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

electric plant is essential for the best
Theatre illusions.
Divergence in detail, but not in gen
erai idea, is to be found in THE Day of
DOOM You get into the first theatre
with others. When a hundred have been
talked in by the barker, at a quarter
each, performance is begun. The
lights are turned low a dirge is played
on an organ, man with a solemn voice
reads some passages from scripture set
ting forth the fates of saved and lost
souls, and then a stage representation
of the destruction of the world is given.
1t looks and sounds like a stage storm
bigger and noisier than any you have
ever witnessed. Human voices arise in
terror. anguish and despair. An I'M
critical hearer may think that not less
than twenty persons are vocifeTating;
but my estimate is four, and ! base il
on the fact that at least one is a YER
satile chap with a vocal range from
hOarse men through shrill women to
squalling children, and whole battery
of monographs are operated with discs
of means, screams and awful outcTies.
The scheme of the show is to exhibit
the doom of sinners first; for after a
while, in this theatre, you are let into
darksOme, winding tunnel, in re-
cesses Of which you see lurking fiends,
ghOStly wraiths and nOndeScript beasts.
You and a score Of your companions
are next put into an elevator, and if you
are credulOus you think you are sunk
down a long way; but the sounds Of
creaking wheels and rafting cables
with a shaking of the car, fool you, and
you don't go down at all. Let out to
continuation of the same cirCling pas
sage, you see through peephOles dummy
WretcheS SOused in liquid fire; you smell
burning birthstone; walls of lost spirits
assail you, and dreadful devils dart out
as though to catch you. You pass Satan
seated on his throne, and for a mo-
ment he bars your way After your es-
cape from him, you are placed in an
other elevatOr-One that is movable to
the extent of lifting you twenty feet
with the noise and jar of 200-and then
you emerge to the second theatre. Here
an invisible woman sings hymns with a
sweet voice while the rest of the audi
ence arrives in detachments. Next the
stage is opened up for The Passion
Play" done with a combination of NOV
ing pictures and accompanying Ian
guage from a speaking machine. After
that, what looks like a transformation
from the time of The Black Crook"
has a dozen young girls posed in front,
and many dozen of effigies at the back
making a rather impressive climax
You have been started on the way to
hades and switched on the way to
heaven. The moral is obvious.
x x X
Description of the hundred stage
shows along two miles of Coney Island
shore would be a repetition of what I
wrote last summer. There is no big ex-
hibition of a wild west or other arena
kind; and the numerous vaudeville the
raFr off
playlet or sketch so funny as a little
thing that happened in the street by
chance, as I was laziiy watching a po-
liceman, who was still more lazily
watching the multitude. Our police
commissioner observed last year that
young and gOOd-lOOking officers were
diverted from their duty by Irritation
with girls; so this year he has none I'M
der 40 detailed for service, nor any
above that age if handsome. Does that
seem fnicky? Well here is an incident
that I saw. The visitors are coupled
lovers 10 a large extent. and you don't
have TO watch these pairs long to see
matings that are not cOngenial match
ings. This case is in Surf avenue on
crowded afternoon. The young man is
pale and the girl is red. They have
words-big ones, too. At last she ex-
claims tragically: L know what l must
no. anu IuoiltS INTO the EilQQle OF the
street, where the cars and taxicabs are
going at high speed. He calls out She
pays no attention to him. She will
throw herself under one of the vehicles
That is what she is going to do. He
realizes 1.-THE tTembles-he hides his
face in his hands not to see the horri-
bic thing. In truth, the cab comes quite
close. She makes a sign. 1t stops. She
jumps in and gives the chaueur her
mothers address. That's all.
"She didn't fool me-" said the wealth
er-beaten old policeman who had stood
by unmoved. zone of those boy dude
officers would have dashed in and seized
the pretty girl to save her life-and hug
her; but she didn't fool your uncle"
How did you know she didn't really
mean suicide?"
Why, easy. She had cud Of gum
in her mouth and never stopped chew
ing it."
DR.. West, dentist, has removed to 90
Main street Houston block.