The billboard (May 1910)

AMERICAS IBADING AMUSEMENT WEEKLY CINCINNATI / uM»).j ^,^.f^ki^,% tr. T^ Yotame ZZIL ilo. 20. cncnnATi—Hsw tork—ghicaoo On Amusement Life _ - .-- ^ aiwEiB yl r oi iiiiCTti Just prior to the op«nlns of tbe Hagenbeck-Wallace Show at Pern, Indl&na, April 23, C. £. Cory, the general manacer of the abow. was seated te his office one day, when one of the old eanvasmen. who had started with the show every season for a nnmber of years, had been discharged after a few weeks for drunkenness, came In. He was tinkempt and aromatic In the extreme. Under tha VNtanaa M being btisUy engaged at hia dealt and partly for fear of getting a second-hand "Jag" from the fames exuding from his visitor, Mr. Cory tamed away. ' *W«w, Charlie.. X Just want to bor- row a quarter." said the visitor. "I want to get something to eat—no, I do not mean to drink. I am hungry. 1 have not had a bite since yesterday morning, and if you will give me a quarter I will go right.up-here to the restaurant and get a steak and some coSee. u Ben Wallace was here he would give it to me, I know. He always does." To get rid of him. Ur. Cory tossed him a half-dollar and turned to hta desk. ... ^ "Well. CharUe." said the visitor, as he the coin in his band, nell Ben I caUed." Jokes, usually, axe one-sided—but not always. That this is true, Incon- troverUbly. Indubitably and Irrefutably. Is proved by an incident wtalch happened to Owen riiiiil jiiiiaa nwaaiailalln iif Ilia Mtlll lliiilbair ini Wild West, wbile playing Colniiibwfc--"Ow«ii had b*«i MtmS tai^ tafca teBch at the Chittenden Hotel with a ftiMMt' sad upon entMlac tbe dining room he passed a very good friend of blg.-'WhB was seated at a table. This party is an Inveterate Joker, and rememhiHliir that be. attU bad ooeaalon to retal- liate, Owen snddenly got an t^-r: "'y'lHi tiir f——rsi»*"»r pot Into eoBaeaUon. Calling his waiter be banded bim a tewttj^thre-oeht ptece. wltb fbe tnatrni^ lions that it be given, to the party seated at the opposite table wbo was to use the money In .defraying the expenses of his lunch. The party accepted the money and when about finished with his meal he sent bis waiter to Owen wltb the te qu aa t that. «a Ma loWk bad come to forty oenta. be woald very mneb appreelata the aMIttoaal flfteen cents. The waiter hesi- tated, hut finally comnllfld. Owen told tbe waiter to tell the Indtarent one that he might repair to the River Styx or thereabouts with all due haste, bat that If he was really broke he could charge the balance to his (Owen's) account. Owen's friend compiled, for when the waiter handed him his check he save him twenty-live cents add marked "on account" with the notation that the balance be charged to Hr. Doud. After fully explaining the matter to the head waiter, who. is a good friend of both parties, he left, chuckling to himself and believing that be bad really turned tbe Joke. When Mr. Doud taft.tlMt^Blnc room Jhagli—d wHag—o«g>i a. htaa wUh tha ^wolfc^aiid.tald hiai ka^^lMd a bill a^Mk htm floir flfiMB eeals: . **Whai the h ^1 for?" roared Doud. and then remembering be hastily adMd **Oh. yes, that poor friend who Just had lunch charged his bill to me. Ha kaa been in bard circumstances tor some time and. moved by pity. I told Mia.'Iw might come up here and eat and charge tbe bill to me. I had no iaaa that he would Impoae upon good nature by: ordering so extravaganUy. but then, it haa.haaB.-aoyloiiK ataea ha.hm had K.«obd Mad ttiat^tha poor fellow must be hidC4lMvMk r^-Olva-lite »«««fhv,. -. .■ ■ • ••v>ii5-^;-^.4v^c€^^: ^':: how the to the ■9w MH to . Dmid. tai . tt* day the head , _ am^^Omi.:- That owontac'DiMd^- meBd oC .tham ordered wina^ lit-diw' mtounderatandiiK wi the part of -Che rural opera hooae managers of many of the terms commonly used In the parlance of the traveling agents, managers and actors. Al Strode has one along this line. While he was ahead of Count Ties, the celebrated title tragedian, a few seasons ago, he told the manager at Homes Center, Ark., that he would require a full orchestra, whereupon , the manager replied, that that would .!f as aU bla men were liard drinkm. Then he ,a«alii helped hlmaeU Traveling actors and performers encounter many amming experiences at the hotels and hostelries where they domleUa thamaelvaa durtav their various engagements; especially Is this ' ~ ~ ~ - - play the small towns, making many towns through a season where they have never played before, and about the hotels of which they Itnow abso- lutely nothing exeept the rate which they have seen posted on the call- board or the advertising circulars which many even of the managers of the very small hotels send them In ad- vance of tbeir arrival through his knowledge of their prospective ad- vent by referring to the route columns of the professional papers. Mr. Henry Liogsten and wife, playing with a small repertoire company, recently entered the tiny ofBce of a small hotel In a little town of nilnola. Baiac ttM tt» mmnv9 to.mKtti%. Mr. f.agrtro tavrirad of the lady what'the'rata waa/lw.tha week.' "Well." she repBa4('~'?llM.8ing1e rooms are IS.OO. but if you wife sleep In the nnmaiWBM. tt will be $2.00." Mr. tiOgsten replied, naively, that he would prefer the latter. Time and time again walla are. heard from artists in distress or misfor- tune acatnat the luucA4MW(Cad -aad :mvBW*thttlA nMUWCw:-sr wim wfao> refuaea eiven the leaat iaaBiataaee In fioitn of aafIiBrhHC> *^tfre hiimaa.** the artist laments^ "^nt to Judge from the conduct of aome of these managera one is led to htflawe that these man- IWMn Ooc iMildWAerc raeeat' niaatratloB. th«' tmOt of which is vouched for by the manager of a well-known vaudeville number, bears out the above statement. An act bad been booked to play a theatre In a small Pennsylvania town. Tbe Friday previous to the day of the act's - opening at the theatre in question, two telegrams for the act were received. The messenger stated to the theatre manager that one of the messages told of the death of tbe mother of one of the membem Of tbe act. It was sug- gested to the manager that he forward the telesram. which he promised to do. That same evening, about 8:30, the theatre manager was ssked whether the telegram had been sent to its proper destination. He replied in the negative, stating that the manager of tbe telegraph office, who, by the way, owned two of the local picture houses, refused to send it until the twenty- five cents charges bad been prepaid. A note was dispatched to the telegraph OfBce by the well-known vaudeville manager referred to previously, promising payment for the message, to which a reply was sent that "performers wete not to be trusted for twenty-five cents." and a lot more talk of that nature. The manager then foiwa^dad tha^daalrad aiiiiiiinl far tha talegcam. aoeoae- panylng it with a note bantlBK tt* HUdi ip^ oMaa aMmter tor hia nayin- pathetic nature. Wonder what would happen if all professional people would act In a similar manner in cases of benefits. In which they are so Creqaently asked to, participate? There are "blind tigera" In practically every dry town. Frank 5\"alsh says they also have them in Boston on Sunday: of course, this is a little a-^itle from the real facts of the case, but there are ways of getting around the bine laws, such as reg- istering ' at hotels where guests are permitted to be served with anything they ask for. and ordering sandwiches in the dining rooms, which, being con- strued by the law to represent a fhU meal, entitles the patron to tbe prhr^ lieges of a guest, wherefore he may have anything he wants to drink. Walsh tells of an incident that hap- pened at the Grand Union Hotel in the Hub City. At this hotel the bar la, of course, closed on Sundays; but those who are thirsty may always find wherewithal to slake their appetite for liquid foods, by registering at the desk. Mr. Walsh was standing talking to the clerk, when the property man of his own company came along, placed his name upon the register, and was asked by the man behind the desk what kind of a room he wanted. "I^don't want any room, at all." said Props. "X want a class of beer.'' Mwur «< \tmtMnfr. wefp twa H/Wh* ww wlUito r