The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-18
Decorations Everywhere That
BeWilder the Charmed
BehOlder.
'EALOUSIES ARE LAID ASIDE.
All Are United in Making the
Flower Carnival the Greatest
Ever Held.

~ wide to welcome host of visit
~ ors. They swarmed in from all
sides, and the hotels are now put
ting guests in '.cottages''--a rather elastic
term for rooms as near to the parent sup
ply as possible. From cottage it is a
natural subsidence to cot in passage, parlor
or panJry.
The main streets present a stirring ap-
pearance to the many visitors arriving to
attend the battle OF flowers tomorrow.
Besides the more than ordinarily substan-
tial arches along State street, there has
been much individual decoration on the
part of the various merchants Vehicles
are at premium, and even flowers of spe-
cia varieties have been imported. The
Olympia, lying in the harbor, attracts
many visitors, who are courteously enter
tanned.
Special events of the day were the rose
exhibition, notable Spanish-American
wedding and the first grand promenade
concert by Roncovieris San Francisco
band of forty pieces. Tomorrow the Half
million Club is expected from Los Angeles
to witness the great floral procession, for
which already over 100 entries are recorded,
comprising in many cases groups of twenty
or more gayly costumed characters. There
will be substantial prizes for the best cav
alcade, the best novelty, the best group
of cyclists, the best children's miniature
equipage and score of others. Old Santa
Barbarans say the parade will eclipse any,
thing ever seen on this coast or anywhere.
Los Angeles carnival was of a mixed
variety, and the residents of Santa Bar
bara pride themselves on the fact that they
are keeping to the original idea which they
conceived four years ago. and are giving a
purely natural show, in which every class
may join and which is based wholly upon
the natural wealth of Santa Barbara in
flowers. Henceforth for the pure flower
festival Santa Barbara will be ranked first.
No advertisements are tolerated, and to-
morrow's show will be as nearly Arcadian
as possible.
Considerable expectation is manifested
over the coming of the Half Million Club
tomorrow. People are asking what the club
is. One intelligent man was heard asking
whether it was club composed of people
each worth half a million dollars. Other
equally absurd constructions are placed
upon the title. But people are beginning
to understand that it means an association
pledged to attract residents to California
and so increase business for everybody.
Gradually the utterances of the half-miI-
lionites are permeating the people and the
club is likely to find here a fertile soil for
its seeds of progress and California unity.
There has existed some antagonism in the
past between the northern and southern
portions of the State and even lovely
Santa Barbara has pouted rather petulantly
over her shoulder at her elder sister. Los
Angeles, for stealing some of her thunder
in selecting this time and this copyrighted
floral festival. SO the Half-Million Club
could hardly have chosen a better time to
spread its gospel of unity.
1t is beginning to dawn upon the com.
munity that there is no use in wasting
force in jealousies when the force could be
much better employed in increasing
business and making better times for the
whole State, so that the Half-million Club.
to judge from the way intelligent Santa
Barbara people speak, is likely soon to
become great California institution and
nucleus of a greater California one and
undivided in the future. 1t may have to
change its limited name to adapt itself to
these coming conditions, for Santa Bar
bara, at least, will want to participate in
its work and there are other counties to
hear from. AS Cortez conquered Mexico
with a handful of soldiers, so these new
pioneers of progress are disarming
prejudice and discovering, indeed, all along
their route. Whether they will arrive to-
morrow on time or not is a matter of
speculation, but it is certain that they will
come. Perhaps the full effect of their
work will be seen after they have gone, but
in the meantime it is curious to note the
interest with which their advent is re-
garded here.
In the evening the new pavilion was
crowded with auditors of the first promen-
ade concert by Roncovieris band, consid-
cred the best organization of its kind west
of Chicago The fact was appreciated by
this music-loving people. When the pa
vilion was jammed to the doors the ap-
proaches from State street were thronged
with residents of every class listening to
Wagner, Ofienbach and Verdi with de-
monstrative delight. To most it was a
revelation. For to-morrow's concert the
rose exhibits viii be removed, leaving q
seating capacity of 1900.
Among the prominent visitors expected
tomorrow are the members of the Cali
fornia Press Association. They are now at
Los Angeles, and their itinerary assigns
them tomorrow to Santa Barbara. So the
battle of flowers may be chronicled as it
deserves to be throughout the State.