Norwich bulletin., 1916-06-14
BIG CIRCUS PARADE
 WAS LATE STARTING
Five O'Clock Before Afternoon Per- s formance Started But Evening
 Show Went of in Good Order.

Even a casual observer, such as Ambling Abner, must have noticed that there was something untoward going on along Main street about half past 10 Tuesday morning. A1nbling Abner came in late Monday evening on the end of a slow freight. Tuesday morning he had a late breakfast, went forth to find out what was the name of the town he had inadvertently Vis- ited. He knew it was somewhere be- tween New York and Boston, but having sojourned recently on the Pa- cific coast he was not sure; and Q certain delicate reserve prevented him from asking the policeman on the corner of Broadway and Main streets. So Abner anbled along Main street, rubbing a weeks growth of bristiy beard in perplexity and gnawing the end of cigar that had accidentally come into his possession. Thus it happened, before very long, that sew eral circumstances were brought to his notice which impressed Abner as being very (to say the least) unto ward.
 As Abner progressed farther and farther along Main street, he noticed that the proletariat was as joyful as l it was expectant. As each trolley car arrived in Franklin square the heads of children-little girls with braids- red headed boys, freckled boys, and all
 
 truded from the ends of each seat, and were turned, with bulging eyes, to tho 1 swarthy fat man who was handing l out red, green and yellow balloons. This swarthy man wos so talented that while he was decorating the multitude with balloons with one hand I and making change with the other, he manipulated a whistle whose wild notes rose and fell with a melancholy cadencer. The balloon man for the | A0 L. oR |, ! f1ckle fancy of the populace. The peo- pie, young and old, surged around him; and now he placed a great round | ball of green in the 1eager hand of a small boy, and again thrust a yellow I bubble into the trembling fingers o1 an old man who wore an abashed | grin, as if he were trying to be a boy again and were a litle ashamed of hinselg.
 Little girls in little pink pinafores and Title boys in immaculate white 1 kn1ckerbockerS held mammals hand and waited for the great spectacle More fortunate were the urchins wnC gloriffed in their unwashed faces and roamed at will through the crowd, ap. propriated wagons and automobiles al their own private reviewing stands, ol
 tore up and down the street, yelling
 Hey, Skinny! De skirkus is comin! | Which it was.
 But it didn't come quite soon enougl
 to suit Young America who was dowl
 at the freight yard on Laurel Hill a early as 3.30 a. m. He waited ant
 waited. To be exact he waited fou
 hours as it was 8 o'clock before tn
 first section, or the flying squadron
 arrived in town from Stamford wher
 the circus people showed on Monday
 The second and third sections arrives
 an hour or so later and it was Il O
 clock before the last section got in.
 The delayed arrival made it Impos sible to give the parade at the adver tised time. The heavy haul up Yves
 and it was 3.30 before the parade go . started from the Fairgrounds. + wa
 4 when they reached Main street, bu
 there was a good sized crowd on han , The parade went as far as the square then up Franklin street to Willo1
 street. Up Willow street to Broa
 way and back to the circus grounds
 The afternoon performance did no
 begin until 5 o'clock and lasted untl , 7.15. The evening performance start , ed at and a fair sized crowd enjoy , ed the two hour show.
 As soon as the big show was owe the canvass men got to work and > few hours later Barnum and Bailey
 was on the way to Worcester. Norwich a Parading Town. DI A parading town, is what the agent 3 of the Barnum 6 Bailey circus term ed Norwich after their experience here. About 12 o'clock the official of the circus appeared at Se1ectmA : Bailey's office to secure their licens : to play and announced that the cir f GUS would not give parade. Tn I agent was informed, no parade, n ! circus.
 i The publicity agent stated that ow ing to the lateness of the hour an
 the heavy haul up over West Mai
 street, which made it hard on tn
 horses it was the humane thing { omit the parade, but Selectman Bai ley reminded him of the fact ths ,. hundreds of people were standin 1. around from early morning patientl !. awaiting for the parade and if the
 thought they would be unable 10 pa rade why didn't they announce = through the streets earlier in tf q l morning instead of allowing the pull
 lie to stand around. Selectman Ba t ley suggested that they parade frol
 the depot.
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