Many amusing things of this sort occurred in the war of opposition, but
others of a more serious nature would, of course, come up.
The greatest amount of free advertising ever received by a big show,
within my knowledge, for any one thing, was that which was incident
upon the purchase of "Jumbo." The elephant was bought by Barnum, Bailey
& Hutchinson from the Zoological Gardens in London. When the day
arrived for his removal, the elephant lay down and refused to leave his
old home. This created a sympathy for the dumb creature, and the
children became so interested that petitions were signed by
hundreds--yes, thousands--of children and adults of Great Britain,
protesting against the delivery of the animal to its new owners.
Jumbo's stubbornness proved a fortune to his new owners. Taking
advantage of the opportunity they began to work upon the sympathies of
the Humane Society, which made every effort to prevent Jumbo from being
sent to this country. The news was cabled to America by the column. I
happened to be in the editor's room of a daily paper in New York when
one of these cables came into the office. The editor laughingly called
my attention to it and threw it into the waste basket. I said: "What,
are you not going to use this?" He said: "No, of course not."
"Well," said I, "you will use Jumbo matter before the excitement is
over."
I saw how the excitement could, and surely would, in such able hands,
be kept up. I left that night for St. Louis, where my educated horses
were being exhibited, and made a call on my old friend Col. John A.
Cockrill, then editor of the Post Dispatch--when another associated
press Jumbo dispatch came in, with which they were delighted. I then
related my experience with the New York editor who had refused to use
the cable that came into the office while I was sitting there. The
colonel and Mr. Pulitzer said: "Well, we are glad to use it--this and
future dispatches."
The next day the colonel handed me a New York paper, which proved to be
the same that I had mentioned, and in it appeared a double leaded
account on the Jumbo excitement. Their show agents in London did
wonderful work in keeping the associated press filled with new matter,
and the free advertising they secured would have cost at regular rates
a half million of dollars and even then would not have been as
effective.
The agents succeeded in working up this opposition to Jumbo's removal
until they induced the editor of the London Telegraph to cable Barnum,
asking what price he would take to leave Jumbo in his own home,
explaining the feeling of the people, especially the children. This
editor had no idea then and perhaps does not even now know that he was
made an innocent agent in the big advertising scheme. The children of
Great Britain had ridden on Jumbo's back, fed and fondled him for
years, so that it was easy to arouse this feeling of indignation and
sympathy. The multitude even threatened violence if he was removed. The
excitement had purposely been kept up to such a pitch by these people
that it became international.
There was also much excitement about Jumbo's wife, Alice. Elaborately
written articles were cabled over, expressing the sorrow of Alice at
the enforced departure of Jumbo and her consequent separation from her
husband. The feelings of the people were so worked upon that sympathy
for Alice and Jumbo almost equaled that aroused for the slave by the
description of Uncle Tom in "Uncle Tom's Cabin." The advertising matter
for Jumbo--the lithographs, etc.--had already been printed, and in them
he was called "Mastodon." When he refused to be moved his right name,
Jumbo, was used, as the dispatches had gone out in that name. The
strategy used by these managers and their agents to get all this
notoriety did no one any harm and made good sensational reading for the
newspapers.