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ABOUT FLORIDA AND TAMPA HE population of Florida is very het erogeneous. A large proportion of the inhabitants are immigrants from va rious sections of our Union, and great numbers are of foreign birth. This statement is almost equally true of both the rural and the urban population. Thousands of foreigners are engaged in fishing, sponging, fruit culture, vegeta- '‘W ble-growing and other occupations, outside of the towns, and other thousands, from the northern, east ern and western states of our country, are inter ested in the pursuits just named, as, also, in ag riculture, herding, lumbering and naval stores; while in the cities the large percentage of aliens is ob vious to even a casual observer. There are numbers of thriving towns in the state, several of which may be justly denominated cities. Os these, the two largest are Tampa and Jackson ville; the former being, as I am reliably informed, now considerably in the lead, as to population and business. Geographical Position. It is chiefly with the Florida metropolis, that this, my second paper, will be concerned. Tampa Bay is a magnificent body of water, ex tending northerly about forty miles from its gulf entrance; but the line of direction being diagonal to the general trend of the coast, it is at no point that far from the open sea. The bay is double headed—or lobed—and is probably twenty or twenty-five miles in width. It is said to be, in some respects, the finest harbor on the Florida coast, and being the farthest (available one) south, it appears destined to become the most important point on the gulf, with reference to the Panama Canal, in its relation to *our large eastern cities and European ports. The completion of that great enterprise will necessitate a ship canal across the Florida peninsula in the interest of both expedition and safety from the dangerous reel]s near the strait and bordering the gulf stream. If the Atlantic Ocean, direct, is to be the objective end of such a waterway (as would seem proper, in view of the shallowness of the St. Johns bar), the canal can be dug, perhaps, as cheaply from Tampa as from any other point; besides which, several other features are claimed as of practical advantage in favor of this route. Many fresh water streams flow into Tampa Bay, the principal ones being the Manatee river on the east, and the Hillsborough at the northwest corner of the eastern lobe of the bay. At the mouth of the Hillsborough, on both banks of the river, and for some distance along the bay shore, the city of Tampa is situated. East of Tampa, and with no natural line of de marcation between, lies Fort Brooke, extending for a short distance along the bay; and East Tampa, itself a growing, thriving city, is to be seen just across the river, to the west. A drawbridge for pas sage of all kinds, including electric cars, connects the two cities. At a distance of nine miles to the southward, connected with the metropolis by the Atlantic Coast Line railroad, as well as an electric trolley road, and near the extremity of the peninsula which bifurcates the bay, is located Port Tampa—a com munity divided into two municipalities, called, re spectively, “The Port,” and “Port Tampa City.” The depth of water at the port is from twenty to twenty-five feet, and the largest vessels that navi gate the gulf can come up alongside the docks. The channel of the bay up to Tampa is being dredged out to a depth of twenty feet with the ultimate purpose, I understand, of carrying it deeper still, as need may require. The river already has ample depth for all present or immediately future demands. That portion of Tampa situated on the west side of thp Hillsborough, south of West Tampa, and The Golden Age for September 27, 1906. By ROBERT H. HARRIS. tending for some distance along the bay, and a hand some boulevard, is called Hyde Park. It is over there that the celebrated Tampa Bay Hotel, built by the late H. B. Plant, at a cost, I have been as sured, of something like $1,000,000, is located, in the midst of probably the loveliest hotel grounds in the whole land. Hyde Park contains many splendid residences, surrounded by an extensively varied tropical growth of romantic beauty. A draw bridge, equipped for every variety of transit, con nects that division with the main body of the city. The Spanish Section. A large section of Tampa, eastward, is called Ybor—pronounced Ee-bore—and was named for a Spaniard pioneer in the cigar business here. Its population consists, I am told, principally of 12,000 or 13,000 Cubans, perhaps 2,000 Italians—the quar ters being called “Little Italy”—and a large num ber of Spaniards. A good many Americans, how ever, live in Ybor, besides hundreds of negroes. At the same time, large numbers of Cubans, Span iards and people of other foreign nationalities, re side in every section of Tampa, as well as of its suburbs. The elevation of the entire city is over twenty feet above high water mark, and the altitude of the northern portion—called “The Heights” is nearly sixty feet. That extensive section, beautiful by nature, as well as (much of it) elaborated by art—is a favorite residence locality—-many elegant and charming homes being located there, in groves U: ' ' ' '■ . A Typical Florida Scene. of oak, orange and grape-fruit, looking out through avenues of palms, or embowered in shrubbery and flowers of nearly every clime. The population of the city proper is, as I am informed, over 41,000. If Fort Brooke and West Tampa were included—as they ought to be—l am assured that the number of inhabitants would be more than 50,000. The town, with the acknowledged suburbs, cov ers an area of more than three miles in length, by over two miles in breadth. It is quite solidly built up; it has an extensive trolley-car system, numbers of the principal streets are beautifully paved with vitrified brick, several are laid with cypress blocks, which are soon to be superseded by bricks, and some (notably the two lovely driveways of “The Boule vard,” southward along the bay shore, and Nebraska Avenue, northward to the Sulphur Springs) are of rammed calcareous day. There are many handsome private residences in Tampa and the suburbs along Nebraska Avenue and the “Boulevard,” while on both sides of the electric railroad and boulevard, from the city to Ballast Point (a charming pleasure resort on the hay) are to be seen numerous elegant villas and mansions of ornate architecture. The population of the entire cluster of communi ties is cosmopolitan. Not only from, perhaps, ev ery state in our federal union, but from many for eign nations, as well, the people have come. One may hear on the streets, besides English (“as she is spoke”), Spanish, Cuban (which is a Spanish patois), Italian, Greek, German, Polish, Russian. Swedish, Lingua Franca (not pure French). Yiddish. Syrian, Chinese, Japanese and Hash. (A great many people outside of Tampa speak Hash, espe cially Southerners who ape Yankees and Western- ers.) And when foreign sailors “on shore leave,” come rolling in from the ships at anchor below, various other strange “Hugos” may be heard. I believe fully 95 per cent, of the entire population, (men and boys) smoke tobacco in some form. Tampa is a very important business center, and is destined to become vastly more important. The principal lines of business are the cigar industry; merchandise (wholesale and retail), railroad opera tions, the shipping of fruits, vegetables, fish and cattle, the phosphate, lumbering and naval stores enterprises, real estate transactions and banking. Fifty years ago, this city was an insignificant fishing hamlet. Twenty years or so ago its popu lation numbered less than 1,200. For many years growth was very slow. In the late nineties came a renaissance. In 1900 the census report gave the population as 22,000. To-day it is nearly double that figure. And growth of all kinds is more rapid now than ever before. Last year there were erected over 1,000 new structures. Scores upon scores are now going up in every direction. “The city is in the act of laying down eighteen miles of brick pav ing and is putting a complete sewerage system on every foot of the streets.” Fine Financial Standing. Os the six banks in Tampa, the First National stood eighth on “the honor roll” in the United States last year. (Being on the honor roll has ref erence to surplus in proportion to capital.) The local deposits in the banks of the city for 1905, aggregated $4,617,896. The federal government receipts for 1905 were: Postoffice, $74,362; Internal Revenue, $629,124; Custom House, $1,604,826. Total, $2,369,312. The Atlantic Coast Line and the Seaboard Air Line Railway systems have terminal plants at this point, with several roads each leading out in various directions; and two other systems are at this time projecting lines to this port. The output of clear Havana cigars from the one hundred and forty odd factories (in Tampa and West Tampa) was, last year, 225,430,000, of more than $15,000,000 value. Os that amount, besides what was banked and invested, $7,000,000 were ex pended in wages to the 9,550 operatives—nearly $135,000 a week. These salaries and wages added to those paid out in other lines of business, aggre gate probably $200,000 paid to employes every week in the year! The output of cigars, up to July this year, was 25,000,000 more than for the same period last year, and the total figured on for 1906 is 270,000,000, worth aoveir $16,000,000. The entire product for the whole of Cuba for the last year, was less than 2,000,000 in excess of that from Tampa alone! Among the public buildings in this city the prin cipal are the government building, of brick and marble (principally) and sandstone, costing $365,- 000; the county court-house, brick, with stone trim mings, costing $80,000; a number of church edi fices and several school structures. The finest church building is the Catholic Cathedral, of granite and marble (chiefly) with fulvous stone trimmings, erected and furnished at a cost of $250,000. AH the orthodox denominations, as well as some heterodox, are represented here. Among the whites the Methodist, by three churches; the Catholics, by two; the Baptists, by two; the Presbyterians, by two; the Jews, by two congregations; the Lutherans, by one church; the Second Adventists, by one; Christians, by one; the Episcopalians, by one; the Y. M. C. A., by one organization; the Salvation Army, by one station, and the Christian Scientists, by one society. There may be. also, other sodali ties of which I am not yet informed. And besides all these, the negroes maintain six Methodist church es, three Baptist churches and one Episcopal church. I understand that there are many Catholics among (he negroes, but they are not separately prganized. 11