Omaha daily bee., 1895-03-31
MERCHANTS TO GIVE A SHOW
Side Attractions During Fair Week to Be
Decided on This Evening.
GENERAL MEETING OF RETAILERS
Manifesto Issued by the Canvassing COM
mittee-Every Business Man Urged
to Givo His Support to the Enterprise
-Mardi Gras Floats Coming.

Tomorrow evening the business men and
citizens will meet at the rooms of the Com
mercial club to perfect the arrangements for
furnishing entertainment to the visitors who
decide to spend their evenings in this city
during the week of the state fair Already
several meetings have been held and several
projects are well under way, though none
of the plans have been fully completed. At
the meeting tomorrow night 1t is the In
tention to agree upon line of action and
name committees to have charge OF the
details.
At the last meeting held by the men who
are pushing the entertainment scheme II.
j. Penfold. Frank Wilcox and Walter Jar
dine we're appointed a committee to canvass
the situation and report. Yesterday these
gentlemen issued the following manifesto:
Through the agency Of the Commercial
club of Omaha. the state fair has been To-
Gated in this city for five years. and 1t
now devolves upon the business men to do
their share in properly entertaining the
visitors In manner bsfitting our city.
"It has been deemed best to give "a series
Of parades and street pageants In the even
ings Of fair week under the auspices Of the
business men. and with that end in view We
have secured an option upon floats and other
paraphernalia used at the Mard Gras in
New Orleans, and which can be purchased
at very low figure. To attain this. wo
ask every business man In the city. from the
smallest to the largest. to contribute to the
enterprise and put upon our streets a series
of novel entertainments that will attract
| thousands of people from our own and the
adjoining states, and which will show that
| the people of this city are united In uphold
| ing the interests and welfare of Omaha, and
m all inO ha ha' f0
commercial enterprise and progress.
Committees have been appointed to can
| yass the city and call upon every business
man, and we hope that you will respond
literally to the magnificent enterprise and
come to the meeting next Monday evening.
| April i, ut the Commercial club rooms to
| discuss the matter and perfect an organiza-
| tlon. to which every business man In the
city is earnestly invited"
In speaking of the proposed features for
the evenings during the fair week. Mr.. Will
cox stated last night that the opinion pre-
| vailed that there should be some attractive
| feature for every evening In the week. He
| thought that the merchants should illuminate
| the streets in front of their stores by laying
| temporary gas mains and putting up a series
| OF arches, in which there might be lights of
various coors, giving the principal streets
| in the retail district an attractive appear
| ance.
Each night during the fair there should
| be some attraction, he urged. One night
there might be a trades display, while a
massing of the military would prove at
tractive for another night, The Mardl Gras
| feature he said, was a certainty, as the
| twenty floats used In the great Rex parade
at New Orleans had been contracted for
and would be brought here.
These floats will form a parade which
will be nearly two miles in length. They
will be upon wagons and with the horses
which will be required each float will take
up the street space of one entire block. IL
has been suggested that between the floats
merchants and firms be allowed TO put In
wagons, thus making private display but
this is something that has not yet been
agreed upon.