The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1885-06-17
HOW a clRcus Is RUN.
The General" Of the show-studying
the Route-The Army of Employees
New York Herald

The General" Of the show-studying
the Route-The Army Of Employees
New York Herald-l
Each circus has its general Talk to
him of any city or town in the country.
and the thought Immediately occurs TO
him: ~Ah, yes; town of 81. 900 s.. 900,
SO, 900 or SIP, 600. as the case may be
profit He knows almost to a unit the
population and how much can be made
out of il. He knows also the character
of the inhabitants, and he is acquainted
thoroughly with the railroad and other
facilities for getting into the place. He
maps out the route at the beginning OF
the season, of course changing it as much
IS possible every year. There are twenty
Jour advance agents, who follow each
other in regular rotation. They look after
the advertising the provender for the
ANNALS, the lodgings, and contracts of
various kinds These agents are pro-
yided with checks. They give checks on
the show for the amounts contracted for.
The treasurer takes up and pays the
checks so that when the show arrives it
has no trouble in any direction. 1t has
happened few times that the firm has
been swinded, but it never refuses to
honor check, to keep up the credit of
the circus. Not one of the great eX
changes in New York is better posted as
to the monetary condition of any town or
city than the managers of the circus The
circus managers well know it is useless
going into place where there is much
commercial depression. The character
isiics of town are studied before going
into it, For instance, it is known when
the miners of Pittsburg are paid of, and
right on top of the event, comes the
show 1t very rarely happens that n
L. a. hut &c
lost an where that place is given wide
berth next season.
The weather. too, is watched almost as
carefully as it is by the signal-service
bureau The circus never goes farther
south than Omaha. Kansas City and St
Louis, or farther north than St Paul
Mimi There is no money outside 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 of the genial south
| erners When it becomes too hot in the
south then it wends its way in the oppo-
| site direction. Moreover, it never at
| tempts to compete with a cheaper enter
| tainment If Farnum is billed for Mary
| vile Miss, and a 20 cent show gets ahead
| of it the big circus passes on. The gen
| eral knows, too. how long it is profitable
| to stay in a town
The army of employees is divided into
| five divisions-the performers. the ring
/ attendants. the stable and menagerie at
| PENDANTS, the trainmen lin circus parlance
| razor backs y, and the canvasmen The
| canvasmen number POO 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 for everything and everybody. In
| deed the trainmen could load the train
| almost blindfolded, the arrangements are
| so precise, and have been so long in
woodworking order. The canvasmen
are the first to be packed off. They touch
nothing until the teamsters have arrived
on the ground with the canvas, and then,
when the tent is up, they sit down and
| Just watch the others doing their bit >
| SO it is with the train men when they
have loaded or unloaded the cars they
| will not put hand to anything else, and
perhaps if they did they would be only in
| the way. Every employee has a special
duty to perform and does not consider
himself engaged for anything outside of
| that.
One of the heaviest items in the ex-
penses is the bill for advertising. The
huge colored posters seen everywhere in
the vicinity of the show are costly. The
| advertisement bill in the season averages
daily So, ZOO. Yet the expenditure results
in good return. The salaries vary all
the way from $40 to $500 week. What
a circus performer with an income equa
to five times that of the secretary of state
"Ah. but recollcct. says the circus man
that this does not last all the year round.
Recollect too. the risks that are run. II
limb is broken then the occupation oil
the poor performer is gone, and if he Oh
she has not saved enough for a rainy day
poverty is the result These high priced
performers, also have to engage others tt
assist them, and sometimes the engage
ment of quite family. The stars pro
vide their own costumes and apparatus.