The Washington times., 1919-06-08

" combined with the equally big
" Ringing Brothers Cirels to tour
around the United States q probleI= Srose.
Where was there q tent big enough TO hold
these two combined shows?
: The most gigantic tent ever conceived
by the mind Of man had to be designed
and built This huge acreage Of white
canvas must be bigger than the largest
building in America. And so q mammoth
Bent was made that will easily cover the
great Madison Square Garden in New
York with a lot TO spare. The Garden
Keats about eight thousand people, but the
huge tent seats eleven thousand,
Madison Square Garden is AS feet long
nd the tent is $40 feet long. The tent is
wenty feet wider than the Garden. II
lkes 24O men to handle the canvas. It
cupies the attention and strength Of
ETY. men to lift the centre pole Of the
t. After this is up the heavy work is
e by trained circus horses. There are
p 500 miles Of rope sewed into the can
and used as hosting tines and for tying
lie stakes.
hen these extraordinary figures have
grasped it is hard to believe that this
three acres Of canvas can be assem-
from its hundreds Of parts and act
set up in the space Of eleven min
1t is a tribute to the efficiency of
rcus men and their faithful attention
Nnak
ng can rise complete from its many
in less than Q quarter Of an hour.
problem Of handling the tent has
studied with microscopic thorough
While the show is sim going on
rainmaster in charge Of the circus
receives a telegram during the even
rom men who have gone ahead and
I'D out the location in the next town.
telegram will read, "Poles to the
BOSE" or Poles to the engine" This
he first step in efficiency in setting up
tent in the next town,
4 the train enters the circus lot so that
e cars containing the big sixtyfoOt poles
light to pass on to the end of the lot then
Poles to the engine" means that the train
,hau be loaded with this purpose in view.
Every pole, stake, section Of canvas, rope,
eserved seat chair, grandstand frame and
blank belongs in a certain wagon, and this
wagon belongs In a certain car, and this
ar belongs in q certain place in the train.
Nothing is put loose into the train. Every
hing is packed into wagons so that 1t can
,ome of the train packed in the wagons
nd be driven to the very spot where 1t
belongs.
As soon as the circus train comes to
ull stop at the circus lot the wagons are
IN out from the cars, the horses hitched
N and the material in each wagon is un-
oaded exactly where II belongs.
Sixty specially trained men seize the
entire pole Of the tent, known as the king
,ole BY hand this pole is pushed up into
he air and the base of the pole fits Sc
urely into q foundation. When once the
ling pole Is erected, the other poles are
Witty raised into place by horse power,
sing the centre or king pole as a lever,
While the poles are going up the stake
nen are driving the fifteen hundred stakes
o hold the canvas from blowing away.
While this crew is busy a special crew Of
anvas men are unrolling the bundles of
anvas which have been distributed around
he lot AS the sections of canvas are un-
oiled another crew follows along them
nd laces the dozens Of separate sections
ogether into one complete three-aCre tent.
simultaneously all crews have finished
heir work-the stakes are driven, the
oes are up, the canvas is unTOlled and
aced together the ropes from the canvas
INNING up over the tops of the poles and
# to the twenty circus horses are all in
osition. At a signal from the chief the
orses start forward and the huge canvas
Uses swiftly into the air to the top Of the
ole. In eleven minutes the fifty wagons
Nth the thousands of separate parts have
ONE out of the cars, been UnlOaded, the
arts assembled and the complete tent
rected.
But this is only one of the tents the
ircus carries. This is the largest tent and
called by the circus men the big Top"
his big tent is divided into forty sections,
be smallest section having an area of
200 square feet of canvas. The entire
oof of the big tent contains about 10000
quare feet. To this, of course, must be
dded the canvas used TO form the walls
{ this enormous tent. Besides this big
op" the tent which exhibits the menagerie
an enormous affair-about as big as the
lain tent of the circus in previous years,
nd there are more than thirty other tents