The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1885-08-07
HOW A CIRCUS rs RIM
The General" oftho Show--stcs,
Route-The Army of Emploss. Y

me ofthe show--studyin, !
Koute-The Army Of Employss =
From the New York Herald.
Each circus has it's general. Tan
him of any city or town in the !.
try, and the thought i~mmediataw
ours to him; @Ah, yes; a town !; NJ
900, $4,000, $4,000 or sf2.ooo :
the case may be, profit" He M.
almost to a unit the population ~
how much can be made out az : !
knows also the character oftha;n ns
tants, and he is acquainted thosa~o' +
~ with the railroad and other fam
ties for gettinginto fireplace. Hem.
out the route at the beginnine II X,
season, OF course changing it al MAJ
as possible every year. Thara -
twenty-four advance agents ~
follow each other in reu,lar WY
tation. They look after the y
Vertising, the provender for tha Is.
mails, the lodgings, and contracts =
various kinds. These agents ara M
vided with checks. They gives chez.
on the show for the amounts ~
tracted for. The treasurer -
and pays the checks so that when Il.
show arrives it has no trouble ii any
direction. 1t has happened q favs
times that the firm has been swindIes
but it eve refuses to honor a chaoL
ito keep up the credit of the circus
Not one of the great exchanges n New
York Is better posted as to the none.
tary condition OF any town or citv
than the managers of the circus. TRs
circus managers well know it is useless
going into a place where there IS much
commercial depression. The character.
.stlcs CT q town are studied before %.
ing into it. For instance, it is known
when the miners of Pittsburg are paid
of, andright ontopo fthe event, comes
the show" 1t very rarely happens
that a miscalculation is made but i
money is lost anywhere that place
gwen q wide berth next season.
The weather too, is watched almost
as carefully asst is by the signal-seryice
bureau. The circus never goes farther
south that Omaha, Kansas City and
St. Louis, or farther north than ST.
Paul, MINI. There is no money out.
side of those limits. The great aim Of
the circus is to strike fair weather
everywhere. When it is extremely cold
in the north the circus is enjoying the
warmth of the south and the dollars
ofthe genial southerners. When it be.
comes too hot in the south then it
wends its yint the opposite direction.
Moreover, it never attempts to COM
pete with a cheaper entertainment. II
Barnum is billed for MaryviIle, Miss,
anda25c cent show gets ahead OF it the
big circus passes on. The general
knows, too, how long it is profitable
to stay in town.
The army of employees is divided
into five divisions-tne performers, the
ring attendants, the stable and menagg.
erie attendants, tie trainmen in cir
u parlance ''razor-backs"), and the
canvasmen. The canyasmen number
200 out of 700-a large number, but
not too many to cope with the huge
tent which is put up in the country.
On the trains there is a special place
foreverything and Everybody. Indeed,
the trainmen could load the train al
most blindfolded, thearrangements are
so precise, and have been so long IN
woodworking order. The canvas
men are the first to be packed on
They touch nothing untilthet eamsters
have arrived on the ground with tht
canvas, and then, when the tent IS up,
the sit down and just watchthe other
"doing their bit" So it is with the
trainmen whent they haveloaded orun,
loaded the cars they will not put ahanc
to anything else, and perhaps Il they
did they would be only in the way
Every employee has a special duty :.
perform and does not consider hlmseL
engaged for anything outside OF that.