Show World (November 1910)

THE SHOW WORLD November 19, lDio. \i) THE The Show World Publishing Co. GRAND OPERA HOUSE BUILDING CHICAGO LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE CENTRAL 1677 Cable Address (Registered) "Showorld” WARREN A. PATRICK Managing Editor. ADVERTISING RATES to the inch. Fifty inches to the page. Last ^advertising forms close Wednesday at SUBSCRIPTIONS Two dollars and fifty cents the year. De¬ livered anywhere on earth. On sale at all news stands, five cents the Sealers send orders through your news com- P vJestera News Company, general distributors. November 19, [1910 The speculators are now speculat¬ ing as to whether they will be allowed to continue in business or not. If all the newspapers should discon¬ tinue dramatic criticism numerous high brows would have to go to work. The door , appears to be partially open at least, and the one-night stand managers seem to be enjoying the draught immensely. Our notion of nothing to listen to, is the smut song that has been evolved, of late by certain panderers to a pru¬ rient public. The Divine Sarah has gone, but Robert Mantell is in town with his repertoire of classic drama, and we will probably manage to survive. Both the syndicate and the inde¬ pendents are claiming a victory over the open door. To the onlooker it would appear that the National The¬ ater Owners’ Association was the real One of the greatest triumphs that Sarah Bernhardt achieved during her stay in Chicago was to break in on the front page of the Record-Herald. Mary Garden has finally broken in¬ to the limelight by wearing a huge hat Round No. /—Watch Our Smoke! I N what is said to be the MOST REMARKABLE ORDER EVER ISSUED BY A CHIEF OF POLICE IN THIS OR ANY OTHER COUNTRY, Chief of Police Steward, of Chicago, has placed a ban upon Smut Songs. The order not only prohibits the sale in this city of the songs held by the police authorities to be damaging to the public morals, but DIRECTS THE ARREST OF ANY PERSON OR PER¬ SONS GUILTY OF SINGING THEM IN PUBLIC AFTER HAVING BEEN ONCE ORDERED TO DISCONTINUE THEIR USE. If there ever was a vindication for a’ newspaper which had taken a radical point of view with the idea of accomplishing a given purpose, this un¬ usual order is certainly that vindication. THE SHOW WORLD FIRST CALLED ATTENTION TO THESE OBSCENE PUBLICATIONS AND ANNOUNCED THAT IT WAS IN THE FIELD TO SEE THAT THESE PUBLICATIONS WERE DRIVEN FROM THE MUSIC PUBLISHING BUSINESS FOR THE REASON THAT THEY “DO NOT BELONG.” It is only natural that The Show World should feel some little pride in what has been accomplished in Chicago— but it knows that the end is not yet. The Show World will continue the fight as long as there is an opponent left in the ring and it has been greatly encouraged to ascertain that this battle is not to be waged single- handed. The Show World is much bigger than Chicago and soon its in¬ fluence will be felt in places far removed from its city of publication. In the pursuance of its crusade The Show World has communicated with representative men in all walks of life and has been surprised to find how hearty has been the response to the call for co-operation. Many people other than those connected with The Show World have felt that the Smut Song was a disgrace to the business of modern entertainment and have only been waiting for some person to take the lead in a move¬ ment to drive them from the field. The Show World does not aspire to become a “Reform” factor in the sense that that descriptive title is modemly applied. It will never, as the saying goes, “go off half cocked” in an effort to secure cheap notoriety, as seems to be the prevailing custom. IT IS AN AMUSE¬ MENT NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE BEST INTERESTS OF PEOPLE IN ALL DEPARTMENTS OF THE AMUSEMENT BUSI¬ NESS, HOWEVER, AND IT HAS A GRIM DETERMINATION TO CORRECT A NUMBER OF FLAGRANT FAULTS WHICH ARE APPARENT AND WHICH ARE WORKING ALMOST INESTIM¬ ABLE INJURY TO THE PROFESSION. That it is the one amuse¬ ment paper in the field which has no axe to grind and truckles to no clique or combine puts it in a position to follow to the end any legiti¬ mate “reform” which it undertakes. THE ERADICATION OF THE SMUT SONG FROM CHICAGO IS ONLY ROUND NO. 1. WATCH OUR SMOKE! to the theater. This is much more polite than Geraldine Farrar’s cuss- word stunt. One of our neighborhood theaters played “The Girl From Rector’s” one week, and then next offered “The Ro ¬ sary.” The latter must have been in the nature of a disinfectant. There must have been an obstruc¬ tion on the track, for “The Girl in the Train” failed to arrive on schedule time. SHOW WORLD WILL OBSERVE THANKSGIVING The office and mechanical de¬ partments of The Show World will observe Thanksgiving, Thursday of next week and the cessation from labor on this day will neces¬ sitate a temporary change in the regulations for advertisers and contributors. The paper will go to press twenty-four hours earlier than is usual and all matter for publication should be in tbe office of publication by 10 a. m., Wednes¬ day, November 23. Now that about everything on earth has been dramatized, the playwrights have begun reaching into the mys¬ terious beyond for material, and over at the Cort spooks take part in the “The Seventh Daughter.” Songsmith is a very good word, but in the light of recent events it would appear that song-thief might be more appropriate. Do your Christmas shopping early and also remember to get your adver¬ tisement ready for the Christmas num¬ ber of the Show World. Now listen for a song of jubilance arising from the great one-night stand districts. May prosperity come in through the open door. Chicago has a grand opera company that is pegging away right along, and there are other indications that the city ife on the map, A. Toxin Worm to the contrary notwithstanding. It might not be a bad idea to take cognizance of the smut that is dissemi¬ nated in some of the burlesque shows that make this city. Chicago aldermen who hanker for something to do please take notice. Fra Elbertus should learn a few jig steps if he wants to succeed in vaude¬ ville on the lesser time. The songsmith seized his fountain pen With fervid haste he wrote; He took some other writer’s work And copied every note. Rose Stahl is to make her farewell appearance again in “The Chorus Lady.” If she is not careful she will be in the same class with Sarah Bern¬ hardt. “Way Down East” is back in town once more, and we all breathe easier. A show season without “Way Down East” would be like “Hamlet” with the melancholy Dane absent. Olga Nethersole, who has arrived in America, says she is a suffragette. This is quite important, if true. Dramatic criticism may go out of fashion, but the ubiquitous press agent is always with us. The door may be open, but the Shu- berts and Klaw and Erlanger are still The Show World’s ONE BEST be J OF THE WEEK MARY GARDEN. A lark amongstTthe singing throng And rival to the thrush. thumbing their noses at each other and that saves us from dropping into the slough of despond. It would appear to the average per¬ son that John Cort is quite some the¬ atrical parenthesis after all. And, Fra Elbertus might train some seals or teach a few dogs some tricks and get by with more success. Our notion of the height of afflu¬ ence is to have a pass for. a pair of =eats to the grand opera. The Tribune’s idea of a disfigured billboard is one with a Record-Herald arvertisement on it. Selah ! An advertisement in the Christmas Show World is better than a nice costly present in your Christmas stocking. Make yourself a nice pres¬ ent. People who reside in Pullman or Ravenswood may consider “The Com¬ muters” a tragedy, but to those who live in town, it is what a vaudevillian would call a scream. EXECUTIVE OFFICES THE Young Man, Have You a Nose For Amusement News? If So-Cet Busy ry section of the ENERGETIC CORRESPONDENTS WANTED T HE SHOW WORLD is desirous o£ ing representative- '- United States anc end correspondenc munities not yet covered by this journal. We want energetic, wide-awake correspondents of business ability who will, acting as, absolutely impartial observers of events, provide us with the latest and most reliable NEWS of WARREN A. PATRICK, Managing Editor of THE SHOW WORLD, Chicago THE SHOW WORLD IS AN INDEPENDENT AMUSEMENT NEWSPAPER, NOT CONTROLLED BY A TRUST