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Show I , VfBY H.LPHILLIPS "MAN OR BEAST!" THE CIRCUS season everywhere was presaged by the run of Ringling Brothers' in Madison Square Garden, New York. With its color, gaiety and daring, how refreshing a circus seems after a winter of scandals, "fixes," crime sensations, spy trials, double-talkers and general shabbiness! It seems like the one thing untouched by 10 per centers, gimme-gimme boys, chiselers, artful dodgers, perjurers, per-jurers, mobsters and characters whose courage runs out in the presence of an honest query and a video cameva. This would be a swell year to run off with a circus. The joy of getting away from a world of crooked politicians, racketeers, racket-eers, gyps, traitors, corrupt government agencies and all-around all-around operators In crime would be terrific. It is a pleasing fact that while you see all sorts of animals in a circus you find no rats or pigs. We enjoyed spending a few hours every night in the Ringling menagerie. It is refreshing to walk up and down before the cages and observe the comparative decency, dignity, poise and overall high standards of animal behavior. The African lions and Bengal tigers seem much more trustworthy than countless human beings paraded in the news for the past six months. The hyena has always struck us as a particular menace, but this spring he seems nearer to being on the level than many hoodlums and their ever-ready barristers. We never fancied the black panther, but we feel certain he wouldn't take refuge behind, "I refuse to answer on the ground it might tend to incriminate and degrade me." The slinky puma has never been one cf our pets, but we have been studying the circus specimens carefully and are positive a carload car-load of 'em would be less dangerous to any community than a similar cargo of finagling politicians, corrupt cor-rupt public servants and 1951 model heels. You can stare into the eyes of a wildcat for hours and find nothing in its expression or manner half so shifty, hard and tricky as you saw in the demeanor of dozens of witnesses before the Kefauver committee. Can you imagine a leopard ever needing a lawyer in any situation? We put in some time in front of the gorilla cage. A big, ugly gorilla looks pretty companionable this year. It shows no interest in money. Somehow we can't imagine a gorilla exposed as having had a wonderful time gyping taxpayers, selling drugs to kids and things like that. To one ape we whispered, "How'd you like to buy some trucks from the Government for a coupla hundred dollars and sell 'em back to the Government for $3,500? Its disgust and resentment was obvious. We asked a keeper about elephants. Whenever a "rogue" elephant is found in the herd it is quickly separated and put where it can do no harm. (No long drawn-out legal proceedings, no search for loopholes, no appeals, no briefs, no $2 fines!) The circus brings back an air of wholesomeness, charm, and decency. de-cency. There is this to be said of the big top: it never corrupted a child or had to be probed by juvenile delinquency students. The performers perform-ers offer quite a fine example today. to-day. They made it the hard way, and at the risk of life and limb twice a day. The Man on the Flying Trapeze is infinitely more inspiring than the Public Servant in the Revolving Re-volving Grabbag, the Mobster on the Public Neck and the Fixer in the Rotating Basketball Victory. Lemme hear that circus bandl COMMUTER'S LOCAL Hoes and spades of every style Sticking out into each aisle . . . Bags of lime and bulbs and grain On the seats in every train . . . In each coach aromas queer-Spring queer-Spring beyond all doubt is here. Washington's famous cherry trees blossomed early this spring. And without anybody charging influence oi a "fix." You don't really know what inflation in-flation is until you price grass seed this year. We went for a salt-cellar full yesterday and had to have the deal financed. VANISHING AMERICANISMS t Keep calm, cool, and collected." 1 "Your government knows what ' it's doing." i "Anybody can save money if he tries." A lipstick has been invented that ' will give warning of atomic dan-' dan-' gers. In addition to all the other dangers the lipstick has always indicated? |
