The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-08-25
AUNT TRUDY's LETTER.
She Discusses the Circuses and De-
generation.


Button Rose Cottage. Aug. 25. 1900
Dear State Journal: I've allus bin
eonstitushenally agin circuses an the
like, naturally bein' an economist o.
mental an spiritual forces, to say nuth-
ing of the prudenc o. fnanche1 ekonomy.
An in my hart 1 allus set it down that
a mortal allus hankerin' after bein' en-
tertained by the foolish, onerthly an
redfcalus, was on the verg, Cor into it,
of the konsumshen of karacter. This
kind of konsumshen is gettin' so prevu-
lent it should be looked into by the
govnOrs of the peple. When one 1t gets
a holt of a man or a family, theirs hardly
anything kin be dun. Yes 1 kin-the
doctors an lawyers give it bigger totle
an call it degeneration" but it's sure
enuff kOnsumshun, an AS was sayin',
one only has to IOfe around corners mere
circus tents to find out the degenera-
shun crowds are there in all there glory
may get this letter throwd in the waist
basket now, fur writin' this-I don't
no but if the editor has he'd time to OBJ
serv for his self these solm facts-I'n be
all rite But guess 1t VIII be safer Tor
this letter, for me to say the degenerate
crowd was mostly on the outside far
as l could see-fur told you / never
went into a circus-not till this one
that's jest bin an gone-an' will hasen
to say that one goin was an axident-
/ kent RELY tell how it did hapn. was
a takin' a walk by myself, an a l0olStn'
at them fiamin bill boards, an set down
to rest, an l got to thinker over
Shakespere's sayin': IAN the WORKS
a
merely plaers"-an' jes' then a CRATE
curtin what I thot was a picter on the
bill bords. rolled back with a snap-an'
somehow I was inside the ring-or what
ever you call it. made a fuss to git
out an explained that I was there by
mistake, an the boss sed, We'll, you
kent git out o. this side fur it's snapped
shut now, an you hev to go away aroun'
this way to get to the door what goes
out, an as you hev to pass all the
speshel side shos, you hev to pay fur
a tiket, I'VE don't sho 'em free!"
So, skart as 1 wus, 1 paid him the
rnaney. an started on a run fer the
dor, which was away acrost, an he'd
to go hat round circle. I got tired
an he'd to walk, an then I saw a sho,
sure enuffi It was called the .-doble
face man. He jes' stood an turned
around sloly-an' he did hev too faces.
One was big face, an looked Jes' ike
a bare's he'd, an the other was small
natural face, an was clean shaver an
slick an was called a Methods face.
But 1 will say rite here it wasn't a
Methods face for sure, but 1t Jes was
initiated. If Jane Starr FOggy should
here it was a Methods face she would
be a flingin' it at me, good, for Jane
STAIRS so sot on the Baptists. Well, as
the man turned aroun' the caller called
out: Sunday" an the Methods face
looked peecful, an began to sing a
hymn an to shout an exort. 1t was
reel material. But the caller called out
..Mondayi' an the bare's face was in
site an was a little snappy an sulky:
then came 'aToosdayi" an he was still
bear, an wus snarlier; an "Wenzday!''
an worse; an "Thurzday!" an worse;
an FRIDAY" an "Saturday"-an' the
creetor he'd neerly tore up every body
about him. His wife an children sur
fered in agony an silence, his trends
had wounds, his men in the store an
bizness glowered an almost even swore
at him, an it was q, stormy week tell
you, but the caller sed: He'll be alrite
on Sundy- Jes' waite till his Sundy race
gets around "
But 1 didn't like that sho. The mex
one was called: "A city back yard II
wus a reglar circus itself. me nrst
scene was spring clearin' an mower
bed maxim. An man an lady sayln
1T makes one feel rich to have 1es'
little back yard Of. there own, ana nav
flowers, an hammock an place to dry
clothes an to rest in. The next scene
was some scattered flower beds, an the
man an lady an naber man an lazy
an their chickens. But no the journal
doesn't take to naberhood quarrels an
I bes' leve out what happened. Then the
mex scene wus the same man an LADY
an some other nabers. an poleesman
after some dogs-an' kent tell that etn-
er. The mex scene was the man an lazy
an line full of white cloes wet, an
fiat on the grown, an a lot o nabers
children an their mothers who was mai,
an 1 darn't explain more. The mex
scene was the man an lady in the back
yard skowling an growing over heepS
of tin cans an ashes an trash throwd
onto their grass by some body In the
mite.
The mex scene was the man an lady
movin' out, an the lady sayin': John,
are you shure you foun' hous' without
any back yard2"
We'll the mex sho was a cage full OF
Inkorrigible ParentsThere wus a whole
lot of them, an Mr.. Edirur if you ever
saw what's called pan-de-monium' 1t
was in that cageI Evry one of them In
korrigible Parents he'd boy or girl in
there hands. Some of the big strong ones
was a beatin' the child with strokes as
reglar as klock work. Others would first
slap them on there tender ears till they
fell over an then would hug an kiss
them an beg them not to tell. Others
would be al 1.-The time doin rong things
an al 1.-THE time puniShin' the children
for doin the same One father an moth
er ech held a pretty boys hand The
father told the boy to do something an
the mother whispered, Never mind, you
don't have to- Then the mother sed the
boy couldn't go to see his cousin, an the
father sed, That's all rite, sonny, you
kin go if you want to-" an so on, an I'll
tell you the rest at the end. Another
father an mother held soshel gatherings,
an to be reel soshel, they must have
some wine an beer an little gambler
fer fun They congratulated ech other,
that the children were too sleepy to re-
member, an the mex scene OF that sho,
was four drunken, ragged brutes what
had one been there boys. An the father
an mother a bein put to bed in the sem
itary. There were a lot more scenes to
this sho, but I'll jest menshun one more:
One Inkorrigible mother was hansum.
Her little girls were hansum as dolls.
The mothers he'd was jes' silly enuff to
be turned an she would let the nabers
dres sthe little 'uns up in titles, an fer
cupids an FAIRIES an illushens, an the
mex scene was a haggerd woman more
MIN jet out side an iron barred door, a
lookin' at bloted, skarred drunken yong
women inside, an sayin to them, Il
hope you'll sober up in lirne to bid your
two little girls sisters goodbye before
they go to the reform skule." When I
looked agen, all the InkarrigibIe Parents
what Wus Twin was forInfn' in a per-
cession toward the probate judges offus.
But hev come to the end of my colin