The Progress., 1893-08-19

BEFORE AND AFTER REFORMATION.
and the prurient-the first because they
see something improper, and the second
because they don't. OF course everybody
knows that / belong to neither class and
so feel free to say as aforesaid that there
is nothing in all this kicking and wigglmg
and rounding up and wriggling more
than anybody can see at home by giving "
big feed of August apple to n lot of big
and greedy BOYS and gi.lS. 1tlnay be COLI
si,lered graceful and suggestive IN Persia,
Turkey and Algiers, but really can't see
anything exciting in bad case of colo.
#"4
Now suppose, mind l say only suppose,
that the development of Africa should go
on as rapidly as the most enthusiastic
projectors ofthe Congo Free state expect,
and they should have a worlds fair over
there in 1903 or thereabOuts. OF course
there would be an American village on
their plaisance and equally, of course, the
ladies' of Congo would have a board and
that board would petition for the suppress
sion for the abatement or suppression OF
the ballet and the report might or might
not contain sentences like these: 1.-The
voluptuous indecency of the dance in the
American village can no longer be toler-
ated. We are reliably informed and verify
believe that the performers there are clad
in skin tights which reveal every outline
of the female form, and that in the
ecstatic climax of the danse du legge the
leading danseuse kicks off the hat of d
male performer. In those performances
where the American females appear in the
alleged costume of their country, the dress
is finished in The rear with drag which
is shockingly suggestive of a street sweep
ing. We insSs; that the dancers be clad In
pulled trousers and that their tergiversa-
tions be confined to motions at least with
in the bounds of nature"
##x
The Sunday opening is now nothing
more in effect than the opening of the
Midway plaisance. In the exposition proper
most of the buildings are closed, the gon-
doliers are off for a rest, there are no res
taurants open, no fountains running, no
bands playing, and in short there is moth
ing to see but the buildings. And as a
natural result no one is there. In a miles
walking, from the Indiana building to the
peristyle and down to the southeast cor
ner saw only five persons, and every one
of the few thousand visitors of that day
were in the plaisance. Even there very
little was going on. The Dahomeyans
alone maintained their cheerful racket,
for they are so very much in love with
their performance that they keep it up
right along regardless of the presence OF
absence of spectators. Queer people, these
Dahomeyans. Snake worshippers and all
that sort of thing. According to Captain
Burton they have one temple, a vast open
shed, where every beam and rafter is
coiled about with monstrous serpents who
know the priests so well that they squirm
and writhe and hiss in happy excitement
when the latter bring in their daily sup
ply of fresh milk, and in their joy emit an
odor which makes all the environment
smell snaky / am pleased to add that
they left their snakes at home, for though
we can endure their almost naked anna
IONS and barbarous music, we could not
abide their obscene temple and its Shiny
gods.
The Esquimaux in the northwestern
part of the fair proper 1 was at first in
clined to set down as humbugs, but L
guess they are the real thing or very near
it. have seen the Esquimaux as near
their native habitat as Lake Winnipeg, for
parties of them sometimes come down
there to spend the winter. The circum-
stauces were not favorable, from my
standpoint, as the brandy (no mention is
made of the mercury there) marked As de-
grees below zero, but the hyperboreans
looked natural and those here certainly
have the same shape and general features.
The change in them must be the result OF
this climate and their new mode of life.
They don't worship snakes, for they have
none at home, they don't wear airy trous-
ers. they don't sing and they don't dance,
their only performance consists in run
ming their queer little boats around on the
pond in their village, and they don't ask a
visitor to buy anything, so / conclude they
must be real Esquimaux.
-
OF course the whole country has by this
time had its laugh about the Sunday
opening fiasco, and equally, of course,
everybody now knows that the fair is
financially a failure. Few now expect a
big crowd in the near future and Chicago
good naturedly considers her 81 ,000, 600 pf
so in it as an absolutely dead investment.
Many reasons are offered and many per
sons are blamed, but i guess the real rea'
sous are those for which no one is to be
blamed. Farm produce is so low that
farmers can't afford to come and other
people have similar and equally good rea-
sons. j. b. PARkE.