Billboard advertising (Jan 1921)

JANUARY. 14,1921 <The Bt liboarad TWICE “TEN PER CENT” By HARRY MOUNTFORD fe Doth ting tired of the expression, “Ten per ing for the seven people In the act “he aaid to discussed. ree: ‘be. “ Such is the present reasoning and psycholBY of the agency business in New York. Were ft not for sufferance, active and were it not for the example shown by, ‘were it not for the méthods of the big vaude So that in the last analysis the Dig ,Taudeville managers are to blame for this situa ‘The agent docs the work, the vanderille manager does nothing, but still he charges the actor at least 7% per cent of the’ actor's weekTy salary, end ia many cases, With open cohBjvance, and express special authority, moch ma: : HEN I read that Secretary of ‘Treasury Houston bad suggested that a tax of Der cent instead of 10 per cent be levied theater tickets I wosdered whether be Been informed of this custom wes a bowl from the managers. ‘They told the for the gander. speculator, that be and his colleagues remexi‘Der that the $2 seat or the $3 reat bought from the speculator costs any amount from $6 to $12, And yet the theaters are crowded. ‘This leads him to weke inquiries, and be ‘Sinds that the public apparently pays this willingly. In other"words, that it pays a premium ff trom one to ten dollars on @ seat without ‘grombling, Delving farther into the subject he finds that the: vaudeville and picture hows all increase thelr prices on Sunday, and yet the places are jammed, ‘He finds that at the Palace Theater, New ‘York, the. price during the week is $2, and on a Sunday night it is $2.50, and yet the place is He sees that all thra the SYNCO MELODY BAND geverament tat 10 per ceat would rain the antsers of the theaters, that 20 one would at trad and that the Goverment would not receive HH originator of the war pay. GerGermany ‘caused-'the Germany caused the the blame ies E g befeesed & taxing powers are in the bends of the United States Congress end Senate, and it 1s thelr business and their duty to so distribute far as possible, ‘and where it will taxation thét it will fall, where tt will be least fel ef H g g g 4 e Now, let us place ourselves tn Secretary Houston's position. He bas to raise hundreds of millions, and, naturally. he’ looks arcand to fee where he can obtain the money with the 380 possible trouble, dhd where there is the greatest margin. ¥ Looking over the different businesses of the Waited States he comes across the theatrical AppeosDusiness, where there is already a tax of 10 per cent, and undocbtedly be has Deen -t theaters ‘himaclf ind remembers that he can't Duy a seat at a theater, that he bas to go toa He i 338 HE L. ef af § if aF ~E & $1.20 (one dollar and twenty cents) alone, ‘where 20 per cent (the new proposed tax) on = $3 zest would only be 60 cents. Probably it dawned on him that there must ‘De collusion between the theater managers and the speculators, mare especially 2 an order recently issued by the branch of the same government to which Secretary Houston belongs has recently issued an onder that the specatatows name and address, and the price of each ticket so sold, must be stamped on the back of the ticket. Go tht all the managers would have to do, if they were not acting in colla‘sion’ and connivance with the speculators, would tickets would die overnight, Presumably, of perbaps, ‘Secretary Houston, may have visited the New Amsterdam’ Theater. on a Sunday night, and paid $2.50, plus 25 ceats war tax, $2.75, for a seat to watch this ‘yanderille show. He may have found oat what the show cost the Keith people, and as he could, ‘faa ‘Many of these shows, before the war, wri have been poor value at $1, and even now $2 fs an exorbitant price to charge for many shows, and the class of entertainments and the salaries which they pay the actors for playing, Bat, taking the price at $2, the public would pay $2.40, at the suggested 20 per cent raise, and the management would still be making 22. amount which would be called in any other Mne of bariness “profiteering."* ‘The public would be paying less (they now ( ‘Therefore, pay $2.79) and the Government would be ting more, in his mind aid views them from an standpoint, st can clearly fe seen that the ‘sons who are to blame for Secretary ‘suggestion, and who, if this suggestion ‘s Jaw, bave brought it on themselves, are ‘managers themselves, It may appear from the abore that I sympathy with the proposal of ‘Twice Ten Cent,"" but not so, I am against the 20 cent tax on theater tickets, Iam against per cent tax on theater tickets, and I against a 5 per cent tax on theater tickets, Government to provide in sections of the i where sunlight, fresh alr and. pore water unknown mental relaxation, intelligent ‘Wo have children's free playgrounds. We. free baths. We have free open spaces parks. Why not free amusement. I don't suggest for one moment Be as cheap as possible, and by taxing it in any’ ‘The United laters, tip-taking the mob who eliminated, the State ter and the State Mot however, “that they thelr opposition to ‘Not cnty.will free people bat they will elevate entertainments and the standard ‘at the present moment, both 4 theaters, any devotion to art for art's for these ‘ls “Increase, 12 original tar and if this suggest! ‘Houston is ever of the ‘ATION and myself will be found lined up aguinst’ oe sesame tf Trunks, Bags, Suitcases: DIREOT to 7a, at xDotemte Peewe Sere_ Balt on { ia See OP Rstet Warteee . ee." batois Wardens Ee Se es Sone REDINGTON CO., Seranton, Ps.