Variety (September 1919)

X'.Z- ■y?-^-" i^pl .. . i( ■»' • ■ ...- DAILY NEW YORK, THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 1919 v v .# MANAGERS AWAY UP IN THE AIR: HAVE NOTHING BUT TO WAIT ^ m ^ m ^^smem» Cohan's resignation From Managers' Association Wednesday's Feature of Strike. Assumed Presidency of A. F. L. Last sNight. Actors* Equity Announces Four Shows in Next Two Weeks. Injunction Orders Signed. The members of the Producing Man- agers' Association were away up in the air yesterday as a result of the strike to date, and the unsettled state was further intensified upon the actual resignation of George M. Cohan as a member of the P. M. A. That was the big strike event yesterday. Cohan left his associates in tears when tendering his resignation to accept the presi- dency as an actor of the Actors' Fidel- ity League. The Fidelity is an arm, however, of the Managers' Association. The managers make no great secret of their surprise at the prompt action taken by Samuel Gompers upon his return to New York by appearing at the Lexington, where he uttered the speech endorsing the strike and pledg- ing the support of the American Fed- eration of Labor. The managers ap- pear to still hold a hope that Mr. Gompers after a more thorough sur- vey will modify his first statement if not reversing it. The managers appear to be alone in this belief. Mr. Gompers reiterated the Lexington announce- ment given by him to newspaper men yesterday afternoon. No expression can be obtained from individual managers what they intend to do in the matter of re-casting plays with members of the Actors' Fidelity League and employing non-union stage hands and musicians. Those ap- proached were reluctant to make a direct reply. In their evasiveness it might be drawn that with the man- agers, if certain the Fidelity could fur- nish the cast they wanted, it would still be a matter of three or four weeks for rehearsal, by which time the strike might be over, leaving them with two sets of principals. The managers' as- sociation as a body has not talked this phase over as yet, or if so, no report of it has leaked out. That some such idea however was thought of prior to the arrival of Mr. Gompers is quite certain. It was planned that if Gom- pers stood with the strikers, a move to reopen the houses as non-union might be taken within a few days afterward. Whether the managers are delaying under the impression Gompers will yet come out less strongly for the actors, none will say. One mentioned he saw no reason why the managers' associa- tion could not go to Washington and apply for injunction orders against the A. F. of L. as they have against the A. E. A. With everything else apparently out ■ of the way, the managers seem to be more fully relying just now upon the notion that sooner or later the actors' side will crack. That their side may crack is pushed aside by them as an impossible thought. Managers make many statements in substantiation of their claims that the actors (A. E. A.) can go so long and no longer, but these statements are not matters of common report, nor are they heard outside managerial inside circles. One manager said yesterday .the actors might .hold together two more weeks. The same manager the day following the opening of the strike gave the actors two weeks to stick together and opined he didn't think they could last that long. It is three weeks ago tonight since the strike was first called. The situation' up to' last night had suffered no change. To the impartial observers it seemed to be a matter of which side cracked first The Actors' Equity Association yes- terday announced four new shows within the next two weeks. The Second Avenue Theatre, Tfaomashefsky The- atre, Auditorium, Chicago, and Lexing- ton, New York, are the houses men- tion as forming the first of the Equity Circuit. % Judge Hendrick signed the injunction order against the A. E. A. and those of its membership mentioned in the suits brought against them by (he man- agers. It was intimated by the counsel for the managers that whole injunc- tions might be applied for to interfere with the Equity performances. These injunctions, according to the report, would be against the A. E A. members who had walked out on contracts or refused to rehearse, (Continued on page 2.) MEETING IN WASHINGTON. Frank Gillmore, executive secretary of the A E A.; Chas. C. Shay, presi- dent of the I. A. T. S. ,E., / and Jos. Weber, president of the American Federation of Musicians, will appear before the Executive Board of the American Federation of Labor in Washington this afternoon (Thursday), in accordance with an arrangement made with Samuel Gompers yesterday, and will present a complete history of the strike against the Producing Man- agers' Association. The object of the appearance of Gill- more, Shay and Weber, according to Hugh Frayne, is "to acquaint the execu- tives of the Federation with full de- tails of the strike, with a view to ex- tending its scope to a greater terri- tory and for the purpose of securing certain co-operation the A. F. of L. is; capable of rendering if such co- operation is needed." Mr. Gompers will preside at the i session in Washington today. Other members of the A. F. of L Executive Board who will sit in the conference will be Vice-Presidents Jos. Valentine, Jas. Duncan, Frank Duffy, Matt Wohl, Treasurer Dan. Tobin, Secretary Frank Morrison and three other constituting the Executive Board. Mr. Frayne, general organizer of the American Federation of Labor, when asked whether.any one connected with the Managers' Association had re- quested Gompers to call the conference in Washington, stated emphatically such was not the case, declaring the object of the conference was for the purpose as stated by him and bad been called for no other reason. KILLED IN WRECK. Los Angeles, Aug. 27. Lieut. Marshall, technical director for Mme. Nazimova, is dead, and about 25 extra players are severely injured as the result of a smash-up due' to the transportation strike. . ■' A'number of those injured were Hindus Who were appearing with the star in a new production. GOV. SMITH LAYS OFF. Syracuse,- Aug. 27. Governor Albert E Smith announced tonight he will not intervene in the Actors' strrke. - The Governor stated the strike had not reached a point, in his opinion, where interference by the State could be deemed justifiable. A. E. A. COAST SHOWS? Rumors about are to the effect the A. E. A. has sqme intention of organ- izing shows to play the far western and coast cities. GOMPERS' STATEMENT. Samuel Compare, president of : . ; the- American Federation of La- bor, wu asked yesterday if, la view of the statement made by the managers that he had not had sufficient time to acquaint himself with the merits of the controversy between the man- ager* and the striking actors; hie address at the Lexington Theatre constituted his final word. Mr. Gompers said: "I always stand by every statement I make. The attitude of the managers in refusing to meet the actors.or. recognise their right to collec- tive representation is unwar- ranted and unjust "In that position I'm going to support them and every resource of the American Federation of Labor will be used to aid them in winning their strike." 1 ; A. N. WOODS SAYS "NEVER." "Never," is the response by Ai-iS^ Woods to the report from Chicago : *h§3p he had.given the managers' associa-r tion a time limit to adjust the strike v situation.^ ....;,.--,, -;..,^ '1 never will leave the managers while this strike is on," said Woodsj "It would be suicide to myself and alt other managers in the association." * The Woods office stated it had had the spreader of the rumor traced down in Chicago and located him. A wire « was sent by Woods yesterday to Chir cago emphatically denying "theT-fe-i^ port.. ,; '.■:-.• ,■.;v.".-.;■, ",' ■'•_ - '.:■>■' -:'■' VAUDEVILLE'S NEW CLAUSE. A new clause is being rubber-' stamped upon the contracts issued this week through the Keith (vaudeville) booking office. It reads.: :■: >' "The Artist promises and agrees that if he refuses or fails to play this engagement he will pay to the Man- ager without demand as liquidated damages an amount equal to the salary stated in Paragraph 1 hereof." The Keith office recently placed into effect a simple binding contract con- taining no cancellation provision for either party to it. 15