The Washington times., 1935-06-15
NOW
CaIUes, Calves
On Avenue!
SUCH DOINGS!
BY HELEN ESSARY

golden armor. Charged the
aggressive dragon. Oh, most
successfully! The dragon turned
and fled. He'd a new set Of legs
by this time. His first legs had
turned into coolies in straw
hats.
The man in the megaphone
hlared:
"Give the act a hand"
The crowd did. Several thou
sand hands. The black taSSels
on the red fezzes, back in the
grandstand from the first part
Of the parade, quivered with
emotion.
Gen. Amos Fries, director Of
the pageant, blew a whistle.
Off moved the Chinese Temple.
The dragon, his spirit broken,
trotted meekly behind until the
next stop.
: The man in the megaphone
roared:
Ladies and gentlemen, in
Just a few minutes you will see
the landing Of Christopher Co
lumbus. America will be dis
covered right before your eyes,"
America was being discov'
cred, right before our eyes,
every minute from half past
seven Thursday night until
about 2 q. m. yesterday. A
completely artless America.
The America of the Shriners.
Practically all of the people
in the world were down on
Main Street. Some of them got
. little tired of the new worlds
yet to be conquered, along
about midnight.
But this time the fireworks
were shooting themselves into
gay stars and stripes and burn
ing fountains over on the lot
behind the White House.
Mrs. Roosevelt had gone
home to bed. She hadn't very
far to travel, from the special
stand in the midst of the I'M
perial Potentates to her own
room. Indeed, she hadn't both
cred to wear a hat to the
parade. Had just walked across
the garden in her lowered
chiffon dress. Said a cordial
howdy-do to about Is persons.
Sat and smiled and applauded
for half an hour or so. And
then left. Just when the news
boys were crashing through the
dance of the Indians before Co
lumbus' best ship and shouting
that Make Baer had lost the
big fight.
The first act in the pageant
was something very Egyptian.
Egyptian girls were dancing in
sinuatingly on the bare streets.
This was the time the press box
!(masculine section) forgot to
take notes, and the photogra-
pliers rushed close to the most
beguiling of the dancers,
snapped them with a certain
personal relish, while a great
! Egyptian gentleman was sing
ing eloquently about Celeste
Aida"
! Aida, you see, had just
| emerged from her mummy case
! to find a hateful and far less
E,worthy Egyptian queen on the
I throne, with her own faVorite
princeling by her side.
! Remember. now, this was
down on Main Street in the
Capital. One gets so confused,
with filibusters going on at the
other end Of the street and the
MIRA turning up its toes. And
everything. One hardly knows
where one really is (more or
less) Eat" in this country. This
naive country, Of which the
Shriners are the delighted ex-
preston.
However-where were we?
oh, yes, in Egypt during the big
parade. Getting used to Egyp-
tian ways two thousand years
before Christ, when along came
a train of small hospital cars.
The cars stopped. Out jumped
little children and did Irish
dances, and rhumbas. Jumped
rope and played marbles.
Romped and switched about.
The parade that preceded the
pageant was undoubtedly i'm.
,nressive. Temples and temples
"a temple among Shriners is a
body of mem passed by in gor-
Qeous colorS. Calves by the
hundreds went bravely over the
car tracks-red calves and green
calves, orange calves and blue
calves. Shriners' calves, all Of
them. Supporting pretty husky
fellows. walking with good firm
strides and praiseworthy knee
Ahead Of each Temple
marched an Imperial Potentate.
Most of the potentates looked
like Jim Farley. Which is quite
natural. For, of course, Mr.. Far
lev Eve like him very much) is
the Grand Imperial Potentate
49,