The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-10-22
Shows of the Midway
Solemn Coin CatChers.
The "GAY PARIE''
All That is Gay About 1t Are the PIac'
ards of Its Former Grandeur Be-
fore it Struck the Moral Censor---
The wild Mans" Escape is
a Diversion.

The promenade of the pike" at the
: State Fair yesterday presented from
a distance the look of a river of peo-
pie with conflicting currents. AS the
surges of humanity met and clashed
the commoton was strongly suggestive
of waves breaking over the rocks OF
a jetty-only that the white caps
were the bobbing hats of the multi
tude and the roar of the waves the
conglomerate, nameleSS sound of u
horde of individual calculations.
There was the chatter of boys ana
girls the gaspng admiration of SIM
pie people realizing for the first time
the magnitude and diverse attain
ments of the terrestrial globe-as rep
resented by the Pike screams. as
young maidens assaied with come
| back balls" took vengeance on Adde'S
cent SWANS whose cOquetry, in the
bashful failure of their tongues,
vented itself in "swatting" Duicinea
on the head with the annoying little
balls or switching her smartly over the
shoulders. Dulcinea received these
tokens of affection gladly, but with
lapparent indignation, goinS for La
thario with her whip which she aimed
vicousiy at his head and face. Rough
as it looked, the ball and whip play
was scarcely HlOIe tllhll tilt fAl)I CS9loIi
of love between young things at loss
for softer evidence of their feelings.
1t was like young colts kicking one
lanotner in their pasture.
Above the tempestuous disturb
1ances which shook the crowd as the
result of these encounters, there ming
led the cries of leather-lunged fak1rs,
the shouts of people from the race
track, the murmur of conversation, the
thud of horses feet, the blare OF Il
discordant band, the squailing of tired
infants and the hoarse Squak of the
mega phones. over all, in the yellow
sunlight, foated clouds of dust that
covered the steaming multitude with
"a brick-red mantle. The people, how.
ever, were happy in their discom-
fort They drank the lemonade pro"
vided, ate the greasy barbecue and
Coney Island SAUSAGE of the refresh
ment stands" strung out "taffy' by
the yard between dirty fingers and
swallowed it with sticky gusto. They
rode proudly on the merry-go rounds,
ran the risks of sea-SickneSs in the
ocean wave" at ten cents per sDasm,
land looked down with Sedate super
iority from the dizzy heighths of
slow moving Ferris wheels. They
looked on with envious eyes while the
"cappers' of the marble games won
fabulous sums from the hard featured
gentleman with the horseshoe scarf
pin and recklessly lost their qaurters
in a vain attempt to initiate their il
lustriouS example. And, in constant
streams that eddied and sWirled from
the main current they flocked like
fles to the sweet Inducements of the
| "barkers'' on the stands.
Be it said in the beginning. that the
/ Pike consists chiefly OF moderation
and the pictures that still remain on
| the canvas advertisements, although
| the glorieS that they once foretold
may no longer be seen i'll this day OF
descendant virtue. Commendable as is
the crusade for decency in exhibitions.
the salacously inclined should not be
lured by flaming signs, fakersh ora
! tory and The suggestive wink to pay
/ for a collection OF stale jokes and d
! SanctimoniOuS cutting OF the program.
! Morality is good enough, but II should
| not be served up under salty head
| lines. In such case the fraud becomes
| almost as immoral as the things That
! have been suppressed. The old maid
| of virtue has no business paradmg IN
! the high heeled slippers ana The snowy
rutfleS of Frivolity. The management
should stick to it's mutton and take
| it's morality straight.
This is well illustrated in the show
called Georges Lady Minstrels.
| The part of the ladies consists In
standing on the platform before the
show, and singing one song inside the
| tent. Outside however there is
wealth of suggestion. For twenty min-
utes before the performance, the
tom-toms beat. the barker" barks
| and the gay Parisiennes stand and
| grin at the crowd. These consist OF
an ancient lady from New England
farm, whose neck is very dirty, bow
legged damsel with pomDadour,
wearing pink stockings and sandals or,
| her feet a grandmother with a false
| front of frizzled curls, and a
snaggled toothed Jew with ham-like
hands, a blonde wig and q woman $
! dress.
The crowd goes in There is a
stage on which is hung this sign, La
Belle Neva'S Gay Parie Sho. Alter
a wait, the lady Of the sandals the
lady from the farm, the grandmothef
with the frizzled hair and the snaggle-
! toothed Jew come out and sing a song
| then all go away except the laoy from
the farm ana the Dutch comedian VINO
+! perpetrate six ancient jokes; theA
| comes in the Jew in the dress VINO
| sings a song and does Sklrt udiice~
| and the show is over.
| When the Jew came out to dance
Yesterday a tall and excited country
man pushed his way to the front OF the
crowd. raised himself on eXpectant tlp-
| toes and regarded the dancer Iof
moment with wide open eyes.
Suddenly he turned on his neei:
Nothing but a dinged man.! he
snorted as he left the tent.
That the faces of the duartette de-
scribed did not clean the PIKE IS good
evidence of the fact that people VINO
| go TO fairs come prepared FOR the
| worst The danse du Ventre may be
a sin-but La Belle Neva is calam-
ity against whom the gates should be
| locked for the prevention of opthal-
suddenly there is a cry of terror on
1.-THE Pike. Down the middle of the
crowd comes the wild man. who has
ESCAPED" He is naked except for
ia wig of bushy hair and crclet of
chicken feathers around his waist. As
| he runs like foot-ballist going
around the end, in and out among
| the crowd, chains clanking from his
arms and wrists. with two keepers
lone of them with q ten inch pistol