El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-03-25

wonder has made a place for
itself in American life. The multi
colored poster, hung 50 alluringly on
the roadside barn, catches The eye of
the small boy as he wends his way
homeward from school and makes him
late for the evening chores.
It's extravagantly worded and elabo
rately pictured promise of scenes of
splendor and mystery arouses in his
sanguine mind a rapturous determine
ton ito see that show" 1t develops
in him a spirit of thrift and a pro-
pensity for economy that, if maintained
throughout his after life, would make
him rich
The tented city. coming in with the
gray dawn, rising specterlike out of
the mist revealing its wonders during
the day and then disappearing in the
darkness, is almost like some trick
in magic. The system by which, all
this is accomplished is quite as won
derful as the astonishing things seen
in the ring.
The circus men have perfected the
routine of their calling in every pos
sfble way. They have the adding ma
chine in the ticket wagon. the cash
/ register at the door, and they carry
with them their own portable tele-
phone system and electric light plant
The Advance Work
Before the circus comes to town more
than a hundred men have preceded it
to perfect arrangements. They are con-
tracing agents. advertisers and inspec-
tors One arranges for the railroad
transportation. one for the lot where
the exhibition is to be given. one for
the license, one for the newspaper adj
vertising, one for the billboards, one
for the livery teams to take the bill
posters to the country, etc. etc.
The men in advance have world Of
details to look after. They must re-
port on the railroad run coming into
the town, as well as the one leaving it.
The curves and grades must all be in
vestigated so the proper allowance for
time may be made. If there are tun-
nels it must be made certain that the
heavy vans and tall elephant cars will
clear them.
A careful report is made also on
the haul from the railroad yards to
the exhibition grounds. 1t must be as
certained if all bridges and culverts
are strong enough to bear the weight
of the heavy vans. Contracting for
the daily provisions constitutes another
feature of the advance work There
are from 700 to 900 people with large
circus. and show day" is an event TO
be looked forward to by dealers IN the
towns along the route.
Loading and Unloading.
There is no other calling which has
such a long day as the circus. 1t be-
gins early in the morning and runs
well into the night. The dusty en-
gines are hardly uncoupled from the
trains until the canvas cOlored wagons
are rolling from the cars and trund-
1fr or1 Z ha
lot The scene at the grounds is
which never fails to attract hundreds
of spectators. There is hardly any 9TH
er instances where so much work is
accomplished in so little time. the
morning work being the most visible
evidence of the nightly perfected or
ganization.
Order comes out Of chaos while you
look Every man has his place. and
every driver knows where his wagon is
needed and at just what time. Every
thing with the circus is on wheels and
it is OF the greatest Importance that
there be no delay IN moving the wag-
ons containing the stuff. II the wag-
ons come promptly on the lot in the ,
order that they come from the cars
there is little danger of delay. First
the stakes and chains. then the poles, |
then the canvas. and as soon as the
tents are underway the seats and ap-
paratus for the performance.
At the same time the wagons con-
tanning the cook tents. eating tents, ;
stables, sideshow. the menagerie, |
dressing rooms. etc. etc. must be de-
livered and their contents rushed into (
their respective positions. If there is
delay in getting the wagons from the |
cars to the lot it means that the parade |
must be delayed.
The Cfrcgus Parade.
The parade is the trial of the circus |
profession because it comes in the /
morning during the greatest rush of
the day. and if there is the slightest /
delay 1t runs over into the business Of I
the afternoon and gives no time for rest /
for either the people or the horses.
On hot morning when there is 4
long haul from the cars to the lot, the /
stock should have an opportunity to 1
rest. but this often is Impossible. More /
accidents happen during the jam which /
results from the parade than at any
other time during the visit of the cir /
Gus. The warning hold your horses,
the elephants are coming" often goes
UNDECIDED and serious runaways are fire.
quent. Great anxiety always is felt by
the management until this feature of I
the days program is over.
The proprietOrs of the Barnum &
Bailey show abandoned the parade al
together while in Europe. and found |
that its withdrawal greatly simplf-
fed the handling of the show without
affecting the attendance. It could cas-
lily be done away with abroad because
the big circus is new institution over
there, and the people are not accus-
toned to all its features as they are
in this country. Another reason for