The Washington times., 1911-04-24


of Auahuac. II was celebrated
as usual, despite the flying
alarms of war. A procession composed
of the heads OF the municipal govern
ment, the leading and most influential
citizens of Guayana, and of dignitaries
of the church, escorted by blarinS bands
and such militia as had not received its
marching orders. passed through the
streets in the middle of the afternoon,
making for the statue of Ell Liberador-
a magnificent equestrian figure conspic-
uous in the Plaza de la Reforma, over
against the Palacio Federal, and facing
that of the president himself. which
stood nearer to the Green House.
Arriving in the plaza, there was a
brief ceremony. The mayor OF the city
made a short address, recounting the
liberator's career. and dwelling upon
the tragic circumstances of his death
for he perished alone, without friends or
money, in exile from the land which, al
most by his unaided efforts, he had
freed from the CALLING yoke of Spain.
No reference to the existing state of
affairs was made-nor would il have
been permitted, in fact The worthy
mayors official eloquence flowed on
uninterrupted, a weariSome succession
trite eulogistic phrases: 1t was received
in respectful silence.
At the close he waved an arm al the
bronze figure behind him. and cried:
Men of Anahuac, behold your liber-
/
life cast him out to break his heart on
foreign soil, 1t now cherishes and hon
ors his immortal memory, but the hurt
that 1t did him can never be healed.
See, then, that you do not again be
blind to the merits of such a great
soul, so nobly patriotic as the father Of
our liberties"'
Here shrill cheering broke forth, and
the waving of handkerchiefs. In the
midst of the excitement there were
few cries, quickly hushed, or ''Rojas!
Vive la libertad! Rojas!" But the de-
termined attitude of the, Bulldogs in
front of the Green House, presa g1ng
swift trouble in case of an outbreak,
awed to silence even the most enthusi-
astic partisans of the revolution.
Thus, contrary to expectation. the day
passed quietly. Following upon the
speech-making, young native girls at
tired in white had advanced and fes-
tooned the statue with garlands and
wreaths of immortelles: and then the
gathering had broken up without dis
! order. The more conservative citizens
made for their homes: others fiocked to
the cafes, to make merry and to listen
| to the playing Of the band. For Ma
lone, although denying the light of his
countenanCe to the ceremonies, for the
! first time in his administration-and
| thereby arousing still further hostile
! critICism-had been Obliged to make
| concessions to public feeling. Against
| policy, he permitted the opening Of the
| DOIqueGldS, tent Ills UluSlCldLS lO us
course from the bandstand in the plaza,
and provided the fireworks for the even
! ing's entertainment.
The error was great, but not neces-
sarily disastrous, had it not been for
! contingencies quite unforeseen.
| Toward o'clock-the hour set for
the display of pyrotechnics-a dense
| throng surged in the plaza and the ad-
| Joining streets. The scene was impress
siveIy brilliant. The Palacio Federal
/ Tod al illuminated From
the roof of the Green House a search
! light focused its great white, rays di-
rectly upon the brazen statue OF the
| Hberator The restaurants and cafes
were gay with gaudy strings of many
colored lanterns. About their tables.
| and sauntering leisurely through the
crush on the walks, was much Of the
| better element of the city-the women
in bright-hued summery costumes, the
| men uniformly in impeccable white,
making a brave showing. In the center
of the square, pressing about the statue
of the liberator and the bandstand, ana
| hobnobbing with the militia VINO yet
guarded Malone's sculptured monument
| to presidential egotism, was rabble or
| the lower classes-half drunk for the
most part, but kept in order by the
| police.
A spirit OF careless vivacity seemed to
! possess them all; jokes were cracked
and laughter flung free. No evidence
was there that the majority of the as
semblage was trembling with revolution
airy sentiment, repressing its hate for FL
Gringo only by an effort, eagerly await
ing one word to unleash unholy pas
sions-smoldering grimly,> so to speak,
ere bursting into the spontaneous COM
buson of riot
But even as the first gaudy rocket
hurnmed toward the zenith and spent it.
self in an opalescent shower, even as the
first appreciative gutter-snipe vented his
delight in long-drawn .'Ah-h!' gaunt
rumor's wings shadowed the gayety
| A word or two of speculation, ema-
! mating from none knew where, was
caught UD and passed from mouth to
mouth Before a dozen tongues had time
to trifie with it, 1t became a statement
of fact Spreading like wild-fire upon
a prairie in the dry season, 1t rapidly
| gained credence and credibility. Pre-
! sently II was a monstrous lie. fattening
| upon faith born of desire to believe.
| Salvador heard and crowed with de-
light. Vive la revolution! Vive la liber-
tad
(The Continuation of This story WIN
| BE Found In Tomorrow's Issue