Birmingham state herald., 1895-12-20
THE BIRMINGHAM CARNIVAL
Enough Money Guaranteed by the Committee to Begin Work-An Expert Designer
 Sent For

The carnival committee held a special meeting yesterday afternoon in the Com mercial club rooms to perfect their plans for the coming carnival. Different mem bers of the committee expressed the opn- ion that there would be no trouble in raising sufficient funds to carry out the plans so far agreed upon. Enough mon- ey was pledged to pay the salary of an expert designer of carnival floats, who has had years of experience in the bus iness He will be communicated with at once and if he accepts work on the floats will begin immediately after Christmas. It is estimated that 5000 will be needed to build and equip the necessary number of floats, and the committee will begin to canvass the city for subscriptions be- tween Christmas and New Years. It was the sense of the committee that the foundation should be laid for perma- nent carnival association. The time is too limited to get up an elaborate parade this year. but it is the intention to make the parade the year following equally as attractive as the Mobile pageant, MT. Telfair Hodgson was elected a member of the committee. He was called upon for his views on the subject -an9 ex- pressed himself as follows:
 The first idea to be instilled into the minds of the merchants is that the pa- rade should be free from advertisements .Gl individual firms. The entire parade should be general advertisement of Bir- mingham and not an advertisement of ip- dividual firms. Let the merchants con tribute to the general fund and if they then want to put an advertising float on the street let them do so; but their float should in no sense be part of the real parade. The floats should each clearly represent a subject or tableau and should be constructed under the supervision of a t,a one familiar with building floats.
 A carnival society should be organized and held together as a social organiza- tion. A grand mask ball should be given after the parade, which should be con ducted on high plane. just as the balls are conducted in Mobile and New Or leans.
 Membership in this society would soon be sought after. There ought to be no trouble in getting 100 members. The an- nual dues would be, say $10, which would make 5000 to start with. A thousand dol lars more should be subscribed by the merchants. With S2000 handsome night parade and grand ball could be given. In little or no time rival societies would spring up and vie with each other in see- ing which could get up the best parade.
 The time is too limited to get up more than one parade this year, but there is no reason why one or two societies can- not be organized and give a carnival ball. and on the following mardi gras they can undertake to put a parade on the street In addition to their ball.
 The merchants will be well repaid for the money they contribute. If only 2O00 people are brought here, a very low es- innate, they will leave at least $5 each, or $10000 If the carnival this year is a success, not less than 10000 people will come here the next year. and most of them can be kept here two or three days by judicious management. They would
 MT. Hodgson proceeded to show how parade could be put on the street next year for about $2000, which cost Mobile or New Orleans at least $5000.
 After listening to MT. Hodgson and discussing his Ideas. the committee ad- journed to await the answer of the de- signer above referred to.