Charlevoix county herald., 1919-08-01
YANK JAZZ SETS
ROTTERDAM CRAZY
Dutch Town Responds ExcitedIy
to American Novelties.
EVEN POLICE ARE INFECTED
Cabaret Entertainers Sing RagtIme
Stuff, but When Doughboys Join In
the People Go Wild With Excite
ment-old Ones Like "AIexander's
Ragtime Band" and "Everybody's
Doing II" Are the Popular Favorites.

Rotterdam is cabaret, "jazz" and
''rag" crazy-and the American SOL
diers working at the new American
base port at Rotterdam are rejoicing
To us Americans 1t is like bark
back to old days to walk into one Of
the cabarets in Rotterdam and hear
the local AL Jolsons and Raymond
HitchcOcks shouting out the familiar
strains Of "Everybody's Doing It,"
"Alexander's Ragtime Band" "That
Mysterious Rag" "Fiddle u" and even
in some places "Arrah Wanna" and
Cheyenne" says Corp. David Ram
seur In Chicago Post.
Some of the entertainers sing In
English some in Dutch, but all sing
them sing call the old, old favOrites.
But somehow the Dutch singers lack
the kick" and "punch." And the
Rotterdam habitues are quick to APP
preciate the difference between their
singing and the singing of the Ameri-
cans.
Helped Sing "Ragtime Band"
One evening q party of us entered
the He'll cabaret just as one OF the
most popular of Rotterdam entertain
ers was singing "Alexander's Ragtime
Band in Dutch. When he reached the
chorus we all joined in, singing with
all our might. When we finished half
the people In the place were standing
: on their feet and all Of them were
cheering and clapping. So we sang
again, and then at the request of the
orchestra leader we sang a number OF
fairly new songs. Our success was
nearly a riot and when we sang "The
Darktown Strutters' Ball" I thought
the tables would be wrecked.
When we finished two men came
over to our table and introduced them
selves. One was Peter Davids, who
seems to be the Flo Zegfeld of Rotter-
dam, and the other newspaper man.
Both talked good English, and they
were fairly bubbling with excitement.
They fairly begged us to get up an
American soldiers quartette and go on
In one of the cabarets.
"Everybodys Doing II" Popular.
/ went downtown with three fellows,
one of whom had a banjo and one
guitar. We staged several impromptu
concerts in various cafes and cabarets,
and when at IL o'clock everything
closed up we started home. An eager
crowd of Hollanders followed us and
begged for just one more piece.
We were rather afraid of getting
in wrong with the local police, but
finally we began one they all knew
"Everybody's Doing It." We had just
started on the chorus when up came
two of those tall, stern-looking police
men, their long swords banging
against their sides. / nudged the
banjo player, but as did so I saw
that both of those dignified guardians
of the peace were singing, and so we
kept on, and the men we feared sang,
too. So we found out that the "jazz"
craze has even hit the police force.
Dancing Is permitted In most cab
arets and there are, besides, q num-
Der Of dance halls where every night
the young men and women Of Rotter-
dam try the steps of American rag"
The Dutch are wont to be dignified
In their dancing and the spectacle Of
couple trying to "rag" in the stiIted
manner that one associates with the
dancing of the mid-Vlctorian age Is
amusing.