The Washington herald., 1909-07-04
By Willard D. Coxey

looked over at the white, white tent win ID y
eyes. I'm out Of It, and
out of It for good" he said.
but, after all. there is something allurng about
the circus life--something about the grassy lot
and the soiled tents, and the waving
flags. and the crowds and the music, that sets a
fellows nerves tingling "once circus man al
ways a circus man. Is an aphorism. There's
lot of truth In It. When the circus microbe gets
into a mans blood it's next door TO impossible TO
get rid Of it, And this applies to the man ahead
the agent who helps to pave the way for the com
ing of the circus, just much TO those who
live in the immediate glare of the centre.pole
lamps and the glitter of the equestrienne's span
giles.
How many years was in the business? I'm
almost afraid TO say. But 1t isn't altogether
question OF years. It's a matter of experience.
I've known young felows-neryy restless,
full of gnger-who crowded more into five years
OF hustng ahead of the white tops than other
men have experienced in quarter of century.
It's largely matter OF temperament And, atter
all, every successful press agent must have tenn
perament. To hynotize a newspaper man, and in
duce him TO reprint stories of the show when HIS
entire training teaches him that they should
under the head Of advertising, requires peculiar
makeup and a knowledge of human nature that
only come with experience. The press agent
who really makes his mark has adaptability for
the work You cannot make press agent out OF
a man-even n clever newspaper man-unless he
has natural fitness for the occupation.
Here's something that will make you smile
but it's true. The real circus press agent is
sitive and impressionable to the last degree. His
ne is satisfied until he has them planted
But that isn't ALL The time that intervenes be.
tween the planting of the story and the issuing
OF the paper hours Of misery and unrest for
him. He is I'm a condition of mental dread for
fear his story has not been printed He will stay
up all night in order TO get first edition. If he
finds his story in the paper he is in the seventh
heaven of delight. But if-as often, very often
happens-his story has been crowded out, his eour-
age out at his finger tips and he suffers
keenness of disappointment impossible to describe.
I have known some of the greatest and cIeveresr
press agents who suffered such mental torture
when their stories failed to land that for days
they almost incapable of systematic work.
When however. the disappointment is over, the
press agent will plunge into the work with all his
old time zeal and energy and the slightest success
will act complete tonic TO his nerves.
Nowadays, the work of the circus press agent
is clearly defined. and his scope is narrowed
that he is In effect a specialist. The who
makes the newspaper contract is in class of his
own. SO is the story man. They both press
agents, but while confines himself largely %
handling the advertising in the business office Of
the newspaper, the other concentrates his efforts
upon making himself-and incidentally, the edi-
tor--forget that there is business Office and
bends all his energies to landing his stories pure
ly as news free reading matter
MY early experiences as press agent were at
time when the man who made the advertising