Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-05-07
CIRCUS AGENTS HERE.
Preparing for Barnum & Bailey Exhibition
Next Saturday.

Barnum & Baileys No. 3 advertising
car Is In the city today and a small army
OF billposters and photographers are busy
recovering the billboards and brighten
ing up the gaily-covcred circus paper M
the store windows. This will be The last
advertising car to visit the city before
the coming of the big show.
According to W. ID. CoNoy, one OF the
agents of the show the Barnum Bailey
circus viii prove a revelation TO local
show-roers when il exhibits here Satw-
day, May 18th.
aThere are many interesting features
of the big show. however said Mr.. CoNey,
"that the public never sees. The para
phernalia Is impressive in its magnitude.
and the performance sends the crowd
away filled with wondcrment. but the
motor power behind the big show and
the marvellous organization that makes
its operation possible is not IN evidence
TO that part Of the people which sees the
performance and the multiiarious eN-
| hibitoral features and nothing else.
"The Barnum q Bailey show employs
/ the services of nearly ], 100 men ana
women; It requires s. cars TO transport
it from city TO city; It's stan OF agent.
embraces a dozen men who are pald
salaries equal to those received py a
bank president; Il has four advertising
cans. and nearly q hundred men are en-
| gagged in posting bills and spreading the
! tidings of its coming; il spends a quarter
| of a million dollars every year for print
| ing: its newspaper bills aggregate another
/ numbered thousand dollars 1t maintains
a press bureau with five newspaper men
| to keen in touch with the public through
the press: il employs over 800 high
| salaried performers; it maintains a spec
tacle at an average expense oi 81 OuO a
dav: Il comes into town at dayhreak, puts
up - acres Of tents, plays TO from l5OOO
TO 25.O0O spectators. and the next day Is
doing the Same thing a hundred miles
away: il carries It's own commissafy de-
partment. feeds its hundreds of employees
in great dining tents as well and as
generously as q iirst-class hotel. and far
more expeditiously handles through its
ticket wagons and financial department
| from $1,000 to $4,000 every day and
costs from 5000 10 $1,000 every day 1t
runs
"The Barnum & Bailey show exhibits
its magnitude and system in other ways
II is the only show that provides tents ioI
the transaction Of IFS financial husi-
ness. for the manager and Tor the
staff of booSkeepers ana aualtois
There is also a press tent for the use OF
the newspaper men. Every ticket Is
coupon ticket, and everyone who buys q
ticket for the show is insured seat
Standing room is never sold. There arc
three kinds of seats grand stand chair
a slap-down reserved scat and a genera
admission seat. The latter all have ioo
rests. which means double expense 10 th'
show-a double unmber of boards and
double force of men to handle them.
"The performance is given on a colossa
scale. and the menagerie is immense. 2
dozen different exhibitions are given 70
one price Of admission, and every wa.
one turns there is something suggestel
by the magnitude and broad gauge char
acter of the great show.
"There is no parade this year tn
show has become too big 20 make
street procession necessary or desirable
but this is compensated by for re
markable free exhibition which is give
on the show grounds prior to the open
ing Of the doors, afternoon and evening
, The show also presents many remarkabl
acts this season. The most discussed az
/ is the Dip Of Death in which q youn
American woman loops the gap in a
! automobile"