AMERICAN CIRCUS TRIUMPHANT
OFFICIAL ROUTE
CIRCUS
[SAMPLE ITINERARY]
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DATE | TOWN | STATE | RAILROAD | MILES
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Apr. 2-19 | New York | N. Y. | |
| Sunday | | |
“ 21-26 | Philadelphia | Penn. | Penn. R. R. | 99
| Sunday | | |
“ 28-29 | Baltimore | Md. | “ | 113
“ 30 |} | | |
May 1 |} Washington | D. C. | “ | 50
“ 2 | Hagerstown | Md. | B. & O. R. R. | 77
“ 3 | Cumberland | “ | “ | 124
| Sunday | | |
“ 5 | Clarksburg | W. Va. | “ | 124
“ 6 | Fairmount | “ | “ | 32
“ 7 | Connellsville | Penn. | “ | 70
“ 8 | Washington | “ | “ | 96
“ 9-10 | Pittsburg | “ | “ | 42
| Sunday | | |
“ 12 | Johnstown | “ | Penn. R. R. | 79
“ 13 | Altoona | “ | “ | 39
“ 14 | Lewistown | “ | “ | 75
“ 15 | York | “ | “ | 97
“ 16 | Reading | “ | “ | 89
“ 17 | Pottsville | “ | “ | 36
| Sunday | | |
“ 19 | Wilkesbarre | “ | “ | 118
“ 20 | Scranton | “ | C. R. R. of N. J. | 18
“ 21 | Allentown | “ | “ | 103
“ 22 | Easton | “ | “ | 17
“ 23 | Elizabeth | N. J. | “ | 62
“ 24 | Jersey City | “ | Penn. R. R. | 14
| Sunday | | |
“ 26-31 | Brooklyn | N. Y. | Ferry |
June 2 | Paterson | N. J. | Erie R. R. | 17
“ 3 | Newburg | N. Y. | “ | 47
“ 4 | Kingston | “ | West Shore | 32
“ 5 | Schenectady | “ | “ | 70
“ 6 | Gloversville | “ | W. S. F. J. & G. | 37
“ 7 | Utica | “ | N. Y. C. & H. R. | 61
| Sunday | | |
“ 9 | Poughkeepsie | “ | N. Y. C & H. R. | 165
“ 10 | Danbury | Conn. | N. Y. N. H. & H. | 63
“ 11 | Ansonia | “ | “ | 30
“ 12 | Meriden | “ | “ | 31
“ 13 | Holyoke | Mass. | N.Y.N.H.&H.-B.&M. | 49
“ 14 | Greenfield | “ | B. & M. | 38
| Sunday | “ | |
“ 16 | Gardner | “ | “ | 40
“ 17 | Lowell | “ | “ | 13
“ 18 | Lawrence | “ | “ | 13
“ 19 | Concord | N. H. | “ | 45
“ 20 | Manchester | “ | “ | 18
“ 21 | Haverhill| | Mass. | “ | 33
| Sunday | | “ |
“ 23 | Portsmouth | N. H. | “ | 33
“ 24 | Biddeford | Me. | “ | 43
“ 25 | Portland | “ | “ | 15
“ 26 | Lewiston | “ | Grand Trunk | 35
“ 27 | Berlin | N. H. | “ | 74
“ 28 | Sherbrooke | Quebec | “ | 99
| Sunday | | |
“ 30 | Montreal | “ | C. P. | 102
July 1 | “ | “ | “ |
“ 2 | Valleyfield | “ | C. P. & C. A. |
“ 3 | Ottawa | Ont. | C. A. | 52
“ 4 | Cornwall | “ | N. Y. & O. | 85
“ 5 | Kingston | “ | Grand Trunk | 57
| Sunday | | |
“ 7 | Belleville | “ | “ | 51
“ 8 | Peterboro | “ | “ | 64
“ 9 | Barrie | “ | “ | 88
“ 10 | Toronto | “ | “ | 64
“ 11 | Hamilton | “ | “ | 39
“ 12 | Brantford | “ | “ | 27
| Sunday | | |
“ 14 | Guelph | “ | “ | 36
“ 15 | Stratford | “ | “ | 40
“ 16 | Woodstock | “ | “ | 23
“ 17 | London | “ | “ | 29
“ 18 | St. Thomas | “ | L. E. & D. R. | 15
“ 19 | Chatham | “ | Grand Trunk | 62
| Sunday | | |
“ 21 | Buffalo | N. Y. | “ | 186
“ 22 | Rochester | “ | N. Y. C. & H. R. | 69
“ 23 | Geneva | “ | “ | 51
“ 24 | Auburn | “ | “ | 26
“ 25 | Cortland | “ | Lehigh V’y | 43
“ 26 | Binghamton | “ | D. L. & W. | 43
| Sunday | | |
“ 28 | Ithaca | “ | “ | 55
“ 29 | Elmira | “ | “ | 70
“ 30 | Williamsport | Penn. | Penn. Line | 78
“ 31 | Lock Haven | “ | “ | 25
Aug. 1 | Dubois | “ | “ | 101
“ 2 | Butler | “ | “ | 122
| Sunday | | |
“ 4 | Wheeling | W. Va. | B. & O. | 110
“ 5 | Zanesville | Ohio | “ | 83
“ 6 | Mansfield | “ | “ | 87
“ 7 | Lima | “ | P. Ft. W. & C. | 86
“ 8 | Springfield | “ | D. S. | 67
“ 9 | Columbus | “ | Big Four | 45
| Sunday | | |
“ 11 | Piqua | “ | P. C. C. & St. L. | 73
“ 12 | Richmond | Ind. | “ | 47
“ 13 | Indianapolis | “ | “ | 68
“ 14 | Anderson | “ | Big Four | 36
“ 15 | Marion | “ | “ | 33
“ 16 | Logansport | “ | P. C. C. & St. L. | 40
| Sunday | | |
“ 18 | Springfield | Ill. | Wabash | 195
“ 19 | Jacksonville | “ | “ | 34
“ 20 | Quincy | “ | “ | 87
“ 21 | Keokuk | Iowa | Burlington | 43
“ 22 | Burlington | “ | “ | 43
“ 23 | Galesburg | Ill. | “ | 40
| Sunday | | |
“ 25 | Kewanee | “ | “ | 32
“ 26 | Sterling | “ | “ | 92
“ 27 | Aurora | “ | C. & N. W. | 70
“ 28 | Elgin | “ | “ | 27
“ 29 | Racine | Wis. | “ | 72
“ 30 | Waukesha | “ | “ | 42
| Sunday | | |
Sept. 1 | Marinette | “ | “ | 205
“ 2 | Green Bay | “ | “ | 52
“ 3 | Oshkosh | “ | “ | 48
“ 4 | Janesville | “ | “ | 103
“ 5 | Freeport | “ | C. M. & S. P. | 50
“ 6 | Rock Island | Ill. | “ | 93
| Sunday | | |
“ 8 | Peoria | “ | C. R. I. & P. | 100
“ 9 | Lincoln | “ | C. & A. | 93
“ 10 | Pontiac | “ | “ | 64
“ 11 | Bloomington | “ | “ | 35
“ 12 | Danville | “ | Big Four | 80
“ 13 | Lafayette | Ind. | Wabash | 47
| Sunday | | |
“ 15 | Huntington | “ | “ | 84
“ 16 | Defiance | Ohio | “ | 84
“ 17 | Toledo | “ | “ | 29
“ 18 | Findlay | “ | T. & O. C. | 44
“ 19 | Bellefontaine | “ | Big Four. | 63
“ 20 | Dayton | “ | “ | 58
| Sunday | | |
“ 22 | Chillicothe | “ | C. H. & D. | 81
“ 23 | Athens | “ | B. & O. S. W. | 60
“ 24 | Charleston | W. Va. | T. & O. C. | 103
“ 25 | Huntington | “ | C. & O. | 50
“ 26 | Mt. Sterling | Ky. | “ | 107
“ 27 | Lexington | “ | “ | 33
| Sunday | | |
“ 29 | Chattanooga | Tenn. | I. & C. | 254
“ 30 | Tullahoma | “ | N. C. & St. L. | 82
Oct. 1 | Nashville | “ | “ | 69
“ 2 | Paris | “ | “ | 117
“ 3 | Jackson | “ | “ | 80
“ 4 | Memphis | “ | “ | 85
| Sunday | | |
“ 6 | Tupelo | Miss. | K. C. S. F. & M. | 105
“ 7 | Birmingham | Ala. | “ | 146
“ 8 | Anniston | “ | Southern | 64
“ 9 | Rome | Georgia | “ | 62
“ 10 | Atlanta | “ | “ | 74
“ 11 | Athens | “ | S. A. L. | 73
| Sunday | | |
“ 13 | Augusta | “ | S. A. L.-C. & W. C.| 119
“ 14 | Anderson | S. C. | C. & W. C. | 103
“ 15 | Greenwood | “ | C. & W. C.-S. A. L.| 63
“ 16 | Greenville | “ | Southern | 59
“ 17 | Spartanburg | “ | “ | 32
“ 18 | Charlotte | N. C. | “ | 70
| Sunday | | |
“ 20 | Wilmington | “ | S. A. L. | 187
“ 21 | Florence | “ | A. C. L. | 110
“ 22 | Columbia | “ | “ | 82
“ 23 | Sumter | “ | “ | 43
“ 24 | Charleston | “ | “ | 94
“ 25 | Savannah | Georgia | “ | 115
| Sunday | | |
“ 27 | Jacksonville | Florida | A. C. L. | 172
“ 28 | Waycross | Georgia | “ | 75
“ 29 | Valdosta | “ | “ | 59
“ 30 | Thomasville | “ | “ | 45
“ 31 | Albany | “ | “ | 58
Nov. 1 | Americus | “ | C. of G. | 36
| Sunday | | |
“ 3 | Macon | “ | “ | 70
“ 4 | Columbus | “ | “ | 100
“ 5 | Montgomery | Ala. | “ | 95
“ 6 | Selma | “ | W. of Ala. | 50
“ 7 | Meridian | Miss. | M. & O. | 73
“ 8 | West Point | “ |Ill. Ct. Y. & M. V. | 9
| Sunday | | |
“ 10 | Kosciusko | “ | Y. & M. V. | 70
“ 11 | Greenwood | “ | “ | 73
“ 12 | Greenville | “ | “ | 132
“ 13 | Vicksburg | “ | “ | 82
“ 14 | Ft. Gibson | “ | “ | 30
“ 15 | Baton Rouge | La. | “ | 116
| Sunday | | |
“ 17 | New Orleans | “ | “ | 89
“ 18 | “ | “ | “ |
“ 19 | “ | “ | “ |
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Home Sweet Home 1,015 miles via I. C., B. & O., S. & W., and B. & O.
R. R.
Summary: Number of miles travelled, 11,569. Number of States and
Provinces visited, 26. Number of towns visited, 167.
[Illustration: TRANSFERRING FROM WATER TO RAIL.]
The conquest of the Old World by the Barnum & Bailey circus will live
forever in the stirring history of tented organizations. It made
the enterprise an object of international interest. There is now
practically no country in the world that does not know the Barnum &
Bailey Show and recognize that it and its ally, the Forepaugh & Sells
Brothers Show, enjoy a happy, undisputed monopoly.
As America reaches out for commercial predominance, so the American
circus challenged competition abroad, and foreign rivals quivered and
shrunk. England found and felt herself laboriously behind hand, and
other nations yielded pre-eminence. For five years crowned heads showed
gracious appreciation and vied with one another to express generous
sentiments of welcome and appreciation to the American envoy, and that
period records uniform success and not a single failure. This profound
impression made in other lands is one of the proudest achievements of
American sagacity, resolution and ambition, and directly stimulating to
the pride of all Americans, whose great good fortune it is now that the
Barnum & Bailey circus has returned to contribute to the happiness of
humanity here.
Few, probably, appreciate the tremendous undertaking involved in this
picturesque invasion, and the difficulties met and overcome. All
methods had to be adjusted to new surroundings and new demands. The
manner and matter of work bore no resemblance to those here. The extent
and nature of changes affected all departments of the organization.
Every inch of the territory travelled was unfamiliar. Languages and
people were strange. Yet the campaign was instituted without prolonged
preparation and with no twinges of misgivings, so accustomed was this
great circus to demonstrating possibilities and so perfect was it in
planning and directing. It can truly be said that it caters for the
world.
A volume in itself would be required to tell the story of how the
Barnum & Bailey circus, in the stern test of competition, forced all
others into insignificance during its travels abroad. Incidents grave
and gay, of life, action and adventure, crowd the history of those five
years. The then Prince of Wales, now King Edward VII., I recall, after
witnessing several performances, sent the personal message: “The circus
is justly deserving of the title ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’, for it
not only is certainly the greatest amusement enterprise ever organized,
but also the most wonderful example of organization and discipline one
can hope to see.”
Even more signal an honor was that conferred by Emperor Francis Joseph
I., during the visit of the circus to Vienna. Following an afternoon
under tents, his delighted imperial majesty sent to Mr. James A.
Bailey, managing director, accompanying a letter of thanks for his
entertainment, a gold cigar case, relieved on one side by the royal
crown and the initials “F. J. I.” Twenty-five scattered brilliants
enhanced the intrinsic value of the gift. Later the royal household
requested a complete set of circus lithographs for the Emperor’s
library.
The transportation of the show from London to Hamburg is noteworthy
from the fact that it was the first time railway cars sixty feet long
had ever been loaded on board ship without being taken apart. And they
were taken from the vessel and deposited on the tracks in Germany
just as they were removed from the tracks in London, wheels and all,
and were the first English-made cars ever operated in the Kaiser’s
domain. The Barnum & Bailey circus was the first tented institution
allowed to spread a canvas in Berlin. After a rigid examination of
the show in every detail, the officials signed permits with the frank
expression that they had no apprehensions of disaster in any form.
The city is the headquarters of the German army, and the discipline,
precision and business common-sense of the circus civilians so
impressed the principal officers that they were in constant attendance.
On the evening of departure members of the General Staff witnessed the
breaking of the encampment, taking copious notes, while another body
put in the night at the scene of embarkation at the railroad yards.
Tributes like these to the enterprise and energy and superior skill of
the American circus men covered the almost continuous period of their
foreign wanderings. Of difficulties overcome, there was one whose
extraordinary character I feel certain would have caused any other
than Mr. James A. Bailey, the director of the Barnum & Bailey circus,
to have abandoned the project entirely. A few days before the opening
of the show in the Olympia in London, the County Council decided that
more precautionary fire measures were necessary, and ordered the
erection of a giant curtain of iron and asbestos, to cover one entire
side of the vast amphitheatre. The required outlay was $90,000, but Mr.
Bailey, not a bit dismayed, went at the task with characteristic vigor
and without delay, and accomplished it with a celerity which filled
the English mind with astonished wonder. Moreover, when it came to
hanging the tremendous area and the workmen in the employ of the firm
to whom the contract had been given feared to go aloft, he called his
own picked body of employees to the scene and they did the job without
friction or flinching.
I can truly say that no one is more honored in circus history than Mr.
Bailey, the presiding head of this remarkable institution. It would
be a grateful duty to the world to rescue from self-imposed oblivion
the events connected with his life, but the unusual modesty of the man
forbids. While others boast and glorify themselves, the admitted “king
of circus men” chooses personal obscurity. All publicity attaching to
his movements is strangely distasteful; he wants the world to know
and approve only the enterprise to which his life has been devoted
and which his sagacious efforts have solely borne to supremacy. No
imagination save his was once bold and radical enough to grasp the
future, and no other prophet could foretell the rapid and enormous
development of the American circus.
Only his old-time intimate associates know how visionary were once
accounted the broad methods which have won him success, and the
rebuffs and hindrances of no common sort which were his experiences.
Through them all he worked ceaselessly, patiently, resolutely, with
the courage and confidence of personal conviction, resigning personal
convenience, ease, social enjoyment and other valued privileges, and
the result has marked him as the one dazzling genius of the profession.
To his employees he is like a father who sympathizes with his children
in their varied circumstances of joy and sorrow. His benevolences
are large-hearted but judicious, and his integrity of the rugged,
old-fashioned type. He has shed a lustre upon the profession which
has won universal recognition and admiration, and little wonder that
his return to his native land, his rightful circus heritage, has been
hailed with a burst of cordial welcome and enthusiasm.