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Show Wizard Groesbeck Produces Light in Big Hostelry 'Tis Easy for Him to Secure Electricity When He Attends At-tends a Dance. WHU.K fashionables of tbc city gathered on the mezzanine floor for a party, while traveling trav-eling Balesmen sat at writing leskn and figured how strong to push the house on their expense accounts, while waiters hovered over late diners sugg-ting that the chicken a la king was very good while all these things were happening at the Newhouse hotel last night at 9 o VIock every light in the great hostelry suddenly went out. Simultaneously every light in adjacent adja-cent buildings on the same ' ' feed ' ' from the Utah Power & Light company went out. The hotel and other buihl-ings buihl-ings were in total darkness from basement base-ment to garret until employees had groped their way to where the candles were kept and had distributed them, lighted, to advantageous points. The candle lights were feeble, nowever, and for an hour and a half the big hotel would have been an eerie, ghostly place had it not been for the gay throng at tho ball given by Samuel Newhouse, owner of the hotel, and Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Armstrong. And There Was Darkness. Then, suddenly, the lights al! came on again. It seemed as if (J. E. Groesbeck, Groes-beck, general manager of the light and power company, must have had some-, thing to do with this. As if by somev magiCj he waved the general managerial manage-rial right hand, muttered some incantations incan-tations and, lo, the lights were on again. This sounds fanciful, but here are the facts. Mr. Groesbeck was late in arriving at the party given by Mr. Newhouse and Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong. It was 10:30 when he hove in the lobby and was astonished as-tonished to find the hotel dark, except for the trifling glimmer of a few candles. can-dles. Friends hailed him and demanded to know what had gone wrong with his power plant. "That's what I'm going to find out," replied Mr. Groesbeck. With that he turned and walked away in the darkness. Prestol In three seconds sec-onds every light in the hotel flashed on, and murmurs of satisfaction went up from the crowds in the lobby and on the mezzanine. "How did Groesbeck do it?" gasped one of his friends. ' " Wonderful fellow," said another, admiringly. ad-miringly. "That's why he's general manager. ' ' And There Was Light. Alas for the general manager's maic, however, it must be recorded that grimy "trouble men" of the light and power company lit up the Newhouse again by the expedient of "cutting in" on another an-other reed. The lights had gone off because some transformers on the circuit cir-cuit which lights the hotel and some adjacent buildings had broken down. While the lights were off the guests of the hotel and the guests at the social function made a gay lark of it. The shaded candles in the main dining room and the ballroom were lit, giving a bizarre and romantic aspect to the rooms. Young couples sought out corner cor-ner divans where the candlelight filtered fil-tered dimly and men found occasion to slip away in the semi-darkness from the scrutiny of their wives, successfully making the trip down to the buffet and back without detection. |