Omaha daily bee., 1910-01-23
WHERE THE MACICIANS MEET
They Try Their New Tricks on Each
Other First.
CAN'T ALWAYS FOOL RIVALS
All Are soIemnly Pledged Not 20
Expose the wonders OF Their
Art-PliEht of NV
Fat Men.

the Magicians society who meet every
month sat Martinka's palace on Sixth
avenue during the winter and occasionally
have a ladies' evening do not, as a rule,
appear TO be rich, but what they lack in
material things they make up in qualities
that are not usually In possession Of the
common herd. The society, which was or
ganized in May, 1902, has at present more
than 200 members, and while these regular
social meetings are apparently designed
merely for good cheer and fellowship IL is
an unwritten law that IL any one Of the
magicians has a new trick he shall try II
on the home dog before he asks the opln-
ion OF his neighbours canine critic.
The home dogs are pretty well broken.
and it's a mighty poor trick that don't
get at least a feeble wag. All OF them ad-
nit that they had rather play before any
old kind Of an audience than the one COM
posed OF their fellow craftsmen. As one OF
them admitted, you cannot tell at the mo-
ment your trick is finished whether the APP
plause means I'm on, old chap" or whether
the lookerson are spplauding because they
themselves have been fooled. But it is not
an uncertain state Of mind which continues
for any length of time, and as soon as the
magician mlngles with the audience he
finds out just where he stands.
The information is given In a cipher COM
posed Of expressive pantomines and verbal
phrases absolutely indistinguishable to the
visitor, for the most solemn pledge is re-
quired Of each new member that he will
not expose magic on the stage for accord
ing to the resolutions adopted at the first
meetings.:
IAN lovers of the mysterious in enter
tainment should religiously discountenance
and discourage by all reasonable and fair
opposition the exposing of secrets of mys-
teal creations, whether original or adopted,
published in print or not, on the following
grounds, viz:
That M good can result from UGH ex-
posture.
That it is an injustice to all concerned,
performers and audience alike.
That 1t tends to discourage originality.
That It cheapens the art, robbing it Of
That it kills the goose that laid the
golden egg"
One naturally pictures the magician" as
a mysterious being, tall as a wand, with
dropping shoulders and wullowy arms that
suggest the wearing Of a mantle. He
should smile rarely, his hair ought to be
long, black and oscillating, ahd he should
step lightly. The late Prof. Hermann ad-
hered pretty closely to this visual standard.
but his physical example has not been fol-
lowed very closely IL one judges from the
members present at the last social meet
ing. All looked as If they heard a dinner
bell at least once a day and responded
thereto, and not one of them was seen
after the entertainment was over to refuse
the soft drinks, the confectionery and the
sandwiches. Most of them might be de-
scribed by the word rotund, and they had
a nice, comfortable, domestic look about
them. They are an optimistic class, how
ever, 1t is discovered, and have no mean
petty remarks to make. about their profess
sional rivals.
Like the Lunnon bus driver, who, when
he has a holiday, spends it on the top Of a
rival line, so there is nothing a magician
likes better. so one Of them said, than to
wander when off duty into a spiritualistlc
seance and witness the same old tricks in
a new environment. The plump hand of
the medium covered with luminous paint
and placed against a black velvet back
ground he loves to have spoken of as the
absolute counterpart Of dear Mayme's and
he enthusiastically joins in the applause Of
the strange doings of Little Comrade,'
the only criticism that he has to make is
NAA& AC AoANAJ ANoA hD any NhhAAh CIV IlANANs
For instance, you might attend spirit
~ualistic seances all your days and never
learn the service to which it is possible
TO put the odds and ends of household
articles that have outlived their usefulness
and for which the ordinary apartment and
city home offers no storage place. OF
course you may say that there is nothing
of the occult about this, but after you
have witnessed the work of one of the
member magicians whose speciality takes
this economic line you will admit that his
entertainment is little short of the mar
velous.
For the invariable criticism of the
skeptic is sure to be after witnessing the
lifting Of a chair, hearing three knocks on
the left upper wall and seeing a specter
finger dart from a curtained recess, What
good does II do?' No such remark can be
made Of the magic performance noted,
where two old socks with holes in the
heels, a piece of a chair seat with the
tapestry threads hanging, a black four-in-
hand, two clay pipes and a red paper
heart appear after a moments clever
manipulation as two impressionistic paint
lngs neatly framed in passeparfout depict
ing a st. Bernard dog in the icy fastness
OF it's native Swiss mountains and an
athletic looking woman seen from the rear
diligently covering some twenty miles Of
open country on a bicycle with thick YER
dUre on the sides and a sleeping tramp in
the far horizon.
All the implements for this extraordinary
piece OF work besides those noted are an
easel with a stiff background, the frame
mentioned. considerable nerve on the part
of the principal actor and a stolid acquies-
cence on The part OF the audience. The red
heart under his manipulation becomes part
Of the lady's bicycle costume, the bits Of
loose cotton lend themselves easily to the
construction of snowy clouds, the dTApery
becomes a rural hedge and the socks a
line Of tender, wagering hills with that
intimate note of art, that tender aesthetic
ism of values, that inimitable toning that
depicts the true artist.
one of the magicians near by speaks
in a voice almost inaudible to his wife and
says:
II honestly don't see how a man can do
a trick like that-and get money for it,"
Francis Werner, who is secretary of the
club and has adhered more closely to the
aesthetic appearance Of the Hermann
school than his compatriots. ascends the
platform, steps gracefully with no other
ph%araphernalia OF office than Is contained
In a modest vanity bag which d~iscloses a
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