Evening star., 1921-12-25

would have been missing if folks had
known he'd been playing Santa Claus.
When the story leaked out several
years later, he was very unhappy. He
admits that one particular fling at
substituting for Santa Claus cost con-
siderably more than $1,000. Every
year since Representative Madden has,
unostentatiously, been doing some
thing the same, to make children hap
py, who otherwise would get little on
the great day-and he looks forward
to this Christmas merriment with as
much delightful anticipation as any
child who gets his gifts.
THRISTMAS day with the American
~ soldier boys in Manila during the
Spanish war is vividly and
entertainingly recalled by Represen-
tative Edward c. Little, who was
lieutenant colonel to Funston in the
Philippines. He spins his tale thus:
''On Christmas Day, 1898. there were
some $1,000 American soldiers camped
in and around Manila. maintaining a
line of sentries about fourteen miles
long around the city. So that Christ
mas was part American and part
Filipino, but both amigoes.
"A couple Of days before, a big
sergeant brought me a ten or twelve
year old little Filipino boy. neatly
dressed, very sedate and intelligent,
speaking English haltingly, who in
vited me to eat Christmas dinner
with his widowed neither and their
family at her homo near the La Rosa
barracks, in the Tondo district on
Manila bay. His little oration de-
scribed pathetiSally the glories of
the festivities arranged in my hon.
or at some length. I was regretfully
compelled to decline this glimpse in
to the native life. because had ac-
cepted an invitation to take my
Christmas dinner with some Oregon
officers in the Walled City, coming
from my old friend Capt Will Moon
of that regiment
1.-THE day was fair and beautiful
to look upon, but a singularly mo-
mentous one to us in a foreign land
across the Pacific and half a conti-
nent from our homes. Early in the
day I made a trip to 4 venerable
Spanish church in San Augustin. OBJ
served the stately ceremonies, and
heard the solemn and beautiful music
Of the people who had just lost those
, fairy islands which they had held for
three centuries.
Presently attended the funeral in
the ancient Spanish cemetery of a
Kansas City boy from company B, the
first Kansas soldier that ever died
overseas.
"The Oregonians were pleasantly
situated in the cartel de Espaene, an
officers quarters in the Walled City,
and a very pleasing Christmas dinner,
served in the afternoon, was q some
what elaborte and very pleasing one.
THAT afternoon Capt Moon and I
adjourned to the Luneta to see the
Oregon and Colorado teams plan an
exciting game for the base ball
championship Of the islands. Moon
and took reserved seats on TOP of
a carromata, a little Filipino hack
built for a small people. A boy came
up eagerly at the end of the seventh
inning and said. Cap. we have got
the championship cinched-the score
is to e. The captain replied, Don't
be too sure. played in a game once
where we struck out the first four
teen men as fast as they got up. didn't
let man get to first base in the first
seven innings; didn't let a man get
to second in tho first eight and had
them beat. 10 to 0, at the first half Of
the ninth-but they tied the score in
the ninth inning and though we
struck them out in the tenth and
the pitcher himself made 4 run for
US in the eleventh they won the game
in the last half Of the eleventh in
ning-so don't be too certain I
said. Captain. who pitched that
gamer He hesitated a moment,
/ threw his arm around me. uncere-
moniously tumb1ed me off the car
romata and said, Why you. you SON
ko2.a.euns-huf OREGON won thaa game.