The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1904-06-25
FILIPINO EXHIBIT
IS |hAUGURATED
One of the Most Interesting Sec.
tions of the Worlds Fair.
A GREAT PARADE OF NATIVES
All Sorts Were Seen, From the
Naked, Head = Hunting Igor
roles to the HiEhIy-Trainea
Scouts and ConstnbuIary.

St. Louis, June 18.--With the great
est parade of the tribal people of the
far east which the United States has
ever witnessed, the Philippine EXPOSE
ton at the Worlds fair was formally
opened to the public in its entirety to-
day, and was, at the same time, offered
by DR., W. P. Wilson, chairman of the
Philippine exposition board, to Col.
Clarence r. Edwards, chief of insular
affairs of the war department. Col.
Edwards, who, as Gen. Lawton's ad-
jutant, was with the latter at the time
Of his tragic death In the Philippines,
after receiving for the war department
the great exposition Of the territory
which he helped to win for the United
States, in turn committed it to the
keeping of President Francis, of the
Louisiana Purchase exposition.
The exercises took place from the
grandstand erected on the large parade
grounds of the Philippine constabulary.
From this stand Col. Edwards reviewed
the panorama Of native life, realizing
for the first time what a strong picture
Of the Philippine islands the exposition
board has painted to the order of the
var department, and how broad a story
Of economic development has been Of
fered the ethnologist.
Eleven Hundre Natives.
Eleven hundred natives of the Philip
pine islands, led by the native bands
Of the Philippine scouts and the
constabulary, presented the greatest
museum of economic gradations, from
the most primitive man up, which
any portion of the civilized world
has ever had the opportunity to
enjoy. From the dwarf Negrito,
the aboriginal race Of the peo-
pie known to the ethnologist, the
Islands, and Il of the most primitive
people known to the e~thnoloist, the
story Of the far east was unfolded
through varying grades of civilization
up to the highly skilled Tagalog and
Visayan and the well-disciplined wear
er of the United States uniform, 440 Of
whom marched by in the scouts bat
talon.
A Diversity of Peoples.
The timid, weakly-developed Negrito,
who lights his fire by saving one stick
of bamboo with another, and is SO re-
markedly skillful with his bow and
poisoned arrow; the beautifully-de-
veloped dog-eating and head-hunting
IgorrUte, wearing only a continuous
smile and a pair of four-in-hand trous-
given to ~cannibalistic practices, and
even now slaughtering United States
soldiers in Mindanao; the friendly Sa-
NAL Moro, whose village over the
waters of Arrowhead lake is the Ven
Ice of the Worlds fair; the land-tilling
Tinguiane; the mining Suyoc Igorrote,
and the beautiful Visayan maiden and
courtly Visayan dandy were all seen in
the procession, representing villages of
native life to be found on the Philip
pine exposition grounds.
A Variety of Music.
Native tomtoms and long tree-trunk
drums were heard and the 80 Visayans
were accompanied by the skilled WIS.,
ayan orchestra Of 16 pieces. The tree
dwelling Moro, for once, accommodated
himself to a movement over something
besides the limbs of the large oak
which he inhabits with his small dog
kennel hut or the exposition grounds.
All of the exhibit buildings were
opened, and with 10000 electric lights
to aid, will be open until II O'Clock
each night. There are buildings Of
commerce, forestry, fisheries, agricul-
ture, manufactures, education, - model
school, art, e%thnology, fine arts and
war, the latter filled with war material,
being a copy of the walled city Of Ma
Mia.