The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-12-07
DAN RICE'S LAST NICKEL.

It Was Soon Increased so That He 1 Could Spare One Hundred Dollars for l a Church.
 Circus people as a rule are the best travelling class railorads have to deal with" aid railroad man who has had much to do with such combinations. "They are alway found to be close tig- urers, presenting a million and one con- tentions, asking as many, if not more, coutesies, but in the end the results are generally satisfactory to both parties
 Tt is only within the lat few years that railroads began handling circus outfits. The country road and wagon once afforded a cheap method or transportation between small towns, where nickels, dimes and quarters rare ly ever failed to be taken in by the hat full Those not on country roads were found on the large rivers, shifting their dates to suit the seasons all the way from St. Paul and Cincinnati to Cairo, Ills, and New Orleans. The late Colo nel Dan Rice, who probably pleased more people as a clown than any other sawdust king, was a triking figure among the performing river craft and one of the tirt to put his how on the rails.
 This was back in 1873, when panic swept over the country and river towns had hit the sky, right and left, for the show business. Rice and his animals were tied up at St. Louis, waiting for times to grow better, when a trading firm offered a good lump sum for his boats. He figured it was go broke in almost any event. so he sold, and then began to tour eastward with train of borrowed cars. It was big undertak- ing, even for Rice, who was about the richest in the business in those days, but everything went reasonably we'll until he started to enter Indiana. The last Illinois town was rotten The show had hardly made animal meat to say nothing of the money to get to another stand. As a last resort Colonel Rice soaked the how to the railroad company to put him into Vincennes, just over the state line, agreeing that the company's agent there should play door keeper and hold out what was coming. Vincennes did not look whit good. The town was dead and the in habitants wouldn't enthuse bit over the bum band and bright colored wag- ons An hour before the afternoon per- forlnance was to begin found Colonel Rice pacing in front of the main en- trance, figuring with himself for dear life, when a party of ladies approached.
 :" Colonel Rice they began, we have always heard of you as very charita- ble gentleman and unfortunately our church has been damaged and needs Q new roof. We thought you might be willing to subscribe toward it.
 'There was a man who had just stood up a railroad asked to give money away, but he was equal to the occasion, when he pulled from his pocket nickel and poising 1t on his finger replied:
 "Iadies, am now balancing a cash account. It appears small to you no doubt, but in truth represents all the money I possess. If this show does any business here, I'll not anly contribute towards repairing your church, but I'll put a new roof on it.
 The two performances that day net ted the old man seven hundred and fif- ty dollars, paid for the next jump, and out of it was donated one hundred dol lars to the church. "-Kansas City World.