The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1907-01-31
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.
Recollections of Two Famous Circus
Features.

Charlie Day originally the express
sion of the $4,000 beauty You
hear That used pretty often, but very
few persons know just where it came
from. 1t occurred to Charlie Days
bright mind many years ago that q
good advertising stunt would be to
offer prize of $4,000 for the mosi
beautiful girl in America under the
stipulation that she would allow the
snow to exhibit her for one year after
the award Of the prize
"There were good many catchy
features to the game, as you can see
for yourself. The competition was
frightful, and we had the greatest
difficulty in judging just who was the
best out of hundreds of girls and
thousands of photographs that were
submitted to us. Louise Montagu was
the first beauty, and we advertised
her from one end of the country to
the other.
John Robinson, in his show, got
on to the same game, and played
frankie Bailey for his exhibit. He
advertised her as a $4,000 beauty,
and everywhere you would go you
would see a Robinson placard with
this legend staring you in the face.
frankie got lot of free advertising
this way, but Louise was really the
first $4,000 beauty She was a
peach, too.
tits odd how the mind works,
but just after talking about the $10,-
900 beauty and Frankie Bailey, as l
stand here looking at you, / think Of
Zip, Barnum's What Is It?'.
'''On, go ahead, don't mind me-"
interrupted his companion deprecat-
ingly. think ahead. 1 don't mind
it at ALL"
mo offense, no ofrense." said Mr..
Dawson hastily. 81 was just struck
with the peculiar way things came
out. You would not think that the
picture Of cid Zip should cross my
mind just after it had held that of
frankie Bailey, for there wasn't any
resemblance at all.
Zip was darby who the show
picked up down South. We shaved
off much of mis- hair, whitened his
eyebrows, BACKED the hollows under
his eyes, hng a ring from his nose,
and then put chains on him and turn
ed him loose.
There was great stunt we had
in small towns where we wanted to
stir up interest in the side show. The
press agent would go into the tent
where the wild man was kept.
There would be frightful snarling and
rafting of chains, ana then whoop-
la Under the canvas there would
come Zip with demoniac counten-
ance and yen that would stir a hyena
to emulation. Then the press agent
would stagger out with his clothing
all rumpled and awry.
" Stop him. My God, stop himn
ne would yell, throwing his hands
up In the air, and then the show
hands, who were ready for the game,
would rush out from behind wagons
and tents and give glad pursuit.
Eat last they would get up close
10 the wild man and some fleet per-
son would make a daring tackle.
Then all the show hands would come
up, eager for a chance to
lump on Zip. 1t was worse than
'ootball game
"The rubes, of course, for whose
benefit this was all done, were usual
y by this time either miles up the
country making record-brealxing time
'r roosting in tall trees as If a bull
we're after them. From the heap Of
circus men on the ground Zip would
It lest emerge, and, held firmly by
lis broken chains and frothing at the
mouth, he would be led back to dur
lnce vile.
I'VE used to pay him 81 per day
Extra for every time we did this stunt,
Ind It was worth it. 1t was a sight
or sore eyes to see the joyous way in
which those circus men jumped on
lin when once thew GOT him TO the
'round. They did it with wild aban
lon that would have deeply wounded
lips sensibilities If he hadn't been
o busy looking out for his physical
Welfare. "-Baltimore Sun.