The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1910-03-03
TRUSTS IN THE CIRCUS
In 1887 Titus & Angevine Con-
ceived Idea of Amalgamation.
AND THEN P. T. BARNUM
The Clever Snowman Though II
Could be Done-The Tent Show
Business Controlled by Few Men.
Forepaush a Tireless Fighter.

! Could be Done-The Tent SNOW
Business Controlled by Few Men,
Forepaush Tireess Fighter.
On the eve of the unforeseen panic OF
| 1887, June. Titus 4 Angevine. of the
powerful and wealthy combine OF
"Flatfoots" conceived the idea of ann
algamating the interests of those en-
! gagged in the circus and menagerie
| business and the importation of wild
! beasts into one gigantic monopoly to
| be known as the Geological Institute
/ Considerable progress was mado %
/ the alarm of managers, who desired
| to preserve their individuality, Whch
the financial crash of the C,-tury
thwarted their scheme.
1t was decades after this well-nlsn
] successful attempt at centrali2atun'
| before Phineas Taylor Barnum cane
| to believe that the tent show business
could be controlled by te 2 m0h,
with himself at the head THIS opn-
ion was strengthened by the ilnmedl-
ate unparalleled success OF the p Y.
! Barnun Show under the directions #
| William c. Coup.
Adam Forepaugh, was at the head
| of large show and his fed was,
after leaving philadelphia the terri
| tory west of Pittsburg and Buffalo.
| He had touched the East and plid 70:
! his experience, shipping his whole
| outfit out Of Yankeedom az fast as
a special train could carry him. In
| 1879 he again tempted fate down East
with unsatisfactory results, but later
on he conquered the land OF the rising
sun and by tours of the extreme West
the Pacific Coast and the South, ac-
! CURED a national reputation and be-
came the only admitted rival OF p.
r. Barnum.
old John Robinson "owned the
South" as Barnum and Coup learned
to their cost.
Then there entered the Ameri an
sawdust arena, a new gladiator with
his fighting clothes on in the person
of James A. Bailey, backed by his
former employer anC later associate,
James E. Cooper. Bailey was Whirl-
wind warrior and hit managerial
head wherever he saw one, and went
after p. T. Barnum and Adam ore
paugh as fearlessly as he did the
small fry.
Cooper was a man Of considerable
financial resources, and Bailey, in
,,lnnnCI 40 ,N,,rnhnCp nf thn
Forepaugh and Coup shows, which
added to the London. would have
made Cooper and Bailey power on
the road. The Coup show was IN
straits but the Forepaugh how nau
already cleared for the season three
times as much money as its wouid-bc
purchaser offered for ;he entire fabric.
Adam Forepaugh only laughed at the
inadequate proposition.
Bailey now looked hopefully to an
alliance with +. II. Barnum as a
stepping stone to his hearts desire.
Bailey assumed the Barnum manage
ment and the personal direction of all
the advertising, and he Just made ev-
erything hum and the weaklings stand
from under, or take to the woods.
p. T, Barnum and James A. Bailey
both underrated Adam Forepaugh who
was a diamond in the rough without
graces or culture, but an abundance
of common sense,
One spring p. T. Barnum came out
in one of the official publications OF
the show in personal card, the like
of which he was so skilled in inditine
and boldly called on the dear public
to support the Barnum show and the
Barnum show alone. With the clever
argument that if he received all the
patronage, he would be the better
equipped to supply all the arenic am
usements, Mr., Barnum was speaking
for himself and the equal owner
who probably endorsed the sentiment
When Adam Forepaugh read this
proposition he exploded verbally anI
emphatically, and he said: "Barnun
and Bailey Or no one else in the bust
ness can ever monopolize it,"
Barnum & Bailey, in their attemp
to corner the business, also set ou
to secure the brains in the circus call
ing. Their staff was made up Of tn,
very best of talent but when the,
were all assembled there still remain
ed men of capacity and intellect in tn
employ of pugnacious and hectorinI
rivals fully able to contend against an
Inhalation.
In England, after the death of MI
Barnum and Mr., Bailey's sole success
sion, the result was quite differen
than here. In that tight little isle
the Barnum & Bailey show crushe,
all opposition out of existence an
lastingly ruined the circus business Il
Dill