AMERICAN LOVEMAKING HAS
STIRRED UP THINGS IN CUBA
Q*d Folks Are Firmly of Opinion That the Methods Are ^hocking, Bat
the Younger People Seem to Think Tt*/ Are an Improve*
me"! Over the Customs of the P.ict
\ ---
Havana, -Cuba.—Think of taking
your fiancee to the opera without a
chaperon! Cab you imagine anything
worse?
To invite her to have an ice cream
soda—could anything be more im
proper?
Can you conceive of any self-respect
ing man inviting the girl who has
promised to be his wife to go for a
car ride with him without asking
mother to go, too?
Can the human imagination compre
hend anything so daring as an auto
mobile ride without a chaperon?
Could anything be more shocking
i hau a boat ride in the moonlight,
atone with the woman you love?
Doesn't it make your blood run cold
when you picture your daughter sit
ting bn a bench in the park with her
band nestling In the hand of the man
she has promised to marry?
Wouldn’t you kill your future son
; .' iw if you caught him kissing your
dan Jhter before the church had made
fits his wife?
And what would you do if he bad
i he audacity to smile at her as he
passed her on the street, if good man
ners were so totally lacking in his
makeup that he stopped to chat with
her on the public corner, if he were so
badly bred that he knew no better
'ban to meet her anywhere without
bubogrnphlag for the chaperon to
make a double-quick march to her
rosCue?
Ancient Spanish Etiquette.
You will laugh at the thought of
ideas so absurd and prudish, but down
in Cuba the thought of a mother’s
daughter going to the opera unchap
• wotted, sitting over a glass of ice
cream soda with her lover, going fer
.1 car ride with her affianced husband,
automobiling with him. boating with
him in the moonlight, daring to let
Mat hold her band, bold enough to
permit him to steal a kiss, and so
destitute of good manners as to tip
hie hat to her on a public plaza, is
i quer the Amo: loan wooer. They have
told them they must continue to
make love from behind the bars of
their queer windows with a duenna
within earshot They have forbidden
them to smile as they pas3 their suit
ors on the plains, they have ordered
them to cling to the old Cuban cus
toms that are so distasteful to them
And the girls of Cuba are on the point
of rising in rebellion against their
parents. They say they don’t care if
they are disinherited, that they’ll
marry men who are able to support
them. They say they are bound to be
courted in the American way, to be
recognized as human beings worthy
of trust, as women of judgment and
common sense. They object to bolng
hidden away and kept centuries be
hind the times.
Bold American Sets New Style.
An audacious Yankee, college bred,
tali, broad-shouldered, determined. In
white flannels from head to foot—a
dashing figure—lifted his hat to a
dark eyed Cuban girl as he passed her
on the plaza in Havana. She smiled
back at him. He stood still and out
stretched his hand. She came up to
him and took it. A motor ride and an
engagement followed—and now all
Cuba is discussing the scandal, not be
cause it wasn’t a good match, but
because the Cuban girl violated the
most sacred and ancient customs of
her country by flirting with a stranger
on the public street, by motoring with
him without a chaperon, and because
the Yankee, instead of doing as Cuban
lovers do, openly disregarded the tra
ditions and scored the marriage cus
toms of the island.
But for his hurried departure with
his dark skinned bride on a honey
moon trip to Now York the Yankee
lover would have paid the penalty for
his folly and his audacity. It’s the
paternal bullet that makes Cupid toe
the mark in Cuba and protects the
sacred institutions of the little repub
lie—the home and marriage.
4 earner M£ZZJT cP 7DDjr
enougn to mane a uuDan ratner s nair :
tarn white.
AH these questions of propriety
have been settled In America, and the
chaperon has lost her job. Down In
Cuba they have been settled, too, for
centuries, but now that the Americans
hate brought American customs to
the island the pretty Cuban maids are
clamoring for another kind of a set
tlement They want to abolish the
duenna and the barred window—they
want to make love In the American
way. And the fathers and mothers
of Cuba, still clinging to the old tra
ditions and the time-worn customs,
have risen up to oppose them.
Family Controversy.
It is a controversy, between parents
shocked by the advanced American
methods of making love and the
daughters of Cuba who have tried the
American way and like it The par
hots have delivered their ultimatum.
Tliey have told their blushing daugh
ters that they will be disowned and
.disinherited if they stoop to con
.
By tne time tne audacious Yankee
and bis bride reached New York the
father had relented, but ever since
that day all Cuba has been discussing
the American invasion of their cus
toms.
Say Americanization Goes Too Far.
It has become a national problem
In Cuba and it soon may become ■ a
national issue, to be inscribed in the
platforms of the two leading political
parties, to be settled at the polls on
election day. The Cubans of all classes
are crying out that the Americaniza
tion of the island has gone too far.
.The retiring, modest senorita who
from time Immemorial has been court
ed as she pressed her face against
the iron gratings of her barred win
dow, with the face of the watchful
duenna beside hers, must not be
wooed and won on the streets or in
the plaza. The doors to her house
must be kept shut against the suitor
until the day of her marriage. She
must not permit even the tips of her
Angers to be soiled by the touch ot
-11 Wind H F'*" 1—««
her Romeo’s hand until the gold ring
bos been given and taken, and all the
vow# have been murmured.
These are the cries that are being
raised by the mothers and fathers of
Cuba, and the pretty senerltaa are
muttering eomplainlngly, for already
they have grown to like the American
way. It’s less’ trouble and the Love
story moves more rapidly to the
"finis.’’ There are not the long, agon
izing hours behind the barred win
dows with the face of the watchful,
critical duenna there, too. There is
real romance in the American way.
the girlish hearts cry out, romance
suc.h .as the warm hearts of the
senoritas never knew before.
Pupils in Girls’ School Rebel.
In the girls' schools in Cuba glee
clubs have been organized and banjo
and mandolin and guitar clubs, and
the parents are up in arms. “Our
senoritas have no business to be seen
in public,” they moan. "Their place
is In the home. They are getting too
independent. They are getting too
much like the ‘new woman.’ ” And
to this outcry the Cuban maidens are
beginning to laugh scornfully.
"We’ve been behind the times,”
they protest to their indignant moth
ers and Irate fathers. “Every girl In
the world Is allowed some liberty—
except the girls of Turkey, perhaps,
and you wouldn’t want as to be like
the Turkish maidens, would you—as
ignorant, aa unsophisticated, as ab
surd?”
The rebellion of the girls against
their parents began when the Yankee
was ferbidden to woo them In the
Yankee way; It grew into a revolution
when the good mothers and fathers of
Cuba attempted to put an end to the
girls' glee clubs. Just what it is now
is indescribable—since basketball was
introduced in one of the Americanized
schools, since the athletic American
girl made her appearance on the
island and tantalized the senoritas by
winning soft glances from the senors;
since American candy stores and ice
cream soda parlors began to dot the
Havana streets and plazas. The
senoritas say they like the American
way. They have pleaded; they have
protested: they have threatened, but
to all their pleadings, protestations,
and threats their fathers have made a
determined answer—“No!”
Senoritas Like the American Way.
But in spite of the resolute “No,”
a few glee clubs have survived, and in
certain liberal schools new ones are
being organized. Basketball has
spread from the one Americanized
school to others, and so have the oth
er “fads” of the American schooL
Girls are being taught the same sub
y v
jsemv^otT *7* _
sbb jmicaar jaar
jects in many of the schools that the
boys are taught. Motor cars, drivea
by Yankees, still spin along the ave
nues. Yankees still make love to the
Cuban senoritas whenever they get a
good chance, and the senoritas shyly
return their glances if they are sere
that papa or mamma or the duenna
isn't looking. And of course they still
s't behind their barred windows and
listen to the poetry and Bong and the
protestations of love of the Cuban
suitors, and the duennas sit behind
the same bars and listen with them.
But it is no longer their way—the
3enoritas like the other way—and
many a handsome senor has lost the
hand of his loved one because he was
not bold enough or brave enough to
run the risk of a parental bullet to
satisfy his senorita’s whim for Ameri
can made love.
Where it will end—the triangular
struggle between the parents, the
senoritas, and the American ways—no
one is ready to predict, but it is a safe
bet that the struggle has only just
begun, for already there are signs in
Cuba, in the progressive schools built
by American enterprise and capital,
of the approaching introduction of co
education. And that, as everybody in
Cuba known, will be the last straw.
It will become a question of obedience
or of open rebellion against parental
authority, and will the senoritas win
or will the palm of victory fail to the
solicitous mothers and— fathers of
Cuba who are clinging so technically
to the old traditions and customs?
It will take an election to settle the
question, say the wisest of the Cu
bans. Imagine an election, a national
election, to decide how girls shall
make love!
Magic of the Maoris.
■j —
Remarkable Feat That Seemed to
Defy Explanation.
Tohoto was the last of the old "to
hungas,” or native magicians of New
Zealand. A writer says: “The num
ber of his years could ha-dly be guess
ed; he was almost a Methuselah of
the Maori. I visited him several times
is the 70s; but so extremely sacred
mm his person held that It was only
after repeated delays that I was al
lowed to see him; indeed, he con
sidered that white people were not
fit to associate with, as they had no
system of' tapu (consecrated and
sacred), nor did they regard things
which- were tapu to the Maori with
any reverence. From the first he
had resisted all efforts of the mission
aries to induce him to abandon his
ancient faith for Christianity. As he
sttil had a large following who for hlB
refused to recognize Christianity,
his conversion was greatly desired.
“New Zealand's greatest bishop laid
Msgs to the old heathen at Mafcota
that tree-clad isle in Lake Rotorua to
the beautiful Hinemoa swam.
For hours the b'shop endeavored earn
estly to win the rriest over. But his
powers of persuasion for once failed
utterly. Tohoto sat unmoved, in
moody sMence. At length he lifted his
head. ‘Hearken unto my words.’ he
sa d. ‘If you can do this I will accept
your God.’ Then picking up the dead
leaf of a cabbage tree which had flut
tered to the ground, he held it out
loosely between his Angers at arm’s
length..
“His withered body was naked to
the hips; the sun was high in the
heavers; no deception was possible.
After repeating an tncanta lon he in
vited his visitor to lock. Lo, the leaf
had become greed! The strong-mind
ed, highly educated Englishman had
no belief in either Tohoto or his pow
ers, yet by some mental influence the
decrepit Polynesian was able to mako
the vii tie white naan believe that what
he saw was a fresh, green leaf; yet it
was in reality still a dry, brown one.”
Quite a number of women in Geo
many ore devoting themselves to the
art of conducting bands and orches
tra*.
Kind to Hit Horses.
A certain American boys’ Institu
tion boasts a brass band made up of
the boys of the school.
The band had been engaged to play
at a village some distance from the
school, and a wagonette had been
hired to take the boys there.
On the way the young leader of
the band suggested that they should
“have a tune,” but the driver of the
wagonette at once objected. .
“No toons while I drive,” he de
clared.
“But why?" persisted the musi
cians. “Surely the horses wouldn’t
run away?”
“No,” said the driver, “they
wouldn’t!”
“Then why object?"
“Simply becoB the poor beggars
couldn’t run away if they tried.” was
the grim retort. “Their runnin’away
days is over, an* as long as I drives
you ain’t agoin’ to take no mean ad
vantage of *eml That’s why I ses no
toonsi”
The boys subsided, and there were
“ao toons” on that Journay,
Mandates of
Mshion
THE EVER-POPULAR BLQLkSE
It Is In coloring, rather than in con
tour, that the changes which Fashion
has ordained for the coming season
are to be noted, and while the general
outline and scheme of our garments
are those with which we have become
pleasantly familiar during the past
few months, everything will be trans
formed In effect by striking and mani
fold contrasts of color. No longer is 11
to be our aim to show the one chosen
shade in practically every detail ol
our costume from hat to shoes—on
the contrary, the iflbre colors are clev
erly combined on gown and headgear
the more cleverly will the up-to-date
ness of the wearer and the skill of
the maker be proclaimed, and, in
deed, much skill is Invariably demand
ed if the result is to be altogether sue
ce^sful, while discretion will ocoasion
ally be the better part of—fashion—
when a choice has to be made.
Peacock blue is one of the colorings
which will be very much to the fore,
and it certainly looks wonderfully
well In the chi Eton velvet (or vel
veteen) which is to be a much fa
vored fabrio, while the deepest and
richest shades of purple, and plum and
wine red, promise to bring a welcome
brightness into dull days and months
and there are also available for choice
many charmingly soft tones of leaf
green and brown, the beautiful
(though not always beoaosiag) olnna
An Autumn Gown.
moa shadings also making appeal to
many. Stripes seem to pattern every
fabric with impart'allty, and in the
matter of trimmings, braidings and
embroideries many-colored as Joseph's
coat, are equally ubiquitous, the gar
ment which they do not Jointly adorn
being somewhat difficult of discovery
Not that you are likely to display any
anxiety for such a discovery, seeing
that the effect of the said trimmings
is most’ admirable and decorative—
Indeed, you have every reason to be
well pleased with the Fashion pro
gram which has been arranged for the
coming season, and whose authentic
details you may study in these pages,
for the most widely different tastes
(and figures!) have been carefully
provided for, and in spite of the extra
elaboration of detail and rumors of in
creased cbst for everything, you will
find nothing to alarp you in the mat
ter of prices.
The kimono we still nave with us,
and though its potent influence will
probably wane with the season as re
gards our gowns, it will be long, I
should say, before we are willing to
t disregard Its many special advantages
when applied to theater coats and
wraps generally, while, then, it Is to
be noted that the sleeve of elbow
length—or rather, shortness—can now
be discarded by all those who may
prefer the more protective and becom
'ng sleeve, whose career continues to
the wrist, and whose claims to re
newed favor are at last being recog
nized.
Blouses are of universal interest
and women are constantly needing to
add to their supply of these most con
venient garments. In our large Illus
tration above we display a variety of
outturns, from which helpful sugges
tions may be obtained for the making
of these garments.
The special features of fashion
whioh vary from those of the fall and
winter season of 19bt> are the skirts
and the sleeves, both having become
considerably smaller. The ordinary
'al lor-made man’s sleeve is prominent
’y adopted on the long coat, while the )
skirts invariably fit elosely round the I
hips, and boast their little fulness in
the center of the back.
The short skirt and the long skirt
are alike in evidence, and since each j
-nay most successfully play a different !
. ->art, there Is uo reason that the
charms of both should not be recog
nized Impartially.
Although there Is much talk of mak
'ng velvet dresses with the short
skirts aad long coots, I would hold
‘hot, as a general rule, the long skirt
locks for better In velvet. Velveteen,
however, may have a success as a
short skirt, and besides these checked
and striped velveteens of which I have
already spoken, I have met some with
blurred spots upon their surface, and
others with a pattern of some conven
tional design In fine black.
The models in hats all seem exactly
alike, invariably of the bell-shaped
style, the only alternative being the
beaver toque, which has an upturned
brim, and Is trimmed with a couple of
skeleton feathers or a fanciful
“mount” of plumes.
The tunic swathed round the figure
is the latest novelty for evening wear,
though it la, of course, but a revival,
like all good novelties. It Is made of
good crepe de chine, and dragged
round so that it fits quite tightly over
'ts lining, while It is bordered with a
thick silk fringe, and It rests on a
brocaded or embroidered petticoat.
Numerous are the tweeds In stripes,
and the most successful rival to the
stripe is the costume which consists
of a checked skirt and a plain coat,
such checked skirt being constantly
made of velveteen, while the coat is
;n variably of cloth. Then there are
some checked tweeds strapped with
cloth and you may a’so find the per
oetually attractive plain-faced cloth
trimmed with strappings of velvet, as
well as with those silk braid bindings
which are almost ubiquitous.
Extreme in Advertie'ng.
“A new method of advertising has
been discovered,” says a Mannheim
"arer. “by a Bavarian manufacturing
concern- On cards deeply bordered
vlth black it has sent the following
notice to business houses in Ger
many: ‘Honored Sir: The board of
directors of our company has instruct*
ed me to notify our esteemed patrons
in Baden that we mourn with them on
‘he occasion of the passing away of
their beloved prince, his royal high
ness the Grand Duke Frederick. In
complying with the wish of the direct
ors, I must congratulate our father
land on Paving been the cradle of bo
noble a regent. Accept the assurance
of our sincere regard. X. Y., Man
ager.’” The latest circular ard price
list of the concern were sent with
the unique card, and the paper in
which the advertising trick was no
ticed says: "This may be clever, from
the business man's standpoint, but, as
we s-e it, it is b*uiaL”
Fish From the Car Windows.
Passengers' on the Southern Pacific
overland trains are having rare spor
trolling from the car windows for flsl
in the Salton sea, and good catches
nave been made. About midway or
.lie sea an arroyo extends back intc
the mountains. Tbe track crosses
this on a trestle. The water la fifteen
to twenty-five feet deep, and It has
become a custom of the dining ea:
porter to throw overboard the scraps
from the table there. Thousands of
su ot ail sizes lie in wait for the
ain and can be easily seen.
A few days ago an irrepressible^
sherman prepared his hook and line,
id as the train slowly thundered
ver the long trestle, swung it far out
ver the water. This the fiBh mis
ook for their customary meal, and a
oracious carp, three feet long, seised
he bait and was drawn aboard the
’ullman. With this beginning the
port has grown to such a» extent
hat the passenger trains are now sup
plied with fish for the dining cars.
At the National Capital
Gossip of People and Events
Gathered in Washington
WHITE HOUSE GROUNDS
GUARDED BY MAD BULLS
i _
WASHINGTON'.—In the absence of
President Roosevelt in the cane
brake and with "Pete” the bull dog
sequestered on Surgeon-General Rix
ey’s farm, the white house grounds
have not been left unguarded. A
couple of bulls—not bull dogs, but
real bovine bulls—have taken upon
themselves the task, formerly so well
discharged by “Pete” of seeing that
the grounds are unprofaned by unde-,
sirable citizens, mollycoddles or milk
sops.
Since the president and Pete went
away newspaper men, mollycoddles
and the criminal rich have roamed the
white house grounds with Impunity.
Undesirable citizens have shown a
tendency to stand on the walks and
bark at the white house, and neither
“Slippers,” the six-toed cat, nor Quen
tin Roosevelt's snakes have proved
equal to the task of preserving the
requisite calm.
How the two patriotic bulls dis
covered the state of things and decid
ed that it was up to them to rectify
it will never be known. It Is a fact,
however, that early the other morn
WOMEN have changed the faces of
empires, and why should not a
woman have a strong voice in saying
whether, such and such a man should
rule the republic of so-and-so?
Capital gossips assert Theodore
Roosevelt will keep his promise not
to run again for the presidency, and
in that retirement he will be fulfilling
not merely his promise to the people
but his pledge to his wife.
Mrs. Roosevelt has informed exceed
ingly clc-s friends that her husband
and she long ago decided that, purely
as a family affair, not a political one.
they and theirs would leave the white
house on March 4, 1909.
It is said that Mrs. Roosevelt re
luctantly consented to introduce her
young daughter Ethel to Washington
society, probably in Christmas week
of 1908.
Mrs. Roosevelt, says the confidants,
ACT OF “DRYS” MAY
EMBARRASS ROOSEVELT
IF congress at the coming session
prohibits the manufacture and
sale of alcoholic liquors in the District
of Columbia, as now seems probable,
President Roosevelt will be in an em
barrassing position—the prohibition
ists say “between the devil and the
deep sea.”
For tactical reasons the prohibi
tionists will tack their bill to an ap
propriation measure so as to assure
its passage. When such an appropria
tion bill comes befor the president
he will have to decide, first, whether
he can a “ford to jeopardize the inter
ests of the branch of the government
for which the appropriation is pro
posed, 1^ vetoing the whole bill in
order to get rid of the “liquor devil”
clause.
If he decides he cannot afford to
interpose a veto he will have to de
cide Yhether he slja11 obey it and
THE fascination of Washington as a
place of residence especially to i
those who have tasted the delights of
official life, is once more illustrated
by the announcement that Mrs. John
E. Reyburn, wife of the recently elect
ed mayor of Philadelphia, will con
tinue her home at the national capital,
notwithstanding her husband's posi
tion as the municipal chief of the city
of Brotherly Love.
Quite another type of woman seek
ing a residence in Washington as a re
lief from a less satisfying city is Mrs.
Thomas F. Ryan, wife of New York s
great financier, who last season
bought and furnished the former resi
dence of the late Mrs. Harriet Lane
Johnston with a view to passing her
winters in Washington. Right in the
heart of the Smartest residence sec
tion with Representative and Mrs.
Longworth as her immediate neiih- :
bors. Mrs. Ryan live} entirely apart
from the social world, but thoroughly
enjoying Washington, her Dew home
and the societ-y of her husband aid
children who come and go between
New York and Virginia with happy
unconcern for distance or expense.
Everybody, or nearly everybody,
socially speaking, called on Mr3.
Ryan, of course, but few persons got
beyond the white and yellow portal,
which Is guarded by a sphinxlike but
ler, who gently informs all comers h s '
mistress is "not at home.” Within a
week each person leaving a card re
ceives one In return, with the written
message that Mrs Ryan regrets she
is unable to receive or make visits.
No reason Is assigned Tor the inabil
ity, nor are the regrets qua.ified by
any polite adjective, but as Mrs. Ryan
drives, travels In her pedal car with
out any apparent Inconvenience, it is
assumed the fr-> " - no: physical;
!ng they took up a position in front
of the white house from -which they
could command both walks. The first
trespasser to appear was an Afro
American named Charles Lancaster.
It was still dark when he arrived, and
the bull at the west corner let him
get a little distance by before he made
up his mind as to Lancaster's unde
sirability. Then he discharged a bel
low and advanced on the enemy, head
down and tail up.
Lancaster moved eastward with
some haste, and the bull did likewise.
At the east corner the west: bull’s col
league came charging out with a few
savage remarks.
Lancaster emerged from the east
gate about as conservatively as a shot
departs from a gun, and the two bulls
fortunately got jammed in the door
way. The Afro-American never stop
ped till he got to the house of deten
tion, Meanwhile the two bulls,
finding the mollycoddle crop & ■
little short, tired of the job and wan
dered to Iowa Circle, where they were
later arrested by a policeman and
locked up.
pledge' to wife keeps
TEDDY FROM THIRD TERM
is determined to shield Ethel from the
publicity that came to Alice Roosevelt
and she would prefer that the former
girl wait until the family should be
established in private life. Still she
realizes what it is for a young girl to
make her social bow in the white
house, and for that reason she will
grant to Ethel just three months as a
social grown-up.
Mrs. Roosevelt from the first hour
of the president’s incumbency haai
been solicitous about its effect on her
children. Often she has pleaded with
persons not to spoil the children and
has exerted all her influence to keep
all their doings out of print.
It is likely Miss Roosevelt wlH
spend the two years after she leave*
Washington in traveling abroad and
studying music and languages. She
will not be 18 until the summer of
1909. >
T - ■ -
furnish no wine to guests at th*
White House. There Is no power oa
earth that can compel the president
to observe any law.
As all writs in the District of
Columbia run in his name, it is ob
vious that he'would not arrest him
self for disregarding the law. That
he bad disregarded it would be no
tice to all peace officers that he de
cided not to enforce it against him
self.
All presidents of the United State*
have at times set wine before their
guests. Until Theodore Roosevelt be
came president the White House had
a wine cellar and a dark room in the
attic set aside as a storeroom for
liquors.
He did away with them both. The
cellar is now used for machinery ana
the dark room is a part of the quar
ters for the servants.
WINTER LIFE AT CAPITAL
ATTRACTIVE TO WOMEN
^xtremely charitable and a devout
Roman Catholic, Mrs. Ryan devotes
time and means to the propagation of
that faith, especially in Virginia, her
husband’s native state.
To the few who have been fortunate
enough to make her acquaintance and
win her friendship, Mrs. Ryan is a gra
cious kindly woman of strong person
ally, interested in the affairs of the
world so far as an intelligent appreci
ation of life goes, but far removed
from its frivolities.
Piano Acts as Burglar Alarm.
Because a clumsy burglar stumbled
and sprawled over the keyboard of a
piano in the parlor of Dominick
Smith, a rich contractor at Pelham,
N. Y., the burglar and a “pal” were
compelled to abandon booty valued
at several thousand dollars which
they had packed in bundles ready to
carry away. , *
Quite recently Smith bought the
piano. He bought it solely for its
harmony-producing qualities and had
no idea it would serve as a burglar
alarm. Several silver articles of brlc
a brac were placed on t-'p of the piano
and evidently In reaching for these
one of the burglars fell, his hands
striking the keys. A loud, discord
ant rumble disturbed the quiet of the
house and aroused the whole family.
Smith seized his revolver and ran
down stairs 1n time to see two men
speeding down a path in the front
yard. He fired several shots at them,
but the bullets went wild. Near the
p'ano afterward the contractor found
the bundles of valuables the men bad
Intended to carry away, but which
they abandoned In their haste to es
cape when tb» piano proclaimed their
presence.
