PASTURES OF BARNUMISM.

Waikato Times, Volume 118, Issue 19638, 26 July 1935, Page 4

PASTURES OF BARNUMISM.

SCEPTICISM AND CURIOSITY. BUSINESS ON THE DECLINE. TIIE SIDESHOWS OF TO-DAY. (By "Korotangl.") Perhaps t'he Barnums of to-day aro losing the fine technique of 'ballyhoo or mayhap the public has not tho same gullibility as it used to have, but side-show, alley these days has almost a deserted appearance. True, tho same frowzy caravans ply the roads from show to show, (here is the samo miscellany of Birmingham and Japanese Junk that passes as trinket and souvenir, the same unmusical grind of the hurdy-gurdy and the same paintbespattered girls showing as much, limb as ever to attract the credulous. But they look a little worried for tho sixpences that pass under the tent llap. The depression has, perhaps, treated them badly—although few would admit it. J. B. Priestley sized up these sideshow folk well in his “Good Companions.” Altogether they aro a sociable crowd, “hard-livers,” perhaps, only by reason of a coarse environment into which they have drifted, often enough, through no fault oi their own. Times are hard, they say. Many of those faces that belonged to tho gct-rich-quiclc arena a year or two ego, are gone. A few nuido a litile money and contrived to keep it in the hurlyburly of the showman’s life, but a lot have drifted Into other occupations. . . for better or for worse. Variety Almost Commonplace'. To-day the variety' of side-show attractions is almost commonplace to what it used to be. Of course, everything Inside each of those alluring tents is a new show, presented for the first time in tho.Dominion;.indeed they have been ever since wo recollect being sick on our first merry-go-round rldek, Th® girls, bj .tho

simple expedient of wiping off every racial line by the application of an extra ration of rouge, look not a day older than when we saw them two or three years ago, although one or two have inclined to plumpness in the interim. . . an unfortunate trend which robs them of that very essential and elusive charm and forces them to discard the tambourine for the roll of tickets at the door; • The acts, frequently enough, go under a new name; but the same Polish lady has her head chopped off, the same motor-cycles rip and roar and the same trapeze artists clothe themselves In the same gaudy tights. We all stroll along side-show alley with a scepticism mixed with curiosity. And, when it comes to the pinch curiosity always gets the better of us. Were it not so the performing pigs might return to their normal occupation of breeding sucklings and tho seals to the fisli-pond of the nearest zoo. The inducements of the barkers on the ramps before those inviting tents cannot be passed by without an interest that develops Into a insatiable curiosity. Many are the stories told of the wiles of the sideshowman. I well remember one Barnum extraordinary who pitched his tent on the fairground of one of Waikato’s smaller agricultural and pastoral shows a few years ago. In accents loud and long he told of the wonders to he seen therein—a monster large and vile with qualities no’er seen before. The crowd thronged through in expectation and came out in stunned realisation. One at a time they had been led before a mirror and while still shocked by the ingenuity of the trick, suffered to ho pledged Jo secrecy. Only the fact that the mentor of the deception was amateur—we should alllrm this if only in fairness to his professional kin—and that the proceeds were announced ns being for charity, preserved llic sanctity of his lent until the day was through.

Life of Wrestling Booths. There, was another case, a enso which probably assisted the rapid decline of lliose dart and board games which waxed in popularity a year or two ago. Tho idea was that tho public and the bank should place Ihfiir

money on any one of three colours, red, white or blue, and the dart was thrown on to a correspondingly coloured wall -chart. -Until certain observant members of the detective office at Hamilton ascertained that several of the colours on the board were paoked with a lining of tin, the business went briskly and well. The allegations of both police and social reformers made the life of those wrestling booths a somewhat unhappy existence. There were all sorts of nice legal technicalities which were liable to incriminate the sponsors as blackguards of the deepest dye, procuring every crime from Immorality to assault.- Most of the suggestions wero -groundless for,- although' “the little woman” with the heavy jowlled features and solid constitution wrestled more or less enthusiastically with all-comers, the -shows of this nature were* as -clean as any wo saw'. Unfortunately they were -a little too blatant and too frank and open. In recent years the showman lias found business on the decline. He is a dejected itguro when times -are toad, revealing a personality altogether alien from ids bluff bonhomie when the money is coming in. lie finds it necessary to -chango the modus operand! of -attack. More prizes of less value replace a 'few really worthwhile wins and so to-day wc -stand to -gain -for tho modest outlay -of sixpensc, a box of chocolates worth, -perhaps, live pence. Indeed in these days the showman must know something of cost accountancy. But don’t think the principals of tho alley arc -a collection of rogues and ne’er-do-wells. There are black sheep in every flock and, no doubt, more tlian*usual on the lean pastures of Barmunisin. On the whole they aro good chaps, mainly honest, with a sympathy and understanding that would put many of their -critics, to shame and a shrewd business head, developed in the hard school of experience, that is astute enough to keep body and soul together. So, when the show' -comes again to town remember Ihey are not as bad as we are prone to paint llicni; placo their less serious foibles in I lie hackground, laugh ,il 1 licit* light roguery and let not llu: whole be judged by a fc.NV.