The New York Clipper (February 1919)

February 12, 1919 THE NEW YORK CLIPPER 31 - ■■ •: - - be Is one of the accuser* who Instigated this ssroroodlua mad we object to being prosecuted by oar accuser.. We are being denied Justice. Oar accuser is sitting u accuser, trial law- yer arid Judge. He applied for admittance In so en terms as prove that he la one of our accuser*. We are not receiving Justice and assert oar constitutional rights. With the accuser acting aa prosecutor, It la Impossible for the ends of Justice to be reached. There- fore we ask that the Investigation he dis- missed. - After stating that he was Quite SON Menntford was not acting as lodge, even though he might be an accuser, Examiner .Moore overruled the objection and Waish suked the witness If the Cohan family ever worked for the Keith Interests. He replied In the affirmative. . . Q.—Do jou know why they quit? A.— There was no reason I can rememebr. I e»int they went oat In a show for sir. Beh- snan. of Hyde and Behman. The witness then was turned ;u»u to Goodman for cross-examination. Q.—The Cohan family played for Keith in Boston, didn't they? A.—Yes. shoot 1894. ' ^.—How many shows did they work then? A.—Well, they were playing anywhere from eight to fourteen a day then. Maybe $1,000 a Year Q.—What salary did they getT A.—I don't know. Q.—W'a it $1,000? A.—Maybe $1,000 a * H** ' •' • '--.-•..'-' The answer got a laugh. Q.—Did they play for big salaries then? "A Hit 4).—Do yon recall what the salary of the Cohan family, the foor of them, was at that time? A.—I do not remember just now, bat I think It was about $150. That was con- sddered a fair salary then. Q.—What, withyour expert knowledge of -vaudeville. Mr. Hodgdon, would yon say George M. Cohan wo aid be worth In vaade- ville todayT A.—I should think about $2,600 per week. Q.—Are there any acta that get $2,500 per week? A.—Tea. Mme. Bernhardt got $4,000 per week and used tojret $7,000. Q.—Did Weber and Fields ever work for Keith? A.—Yes, way back in 1884. They used to get $40 per week and you could get them for $30 if they bad no other place to go, Q.—They were In vaudeville recently, weren't they? A.—Yes. Q.—What do you think they would be worth now? A.—Aboot $3,000. . Mr. Hodgdon then stated that the central- ized booking of acts Is practically only a modern Institution, managers formerly book- ing by correspondence, he said, and arrang- ing with the actors themselves to play at his house. When he could not fill nis bll by that means he went to an agent, of which there were only a few, be said, as late as 1880. Q.—Could an artist have gone to an agent and got a route of twenty or thirty weeks? A,—So a route of ten weeks was then con- sidered a long one. Even one of that length was practically unheard of In those daya. Bootes of twenty or thirty weeks are com- mon now. however. _ _ The witness then defined a big time" act. Stating that the term is only relative and any act that plays "big time" Is a big time set. O.—After an act has played United- time does It ever go and play for Loew or other circuits. A.:—Yes. Amelia Bingham old. Q.—And they go backward and forth, don't they? A.—Yes. _ Q.—What would Loew, Pantages, Fox or Mobs have to do to make their houses big time houses? A.—Increase their ad mission and give better shows. Q.—What's the approximate cost, of the Keith show at Boston a week? A.—Aboot 43,500 or $4,000. . Q—And st the Palace, New York? A.— Tm not familiar with It. Q.—At Keith's, Washington? A.—About the same as at Boston. ^QM—At Indianapolis? A.—Aboot $2,500 to ^Q^Wd^oa ever know Alf Wilton tobe employed tar the TJ. B. O. or to represent tt Q—What Is"the lowest weekly salary paid by the TJ. B. O.? A.—I don't know exactly, butTabonld aay $125. I don't think there Is anything below that for a foil week. On inlltweeks they are paid fun salary. There Sight W >e^mFgettin«$100. but I don't recall anyone getting less than $125. *%.—tS yon know how many Pe~nf» »£ resentatives there are? A;—Max Hart, Max Ssies^ Harry Weber, Alf Wilton. L«rU and Gordon, U. H. Keller, Paul Dnrand, Stoker and Bierbaoer, Hughes and Smith and some Q.—Does It ever happen that any of these agents are suspended? A.—Yea. One of tnem la •wended right now. But I dont know the cause of it, . _■ . -, , G.—Who Is that? A.—Arthur KMn. - Q. And he's denied the privilege of tne •"a—ctr/MteU me of any act. tbatlssok. directwtui the TJ. B. O.? A.—-Yea. Walter SeUy. Owud Dayne, Mr. and Mrs. Barry. There arTa lot of others, too. hot I can't "SSfwltnesTwa. then ^^TLSLS^ man made a motion to have the testimony of Charles T. Aldrlch strickeni oat to an Places where It related conventions he had had wltt Alf wnton. In view of the fsetthat SS H^dgdonhSd MterteatMed thatjWDton itno Sme was connected wither had any Sgttg tton with the respondents. It was overruled. Fnt Pa* Casey was then recalled, and Identified. A list of the members of the same organisa- tion, many of the properties they represent being owned by separate individuals or cor- porations, was then Introduced as exhibit No. 46. Casey then Identified a statement of the Pat Casey Agency and told how many as- sistants he hsd in the offices of the V. M. P. A. He said they were Mr. Lee, "a sort of general manager." Mr. Mills, a general assist- ant and Miss Carry ,a stenographer and telephone girl. "HUli is on the arbitration board, isn't her asked Walsh. The witness replied that he was. Q.—Mr. Bradley there? A.—No. He was there before I went in. I believe. Q.—When was the hut meeting of the directors of the Y. M. P. A.? A.—Aboot two months ago. Q.—Who was there? A.—Messrs. Moss, Nick Scbenck, Scrlbner, Mordock and myself. Q.—Who keeps the minutes of the meeting? A.—Mr. Goodman, the attorney for the V. M. P. A. He Is not a director, although be sometimes attends the meetings of the board of directors. When he does not, somebody else takes down what happens and Mr. Good- man pats it In proper shape and keeps the record for the a ss o cia tion. Q.—Does the V. M. r. A. pay salaries? A.—Yes, sir.' They pay me and the office force a salary. Q.—Have yon a list of theatres In the United States that are not memers of the V. M. P. A.? A.—Yes. sit. Q.—Will you produce it for the commission and Indicate where these theatres hook? A.—Yes, sir. I'll give the towns and every- thing. Walsh then handed the witness a list of bookings for Bert and Lottie Walton extend- ing from 1911 to the present time. He also called attention to a page ad. which the act had in Portetg on Jnne 29, 1917. q.— Did the v. M. P. A. pay for that ad? A.—No. Q.—Do yon know who did pay for It? A.—No. air. m __ Q.—What is the cost of a page ad like that In Pi g '•tm * A.—I don't know, but think it is r Q,—Yon st . before it was published. Aid yon? A.—i haven't so testifled. Q.—Do yon know who her personal agent was in July 9, 1917? A.—No, air, I don't. Q.—But from that time you have been? A.—My office has. <j.—What la the Pat Casey Dramatic Agency? A.—It Is an agency operating un- der a license from the City of New York, engaged in securing people for dramatic com- panies. Fay, of PtotsAWsj, CalUd Edward M. Fay, proprietor of Fay's The- atre, In Providence, followed on the stand, while his counsel, the Honorable John J. Fltx- gerald, of Providence, and ex-Governor of Rhode Island sst nearby. Fay said he bad been in the theatrical business for twenty years altogether, part of which time was spent in managing an amusement park. The most of the time .however, had been spent in Providence, be said. "Is Fay's Theatre controlled by a corpora- tion?" he was asked, and replied that it operated under the corporate name of the Arcadia Amusement Corporation. Q.—Are yon Interested in theatres any- wheres else? A.—In Fay's Theatre, Roch- ester. Q.—Are yon manager of both? A.—We have a hoose manager at Rochester. But you might ssy that I am general manager of both. . Q.—Are you Interested in a theatre re- cently established in Philadelphia? A-—Yes, the Knickerbocker. . _ _„ Q.—Are you running the Providence house as a big rime hoose? A.—No, as a sort of family theatre. Q,—How many shows? A.—Three a day. Q.—Are your theatres or corporations in any way affiliated with the V. M. P. A.? A.—No. -•- Q.—How long have you been running a vaudeville theatre in Providence? A.—As a vaudeville house, 1% years. The presence of Fltsgerald at the counsel table brought a protest from Kelly at this point, he beginning it by asking what was the^purpose of having Fay testify at all. "The purpose is to Show the blacklisting of actors by the V. M. P. A. st Fay's Thea- tre," replied Walsh. "Mr. Fltsgerald is coun- sel for Fsy and I have asked bio to be present- and make such suggestions aboot questions ss he thinks I should ask the wit- The objection was overruled and Walsh continued with the examination. a—Mr. Fay, how do you book shows at Sour house? A.—Our shows are booked by He Sheedy Agency in the Putnam Building New York. The reason I book with Sheedy is because, in Providence, there is a B. F. Keith big time house and a Loew small time house. When I decided to put in wudevine and pictures, I looked around as to how to secure vaudeville acts. The nearest dry to Prov i d en ce is Boston, where John Qulgley books acta. That was aboot oneand one- half years ago and, after some invest!*- Ion, I found that the pulpley agency jutrth a position to book the house satisfactorily, forthe reason that he did not have time enough. In my opinion, to get satisfactory Jrtt 8o I tame to New York for arts. Naturally, I didn't expect any aar*- fro m the L oew offlee, as It had a Kelly shot la an objection to the last part of the statement setting forth that the ques- tion of whether or not the Loew oafce would have aided him was speculative. So Walsh changed the form of the o^aeattan. a—Let me ask you why yon dMnt goto the Loew ©See? A-—Because the Loew office has a theatre, the theatre franchise for the city of Providence. I under- stand, and I didn't go to the Keith office because -It has a theatre in Providence -and one In Pawtucket a tew miles away. So I looked around and found Bheedy and decided to do business with Mm because he was not affiliated with any theatres In Providence. Q.—Did you have any trouble getting acts? A.—The first trouble we had was with the Bert and Lottie Walton set. Q.—When? A.—In June. 1917. I think. Says He Had Trouble Q—Whit was it? A.—Well, about six P. M., patrons .or the boose came to me and said they had seen the act at Loew*a foor weeks previous. I was surprised, because I knew that contracts I had signed protected me from such a condition. I didn't know the Waltons, so I sent for the man and asked him how long he had been in the business, and he said all his life. I then asked him why he bad signed a contract to play our theatre four weeks after he played LoeWs hoose. He replied that bis sgent hsd booked him in there and wanted to know what I Intended to do. I said I Intended to replace the act If I could get another from New York and would let him know a little later. This an happened on Monday afternoon after the first performance and, I think. Just as fhev w»e» shoot tn so on for the second. I than telephoned New York and told Sheedy what had happened and asked for another act. The Walton act played three shows and the new act came on Tuesday. I then sent tar Walton, hut Mrs. Walton came to see me and I told her to send her husband to see me. The next thine I knew they hsd left the towv> for New York. Q.—-Was there any claim made to you for their services for that day? A.—No. o.—v»» anyone? A.—No. a—The second talk was with the wife? A.—Yes. O.—THd she say anything about their finan- cial condition A.—She protested against my objection to their playing, and I explained that wp bad Just put on vaudeville and that I would rather give $500 than have such a thing happen, as patrons would get a wrong impression. After that we began to have other dlfflculties in getting acts. Q—In what way? A.—A notice appeared This st a t e ment, cut short, brought on an- other battle between Kelly and Walsh. Kelly objecting to the admittance of any testimony in which the witness stated that he saw this or that In Variety. His objection overruled. Walsh presented several articles from Fortetv In evidence, one dated November 9. 1917. being headed "Fay's Theatre In Bad," and another, dated October 19, 1917, being beaded "Names Blacklisted." Still another was dated July 20. 1917. and was headed "Managers' Assn. Sets Date for Final Appll- ■ cations." A fourth one, dated Jane 19. 1917. hore the head "V. M. P. A. Rejecting Applica- tions." Kelly then objected to the admission of the articles Into the record, stating that there was nothing whatever to show that either the V. M. P. A. or any other of the respond- ents bsd authorized the insertion of any of the articles. After bis objection had been overruled, the examination went on again. O—Well, in the article of July 20. a list of blacklisted theatres was given. That was the first time I knew there was a blacklist or that Fay's Theatre was on It. .. .. Ex-Judge McCaTl then voiced an obJevtJon at this point. _^ • — "May it please the Examiner, I shoold like to call his attention to the fact that we are goine far adeld." „__ - . "Not at all." answered Walsh. "We are hlrtins the hull's eye every moment" Judee McCall, however, made It clear that he objected very strongly to the record re- ceiving the statement that the first Fay knew of the existence of the alleged blacklist was when he read of it in Fartstj/. His objec- tion, though, was overruled. Walsh—Now go on. Fay. and ten the rest Fay—In the same issue with the article was what 1 supposed was a paid ad of the V. M. P. A. suggesting the sdvtsabmty and Importance of managers belonging to the v. M/P. A. It was on the inside cover and urged Immediate action, containing the state- ment "Fill In an application and man It now." So I thought that if I Joined.the V. M. P. A. an would be an right and I flned out a coupon and mailed It with my check '"a^For WO?* l-Whatever it relied for Q.—Wen. what happened then? A.—I didn't hear from the application, so I came to New York and went to see James Smit h, u assistant District Attorney. I understand he was a politician in New York and I knew him in Providence before he came toHew York. I told Mm my troubles sbont Joining the association and about the articles In Fa- rtett- He said he knew Mr. Casey end wjoM take me up and assured me there would be notrouble In getting into the association. So we went on to see Mm. q. What did,.you_ say fi rst? A.—rMr. while. It began to look as though I was not Smith explained, that I wM,destrous of .Join; i th e V. BwDDBtsUSCtr In the^rMrprAT and^fe-Caiey said I e that he would arrange for me to a member at a meeting the next 'or--Yopr $10 wa s tn then? hasn't be en returned yet. ass Went to Swritfc Again Q.—What did yen do then? iL—I vrsJted shout • montn and came down to see smith ' and we -cot to see Casey a gain and . I don't ressember the exact: eoirrersm- Mr. Casey said there had been some i bat sssured me that I would he taken care ot He tattoted. ttous*. that the date would be rather indefinite. And all the time there: were articles in Forts**, and after a going to get any acta, so I came down to ass Smith again. As a result I went to see Caasy again, and, in substance, he told me that if I would change my booking agency and beak with a member of the combination, I woaH become a member of tbe V. M. P. A. Q.—What did you aay to that? A.—I guess I said all right and went out and thought it over. Q.—Who were referred to as bookers la your talk with Casey? A.—He mentioned several that would be aU right. I think Qua Son's name waa mentioned. He also talked aboot Loew'i and about Keith's, He asked me how we came to book with Sheedy and I told him that I couldn't expect Keith or Loew to help me book my house. I told Mm that Sheedy was not connected In Providence. He then explained that Bheedy stood la an unfavorable light and had a man named Mardo who had done some things In the White Bats' strike. He asked If Sheedy had an Interest la Fay's Theatre and I told htm "No." The substance of oor conversation was that if I would book elsewhere I would be- come a member of the V. M. P. A. He also asked me If there was any reason why I had to book with Sheedy and I told Mm none In tbe world If I didn't want to. He then told me that If I didn't book with Sheedy my record would be clean. Q.—Did yon have any trouble with acta after that? A.—Yes. Acts were canceling at the last minute despite the tact that they had contracts, and giving as the reason that the house waa blacklisted and known as "the poison Ivy bouse." They wooldnt give us photographs and asked to be permitted to work under other names Kelly interposed st this point sn objec- tion to the general terms in which Far was describing the situation, and asked that ha give specific Instances of what be described. "Well, tbe McNsUy asters," replied Fay, "waa one act that cancelled. The cancella- tions were made through our agency and w* have have any number of telegrams and let- ters stating that acts cancelled because of fear of the blacklist. Goodman objected to this line of testimony, stating that the agency itself would be a bet- ter authority aa to what letters It had re- ceived and asking that Fa* confine himself to Incidents of which he had personal knowl- edge. It was overruled. Walsh—Tell of incidents of which you have personal knowledge. Mr. Fay. A.—The diffi- culties of which I know personally were that it Is a usual custom for sets to rehearse OS a Monday morning for the opening show, and most Mondays after tbe articles began ap- pearing in Variety up to the time I went to Washington and bad a conversation with yon and Mr. Reeves, It was necessary for me to have a man in Boston arrange to supply me if he could, on a moment's notice, with acta to Ml tbe places of those that did not show np. When we got a list of sets for the eel- lowing week from the Bheedy office, late in the week, we would advertise It. Then they would not show up. Then we would have to get on the phone to Boston and tell oor man how many acts we were short and he would help aa out the beat he could. Some- times, when tbe acts got there, they would ask me if It was a Y. M. P. A. bouse and List SeW win Kelly wanted Fay to be more speclflc In this matter ilso and state speclflc Instances of sets that cancelled, and Say stated that be would produce a list of turns that had done so. "I remember one set that asked me if our house was a member of the V. M. P. A.." continued Fay. "The name of tbe act was Alexander Canaries He was booked tn to till a disappointment and said he was a mem- ber of the N. Y. A. Hs Said he would wire Chesterfield sad did so, receiving an answer that the 'house in question is not a mem- ber of the Y. M. P. A.' He then worked two or three shows but said that be had had an kinds of trouble getttng; work and dldnt know but that he would have to go and live on a farm, for the rest of Ms life and therefore might as well play Fay'a Theatre. I see s man here In the room that cancelled twice In one month. Lee Begs Is bis name. I also see another named Bell. It seemed that the only acts we could get that would work were the so-called blacklisted sets." q. —Did you change tbe name of acta? A.—We're doing that now. Dp to the time I went to Washington to see the Federal Trade Commission, acts refused to give US photos for showing. They also continually gave OS fictitious names, thereby losing whatever drawlnr power they might have had. Within four weeks we contracted Tor and adver- tised an act—Piteros? or some sueb name, a Russian dancing set—and. although we had a contract with her, aha had a talk with the manager of the Loew theatre and then left for New York and I had to replace her aa late aa 10 M> at night. Q.—Who was her r epres en tative? A.— Arthur Horowits. Q.—What do you pay Sheedy for booking? A.—We paid him $25 a week when the trouble began, but afterward, when it became mots rloos, we bad to pay Mm $60 per week. Q. —Why did yea have to raise? A*— Be- cause he demanded more money on account of the I n cre as ed trouble. As be examined It the money was to be used in running around town tn t*'* , e- t ~ trying to get acts. Hs said they had to gat them from cabarets sad sometimes they did not leave tin the morning traln- Q.—Did yon have to give Mm a guarantee? a! —Yem. Tbe men who were in business with me. Leon Ms si nest and Meyer Barebmrg, Sheedy that tf ' would pay the expenses of that office unto *2M> per week. La other words, tf the Oes> (Cew.