Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1907-03-07

to this world. All New York goes to
Coney Island. The magIlate of Wall
Street forgets that there are bulls and
bears as he shoots the chutes or rides on
the scenic. railway. The denizen of the
lower East Side rubs elbows with the
magnate, but they have an object in
common and meet on equal terms. Both
are bettered by the contact, for ones
nature is at its bes when one is amused.
The popularity that Coney Island has
for New Workers my be realized when
the size of the crowds is considered
For the past two seasons the number
of visitors on Saturdays when the wea-
that was favorable averaged over 3OO,-
600 persons, while on occasions like the
Fourth of July and Labor Day conser-
vatiye estimates fixed the number at
over 100000, taxing the full capacity OF
every method of transportation afforded
by the city, which has the most extern
sive and comprehensive system of tran
sit in the world.
New York leads the nation in many
respects, and in no one more than in the
amusement line, for all that is new in
that line seeks the approval of the New
York public, and after that has been
secured there is little. doubt of its sue
cess, for there is no more critical or
cosmopolitan public anywhere than IN
New York City. Other cities have built
resorts on similar lines to those followed
in the new Coney Island, and at this.
time there are nearly two thousand
amusement parks in successful opera
ton, many of them having smaller re-
productions of the features that have
made Coney Island famous.
| AT each of these resorts the manage
ment tries to secure the best possible
| feature, and in this way Coney Island
| has had a national effect on amusement
enterprises, and has bred taste for at
fractions that are high in class and in
struction. Everywhere there is a steady
demand for novelty, something new,
something bigger, better and grander
than before and the demand must be
supplied The best work of talented
minds is constantly called for, and the
ingenuity of the inventor is taxed to
the utmost to meet the emergency.
And there is money in it for the men
who have combined the work of the
electrician, the architect and the me
chanic. Fortunes have been made and
new fortunes await the man who gives
the public something that will bring
pleasure; diversions no longer meet the
demand of the public, for the American
pride asks for instruction as well as di-
version, and the antics of a clown no
longer make circus any more than
trry-go-round, cane rack and
| frankfurter stand enclosed in a fence
constitute an amusement park. The
eye must be pleased and above all the
attraction must be clean and wholesome.
Coney Island, with Luna Park and
Dreamland cannot be transported from
place to place, but every season has
witnessed decided step forward in the
development of the amusement resort
idea as seen in other cities The latest
feature III the plan is to furnish such at
fractions as have been recognized as
leaders to amusement parks in the small
er cities where an attraction will be
given for run of four to eight weeks,
and then moved to another city in cir
cult modelled on the lines similar to the
great theatrical circuits. New shows in
this way will be provided for the patrons
of each city, and the attractions will be
constantly changing.
| The popularity of and the profit to be
derived from such attractions as E. J.
Austen's "Johnstown Flood" is indicated
by the fact that during the Buffalo Ex-
position it brought its owners $4,000
1t was then taken to Cohey Island, and
in three seasons cleared $4,000 over all
expenses, making grand total of $751;
600. Mr.. Austen's Galveston Flood
has also been a money maker, and his
two productions, Creation" and From
New York to the North Pole" each took
in more than quarter of million dol
lars in six months.
To make money is the object of every
business, and this is no less true of the
amusement business than of any other.
but the essential qualification of the
amusement producer is ability to know
what the public wants and how to pre-
sent it in its most attractive form and
at the same time to keep clear of the
questionable and tawdry features.