Show Marathon Exhibition in in Madison Square Garden 1 New York Proves to Be Cr Craziest z est Show on Earth r IC LM tip Ii- y yf N f I EM A J I r rr r a i I Ia a w 4 j M 1 s K A r s sH H I IJ ISI J SI all II eru crazy raid eaid Harry K Thaw pictured picture d upper left as lie he watched the th strange endurance contests being staged in Madison Square Garden N New ew York The hit of the show is the exhibition of rocking upper center with Alexander and Mrs M Meyer eyer setting the swaying pace Shipwreck Kelly right still is standing on a inch 12 disc at the top of a Il 50 foot 50 foot pole and below you tee zee the center of attraction in the vast Garden GarCen Hello suckers II shouted Texas Guinan appropriately and lower left gave an encouraging kiss to Tom Tommy y Nolan marathon marl on dancer and a winner in last years year's contest Flagpole Dancers ers Champion Sway Sway- ers en Rock House By HORTENSE NEA Service Writer NEW EW YORK YORK Its Its It's too 00 bad 1 that Barnum didn't live In this age of or the new y J psychology cholo Y of showmanship For Por if It he could stroll into Madison Square Garden today he would discover discover dis dis- cover COVET that weird looking freaks freak are not half haIC as attractive and profitable as normal a appearing folks acting like lunatics Look at rocking chair for in instance In- In stance stance stance-or or you will if it you go 0 to the tho Garden Rocking has hM been done for years in an unprofessional way on the porches of ot summer hotels But hero here It has completely outdistanced marathon dancing as a a. spectacle of human endurance ance and futility futility and and andas as a 3 means of or drawing a a. crowd Milton D. D Crandall who staged stal a 1 dance dane marathon last year e ar until the board of health Intervened again is putting on the strangest show on onearth onearth earth In let addition Tills This time to endurance c shuffling he has the champion flagpole p leher and antI the I champion rocker The latter act Is the hit of the year It took tool Alexan lexan Alexander Alexander der del Meyer who holds the worlds world's record of or seven seyen days and ond nl nights of rocking rocking rocking-as al as long us it took to create heaven and earth earth to to capitalize it and Crandall to put It over and call caU it entertainment ROCK ROCK-A. ROCK BYE BYE MAYBE Crandall says cays that except for Cor feeling a little rocky sometimes sometime rocking meant nothing In his busy life Ute until he lie received re d a letter from fromMeyer fromMeyer rom Meyer saying he held the tho Russian championship and would like Ule to rode rock a against the le leading local talent ifan if an any Meyer's Meyers Russian laurels might have been stale and wilted for it Il w was s a quarter quartet of ot a century ago that he lie Indulged ed in that t t gay WE week I of ot rocking and became the tho pride of ot Latvia but he assured Crandall there were wele rocks rocles in the old boy yet et and he he- wasn't afraid 1 of DC losing his title Anyhow he had kept In practice tlc tice as he had great faith In rocking as a a. health measure measure as well as sw swe swell ell entertainment Native American talent being unorganized unorganized un un- un- un organized It lt was necessary to draft rockers and train them So Crandall Crand got In touch with the employment department of ot the Y M M. C. C A A. an and announced that he lie would pay the union rate of one dollar an hour for tor formen formen men to rock against Meyer Ie NOT ROC ROCKY Y ENOUGH Meyers Meyer's stiffest competition has not conic come from the the- Y M M. M C. C A A. A ranks however ever but from the wife of a a- Bronx Janitor and from a Lon LonT Long T Island land man named George Palmer Palmer has matched ml time with Mev- Mev or but being toeing much slower er he lie has been completely outmatched In the numb number lumber r of ot rocks rock Rocking flocking let it 4 be e explained Is not do done dono no in do a L rocking chair but in ina ina a n. straight-backed straight kitchen chair The tracking x Is done entirely with tho the bod body ody NO r-oo one ono in the world rocks with tho conviction and earnestness of ot not Meyer not even his wife who often rocks o oU off f several pounds hounds of ot avoirdupois L Mrs Meyer leyer rocks with a a. rather even ven legato legat and ind so 10 does Palmer I The bend of their bodies makes only an angle of ot possibly 45 de degrees Meyer leyer rocks with a no brisk staccato bending until his chest hest almost touches his knees but with his lead hood always alays forward and upward so that spectators lose none of or tho the serious purpose purpose written written on his Ills face AN AVOCATION NO LONGER Meyer is not a rocker b by y trade trade- his ils mornings are spent administering administer administer- ling ing anesthetics at a childrens children's hos hos- pital His Ills contract calls only for Cor afternoon and evening sessions inthe In Inthe Inthe the Garden but his lils popularity y is so great reat that It Is expected that the hospital will grant him a a. wee weeK or orso orso orso so of or tIme tune so that he lie may rock continuously continuously con con- when the tho preliminary rockers are disposed of and the contest contest con con- test owed narrowed down n to two rocking Chair is the talk of ot New v e York said Bald In the early arly morning rooming hours it Is nothing to see sec Hundreds 1 of or spectators in their seats rocking In groups Its It's sort of ot hypnotic Sometimes the they keep it up for Cor hours I have received telegrams telegrams telegrams tele tele- grams from Pittsburg Boston Doston Milwaukee Mil MII- waukee and several se other cities asking me to bring Meyer on tour and ind saying they have contestants lined up UI to rock him So far Car no one ha has lasted more than live flee hours an and l a half halt against him with the exception of Palmer BIG CITY SITTER FELLER M As for Cor Kelly Kelt the flagpole sitter stUer hes he's practically put over oval Until I had him here at the G Garden he lie had been ben sitting on tank tank- town to flagpoles imagine flagpoles Imagine that But Dut Buthe's Duthe lies he's a bl big bigi time actor now and has hasa a n. fine lnE otter offer r to sail san over to France as as soon as this show is over to Introduce in introduce introduce In- In flagpole l. I Pole sitting sl Ung- Ung there Kelly Keny is no at the flagpole business He lie stands standi upright ht on a Inch 12 disc serene and high some lomo nay fifty feet Ceet above e the dancers He lie has hasa a n. record of ot 12 hours of standing on a 1 pole or sitting fourteen days das The dancing Is being conducted rather differently than last year ear and some of the shufflers may carry 1 on Indefinitely l They ha have hae e a hour 2 rest period each ach morning between the hours of ot 5 and 7 zero 4 zero hours so Tar far as the tho box office is concerned This Thill rest period so completely disorganized disorganized dis dis- organized ors some of or them that half o ot of entrants the dropped out out the second day unable day unable to rise and face the music after such a tantalizing sl sleep ep period Every cry two hours they get twenty minutes of off 1 as liS well I |