The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-06-20

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NAL is languir and fatigued, he begins
pulling out his terrifying teeth. This
done. all is ready for the Mighty Hunt
er. He is preceded by a brass band.
Next comes an ornate bodyguard. Fol-
lowing them a select group of dancing
girls show that life in the wilds has its
compensations.
At last Theodore the First comes upon
his prey He is attended by newspaper
reporters, photographers, secretaries,
stenographers and moving picture men.
1t takes them some time to get good
positions to observe and record the
| hunt. The wait greatly wearies the lion,
doped and tOOthless as he is, and he lies
down. Kermit wakens him from a
needed rest and holds him up to be
shot. Are you ready?" says Teddy to
reporters, lion, photographers, Kermit
ct al. After several picturesque poses.
he shoots The first time he wounds
Kermit I'm the foot. The lion grows
more and more weary and it is an effort
for all to keep him awake and shoot
able. However, Kermit, though wound
ed, keeps him prOpped upright. The
photographers take a new set of poses
the stenOgraphers a new set of notes
Teddy again takes aim and fires. He
misses-misses even his son this time
But a rare bird drops dead from the
skies. And we leave the Mighty Hunt
er discOursing on his marvellous game
discovery and posing for more heroic
photographs.
That scene occurs as the eighth Of the
nine which constitute the first act of
The Follies of 1909" The ninth is in
the throne room of the German emper-
Or's palace. Here Wilhelm receives
Theodore, who arrives in state hardly
less magnificent than when a-hunting
in Africa. His bOdyguard, except for
the ever present brass band, now con-
sists of docile lions tigers and the like
They amble pleasantly about the
throne room while Wilhelm and Theo-
dOre sing a duet about themselves, or.
rather, each ecstatically about himself
Roosevelt refers to himself as the next
president" and won't change it when
Kermit suggests that he means "ex-
president" Taft suddenly turns up with
a golf club and navy, the latter being
a ship for each state in the Union. They
are, in fact, the headgear of a march
ing chorus. At the end imitation waves
are so arranged that only the shiplike
hats of the girls appear. They burst
out with electric lights. THE Star
SpangIed Banner" displaces ragtime,
and rOadway-Overdined, overturned
and generally lethargic-is forced, in
common decency, to rise and remain
standing vaguely wondering whether in
honor of d stageful of wonderfully
pretty girls. of a successful new show
or merely of the stars and stripes.
COney Islands showmen said it was
open a month ago, but it wasn't really
not wide-because a crafty trick down
there is to make last years shows con-
tent this years crowds as long as pos
sible and then to introduce the new
seasons novelties to incite second Wis
its. So I have been in no hurry to tell
you about COney in nineteen-nine. It is
the largest place Of shows in the whole
world. Having made that annual brag
once again. I will add that, at night, as
heretofore, its million points of electric
light outline its turrets and towers, fol-
low gravity cars, chute boats, carOus-
ais. aerial whiTls and other devices of
cOmmOtiOn, making such a spectacle as
may we'll make a tourist on an incOm-
ing steamship fancy he is passing a
city of Fairyland That's a sufficient
preface Now I'll be literal.
A hundred thousand persons go down
to Concy of a Saturday or a Sunday
without crOwding it uncomfortable
Many of these are families that take
lunches along and buy nothing but
beer; as many more make very small
purchases of brOiIed sausages and sand
witches, peanuts and candy; and alto
gether, in the cOntemptuOUs estimate
of a Snowman, it is a stingy multitude
However, ten dimes make a dollar, and
by an admission fee of 10 cents. Dream
land and Luna park, two Coney areas
Of about seventy acres each, get con-
siderable incomes for the privileges of
spending money within their fences.
They do give without further charge,
though, fairly good circuses on plat
forms over their central pools into
which the chutes plunge their boats
Other than that, and a look at the peO-
pie at their diversions, Sou get moth
ing for your dime-unless you dance or
skate on the free floors; and they don't
give away the refreshments at the
stands around the edges. You must
pay cents to so cents for every show
you go into.
I'm not grouchy about Coney mind
you il is a wonder in its entertainment
for masses Of marvellously orderly peo-
pie. No more than Is per cent of visitors
go into either of the reserves I have
named, or the third big enclosure, Stee-
plechase park; all the rest stroll through
the streets, thrOng the concert halls
if you buy beer, and shop around for
bargains in the great diversity of prim-
tive pleasures The police permits no
open games of chance, no tricks that
are swindles and no disorder other than
momentary outbreaks. We have a po-
lice commissioner with original ideas.
A dozen of Coney's buildings, if their
massive walls were stone, not stucco,
and if their carved images were carved
marble and not moulded plaster, would
have cost a million apiece. A new one
has a demoniac frontage, with big dew
lis. little imps and an enormous angel
of evil glowing over them. THE Day
of Doom" That's what an inscription
saws with letters illumined a fiery red.
II is merely one more Of the shows that
represent the Bible accounts of the
worlds creation or destruction and the
Calvinistic beliefs as to mans eternal
rewards and punishments. The Coney
problem is to play a seemingly big bluff
without a real risk of losing anything:
to satisfy exacting people with a spa
ciols. weird and haunting spectacle
that can be run by dozen men, women
and bows on moderate wages The in
vestment may be equal that of an aver
age drama: for two theatres Of a make
shift sort are usually included in the es-
fablfshment. to seat the audience at the
,---f,,,,fr,.r Of IFS visit and again al the