Variety (July 1910)

12 VARIETY "BIG TOP" LINE-UP FOR THE 1910 CIRCUS TOUR The Ringlings Have not made a Brilliant Success as Routers and Clashes are Promised in the Middle West. "Well, it's the Fourth of July, and the season's half over," said a Variety reporter to an old showman. "What have been the errors and what the wise moves of the circus men thus far?" In a conversation which covered the movements of the eight big contenders in the circus game up to now, and the probabilities for the rest of the season, a showman of great experience, now retired from the game, supplied the ba- sis for the following glance at condi- tions as they have been, are, and prob- ably will be. Naturally, with three shows under their control, the Ringling Bros, come in for first consideration. It is the first time in the annals of circusdom that one firm has handled three big outfits, and the manner in which the Ringlings have operated their properties has been closely watched. John Ringling, who will probably admit himself that he is the best route man in the business, seems to have made some glaring errors. Take the first new show, the Fore- paugh-Sells. Columbus was the logical stand to open the season in. It is the home of the show, and local pride would have been conserved if Colum- bus, and not Springfield, had been the first stand. But the Ringlings wanted to save Columbus for their Ringling Show, and so Al's outfit was hauled from Baraboo to Springfield, getting an early start. Instead of circling around through Ohio, West Virginia and west- ern Pennsylvania, swinging west and being first in the field through Iowa, Minnesota and the northwest, they brought the show into Philadelphia, to be the third tent show within a month, and following their big Barnum Show, which would, logically, and did, clean up ahead of them. The invasion of New York City was a grave error. The Manhattanite takes his circus early in the spring and pre- fers it in the Garden, where he has been used to seeing it. This spring, as usual, he had eight weeks of big cir- cus and equally big "Wild West." Then v came the Forepaugh-Sells Show, only a few weeks later, with a much smaller frame-up, to achieve a task predestined by all logic, and proven by experience, as likely to fail. And fail it did. Now the show is in New England, recently playing off stands with the Barnum Show, or else following the big outfit into towns which had been cleaned up by the greater aggregation. The Ringling Show was brought east after opening in Chicago, to cover ter- ritory where the Barnum and Sells- Forepaugh shows were contending; and turning back, was compelled to slight rich fields in order to get into Iowa and Minnesota with early bird Wallace, who saw his opportunity, and made the most of it. The Ringling Show must compete with the Wallace-Hagenbeck people in a hasty campaign, and thfp turn back to Michigan, Illinois and In- diana, only to arrive after the Wallace- Hagenbeck and "Two Bills" have pretty well cleaned up. The Barnum & Bailey and Fore- paugh-Sells organizations are still in the cast, but ready to turn west, with only the avenue others have followed to lead them into closer competition. There will be shows ahead of Barnum & Bailey until it crosses the Missouri on its coastward way. Not until then will it strike clear sailing, and it may take until Colorado is passed to shake off the oncoming Sells-Floto Show, which Tammen & Bonfields are head- ing eastward into a possible clash with the Barnum Show as it hikes for the Pacific. The Ringling and the Forepaugh- Sells camps will be pitched in the mid- dle west until time to turn south, op- posed by Miller Bros. & Arlington's "101 Ranch," the "Two Bills," Wallace- Hagenbeck and John Robinson, either in opposition or compelled to follow them into towns which have had from one to three of the rival tent shows in ahead of them. While on the Ringling topic it is noteworthy that all three of their out- fits have met financial loss through ac- cidents. Ringling Bros, had the ele- phant trouble in Danville, which for some time deprived them of part of their herd and cost them a lot of money. The Barnum Show lost its big top by fire at Schenectady, and the Forepaugh-Sells blow-down marked the New York engagement of the third show. In speaking of the Schenectady fire, the old showman cited the fact that if the Ringlings had not aimed to "hog" things they would not have been any- where near Schenectady on the day of the fire. To head off the "Two Bills," they changed their original route and made the unprecedented move of cross- ing New York State three times to pick up about six stands on the Central which they wanted to have ahead of the Wild West. "Uncle" Ben Wallace has displayed his customary acumen and business-like caution in handling the Wallace-Hagen- beck Show. He waited first to find out about the strike in the coal regions be- fore laying out his early route. Then he trekked across Indiana and Ohio rapidly, took a few towns in western Pennsylvania ahead of the Ringlings' two shows, the "101 Ranch" and "Two Bills," and then made his way west- ward into Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, free from opposition and worries, to skim the first ladles of cream from the territory which he knows like the way to his mouth. Heading east, after some fine pickings, he will enter Indiana in about a month, and stay there, where "Wallace" is a name better known than Roosevelt, until he gets ready to go south. Pawnee Bill hasn't made a misstep, and from indications he's not going to, cither. He was compelled to detour into Ohio in order that he might es- cape almost day and date opposition with the Barnum Show along the N. Y. Central, and having picked up what the "Two Bills" want of the east, he has contracted so much of Michigan that by the time the Ringling Show gets back there he will have nothing to fear. Anyhow, the "Coming Soons" have never been able to put a dent in the mercerized battleship "Cody," and the old scout will probably continue his westward way through the middle states, avoiding direct opposition by routing new towns, or being far enough ahead of rivals to have no fear of con- sequences. The "Two Bills' have all season played a series of stands differ- ing from last season, or else towns where the show has not been seen in over ten years, and the same plan will be carried out until the northwest is covered. It is known that the Cody Show goes into the Dakotas and Mani- toba, and it looks decidedly probable that the Northern Pacific route will carry them across to Washington and the Pacific Coast. They will reach there from three to four weeks behind the Barnum Show, and will have clear sailing down the coast and around into Texas, just a good billing distance be- hind the circus. Miller Bros. & Arlington's "101 Ranch" came east from St. Louis, brav- ing the spring storms, opposing Wal- lace-Hagenbeck, two of the Ringling shows, and wisely avoiding the "Two Bills." They are now conducting a New England campaign, picking up a let of towns where two years ago they played to barrels of money, and taking chances with the Forepaugh-Sells Show in getting their share in many other stands. Eddie Arlington is now in Chicago, indicating that from that cen- ter he will direct the western and mid- dle west "101" campaign. Presumably he will be in a clash with the Fore- paugh-Sells Show, or perhaps some dates with the Barnum & Bailey Show, in getting west, for the big Ringling outfit, in order to untangle its early season maneuvers, has got to pick up a lot of small towns in gaining its westward vent. But with his only real opposition ("Two Bills") westward, and away from him, Arlington seems to have a period of comparative peace be- fore him until going south into fall opposition. Chicago had the "Two Bills" last summer, and no one would be surprised if "101" played Riverview Park this summer, Colonel Cody having aban- doned his option which shut out wild wests this year, until the "Two Bills" had played the big money the Chicago park promised. John Robinson has stuck to his own territory all season, playing the small and medium-sized towns of the middle west. He will probably frame his route to go south ahead of anybody else, and stay there a bit longer than the others, for the "'Cept One" Show knows its south and the south knows John Rob- inson. „ Consideration of the fall campaign portends the greatest series of opposi- tion fights Dixie has ever witnessed. The battle grounds of the Confederacy will become war scenes between bucket and brush brigades, and the local bill poster and the printing plants will wax financially tat. The "Two Bills" and the Barnum & Bailey outfit will enter Texas from their Coast trip, and the Forepaugh-Sells Show will play off stands with the B. & B. Show in the Lone Star State. These three shows will probably not come cast of the Mis- sissippi River, and they may come in conflict with the Sells-Floto "two- bit" opposition in a territory where Harry Tammen has been stirring the license-fee gruel until it just about suits his own palate. Ringling Bros. Show, the Wallace fulks, "101 Ranch," and John Robinson, will work the field south of the Ohio and cast of the Mississippi. In these four shows, confined to that compara- tively limited territory, there are the ingredients of a splendid scrap. Your Uncle Ben had some experiences with the "Coming Soons" last fall which are still kicking in his craw, and when it conies to billboard and newspaper scrapping, Eddie Arlington counts him- self, justly, a lively middleweight, who doesn't object a bit to going out of his class. John Robinson won't bother much, and doesn't need to. He will be first in, and will play stands which know him better than all the other shows combined; anyhow, the Robin- son Show is to circusdom what the late Tony Pastor was to vaudeville—hands off, and fight somebody else. It's golden guineas to horseshoe nails that Variety will be pooh-poohed, and then some, just at this time, but the working out of the last half of the sea- son will prove that the foregoing is substantially the right "dope," carefully thought out, and in the main pretty cer- tain to come true. DAY AND DATE WEST. It is said that Fremont, Neb., aside from being the home of a certain ex- circus press agent, will have the added distinction of becoming a "day and date" stand between the Sells-Floto Show, coming cast, and the Barnum & Bailey Show, on its way to the Coast, late in July. This will be the first di- rect clash between the two shows. PLENTY IN ILLINOIS. Washington, June 29. From contracts just filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission, it appears that Illinois is going to be plentifully supplied with circuses be- tween now and the middle of August. Both "trust" and "independent" travel- ing organizations are routed for terri- tory in that State. The Ringling Bros.' show is due in Illinois from mid July until early in August, playing a score of stands. Aug. 10 it is due at Galesburg, and July 19 Peoria. In both stands the Hagenbeck- Wallace outfit is billed for July dates preceding the "trust" outfit. About the middle of August the Sells- Floto show comes into Illinois, al- though it is not of record that it will play any town on the Ringling route sheet. Young Buffalo's "Wild West" is another outfit which has picked Illinois territory. The Barnum-Bailey Circus is at Moline and Muscatine July 21 and 22, and the John Robinson Ten Big is due to be knocking about in relatively the same territory during midsummer.