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Street Fair an Accessory to the Carnival
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AT TIIK ENTRANCE OK THE CUINIVAL
iTREET fairs, such as have within
thrrt years become one of the at
tractions of the annual festival of
the Knights f Ak-Sar-Hen, form
oni' of the features which doci
Hh origin back to tht Lathi race
not trace
of Knroii'
hut which comes from tht Teu-
tonic races, and In to lie found In Its glory
In England of the. middle ages, In Germany
of the mime time ami Hi ill continues In the
north of France anil In Ireland, where the
fairs" are held annually, and where the
native not only bring their wareH to Hell
lint exhibit such produce of their xk III and
Ingenuity as may eaiiHe comment.
The. Htreet fair became a fad In the weal
about nix years ago, and for a year or two
it wax a poor county beat town which did
not hold a street fair. Like all other fads
It Hpeedlly dropped out of Bight, but It
was caught by the Hoard of Governors of
the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben as an Idea
which, properly developed, could bp made
an attractive feature of the annual festiva'.
Four Good Short Stories
English nobleman in ill health
I I was out one morning early,
1 I wenrllv takloif n constitutional.
Walking along his game pre
serves, he turned a sharp corner
and came face to face with an Irishman
who had tho reputation of being an invet
erate poacher. Putting his hands and
what they held behind him. he preserved
a perfectly virtuous aspect, while the gen
tleman hailed him cordially with. "Good
morning, Pat."
"Good uiarnin', yer haner. Au" phwat
brings yer haner out so airly this mar
nin?" 'I'm lust walking around. Pat, to see if
I can't get an appetite for my breakfast.
And what brings you out so early, Pat?"
"Och, bejabbers, Ol'm Jest a-walkin'
around te see if Ot can't git a breakfasht
fer me oppetlte!"
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"Justice Shiran has a collar button story
which he tells with a great deal of gusto,"
says the Chicago Record-Herald. "A man
in Pittsburg, where he used to live, had a
wife who win complaining of dyspepsia,
and she heard ft a certain remedy that was
put up In capsules. Her husband bought
a dozen at a drug store and brought them
home In a pill box. At the Bame time he
bought a doxen collar buttons made of a
metallic composition that looked very lira h
like pearl, and the druggist gave him a pill
box similar to that In which th capsules
were put up to carry them In. He took
both boxes home, handed them to his wife
and the Bame day she began to take the
medicine. After she had taken twelve
di si 4 she was entirely cured and adver
tised the wonderful remedy all over the
neighborhood. About this time her hus
band lost his collar button, and, opening
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GROUNDS. Photo by a Stuff Artisl.
There was strong objection at the time i f
Its Introduction because of its name, "strict
fair," as the public, with one of its cus
tomary changes, had become tired of thi
word and some had come to decry the
street fair as the Innovation of his Satanic
majesty, where a year or two before they
had hailed it as one of the most nannies
ami elevating of amusements. For this
reason the members of the Heard of (Inv
entors and their active assistants spoke
of the "street fair" under their breath,
ami did all they could to keep the words
in the background while doing their best
to advance the Idea. The result was thu
In Phmi the people of Omaha were given an
i nti rlaliiini lit tho like of which they had
never seen. There was set apart for them
a district In the city where the spirit of
the carnival was never stilled from th'
earliest dawn until the clock sounded th
hour of midnight. The space was smnl-.
but the fun was more fast and furious f r
that, as the crowd could not scatter. T'.:e
his pill b':x. found It empty. A brief In
vestigation showtd that tho capsules in the
ol In r pill box were still there and that his
wife had swallowed twelve composition
cellar buttons, two n day for six days, and
been entirely cured f dyspepsia."
John II. Converse, president i f the Bald
win Locomotive works, was interviewed a
few weeks ago by a newspaper man who
was looking for a "feature." He asked Mr.
Converse a good many tiresome questions
and some which, to the interviewed, seemed
decidedly impertinent. Finally he wound
op with:
"Now, Mr. Converse, what do you find
most difficult to get out of your men?"
"A day's work!" emphatically replied
the maker of engines as he rim tied for his
hat and signified that the Interview was at
.in tnd.
After General Scott captured the City of
Mexico, during the Mexican war. Colonel
Childa was placid in rommand of the
troops In Puebla. Among the officers ther-)
were Major II. L. Kendrick and Lieutenant
Selden. Kendrick was dry In humor and
quaint In speech. After the fall of the
city Santa Ana hovered around Puebla
with a large command of cavalry, keeping
Colonel Childs in a elate of alarm. In one
of the forts Kendrick commanded and Sei
dell under him. One morning the enemy
was reported rapidly advancing on the fort.
Childs rushed to the fort, shouting to Ken
drick: "The crisis Is coming the crisis
is coming! Why don't you fire?" Kendrick
turned to Selden and quietly said: "Mr
Selden, commence firing." Selden asked.
"What am I to fire at?" "Oh," said Ken
drick, "fire at the crisis." So Si blen'a
guns thundered at the crisis.
PAHAUE COUNTERMARCH I N'G IN
tarnival spirit might pervade the entire
city at times during the week; might pen.
trate the busimss districts on the days and
nightn of tin- pil.idtn. nlid lnii;!it lie Mil.
in the homes and in the workshops at cer
tain times, but in t lie district set asid
by the Hoard of Governors, with the consen
of the city authorities, for the street fail
that spirit was ever present from the da;,
before the carnival opened until the di
after it closed.
To enter the grounds was nn Invitation
to all persons to make a victim of one if
possible and it was also fair notice to all
to look out for themselves. The men he
came small boys ami dignitiid matrons laid
aside the years which had passed them on
the Journey of life and all became chil
dren until they had passed finm the gates.
Within the walls of the district dignified
city fathers toyed with confetti and
screaming deices which they had often
ballistic. I from their hotin s w hen Introduced
by Boino youthful member of the family.
Ki vi lend divines f ergot thtir profes
sional expressions and faces habitually as
li ng as a elm li.vard sh ift became as round
as the full moon under the hilarious influ
ence of the. carnival spirit there Intensified
and localized. There was no objection to
the loud shrieking "barker" who on one
side told of the wonders concealed behind
the canvas of the tint and endeavored in
drown the alleged music performed by the
mechanical manikin who stnnl upon the
axis f the mei ry-go-i und. Staid men of
business, whose faces are more oft n seen
behind the windows of the counting house
than in the streets, forgot their cares and
were boys for the time and such a time
it was! Never hail Omaha Been Its equal
and never had Omaha seen assembled in
one body the crowds which filled that space
during the week of the street fair.
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Inii tier iew of the Ililler Liquor coin-
pany's esialili.-hmeiit at l::' F.iruam
street. Omaha's new up-to-date family
liquor house. I he only place or the kind
in the west and undoubtedly the hand-
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FRONT OF MAIN ENTRANCE TO CARNIVAL G ROUNDS. Photo by a Staff Artist.
There Is a tendency on the part of the
American public, which is not found to
such an extint in other countries, to carry
1iiiIimT they do to extreme. It l.i r.ui.l
that we take our business too seriously,
our pastimes too intensely, and the street
fair at Omaha was no ixceptinn. It was a
democratic crowd and there was a certain
amount of license allowed by the authori
ties; therefore it was no wonder that there
could be found among tho multitude' those
who forgot the responsibility which follows
upon liberty and that from fun the jostling
and "horr.e" play would become malicious,
especially when someone so forgot the time
and place as to enter serious objections to
what was intended at first as mere pleas
antry. When the lirst street fair ended there
was a strung feeling that il would never
be repeated, but when the second year
had rolled around the demand on the part
of the men whose cash made the annual
carnival possible and upon the part of the
public who annually visit the city to attend
the carnival was such that the Hoard of
Governors could not nsist It and the sec
ond street fair was projected. That year
more attention was paid to order and cer
tain restrictions were placed upon the
merriment of the crowd. A highrr class
of attractions had been secured and every
thing promised one of the most successful
fairs ever held anywhere. On the days
In fore Thursday of the week of the fair
the attendance had been in excess of the
preceding year, when the dread news of
the death of President McKlnley came and
from that time the fair was a failure from
a financial standpoint.
This will be the third year of the street
fair as a part of the carnival and fall fes
tivities. Wilh years comes experience not
only to men, but to institutions and the
JjSHl
!HHwf
sonusi store in Omaha,
Visitois during the Ak
on this firm will be ,,
suited with a hand-
some souvenir glass
The assortment
of high-graik' wines,
NX
tC5r.
Heard of Governors has profiled much by
their past experience. The street fair has
been placed in the hands of a professional
i mi l laini I . In ill ' spring Hie manaui i
selected and Waller Jardine. the chairman
of the committee having the work in
charge, made a trip to New York, where
they spent a week r more at Coney isla'id
and other popular resorts of the metropo
lis. The result of this trip was that ih-y
secured some of the attractions which
which were on exhibition there at thai
time and they had an opportunity of se.'iin;
what was the latest In the form of su li
amusements which might be duplicated at
Omaha. The trip resulted In the commit
tee securing the best line of variety at
tractions which has ever been seen in
Omaha except during the Transmississippi.."
exposition, and some of the attractions
then here, improved and modified, are to
again he seen in Omaha.
One of the best features of the coming
fair will be the presence of Sorrent ino's
Handa Rossa, which was hero last year.
This band will give daily concerts free to
the people who attend the fair. In addi
tion to this there are many other free
attractions which will be presented during
the afternoon and evening, while the part
set aside for concessions, for which we
have invented no better name than the
"midway," will be filled with shows of
more than usual merit.
The street fair is not intended by the
Hoard of Govt mors to be a source of
revenue. If it takes care of its own ex
penses the board Is satisfied, but those
expenses are considerable and the admis
sion fee charged is but nominal. What
ever money may be left at the close ot
the fair is turned into the general fund
of the society and Is applied to the legiti
mate expenses of the organization.
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liquors, i hami agues, etc.. kept by the Hi'
i r- II n w lin call b r I . 1 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 inn 1 1 i-.i li v -:imi(it 1 1 f i ill II tl O'lf -
side of ,. York Citv. Don't forget th''
address. It jn . WOrth your while to
call.
