The record-union., 1892-04-28
WALKING FOR DAT CAKE"
They Walked But the Managers Must
Foot the Bills.
SENATOR Hamden's Sad Experience
Winners of the Prizes-Sacramento
CoIored Society Not In 1t.

"Senator'' Hamden says the colored
people of Sacramento are too high-toned
10 take part in a cake walk" He is right,
and all honor to the colored people of
Sacramento for it.
Whether they are 'too high-toned" or
too sensible-no matter, the affable Ham
den with all his persuasive powers and
winning ways, could not induce the col
ored citizens of Sacramento to make
holy show of themselves at the cake walk
last night. No matter how it may be
apologized for, how put forward as an
illustration of old-time customs, it re-
mains the relic of cruel slavery days,
when whites trafficked in human flesh
and blood enshrining eternal souls,
though the skin OF the body was black.
The cake walk is one of the humiliating
remains OF the badges of involuntary
servitude that once shamed American
civilization, and plunged the nation into
fratricidal warfare. The poor slaves
were rallied to parade their bodies before
their masters and his guests for amuse-
nent, and the reward of trifiing cake
baked to the order of their mistress.
That was its origin, and the sooner 1t is
buried with the memories OF a bitter past
the better for whites and for blacks.
The cake walk last night at the new Pa
vilion was tame affair. 1t was not we'll
attended, and but one Sacramentan took
part in it. The other participants were
from abroad, and presumably hired. as
are performers in other shows, excepting
only Senator Hamden, who is a pro-
prietor of the show. That the manage
ment lost considerable money by the
transaction, proves only that IN these
tight times the people will have money
left in the city that the management
hoped to cart out of it. Not that il is not
as justifiable for it as for any other show
management to make money, but in
most other cases value received is a con-
sideration.
Ten couples walked about, across and
diagonally through parallelogram of
floor space something like l0OX75 feet.
They paraded as a procession, went by
fours and skies, and carried themselves
well and with perfect decorum. Their
march did not differ from that of the
grand march at the opening of ball, and
that was all there was Of the cake walk.
Messrs. Larkin, Harris, Buckman and
Hinters were the judges and awarded the
prizes as follows: The first prize, the
cake, went to Milt Johnson and Miss
Butler of Oakland. The man was
awarded a suit of clothes from William
Ellert, the tailor, box OF cigars from O..
J. Clark, and his partner a pair Of dia-
mond bracelets for her wrists. The Sec
ond prize went to James Galloway and
Lizzie WoodSon of San Jose, gold
headed cane and tea set. The third prize
went to Robert Davis Of Sacramento and
Miss Dunham of San Francisco, a silver
watch and an ivory-handled fan.
The really interesting part Of the per-
formance was the march of cotton-pickers
in all the variegated costumery of planta-
ton hands; the singing of plantation
songs and the dancing, wing, buck, heel
and toe, etc., by the same group of
eighteen persons. Itall was cleverly DONE
much as is seen on the minstrel stage.
There was singing also by quartet, and
a.good solo by q. T. Jackson, who has d
remarkably strong and high-keyed
falsetto voice. There was pie eating
match by six boys, with their hands tied
behind them. Even here the colored lads
of Sacramento proved too high-tCned for
Senator Hamden, and five of white
trash had to be coaxed in to fill out the
programme.
The Artillery Band furnished music,
and played everything from Hi, Jenny;
Ho, Jenny" to "Ta-ra-ra boomderay.' -
ii earned its coin, every cent of ii, for the
active SENATOR kept the wind mer-
chants at work with a persistency they
never before experienced, and Conductor
Neale declares that the whole lot pro-
poses to take a day Oft in which to catch
breath.
Hamden is a clever man, a hale fellow
we'll met, and Manager Collins is pleas
ant and businesS-like, but they find Sac
ramento a poor town for cake walk
that costs 500 at the outset to open the
doors. 1t Is rough on Collins and Ham
den, but not upon the city-all three have
had profitable experience by last nights
non-paying show.