Bisbee daily review., 1910-04-19
CURTIS, THE MARVEL
 IN CIRCUS WORK

eNN AofN ASfNt ANa4A oi 1hiNtes Noi- T denser of circus circumlOcution. be- l cause this Mir Curtis Is a modest l man and perhaps, if he were here. would not relish all these titles giv- ! en him by an enthusiastic press 1 agent.
 In the patois of the circus world l Curtis is commonly called the boss canvass man. It is he who superin- ] teads the putting up and taking down of the big tent. and. simple as this process may appear. it is a pro ceeding that is really a work of art. which has enaged the attention and thought of every big circus man who has been worthy of that name since this form of amusement was known to the public.
 When a big American circus was over in Germany some years ago. Emperor William. who is nothing fl not a seeker of variagated knowl- edge, came down in person Co wit ness the loading and unloading of the American attraction. The alacrity with which everything was put in place and the unique methods em- ployed for time and labor saving. struck the German ruler as being so marvellous and so far ahead of anything within the knowledge of the continental armies that he dele gater a corps of his most trusted commanders to study the American system and utilize it in the German army manouyres. This departure practically revolRtionized the old world way of moving large bodies of men, horses and equipment. and to- day we find the armed countries of the world have practically taken from the American circus that which years Of experience did not seem to bring to them.
 But the German emperor never met Curtis. condenser of circus circumlo- cuiion. One would have thought. | viewing the advent of big shows four or five vars ago. that ingenuity had i been exhausted and that there re- mafnsd nothing left undone by which l speed and safety in putting up the i equipment and in taking it down i could have been accelerated. but then | Curtis came along, condenser Of cir GUS circumlocution. as the press ] agent loves to call him, and was not i satisfied with the old methods. Mir. l Curtis has been of the circus world ! for half his life time, and for years | has been a deep student Of engineer ! ing and mechanics. It was only, however. when he signed contract with the proprie- tors of the Sells-Floto show that he was enabled to put the theories. which he had nursed for years. into practice After explaining his ideas Mr. Curtis was furnished with all the money necessary to carry out his plans. the result being that today Sells-Floto shows have posted SlO,O00 on the proposition and they can put up their tents and assemble their equipment in a shorter period of time than any other circus, big or little. in the world
 In the first place. Mir Curtis in- vented an automatic stake-driver: in the old days it took five or six able bidied men armed with sledge ham mers. to drive a stake Today. aided by the Curtis invention. one man op- crates the machine while two place the pins. It takes an average Of ten seconds to drive the longest stake used for the guy-ropes.
 Another invention which Mir Cur tis brought to the circus world was the "guyer-out' Inf the old days when a wind storm came up. it took a score of men to tighten the guy ropes and secure the canvas. Under the present system two men can stay up the biggest top ever erected
 But the greatest of his time and labor saving appliances will be seen when the big circus arrives in Bisbe' for it's opening performance thi year. The machine in operation takes the form of mammoth reel just as if one took a spool Of cotton somewhere in the neighbOrhood c thirty feet long. and put it on top O a wagon This big spool will be util ized in the folding up of the tents Heretofore it took almost an army O men to get the big canvas in shap' 90 that it could be loaded on th
 cars. Not only was il a long and te dious job. but it was drought witt more or less damage to the canvas owing to the fact that in the foldini the men tramped on it with heavil.
 nailed shoes and it was very fire quenty torn or marred. But unde the present system. the canvas. afte
 being laid down. is simply folder twice. then attached to the reel am
 rolled up just as one would reel