The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-02-27
THE MODERN CIRCUS
Vast and Dazzling, Il Is Really a
Very Simple Affair.
AN ANALYSIS Of 4 BIG SHOW.

HStuas SOSs a"o TVsuo A0oUt TISuVSss
While the performance Of the big
modern circus Is truly dazzling and
confusing to the average visitor, an
analysis will show 1t to be very sim
pie afYair. 3l.s. .f,, ~
The performahce proper consists Of
four parts-namely, aerial, ground,
equestrian and hippodrome Every
thing else is incidental or adjunctive.
The inenagerie, freaks, curiosities, ETC.,
make up the remainder Of what We
call "the SHOW"
b II one will examine the programme
OF the circus performance carefully, 1t
Will be seen that the ground acts al
ternate with. say. a jockey act, an
aerial act, an equestrian act, another
ground act, another aerial act, and SO
on for the entire performance.
The performers are mostly foreign.
ers, japan furnishing the most Of any
particular country. France, Italy and
Germany give us the most OF the ath-
letic artists, while England and Amer
lea produce the equestrians. But the
Japanese furnish fully three eighths OF
the whole entertainment
The natives of Nippon have never
been equaled by those Of any other
country for tricks Of the feet and
hands. The Japanese, however, are
never found on the programme as
equestrians. trapeze artists or clowns
With these parts eliminated they may
be said to give the greater part OF the
performance. Cut the equestrian and
trapeze acts and the Japanese will be
found In almost every number.
A single Japanese troupe Of five or six
members. costing from $3.50 to $400
week. viii thus furnish the most of the
entertainment. AS every circus goer
knows. the Japanese are especially
skillful in every feature of Juggling,
balancing by hands or feet. manipulat.
Ing of objects. wire walking. etc.,
which they have carried to such a de.
gree of perfection that their acts are
by the people Of any
other nationality.
The first Japanese performer An this
country was a small boy who came
with the first Japanese embassy to the
United States.
His performance crented a perfect
hlrore Of enthusiastic. and he attracted
more attention than the novel embassy
itself. Little ".All Right" will he re-
membered. though the embassy ana Its
important mission hds long been for
gotten. M
The name was acquired from the cir
cumstances that the words "all right"
were the only English words the child
knew at the time, and he used to sing
them out In his shrlll treble as he fin
lshed what was then deemed re-
markable feat, to the intense delight of
the audience
So popular was the little chap that
his advent was followed by several
other little "All Rights from the same
curious country beyond the Pacific un-
til the Japanese performers here be-
came an old story.
The chief reason for the overvhelm-
Ing prepOnderanee Of foreign ia.ent in
the American circus lies In the practi-
cal exclusion Of children from the
stage and ring In the United States.
So many of the states have laws for
bidding the public appearance of chill
dren under sixteen that theatrical man.
ayers hesitate to produce any play
with a child In the cast. As aerobatic
feats require early and severe training,
the American is practically cut or
from this way OF earning a living.
In present conditions when Little
Eva In "Uncle Toms Cabin" has be-
come old enough to marry little "All
Right" would be an imposslbilIty. for
not only do these laws prevent the
Of American children for the
stage and ring. but they prevent the
appearance In this country of some of
the most famous family troupes OF Eu-
rope. fi
Abroad the show career offers a bet
ter means of advancement than the
trades, and poor parents frequently ap-
prentice their children to those who
train them for the stage or ring. In
this country we generously send them
to the cotton mills or the mines.
The American circus performer has
gradually become restricted to the
act, and In the act OF riding
he or she Is not excelled, even by the
English, though the latter nation has
produced some fine equestrians, hauts
ecole ana daring bareback riders.
aYvunLtfIl ,uff. ~ u -