Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1920-02-24

Washinetop. d. c.. Feb. 81
There II . weather-beaten little
man Of %, in Washington this week.
putting on . circus under the aus
pices Of the American Legion.
Mrs. woodrow Wilson 10 patroness.
and with her In the same capacity
are the wives OF cabinet members.
senators, and the wealthy and So
cially exclusive Of the national cap
ital, vic6 President Marshall heads
the committee having the entertain
ment in charge. and the powerful
men Of the land are associated with
him.
This showman's name Is John r.
Agee, and he is said to be ''the fast
est man with q whistle" in the
world. This phrase Is one peculiar
to the sawdust Of the circus where
the man with the whistle is kind.
It Is the man with the whistle who
coordinates the 50 acts that may be
going on under the big tent in such
. way that each works In perfect
time, like the wheels in q watch. It
il the man with the whistle who
performs the miracle Of Welding
man and beast into q machine of
spectacular perfection
The man with the whistle Is the
ultimate product in the circus game.
He rides in the buggy that leads
the parade. Later he sees every de-
tail that goes on under the big tent;
he runs the show, meeting all Of the
emergencies of the calling in which
the routine Of every day is like an
expedition into the unknown.
Who has not gone to the circus
and worked his nimble wits to ex-
haustion IN an attempt to see all
that was going on in the three rings
1T once? Who has not taarveled
that all these difficult feats were
individually possible. and who has
not marveled that they might be so
| perfectly fitted together? The man
with the whistle is responsible.
You may hardly have noticed that
whistle. Its trill Is always heard
AZ . given act draws to Its close.
That trill is the cue to the act that
is to follow. In the ofling is a group
Of clowns, ready for action. Back
Of the curtain performers rush into
the last Of their glittering apparel.
Wise old circus animals fall into
their places as correctly as the
members of a crack military COM
pany. The band in the arena speeds
up for the finale OF the act
The eye Of the man with the
whistle watches carefully and pres:
emily the second blast is blown
This marks the end Of the act. 1t is
a thing that must be delicately tim
ed. The performers must be giver
their moment to take applause, theil
moment OF joyful appreciation
Nothing must interfere with thi:
moment. The performers for tn,
next act are at the alert behinf
the curtain. The army of clowns i.
ready to break DANGEROUSLY forth
But the moment after the secont
7 "hAotA0s anu duC1u vi Tie lUlEd. 1;
sacred to the performers who ar,
finishing their acts.
/ Then doNes the third blast. TIL,
clowns dash forth. 1t is their bus
mess to fill in the gap between
acts. The shifting from one act t,
the other is not to be seen. TIL
observer is to be diverted. Til,
clowns are thrust into the breach
The third blast, also. lets down tn
barrier to the performers of tn
next act. Under the screen of di
version thrown up by the clowns
they find their way into the rings
no one sees them until the fooler
of the clowns subsidies, and thel
! their acts proceed.
At the National Press club, il
Washington, the other day, Age
told the story of his climb to tn
top in the circus world. story n
less dramatic than that of the figh
upward Of Lincoln, or Carnegie, O
Hoover. It was q story that illus
trates all over again the opportun
ity for success that is tucked ava