The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1883-06-05
BUZZING BARRETT.
A Bazooits Interviews the
Proprietor Of the Circus
Here Yesterday.
He Gives Some Points Of In
terest Regarding the Fra
ternity at Large.
High License In SedHlia-Salary
of Performers-Succeseful and
Unsuccessful Showmen.

general reader was CLEANED.
The affable Snowman Was found out q
tine cook house, awaiting the arrival of ,
broiled tenderloin steak which gentleman
of color was cooking on bed of live Goals
and when informed that the BAzoo mar
desired to pump him little, he smiled anc
|gr.ciously SUBMITTED to the inevitable.
"How many visits have you made Il
Sedalia, Mr.. Bsrretti' asked the reporter
rs be accepted Connecticut filled Havans
cigar extended by the Snowman.
"This is my fourth visit 10 your city
Ny 6rst was in 1876, and / will never
forget il. We were then travelling BY
wagon. The day before We showed .,
Windsor, and about midnight started fol
Eedalia. The roads were 10 . horrible
condition, and when daylight came w
were still several miles from the city
Finally We crossed the creek south OF town
and thought the roads would be better
Such was not the case, however, and it wat
nearly noon before the last wagon reached
the city"
casion pro6table?"
"Quite the reverse, as We left 5000 more
than we took out"
"In what year did you pay us your sec
ond visit ?"
I'm 1880. Then we We're travelling by
rail, and came In from Nevada. On that
| occasion our receipts were about 81 600
but our expenses were far in excess Of that
amount"
"You must have had bad weather on
your second visit also?"
"Yes, it was miserable day-rain and
mud without end"
"And your third visit?"
THAT was last season, when We had to
fight the Coup show. We did fair bust
ness, and would have carried some money
orr of the town had il not been for our
trouble with Coup; as it was, however, the
expenses exceeded the receipts"
"Then you have not made any big
money out of Sejalia?"
"No, indeed. There is one thing want
to speak of right here before forget it, and
that is your excessive licepse."
as is higher than in other towns in Mis-
souri,"
"Yes, BY almost two 10 one. There are
only two towns, Joplin and Boonville, where
they charge anything like they do in Soda
liza. In Joplin il costs 800 to exhibit, con.
sequentiy all the shows give the town a
wide berth In this connection let me say
that high license towns, as a rule, are poor
show towns"
Is the license, on an average, any high
er in Missouri than in other states?'
"Most assuredly it is. It is twice as high
here as it is in Kansas, Iowa, and many
other northern and western states. There
they have no county license, only city or
borough"
what does it cost circus to exhibit in
Sedalia 2"
swell, the first thing is S125 for the
city, then comes S125 for the county, max
ing q total of $3.50. In addition TO this.
there is license for side-shOws,
lemonade and balloon privileges, etc. To
cap the climax, the authorities here wanted
seventeen complimentary tickets, good for
their entire families"
"You gave up the comps" I suppose !"
"That's where you are of. l paid the
license, and then told them If they wished
to visit the show they could purchase tick
cts, Just the same as other people. l am
under no obligations to your authorities
here, let me inform you"
"Why do you stop at the these high
license townsw
simply because it is necessary TO make
our runs Now, for instance, we left Yer
sailles Friday night. We could not make
Lexington for Saturday, hence we're COM
PEELED to stop at Sedalis."
"Do you ever skip q town on account of
the licensew
.'Yes, we have to do so on our present
trip through Missouri. Clinton wants
more than we can afford to pay, conse-
quently we are forced to pass through
and make our next stand at Appleton City.
The authorities of Clinton may not believe
it, but / tell you We will hurt her mer.
chants more than they imagine. We will
draw the crowd to Appleton City, End you
can rest assured the merchants there will
sell goods. If every town in the state was
as high IN its license IS Clinton, it would
be good many years before you would zee
. circus here"
"Since the show business was organized
in the United Ststes, what proportion OF
managers have been successful Z"
Scarcely one in ten, should judge"
"Cau you give me the names Of some
who have failed"
"Yes, dozens of them but of the moro
prominent may he mentioned the follow
ing: George DeHaven, w. @. Coup, Dan
Rice, Andy Hattie, Maybury, Pullman q
Hamilton. Montgomery Queen, James
Nixon, Myers & Schorb and others. Why,
even last year half . dozen good, solid
shows went to pieces"
ITO what do you attribute these failures
- bad management%
"In come instances bad Management was
at the bottom of the trouble; but in others,
not. While it is true that the show bust.
ness has grown, the expenses have doubled
and trebled, and the latter now exceed the
former, which was certainly the case in the
failures mentioned"
"Who are the most successful showmen
in the countryp
"There are number who have acquired
wealth, prominent among whom may be
mentioned James A. Bailey and James
Hutchinson, of the Barnum show Adam
Forepaugh the Sells Bros, w. W. Cole,