Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1910-02-07
MARD| GRAS At
NEW ORLEANS
King and Queen of Carnival
Reign in Splendor and
With Gayety
MONEY IS SPENT LIKE WATER
1t Costs His Royal Majesty Enor-
nous Sun, for His
Brief Glory.

New Orleans, Feb. I.-Halllng Rex
King of the Carnival New Orleans
today approached the climax of the
Madri Gras festivities. The sirens
of the river craft and cheering thou
sands on the shore welcomed the ap-
preaching monarch as he came up the
Mississippi river and Landed from
the royal yacht. The formality OF
turning over the keys of the city to
him and the parade followed. 1t is
believed that the attendance at the
Madri Gras will be the largest on rec
ord.
The usual program-the welcome to
the king and queen, the balls and
out today, tonight and tomorrow on
a more magnificent scale than ever
before.
On the streets noisy parties of
brightly dressed maskers show like
splashes of vivid color amid the dense
throngs of light hearted spectators.
Football rushes through the crowds
now and then are occasions for panic,
fainting women and painting police
men, there is jubilant laughter and
gay bandage; a constant shower of
bon-bons and confetti and the clash of
bands and music that come and go.
Baners wave. The city is riot with
color by day, ablaZe with rainbow
lights at night
Then, in the distance, rose-colored
clouds herald the approaching fam
beaus of the carnival parades. Lights
on the line of march are momentarily
extinguished the better to reveal the
splendor of the passing pageant. A
multitude of clapping hands applauds
the king. Years are forgotten, envy
ings of rival beauties are lost in adj
miration. Crowds cheer and the night
is animate with light and color and
laughter. Amid the quiet, scented
gardens, Of Upton" and Downtown
wearied housewives heave a sigh of
thankfulness that it is now too late
for more unlimited guests to arrive
and that they are spared from Sleep
ing on the doormat or the roof.
The king of the carnival is entitled
to all the honor which he receives. He
pays well for it, although man is
sought to occupy this place not only
because he can afford to fill the role,
but because he is popularly esteemed
by the city and his fellow clubmen.
Perhaps no sceptre held for so brief
time is proportionately so costly. Five
thousand dollars represents the con-
tribution demanded of the king for the
carnival. That, however, merely rep
resents the opening of the kingly
purse strings and the pouring forth of
many thousands more There are
sums toward carnival expenses; there
are royal dinners, luncheons and re-
ceptions held in honor of the kings
entourage, his guests, his friends. and
his queen and her friends, to say
nothing of the unlimited amounts
spent for flowers and a considerable
sum for jewelry and suitable gifts for
his queen and the men and women
who occupy places in the royal house
hold"
In the early days of the carnival
the queen was chosen for her beauty
from among the women at the carni-
val ball, and she might be the yeriest
stranger to the sovereign about to
honor her. Only one queen was ever
so selected. Since then, while it has
always been a tradition that carnival
queens must be beautiful, other rea-
sons have weighed most in her selec-
ton, such as her family's relations
with the king, their wealth and the
prospective queens social popularity.
The chosen one must enjoy a great
degree of favoritism among her wom-
EN- friends or her selection would give
rise to an amount of envy not to be
calmly contemplated.
1t is no longer an easy matter to
find queen. This honor costs sever
al thousands dollars and entails no
end of social excitement. The queens
gown must be truly royal, and not
many real queens wear court dresses
Of greater splendor than this fair SOW
ereign of day. She must select her
maids of honor-a task likely to cause
breaches in MANY a
entertain them row
ally before the night of her reign, be-
sides presenting them with iewelled
souvenirs of that occasion. The
queen has also to entertain tbe king