P. T. BARNUM
Some Recollections of the Great Showman

Barnum is remembered by the present generation largely
as a mountebank, with whose name the word "humbug"
is usually associated. As a matter of fact, nothing is
further from the truth. Mr. Barnum was an outstanding
figure in his day and one of New York's most popular
and respected citizens. He was a man whose every act
was guided by the highest Christian ideals. He was
against profanity and strong drink, when these frailties
were almost universal. His reputation for honesty and
probity were such that when he met with sudden mis-
fortune, due entirely to the rascality of men in whom he
trusted, public sympathy found expression in the tender
of large sums of money, to re-establish himself flnancially.
All of these ofifers were declined. At forty-one years of
age, after giving up every dollar he possessed, and with
out even a home, he started over again. He speedily re-
couped himself and in a few years had amassed an even
greater fortune than the one he had lost. His residence
in New York was at 438 Fifth Avenue, and for a time
he was President of the Crystal Palace.

His benefactions to his home town of Bridgeport were
large and frequent, and the wonderful seaside park which
that city owns today, and its beautiful cemetery, are both
due to his foresight and generosity. Although he never
denied that he loved to "humbug" the people, the fact
still remained that no man or woman could truthfully
say that they did not receive more than good value for
every penny they spent in his shows.    Those of us who

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