The Billboard 1906-03-17: Vol 18 Iss 11 (1906-03-17)

MARCH 17, 1906. The Billboard “All the World’s a Stage The Billboard Represents It” =| PRIZES & Although THE BILLBOARD is now the biggest, best and most reliable of all the Amusement Papers, we want to make it better. have greater accuracy in our lists. Forward is the watchword of the staff. More useful articles, more helpful information. more news, more subscribers, more advertising, is our quest. We are also determined to In order to secure it we intend to enlist the interest of our readers. We shall endevor to make it worth their while to aid us by offering the following cash prizes: $10 for Errors and Omissions in Our Fair List. $30 our attention the greatest number of errors and omissions in our Fair List. This list has to do with agricultural fairs only. When either the| thetween those of our corr name of the town, the name of the society or) and the most of them. association under whose auspices the falr is to professional people. held, the dates thereof. the name and ad“Openings’’ of theatres, dress of any of the officers are wanting, it is| riages,”’ an omission. When any of the foregoing are misspelled or transposed, it ig an error. Con-| the third best. testants must address their communications to Divorces, the ag of The Fair List, The Billboard, Cin-| nor published. cinnati, O, EVERY MONTH Until further notice we will pay Ten Dollars on the first of every month to the person who of corr has during the previous month brought to We will distribute thirty dollars each and every month from now until further notice nts and readers sending us the best exclusive news items, By news is meant acounts of any events or happenings of interest Prominent among these may be mentioned ‘First Performances.’’ parks and concert halls, ‘Births and Deaths in the Profes-sion.’’ of each month. as follows, viz.: $15.00 for the best, arrests and disputes between members of the profession will not be considered, Ill-natured comment and malicious roasts and knocks will be used only as | ants must fuel; and they do not make very good fuel, either. $30... Our Park List. persen sending us the greatest number ions in the way of errors and omisetons of Ten Dollars will’ be awarded. kind will be counted. A mistake in the spelling of a park name; a mistake im the manager’s name or initials; in fact, amy error of any kind. Any open air resort or summer garden that employs performers, gives band concerts or sells privileges, is eligible for listing among parks. If any are not so listed they are omissions and will be counted as such when accompanied by the name of the manager. Contestaddress their communications bg Editor Park List, The Billboard, Cincinnati, 0. ““Acidents,"’ ‘iProfessional Debuts,’’ ‘‘MarThe prizes will be distributed on the first $10.00 for the next best and $5.00 for AMATEUR PRIZE PHOTOGRAPHIC CONTEST We want photographs of professional people in etrange environment, Also striking scenes in new plays. $10.00 for the best received each month, ANECDOTES OF PROFESSIONAL PEOPLE They may cencern actors, actresses, performers, musicians, agents, managers, stage hands, privilege men or any one connected or identitied with the “Gestuees in any capacity. We do not care whether these have been printed or not. Preference will be given to the best. Of course, between two of equal merit we will choose the one that has not been published, but originality ig neither an important or a necessary consideration. Must be less than five hundred words. $25.00 for the best received before November 1, 1906, and one dollar each for such others as we may use. in the mountains,in camp. at the sea shore, automobiling, im new make-up, in odd end unusual groups, ete. ODD AND UNUSUAL EXPERIENCES Any story will do, if it concerns professional people and is a bona fide aceount of an actual occurrence. It need not be news. It may, indeed, be history, provided it has not appeared in print before. It must be bizarre, out-of-the-ordinary, and it must be told in less than five hundred words. For the best one submitted on Or before November 1. 1906, we will pay 25.00. Such others as we decide to use we will pay $3.00 apiece for. The remainder will be destroyed. SUBSCRIPTION CONTEST Some Easy Money for the Careful, Discriminating and Observant Among Our Readers. Do you know any person or firm anywhere who would profit by reading The Billboard? Tf so, send us the name and address, mentioning the party’s profession or business. Our subscription department will then, by means of sample copies, circulars and letters, endeavor to @tain the subscription. On each yearly subscription so obtained we will pay you one dollar, less ten cents for every name you send us of persons or firms whom we fail to secure. The deduction of ten cents (which is less than one third of what it costs us to sample copy and circularize each name) is made to prevent contestants from sending in long lists of names copied indiseriminately from directories, ete. No person can possibly win in this contest who does not exercise the very nicest discrimination in the selection of names submitted. Those of our readers who send us the greatest number of names of probabie subscribers will be the winners. In addition to the dollar each as per above conditions, we will distribute prizes as follows: $25.00 to the person whose list yields the most subscribers and fewest failures; _ 915.00 to the second best, and $10.00 to the third best. PROFIT-SHARING CONTEST. (Advertising Department) The Agents’ Commission of Fifteen Per Cent to Be Divided Among Our Readers. Do you know any person or firm anywhere who could advertise in The Billboard advantageously, but who is not doing so? If so, send us the name and address (mentioning the party’s profession or business) and we will enter you in our PROFIT SHARING CONTEST, and mail you particulars of same. This contest. in which the prizes will be awarded monthly, bids fair to be the most popular thing ef the kind ever conducted by a paper. We intend to divide fifteen per cent. of the amount of the new business seeured by contestants, as follows: NE UO Fe cccctennceden sensee 7 per cent. ere ere We EE nnnentcecacnsamenes ke Everybody has an equal chance. The prizes will be handsome sums. No eanvassing. No soliciting. Just send us the name of a possible advertiser and get the particulars... While of course we can not even hazard a guess as to what each prize wil) amoont to, we will guarantee that the first month theywill be not less jaco” follows, viz.: times that. $100 Can you write a good advertisement? If so, here is a chance to earn a hundred dolaris) We want one. The wonderful efficiency of our Mail Forwarding Bureau is widely known in the profession, but few outsiders have ever heard of it. All over America are people anxious to communicate with actors, actresses, performers and agents, whose address they have lost, and they have not the slightest dea of how to go about it. Fathers are wanting to write to sons, mothers to daughters. sisters to brothers. There are attorneys anxious to find clients, exceutors trying to locate heirs and dispairing because they do not know how. They have absolutely no knowledge of our facilities. It is up to us to inform them. We are going to advertise far and wide. We will use the magazines, the standard weeklies and the city and country dailies. It is for this purpose that we want the ad. Space in the mediums we will use is expensive, and as our Mail Forwarding Bureau is Profitiess, save indirectly, the ad. should occupy as little space as possible. On this account it must be very terse, the fewest possible words should be used. Yet it must stick out of the page so as to catch the eye, snappy or smart enough to hold the attention and impressive enough to fasten itself in the memory. The story to be told is that anyone wanting to write to any actor, actress, performer, 1. The contest Is all—any one can enter. 2. The ad. must be printed in a paper among other ads, MZ. surrounded by other ads, but it must have ads on at least two sides. 3. A marked copy of the paper containing the ad. must be mailed to The Billboard, Cincinnati, 0., marked Ad. Contest on the wrapper. 4. The ad. must be clipped and = ide writer's name and address pinned to it, must be mailed to The Billboard, Cin nna 3 That is all. We will select the best ad. out of those received each week and publish it in The Billboard. The remainder will be destroyed. On July ist, we will select the best ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR AN AD. CONDI $100 Second Prize Third Prize and they possibly and very probably will be many musician, agent, manager, advance man, stage hand or any person in the profession or identified with it in any way. can save time, trouble and expense by addressing that person in eare of The Billboard, Cincinnati, Ohio. The chances are nine out of ten that we know the address and can forward the letter the very day that it is received. If it should happen that we do not know it. the chances are slightly over ninety-three out of a hundred that we will run it down inside of a week. If we are compelled to advertise it im our letter list the chances are over ninety-eight out of a hundred that it will be delivered im due eourse of time. We forward letters to artists in foreign countries, swpplying the additional postage ourselves. We keep track of them even in South Africa, India, Australia, New Zealand and far-off Tasmania. Over five thousand actors, actresses and performers make their permanent address in care of The Billboard. If we include musicians, advance men, stage hands, billposters, agents, press agents, managers. privilege men, fair followers, ete., the total is over fifteen thousand. They all scan our letter list and many of them, knowing our eagerness to forward mail quickly, aid us by writing or informing us of the whereabouts of people whose addresses we advertise for. We have built the Bureau up to a really wonderful state of efficiency. Too much can hardly be said for it in this respect, but of course all of this must be summed up in a single catchy phrase in the advertisement. TIONS of those published, make the award and forward our check for One Hundred Dollars te the winner. His name and address will be published in our issue of July 7. ‘The paper publishing the ad. will be given a year’s contract at card rates; if a dally, 365 insertions; if a weekly, 52 insertions; if a monthly, 12 insertions. NOTE.—Contestants must not think for a moment that we will necessarily seleet the emallest ad. Of two ads of equal merit, the smaller will have the preference. No matter how small an ad. may be. if it does not catch the eye and read readily, it will met be com sidered. GENERAL CONDITIONS: joo’. gage to return manuscript or copies of same. address each — entry in a separate envelope. contest letters. 2—Be especially careful with names, initials and addresses. one side of the paper. 4—Keep copies of all lists, letters and articles, as we cannot possibly en 5—Address all letters as directed in each contest. 3—Write only o 6—If you enter in more than one contest 7—Do not enclose remittances, copy for advertisements or business inquiries with —Mail all contest letters to the Cincinnati office, not to New York, Chicago or San Francisco.