The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1926-03-13

Hiram Maxim, Lee De Forest,
and other well-known radio figures
are to speak at a banquet at the
Hotel Pennsylvania tonight to
mark the close Of the New York
Radio Show.
vaudeville and sit gasping and
gaping at things much less anus
ing and things that the Chinese
would consider mere trife.I
There the magician squats between
a gold fish bowl and bundle of
mysteries and pulls tricks that
would make his fortune in Amer
lea, without confederates and al
most without properties, and with
you standing before him, or beside
him, and viewing his every mo-
ton, from every possible angle.
He then sews buttons on his
tongue so that you cannot pull
them off, grows plants, eats fire,
catches live fish out of your hair,
or from unsupported recesses of
your clothing. You win only hear
the one line of patter from the
performer: '1ung-tung, lung-tung,
ega lung-tung, tui-tui, ega tui-tui,
flemish Ia" the last meaning
finish
Strictly Decent
It may be, if your host is of al
sporty nature, he viii invite you
to a theatre providing that you are
a man, it not being customary for
women to attend such places, al
though they are strictly decent in
every respect. A Chinese play may
last for several weeks and they
are all classical antiquity, but not
at least untrue to Chinese life of
today, because of their age, for
the Chinese have changed only
very little, and that on the outer
edges, in a thousand years. By
substitution of actors of varying
ages the whole life of the hero
from cradle to grave may be por-
trayed, as our style of serial mo-
vies. One may have to go three
or four nights in succession to get
into the plot, but after that it is
easy. The theatres have a gallery
for the high priced seats and floor
space with long wooden benches
and narrow wooden tables for the
cheaper class. The prices in the
former are terrific. Cases have
been known where some gay young
plunderer has squandered fourteen
whole turner's" fourteen tunz-
ers are equal to about FIVE cents
u. S. money! in one night, but, of
course, you will hardly believe this
without seeing it. They sometimes
drink three or four tuners worth
of tea in a single family box, and
maybe six, or even seven or eight
tuners worth Of peanuts.
Striking Effect
One Of the distinctively Chinese
pleasures of these theatres strikes
the foreigner Immediately upon his
entrance, at each side of the en-
trance stands an iron kettle of
simmering water, tended by a pair
of almost naked men. At points
among the audience are stationed
others at distance from any
where from 20 to 80 feet apart.
These and the kettle tenders CONF
prise the workers and supply the
hot towels. A quaint affair but
very necessary, though more
sanitary service would be prefer
able, on account of the awful dust,
so characteristic of oriental cities,
the dexterity of the services Is
phenomenal. One man stationed
in the farthest corner, about 20 of
so feet away, moves within small
radius, receives from their patrons
their used towels. These he twists
and losses over the heads
of the audience TO the kettle ten
der. He does this without appar-
emily looking in the direction of
his throw and only occasionally
turns 70 catch the returning towels,
but the skill is the greatest in the
case Of the kettle tenders, from all
directions, without warning. the
towels come sailing over, three.
four, fiRe, or six at 4 time. Their
long Skinny arms shoot up, move
through the air in sweeping arcs,
and with perfect calculation rs
enc to six towels are caught with
nnfailing cleverness and relayed
to the assistant The latter plunges
them into the sealding water, with
enc hand that surely must be made
Of leather. far ha rarer s3sn<ha~