Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-06-19
BY MARY AQUR.

adjective, After going over the frayed
stock in hand there seems TO be lack
ing the word sufficiently descriptive OF
the floats, now receiving their very
last loving finishing pats. of their
his capable son, in the historical dem
that has been secret workshop these
many weeks.
At the centennial celebration on the
arsenal island Tuesday evening the
sum total of all this astonishing re-
production in PAPER machie story may
be seen. and not until then will any
one fully understand why there is
needed the making of word fitting
the magnificence, the originality, the
cohesion in the story of hundred
years, torn from the record pages of
the community's history and moving
along in pageant form. AS yet, the re-
porter has not viewed them as will the
public tomorrow, for today they are
inanimate, though lovely, things, with
out the fash of electricity with which
they are quickened by myriads of
flower concealed bulbs, and which
gives to them the heart of life of to-
day-a jump, indeed, from the spark of
flint of the Indian and the candlelight
of the missionary priests of the long
ago. When these floats begin to move,
with the gaze enthralling slowness of
the beautiful encircling eye of Gree,
then. perhaps the last word will come
to the lips of spectators.
These last few years has heard
much of pageants; in fact, any out
! door this or that has fastened the
! name pageant, and it is because Of
| their ineffectiveness. in most instances,
that the big surprise is due from
| the electrically illuminated spec
tacular pageant tomorrow night
| One is told it is IAN allegori-
cal presentation of historical and
industrial events by an electrical
| ly illuminated pageant of ten
cars" But that doesn't seem. isn't
suffice of the visit to the work
shop. Pulsing like the engine under
full head of steam, shut off from speed
compelled to wait" an hour its body
throbs with the stored energy of ages
heat; so appear these ten cars, stand
ling motionless but heaving with the
steam to generate in the hearts of ole
men and women, little girls anC
boys, and Tightly youth, a patriotic
pride in the possession of the years
tucked away in the annals of this his
toric wealth, and conveying
i, a giddying sense of the opportunities
lengthening onto the future pages O
its history, of which they uncon
| ha 70 OF mr.
figures.
This is what the creator of thu
pageant has put into mold, and some
.. thing more, and something still fur
: Their unlike until one feels he hash
:, consciousness to grasp all the tremb
=, ling, living truths of these stirrin!
!, times. And yet, it is so simple il
, execution that inside the realm o
imagination the smallest child Capabl
of recollection will not forget that h
saw and understood.
1t took intellect to conceive tn
Y thought and story of these hundre
r years and put it in condensed forr
:, and travel it before the eye; it too
e art and the correct sense of proper
= ton that the spectacle be not merel
/ pretty and attractive; it took the pa
! thence of genius to mold and colo
2 each tiniest part so exact that tn
$ whole gives no intimation of the min
, ute labor. You are not to see. frs
| d yellow car, and then red car, {
v Cetera, a la rainbow. Not So A
Y artist had hold of the color pot an
= used the brains TO mix it, in that
harmonious blending from one to tn
! other of the portions of the pagan
: exists. There is no crude, varigate
effect, made up just to startle an
rankle. Color. the most pleasing @
unpleasing element in existence,
, is the exterior expression of harmon,
and Mr. Benson and the staff of art
, sans working under his direction hav
achieved its law
The day The Argus man visited tn
: workshop Mr. Benson was in overall