Show World (May 1909)

22, 1909. THE SHOW WORLD 9 amusement EVENTS IN ST. LOUIS ST. LOUIS OFFICE—BASIL WEBB, Manager—201 GEM THEATER BUILDING PICTURE ORDINANCE HITS AT TENT SHOWS No Film Exhibitions Under Canvas If New Bill Becomes Law.— Other Points Covered. There was a public hearing of the ordinance presented by Building- Commissioner Smith of St. Louis, be- force a committee of the House of Delegates at 4 p. m. Tuesday last. This ordinance has been framed by Commissioner Smith so as to clearly define all the requirements that an exhibitor shall conform with and also for the purpose of granting certain powers to the. Building Commissioner. The three most vital points of the ordinance are as follows: Firstly, should the ordinance go into effect no motion picture exhibitions under can¬ vas will be permitted by law in St. Louis. Secondly, that a platform of specific size made of non-combustible material may be used in front of the screen. Thirdly, that the Building Commissioner shall have power at all times to advise the License Commis¬ sioner to revoke any license should all the requirements of the ordinance not be lived up to. Commissioner Smith opened the liearing-by explaining to the commit¬ tee several amendments which he had drawn up since the ordinance was first ] framed. He mentioned that the ordi- | nance would specifically put the tent I shows out of business. He explained I that his reasons for this were that he, by virtue of his office, had no au- I thority over tents save as far as the booth was concerned. He further | stated that he considered them dan¬ gerous for the reason that they were composed entirely of combustible material. Amendments Interpolated. \ Robert McLaran, a prominent St. J Louis attorney, spoke on behalf of the Motion Picture Exhibitors Society in favor of the bill. He interpolated several slight amendments. 1 Frank Dracksell, president of the Motion Picture Exhibitors Society, also spoke in favor of the ordinance [ and made some strong remarks as to i the danger of canvas picture exhibi- Judge Robertson spoke on behalf of some exhibitors who were opposed 1 to the bill, and made some striking I remarks which showed how very little he knew about the motion picture business. He stated that he would I neither speak for nor against tents, hut he thought that a special ordi¬ nance should be drawn up to cover and regulate them. He waxed indig¬ nant over the effort, as he claimed, of Commissioner Smith to attain a po- i sition more autocratic than that' of i the Czar. I Attorney Taylor R. Young spoke in behalf of those exhibitors who owned shows in tents. The sum and sub- | stance of his remarks were really a I vitriolic attack on Commissioner I brmth. He claimed that the tent I shows hurt the business of the large theaters and the theater owners were | trying to use unfair methods to put | them out of business. He claimed j: wt , th * ordinance was unconstitu- tonal, both according to the state aw and the federal law. He denied that there was any extra danger in a tent show and claimed that there "ever had been loss of life from a we in one of them. Lynn Against Bill. ' T arr y Lynn, who owns several tent shows in St. Louis, spoke very | strongly against this effort to quash : Picture shows under canvas. He elaimed that this was the only safe way to show pictures. He also made the extraordinary claim that film would not ignite, but that it would just burn. After Louis Aloe had made some remarks in favor of passing the bill, Mr. Hilkenbaumer. chairman of the committee, called on Commissioner Smith to close the proceedings. Mr. Smith answered the questions of the opposition and explained his stand¬ point. He claimed that in a case TRANSIT CO. CHARGED WITH DISCRIMINATION Car Line Does Not Touch West End Heights As In Former Years and Extra Fare Is Exacted. The West End Heights theater, under the management of the Oppeii- heimers, opened last Sunday to as large business as the entirely inade¬ quate car service permitted. In for¬ mer years all of the Market and Tay¬ lor cars have run to the West End Heights, but for some unknown rea¬ son this year none of the Taylor ave¬ nue cars run further than the Forest Park Highlands, and not much more long by 15 ft. wide. The grant of this ground was originally made to the St. Louis & Merrimac Railway, but the grant was never used and has therefore lapsed. Mr. Obert further stated that this ground was now used by them for carriage sheds. He also said that he had offered to give up the strip of land to the transit company on condition that they would move the carriage sheds and convert them into automobile shelters. The transit company has refused all efforts to compromise and appears to be using unfair discrimination in car service against the West End Heights com¬ pany. Capt. Robt. MiCulloch, the presi¬ dent ®f tfie United Railways com¬ pany, repudiates the fact that any¬ thing is being done otherwise than in the best interests of the public. Thfe fact remains, however, that thousands of people were prevented from attending the Heights last Sun¬ day, and those who did go there were crowded to a most uncomfortable ex¬ tent. It is hoped that this bad feeling will be patched up, for the Oppen- heimers have got together an entirely excellent company at the West End Heights theater, and it is too bad that success should be handicapped in this way. John Adams. A popular singer at the Lyceum theater who celebrates the 100th c secutive week of his engagement the re on Saturday, May 22. where the safety of lives were at stake that it was necessary for someone to have arbitrary powers. He also further pointed out the dangers of tent shows. After Commissioner Smith had finished speaking the com¬ mittee adjourned. Nearly every picture show owner in the city was present and every one of them realized what vital importance there was to the issue of this ordi¬ nance. They gained one point they had been fighting for for a long time when Commissioner Smith took the stand and stated that he saw no objec¬ tion to platforms in a motion picture house. There is very little doubt that the bill will pass and then it will probably be adopted in every large city in the states. than half of the Market street cars made the complete trip. Since Forest Park Highlands is situated one mile east of the Heights, it looked very much as though some unfair discrim¬ ination was being exerted by the transit company. In fact, so appar¬ ent was this fact that many passen¬ gers who intended to _ go to the Heights were forced on arrival at the Highlands to pay an extra nickel in order to reach their destination. Louis Obert, one of the owners of West End Heights, stated that he be¬ lieved that it was spite work on the part of the transit company due to a suit which was pending in the Clay¬ ton courts. He declared that the transit company were suing the West End Heights company for the pos¬ session of a strip of ground 220 ft. John Adams Has Sung for One Hundred Consecutive Weeks at the Lyceum Theater. John Adams, the popular baritone, celebrates a unique record this week, for when next Saturday comes around he will have sung for one hundred consecutive weeks at the Lyceum the¬ ater. Mr. Adams made his first great success with Dockstader’s Minstrels. After that he went into vaudeville with Duffy and Herzog under he name of That Trio. This act proved to be one of the most successful that has appeared on the variety stage. The following season he went with the Dainty Duchess eompany over the Eastern Wheel. Mr. Adams’ eldest son was unfortunately taken sick and so his father decided to seek a steady engagement in this city so that he could buy a home and settle down. After an entirely successful season singing with the band at Delmar Gar¬ den Mr. Adams was engaged by Mrs. Talbot, the manager of the Lyceum theater, and he has remained there Mr. Adams is easily the highest paid singer of illustrated songs that has held a steady position. Since he has worked at the Lyceum, he has numerous offers of road positions at extremely big salaries, these offers in¬ clude, The Quartet, That Quartet, Dockstader’s Minstrels, A1 G. Fields’ Minstrels and others. Mr. Adams has become attached to his home and further realizes that a steady job of 52 weeks a year, at a good salary, is worth all the road positions that are going. The New Monroe Theater. Mr. A1 Wittman, the cashier of the License Commissioners office, is building a new motion picture theater at the corner of Chippewa and Ore¬ gon streets. This theater will be the first one built under the new ordi- (Continued on page 27.)