The Washington herald., 1913-07-13
Accidentally Goes Off Just
Before Curtain Is to Go Up
for Performance in Town
of Pampango Province.

After the capture of Aguinaldo, many
of the cities in the Philippines whose in
habitants had been particularly hostile
toward the Americans in the insprec-
ton of 1901 turned into enthusiastic
"Americanistas. The town of Lubao,
in Pampanga Province, on the north
side of Manila Bay, which had been no
toriously anti-American, suddenly be-
came imbued with desire to show not
only how loyal, but also how patriotic it
had grown.
Gen. Frederick d. Grant was COM
mander of the district in which lay
Lubao. In the latter part of June Senior
Vitug, the president of the town, pre-
ceded by a brass band, went in state TO
Angeles, where the. commanders head
quarters was, and extended a formal in
vitation to him and his staff to run over
10 Lubao for the Fourth of July and see
how the Filipinos could ''whoop it up
when it came to an Independence Day
celebration. Gen. Grant had to decline
for himself, but four members Of his
stan were sent to represent him.
When the officers, after a sixteen mile
ride, reached Lubao, about $50 o'clock
in the morning, they found it clothed
eayly in bunting. The merchants had
not had time to lay in stock of Ameri-
can flags, so all the local artistic talent
had been engaged in catering to demands
for national ensigns, which were deemed
necessary for the days decorations.
Rain SpoiIs the Flags.
From every window in the Plaza huns
some version of an American flag, with
varying numbers of stars and stripes,
which had been painted on white cot
ton in water colors. A heavy rainstorn.
that caught the tail end of the big pa
rade, the feature Of the afternoon,
transferred the red and blue from the
flags to the fronts Of buildings or the
pavement but did not wash away the
enthusiasm of the Fourth, which grew
toward nightfall.
After o'clock in the afternoon, the
heat of the day being well past people
began to arrive from all the surround
ing country, the better classes in their
"calesas," drawn by ponies: the farm
ers in "quilizes," hauled by bullocks,
or in carabao carts. and the humble
Tao" and his family on foot; the
women in their brightest and stinest
starched ''camisas" and ''camisetas.
and the menJin white ducks or their
best hempen shirts. The northern end
of the plaza soon took on the appear
ance of a camp Horses, bullocks, and
built, the rice put in earthen pots to
cook. and everybody made preparations
to pass the night. and then began to
visit one another.
On one side of the plaza stood a
church, near which was q "convento
that provided headquarters for an
American garrison. At the foot of the
plaza had been erected a stage of green
bamboo with floor 6 or Z feet above
the ground. Fifteen or twenty yards
away from the front Of the stage a cot
ton tree lowered more htan 60 feet,
with branches growing out at right
angles.
As the time drew near for the curtain
to rise every post Of vantage in the
plaza was occupied. Backless benches
had been built in front of the stage.
and these had been taken by the earlier
arrivals. who sat chatting; men. women. |
and children, smoking their long black
cigars Almost the whole remainder of !
the plaza was crowded with natives,