. Plenty o.
American cigarettes are smugglec
in by sailors who make this por
and they can be bought for abou
twenty-five cents per package
Most of the cigarettes are brough
in from st. Thomas where the,
are purchased for ninety cent
per carton. Scotch and American
WHISTLES are dear and cost twelv,
to sixteen dollars a fifth. Boil
food and clothing are high ane
the really nice apartments rem
from $17500 to 10000 per month
depending on size and location
There is absolutely no color lin,
in Brazil except in the very high.
est society.
Wages are lower In Rio than il
the United States but skilled labol
is rare and very expensive, in.
Guiding trained domestic help. Thu
scale of wages has doubled since
1899 but the cost of living ha,
luadrupled or more - which
means that fully one-half of tn,
,eople who live in this incredible,
.ity have a sub-standard of Twins
md fully half of the latter are
rery poor.
But Rio is very gay and doesn'
eem to know or care.