The National geographic magazine . the fastest, each came andwent without a single case. The wise, conscientious, persistentmeasures which for three years theUnited States officers have been enforc-ing throughout Habana, despite the op-position and dislike of the Cubans, havedelivered the city of its old foes—filthand filth diseases. The illustrations that accompany thisbrief paper show strikingly the contrastbetween Habana of the past and Ha-bana of today. The pictures wereloaned to this Magazine by Major Black, of the Engineer Corps of theU. S. Army. On the United States oc-cupation of
The National geographic magazine . the fastest, each came andwent without a single case. The wise, conscientious, persistentmeasures which for three years theUnited States officers have been enforc-ing throughout Habana, despite the op-position and dislike of the Cubans, havedelivered the city of its old foes—filthand filth diseases. The illustrations that accompany thisbrief paper show strikingly the contrastbetween Habana of the past and Ha-bana of today. The pictures wereloaned to this Magazine by Major Black, of the Engineer Corps of theU. S. Army. On the United States oc-cupation of Habana, January, 1899, toMajor Black was given charge of theengineering work of the city, and tohim are due in large measure the splen-did results that have been courageous and broad-minded en-thusiasm overcame prejudice and oppo-sition and found inexpensive methodsof accomplishing tasks which werethought impracticable because of theirsupposed cost. By the end of the second year ofAmerican occupation every house in. American Progress in Habana 99 the city had been cleaned from top tobottom at least once under the super-vision of American officers. PictureNo. i shows the cleaning squad in frontof a house which was about to be at-tacked. The squad washed the floorswith electrozone (made by the elec-trolysis of sea water) and the walls witha solution of bichloride of many as 16,000 houses were cleanedin this way in a single month. Whenthe squad left a house it was as cleanand spotless as Spotless Town. Allthis cleansing was done by hired Cubansunder the personal direction of an Amer-ican officer. The Cuban of high or lowdegree had to have his house purified,and his remonstrances availed ma>- at first sight seem to have beenan arbitrary course of proceedings, toenter a mans house thus and wash itwhile he and his family looked on, but the health and safety of the wholepeople demanded that a complete cleans-ing of the city be made. The sightst
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectgeography, bookyear18
