About 2:00 P.M.
Situated on the Luneta , about a mile south of the walled city , and distant from Manila bay about 100 feet , is a large bandstand . This served as headquarters for the exercises . The day was perfect -- clear , cool and calm . About 2:00 P.M. over 40,000 natives , soldiers -LRB- including jack-tars from Dewey 's fleet , Spaniards and Americans -RRB- and foreign residents had assembled around this bandstand to hear the Address of Welcome and to witness the sports . When the speaker arose to deliver the address , for which he was afterward voted , and presented with , a medal by the Eight Army Corps , he said in part -LRB- verbatim report -RRB- : `` On behalf of these committeemen who have spared no efforts to make these Field Day Exercises a success , and this occasion one long to be remembered by those who have assembled here this afternoon , I bid you , one and all -- officers , soldiers , sailors and civilians of every nationality -- a hearty welcome . '' `` Again to you , the members of Admiral Dewey 's fleet , I feel obligated to extend a separate and special welcome ; for without your chivalrous devotion to duty last May Day , yon shell-riven wrecks -LRB- part of unraised Spanish fleet visible above the bay -RRB- would not bespeak the down-fall of a sister nation , and we ourselves would not have been permitted to assemble here this afternoon . There is no braver man on land or sea than the American marine ; and on behalf of the entire American army of occupation , I bid you a most cordial welcome . ''