The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-08
Busy But Unhappy Circus Folk

Profitable days these for the circus clown, the tumber, the contortionist and the acrobat. No more winter quarters says the New York Sun. No tedious trips to Mexico and South and Central America with worries about salaries and return tickets. No more work with tired mus cles in the spring to get into trim for the long summer campaign under the big top.
 vaudeville has drawn in the circus Not so much from choice as from necess- lty. Cabaret shows and the insistent de- mand for teachers of tango and he's 1tation in the early fall took from thepop- uiar priced houses the cleverest of the pairs of song and dance people, main stays of those resorts. Gaps left had to be filled. Circuses were making their last stands before being driven into winter quarters by the cold weather. vaudeville agents went to the gymna sts with tempting contracts. New teams to do usual brother acts sprang into being,
 rms winter they have crowded the stages Of the short time houses-those changing their bills about twice a week There have been performers on the trap eze flying rings, horizontal bar with dancers. tumblers, contortionists. club swingers and always one clown to make a laugh, whether pierrot tramp or conn., try gawk
 Ahe post III tnelf lines, these performs CTS. Applauded and laughed at from ocean to ocean during the season under the canvas. Yet often they fail to get across the theatre footlights as does a slip of a girl who follows their clever and daring work with a snappy song. a lew dancing steps and fewer funny re- marks It has taken lifetime of hard worK to perfect the acrobats; the girl IS out of the amateur class only A few perhaps hl11 of fla IS hers. Such is the temper of the crowds that fill these theatres during their con- tinous performances
 The circus people cannot understand why they are not vociferously recievea ana are unhappy, except when they get theif Tat pay envelopes. Nor can the managers. Said one of them:
 There's trio of horozontal bar ev perts who do all the twists and swings and breakneck acts possible stars under the canvas, to whom I pay S450 week for the season One of them is principal clown in one of biggest tent shows on , the road. They get far less applause than that girl without any voice, out With a pleasing personality, who is glad to get s25 week.
 Can you explain itg I have eleven other acrobatic teams of from two to SIX people on the road under contract They are almost as good as that trio Yet they have no drawing power
 "A pair of dancers who can do the tango and hesitation and turkey trot a little will pull more money than these first class ''brother" and sister" acts. Trained athletes have often proved to he merely filters. They do not catch the crowds. Dancers would be headlinars
 perfect gymnastic act hardly gets recognition. That's what the dancing craze has done to this business
 Why don't you get the tangojsts then?'
 Cant Cabaret and dancing schools have them all. We have to take what's left. Hence the acrobats''
 Circus folks are no more pleased with the situation. They are a proud lot and jealous of their profession. They long for such applause as the striplinr girl gets. The smell of the sawdust will be welcome.