IKN

Take physic, pomp

The Cuban innocent

Imran Garda of Al Jazz had a great idea: Instead of one of those boring year-in-review posts on his blog, he decided to review the news year 1910, one hundred years ago, by checking back at old newspapers and copy. There are lots of intruiging and great fun snippets found by Imran (e.g. 1 scientists divided as to the value of milk pasteurization, e.g. 2 Darwin’s theory losing ground)  but this one excerpted below caught my eye more than any of them. 

“The Pittsburgh Press of June 28, 1910 had a tantalizing headline:

HAVANA TO BE THE MECCA OF GAMBLERS
Biggest sporting resort in western hemisphere to be erected in Cuban capital
“It will be backed by Cuban and American capitalists who have incorporated a $400,000 company.”
“The promoters plan to make Havana the biggest gambling Mecca in the world outside of Monte Carlo and possibly Nice and Venice…”

“The franchise gives the company the right to use during its ‘carnival seasons’ all the vacant lots belonging to the city, on which it is proposed to erect temporary gambling booths and places for other amusements. The purpose of this is to give the company an ironclad monopoly on all gambling privileges in the city.

“The city authorities have promised the utmost security from CONTINUES HERE

Surely a great plan. What could possibly go wrong?

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