Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-08-13
THOUSANDS SEE
NATIONS PAGEANT
ON THE ISLAND
Brave Rain Clouds to Witness
War Camp Commun-
ity Fete

Several thousand persons braved
the possibility of being soaked by
a rainstorm that lowered around the
| horizon all of last evening, to wit
ness the War Camp Community
! Service Pageant of Nations at the
! Island baseball park last evening.
A few rain drops fell and part of
the audience, timid souls who
dreaded ducking. left the park,
but the grandstand, bleachers and
part of the field were we'll filled
when the entertainment began.
Promptly ut 1880 o'clock, while
the crowds were still gathering
/ Lieutenant Nelson. from the Mid
dletown Aviation Depot. did stunts
over the Island in big army plane
and when he sailed away home, V.
Grant Forrer, who was master of
ceremonies. announced the pageant.
The band, which under the direc-
ton of Mrs. Elmer II. Ley had been
| playing for spirited community
singing took up its march to the
lower end of the field and met the
procession as it approached the
baseball grounds.
| Scouts Head Parade
| The procession was headed by a
troop of Boy Scouts bearing the
standards of some twenty national
tiles, followed by group of SOL
diers, from the local Recruiting
Station. Then followed the various
nationalities, all in costume, among
| the most picturesque being the
Hungarians, Greeks, Jugo-SlavS,
Italians and Syrians. A party of
American girls dressed as Japanese
dancers formed one of the most
attractive features. Each national
group carried its own flag. but al
ways over and above all waved the
Star Spangled Banner and it was
evident that they thought more of
the banner of the country of their
adoption than they did of the old
home standard. Dozens of children
were in line, some of them little
tots, and it was noticeable that while
| the mothers and fathers plainly
showed their foreign birth and fire.
quently spoke in the mother ton
que, the children all wore Ameri-
can clothing, had the appearance of
the ordinary American child. The
old folks were certainly proud of
| those youngsters.
Lieut.. Governor Speaks
Lieutenant Governor Beidleman
made the speech of the evening. The
Boy Scouts did n pretty piece of
police work at this juncture. The
| crowds, during the brief shower,
had swept out over the baseball dia-
mond, on which had been erected
a big frame platform for the pageant
dances and stunts" and the Scouts
| Joined hands and simply pushed the
| whole aSSemblage of people back to
point where all could see.
Lieutenant Governor Beidleman
spoke to the foreign-born especially,
| saying that it was not so long ago
| that the ancestors of all Americans
were newcomers to these shores,
standing just as the foreign-bo of
to-day stand. They had come here
determined to be good citizens, to
obey the laws and take the advan-
tages offered for their own advance
ment. He called the attention of his
audience to the freedom of America,
to her public school systems, where
the rich and the poor are on the
same basis, to our laws and our
methods of choosing public officials
and to the religious freedom en-
joyed here. I'VE welcome every one
of you to America" he said, "ask-
ing only in return that you strive
to be good citizens and endeaVor to
make good citizens of your chill
dren."
Mayor Keister and the City Coun-
cilmen occupied places on the plat
form with him as he spoke.
| By this time it was growing dark
and the flood lights on top of the
grandstand were turned on the CEN
ter of the field where those who par
ticipated in the pageant, represent
| ing more than twenty nationalities
were grouped, their flags and stand
ards forming a brilliant background
of color as they were massed in the
rear of the stage.
Uncle Sam Appears
The first character to take the
| stage was Uncle Sam, garbed in red.
white and blue, impersonated bv
Elmer Ley, who extended greetings
to John Harris. in the person of Fl
| H. kinneard and William Penn, in
the person of c. w. Title. Address
ing them on the work of both
American and foreign born in the
| war, and praising all for their parts
Uncle Sam then announced that the
Angel of Peace should appear and
from the mass of flags in the rear
came Mrs. Jennie Sellers, represent
ing that spirit, singing as she came
Ring Out Sweet Bells of Peace"
the band accompanying her. Then
came the various nationalities to
pay their respects to Uncle Sam,
the first being France, personified
| by two pretty little girls, both of
whom were born in Alsace- Lorraine
of French parentage, and who car
r1ed the tricolor of France. The
children were Marguerite and
Louisette, twin daughters of Mr.. and
Mrs. Frank Richenburg.
Following France came China.
a half dozen handsomely dressed
Cinnamon of this city participating.
Then England, with her delegation;
a party of Filipinos and Porto
| Ricans; fine looking young men; a
party of Greeks in national cos
tunes; next the Hungarians, who
filled the stage. They had their own
band along and the whole party
took part in the singing of national
songs and the dancing of folk dances
in the picturesque costumes of their
homeland. This was one of the most
effective parts of the program.
The Japanese were represented
not only by few of their coun-
trymen but by bevy of pretty young
| girls who wore beautiful Jap cos
tunes with chrysanthemums in their
| hair and who sang and danced af-
ter manner that put one in mind
| of the famous chorus OF the old
Mikado company. 1t was charm
ing number and could have had an
encore if time had permitted.
| The Jugo-Slavs did a wonderfully
! fine bit of singing and dancing in
costume, having their own orches-
| ira along, and showed that they
could be quite as entertaining as
| they proved themselves to be brave
on the field of battle.