The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-26

1 uAAO JULIET IDPALCne W lAlD tAAbp VI AACAV
than a hundred. l wrote a line: six mlles
| Of Shiny, sinuous, sleek. slippery. Rluggish
snakes" which excited considerable oom-
ment at time when this style Of Alternative
writing was little used.
! II was once considered quito q trick in
writing show y to use some word that
would be expressive and set people talking,
It was imagined that such q word would
result in much free advertising through
the people puzzling their pates over Its
meaning.
When W. G. Coup organized his trained
horse shc= In 1875 It WAS under the novel
title Of Nv. c. Coup's EquescurTiculum.'
Though the manufactured word seemed
to fit the show perfectly, the show itself
was not a great success.
In later years when the attraction pos
sessed far greater merit than the shows OF
earlier days. dependence came TO be placed
more upon a vigorous, incislve style, and
the language used was Of the plain, every
day character. But 1t had q certain swing
or rhythm that attracted attention and
rendered it effective. As a matter Of in
ternal fact, however, show paper always
has been and is now written In the general
style Of the circus announcer, who sings
out in his deep foghorn voice; 'Mr John
Bachelor will now make two somersaults
over the backs Of five elephantsl Remem-
Der, two s~Omersauits-no more, no lessi'
1t Ia a generally recognized fact that the
present style OF commercial a d writing
is copied from circus literature. There
Is a grandly triumphant ring running
through circus paper that renders it at
tractlve to the eye and ear. In q consider
able degree 1t has been adopted by the
atrcal agents and patent medicine men.
l was lettering on the piazza Of a hotel in
Emporia, Kan, one day, when a boy came
along and deposited in my lap a pamphlet
Of some four or ak pages Of solidly printed
matter about a theatrical show which was
to play at one OF the theatres that night in
the town. What was my surprise upon
reading 1t TO find every word had been
written by me two years before.
The only change made in the entire
bill was the erasure of the name Of our
show and substitution Of the title Of the
other; and, stranger still, the agent of the
theatrical company had the ~effrontery 10
put on his courier copyrighted" A few
hours after this / met the agent, whom /
knew very we'll, and / showed him the cop
Of his bill which / still held in my hand,
calling his attention to the fact that l had
written It word for word. or course he
acknowledged it.. whereupon we both
laughed over the incident.
Perhaps the most difficult bit OF show
writing is the house programme. l claim
to have designed it in its present form.
arranged the acts in numbers with qualify
ing headlines and the races as events.
and the idea has proved to be one Of the
most popular ever devised. Every show
in the country now uses 1t.
One time / was the guest Of the proprietor
Of a prominent Western show while it was
exhibiting in st. Louis. When we we're
seated he asked me: How do you like the
programmed" I replied: "Very much. in
deed. especially as l wrote it ALL He
looked a bit confused, but 1t was a fact
that with but a few words substituted here
and there every line had been pilfered
from our house programme Of the year
previous.
When l was in London in 1893 IL was
impossible not to note the eject OF our
American circus style upon all classes Of
people and business. The London papers
repeatedly called public attention TO 1t.
Vanity Fair devoted the better part Of tw o
| columns Of tina staid sheet to An editorial
comment and in such complimentary terms
that modesty forbids me to repeat 1t here.
Both in England and continental Europe
many Of the epigrammatic and alliterative
phrases became catchwords, applied TO
politics and other things Of everyday life.
Il was a new and therefore attractive use OF
language to them.
The greatest difficulty experienced year
by year in the preparation Of show paper
is the invention Of terse and expressive
terms for the fast succeeding thrillers that
for the time being are to form the star
attraction OF the show. The thriller fol-
lowed the reign Of the great spectacles,
and usually was a mechanical act.
1t was 70 designate these startling acts
strikingly that my ingenuity and vocabu-
larry were most severely taxed. The first
Of them wal LOOP the LOOP" given at
Madison Square Garden while I was abroad.
Then came the "Kinetic Demon both
highly sensational. From Looping the
Loop" came a number Of other similar
acts-looping the gap, DC, reaching a
startling climax in "Volo Volitant."
In the latter the bicycle rider descended
an inclined plane. attaining a sufficient
momentum to mount a slight upward curve
| at the DOIIOIn anu tilcliCC uooCilOlhbd III Az
of a circle. or. as / described it. -arching
an awful aerial abyss" landing safely some
fifty feet away. That headline was con-
! sidered a happy thought, being short.
catchy and expressive.
Then came "The Best Yet" followed by
sThe Fearsome Double Paradox dual
Deeds OF Death Defying Daring Fear
some Frolic and Frightful Flight With
| Fate which was a concurrent double
act by Les Freres Ancilotti' on bicycles.
The act was more sensational in the de-
scription than in Its execution.
All this looks easy, but after several
years Of descriptions Of Daring Deeds
| Deity Done any new and particularly
devilish feature became a sore burden
to the imagination; for 1t was Of paramount
| importance that each successive feature
should be better-that is. more dangerous
than anything ever before exhibited.
So. II you had exhausted your stock Of
extravagant characterization, what were
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