The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-11-09
What Some Sensible Editors
Have to Say.
The Circus.

The Circus. .
The arrival of the circus has brought
ioy to the soul or the editor Of the At
lanta Journal. Hear him:
"Show US the man with soul so
dead that he does not feel the least bit
of thrill when t e circus comes to
town, aud we will show you a cob
6rmed cynic. He's a bad man; tit for
'treasons, s~trategems and spoils.' For
the man who ~elevates his proboscis at
the circus not only admits that he isn't
Young and eve has been, but further
more, advertises the fact that be has
no sympathy with youth. And, while
it may be only a msidemeanor never
TO have been young, it is deliberate
criminality lever to have desired
youth.
Therefore, the circus is your true
test as to whether your neighbor is 'hu-
man or not. One who has become
thoroughly d~isallusioned is not only
a heavy weight upon himself, but
wearies all his acquaintance as well,
and it is a false sympathy which re-
grets his suicide. If a man claims that
the circus bores him, it is because ali
the freshness is gone from his nature;
and by the same token he is a bore
himself, Except you become again as
a little child, you shall not enjoy the
circus; and ifyou have the power to
do that, YOU are in such a spiritual
condition that you need not worry
about the hearafter. OF course we
don't mean to make the fat-fOoted
statement that all who 60 to the circus
will of necessity 60 to heaven, MOI
that all who are admitted to the latter
place must have been circus-goers;
for even some of the circus-goers are
wanting in the proper childlike sim
plicity in other things, and may moi
be able to creep under the tent of para
disc.
"But the main proposition holds
true; its a bad man and a bad neigh
Dor, and above all, a bad parent, who
can forget his own juvenile delight il
the brave bespangled confusion of the
Greatest Show on Earth. Zach cir
Gus is the Greatest Show on Earthly
Speaking on the same subject thu
Charlotte Observer says:
The circus is a great institution, auc
one that has more than kept pace
with the growth of the .country-in
deed, its development is such as t.
make it one of the leaders. The cir
Gus brings gladpess to the heart O
more people-old and young, white
and black-than any other institution
aud the only sad feature about it i:
that as a rule it comes only once {
year. The trust idea has invaded The
ranks of the shOwmen, however, as i
has almost everything else and now
the big tented exhibitions block GU
the country and guard against con
flicting dates-in fact, the three or foul
really big shows hit only in higl
places. The circus syndicate wa!
probably driven to this course by rea
son of the size of the shows and con
sequent expense and the widespread
hostility Of legislators toward show
men. At present a circus is taxed II
about the same extent as a railroad i:
assessed for damages and APPARENTLY
with about the same feeling. The
spectre of a circus sweeping through
the country and taking all the money
along with it is an old u and one
which should, along with the ide,
that railroads are enemies of the peo
pie, be relegated to the past. The cir
Gus is a great institution, and we hope
it will live to enjoy frequent visits. |
is an event of a year for many people
and that Of perhaps a lifetime fol
some; it causes folks to forget theil
troubles and have a good time and il
short it is Americas leading amuse
ment institution and its visits should
not be so few and far between.
The Newberry Herald and New!
says:
The circus is a great American in
stitution. The editor of this papeI
has always been a warm friend of thu
| circus. We were reared in the coun'
try and we remember most distinctly
with what delight as a boy we looked
forward to the coming of the circus ant
what a revelation it was to us when i
came and how what we saw gave U!
something to talk about for weeks af
ter. Since coming to mans estate We
have always had a good word for thu
circus and have advised our friends t.
go and take all the children. W.
have known men to be so good as t
criticize the circus and then hide be
hind blinds to get a look at The parade
We do not believe in any such by
pocricy.
Newberry is a good circus town
The circus always attracts large
crowds, but lately the city license ha:
been made almost prohibitive and fol
several reasons the circus has been
giving this town the go by.
We may not be as good as some O
those who have by prohibitfve license
charges kept the circus from Newberry
bnt we still hold that the circus is 6
good institution and if we were able
we would have taken every child in
Newherry county to the circus which
was in Greenwood yesterday.
We hope the circus may live long
and that the time may soon come
when. the "biggest circus on earth'
may be permitted to exhibit in New
berry.