St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-11-08
HOW MONTREAL DID IT.
Every One Went in for Fun Of the Mad
dest, NJ erriest Kind.
Their Carnival Was Not Conducted
for Revenue Only.
Correspondence of the Globe.

MONTREAL Nov. 4.-Your correspondent
found the gentleman who might be entitled
the actual, though he was not the nominal,
head-center of the Montreal winter carnival,
deep in business this morning. eyes, I
see st. Paul is going in for carnival" said
he. lit will be success, don't doubt;
there's snap enough there for anything, but
OF course. the details can't be very closely
like ours. But the best use of available
points will Of course be made there as here.
How did we manage ours? The whole ma
chinery was organized by an executive COM
mittee, headed by an honorary chairman, a
citizen of wealth and standing, who socially
led the enterprise during carnival week.
This central committees working chairman
was Robert d. McGibbon, who invented the
idea and carried it each year to splendid
success. The committees members were
chairmen of the several subcommittee APP
pointed to carry out the program in detail.
These subcommittee looked after finance,
ice palace, snOwshoeing exhibitions, tobog-
gaming, curling, skating, masquerades.
pyrotechnics, sleighing professions, the
grand ball at the Windsor, railroad facilities,
hotel and lodging accommodations, printing
and advertising, which included prepara-
ton of programs and receptions of distin-
guished visitors and the visiting press. The
executive committee decided on the dates
for the festival and made the appropria-
lions from the treasury. 1t had of course
a treasurer and secretary, and last year it
retained a solicitor to prosecute all cases Of
fraud and imposition. 1t met every week
for ten weeks preceding the carnival and
had special Office for the gathering and
dissemination of information"
'Could you suggest anything left undone
in Montreal?"
eyes. Montreals carnivals lacked suffi-
cient entertainment by daylight for visitors
from distance. There are people upon
whom tobogganing may pail
AFTER THE HUNDREDTH SLIDE.
cit would be well for st. Paul to organize
for every morning and afternoon spectacu-
lar sleigh drives, Calathumpian professions,
skating tournaments and interesting out
door games. A good feature might be made
of Minnesota Indians 1 should suppose
People from the country often came in and
asked us: where's the carnival?' Many
want something to see all the time.
Plenty OF color; plenty of
fantastic costumes in movement;
lots OF public caperings; a sense that a grand
kick-up is going on; many explosions giving
the pleasing sensation of combined danger
and fun-that's what ST. Paul should look
to. Have tobogganing, of course, but every
body from distance is not upholstered
we'll enough for it, nor for long waits in
skating Kinks, when cold feet and feeling
of penetrating dampness and icy gloom often
produce state of mind not quite festive.
Emusic? Yes, that's another point we
came short on. Of course the temperature
was not exactly favorable to much blowing
of wind instruments, but nothing prevents
the rub-adub of the spirit-raislng drum. 1t
should be always in the air, and there
should be plenty of places where people can
go and hear bands for nothing.
zone spectacle we might have given, and
often talked of but never furnished, was
lacrosse on skates There's no game half
so interesting to spectators, and with all her
Canadians on hand, don't see why ST.
Paul should not furnish this entertainment.
Another good point would be to open the
carnival before the completion of
the ice palace. Let visitors seq
how the last few tiers are laid-the process
of construction is one of the most interest,"
ing sights, with the hosting of the great
FAINT BLUE BLOCKS,
then cutting down to place and their ce-
menting with water. Yes, any point
ers I can give, I will gladly. We
would rejoice to see st. PauPs
carnival grand success. There is one
thing worth keeping steadily in mind. The
carnival here was not primarily COM
mercial mOvement-it was essentially
spontaneous celebration by Montrealers-
a glorifcation of their winter sports. Con-
an extreme hospitality was shown
by everybody almost, genuine personal
interest in visitors, warm desire to i'm
press them favorably. All the shows were
free except the skating masquerade. 1t
would be good idea for ST. Paul to az
range that these two should cost visitors
nothing The mercantile consideration was
completely subordinated here to the man.
agement, people saw city looking for fun
rather than money-'the more the
merrier' was the notion that guests
perceived to rule. The spontaneity of pub
lie interest had charming effect. If st.
Paul manages to avoid the appearance Of
wishing to scoop 'em in her carnival
will bear annual repetition. Of course the
of the thing here was due to
the almost universal love of athletics. We
night have held the carnival any time the
asst twenty years. Scarcely any of the
Montreal committee had personal interests
% serve by their work; most of it was exc
,uted by the leading young men of the sport
ng clubs, those who had the respect and
confidence of their associates in the file.
There was very little big wiggery go
ng, and the public blatherskites were
,iven no chance More unselfish work was
lever done than that of the men who made
he Montreal carnival successful.
'sFleecing? Yes there was little done in
1874. A few cabmen were too greedy and
ome minor hotels and lodging houses put
he screws on. But we got that sort Of
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