The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-09-22
RUNNING A CIRCUS.
Some Figures Showing tho Cost and the
PROFITS. -.|

Profits. -
"After q circus is fairly on the road,
what are its daily expenses!" asked q
Washington Post reporter OF MIR. Tiling,
the agent for Coup's circus: .
I'm small towns between $4,000 and
%, 200 per day. The amount depends to
O certain extent on the sums that are
charged US for licenses to show and other
privileges. In cities the expenses foot up
to nearly 5000 a day. The advertising
and bill-posting is about $1,000. We
have 800 persons employed. We feed 225
of these in our cooktent and seventy
five are chartered at the hotels. Our
cooking arrangements are admirable;
we serve everything the best and in a
clean and careful way. Mr.. Coup fire.
quently dimes in the cooking tent"
HOY about the other side OF the
"The receiptsp They are generally
enough to make 9 good circus a paying
investment. Still, any day our receipts
may fall TO nothing because OF some
rain-st: rrn, or some costly animal may
die. There are many ways in which a
show may suffer dead loss. The worst
of it is that they cannot be guarded
against"
"What are the heaviest items of a
shows e~xpenses"
"The salaries. The sum paid to the
Japanese troupe in our combination
would run an ordinary circus. Then
the Indians, taking the matter Of board
alone at an average of but $3.50 per day
each, during the seuson, cost $500 for
q season, besides their salaries. A first.
class rider, like Miss Kate Stokes, gets
$50 a week." r.. nI
"Still. these are fancy : salaries, are
they not" "-"'
Eyes, to a certain extent. An ordi-
nary lady rider gets $25 q week. For
men riders, james Melville, perhaps,
leads with the highest salary-$2O a
week. The average Is $40 q week.
Fryer, who has the pony circus, draws
$40 q week; Carl Anthony, the French
horse trainer, the same, while we pay
for the wonderful Broncho horses $1,000
a week. This is exactly what we got
for them in the Boston Globe Theater
and AQUARIUM, and was offered for them
q years engagement at the Westminster
aquarium, In London. Our horses are
q study, One of them, Tom, owned by
Miss Minnie Stokes, q beautiful black,
of fiery disposition, is her particular pet,
follows her round like a dog and only
seems contented when in her company
With every one else Tom is particularly
vicious, having manned several OF his
grooms, but with his mistress he is as
gentle as a kitten"
"How sweetw mutt'red our adde's
cent reporter.
Mr.. Pilling looked rather hard at the
quilldriver, but the latter was as sober
as a judge aud taking notes vigorously,
80 he continued: /
"A circus proprietor does not, OF
course, pay for the wardrobes of the star
performers. These must be furnished
By them. Hence you see that, although
they are paid large salaries, they baye
heavy expenses. Last season mis-
Katie Stokes bought 1870 dresses. The
rosin used on the horses backs soon
spoils a dress, and spoiled apparel is
quickly noticed in the ring. The cos
tunes used for the opening pageant are,
of course, part of the circus properties,
each wearer being responsible for the
care and keeping of the dresses worn by
them" l.
II suppose the more enterprising q
circus is the better it pays?"
"Yes, beyond a doubt. A show that
keeps its vans new and. bright and its
canvas clean is always far more iber-
ally patronized than 8 show of equal.
merit which practices a false economy
in this regard; sni when. in addition
q manager endeavors to continually
secure novelties to please the public.
without sparing cost, he will certainly
be successful. Take, for instance, the
conveyance of a circus by railroad. I
l believe Mr.. Coup was the first man to
build and own a railroad train for show
business. When he projected it he was
laughed at by other showmen for e x
traVagance. When he started his new
show he employed IN agent, who said:
Mr.. Coup, you can never make money
with q show He said: why" oh,
you run your business too .aristocratic,
too extra7agJntly.' he was surprised
when he found that for three seasons
Mr.. Coup had exhibited in precisely
the same towns with increasing business
each year, so that now his show draws
most people where it has been oftenest."