Correspondence
A LETTER FROH NEW ORLEANS.
[To the Editor Of the SeEcr.vronj [To the Editor Of the SeEcr.vronj
Sin,-- The winter's tourist finds himself somewhat disap- pointed when he reaches New Orleans, for instead of the dreamy Southern resort he has been led to expect, with narrow, crooked • streets,- with palm-lined patios, with old house's flanked by iron-grilled balconies, he leaves the train to find himself in a metropolis the replica of the one he left in the North.
The slogan, " The City Care.-Forgot," seems inept. How- ever, as in no other place in the country, there are two distinct sections in New Orleans, sharply divided by a wide avenue. One, a bustling, modern business centre of sky-scrapers and- " apartment houses," of newly constructed hotels to accommo- date the needs of a city forging to the front as the second air port in the United States, is distinctly American. The Other section, the historic Vieux C-arre, has been untouched by. progress. The vivid scarlet poinsettia, the crepe myrtle, the magnolia, flourish in sunny quaint courtyardS.; the green palms and banana or plantain -trees delight the visitor from a snow-covered land. French is the chosen language, even- the negroes speaking a patois of their own, and as the season advances, the narrow Rue Royale, with its antique shops, its landmarks surrounding the Place d'Armes, is thronged. The tourist has found what he sought.
Toward the north of the city lies . Lake Pontchartrain, ant it is here that plans have been formulated to locate a muni- eipal airport, Class One, which when finished will be the most complete and accessible landing field in the entire country. For it is only six miles from the centre of the city ; in fact, closer to Canal Street, the_great business mart, than the re.si-. dential part of town, and private 'planes can be maintained there at a reasonable rental. The initial expense of this Vast undertaking will be two million dollars.
The political situation in the city and state has been rather tense for some months, but the Governor, Huey P. Long, the yoUngest State executive in the country (he is only thirty- • three) and rated as a demagogue in South Louisiana, has bowled 'over all opposition by putting through a four-cent gasoline tax which merles with it a thirty million dollar bond issue for the immediate asphalting of the main highways of the. State. The only snag he has met in his programme was in the matter of the United States Army flying base. The War Department .decided to locate its third attack field at Shreveport, a city in the northern part of the State near the Texii.s 'border. .Thia would mean an expenditure of millions of dollars, the location of thousands of 'planes, and a personnel of some three thousand men.
However,' after the War Department had approved the site, it 'Was found that 'through an error, the Bill authorizing Shreveport to Provide'the necessary ground was not in order. The Governor agreed to put up a Bill that would solve the difficulty if the City 'and parish. would support all his other legislation. This they indignantly refused to do, and event- ually he surrendered, with the result that a Bill was passed insuring the -construction of a project that will be beneficial to the entire State.
The racing season in New Orleans commenced on Thanks- giving Day .in NoveMber, but betting is not so high as in former years. With the opening of the second track on New Year's Day, however, the operators may look for a more lucrative finish to the season. There will be no dog racing this winter, the State legislature having prohibited it. Jai Alai (a variation of the Basque pelota) is the big attraction for tourists, and the game -is played nightly to crowded houses.
On the outskirts of the city a miniature Monte Carlo has been flourishing for several seasons. -Before the big winter - crowds tame South this year the Governor called out the • State Militia to close up all gambling houses and a spectacular , bonfire was staged at the Army barracks, when roulette wheels and other paraphernalia were burned in open field by the soldiers, the sheriff in the offending parish having refused to act.
-In hornier years the social season of New Orleans opened with a:brilliant Twelfth Night Ball in January. This year the Ball of Alexis. will inaugurate the carnival season on New Year's Eve, and from that night until the dawn of Ash Wed- . nesday the city will have the most congested and sparkling round' of entertainments that we have had for many seasons. The carnival organizations have increased their subscriptions for the occasion. We hear of magnificent productions in which popular debutantes will be chosen for the courts, with a queen chosen for each ball. Who will be queen of carnival is the question agitating the younger set, but as tradition has decreed absolute secrecy, not until Mardi Gras, the maddest, merriest day in the year, will the identity of the gracious queen ruling over the city be divulged.—I- am, Sir, Sec., Y NEW ORLEANS CoRttEsPoNDENT
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