Omaha daily bee., 1908-08-30

kind In tho two Americas. The arohiteo-
ture OF Lura park helps rather than hinders
the spirit Of carnival Luna park has been,
and Is, tremendously successful. There are
other amusement parks In It's vicinity that
are chastely beautiful from an artistic
standpoint. but hat 80 far as dollars and
cents are concerned are utter failures. Wis
TORS admire the buildings, ard don't go
near the shows. 1 have built their sort
OF buildings, too, but not for a Luna park.
They don't pay. An exposition is a form
of festivity and serious architecture should
not enter into It II II will interfere with
the carnival spirit.
short ana Lively.
An amusement park is a condensed Broad
way. IL that Is understood to represent
metropolitan theaterland. In a park the
best things Of a theatrical nature must
be presented in capsule form. The shows
must be diversified because the appeal
must be universal. The whole gamut Of
the theater must be run. and no show can
last more than twenty minutes. II you
have a two-hour Show It should be boiled
down to a quarter OF an hour. 1t is foolish
to make people serious or to point a moral.
for you are dealing with a moral people.
Nor is It worth while to try TO educate
the amusement-seeking public. It is better
to take 1t for granted that they are edu-
Gated, and II you start out to amuse them,
to stick to that.
People are just boys and girls grown
tall. Elaborated child's play is what they
want on a holiday. Sliding down cellar
doors and the make-believes OF youngsters
are the most effective amusements for
grown-ups. An, appreciation of that fact
made The Trip to the Moon" possible.
and THE Trip to the Moon" made for me
and my partner, Dundy. 10000. The
Ticker" Bump the Bumps" and 'grhe
Virginia Reel are nothing more than i'm
proved cellar doors. 1.-The Trip to the
Moon" Might and Morning" "The Witch
ing Waves" and 9TH Lost Girl are only
Celebrations Of the doll house stunts Of
childhood, and they are successful largely
for that reason. But they must be short
and decisive. l would rather have a good
show that lasts three minutes than a bet
ter one that runs an hour.
Gaiety in n storm.
Bad weather kills the carnival spirit, ard
on rainy days the Snowman must fight
hardest TO maintain a pretense OF gaiety.
| have made 1t rule to keep my attraC-
lions running just the same in a rainstorm
as in the sunshine, and as an evidence OF
the curious and timely reward the allie
glance to this principle has frequently
brought me 1 need tell only one story.
l reached the gates of Luna at $3.50 ono
night two years ago, when rain was fall
ing IN torrents. just as 1 entered the
park all the lights went out and met a
crowd of employees on their way home. l
told them to stop, ordered them back to
their posts, sent for the manager, told
him to turn on the lights, had sent word
to the five bands to get back irto their
uniforms and start playing. l had made
It a rule to keep faith with my public,
and, although 1t costs $500 a night to light
Luna, 1 thought the chance that the next
train might bring to Coney Island half a
dozen people who would expect to find
my place open and ablaze with electricity
was worth taking. WithiD five minutes,
as II by miracle, the weather changed,
the rain ceased, the stars came out and
people began to stream in. Within the next
hour nearly 1000 people paid admissions to
Luna. II 1 had not insisted on a p~retense
of gaiety they would have gore somewhere
else.
Big Money Invested.
1t costs a lot of money to build and
operate an amusement park on a large
scale.
l suppose that more than S5, 100000 is In
vested in these parks in this country.
Dreamland on Coney Island cost about
81, 5OO.O 900. Riverview park and the White
City iD Chicago cost about 100000 each.
Luna park cost 81, 100000. The total an
nual expenses. including the cost of re-
building, of putting in new shows and the
operating expenses, averaged about $1,000
600, and the season lasts four months. |
| spanf HDAO 90 n N npa abnu alnnp ~ which
SIS, 900 was for animals, mostly elephants
and camels-it was the representation of
the Indian Durbar-and l lost 100000 on
1t. l charged the loss up to education,
and it was worth 1t. 1t costs $500 a week
to light Luna park and $4,500 for the music.
The salaries of the free performers this
season are 81, 800 a week. And all of these
expenditures. as well as a good many 9TH
ers, go simply to manufacture the carnival
spirit.