Trivia: It is portrayed that P.T. Barnum starts the circus while he is relatively young. However this was not the case. He was already 60 when he started his now famous circus.
Trivia: Making a film based on P.T. Barnum had been a passion project for star Hugh Jackman for some years before it was finally made. Reportedly, what kept the film from being made sooner was the fact that most major studios were apprehensive about producing an original musical not based on a pre-existing film or stageplay.
Answer: In those days that would be a normal punishment for P.T.'s behaviour. His father could have said something but did not want to lose a customer. P.T. also did not want his father to lose a customer because they knew getting money was worth taking the hit. If they had enough money to miss one customer it may have been different.
Iceberg