The billboard (Feb 1911)

wT^ti^ Bvi 11 b o a r d NEW YORK. BoUud BaUdlnc, IMO Bmulvar. TelvpboM 1030 Br7«Dt. CHICAGO. ■ctlUcr BolMloK. • 108-100 Baodalpb Bt. • XMcpbooe Central OBU. ST. LOUIS. SAN FRANCISCO. Biitdlos. 880 Market St, .JoactlOQ ■■ntet. SUto aad Slsektaa Stt.. aolte ai. IjONDON. BNakANK. TO tmgt* aiiwUfi. ■■ ft . ... PMIIS^>liAf•e■;■• W. H. DONALDSON, Pu blither. -•95™ KfEKLT. end eateicdu SeooDd-CUn Matter at Port •tf, Oblo. Addcm alt mnmoaieatlaas far ttw «dl(MW «r ' ~ Tills niijuaoAiiD PDBMsnDra ooannanr, 4tS am awwfc CfcufcwMH. tt; IL fc A. ABTEBTIsniO BATES.—^Twmty ccaU par ]iiw, acita meantremaat. Wtaala pi««. $110; half pace. fTO; qnartar paca, 93A. Ko advar* ' taam Uaaa aaaaptad. t aab- ieiiban. ia fa* aato n all tralaa aad B«wa-atoda ikfoagkoat tka Voltid Sutaa and Oaaada. whieh an aappIM t* tka Amaiteaa .ftaWB.Qa. aad iu bruebu. It la alao aa aala ' I'a, ST ATaaaa de I'Opata. Vaiia. ■at M Hia. plaaaa aatuy thu The ShoMrineii*> AiMwdsHon^aaJiha Mljertsr The Showmen's Association continues to thrive, and it is becoming more and more apparent ihat the recently formed organization is going to last More of the smaller shows are applying for membership to Mr. J. M. Kelly, at Baraboo, Wis., while those who had not paid their admission fee at the last meeting have all done so since. Contemporaneous with the increasing determination of the showmen to pei^^bi getting, fairer treatment at the hands of the billposters, there aeenu':to. bfis^^^^m^^ inqtiiry axong advertisers and prospec- tive adverasets'as to what this agitation is all about—the growing con- sensns of qpinion being that if the circuses, the parent of this method of advertising, cannot aflFord to yield to the proposed increase of expense of the same, then commercial advertisers should not do so. It is beo>ming more and more believed that the "big guns" of the billposting business have allowed themselves to become dnmk with .power. The business has prospered beyond their fondest dreams, and ttcgr have b«»me mtoxicated with the ever-uiaeasing appetite for even graiter csraiqn iuid^^^^ absolute Control of outdoor advertising. It is d^Mied uiat for years they have not given the ser\'ice that tiiey should have given, and now that they are prepared to do what should have been done before, they propose to bleed the advertisers for all there is in it. However, they have turned the screws once too often, and with the orpuuzati<Mi of die Showmen's Association, they have found thdr first lonnidMite'fll^^ 'lNpIVroUAX^^^,OT SPEAK. . tne patt week idiere^ a general exdiange of written • o p i hi o M among the showmen. The following letter was written by R E. WaOace, owner of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Shows. Writing from Peru, Ind., on Jairaaiy 26, to some of the other drcos proprietors. Mr. Wallace said: ^ WM unable to attend the meetlnK which occurred In Chicago on Mon- iar* batmaa the Shownmls .AiMClation and the Associated Billposters. I am "VMT maeh sratifled. however, to learn that the proposition o( the Aaso- dated Bmpoatera was turned down anallr and emphatfcaHy hy our eoBunittee. I do not ae« how It would have been penlbte fbr onr oommtttee to take anj* other stand than they did in the matter, and it seems to me that tha time Is BOW ripe to try conclusions on this proposition of billboards, so that wa can ••• Just where we stand. I do not think the average billposter over the eomtry will be in very much of a humor to agree with the Association heads . on tho° stand they have taken. This will give us exactly the same privilege wa eajoyed before the Associated Billposters came into existence, namely, the ^aht' fMi.'our oontraetors to go Into a town and make the best deal ponlble nr th* aii .ef Hi* besQla. Thtt wm appty not bnir to the rate par sheet, but «m alae Miinilm the nimilMr of tIelMti. "I hope the Associated BtUpoeteia will atuid aqoaralr «ni the proposition they have made, aa In ao dolnr they Witt not dve our eomnilttee the shadow of an excuse for doing business with them as an AsaoclaUon. I will ventur* th^ optnloQ here and now that it will be very much easier to deal with the bill- posters throughout the country next season, and that It can be done on more •wror»hIo terms to the shows, than if we were bound by a set of hard and tlut rules, most o( which aeem to be in favor of the Association. ■ .^*Vhla problem Ihvolvaa the ezpendltnro of something over half a mniion ec oelUrs tqr elreosee for billposting in six months, and I do not believe the MH posters are cofais to thMW ttaat-muUi aMmar «way. wlthlBOthln* oOtred la Its place. At any rate. It wffl be latehMtas to tir eoadasloas In the matter, ■ad tt the shows stick together in tlieir deteimlnatioa to not aeeept tho propo- *Moa ot the Associated Billposters, tfeny eanwt fall to reap advnitafee which «iu he «m»srsnt as soon as tha ss ssen opsinsw and the dWerent shows are out f wear te awapt ltiubeart mace on te as o n aMe Appraviqg Mr. Wallace^s letter and sentiment' thereof, Mr. L. E. Codce, general agent of the Buffalo Bill and Pawnee Bill SIk>ws, writes: "So far as I am oOnoienwd, I am perfectly williog to take our diances aU aloqrtbe line in r^rds to the bulpostiaK and otfier ineaiis of adver- mgg. T am'equally confident tiiat we will not have aiiy trouble securing ^g; fa tes from all of the billposters, as individuals. \Vhen it comes to ' gmets, we can allow them one ticket for every fifty sheets of paper, and If this is not satisfactory, let them go without. "I think, however, that tiie show people should be well represented tt the next annual meeting, whidi fakes place tome time'in Jiily, and give chem to understand that we are united as an association as mudi as they are, and unless we can have a voice in llie matter of determining tl«e rates and tickets, and other oonditkms, we cannot .deal with tiiem as an 'a^ elation, but would prefer to do business with the billposters as individuals, the same *b we deal with odier peq^ in ^ departments of our. basi- ness. G>mmenting upon Mr. Wallace's letter, Mr. Chas. Ringling stales that the ideas of the Ringling Brothers coincide with those of 'Mr. Wallace. Mr. Ringling adds: "We do not see a possibility of any change in the situation. We are going right ahead regardless of the Association of Billposters. At any rate, I do not think there is any diance of. the shows going bade on thdr agreement. I believe that all are sfanding int, and we must do everf- tlm^ to make this prevaiL" Fred.Gollmar, of the Gollmar Brothers' Shows, referring to the senti- ment of the Wallace letter, said: "It suits us to a T." The Showmen's Association will hold tc^ether and will do things in more ways than one, as there are many impw t a nt subjects for it to talce in hand. h.tiie meantime it is cqtected that every tent show will refrain from s^ning anf pnipoMd iqpeenient sent out by the Billposters' As s oc i a t ion, but wSl do same Sbowmen's Association decided in committee andias a. wliole, deal idllt tiie tMllposters indi^^ MuelMrnfcfaig, Just at this time, die discussion of deanliness and salacity in tiieatri- cal attractions is agitating the amusement pur\'eyors, not only in New York, but throughout the balance of the country. Broadway managers complain that some of the attractions offered in Gotham are of a nature calculated to prejudice the public and legal authorities against amuse- ments genei^ly, and for this reason they have taken it upon themselves to adjust the situation without the muck-rake methods that wotdd be used if the deaning up was left to. otfemr influences.. Of course,-piqllie syn-ipathy and public judgment are with tife Broadway managers,, feirt- their position is more delicate tiian appears on the surface; for they are lajring themselves open to unwariranted though acrimonious opposition. The managers of the high-class attractions and of the theatres playing high-class attractions in New York are not more of a power in their districts th^ the manager playing other dasses of attractions in parts of the dty where the first-dass show is tmknown and not wanted. This is the reason that those managers who have allied themsdves against what is termed the indecent jitow are accused of maldng a sentimental and illogical plea to public sentiment It is onfy the shoit-qghted tii^tr»^ cal purveyor who cannot see that pandering to the lower instincts of sodety's undercrust is hurtful to amusements as an instilntion, there- fore, the managers who are opposi^ nndean siiows are die ' ones. These will be successful. iinBl Commercialism and the Drama Art and popularity can nowise be considered analogous terms. The playhouse devoted to the production of plays whose chief and only merit consists of the artistic, has never been a success in America. In- asmudi as we have up to this time no theatres supported by munieipali' ties» as .AqF. have in Europe'and many of the fore^n oonnmes, we can- iiot expect aay private indiWdnal to jeopardite his fortune for die inke of art alone. The theatrical manager is in business for profit, just his patron is engaged in some other business for the profits accruit therefrom. It is not just or fair to expect the manager of the theatre or the man who produces theatrical attractions, to eliminate his profit and to contribute his efforts to the upbuilding of art on the stage. WTien the steel magnate and the millionaire producer of commodities for com- merce and construction donate a fortion of their fortunes to the defm> .. tkm of the.drama^ die thcaitK manager will not be. found wandi^ wlien called opOn'to c on tr ibu te his dure towards'maHi^ the drama of gtta^a^; worth artistically and from the standpoint of education. Tt is not consist- ; ent, therefore, that amusement managers should stand the full brunt of ;i blame because the senseless and silly musical comedy is allowed to^foHow a Shakespearean engagement in his house. There ark those-arcp^ the producing mans^rs who are willing to sacrifice the greatqrjmrtion of thdr profits for the gratificatioii of thdr own ambitioa^^jlml^TO^.can- not-sacrifioeall. The very success of didr efforts te'tipBift the drinn depoids vi|ioii the im»lits made h^