The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-05-05
The RinelIng circus Tomorro,y.

Tomorrow viii be circus day Last
summer was a somewhat dry and dreary
affair for the youngster of the family,
to say nothing of his more erect and Sc
riously inclined brother, because there
was no big circus in Washington. Just
now the circus is an institution of amaz-
ing scope. 1t comprehends about every
thing under the sun that comes under the
label of odd, strange. and sensational. 1t
no longer represents a canvas shelter for
one ring in which acts of prehistoric
origin transpire The circus in its modern
development is so big that its features
must be expressed in numerals, when it
comes to printers ink. Take the Ring
ling Bros. show, for instance. 1t takes
siXty-five cars to transport its equipment
from place to place. 1t carries 100 dens of
wild animals. Ii also has herd of thirty
elephants, which is the biggest in cap
tivity One thousand people are employed,
OF which 800 are performers, and while
the old-tlme show had but one or two
clowns the RinglingS show presents
forty. 1t also carries 500 horses. These
figures provide a short way of telling a
long story, when it comes to circus
values
The Ringing brothers are American born
and full Of the business-like spirit of the
soil. Their circus is now a national in
stitution and separated from all others
required by them for the exhibition and
the other needs of their show cover an
area of more than ten acres OF ground,
and the large canvas under which the
actual circus performance takes place is
said to be the largest ever erected. Some
idea OF the yastness of this huge tent
may be gathered from the knowledge that
under ii are three circus rings two great
stages. an oval race track over a quarter Of
a mile in length, and hippodrome seating
arrangement for 1900 people. In the
menaEer1e tent are nearly 100 cages filled
with wild animals seldom found in cap
tivity The geological collection of the
Ringing Bros. is one in which the pro-
prietors justly take pride, and will be an
terested in this subject of the worlds
queer creatures. Among the circus fea-
lures that stand out prominently are the
sixty-one horse act of John O'Brien, Prof
ful aerialists. the Fisher Family; the Da-
coma Family, and Alvo, Boise aud
Picard, Mile Tourner Nettie Carroll,
and Minnie Fisher the world-famous
ward Ship. John Rooney, +. Miller.
Amelia Feeley, Augusta Fredericks, Liz
zie Rooney, Julia Lowlnda, and Albert
Crandall.
The street pageant of the Ringing show
is said to be more than two miles in
length. and subdiyided inIo thirty sec
lions. 1t will start from the exhibition
grounds at o'clock. Each section will
be Of striking novelty and instructive as
well as pleasing. one section Will show
correctly-u uniformed soldiery of the impor-
tant nations Of the world. Another will
b. picture of Roman and Grecian splen-
dor Still another a complete childrens
parade. with pony chariots and other
novel effects delightful to childfolk. Sew
eral bands Of music, half a hundred gay
iy-decorated cages many tableau cars.
open animal dens, a chime Of church bells,
aud many other unique and pictorial fea-
lures VIII contribute to make the street
display unusually interesting.
The circus will be here tomorrow and
Tuesday, and two performances will be
given each day. Those wishing to avoid
the crowd may buy their tickets OF ad-
mission or reserved seats at the down
town ticket office, Stevens Pharmacy,
Ninth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue,
for the same prices charged at the circus
grounds