Show World (June 1907)

30 THE SHOW WORLD NEWS OF THE TENT SHOWS T HE modem circus Is one of the most wonderful of all up-to-date institutions, and when one is un¬ acquainted with the mysteries of Its operation the mere fact of its ex¬ istence, let alone the marvelous ma¬ chinery necessary for the moving of the whole, seems almost beyond human accomplishment. Of course, “POP,” S. H. SEMON. From the old John Robinson Shows back in the early 70’s to general con¬ tracting agent in advance of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, this is the re¬ cord of S. H. Semon, or “Pop,” as he is known in the realm of tent and wagon. After a number of years in the services of the elder Robinson, Mr. Semon cast his fortunes with the Adam Forepaugh show, during which time he made a good record as a contracting agent of shrewdness and ability. At the death of the veteran Forepaugh, Mr. Semon joined the Bamum forces, and for the past eighteen years he has been constantly on their executive staff. to the old circus man who under¬ stands the inner workings of the cir¬ cus machine, it is not so wonderful after all, but becomes merely a mat¬ ter of several hundred persons ac¬ complishing their individual tasks at the right moment. However, there is nothing more amazing in the growth of amusements than the upward climb of the circus. The increase in the number of acts is another thing which tends to fur¬ ther bewilder the circus patron. He was able some years ago to go to the tented arena and witness every¬ thing. Now he can only see a small portion of it, for there are always at least three performances going on at once. In each of the rings and on the platforms there are nimble acro¬ bats or intelligent animals going through their stunts, while over his head on many bars and trapezes aer¬ ial performers are flying to and fro and an army of clowns is distracting his attention on the Hippodrome track. To take in everything in the modern circus a man must have as many eyes as he has fingers and toes. And take, too, the parade, that time-honored institution without which no- circus is complete. Time was when a few wagons, a few mounted performers and an elephant or two, with a clown tagging behind, satisfied us completely. Now there must be more than a mile of glitter¬ ing panoplied pageantry, or we turn up our noses in disgust. The mod¬ ern circus parade is a monster sym¬ phony of gold and red with hundreds of horses and hundreds of people. Campbell Brothers’ Shows. Secretary C. E. Whitney, of the Campbell Brothers’ Consolidated Shows, writes THE SHOW WORLD as follows: “Saturday, June 15, ended the sev¬ enth week of Campbell Bros, tour of Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota. Dur¬ ing all this time but seven days of circus weather have fallen to their lot. Their first parade was given in a blinding snow storm, and the next day it was necessary to scrape some eight inches of snow from the lot in order to erect the canvas. Two stands have been lost, viz: South Omaha, Neb., owing to a blizzard, and Glen- wood, Minn., on account of rain, and several night performances have been abandoned for the same reason. Not¬ withstanding the unfavorable weather, the treasury shows several thousand dollars better than for the same period last season. Not a head of stock has been lost, nor any serious accident occurred. “The death of ‘Doc’ Campbell came as a sad blow, not only to his broth¬ ers, but to every one connected with the show. For years he had been the active manager of the show, coming into direct contact with the people of all departments. While a man of quick temper, he was strictly just, and as tender a heart as ever beat in the breast of man. It is greatly owing to his ability and judgment that the Campbell show grew in a short twelve years from an aggregation of one wagon and two horses to the show it is today. He is greatly missed but his brothers announce their in¬ tention of carrying on the business as heretofore, and make the Campbell name, if possible, an enduring monu¬ ment to the memory of the brother who has gone ahead, to the far ad¬ vance. “The principal features with Camp¬ bell Brothers’ Shows this season are Sie Hassan Ben Ali’s troupe of Bed- uoin Arabs, ten in number; Mizuno’s Royal Japanese Troupe (7); The Lamy Troupe of Acrobats (4); Capt. Dimitri and his Company of Russian Cossacks (4); The Gentry Aerialists (3); Orrin Hollis, Fred Costello, Net¬ tie Hollis and Norma Davenport, rid¬ ers; Chas. Barnett and Win Wallace, mule hurdles. These acts, with a large number of smaller acts, make up a varied and snappy program, which seems to give universal satisfaction. “The seven elephants and ten cam¬ els which bring up the rear of Camp¬ bell Bros, parade, make a strong fea¬ ture. the results of which are daily shown at the box office. “Campbell Bros, showed to their first turn-away of the season at Du¬ luth, June 5, and a ‘near-turn-away’ at Superior the day before. This show does not get as many turn- away s as some others (on paper), but the wise ones in the circus busi¬ ness notice that the Campbell Show comes out each spring a trifle strong¬ er than it was the year before. It is the steady, average business that brings the lasting returns to the box office.” Gollmar Bros.’ Show a Hit. Success, both financially and artis¬ tically, is being met by the Gollmar Bros.’ Shows, now met by the Gollmar F. E. Tryon, mail agent of the show, sends to THE SHOW WORLD the following complete roster of all em¬ ployes and the entire executive staff. Chas. Gollmar, general manager; THE KILROY-BRITTON ATTRACTIONS Any dead fish can float down stream, but it takes a live oi E. J. CARPENTER OFFERS: 1907-8 SEASON “At Cripple Creek” “Why Girls Leave Home” “For the Honor of Old Kentucky’ Main Office, 601 New Times Bldg., ’ NEW YORK CITY CIRCUS LIGHTS USED BY ALL LEADING SHOWS I Barnutn & Bailey 1 Ringling Bros. 3 Forepaugh & Sells Bros, i Hagenbeck-Wallace 5 Buffalo Bill's Wild West 5 John G. Robinson’s 7 Cole Bros. 3 Sells-Floto 3 Norris & Rowe 3 Gollmar Bros. 1 Sun Bros. > Gentry Bros. Two Shows 1 Gran Circo Trevino 1 Bodkin Bros, i Pat Chappelle j M. L. Clark's Show 1 Cincinnatus Amusement Co. 7 Cozada Dog & Pony Show 3 Cummins’ Wild West 1 Charles Geyer’s Show ) Fashion Plate Show i Heyer Concert Co. ! J. Augustus Jones 1 McDonald Bros. > John H. Sparks 3 Seibel Bros. 7 John F. Stowe 1 Al. F. Wheeler Shows J Frank Adams’ Shows ) Bobby Fountain Shows i Burke’s Uncle Tom Cabin ) Leonard Coleson's Merry Go-Round 1 H. Willert s Merry-Go-Round ! Terry's Uncle Tom Cabin Co. ! Andrew Downey McPhee i Redpaih Lyceum Bureau THE BOLTE &, WEYER CO. 223 Michigan Si., CHICAGO, ILL