The New York herald., 1922-11-25
Strange People and Star
Performers Give One Night
Show Like Ringlings'.
SURPRISES UNDER TENTS
Guests Have Dinner Around
Edges of Sawdust Ring
While Band Plays.

A Numidian lion coughed roaring
challenge to Bengal tiger in the
grand ballroom of the Hotel Commo-
dore Just before midnight last night.
But. children, this wasn't the half
OF It,
F'rninst the savage cats, meat hum
gry and mean. was rock python
which would stretch thirty-two feet
TO even young Doc Ditmars's measur-
ing rule: a great serpent which coiled
and uncoled mottled sinuosity as
thick through the middle as keg
ptupendous Father of EVIL who seemed
to contemplate as hopeful possibilities
in nutrition the especially plump hotel
men strolling about eating peanuts,
slipping pink lemonade and joying
with the iaextinguishable spirit of the
small boy, in the strangely mixed
smells and sounds of a great circus.
The 1000 hotel men in New York from
all parts of the United States and some
cities of Canada were at the Biitmore
as the guests of it's proprietor Jonh
IcEntee Bowman. man OF IDEAS.
To give them the kind of party they
would remember to tell their grandchil-
dren about Mr. Bowman did things 10
n hotel ballroom which simply had
never been done to defenseiess oail-
room in the whole history or hoteilng
He ripped out the tapestries. the silks
and the satins. the Oriental weaVes ana
the costly fripperies of France. lie
skinned it until II was as bare as an
art students attic.
Then he waved his hand and with the
wizardry of ideas and money TO oacK
them he transformed the vast dance
floor and connecting rooms into the
kind of circus that the Ringling boys
admitted themselves last night wasn't
very far behind their greatest on earth.
Surprise Party for Guests.
The complete indoor circus was sur
prise party. None of the visitors knew
what they were walking into when they
were spilled out of the elevators from
1890 until ii l.. NJ. on the ballroom level.
First they emerged into long tent
whose floor was three inches deep in
sawdust and around whose billowinS
sides were the Strange People.
Until they got out OF Freak Hall there
was no knowing what would come next
but the nc~ thrill was In an adjoining
tent, another of the smaller bathrooms
pat under. or over. canvas and crowded
with the expensive and greatly annoyed
animals that Bowman had got into the
hotel and up eighteen stories for the
first time in the history OF mankind.
The visitors walked right into "A regu-
lar menagerie. with the thrilling
choruses and the hardly less thrilling
smells OF a big wild beast show, and
then working through joyfully. they
came out into the Big Top. the main
ballroom and found themselves under
A fs...f lptx 1x,e naf tkyid hgl
up by four enormous blue painted tent
poles. MI around this were set the
banquet tables. and the meal was served
as the circus began with a crash of
Lrasscs from the Old Guard band and
crack OF the whip from Arthur HILL
l'ngmaster. Thirty ring attendants, or
''roustabouts'' worked the mechanics of
the show rugged up in scarlet uniforms
Then came n rush of foolish clowns. lit
tie Mile. Leitzel. cleaning and twisting
and comforting In midair the aerial
acts and the ground performances:
Lindsay with his astonishing whip. and
at last and well along into the morning
Of this day Ce Dora. the motorcycle
loop looper.
Among the Guests.
Among the well known hotel men
who congratulated Mr.. Bowman were
e. VI. Statler. Francis n. Balm OF New
burgh. Fred Sterry. Thomas ID. Green,
James Woods, Edward NJ. Tierney. pres
ident of the Hotel Mems Association
Earle T.. Carley OF Belleair, Fla.
Charles r.. Gehring. publisher of the
Hotel Rcuicto: Frederick A. Muschen-
helm. Elmorc c. Green of Buffalo. Jacob
Mcssner Of Rochester. Mark a. Caldwell.
secretary OF the New York city Hotel
Association; George +. Stockham,
Charles a. Judkins. Claude r.. Mott.
Frederick w Rockwell OF Albany,
Charles +. Flynn of the Scvilla. Ha-
vana John McGlynn OF Troy. George
Wright. Canadian vice-president of the
x national association. and ]. L. Alexander
president OF the South Carolina Hotel
Association.
Also Alfred S Amer president OF the
Southern Interstate Hotel Association /;
j. X. Blatchford. secretary treasurer %
the American Association Harry j.
Chouchcrie. president of the New York
Gre.ters James II. Daley. president OF
the Texas Association; |. Fluegelman, n,
Howard n. Huick. president OF the New
Jersey Association l.. u. Higson, presi-
dent of the Indiana Association: Frank
G. Hall. president of the Boston Assoc
citation Frank Holly president OF the
Long Island Association, and Dwight
Hart. president OF the Southern Califor-
mia Association.
Also william VI. Kmball. secretary
OF the New England Association II. H.
Mase. president Miami Hotel Associa-
tion. Herman Mack. president of the
Chicago Association Gilbert q. Madl-
son. treasurer OF the oregon Associa-
ton Halscy H. Manwaring, president OF
the California Association Mahlon
Newton president of the Philadelphia
Association; Hunter VI. Perkins, presi-
dent Of the Colorado Greeters; Fred g.
Pantlind, president OF the Great Lakes
Association; a. l.. Race. president or
the Now England Association NJ H.
Rowley, president of the Rocky Noun
tain Association Ben n. Scherer, presi-
dent OF the Milwaukee Association /.
Charles II. Shean. president OF the
Springfield. Mass. Association r.
Harold Van Orman. president Of the
Hotel Mems Mutual Benefit Association.
and John Davidson OF the Hotel wiod
sor, Montreal.