Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 January 1899 — TO CLEAN UP HAVANA. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

TO CLEAN UP HAVANA.

TASK OF SCRUBBING OUT THAT CITY IS A BIG ONE. It Will Require Time to Pnt jtheUnhealth; Cuban Capital in a Sanitary Condition—American Energy Now Bnay with the Great Undertaking. The work of reorganizing the civil government in Havana is now under way, and though the difficulties are naturally great it is encouraging to learn through the report of Surgeon General Sternberg, who has returned from Cuba, that thjj'l Americans are making remarkable headway. Gen. Ludlow has in charge the work 1 of rehabilitation in Havana and his energy has already accomplished much. The sanitary regeneration of the capital is the most difficult problem that confronts the Americans and according to Surgeon General Sternberg the work will require time, patience and money. Under the wise direction of Gen. Ludlow a good beginning has been made and the surgeon general gives it as his opinion that the city will be in such condition by summer as will permit unacclimated persons to live in it. To those who know the sanitary condition of Havana under Spanish rule this means much. The city was really little less than a plague spot. There were foul pools on the streets, spreading their poisonous exhalations underthe tropical sun. The carcasses of dead animals, such as dogs and cats, were gllowed to lie on the streets and decompose until picked apart by buzzards. Vaults in private houses frequently connected with drains just under the pavement along their frontage and these drains of loose brick or stoiie permitted leaks, so that the pavement was rendered foul and unhealthy. Beneath each kitchen stood'a cesspool that emitted its poisonous odors through each building and on the streets garbage was allowed to rot iq the sun. , /4h2 New Havana. But all this is now being changed. Garbage will in future be removed daily, cesspools will be cleaned and closed, sanitary closets connecting with sewers will take the place of vaults and dogs and cats after death will find other resting places than the streets. Naturally, in order to carry out such sanitary reforms in full throughout the city will require a good deal of energy and

time, especially in the building of sewers; and until these are in readiness the system of vaults will remain. But a strict inspection of them will be enforced and the poisonous leaks will be stopped. To instance how unhealthy the condition of life is in Havana the recent experience in the quarters occupied by Gen. Ludlow, near the palace, may be cited. There the air proved so foul that candles were extinguished by it and even cats and dogs, used as they were to the odors of the capital, were suffocated- when forced to breathe it. In carrying out his reforms Gen. Ludlow is experiencing the proverbial conservatism of the Spaniard and for that matter the Cuban. The older residents regard the new health regulations as unnecessary, and well-to-do and well-inform-ed persons in making their objections describe themselves as “healthy enough.” But “healthy enough” for the Spaniard does not mean “healthy enough” for the American and the sanitaty reforms will be carried through until Havana is made as clean and wholesome as the average American city. One fortunate thing is noted by Surgeon General Sternberg, namely, that the health of American troops in and near Havana is good. “Medical officers, however,” adds Gen. Sternberg, “generally apprehend that there will be considerable sickness as the unhealthy season approaches, and strenuous efforts are being made to prepare for a large number of sick in case the military situation makes it necessary to retain a considerable body of troops in Cuba during the summer months. “Orders have been given for the preparation of the Spanish military hospital, Alphonse XHI., which has a capacity of 2,000 beds; also for an officers’ hospital at the Velado and for another hospital for infectious diseases.”

STREET SCENE IN HAVANA.