The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-17
CIRCUS CLOWNS
 LEAD HARD LIFE Must Be Both Clever and
 Original CREATOR AND ACTOR And Above All He Must He Industrious. Much More Is Demanded Of Saw dust Comic Artist Than In
 the Easy OIden Days
CREATOR AND ACTOI
rom the New York Herald

From the New York Herald
 Tired? We'll, l should say l am This is harder than heaving lump coal or spring moving. The old days of much ease and great glory are planted in his tory never to be resurrected again"
 A sad-faced clown in the dressing room of a big circus was wiping off the red lines of joy in his face and making vic- ious swipes at the stubborn coating of white which seemed to adhere like var nsh.
 "We work harder than any bunch of men with the show the clown con- tinued q have been in the business a long, long while now and I know where of I speak. l can remember when the functions of this great institution of clowning were short and sweet and life was one long, rosy dream. That's when your granddaddy was buying the paste boards in the pay-asyou-enter one-ring circus.
 "All the clown had to do was to tumble
 into the sawdust arena and carry on few silly antics while the lady bareback rider was doing her stunt. Then when the panting horse was getting a breath MT. Clown would step out and pull joke on the ringmaster and then beat it around the ring as the distinguished ring master cracked long whip after him at every jump. But, mark me here, there was one thing that clown had to be able to do and do well-he had to make him self heard all over the tent. Then when the razorbacks were putting up the ap- paratus for the springboard tumblers the clown would come out and, mounting red and white striped pedestal, would sing lively comic song. Then his work was done. And he got as much money as any man with the troupe.
 "But look at things nowadays! Ten times as much is demanded Look at this very showl We have 33 clowns, and every one of them is hard worker. To make good we have to rank in ability with many of the so-called musical com edy comedians along' Broadway Not only must we be up in the art of panto- mime but must possess pair of leather lined lungs for the successful exploitation of our jokes.
  talent not demanded of the man cast for musical comedy role. Their parts are created: their lines are cast; they are drilled by competent stage manager and even their costumes are minutey de- scribed by the author But the live clown of today must be a creator and actor as well. Likewise, 1t must be creation with the breath of today in it. pertinent, topical, new, and with broad sense of humor in Its freshness. We must consume at least half of the time of the entire performance.
 There are a few things I want to call mind you, it is not the exception. For in- stance, two clowns put on screamingly funny ~burlesque of the Jeffries- Johnson fight. One has the white face of the lily, while the other Is of an ebony hue. They carry on a fake fight, and when the round Is over one of them runs over and rings COW bell. Instead of pouring water on the head of Johnson it is splashed on his big feet. Other things equally as ridicu lous are carried on.
 gro be sure, we have travesty on Rostands much-talked-of play, 'Chante- cler.' One clown representing the moon, carries things at a high clip, when in stalks the giant rooster, Chantecler. A tramp, asleep on park bench, represents Morning Chantecler crows and daylight
 is on. A big policeman arrests the Moon and takes him out. The tramp awakes and, stretching his arms and legs to the accompaniment of wooden rattler. gapes and yawns in stentoran fashion, and the birds begin to sing. Very broad burles- que you vii say, but carried out with a degree of intelligence and close to the text in a way. And it's all done In minute.
 "Of course, we give aviation an inning. One clown has a miniature aeropane on the end of a pole hanging in front of him. the pole being fastened to his head, and blowing a bellows keeps the aero plane in motion as he runs wildly around the ring in an imaginary chase after it. Neither have we overlooked the Haley comet An ingenious chap with our ag- gregaton has arranged a comet on wires that hangs about three feet in front of him and two feet above his head. For sizzling tail of cyanogen he has ignited a piece of fireworks, like fuse, which gives the whole a realistic appearance. Then he has large, funnel-shaped tele- scope made of crude tin plate, and armed with this the clown struts around the arena. comet gazing. It Is so brand new that it always gets a good laugh. "Of course. we have Teddy and his return from the African jungles depleted in humorous fashion, and even the high cost of living comes in for Its share of ridicule. But you see, all of these things call for originality and hard work. The prosperous and successful clown of today must be up and doing. alive to every situation and exceedingly clever in the humorous exposition of popular fads and fancies And, above everything else, he must be industrious
 .Rebecca" as Play From Harper's Bazar.