The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-09-03
MANILz,s FOURTH OF JULY.
Filipino School Children Sing "S1y Country
IT'S of Thee"

| only a little OF being regular old time affair.
| When the Filipino children tried TO sing, NY
| County, It's OF Thee" tho horn blowers in tho
| band stand did famous stunt and the strains Of
| the beautiful old anthem rose triumphant over the
| walled city. The local papers all speak Of II as
the first celebration OF the Fourth Of July in the
| Philippines, but II wasn't There was one last
| year in Cavite when Gen Anderson reviewed the
troops of the nrst ex poditon and Aeuinsldo was
| indisposed and couldn't come To see the show.
But he sent his band instead and II played
| Faust" music and the "Tannhauser
overture and that sort Of thing, and
no one cared whether AEuinsldO hoard
| II OF not This, however, was the hrst cele-
bration Of Independence Day in Manila, and frum
| various points OF view II was a oorkoL began
early and hold on until late, any ucil-rerulatcd
celebration should and there several general
| orders about II which wore vioatod with IMMUNITY
| and 70 the hearts content THAT'S what made IL
| SO thoroughly American. An the Idans and regu-
| lations made with precision and due reg ard
| for the circumstances, and then everybody did
just exactly as he liked. We are great people
| Al the beginning Of the day the bands play cd
| the national airs. That liz, when the burlers
| blew the reveille the bands turned out and did
| the Star Spanglod Banner" After that nobody
| was permitted to discharge fireworks Of any do
scrfsiun within the limits Of tho city except on The
| Luneta, under such regulations as Che Provost
Marshal shgnld make. The Provost Marshal
moi having made any ordnrs for the use Of the
Lunota and the order Of restriction not hayinr
becn published the result was that al the streets
| VIVID fun of frccrackeun all the time But instead
Of having eiE ut thousand Arcs and I, million run
Always as would have happened in almost any
town AT home there was hardly an accident
| The Filipino pony is long suffering beast and
has endured SO many worse things Chat nrocrack-
| ers have terrors whatever for him "a
Every light battery in Che command win FIRE
the salute TO the Union al noun those in the city
being assembled ON the Luneta for that purpose
So fhe order road, but when II came TO noon and We
gvt out fhe Luneta TO sec and hear the banging
that was going to mako the F1ipinos think
the war was on for sure there was only
one battery OF what became of the
others there WAS ne explanation
Our in the bay there were some gray
coated warships that had decorated themselves
in al kinds Of ooored bunting. and they cut loose
with their six Founders al noon in enthusiastic
style Down at linus and up at San Fernando
there were salutos also, and IN the evening the
San Fernando rebels took advantage OF the day
10 emphasize their demands with few rife bull
lets fired al outposts But they reckoned with
out their host they have done on several similar
OCCASIONS TWAS like the case The new policeman
reported Of a man who built q kerosene FIRE in his
showcase to clean it NO damage" said the COP
on his slip al the station house only TO he show
| case" The result undoubtedly made Che FIJI
pinos feel like that other man who as Che COP
reported, fell of stool in some unknown manner,
and broke his leg
The great show on the Luneta in tho After
noon. There the school children were 10 march
al o'clock 5000 strong, each carrying the Stars
and Stripes and each ready to sing America"
and all the rest Of the really patriotic airs that
60 we'll on such occasions Well they marched,
and If there were not ZOO Of them never will
tell how many there were, for didn't count them,
They made a fine show, with their newest and
cleanest and purplest shirts tapping about over
their white trousers and most Of Thorn in shoea
thereby bearing out the prediction OF the Hon.
Oscar F. Williams who was consul here until
an order took away his job that there was q great
field for Tho United States here in the develop
mcnt of the shoe industry. The little shavers
were as proud OF themselves as any poaooeks you
ever saw, and when IL came time for them 10 try
10 sing, they stood up and whaled away In their
utmost endeavor to drown out the weIl-doing
band. The band was the feature Of the day bar
ring long haired man who being a govern
ment contractor. naturally undertook the Job
Of reading the Declaration Of Independence 70
the little Tagals in the purple shirts and fedora
hats he was a nice oleagnous man, and he re-
cited the sonorous phrases OF the declaration
with an JUNCTION that would have made the so
bcrest Tagal in the crowd laugh if he could have
understood what in thunder il al about
The band was principally Taeal affair under
the direction Of the leader OF the band Of the
Sixth Artillery he had been al work with them
for long time and the result was very satisfac-
tory. The TaRals arc really wonderful mui-
clans and the bsndmaster Of the Sixth had
improved his opportunity.
But Just as in so many other things the SHOW
is not the show, but they that co." the Luneta
was the show Of the celebration. No photograph
OF the Luneta that have ever seen conveys any
sort Of an idea Of what II is like, principally for
the reason that they all taken when the place
is as bare Of occupants as the floor OF a powder
mill Just after an explosion Never since there
has been Luneta has there been such a crowd
as was there yesterday afternoon Everything
In the city that would run on wheels was out
with at least two persons in IL Dulles CARO-
malta, caritola carlton carruaie MILFORD, Wis Avis
calesa, calesin, rock away, trap hansom am
busnce and four-mue wagon. even the pitiabe
little one-horse street cars whose lines run COM
parauvely near the Luneta, stopped to let their
occupants become a part Of the show. In the
band stand in the centre OF the place were the mu-
sicians, and around il the school children
The rest Of the space inside of the roadway was
damned and crowded with all sorts and condi-
tons Of men and boys nearly all Of them shoot
ing frecrackers as fast as they could II lacked
only The boys hawking popcorn and pink lemon
ade and that sort Of thing to be a regular old
fashioned county fair. The boys and the men
who were thaving the fun with the ere works
kept up lively popping. Most Of the time they
threw the lighted crackers over the heads Of the
crowd to fall where they might and the wonder
Is that there we're no serious accidents but every
body seemed To come off whole One feature Of
II the Filipinos understood thoroughly, il was a
holiday. They enjoyed that part whether any
other appealed TO them or not
Admiral Watson and the officers OF the flag
ship Baltimore held a reception in the afternoon
as did Col Mccoy and the staff OF the Colorado
regiment which is soon TO 90 homo In the even
ing there were several dances, one OF which was
advertised for "all night to escape the riEors Of
the half paste eight closing law. All in all II was
a great Fourth. There was Just one thing the
matter il was not in God S country