The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-04-22
COMMITTEE HOPES
TO SELL 5000 MORE
POTLATCH BUTTONS
By Noon Today Floats for Parades
Will Be omplete-Merchants
May Yet Sign Up to Partici-
pate-Buttons Necessary
for Admittance


The curiosity of Birmingham and the
state of Alabama over the chief and
princess of the potlatch festival will be
relieved almost within the next 4S hours
Potlatch week Is here; Thursday after
noon the chief and his princess will march
across the city from Red mountain to
Capitol park, meet the city commissions
ers, smoke the pipe of peace" conduct
a love feast among the few warning face
tions of Birmingham. receive the keys
to the city. and hurl the entire city into
the throes of the potlatch festival.
$4,000 More Needed
by noon tomorrow everything inelud-
ing all the floats. will be ready for the
festival TO begin" said Oscar c. Turner.
chairman of the Chamber of Commerce.
potlateh committee, last night but we
need about $4,000 more. and we want TO
sell that many buttons before the crown
ing event of the festival at East Lake
park Friday night. think we can do 1t.
1T should be impressed upon the citi-
zens of the city that there viii be no
admittance charged to this grand Indian
ceremony ana ball at East Lake. bur
that absolutely no one viii be admitted
without either a potlatch button or
hatpin. The buttons are still on sale at
many of the downtown stores and any
one who wishes can secure them. 1t is
very important that every one who has a
button wear it during this week. We
believe that 1900 more of the buttons will
be sold by Friday night. We need that
much more money to guarantee the ex-
penses of the festival. which will be ,
staged just as elaborately and spectac -
larly as we at first planned.
"The Improved Order of Red Men Will
man the floats in the night parade Thurs
day night, dressed in full costume They
are to meet at their hall Thursday aft
ernoon at 8 ocock with their Indian cos
tunes on and in preparation for the pa
rade. They will ride the floats and will
not have to walk, as some have be-
leved'
Floats Completed
BY today noon the big floats for the
day and night parade will be complets
and ready for the parades. They will
be brought to the city Thursday after
noon from the fair grounds where for the
past two weeks they have been under
construction by Captain Dorrance.
1t is stll possible for local merchants
and business concerns to take part iii
the Birmingham on Wheels" parade Fri
day afternoon. There is no fee for the
entrees in this parade, and 1t is expect
ed that several more firms will contract
for floats before the parade list closes
Solon Jacobs, chairman of the band
committee, has closed up contracts for
several brass bands to take part in the
potlatch parades. Among them are the
=
East Lake Boys Industrial School band.
Pratt City band and others. Davidson's
orchestra will furnish music for the In
dian ball at East Lake Friday night.
Hill Ferguson, chairman of the commit
tee i'm charge of the East Lake events,
spent considerable time at the park yes
terday getting things lined up. The In
dian ceremony at the lake Will be staged
by 50 or more couples. dressed in full In
dian costume, who have been rehearsing
for some time. They will give war
dance about a gigantic bonfire on the
far side of the lake. and then enter.
canoes and with lighted torches will row
across the lake and lead the first dance
of the Indian ball. The floor of the dance
hall will be open 10 all persons wearing
potlatch buttons or hatpins.
Event Will Be Advertised
Notice was received yesterday by
Chamber or commerce offlclalS from
the pathe Freres company that a cinema
tograph operator would he in Birmng-
ham to take moving pictures of the pot
latch festival for -Pathe's Weekly" This
is the second moving picture company
which has signitied their intention of
sending q moving picture man to photo
graph the festival events.
The routes OF the parades We're pub
lshed in Illustrated form in Sunday
Age Herald. and as the TWO parades are
TO be two of the most important features
Of the festival. potlatca officials sug-
gested yesterday that the Illustrations be
cut out and used by those who wish to
station themselves where they can get
good view of the parades.
The first event of the festival is the
arrival of the chief and princess THURS
day Afternoon. followed by the allegolical
Indian parade Thursday night.