Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-10-11
A BIG THING.
An Enterprise that Requires $1,000 a Day to
Run H.

Mr.. ChristOpherson, representing
Barnum & Bailey's great show, which
will be in Fort Worth next Monday
was In the city yesterday, stopping az
Ye Arlington Inn, and THE GAZETTE
had pleasant and interesting chat
with him on show matters. Mr.. Chris.
tOphersen was at one time contracting
agent for Barnum's greatest show on
earth, and told some marvellous tales
of the magnitude OF its operations.
Relating some of his experiences in
that capacity, he said that the men who
occupy these positions, require an OK
traordinary amount of patience. People
everywhere seem to think that the
Barnum & Bailey shows have more
money and take more cash with them
out Of every town, than they
conveniently know what to do with.
This belief has taken such a root
that when one Of the contracting agents
comes tna town, specially small place.
which the show visits for the first time,
the prices asked for different things
border on ridicule, and 1t sometimes
takes the agent two or three DAYS to
convince these merchants that the
goods inquired for can be obtained in
other cities and forwarded at n mo-
ments notice, but that Mr. Bailey has
made 10 a rule that everything
necessary is TO be purchased
each day in the different
places Of exhibit, and that they
furthermore get thoir supplies from
the retail dealers and never on the
Wholesale system, whereby considera-
bic money could be made every day.
People do not seem to consider that
there is considerable expense connected
with this mammoth undertaking and
that the proprietors rely on favorable
weather aud circumstances generally,
IN order TO make profit, as the daily
expenses aggregate $1,000.
mere are twenty-four agents and lO8
Dill posters inadvance and nearly eleven
hundred mon and women employed
with the show. There are 450 head of
horses, herds OF fifteen to twenty each
OF elephants, camels and dromedaries
and over two hundred other kinds of
animals.
Contracts are made for hundreds of
pounds Of different kinds OF meats
bread. butter, all kinds OF groceries and
vegetables, bushels OF oats and corn, tons
OF hay and straw, ETC., etc. Contracts
are also made In every town with differ
cut hotels, for license. hotel and
grounds, with livery stables for
teams 70 reach the surrounding
country to post bills and distribute
programmes, etc, with the different
newspapers and with the bill-poster for
ms bill boards; in fact, nearly eyery-
body Ia the town who has something TO
sell benefits by the visit OF the show.
Mr.. Christophersen nut his statements
down IN figures TO a GAZETTE reporter.
and when the money spent by the EN-
ployes is considered he easily proved |
that the show proper spends over $1,000 |
m each town In two days. Be. |
sides the vast numbers OF people |
mat come to town over the railroads |
and others ways on such an oc- |
easion, the advent Of the Barnum and |
bailey's Greatest Show on EARTH
causes thousands Of dollars TO be nut in
circulation in such town, and It Is an
nndeniable fact that this enormous in
stitution attracts larger crowds than
any fair could do. Ii is very true what
Mr.. Christophersen said about Bar
NUNS name and ay-plaster being alike,
because they both draw.