Evening star., 1911-01-08
TAFT MADE CARAbAO|
(continued from First Page.)
Tart will be the first and only one
whose name appears on the honorary
list Of the membership.

Soun y. Knapp, U. b. N, presiding. Iney
the constitution Of the Carabaos had
not President Taft served - civil gov
ernor Of the Philippines prior to July
.. 1902, which, tradition says, is the
At the psychological moment-and
there are many such In the festive
programs Of the Carabaos-Capt. Knapp
arose, and. after a brief explanation OF
to the honor. declared soss Willism Eas aowasd
Taft formally incorporated into the
membership Of the order. Grand Para
mount Carabao Maj. Gen. Charles T.
Humphrey. y. s. A.. retired. pinned the
the Presidents coat, and the entire
herd" Of Carabaos. comprising. with
their guests. 260 in number. arising
from their seats. sang with vfgor and
enthusiasm the famous christening
song of the Carabaos.
Distinguished Men Present.
The function was one of those rare
events for which this military order is
known throughout the length and
breadth of the world. For the time
being the "bombinero." whose motion
is always IN order in functions of the
Carabaos. gave way to the less strenu-
GUS and more dignified Paramount Car
abao. The great tables were laden with
all the attractive alurements of the
decorators art. Around them were
gathered, in addition to the President,
the Vice President of the United States.
Speaker Cannon, members of the cabt-
net, Justice Harlan of the United States
Supreme Court, Solicitor General F. w.
Lehman. Judge James Smith OF the
United States Court Of Customs APP
In the army and navy, together with
distinguished civilians from all parts
Of the country. Yet with all the state
illness Of the occasion 1t was still q
Carabao dinner, with all its exceptional
features and idiosyncracies. Songs and
in the air at all times. and the flavor
of the far-off Philippines was pleasant
ly In evidence. The clatter OF the pom
bineros' well known call was less fire.
ton Of the program had been passed.
But then it was in evidence, and the
call to heed the condition Of the Cara
baos never fell upon deaf ears. The
arduous days OF danger in the orient
were recalled in speech and story; song
and incident. The song book OF the or
der, with its scores OF characteristic
songs. each Of them illustrating a
phase OF life in the Philippines during
the prouas tss nta Tn spa
Stately warriors. with the scars of bat
tie softened with the smiles of peace
and merriment, sang the songs as Wig
orously as they had fought in the old
President Taft joined heartily in sing
ing the chorus to the song Am the
Governor General or q Hobo?" Secretary
Nagel found Columbia, the Gem or the
Ocean, more to his liking. and sang
every verse as II he meant what he sang.
One of the popular songs of the even
ing was q topical composition Of many
verses. each with a local application.
sung by Capt. Burt. 1t was called for
again when the President arrived, and
Two Of the verses ran as follows:
.'rake u.s. says the army back to the good old
And free u from an everlasting educational
Which has in view. they tell Us. \ course to
In se.r 4 st. Eli..s.ta'., where we may not
grsduate.
"oa, take me to the White House. is the des-
OF half 4 dozen candidates now in the public
But after next election won't they wake up and
When hey ses !: smiling car.eao in the pr''a'
ion that most Of the discussion Of i'm
mediate independence for the Philip
pines had q political motive, and was
designed more to get votes than TO
achieve independence for the Fiiipinos.
he asserted that no dependency was bet
ter managed: that the free trade which
the United States had accorded to the
Philippines had doubled their trade, and
that It would still further increase.
He said there was much mtsapprehen-
sion Of the cost to the American people
Of occupation Of the islands The army,
which he said was not too large for this
country to maintain. must be maintained
anyway, and q part OF that cost. IN
l.. <n hA
pines. was charEeable to ordinary main
tenances. Hs cited no figures.
stereopticon Views.
Stereopticon views recalling the Days
Of the Empire" as those days are still
called by those who went to the Philip
pines during the times that led up to
their Americanization, brought familiar
scenes to tho eyes of many. And when
the portraits OF Taft, Dewy. Lawton.
Chaffee, Merritt, Bates, Ramsey and
others were flashed upon the canvas
impulsive tributes, appropriate and i'm
pressive, went up from their comrades
present.
It is q rule Of the order that all guests.
on entering the corral as all gath
erings Of the Carabaos are termed. lose
for the time being their military and
civil rank and become either a Cara
bao'' or an "Hombre," the latter being
the Carabao name for ''man." But.
..hombres," enjoying the hospitality Of
the Carabaos. are speedily and cordially
assimilated, and so it was with the guests
Of last evening. Every man or them
seemed a Carabao, even II he was not.
and was soon in touch with the spirit OF
the occasion.
"A feature of the program was the pre-
sentation OF a Filipino sketch on real
stage improvised for the purpose. The
scene was typically Filipino. for those
who knew said 80. 1t included a bam-
boo shack, fghting cocks, roasting pigs
and natives In costume loungtng ABOUT as
they did when q military escort came
along in the old days. Suddenly. with
out warning Of any kind. the amigos
or friendly natives" with guns and
boleros, precpitated Q tragedy. It was
the same old scene. said many Of the
Carabaos present. that was witnessed
American occupation. when Americans
were shot down in cold blood by ignorant
fanatics, moved by mistaken patriotic i'm
pulse. The sketch was cleverly presented
by fifteen enlisted men from Fort Myer,
who impersonated natives and soldiers.
each In the proper costume.
Throughout the evening q section Of
Band enlivened the intermissions with
selections classic and popular.
Marine Band Plays.
The Military Order Of the Carabao was
organized at Manila. Philippine Islands.
in November. 1900. The date and hour
of its birth, however. is not Of record. It's
purpose is to foster q high standard of