The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1919-08-19
YANK JAZZ SETS.
ROTTERDAM CRAZY.
Dutch Town Responds Excitedly
to ARsrican Novelties.
EVEN POLICE ARE INFECTED

Cabaret Entertainers Sing Hagtims
STUFF, but When D~oughboys Join In
the People 90 Wild With Excite.
ment-old Ones Like "Aiexanders
Ragtime Band" and "Everybody's
Doing 1t" Are the Popular Favorites.
Rotterdam is cabaret, "jaxz" 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 q bark
back to old days to walk into one of
the cabarets In Rotterdam and hear
the local AL Jolsons and Raymond
Hltchcocks 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 all 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 "RautIme Band"
One evening a party Of us entered
the He'll cabaret just as n 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 q number OF
fairly new songs. Our success was
nearly a riot and when we sang 1.-THE
Darktown Strutters' Ball" I thought
the tables would be wrecked.
When we finished two men came
over to u table and introduced them.
selves. One was Peter Davids, who
seems to be the Flo Ziegfeld of Rotter-
dam, and the other a newspaper
Both talked good English, and they
were fairly bubbling with excitement.
They fairly begged rs to get up an
American soldiers quartette and 20 on
In one of the cabarets.
"Everybody's Doing II" Popular.
1 went downtown with three fellows,
one of whom had a banjo and one q
guitar. We staged several impromptu
concerts In various cafes and cabarets.
and when at II o'clock everything
closed up we started home. An eager
crowd of Hollanders followed us aud
begged for just one more piece.
We were rather afraid Of getting
In wrong with the local police, but
finally We began n 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. I nudged the
banjo player, but as I did so I saw
that both of those dignif1ed guardians
of the peace were singing, and so we
kept m. 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. a mum
Der Of dance halls where every night
the young men and women Of Rotter-
dam try the steps Of American "rag."
The Dutch are won't to be dlgnified
In their dancing and the spectacle Of
a couple trying to rag In the stTlted
manner that n associates with the
dancing Of the mid Victorian sge IL
qmuSir0