Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1884-10-23
THE RIVALS.
A BiiI-P oster's Experience with Two
Competing Great Moral shows.
indianapolis News

Indianapolis News.
Down % Virginia avenue is a stretch
of high fence, hundred feet long or
more, flaming with tri-colored posters
telling of the marvellous things that
may be seen at circus, which will
soon pitch its tent in this city. An
old bill poster stood before the sign
board the other morning. 'It reminds
me, p" he said ''of my experience with
two circus agents in an Illinois town
some years ago. | was the city bill
poster, and owned all the sign boards
and advantageous sites for posting.
More than that, was the only bill
poster in town. One night there was
a loud knocking at my door, and upon
answering it | at first thought that a
stranger had mistaken my house for
the doctors for he was out of breath
and talked very rapidly. l soon learn
ed his mission, however, for he said
Excuse me for arousing YOU at an
unseemly hour, but it's a matter of
necessity. | am the advance agent of
f. circus | want to engage every
inch of available space of advertising
space that you command. BIS agent
came on the same train with me. and
l suppose will be here in five minutes.
Weshow on the 10th, they on the 18th.
Now name your price First come,
first served | told him, and he said
money was no object, l agreed to stick
his posters on every board | had the
next day at double my usual price,
and a pocketful of tickets to the show.
l didn't get to bed that night at all,
for the first agent hadn't turned the
corner when the representative of p. s
great moral show brought me to the
door again by loud knocking. / told
him he was too late, that f. had en-
gagged all my space. But / must be
posted if / paint the sky with my bills,
and you must find something to stick
them to- | happened to think of
several vacant lots in prominent parts
of the town, and before morning the
agent and had awakened the owners
and obtained the exclusive right of
erecting boards on the lots. All next
day | spent in fairly covering the town
with paper advertising +. s show.
Meantime / had high fences built all
around the vacant lots, and the second
day | spent in artistically daubing
them for B. S benefit. The town began
to take an interest in the rival circus
es. Every show window and half of
the private houses displayed hand
bills of one or the other circuses.
Business began to flourish. | bought
so much lumber for new sign boards
that the price ran up. Excitement
became so general that the town
council took the matter up and / was
granted the privilege of putting up
divided tae space between the two
shows. Finally the agents had a
second story added to each prominent
sign, and even lanterns were hung
out at night to make all the posters
legible. f. bribed the janitor of the
court house to display streamer from
the dome, and B. succeeded in having
his colors displayed from the steeples
of two prominent churches. e. pas,
tered the roof of the railroad station
with giraffes and Zooloos, and B.
rented residence, which he caused to
dazzle with pictures of the alligator
ttlc the NlI0hoSldh WOnldil 10y lllC
time the first circus was due there
semed to be nothing ia the bill posting
line that had not been done The very
air was thick with the odor of colored
inks and paints. But there was one
great closing act. The morning of
the 1Oth-F.'s day-was just the kind
of a day for big crowd; but for some
unaccountable reason the country
people dldd't show up very numerous
Iy. One who came told why. He
said that few miles out on every road
leading to town arches had been built
across the roads, and on them hung
these words: The circus has been
postponed until to morrow TIE 18th.
The tiger and the Zooloos have broken
loose; look for your children and cat
tie.
F. was so mad over the meanness
of his rival that he actually postponed
his show until the next day, when the
people came by thousands. There
were enough people to fill both tents,
and before morning the crowds of
both shows commingled in one fat9r-
nal drunkln