The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-05-24
BEAUTY AND FAT SYNONYMOUS.
The Turk Has Small Use for 1.-the,
slender Actresses.
From the Chicago Record.


From the Chicago Record.
In Turkey the most beautiful and de-
sirable woman is the one who weighs the
most A thin and willowy creature would
have no social standing in Turkey and
would be a total failure on the stage in
Constantinople Unless a woman Is fat
she cannot secure an engagement in
music hall. and the fatter she is the more
enthuiasm she arouses and the. larger is
her salary
On the Monday evening after my arrival
in Constantinople I went TO the Concordia
Music Hall with my American acquaint-
ances, and there l saw more feminine
breadth depth, thickness. heft and clrcum-
fernee than l had ever before seen under
one roof. Practically the entire show was
given by women-women with moon faces,
rolling jowls judiciously busted with
powder and elephantine forms that deied
the combining hold of any corset Fat
womenl Women who were built straight
out from the chin and then retreated to-
ward an indefinite waist line; women
whose dimpled arms were The shape OF
holsters and whose bursting slippers
squeaked beneath the weight PUT on them.
Judging from the arrangement of the
bill and the applause bestowed on the vari-
Gus mastodon soubrettes ] would say that
pounds and possessed of a fair singing
voice could get an engagement at a music
hall. but she would be compelled 10 ac-
cept a low salary and appear early in the
bill.
A woman Weighing $50 could get
slightly larger salary and better place
in the bill.
The salary would thus increase as the
weight Increased. In Constantinople they
II rbr,t NV a Mound
who can weigh in each evening at $50 or
more is sure to get her name in black
type and draw the star salary, no matter
whether she can sing or not.
In the bill at the Concordia were French
and German women, one lone American
ESTIMATED weight 275), and several from
Turkish Europe. The first woman who
sung was fat; the second was fatter; the
third was-no not the latest, although
she was much heavier than No. 2. She
was merely the promise of what was yet
to come
They were holding back the really big
artists for the finale. AT last these two
came on. They were sisters" and they
made a large family by themselves, We
called them the Behemoth sisters. They
were in white and they waddled out on the
stage.
Great Scott" exclaimed the man from
Lafayette. "Why didn't they roll them on
the stage? How much do you suppose
they weigh?"
"A ton apiece?" ventured the New
Yorker.
Too low, too low"
The house arose in joy as the two vast,
egg-shaped objects appeared on the stage
The Turks, who had been sitting stolldly
in the boxes looking with dull unconcern
a the frail vocallsts who weighed less
than 300 now Strengthened up and clapped
their hands. A Turk in front Of us Che
had checlSer-board trousers and low white
vesD shouted "Bravo"
The two sisters were the hit of the show
They had to sing until their globular
faces were pink with exertion and their
balloon-like costumes rose and fell with
the heavings of their exertion
We wondered if they ever had comic
opera in Turkey and If It would be safe
to put an entire chorus on one stage.