Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-06-05
TOO BIG TO PARADE.
Barnum & Bailey Continue Exper
 iment of Eliminating Pageants.

A circus that is 'too big to give q street parade" is novelty even in these days of colossal enterprises and mammoth amusement institutions. | But that is the announcement of the Barnum & Bailey circus, which exhi- bits in this city on Tuesday, June IF. In speaking of the reasons for this
 striking innovation, representative of the big show said recently: "The .Barnum & Bailey circus has become
 so large that parade is no longer possible or even desirable. If we could be absolutely sure of getting into
 town by daybreak, the parade would still be feasible, but with our five long trains of cars, this is too much to expect of the railroad companies. In many instances 1t is or g o'clock
 before the last section arrives, and 10 o'clock before 1t is unloaded and the paraphernalia transferred to the
 show grounds. This leaves just suffi- cient time to erect the big tents and
 prepare for the afternoon perform ance. To take several hundred men away from the show grounds at the
 most critical time in the morning. in
 order to give parade. would mean
 delay in opening, and consequent dis. comfort to the public. To compel thousands of people to stand out Ill front of the entrance In the hot sun
 or rain, because the giving of the pas
 rade has delayed the opening for an
 hour or more is positively cruel; but there is frequently no help for It when parades are given. By eliminat- ing the parade the public is also
 saved long and often uncomfortable wait on the streets pending the al- ways more or less delayed procession, which at best has nothing new to of- fer, to say nothing of the interfer- ence with public traffic and the busi- ness of the city's merchants. Many municipal governments have recog- nized the later facts by either refus- ing to give licenses for parades, or by making the tax so high as to be prohibitiye. Street parades were all
 right when circuses were small. and
 were necessary from an advertising
 standpoint. The Barnum & Bailey
 show is too we'll known to need ad- vertising of this character. and in- stead of wasting time and energy on conventional street display, every effort is concentrated upon the per formance."
 The Barnum & Bailey circus Is the only one that has had the courage to
 cut out the parade. Another well
 known snowman. when asked If his
 show would follow suit, replied: "l
 would like to. but I can't. The Bar
 mum & Bailey circus is the only one that is big enough to do It" And It
 is evident that 1t has introduced this
 innovation in the circus world be-
 cause the show gives popular satis-
 faction without the aid of what is at
 best conventional display of so-
 called pageantry.
 The absence of the parade Is more than compensated for by this years
 biz arenic acts and 'thrillers." The;e
 are a number of big sensations. and the structural steel used In these
 startling acts alone utilises the car rying capacity of several railroad
 cars. incidentally. it is announced
 that a splendid free show will be
 given on the exhibition grounds
 daily at II and o'clock. by Prince 1 Youturkey. a remarkable performer ' on an elevated wire-cable.