The billboard (Oct 1910)

1 -T5e Billboard- AMERICAS IBADING AMU>SEMBNT WEBKIY Volume XXn. No. 41. CINCINNATI—NEW YORK—CHICAGO October 8, 1910. NEW YORK. BoofD 6, BolIaDd BaUdiog, 1440 Telepliotte 1680 Brysot. Broidway. CHICAGO. 1203 Schiller BoUdlDg, 103-lOB Bandolph St., Tdephone Central 6034. ST. LOUIS. Boom 803 Mlaaonri Traat Balldlng. W. H. DONALDSON, PUBLISHER. SAN FRANCISCO. Weatbank BnUdlns. 830 Market St.. Jonettaa Uarket. Ebia and Stoekton Sts. Snita OZI. LONDON, ENGLAND. 170 Temple Chambers. B. C. PARIS, FRANCE. 121 Roe Montmartre. Telephone 223—61. ISSUED WEEKLY, and entered as Second-Class Mail Matter at Post Office, Cincinnati, Ohio. Address all communications for the editorial or business department to the Publication Officf!. The Use of Amusement Journals. While The Billboard and other of the more important amusement Jour- nals are making efforts to conserve the Interests of the business in general, they are more or less antagonized from time to time by men of power and consequence in the business who are too narrow to appreciate the value and ii^portance of Journalism who do not realize in their own minds the benefits derived from' the publications devoted exclusively to amusements. Some of tiiem have even been known to characterize the leading amusement papers Cfi parasites and superfluities. But against these men of power, whose posi- tions have been attained through progressive methods in other lines, we have the Judgment of the true amusement magnate, the man of caliber and per- spective who does not hesitate to acknowledge the vocation and sphere of those papers that are struggling from week to week to advance their in- terests, to eliminate the evils that Infest the amusement field, and to effect, as far as possible, a perfect smoothness and co-operation among the allied parts of the great amusement machine. The amusement Journal is per se an agency for the good of the pro- fession. It is equally an agency for the good of the business end of the pro- fession. How far each Individual Journal Is a good agency depends entirely upon its quality and character, and upon the scrupulosity and clean methods of its publishers. No amusement Journal exists because It Is Mnsatlonal. The secret of the existence of the more powerful papers devoted to amusement lies In usefulness—In the degree of efficiency at- Ulnel in their setting forth of the information from week to week that-the people in the amusement world need or are benefited by having. The paper that gives the most useful Information, that makes the most care- ful selection of its matter without regard to sensationalism Or the mere in- terest Of incident, Is the paper that essentially occupies the highest position Of power, influence, popularity and prestige. Amusement Journalism needs no'defense. We are merely setting forth a few facts suggested by the hide-bound ideas of those managers of circuits and booking offices who can see "no good in the theatrical paper nohow." The Passing of the Death-Defyer. Thfe declaration of a performer who has twice dally during his more or less consecutive engagements^or a number of years risked his life for the amusement of the public, that a recent accident had clinched his determina- tion to abandon his act for something less dangerous, if less remunerative. Is significant of a somewhat general disposition in this country to relegate the death-defyer and to employ our skill and concentrate our Interest in things lera precarious to health and wholeness. We do not attempt to say whether this change of preference Is due to the development of a 'taste for more useful science and more artistic, though less thrilling achievements or not. Whatever the cause, the effect Is the same. The death-defyer Is rapidly passing Into the Umbo of useless things. It Is a good thing for the profession. It removes the individual who has a careless regard for his life, and an inordinate greed for the money that precedent established as compensation for risk of life and limb as an amuse- ment feature. Precedent has been over-turned. The acts that have come forward during the past few years as headllneis* and top-salaried ones are characterized by the highest development of skill or the employment of artistic methods, means and ends. The matter is not of a great deal of consequence to the manager or booking agent one way or the other, but to the profession it means much. There has always been a sort of ostracism of th'j death-defyer. pure stnd simple, from the little coteries of performers. In relation to them, he has long occupied a position very similar to that of the successful, though uncultured, prospector in the society of fashion. In addition to relieving the stage o£ an unwelcome and undesirable factor, it removes from the profession of amusements one of the stigmas that has long attached to it, one of the approaches through which the detractor has had his easiest and most unopposed access. We smile as the death-defyer makes his conge. Yellow Journalism and Otherwise. ' The B,niboard Is going to anticipate the application of the epithet "yel- low" as its characterization. Our recent covers in orange and black have won a great deal of favorable comment. Therefore, unless some follower (and The B.illboard has a number of these) adopts this color for its use, we win employ It frequently in the future to Identify our minor special issues. The inauguration of this policy of issuing a seinl-special each m>>nth, devoted preponderantly to some paullcular phase of the amusement bufiitefs, proves to be a success of considerable dimensions. We have already issued an Autumn Number, to signalize the opening of the theatrical season, uml a Jifuslc Number which contained an abundance of specially prepared matter of paramount Interest to musicians in the profession. It is our further pur- pose to Issue Burlesque, Vaudeville, Circus. Park, Pair, Motion Picture and Skating editions in due time and season. Be It said here, that one of these numbers will appear each month, distinguishable by the orange and black cover and containing a careful selection of matter appertaining to that par- ticular phase or branch of the amusement business to which the number is dedicated. These pseudo-specials will have no affect upon our issuance of the reg- ular and more important special numbers designated as the Christmas Num- ber and the Spring Special. These two more ambitious specials will be char- acterized by covers •lithographed in multi-colors and executed in the most artistic and expensive fashion. ' Once again The Billboard has put one over on its imitators.