Show r Cuba Today Is Vastly Changed From Days of Columbus Visit i t 4 war r t aap f t A Ax I II x W w A I CUBAN WOMEN have balC been organized into a reserve re army to aid and amI supplement the tlc islands island's i antl regular r lIlar military unit Pictured I here arc a number of 01 volunteers t to the corps corp as aJ they are aro lined up Il for lor inspection by their commanding officer o Col Cot tulgencio Fulgencia Batista Is 18 IsNow IsNow Havana Capital City Now a n Modern Seaport Prepared by National N th nal G Society Washington Jott D. D D C. C C c Service u As the skyline of Havana rises from the deep bluer blue r waters of the Gulf of Mexico and takes form one wonders of the thrill that Columbus must have felt on that memo memo- memorable memorable memorable rable October 27 1492 when first his tired eyes beheld the virgin shores of the island and his mind quickened at nt atthe atthe the vision of gold and other precious metals he hoped this fair territory would yield to the coffers cotTers of Spain What would be his feeling now were he to approach the Cuban cap capital p ital and see set the golden dome of the new Capitol building glittering in the I 1 r rap y Y ap k aya Y sf JiL I a V HERE lIERE IS COL Fulgencio Batista dictator of Cuba who rose from a lowly ranking ng army officer to become Number One man of the tle republic Last year on In a n trip to the tho United States Batista was um given a royal recep reception reception tion by the federal fell era 1 government sunlight Landing he would feel In in- Increased increased creased awe at the size and the splendor of ot this building which would eclipse anything known to him Then someone might whisper in his ear that had been spent in its construction and that that- e set in the floor beneath its golden dome is a carat 24 diamond From that diamond Cuban dis dis- distances distances distances are measured It Is a glisten glisten- glistening glistening ing marker corresponding to the Zero Milestone limestone south of the Whitehouse White WhiteHouse House In Washington Weather Beaten Harbor Barbor Grim and weather-beaten weather Morro Castle since 1597 has stood guard over the necked bottlenecked harbor of Ha lla- vana As ones one's ship slips softly through the narrow channel the 1 massive walls and tower of o the fort fortS fortress fortress ress rise sheer to the left while to the right the shore seems so 80 close that one could almost shake hands with the people on the sea wall No doubt many visitors have had several years of Spanish at school but the chances are that they will not understand the rapid fire chat chat- chatter chatter chatter ter of boatmen porters and feurs It sounds so different Much cf of it is different Just as everyday English is far from the correct and precise language of the classroom Venturing into the older sections of If Havana a visitor finds narrow streets and tiny sidewalks not more I Ithan than 18 inches wide The pedestrian brushes against people on In them 1 J I J n C dows Here lIere it is customary to walk walkin in the street using the sidewalk only as a safety zone to let some some vehicle pats pas as you flatten yourself apprehensively against the wall In this area too both homes and shops are built flush to the side side- sidewalks walks They have massive wooden doors with huge metal knockers many of them shaped like a hand an oddly coiled called serpent or a gar car gargoyle goyle goy Ie with a ball in its mouth with which you may set up a resounding demand for admittance Iron liars on Windows I IThe I The windows are in nearly every case enclosed with iron bars those of the more mora pretentious residences I having fancy scroll patterns Most I of them have a hinged section at nt a convenient height which may be bo opened when desired so that one cue I Imay may lean out and see sec what is going gang gangon on farther down the street To us this custom may seem strange ex- ex except ex ex- except I for jails or banks yet it pro pro- provides provides vides ventilation without the tile danger of intruders Cuban stores arc are blessed with an I Infinite variety of names the names the small smaller er the establishment the more pone pan ponderous derous the name As a rule the Ule name selected has no bearing on the nature of the business conduct conduct- conducted ed as in the case of a small laundry bearing the royal designation of Al Ale Alfonso Alfonso fonso XII a tailor shop entitled Nueva New Retreat El EI The Cannon Shot ShoU a photograph and furniture store or Flor Fior de OrIente Flower of ot the Orient a butcher shop The ground floor of many houses is often set back some distance and Imd the second story called the first floor is built bum out over the side sidewalk walk thus forming a broad brond arcade with heavy supporting columns of masonry rising from the curb The rooms of an older house are ore huge the ceilings high often high often 15 to 18 feet high high and and the floors usually of marble or tile tHe Between the rooms are ornamental doors the up up- upper upper upper per part mostly of colored or frosted glass to make them opaque Air can circulate freely over them as they do not reach the lintel This gives some ventilation for general general- generally ly at night all outside doors and windows are closed to keep out the thc I Inight night air which according to legend leg leg- legend legi legend i end is thought to be injurious I There are no in built-in closets and the walls are of painted plaster t tt J l I I 1 i NA g il I k r nl 1 d J s i itai tai j c j i i- i 1 j t 1 t J t W h ha J 1 t j I 1 I Ip a da N p 1 1 4 fh 1 j r. r 9 Rf e j tr l t. t y i 11 i f d t i t f l f JJ f 11 1 i t Mt 4 t P j Ji fi J j i 4 q REMEMBER TILE THE MAINE This Thil monument in Havana is Cubas Cuba's way of remembering the American sailors who ratio lost IDS their lives liv ulen the tile battleship Maine exploded in Havana liar bar barter harbor bor ter on February 1898 The event was considered a contributory contributory tory factor to the Spanish Spanish-Amer ican lean war tear and on each anniversary anniversary sary ary of tile the historic event Cuba pays pas homage to the tile victims victim without benefit of wallpaper The u n r. r n 1 1 Nn of ot a center table with much bric-a-brac bric while along the walls are two rows of chairs facing each other placed with military preci preciSian sion Sian |