The New York Clipper (September 1917)

September 12, 1917. THE NEW YORK CLIPPER PEMBERTON RAT CASE HEARD' BY COURT DECISION EXPECTED TODAY Justice Mitchell heard argument lilt week, of counsel, on the application at Goldie- Pemberton to have the books of the White/ Rats Actors' Union examined in an- effort to ascertain the disposition of toe fands of the organisation. He ia ex* pected to hand" down hbr decisios- in the matter to-day. This matter has been in the Supreme Conrt for the last three months and, during that time, J. J. Myers, attorney for the Eats, hag protested against arguinr the- matter/ onless all- of the directors were per- sonally served: About a dozen adjourn- ments were taken, in. the ease, until two weeks, ago,, when Alvin T. Sapinaky, at- torney., .for Miss Pemberton, obtained 1 an order' from Justice Donnelly, allowing him to serve those defe n dants, he had not r e ach ed, ■ by, substitution, by sending" them a. copy- of tie complaint by registered; mail' to their home address and the White Rata clubhouse. This was done, and the case was. then placed on the motion calender. In his argument before the Court,' Sapin- sky, on behalf- of Miss Pemberton; stated that,- despite the fact'that the. White Bats organisation, for all practical purposes, is defunct, there are many who were members who would like an inquiry into the manner in which- it was conducted; to see whether the blame for- running the organization on the rocks cannot be fixed upon some one. He declared that the officials and officers of the union wrongfully diverted moneys and assets of the union into a real estate venture, known as the White Rats Realty Company, the stock of which Is owned by a- few individuals, who are also directors of the union. He stated that, at the expense of the union, and with its funds, a clubhouse was erected, the profits of which were to go to these individuals. Another contention was that the annual income of the union waa a great deal more than was necessary to meet expenses, and that, since the union is now penniless, the assets have gone somewhere other than in ordinary running expenses. He also said that the Union wrongfully operated The Player, at a loss to the organization. These charges were supported by affi- davits made by various individuals who had been members of the organization. Meyers, as soon as the proceedings be- gan, raised the objection that the director defendants had not been properly served. Justice Marshall stated that these were only obstructive technical objections, and stated that the case would have to be argued on its merits. Meyers then stated that the proceeding was. not brought in good faith, but was merely brought to discover the names- of those members of the union,, who had paid their levies, so that the Vaudeville Man- agers* Protective Association might black- list them: Sapinsky," in answer to this statement, informed- the Court that this was not the purpose at all, but, on the contrary, he was willing to hare the ref- eree' seal the membership book, because he did'not care to know who paid dues, and who paid levies. AH that he wanted*to ascertain, he said, was-what were the assets and what became of them, and who was responsible for their disappearance. To substantiate this statement, he sub- mitted afTidavits from. Fred Niblo and J. Greenfield, directors of the. Rats, who stated that they would be glad to have the books opened for inspection for the benefit of the members. U. S. BrG TOP MEN IN FRANCE Frederick Sargent, an outdoor show- man, ia now in France with a contingent of Big Top men who have volunteered in the service of the United States. Sargent has the rank of Captain. - More than a thousand circus men are reported to be under his command, including "Lady" Bob Montgomery, who has the rank of First Lieutenant, "Blackjack" Sullivan, Jimmy McGuire, "Punk" Brunswick, Bald- win Soars and a host of others. Sargent collected' most of his army during last Winter's outdoor show conventions at Chi- cago, many of the men being recruited from the Wortham Show, the Con. T. Kennedy carnivals, and the Hagenbach Wallace outfit. HARRY DAVIS TO TAKE EMPIRE PmnBUU OH, Pa., Sept 10.—It ia. un- officially reported that Harry Davis win take over the Empire Theatre- in the Bast End district here. BERNIMO GOING TO LONDON J. H. Benrimo will sail for London the latter part of this month to supervise the production of "The Willow Tree" at the Globe Theatre there next month. He will produce' it' in conjunction with Gilbert Miller, son of Henry Miller, who has been abroad' for the-nasi year as his father's representative. Rene* Kelly, who will act the part- of the "Princess," will be the only' American member' of the cast. HARVEY ORR SHOW OPENS Benton. Harbor, Mich., Seat 6.— Harvey D. Oir'a: new show, "There She Goes,*' by Louis Weehra, had it premeir* performance here. It is a musical offer- ing- with thirty-9ve people and Harvey and' Harold' Orr playing- the feature comedy parts; It will play-two weeks in- Ohio and West Virginia territory and: then move into the vicinity of New'York. FRED THOMPSON LOSES MOTHER Mrs. Margaret Thompson, seventy-seven years old and mother of Frederic Thomp- son, died- on: Monday in the Polyclinic Hospital, following an operation. Thomp- son was at the bedside of his mother at the time of her death. Besides her son, a daughter survives her. KITTY GORDON SINGS AT GAMP The military prisoners on Governors Is- land were entertained Saturday by Kitty Gordon, Jack Wilson and Vera Beresford. This is the first time since the declaration of war that the authorities have allowed a private party to enter the prison on a mission of that sort WAR CAUSING CANCELLATION Hutchinson, Kan., Sept. 5.—Prom a representative of the Chicago Grand Opera Co., it is learned that that organization contemplates the cancellation of its date to play in Oklahoma City, this Fall, owing- to railroad conditions, due to the war. WAR SAVES OLD THEATRE Philadelphia, Sept 7.—The old For- rest Theatre is not to go. It has been decided to postpone tearing down the house on account of the war and it is likely that road productions will be housed there for at least two years. STAGE LAWYER TURNS SAILOR Thomas E. Murray, associated with the theatrical law firm of O'Brien, Malevinsky and Driscoll, has enlisted in the naval re- serve and has joined the crew of one of Uncle Sam's submarine chasers. ENGAGE SOUSA BAND MEMBERS Dillingham and Ziegfeld have arranged to employ twenty-seven of the musicians, formerly members of Souse's band. They will form a part of the orchestra at the Century Theatre. ALVORD TO MANAGE BRONX Ned Alvord, resident manager of Keith's Bronx Theatre, will retain that position when the house inaugurates a vaudeville policy on September 17. CUPID SIGNS BOB AUSTIN Union Hrxx, N. J., Sept. 8.—Bob Aus- tin,, playing at the Lincoln Theatre here, was married to-day to Jean Do Rember, of Bethlehem, Pa. SENATE PASSES BIG THEATRE" WARTAX AMOUNTS TO $18,000,000 YEARLY Wabhikgtoh, D. C, Sept. 10.—Begin- ning November 1, the theatrical and amusement field will have to add to the coffers of the United States Treasury $18,- 100,000 as its annual share of the war revenue tax, according to the- measure which waa approved by the Senate to- night. Those who opposed the- measure were Senators Borah, La Follette, Gronna and Noma. The bill.levies a tax, of 10 per cent, on every theatre ticket sold, a tax of 10 per cent; on the expenditures of- patrons of cabarets, a tax of 6 per cent, on ticket speculators charging fifty cents in excess of box-office.- prices, a, tax of 30 per cent: on all speculators charging more; than CO cents in' excess of box office rates, and a tax of 50 per cent.- on. theatres charging more than: standard prices, But exempts motion theatres from the- tax when their maximum price of admission is twenty-five cents. Amendments, added at the last minute to- the amusement tax section were: A tax of on* cent for each ten cents or fraction thereof paid for admission to any place, including admission by season ticket or subscription, to be paid' by- the person making such payment. Also, that a tax of one cent be levied for each ten cents or fraction thereof paid for admission to any public performance for profit, at any cabaret or similar en- tertainment to which the charge for admis- sion is wholly or in part included in the price of refreshment, service or mer- chandise, to be paid by the person paying for such refreshment, service or mer- chandise. For all tickets sold at newsstands, hotels and places other than the ticket office of theatres, operas, or other places of amuse- ment, at not to exceed 50 cents in excess of the established price therefor, a tax in addition to the regular theatre tax equiv- alent to 5 per cent, of the amount of such excess is to be charged, and, if sold for more than 50 cents in excess of the sum of such established price, plus the amount of other taxes imposed, a tax equivalent to 30 per cent of the whole amount of such excess is to be -charged. This tax is to be paid by the persons, cor- poration or associations selling such tickets. Where persons have the permanent use of boxes.or seats in an opera bouse or place of amusement, a tax of 10 per cent.' of. the amount for which a similar box. or seat ia sold for a performance will be levied. These taxes shall not be imposed in places where a maximum charge of five cents is made for admission, such as outdoor amusement parks, or in the case of moving picture shows, main gates shows and rides therein, the maximum charge for admission to which is 25 cents. No tax is to be levied on admission where the proceeds go exclusively to the benefit of religious, educational or charit- able institutions, societies or organizations or admission to agricultural fairs nor in respect to admission to bona fide Chau- tanquas and Lyceum courses, which are contracted for and guaranteed by local companies, associations or individuals. All persons, corporations, partnerships or associations, which receive payments for admission, must collect the tax from the person making such payment, and shall make returns and payments of these amounts, so collected, to the proper author- ities, as prescribed by the act. Those persons-who sell tickets above the box-office price, or those who charge a price above the. standard price, where the tax' ranges from 5 to 50 per cent, must make monthly returns, under oath, in duplicate, and' pay the tax imposed to the Collector of Internal Revenue for the dis- trict in which is located his principal place of business. "HAMILTON" IS SEEN Atlantic City, N. X, Sept. 7.—The first performance of "Hamilton" was given at the Apollo Theatre last night, with George Arlias in the title role. The play deals with the life of Alexander Hamilton during the period of Washington's admin- istration. The scenes are laid in Phila- delphia. Miss Mary P. Hamlin and George Arliss collaborated as authors. Mr. Arliss* support includes Miss Jeanne Eagles, Mrs. Arliss, Miss Marion Barney, Carl Anthony, Hardee Kirland, George Woodward, John D. Ravold, Guy Favieres, Pell Trenton, James O. Barrow and Wilson Day. "Hamilton" goes to the Knicker- bocker Theatre on September 17. Klaw - and Erlanger and George C. Tyler are the producers. LOEW RAISES $2,119.63 The efforts of the Dolly Sisters, Rosooe Arkbuckle, Raymond Hitchcock, Jack Nor- worth, Lillian. Lorraine, Will Rogers, Helen Rook, Doris Ken yon, Mollie King, the girls of the "Follies" and a host of others for. the "Sun Tobacco Fund," plus, 10 per cent, of the gross receipts, of the New York Theatre, resulted in bringing, the contributions of the Loaw offices to' $2,110.03. Mr. Loew sent.* chock, for this amount to the fund, last week. SAUNA WANTS SUMMER PARK Hutchinson, Kan., Sept. 6.—Boon Beck, manager of the 8nmmer park here, will go to Salina, Kan., next week to confer with a committee of business men regarding the opening of an amusement park there next season. This park will be similar to the one in Hutchinson, and' will feature the theatre attraction. Work will be started this Fall; so the park, can be opened early next Spring. MACDONALD. FORMS CLUB Boston, Mass., Sept 9.—Donald Mac- Donald, playing here in "Have a Heart," has formed a Donald MacDonald Club. Donald MacDonald will head the club, the members presenting musical comedies that have been written by Donald MacDonald. It is planned to give three productions a year. WON'T HIRE ELIGIBLE SOLDIERS Edward B. Perkins has made sure that no one in his play, "The Red Clock," has failed to fulfill his military obligations by eliminating the male chorus entirely and using only men who have been rejected by the authorities, or who are not within the draft age. TO PRODUCE CHAPIN PLAYLETS Mrs. Alice Chapin, mother of the late Harold Chapin, who was killed in the trenches at Loos, France, has collected the short plays written by her son, and plans to produce several of them in New York for the benefit of the war funds. DOONE HAS NEW PLAY Allen Doone, the Australian actor aad manager, is planning the production here of "ffleary, V. C," a comedy of the pres- ent war. He acted the piece in Australia. BRADY GEMS BRING 9800,000 The jewels of "Diamond Jim" Brady were sold last week te Stern Brothers £ Co. Although no figure wss given out, it is estimated that they brought about $500,000. WOODS GETS NEW PLAY A. H. Woods has accepted for produc- tion a new play from the pen of Michael Morton, the author of "The Yellow Ticket." It is called "On with the Dance." REHEARSE 2ND "LOVE O' MIKE" The Shuberts have put into rehearsal a road company of "Love o* Mike." The original company is to remain in New York. McGregor has new play Edgar McGregor is- at work translating' "The Adorable Pest" from the French for early production.