Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-07-08
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Manila.

Manila is one of the few spots on5
earth where an American can visit tnsf
foreign, the exotic, the alien and
tropic, and still be under the stars and
stripes. So rare is this experience te
the citizens of a nation which does NOE
pursue colonial policy that there is
a story in Manila of an American
globe-trotter who landed there ara
asked for the American consul u"
Manila lies on both banks of the
sluggish Rio Pasig. The ship steams
up historic Manila bay, and gradually
the roofs of the city lift above the
raisty sky line. At first sight Manila
is not imposing. Buildings there 40
not run to height or sohdity. out Of
respect for possible earthquakes. On,
one side of the river lies the old Spah.--.
ish quarter, known as lntramurds.
walled about by old Notifications, and
the newer town by m0at American
experts, however, decidedSthat the al
vantages of the moat as an aid NV
romance were outweighed by its rich :
possibilities as a playground for germs.
and ruthlessiy filed it up.
New Manila is rapidly responding te'
the touch of progress, and compares
favorably with the tropical capitals
of that specialist in colonies, Great
Britain. The American is not an irp'.
portant factor in the populatiest4
numerically, and the city gives thsr
impression of being conducted and eIrs
joyed almost entirely by the natives
Most of the Americans. as well the
Weather Filipinos, live out in the
cooler suburbs of Malate and San
Miguel, a fact which contributes to thes
illusion that this is city of the brown
race. co.
After you leave the center of Maniia,
the fire district where building re-
strictions operate. you are in one Of
the many quarters given over to the
poorer natives. who live in tiHy-
y.
little more ambitious. Here you see
windows with oyster shells in place
of glass. infants in extreme decollete
and placid ladies putting at the
monstrous cheroots which Manila
makes and to which she gives her
names Here, too. appears the carabaa,
the insular beast of burden, attached
to all manner of strange and ante,
diluvian means of conveyance which,
bump alongside modern American trol-s
ley cars.
Manila is rapidly becoming modern
lied, and much of her interest todaV.
lies In the fact that she has not yst<
quite caught up with herself.
Asuncion.
Asuncion. the capital of Paraguay, Is
neither so we'll known, so cosmopolitan
nor so busy as it's neighbor capitals.
Rio de Janefro and Buenos Aires, but
for that very reason 1t has the purer
flavor of Spanish America. The currept
of its life is little diluted by the.
streams of North American and Eur4x
pean influence that play SO freely upAR
the world cities of Buenos Aires aHd-
Rio.
ty sight especially if you chance tos
see them when the oranges are ripes.
Dusky porters, men and women, carTJ
the crates of red-gold fruit, lightly
L. tod %I,n
ing holds of lading vessels. They walk
with the 1.-THE. upright grace found t9s
all people who bear burdens on thu
head, and the orange fruit CLOVIS n4As
of their faces and dress. The dusty
planks of the wharf are dotted. top~
with scattered oranges. cleaning in tx
sun like strange, stalkless flowers.
Asuncion is a close-set city, It's
streets narrow for the most part AID
we'll built up. The visitor can see much
in short walk. The way leads up
from the water front between the neat,
snug dwellings to the public market
where the common people bargain
keenly and with great enjoyment OVER
food and trinkets. The higher classzA
do not go to market, thereby preserv-
ing their social position and missing,
what seems to De one OF the leading
outdoor sports.
The streets slope gently upward -
you follow them away from the rivarS
until at length you come out upon tkr6A
crest of the eminence whose slope 81
the city's site. and look over the checlSs
arboard of roofs to the green wtldegs~
ness of the Chaco. on the other bank ~
the Rio Paraguay. Here and there you ,
see an imposing structure such as that
If the old palace. or unique and inter-
>sting one, like the little library Who're
scholars come to pore over the rAre-
Jesuit manuscripts. But for the mo9Eo !
part Asuncion is a quietly modern utttE |
,ity, with little of the spectacultf
about it in any sense. There has n6<T
sven been = revolutionA FOR ten o.