Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1914-12-31


being one of tho most quiet and digni-
fed cities in tho United States, but
,ncs a year il lapses into unrestrained
frivolity. The occasion 10 q curious
carnival called the "Nsw Year shoot
ers' parade" which 10 described in
the Wide World Magazine by . resident
Of the city.
"OR three hundred and sixty-fo
days In the year Philadelphia
lives up to It's national reputa-
ton OF being the quietest city
In the United States. but for one glori-
GUS day the Quaker town vies with
New Orleans, Rome and Paris as
center of frivolity suddenly stricken
mad. 1t Is a very methodical madness.
however. for the chief participants In
this great annual festival OF Philadel-
phia-which is known as the New
Year shooters parade-begin their
preparations for the following year as
soon as the sun sets on the scene OF
gayety on Jan. l.
One Of the objects to be gained Is
the winning OF large cash prizes offer
ed by the civic authorities for the
most elaborate and novel costumes
worn in the procession and for the club
whose members make the most strik-
ing appearance on parade.
Each year the eccentricity OF the
costumes exceeds that OF the previous
year. Immense sums are spent on the
costumes Of the kings. Of whom there
are several In the procession. and num-
bers OF girls are employed for months
previous TO the date Of the festival
cutting out and embroidering the ma
terial intended for their majesties' fin
cry on festival day. The larger the
robe and the finer the embroidery
the better the chance OF winning a
prize. A hundred young Philadelphians
will form themselves into a club and
do little else in their spare time but
plan and prepare for the annual pa
rade. paying subscriptions into a gen.
eral fund. from which the milliners
bill Is 10 be met. and looking forward
to winning a cash prize sufficient at
least to reimburse them for the initial
outlay.
AS many as ninety pages are some
times required to support some OF the
gorgeous robes worn by the kings at
this curious festival. The parade takes
place on Broad street. the widest thor
oughfare in the city. and the royal
robes are made large enough to stretch
from curb to curb when pulled out to
their full width by the attendant
pages. Their weight being enormous,
1t would be impossible for even the
sturdy men selected as kings to sup
port them but for the small army OF
gorgeously clad pages who carry Sec
tons Of the train. At times. when the
street narrows or the crowd Is so
dense that it is impossible for the
pages to stretch the robe to its full
length. the weight necessarily falls to
a great extent on the shoulders Of the
king, and his majesty frequently
faints from the terrible strain of sup
porting his splendor without the aid
Of the pages.
These pages are attired In costumes
that match the robe of the king. and as
a royal retinue passes along TO the
music OF a military band the spectacle
Is a magnificent one. But the kings
are not the entire show by any means
Following each royal parsonage comes
motley procession Of jewellers, each
dressed according to his own peculiar
fancy. but all with some attempt at
expressing a meaning In the masquer
ade. Public men who are not popular
are held up to ridicule by men who
impersonate them In the most gro
tesQue costumes conceivable. current
events are depicted by cars In which
Young America exercises his wit In q
manner that the man In the street can
understand. and jests that are &C.
casionally couched In language more
forceful than polite are carried aloft
on transparencies. Pretty girls
whose large feet and mannish stride
betray the sterner sex. stalk along
beneath bewitching sunshades or
dance merrily with maskers In all man
ner Of foolish guises. and a regular
Noah's ark of animals. with trousered
legs protruding through the corners OF
their anatomy. march solemnly along
with nodding heads and cavernous
smiles.
At the city hall the procession halts
while the mayor and his cabinet re
view the parade. Then for hours u
plods along through avenues OF cheer
ing citizens to point where the com
mittee. TO which is left the selecting of
the prize winners. critically scans the
costumes and the appearance OF each
marching band. The decisions are
not made known Hntil several days
after the gorgeous fnery has been laid
away TO do duty In some way OF other
the succeeding year. When the names
Of the prize winners are finally an
nounced there is generally a howl OF
disappointment from those passed over
with much talk OF unfairness and bias
The prizes. however. do not interest
the. average citizen much. He is only
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