The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-19

brakemen on freight and passenger trains
 had orders to kick off anybody, partieu-
 larly circus man, who was riding the
 rods or beating his way on top of q pas
 senger car or on a blind baggage.
 Stranded in the west, an old-time Bos-
 tonian was speeding along on the top of
 a passenger car when he saw a train hand coming along who looked like sure
 death and walked like the dangerous list at a hospital.
 Tn, circus man jumped up and began to shuffle his feet to an old-time step he had learned in Boston. He was in danger of falling off the car all the time, ana once or twice he had to duck Tor low | bridges. But he kept up his DUCK ana wing.
 The train hand couldn't take his eye off the dancing feet He half paused and his own legs began to work. In a minute or two the pair of men were dancing 10 the same step and the threatening aspect ol the train hand was lost. Where did you learn that step he finally asked. At - in Boston," replied the orglnai danger. a Same here," exclaimed the train hand
 ''Where are you goingg
 Boston
 "Come on.'' invited the train hand ana the circus man had de luxe lrip 'o Boston. |.
 
 remembered best by nine out of 10, IS the
 late Phineas T. Barnum. Barnum haa a faculty for advertising himseh Wihch no other circus magnate has ever ac-
 oliired Barnum brlmmed over Wltn oiis-
 inal ideas. The more absurd they weie
 the better he liked them, and what ne
 liked he succeeded shortly in making tae
 public like. One of his precepts is today
 common Americanism: "The public aKes
 to be humbugged.' :,
 Barnum used to tell story of small
 boy whom he met in the street ana "ho
 recognized him.
 'Mr. Barnum," he said, "can't get lnto
 the show for half price?' "Why half price, my little man?' asked the great P. T.
 q only got one eye and I can't see more than half of the show" answered the boy and P T. not only took him in' put let him escort dozen playmates not loi- tunate enough to have but one eye. When Barnum started in the circus busl- ness there were a few obstacles other | than those of expenses to contend WILL | From one end of the country to the other | a confirmed prejudice against the circus | existed. The church folk frowned on the | circus even more severely than they 1 frowned on the theatre. It was regardeo 1 as an evil without much excuse. More- | over it attracted to it's fold nothing Gul l bad people. l Frequently there were riots during the 1 exhibitions. The circus employees useu .o | be drilled thoroughly in the art of defena- l ing themselves, en bloc, against the at- | tacks of infuriated townsmen. l Let a commonplace crook 1n the tram | of the show, dupe an avaricious country | man and the countryman's feiloW-citlzehs | descended on the box office with rush. | Ministers used to preach loudly against .,ae- 1af 1afaTC ( | eral principles the show people were coll ! demned. And the circus people, by their
 rough appearance, did not help the vari- 1 ous communities to get over their dlsihe | It was a fact, of course, that the old-tlne | circus carried along with it not lew | first-class confidence men, cheap crooks | and what-not of f1otsam.
 l Barnum strove heroically to soften the | anti .athy of the church going persons ] He used to ornament the sides of the | cages and band wagons with scenes from l bibjcal history Barnum appreciated | the value of an excuse for patronizing l shows and for combating ministerial | prejudice ana opposition. Born and pred | in Connecticut, he knew the Bible by | heart and for the same reason did not | hesitate to turn Scripture on his ene- | mics.
 He made it a point to attend church | regularly-a practice which went Tar to- | ward winning many churchgoers over to 1 his side. And Sunday never passed | without an invitation from Barnum go- l ing to one of the local preachers. asking 1 the divine to hold service in one Of the | tents of the circus flor the benent or | the employees"
 If Barnum anticipated churchly oppo- l sition to his circus he went boldly to his 1 antagonist's ediffice, and did not hesitate 1 to engage the divine in spirited dlscus- 1 sion over the matter Anybody who could | get the better of Barnum in a discusslon involving the quotation of the Bible usu- ally found that he had tackled nara proposition. u. through the introduction of sensational novelties. From the old world he i'm norted the biggest elephant ever heard of Jumbo, now mounted III the ut college museum He discovered rom Thumb up in the provinces. He secured control of the alleged Cardiff giant. And he expanded the circus from small one rinq affair to a huge exhibition wherein three rings and three stages were Kept constantly occupied He was always ae, visne uniuue attractions Tor the specidi features. - In the late sos and early sos Barnums great rival was Adam Forepaugh fore- naugh was a pioneer in the business lie had begun at the bottom and worked ms way up consistently, energetlcaly' ue- tern,inedly against all sorts or odds.
 Forenaugh went in not so much Tor
 freaks and startling specialties as TOT
 animals So that the Forepaugh shoW'
 not being exactly like Barnum's never
 suffered from the presence of the other
 bio show in the field. No circus ever
 possessed a better menagerie than fole-
 paugh's. .,,s,.,nr h,s
 Forepaugh was always studylng HIS
 animals He felt in them all the interest
 that a youngster, seeing them TOT the
 first time. should feel. One day the
 elenhants furnished him with his diver sion: on another day. in company with naturalist he would give several hours to the lions and tigers. And on a thlro day he found his distraction in observing
 the antics of the monkeys. He became
 in time an encyclopedia of information
 on the habits of wild animals in cap-
 tivity d.,
 There's a story about him and the
 toothless monkey which can stand repeti-
 tion. Forepaugh had observed that tnls
 particular creature had grown very lhiii'
 He said to the caretaker:
 "You're not giving that fellow enough
 food.'
 "Beg V pardon, sir, but l does, an
 swered the man. But the other ulV'iis
 steal it away from him. He's a little shy
 on teeth and he can't do good battle With
 'em."
 Forepaugh was reflective for moment
 or two. Then he said: Well, guess we
 know show to fix the other fellows. The
 CUTS, I'll show them how to treat their