The billboard (Sept 1910)

SEPTEMBER 24,1910. Ttie Billboard 17 SUNSHI NE OR SERMON Cincinnati Clergymen Oppose Sunday Operation of the Ohio Valley Exposition—Mayor Refuses to Interfere ' It lure ctmel We, the cltlnni o( Clnclimiitl, "<mr' bappy borne," hsTo been wondering for tbe put tbree weeks (ever nince the Oblo Val- lej- Bxpo«Ulon opened) when It woald come, and lome at ui were even beclnnlng to believe that we might eaca^ It this time—but—It bare came, at last. Tbe clergy baa found tbat wbereat tbey may burl their abnae, thereby aseqnlTOcally conTlncIng tbe ont-of-town expo- sition Tlsltors that tbey are aa mncb alert aa their brethren In other localities. The exposition and all the shows connected with It baTO baeB abore reproach. Clean, moral npllfting—laeklnf In every element that might glva offense to the most puritanical, the attrac- tions are of such a character tbat even tbe most fanatical sky pilot could not And excuse for TOlelng criticism, therefore the reverends wei« sad. Tbe golden opportunity for enjoy- ing their nsnal pastime—tbat of getting their names in tbe dally papers—came, however, last week. For tbe first three weeks of the czpoaltlon the grounds were closed on Sundays, notwitbstsnding tbe protests and clamor of the populace of Ctnclnnatl and contlgoons territory (or a Snndar show. Tbe requests made of tbe expoalttoD management from persons throngboat the several lUte* wlthlo ■ radlna of 200 mllea of tbe Qoeen Oity. bnve been coming In attended the Exposltlor, and will not go at all now." We wonder how many "Christian people cf the Ohio Valley" would have protested against opening tbe Exposition last 8nnday7 The an- swer must be: "Very few." GlnclnnatlanB are not so nrndlsh. It is these self-constituted guardians of law and morallf- who do all the yelling and why? Verily, verily, brethren, tboa knowest that all suca as attend Sunday amuse- ments are kept away from church, and conse< quently from contributing their mite. Perhaps the pursuit of harmless recreation, or amuse- ment that affords pleasure and a bit of educa- tion, is ore preferable to some than to sit in close confinement for two or tbree hootv llat- enlng to a sermon tbat smacks of commer> clallsm. Preachers hats Sunday opposition. In the present case, was not the O. V. B. op- position to tbe churches? Undoubtedly. When two circuses happen to play the same town on tbe same day, don't the press sgents get busy and do all they can to qne<>r each other's show? Do not the theatres all claim to have "tbe best show In town"T Think It over. Now eoncemlng tbose poor people who work for the exposition. Many of them are show- men. Show ns a showman who wouldn't rather ahow on Simday than do anything else, and yoo have showed na a-speeimen who would be FLINT MEETS STEEL Rumor of Clash Between B. F. Keith and Martin Beck—Cause Assigned is that Keith has Abro- . gated his Agreement to Keep out of West There was a rumor in Cincinnati, September 17, tbat a serious and probably final break had occurred between tbe B. F. Keith and the'Martin Beck vaudeville forces. Inasmuch aa Cincin- nati Is the center of ovnersbip of a larse part of the Keith interests, and has been the center for s part of tbe'Beek Interests, the rumor is regarded with more than nsnal Interest. If the story of a break Is tme, it amonnts to a sensation in the theatrical field. Nothing of equal importance has occurred In the vaude- ville world since vaudeville began. The reason given for tbe reported break between the mag- nates of Eastern and Western vaudeville is the alleged breaking by the Keith forces of tbe iTon-clad agreement existing for years, whereby Keith was to keep out of tlutt portion of the West lying west of a line drawn-north and south through Cincinnati, in consideration of Beck's keeplns out of the East, particularly out Of New Xork. This pact has been kept until recently. Beck, It Is claimed, says Keith has now broken the contract through having acquired of George B. Cox and Joseph L. Bblnock, thea- tres in liouisville and Indianapolis, which lie west of the forbidden Une. Beck Is said to have demanded of Keltti In recompenai^ for this break a contract whereby Keith win agiee to take a certain number of Beck's acts for cer- Orphenm circuit, which Is the Beck circuit, la powerfully entrenched In the West. It reaches twenty States and Includes such cities as San Francisco. Denver, Seattle, St. Paul. Minneapo- lis, Omaha, St. IauIs, Chicago and Spokane. A bitter war wonid simply mesn taking the vaudeville map apart and reconstrnctlns it after the war was over. i. A. T. 8. E. MEETS. Spokane, Wash., Sept. 13.—Northwest Dis- trict Convention of the I. A. T. S. B. held at Spokane laat Tuesday and Wednesday. Chas. Malloy, of Butte, 3d grand vice-president, pre- siding, B. M. Reel, of Spokane, was secretary. The delegates present were: Chas. Crtckmore, Seattle No. 16: Geo. G. NlckeU. Spokane No. 93; G. W. Mathews, Tacoma No. 81; Jas. War- wick, Belllngham No. UT: W. B. Howard, Van- eoaver. B. O., No. 118; H. S. Holberg. I^erett No. 180: P. 3. Beler. Portland, Ore.. No. 1B9: B. M. Beel. Spokane No. 185; J. Wryn. Great Falls. Mont., Branch H. The business session lasted two daya. Sept. e and T. IMegates weia entertained by Ixwals No. B3 and 185 with ride over city on special car, fol- lowed by B banqoet at midnight on Sept. 7 at Ch^tles Mulkgk U The Hollliall Show la Being Featured at tlie Appalachian Exposition. snch great number that, after careful consid- eration, the directors daeided that on Sunday, September 18, the exposition would be kept open, so that tbe people of neighboring cities, who could not attend during tbe vreek. might not be deprived of tbe treasure of a visit to the exposition. The announcement of the Sunday opening had scarcely been msde when. 'iEnreka" Tailed the ministers, in unison, now we have the ong-awalted chance to get a few squares of advertising—free, brethren, free. Therefore, s meeting of the "Association for the Prevention of Harmless Becreation" waa held, and an olB- dal order hsnded tbe pnbtldty department of the organisation, to prepare a letter filled with ieBsitlonalltm, lie sent to the mayor, chief of police or some other hlgh-mnekety-mnck^ to the effect that tt would be alntul to open the expo- sition on tbe Sabbatli. The desired results were obtained. The papers carried cute little notices, with four- column taeada, in their Saturday editions in which tbe letter was quoted, and a few re- marks germane to the subject commented upon. One of the members of the A. F. T. P. O. B. B. is well versed in law. He quotes an Ohio atati:te which in part prohibits labor on Sunday. He also expostulates that the poor, poor working men who take part in the expo- sition need on« day on which to rest. Or. Mlllon, of the rimt United Ftcstiyterlan Church, said relative to the Sundae opening of the exposition: "This action Is a slap In the face to all Christian pconie of the Ohio Valley. It la not only Cincinnati that la represented by this Bx- Sxltlon, but a its name Indicates, the whole hlo Valley. "In opening the Bxposltlon, the law-abiding peoplo are mlareiiresented. The only recourse they can have la to show tbeir recognition of the airront by staying away, I have not yet a feature witb any freak show now showing. Ask any of the men in charge of the exhib- its Whether they preferred resting last Sunday to being at the exposition extolling the merits of their products. The laboring people at the exposiltlon did not suffer by the deprivation of a noliday. The extra day's work meant a fat- ter pay envelope, which to many was consider- ably more valuable than the day off. The preachers work on Sunday: Their salaries are earned by what they do on the Sabbath. Their extortions are practiced on the day of rest. All these points must be considered. If the clerfsy would devote more time- to btKher teachings and leave the people unmolested to tholr own "mirths and employments." they would be serving humanity a vaat deal better than at present. All the protests of the Cincinnati preachen were futile in their case versns the O. V. B. last week. The mayor, having attended the exposition, personally knew on what scale of excellency the shows wcvc conducted, and he n-fnscd to listen to their prattle. The exposi- tion was open, ami all shows did good business. Before concluding, we must offer a few words nt sympathy to the ill-fated exposition, in being so nntortunato as not to be able to en- tertain the Reverend Dr. Mlllon. He said he would not attend. The refusal on his part to visit the greatest educational venture ever promoted in Cincinnati, is "the most nnklndest cut of all." Perchance, after this blow, the management will decide to terminate abruptly without finishing the season, or is tt not prob- able that the countnr will be shortly startled by the news that Mr. Reynolda. president of the exposition, or some ottier offlclat, will be accused of kidnapplngT What is to prevent Messrs. Znber and Bagen trom abdnettng th* reverend doctor, some night this week, and forclnit htm to go over tbe exposition t If thla occurs, we will let yon know next week. tain houses, for Keith has already announced that as soon as present contracts calling for certain Beck acts In IionisTllle, Indianapolis, and Ctnclnantt ezpite. It will be "notlins but Keith" wherever Keith has control of a thea- tre. Ttiia is a blow to Beck, in addition to the danger from invasion by Keith of tbe West. The protocol once broken. Keith might reach ont for ss much of the West as Is desir- able. On the other band. It Is said that Beck would also be placed in a strong position. He would be as foot-loose as Keith. One of the things he might do would be to invade the East by a tmlon with William Morris, who supplies the Otpbeam Theatre In Cincinnati. A union of Beck and Morris would be an extremely strong combination, and would make competition in Cincinnati and elsewhere very bitter. Another course open to Beck would be to secure other theatres in the cities invaded by Keith. Henry Zlegler and Max Anderson still own the Walnut Theatre In Cincinnati. Ziegler Intimated a few day* ago that there was a deal on tor that honae. It may be Beck who ia after It. TandevIUe .playen say that an open raitore between Beck and. Keith would deprive Beck of a certain number of higb-class acts he now borrows from Keith, including lianguay. Keller- man and others. It is also pointed out that a vindictive vaudeville war between the two in- terests would be a costly affair, inasmuch as it would start an "auction" for players, caus- ing one side to bid against tbe other in the matter of salaries. And when bidding of this kind begins, salaries go up to an expenaive point. The Keith circuit Includes some TO theatres in New York, Peimayivania, New Jersey. Rhode Island, Ohio, Massachusetts. Connecticut and Eaatem Canada, Some of these theatres are owned by Keith and some use Keith vsndevllle under conttiet. The clicnit li powerfol. The the Inland Cafe, attended by all members of 03 and 185 and all delegates. Covers were laid for sixty. Speeches were made by all delegates, and stories, songs,' etc., were rendered by sll others present. The affair lasted tmtil 3 A. H. President HOIlinger of lACal No. 88. acted aa toastmaster. - PREMIERE OP THE CUB. Aaantic City. N. J.. Sept. 18.—-The Cub. Thompson Bncfaanan's new play of newspaper life, received its premiere here last evenine- The piece te a atoty of » cnb reporter who Is sent from XonlsviUe Into the monntains of Ken- tucky to cover a fend. On the way- hf meets the sister of one of the leaders in the fi-ud. ami. falling In love with her. writes stories which are favorable to her family. For this he la discharged, bnt he wins the girl. Dooglai Fairbanks appeared In the leading role, tliat of the reporter. Wm. A. Brady was the producer. The author of the play was a former IjOuIs- vlUe newspaper man, and is also the writer of A Woman's Way. MRS. O'DOIE ILL. Mrs. Althea O'DoIe, of tbe team of Two ODoIes, wire runners. Jumpers and cake walk- ers with Rlngiing Brothers the past sessoo. has been compelled to discontinue her connec- tion temporarily, owing to illness whieb coo- flues her at Newton. Kansas. Mr. Geo. O'Doto is In constant attendance, and. as soon aa aide, will remove her to their home in Havana, XU. She is snSering from malaria fever.