88 
THE STANDARD GUIDE. 
COMMERCE. 
and its prisons, where in the seventeenth century were held autos da fe 
or burnings of heretics. 
The Municipal Police was organized in 1898 by John McCullagh, ex¬ 
chief of police of New York city. The personnel was carefully selected 
from the beginning, many of those enrolled in the force having served in 
the Cuban Army, and the Havana organization enjoys a creditable prestige. 
In physique, the Havana policeman presents a marked contrast with his 
brother of the New York Broadway Squad. He is decidedly slight of 
figure, and the close-fitting blue linen uniform accentuates this characteristic. 
Havana is by no means a quiet town at night, and we may be thank¬ 
ful that the reign of the Serenos has passed. These were night watchmen 
provided with dark lantern, pistol, pike, whistle and rope, who through 
the night patrolled the streets, calling out the hours, and every thirty 
minutes announcing the state of the weather; as the Havana night is 
usually serene, their iteration of the cry “Sereno” gave them the popular 
name. 
The constabulary cf the Island consists of the Rural Guard (Guardia 
Rural), which was organized in 1899 chiefly from the ranks of the Cuban 
Army. In 1904 the Guard numbered 3,020; in April of that year Presi- 
