Building theatre patronage : management and merchandising (1927)

Legal Problems 429 If you are not sure that permission will be given, then why take the risk? Negro Patronage. In certain states it is a misdemeanor to discriminate against any citizen because of age, creed or color. Accordingly, where such legislation is active, the management cannot refuse to sell a ticket of admission simply because of "age, creed, or color." The matter of segregating negro patrons and others to certain parts of the house is one that should be settled according to local conditions. The matter is mentioned here because it is advisable not to act until you know what the local regulations are. This is also covered by Constitutional Amendment XV. Lotteries and Contests. In theatre operation there is no more fruitful source of trouble than the lottery and prize schemes, which often are helpful in building business where they can be worked, but which require careful handling. In some states the lottery laws are liberal. If you work a scheme that is legal in such a state, you may be perfectly safe so long as you hold your contest to that state. But if you advertise your stunt in the newspapers or mail out any announcement, you immediately come under the very drastic federal laws, which were framed to put the old Louisiana Lottery out of business. A lottery comprehends three factors. There must exist a "valuable prize," a "valuable consideration" and the "element of chance." The "valuable prize" may be anything from a penny whistle to a house and lot or an automobile. The "valuable consideration" may be anything from a cash-paid ticket to any slight service. To illustrate: a manager threw away several hundred envelopes printed on the face "this may contain a free ticket." One envelope in each ten contained a pass. The others contained only heralds. They were dropped on the street, placed on store counters and slipped into doorways and letter boxes. The New York postoffice held this to be a lottery. Under their ruling it was held