Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-16

volcano near Manila which destroyed
1900 lives in 1911.
Shower Bath could quench the
shower bath. 1t Is
One Institution. tho first thing in
the morning and oftentimes the last at
night Since athletics have got aboard
the weekly calendar of nearly all the
residents. native and foreign, the auto
matte deluge also has become a pre-
dinner pastime. In the hot months of
April, May. June and July the shower
box and the long siesta chair are the
only necessities of existence. You sit and
simmer, or sleep and simmer. Then You
take shower bath, only to perspire like
dock walloper because you made few
gentle passes to dry yourself. You dress
yourself with single graceful gesture.
A kimono goes on SO very easily. Then
you drink tea or Scotch and soda. Still
you simmer After a while you go again
to the liqufied life restorer. take off your
k:mono and proceed as before. The exile
in the provinces has the same experience,
only more So His bathroom is a two-by-
four everybody look affair made of bam-
boo and atmosphere. He scoops the
water out of a mud jar with a cocoanut
shell. 1t runs down his parched body and
trickles to the ground through the holes
in the floor. The floor is unique in its
open-work design. When the bather steps
off it his feet look like waffies.
In the provinces the American teacher,
or nstabulary officer, or missionary. or
district engineer. or what not. sees many
queer things. If he stays too long he
sees things that nobody else sees. Even
in Manila they say that when a man first
comes to town he walks around the
Luneta, a beautiful elliptical park. and
thinks, and that after he has been there
few years he merely walks around
the Luneta. If he does walk around the
Luneta between and in the evening
he hears the constabulary band, one of
the finest musical agSregations in the
world. 1t consists of eighty Filipinos, led
by an accomplished American negro. The
American in the provinces lives on fish
cigarettes. In Manila frozen meats, cold
storage butter timed vegetables and
fruits and American oranges and apples
help the provincial bill of fare to assume
satisfactory proportions.
Around a certain oval board in the cen
ter of Manila most of the town charact-
ers gather for
Characters Seen luncheon. The
at Luncheon Board. ;er ipebriate
is there and he is fianked by a. dignified,
eS-judge ON one side and hustling life
insurance optfnist on the other. Two
or three newspaper men give the neces-
Sary touch of humor Half way around
sits a government official who seeks
mixed company in order to escape the
petrification peculiar to the government
service. Directly opposite is Manila's
chief ASSASSIN of character. This verbal
vivisectionist serves up a new victim
each grueSome luncheon hour. He delft
ly inserts his knife well ground of malice,
caryes and buries the reputation of an
absent brother. Four-flushers, men of
honor, an energetic army officer or two
and a couple of those flabby specimens
who have missed too many boats finish
the unique character composite of the
big mahogany table is about the same
from year to Year
The historic Bridge of Spain plays a
more important part in American life in
the Philippines than most of them real
lie until they have left the islands. 1t
spans the muddy Pasig river and joins
the old walled city to the modern bust
ness section of Manila. Standing on that
ancient structure one looks to the left
and beholds the low, rambling walls Of
old Manila The vile meats that sur
lltSHl III SpsiliSi 1hico nav ~
come municipal Fairgrounds To, the
right. at the foot of the bridge, runs the
EScolta, now an up-to-date business
street. Looking up the Pasig enhancing
Spanish villas and the spire of the San
Sebastian Church delight the eye. Down
the stream a variety of shipping, from a
moss covered prao to a glistening coast
ing steamship. stretch from bank to
bank. After all these years of Ameri-
canization. it is still oriental, it is still
tropical, it is still Manila.