Variety (February 1910)

12 VARIETY COLE SHOW AUCTION SALE MOST SUCCESSFUL EVER HELD Circus Men from All Over the Country Present as Bid- ders Upon the Entire Property Which Was Sold in Lots as Advertised. The much advertised auctiou sale of Cole Bros, circus was held at Corry, Pa., Friday, Jan. 28. It was attended by the largest number of circus and carnival men ever gathered together. From far and near the showmen were present at the largest legitimate circus sale ever held. Everything was sold from the paper fans to the Pullman cars; the bidding was spirited and men who know declare that while there were some bargains secured, nearly everything brought good prices. Among the prominent showmen present were Alf. T. and John Ringling, J. CL Mil- ler and Edward and Geo. Arlington, of "Ranch 101, Wild West"; John G'. Robin- son, ("Young Johnny"), Rhoda Royal, Frank A. Robbins, H. B. Craig, Ben Wal- lace, Wallace Hagenbeck Shows; W. E. Franklin, Sells-Floto; Dr. Crosby, Camp- bell Bros,; Tom Smith, of Buffalo and Pawnee Bill; Danny Robinson, Ernest Haag, of Mighty Haag Show; Jerry Mug- givan, J. Augustus Jones, of Jones Bros.; A. J. McCaffrey, of U. S. Tent & Awning Co.; Alf. T. Wheeler, Andrew Downie, Leon Washburn, Walter L. Main, Ed. Burke, Robinson Famous Shows; John Walsh, J. L. Springer, Robinson Show; J. D. Carey, of 101 Ranch; Earl Burgess, Robert Stickney, who bid for Ringling Bros.; Fred Mitchell, for Bartel Animal Co.; J. D. Carroll, general manager Fiss, Doerr & Carroll Co., who conducted the sale; P. Pederson, Geo. Stumpf, Sell a- Floto; Ed. C. Knupp, James Downs, Geo. Robinson, Wm. Forbes, A. S. Englert, W. B. Irons, H. E. Elliott, Dr. Potter, of N. Y. Hippodrome; J. R. Lowe, Erie Litho. Co.; R. M. Bickerstaff, Fred Buchanan, of Yankee Robinson, and the newspaper men. Early in the morning there was some doubt about the sale, as the U. S. Govern- ment wanted the $3,780 due them for duty on the horses when the show came out of Canada. The matter was settled by Mr. Mason, the administrator for the Downs estate, who arranged not to dis- burse any money from the estate until the claim was settled. Mr. Mason stated to the Variety representative that the amount paid to him for the property by the Fiss, Doerr & Carroll Co. was $23,500, and original deposit of $1,500. The total sales by auction amounted to from $43,000 to $44,000. Fiss, Doerr & Carroll cleared up a profit of over $19,000 on the sale. The bidding was started at 10 o'clock in the morning in the building where the property of the show was housed. John Evans was the auctioneer for the Fiss, Doerr & Carroll Co., one of the best men in his line of business, who, at the finish, sold horses at the rate of one a minute. ' The first things disposed of were the odds and ends such as rope, stakes, sledge hammers, lights, cook house outfit and the many little things that go to make up a show. They were all bought up by the small showmen such as Jones Bros., An- drew Downie and others. Nearly all the harness was bought by John Robinson and Danny Robinson. Of course there were some of the larger show owners who could not overlook some bargains much to the discomfort of the small bidders. The most interest was centered in the horses and wild animals. Bartel, the animal man from New York was repre- sented by Fred Mitchell, and offered $7,500 for the menagerie prior to sale. The Ring- ling Bros, were also eager to purchase cat animals to rehabilitate the Sells-Fore- paugh Show which they will put on the road next season. Miller Bros, and Ar- lington of "Ranch 101," were prominent in buying two car loads of stock and cars, and George Arlington bought enough cars and railroad equipment to make their show one of the largest two-train shows on the road. The bidding was lively between the "in- dependents" and the "syndicate" shows, Alf. and John Ringling, through their representative, Bob Stickney, bidding for ring stock and Smith for animals. The independents were out in force and made the Ringlings bid high for stock. Ring stock that ordinarily would bring $150, brought as high as $350. Jones Bros, bought most of the wagons, and the cal- liope that cost $1,800 was sold to them for $775. They resold a tableaux wagon to Ed. Arlington for $100 profit. Bartel bought most of the animals, but Ringlings bought a pair of Bengal tigers for $1,500. Dr. Potter bought some of the best ring stock for the Hippodrome; the prices for the animals running from $1,350 for an elephant to as low As $65 for one of the camels. The baggage horses brought all the way from $105 to $275. John Robin- son bought a camel and baby for $265. The cages anil open dens nearly all went to Jones Bros., of Warren, Pa. The litho- graphed paper was put up to sell, but as the highest bid was $5,000, made by Sol Waxelbaum, the estate decided not to sell, as their lowest figure was $7,500. All in all, it was an entirely successful sale, from a financial point, and, as the attend- ance was over two hundred from out of town, from the showmen's side also. Warren Irons purchased the privilege car for $1,100. The biggest bargain of the sale was a complete cook-house outfit, equipped to feed 300 people which Geo. Arlington bid in for "101 Ranch" at $42. Danny Robinson and Ed. Burke were heavy purchasers on behalf of Doherty Bros., of Wabash, Ind., and the stuff they bought in will show up with the Robinson Show. Walter L. Main is authority for the statement that it was the first square circus auction he had ever attended. Some interesting side lights crop up as the aftermath of the sale. Walter L. Main, who had the original option on the outfit for $25,000, with liberal time (until May 5) to pay for it, spent a sleepless night figuring out Joe Carroll's profits, which are estimated at close to 100 per MAY SUCCEED J. J. BRADY. Chicago, Feb. 2. The much-discussed question as to who will succeed James J. Brady as the "story man" with Ringling Bros.' Circus seems to have been settled by the selection of Richard W. Little from a big list of men whom Alf T. Ringling has been con- sidering. Little has been a special writer on the Record-Herald for some time. His work lias attracted widespread attention, par- ticularly a series of articles which he con- tributed last summer when he traveled with a "junketing" party from the Chi- cago Board of Trade upon a visit to the Seattle Exposition. His humorous style is quaint and effective, and although he is new to the "circus game" those who have followed his work are banking on him to make good. ia-CAR SHOW FOR JONESES. Jones Bros, have assumed the lease of the former Cole Bros, quarters at Corry, Pa., and will there equip and organize a twelve-car show for the coming season. Andrew Downie will also fit out his show at Corry, going out on three cars. cent, on his investment. James Downs tried to obtain a release of the property from Fiss, Doerr & Carroll, offering $1,500 bonus before the sale, in order to enter into a partnership with Edward Arlington to operate the property as a fifteen-car show; but Joe Carroll declined the offer for the reason tjiat the sale had been ad- vertised to go in lots with the firm name backing the announcements. Arlington's plan was to dispose of 40 head of horses for $10,000, and he had Joe Miller, of "101 Ranch," waiting in Washington with the money to buy them. It would have been easy, Arlington fig- ured, to dispose of the surplus cars for $5,000, which, with an additional $5,000, to be paid by Arlington to Downs, would have given the latter $20,000 in cash and a half interest in a finely and fully equipped fifteen car show. Downs, as matters finished, realized $25,000, of which over $21,000 is due the Erie Lithographing Co., including $12,000 worth of paper which Geo. Bleistein offered to carry over for a year if Arlington agreed to operate the show. Previous to the sale all sorts of offers were declined by the firm of auctioneers. Joe Miller offered $16,000 cash for 80 head of draught stock in one lot. As the two carloads which were purchased averaged $205 per head the result proved that Mil- ler is some horse trader. Smith, of Beaver Falls, acting for Jones Bros, and the "Two Bills," bid, against Miller for horses. Jerry Muggivan came on from Jackson- ville to purchase equipment for an 8-car show, but the high prices and freight charges to Florida frightened him off. Ed- ward Arlington shipped some flat cars to the newly acquired winter quarters of "101 Ranch"—the car shops of the New Jersey Car & Equipment Co., at Lake View, N. J. Walter Shannon came to buy elephants and tableaux wagons for the Norris & Rowe Show but was unsuccessful and as a last resort tried to induce Jones Bros, to accept a $400 bonus for the cal- liope and band wagon, which was declined. Every circus of any prominence was repre- sented, save Gollmar Bros., a family con- nection of the Ringlings. THE GARDEN WILL- REMAIN. During the past few days the stories that Madison Square Garden is to be torn down for the purpose of making way for a modern office building have been re vived. It was said "The Shriners" and other tenants of the building had been notified to vacate March 1. Investigation at the business office of the Garden proved these rumors to be unfounded. All leases have been renewed, and the contract has been let for the automobile show next December. There is a six months' clause in all leases, but for an indefinite time to come this will not be taken advantage of i by the corporation, which controls the 4m • property as a holding company. ^^ GETS A CHANCE. Robledillo, who is in the bill at the Fifth Avenue this week, is taking his second crack at New York vaudeville. On Oct. 12, 1908, he opened an engagement at the Colonial, but the Ringling Brothers, who had him under contract, took advan- tage of a clause which prevented his working in New York except under their management. He was stopped after his second performance. Last spring he ap- peared with the Ringling Show at the Garden and traveled with that circus dur- ing the season. Now he comes back to town free to fill his bookings complete. ANIMALS FOR RINGLINGS. Ringling Bros, received a shipment of elephants and camels at the port of New York a few days ago, coming from Carl Hagenbeck in Germany, for their Fore- paugh-Sells Show. It is expected that the Ringlings will be heavy purchasers of ani- mals and baggage stock at the auction sale of the Cole Show in Corry, as they need property for their new circus. FAMOUS MIDGET ILL. Providence, R. I., Feb. 2. Col. Ruben Allen Steers, the famous liliputian, is seriously ill with pneumonia at Chepachet. His diminutive wife is at his bedside. Col. Steers is seventy-two years old, weighs fifty-five pounds and is forty-three inches tall. LOOKING FOR A JOB. If the signs are aright, "Lucky," for years assistant property man of the Bar- num-Bailey Circus, will not be in his old place this summer. It came to the ears of Otto Ringling the other day that "Lucky" had framed up a copy of the "Balloon Horse" introduced in the Barnum-Bailey show and had traveled with it this winter as part of the Rhoda Royal Circus. So "Lucky" is in consequence very much tf\ persona non grata in Bridgeport. ^^ ACROBAT NOW A BARBER. Harry Potter, for years the head of one of the best known aerial acta in circus- dom, has retired from that field and will open a barber shop in Oakland, Cal., at 5226 Telegraph Street. The Aerial Potters have played with most of the big tented organizations in the United States, and went to Europe with the ill-fated expedition of Jos. McCaddon. Joseph V. Sherry has been engaged as principal producing clown with the Norris & Rowe Circus for next season.