In a blaze of dazzling light and gayety, White City, the new pleasure resort on the South side, which was given over to the public today, opened its doors last night and showed some few thousands of its friends the completeness of its larder of entertainment and innocent, as well as interesting, diversion.

With many features that made for the success of the "Pike" at the St. Louis world's fair, and some others unique and original, the White City proves well qualified to bring back memories of spots in that great white city out at Jackson park some twelve or thirteen years ago which St. Louis tried to equal and which Chicagoans, of this generation at least, will always look upon as unmatchable.

"Oh, isn't it beautiful!" "Oh, isn't it just like the world's fair!" "Just like a fairyland!" were expressions heard on all the "L" trains from the city as they turned to the Sixty-third street structure. They referred to the White City's exterior, which reflected 20,000 incandescent lights and sent a glare of brightness into the sky."

"All Right," Is the Verdict

"Well, it's all right." "It's a good, clean place." "It's just the summer garden Chicago has wanted for a long time." These told what the verdict was after the White City had entertained and the invited critics had started back to their beds. It was late hour, too.

In the language of one small lad who squeezed past the guards and disported on the "bumps" all night, White City is "right there." It offers everything from grand opera to wild west shows, from Venetian gondolas to flying machines. The youngsters can play and make merry in their own way, and the elders can do the same in theirs. It is a mosaic of fun and pleasure for all; it pleases the eye, eases the mind, and appeases the stomach. What else does man want?

Memories of World's Fair

As one enters the facades, the lights, the broad walks, the water, the electric tower, everything brings recollections of the World's Columbian Exposition, as the builders planned. The great court-- a fifth of a mile north and south and a twelfth of a mile east and west-- is an architectural beauty, and as the visitor passes the turnstile and gets the first strains of the Banda Rossa's music he is ready to forget the work-a-day world without and do just what the barkers tell him.

Those who tried the ballroom floor agree with the programme, which states in seriousness that it is the best in America. It is certainly one of the finest ballrooms in Chicago. The "celebrated Orchestrion built for exhibition is the French section of the liberal arts building at St. Louis" is at one end of the hall, and a mechanical figure with a powdered wig is there to beat thime for dancers' toes.

Waxworks Are There

From the ballroom the road leads to Mrs. Jarley's wax works, whose inhabitants now appear in real life under the name of "mechanical exhibition." Queen Elizabeth is there receiving a petitioner of some sort. There is a Chinese dope joint, a giant with a midget in his hand, the tortures the Spanish inquisition, Washington receiving a delegatin of fierce looking Indians at his tent in the wilderness, a satanic vision, and even Oyama and Kurepatkin-- some in action, but all in poses that would make Mrs. Jarley's heart leap for joy.

Hereafter Is Crowded

Everybody seems anxious to press into the Hereafter, naturally. the crowd surgesabout the doors and if they do as much business in the next world as the Hereafter on earth does, they probably enlarged quarters long ago.

"Oh, let's not wait for the hereafter," said a dark-eyed West side girl to her escort. "We haven't time." And they hurried on.

The Fun Factory stared them in the face. It certainly makes fun. It distorts, widens, oblongates, crushes, decapitates, inverts, and obliterates one, and one enjoys the process all the time. Women who like to primp and gaze at themselves in mirrors-- or is it their husbands?-- should visit the fun factory.

Fire show the Big Show

The "big show" is the fire show. A more realistic spectacle is rarely seen. After the spectators are seated, the rising curtain discloses a modern city street corner, crowded with shoppers and other pedestrians, with wagons, automobiles and cabs. When a policeman and a trolley car showed up in the miniature the spectators felt for their watches and put on their dodging squints.

As the only thing to stop a street fight, the music of a German band and a military parade, a fire breaks out in one of the buildings. There is a great alarm, women faint, and soon the fire fighters dash up. There are thrilling rescues, just as occur at real fire; the flames leap high, throwing a glow over the whole city, and then the firemen throw on streams of water and the blaze is put out.

To detail the features of all the offerings would be to write the history of a city. The shoot the chutes, the toboggan or roller coasters, the scenic railway, the Chinese theater, the flying airships-- a title which insinuates that some airships don't fly-- the "knock the baby down and get a good cigar," "three shots for five and sixteen for a quarter"-- these and many others are there.

Beautiful Venice Attractive

Beautiful Venice goes the old mill one better and is realistic to a degree. The infants in the incubators retired early last night in order to be ready for the reception today. Across the lagoon from the babies at Hotel Sleepyville the roomers were having a riotous time. Carter H. Harrison had a room on the top floor, under his room was Cassie Chadwick's and on the first floor John D. Rockefeller's. On the other side of the house Con Clancy, Ole Olson, and Ike Goldstein had apartments. The trick was to break the hotel windows and rouse the sleepy roomers, and it was noted last night that everybody aimed at Carter Harrison's room.

Beautiful Jim Key is truly a wonderful horse, and Cummins' Indian congress does some good stunts in "Custer's Last Stand." But the thing that caught the crowd was the "bumps." The bumps must be seen first and then tried before they can be appreciated. It is shooting chutes that have warts on them. The cars are strips of cloth and the water is a surging mass of humanity gathered around to enjoy the fun.

Man-Elephant Does Stunts

Outside in the open a human elephant walks across the lagoon on a high wire and the Flying Bicketts do stunts to the tunes of Banda Rossa. there is a dog, pony, and monkey show, the temple of music, the Johnstown flood, the Midway, the double whirl, the observation wheel, and a dozen other things inviting the spectator as he rests near the band stand and wonders what to do next. Finally his stomach prompts him to steer for the new College Inn.

The entertainment here is in keeping with the outside. The promoters of White City have combined a great many laugh and pleasure producers inside the city gates. It is clean, wholesome and innocent fun, although silly and illusionary in instances. The management is to be congratulated. It is a good place to shake off the blues and get right with the world again.