The Billboard 1915-08-14: Vol 27 Iss 33 (1915-08-14)

| ; | AUGUST 14, 1915. The Billboard lL x ADVAD “STORMY BILL” PAGE’S LETTERS TO HIS MANAGER—NO. 12 By ELMER J. WALTERS Reedsburg, January 5. Mr. Bill Post Campbell, Manager Elixir of Life Co., Muntzport. I am a little disappointed at business. Of with down a minute you can even of the rural to start the New Year slipping through If a mtn can't stand firm on New Year's Day he is liable to have slippery elm feet for the rest of the year. Did you slip, B. P.? There was no sleet at Ferguson, where I was on New Year's Day. A rep. town for three nights. They will not interfere with our business, as there is no business for any show in Ferguson. Why did I book it? Because wild-catting is not the cinch it was some years ago.. The manager of Three Actors, belonging to the rep. show, worked all day New Year'« constructing a profile locomotive for use in one of their plays. From the interest they accorded in Ferguson what they really need is a lf propelled box car. When the manager got through, abont 5 o'clock, he suggested playing me a game of pool. I said: “‘What for?’ He said: “It will help me. Let's make this for $1 a game and get noisy about it, so the hotel man will think I have plenty of money."' This worked like a Mr. Dear B. P. New Year's coming hardly expect human beings, your course, sleet mile a cast, the streets, show was in eharm. We played two games. Mr. Manager wou the first, and I ran eight balls in the second. We got into a controversy and refused to play the third game. Shortly after the hotel man said to me: “Il was afraid this troupe was | busted, but if they can gamble a dollar a game on pool I guess I'm safe... When you get to Ferguson, B. P., find out how they squared their hotel bills, I have invented a new line that will get us money in these tanks. the beer that Ingersoll watch ie advertised as the watch that made the dollar famous, the Elixir of Life is the show that made a millionairess famous. That's putting it oyer, eh, B. P.? ° The opery here Is on the first floor. formerly used as a livery stable. The stage manager of the rep. show, who makes curtain announcements for that aggregation, put a fairly clever one over the night I was there. The auditorium has been papered, but the paper hanger must have used a poor grade of paste. as the wallpaper is hanging down in yard lengths from a half dozem places in the ceiling. The stage manager said: ‘“‘Ladies and géntle men: I notice yon are all feeling well, I'm playing a comedy part this evening, se must feel funny in order te have your co-operation Of course, you all know this opera house wa. formerly used as a livery stable This may be my reason for feeling so frisky When we arrived in your city yesterday we found a po tato stuck on each of the gas jets 1 your manager intended these to preserve the tips. I want to congratulate this community on the grade of potatoes their raise. The lay members af our company cooked these potatoes yesterday afternoon and we all had them for supper. That's what makes me so full of gas gttes this evening. I am sorry now we didn't save some of those potatoes for the audience. Bust ness last night, you know, was not very good and tonight it seems to be worse, and we need a few friends to plug for us. You folks living in Fergusen can’t expect expensive shows to come to your beautiful village from time to time without getting suppert. We have as good a leading lady as the average repertoire show You must admit that as a comedian T made you laugh Our character man, who portrays the stern parent and drunken father has made a specialty of these parts for years. Our lead ing man leads in everything He also leads the procession on the day salaries are due. It won't be necessary to form a procession in Ferguson unless you make up your minds we are worthy of your patronage We know what we ean do, ladies and gentlemen: it is up te you to appreciate us We are going to remain here just one more night to give the people of Ferguson a chance to make good. If you don't come tomorrow evening this beautiful audt torium (looking at the hanging wallpaper from the ceiling) should be barred forever mere to all theatrical purposes and be restored to its former use."* My bank roll has leavine you creatly diminished stnee Tam serrvy there has heen nothing to divide Workine with you at 450 was a pleasure with old Monevbaes as a backer, but T would rather arrange to be ahead of the show on a straight salary of anything you can pay. bot whatever we agree upon T must have. Please remember To am superstitious about “X'" spots For the last elieht weeks T have chengel all ten dollar Willies that bave come into nev possession to fves, ones and twos Yesterday I forget myself and accented an "XxX" part change for a twenty and today T get peur spet ne letter announcing miserable receipts Yours for ‘‘hiz."’ “STORMY: BRILL PAGE Agent Elixir of Life Co YS Made a trip te What Cheer to see J Krooks Seritner’s frome up Hie has a fonny little band of eight pieces. The cornet player has but one arm He used te play tuba, but lost his arm in a wreck and bed te learn to Play a cornet instead After seeing that porrade 1 wonder why I formerly favered a band show. 1 was bugs about band shows at Chat time, but You know Sehlitz is | made Milwaukee famous, the | It was | never again, unless it is a band of all cymbal players. WALTER DUGGAN’S NOTES Strike the pocketbook of an individual and you are cocksure of having him listen to reason! Since the prohibitive circus license condition: in St. Louis have been converted into copy the merchants in St. Louis have been displaying expansive powers of reasoning. They're aving more than reasoning. They're yelling. And they are yelling like madmen. The hot shot of these yells is being aimed at the short-sighted policy of the Old Assembly in St. Louis in taxing amusements to the very limit, especially cir cusses If the reasoning of the merchants In the Mound City doesn't saturate the short-sighted policy with common sense and make it possible for cireuses to visit St. Louis at a respectable license fee there's one thing certain, and thais, the Board of Aldermen in St. Louis is deafer to the wishes of the community taan any other bedy of public servants under the Avwerican flag. The Billboard fired the shot that startled the merchants of St. Louis. It wasn’t generally known why the appearance of the circuses was being missed in St. Louis this summer until the matter was aired in the columns of The Billboard. Then the indignation armies were rapidly organized among the merchants, with The St. Louis Times leading the attack, which every reasonable citizen in the Missouri city trusts will completely annihilate the ordinance which governs the license fee for summer amusements to exhibit in St. Louis. Editorial writer for The St. Louis peppered the unreasonable citizens of St. Times Tamla with some common sense in an editorial this week that was highly praised by the local merchants, Endeavoring to show the city authorities, that is, that portion of them who voted for the prohibitive circus license, the way of thejr mistake in keeping circuses away from St. Louis, The Times’ editorial writer said: “Because of the short-sighted policy of the Old Assembly in taxing amusements te the very limit thousands of St. Louis children and many grown-ups were robbed this year of an opportunity of going te a circus. A prohibitive license fee of $1,000 a week, established under an erdinance, kept the cireus out of town. The city, as 4 result. lost all cireus license revenue. St. Louis merchants lost thousands of dollars in the absence of circus accessory business, and it is impossible to estimate the value of the joy that was killed among the proverbially circus-mad tots. “The new Board of Aldermen will mal» itself popular with the youthful pepniatien. to say nothing of the benefits it will prepare for the rest of us, by repealing the hold-up cireus license ordinance, and fixing an inviting figure. Let's get back on the cirens map.** Since the above was written Lon Wiliame, general agent for Hugo's Circus, has succesial in booking E. St. Louis, which imlieates that the city authorities have listened te common sense reckonin: from Williams Why not sick Williams on that S11.) license in St Gieverner of Georgia™ louis? Louis now that the has captured E. St. Good times can’t be charged to the credit of | benefits derived thereform, can be persuaded to the St. Louis merchants right at this st » of the season. During the uncertainty of the merchant has plenty of spare busines think over the sources through which bette: revenue could be sought for. And with the pocketbook struggling along in a wabbly con dition the many merchants who protit by the coming of circuses witness a splendidly good chance of grabbing circus owners’ money riting past St. Louis, as the owners of the big tent organizations ignore the prohibitive license fee by refusing to stop for dates in St. Louis. The St. Louis Billposting Company is maa clean through. This company gets revenue from a circus for posting over 10,000 sheets of paper, netting it an income of some $1,500. The merchant, who supplied the circus in ether years with from three to five tons of oats, is pulling his hair out at the action of the Old Assembly. The milkman, who carted from 40 to ih gallons of milk to the circus lot, is yelling like the weather man is acting. The grocery man, who supplied the eggs meat, butter and all other eatables for the 1,500 to 2,000 meals that are served in the circus tent, is madder than the whole lot of local merchants. His annual revenue from the circus is given an uppercut. And, above all, the owners of the big de partment stores, who always dressed up their display windows in holiday attire to cateu the eye of the out-of-town visitors for the cirems, is thoroughly disgusted. To get a department store merchant disgusted when he's got the ex perience of gambling against conditions far aud wide the situation must be serious. Interviews with the department store owners are procurabic, but not printable. St. Louis, as far as the action of the Obj Assembly is concerned, is deadly ill. The old burg needs an amusement physician at once. If the mahipulators of the ordinance involving the circus license fee believe the circus owners will come around and pay the prohibitive fee they are dead wrong. The broad-minded mer chants of St. Louis are going to have much to say in this interesting situation. If the new Board of Aldermen don’t alter the license tee St. Louis is going to be kept off the circus map. And while this unfortunate affair exists there's going to be much real American coin kept out of the pocketbooks of the St. Louis merchants, for the circus owners carry real kopecs, antl pay in CASH. Who's going to be the populamember of the Board of St. Louis Aldermen to rise up and speak in the interests of the mer chants? Let him stand up in the next meeting in September and become a big local favorite! Gosh, this license fee disease seems to be eatchable in the vicinity of St. Louis. If yon don’t believe it call around and chat with that well-known ‘‘Governor of Georgia,’’ Lon Williams. Having just recovered his breath, after listening to the facets in the St. Louix situation, Lon jumped a car and went out ‘o get a license for Victom Hugo's Circus, to show in East St. Louis. He was floored with ax asking for a license fee of 800. However, there is hope for the St. Louis city officials coming to reason soon. It happens that some carnival company left a bad impression with the license authorities in East St. Louis, which was re sponsible for the boosting of the fee in that city. Just why the whole cirens world should be held responsible for the nasty action of some ill spirited carnival organization isn't the best standard in the world to use in setting a licensfee. Lon Williams says the East St. Louis body of License Commissioners are reasonable gentlemen, and will stand to listen to reason. But at that there is an epidemic of prohibitive license fees along the banks of the er that takes in St. Louis and East St. Louis has been stated, Fast St. Louis’ license fer will probably be adjusted at an early date. but in St. Louis the old fogies who are injuring the multiplying facilities of the local merchants’ pocketbooks must be chloroformed before th Commerce Clubs of other cities, who actually send on representatives to obtain circuses for their respective cities, realizing the financial As DELIVERIES For All Theatrical Merchandise OU IC K Manufacturers of COSTUMES and WIGS, Send, 10°, for Snely illueES . TIGHTS WE CARRY EN STOCK A COMPLETE LINE OF STEIN’S MAKE-UP. CHICAGO COSTUME WORKS, Phone Central 6292, 143 N. Dearborn St. SECURE THE i tolet— > a am mm leleit =» ale) BEST PHOTOGRAPHIC REPRODUCTIONS AT A REASONABLE PRICE. 100 POSTCARDS $1.50 reele) . : : ~~ roMele) LET US SEND YOU SAMPLES AND PRICE LIST. 10c WILL BRING A COMPLETE SET. C.0.D. AND INSURANCE ADDED IF REMITTANCE DOES NOT ACCOMPANY ORDER. COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC CO., DAVENPORT, IOWA. “A World Wide Circulation” THE OLDEST AND MOST INFLUENTIAL THEATRICAL AND VAUDEVILLE JOURNAL ‘THE BRA ESTABLISHED 1837. Published every WEDNESDAY AT 5 TAVISTOCK ST., Strand, Londen, Ww. C. 2,000 Advertisements Appear Every Week in ‘The Era." Professional Advertisements, £)5 per Page, £3 per Column, 4s per Inch, Single Column. American Artists visiting England use THE ERA (Offices as their permanent London address. ‘*The Era”’ is sold at Brentano’s, 5th Ave. and 27th St. -NEW YORK CITY. Single Copes, by mall, 7 cents. Subseription Rate, with Postage, $3.20 a year. moments to | believe that St. Lovis is modern in the matter of progressiveness, E. C. Warner, general agent for the Sells Floto; Al Butler, the demon contracting agent for the same concern, along with that whirlwind of a press agent, Cooper, are all quartered xt the Annex Hotel in St. Louis, formulating the campaign battle through Missouri towns. Warner has a remarkable organization around him in the advance guard. To the way of the thinking powers of the country’s best circus men there's no better contractor in tight pinches than this one Al Butler, whose achievements this season speak for themselves Cooper need not take off his lid to any circus press agent galloping around the country today. His San Francise> and Chicago showings were s-en with ow: own eyes. Our only thought, after witnessing the ton of stuff landed by this gentleman, was that Cooper must have been a son-in-law to the editors of all the papers. But then after getting a glimpse at those long-distance phone messages we readily learned that Cooper isn't marrie‘. Warner, with his years of experience, steadies the whole organization, which is a pleasure to observe when it's at its full power in obtaining results. Sells-Floto Circus was strongly hit by the Eastland disaster in Chicago. This circus opened the night of the horrible affair, being stationed on the White City let. Frank Cruickshank, general manager of the White City, had lau elaborate plans for the reception of the biz tent show. But there was altogether too much sadness in Chicago the night of the opening for large crowds to attend. Being ushered into the St. on a visitor's card, which was extended us through the courtesy of Gaty Pallen, member of The St. Louis Republic editorial staff, and one of the very best newspaper men in the Middle West, we got acquainted with the new. paper world of St. Louis. It's a most pleasant acquaintance, too. This Press Club has a habit of producing memorable Frolics once every year, and it’s our wish to be present when the next one rolls around, for this Frolic has become a recognized event in the summer amusement life of St. Louis. Ray Waish is handling the dramatic section of The St. Louis Times. Ray is one of those chaps who give every advance agent a fair break. His criticisms chaperon the theater goers through the channels of what they want to see and what they want to stay away from. In short, Ray's writings carry weight in St. Louis—a rating that any newspaper should be proad of its critic for. Brumby, on The Republic; Spamer, on The Globe, and Miss Richardson, on The Star, are a trio of St. Louis critics who will listen to reason in the matter of copy. Brumby holds down the night desk on The Republic as well as the dramatic desk, and there's not an agent who visits St. Louis who misses the chance to say hello to him. Edwards, of The Globe, ant Taylor, of The Star, are two editors who don't think all advance men carry dynamite around with them. A reasonable bunch of fellows, thes« St. Louis boys are. There's one promoter in the theatrical world who can smile when it rains on three consecy tive nights, and Saturday and Sunday at that. He's Jim Cunliffe. superintendent of Thearle Pain spectacle, The War of Nations. Jim's organization got a bad slap for three nights in St. Louis by Ole Jup Pluvios, but nary whimper from the dyed-in-the-wool showman. Jim’s spirtt is bound te break the stubbornness of the weather man. Noted where an asparagus field has been dis covered in Missouri. Bet Johnnie Wilstach will hustle out there, for he’s our best little aspare gus eater. Maurice Cain struck Chicago this week, which necessitated Wabash Bade getting out his water ing can. Maurice wrote his greetings in green ink, which is a matter for Stanley Dawsen t challenge immediately. Howard Robey will go in advance of The Re« Rose, which is in big demand by one-night stand managers. There’s an underground = systen. among the one-night stand managers when 1° comes to secretly demanding an attraction thes know will get the money. Our old college chum and side-kick, Eck Buneh, will be back with the show. There will be revival services on Mt. Iz every night. with the big prayer asking for winning receipts for this organizatioa Brightly Dayton intends to construct his eleetrie sign for the front of the Vinton, Ia., new theater in the shape of a fish. His office t& being constructed in the shape of a fishing boat. Agents with shows that don’t get the money had better stay on the wharf, once Bright goes angling. Another novel idea of Bright's will be to hand the extra sheet to agents while attired in a rubber oiled fishing garment Out of respect to the Rockaway Reach fishes bright will not play attractions on Fridays : : A pair of overalls was reported missing in Urbana the other day, and the police immediately wired Jimmy Grainger as to the whereabouts of his hired help. Jimmy is so busy arranging plans for the new season that he wasn't able to reply to the Urbana officials. Jimmy * new plans will make more noise than Mt Vesuvins eruption, if we aren't mistaken. This film magnate proposes to attend the onening of the Vinton Theater attired in a mackerel suit. anc using a hook, line and sinker for a walking stick. Jimmy always did stand by his pals Charles City, Ia.. July 51 Editor The Billboard: was, of course, surprised to see and rei the letter which the piano player sent you as a warning to musicians to stay away because T ill-treated him. I wired him one year ago and wrote him in partiemar not to come unless he could play, and play to pictures. He promised to be here the coming week 1 waited and he didn’t show up The following week I sent him three wires, and called for an answer, but could not get one. About two months ago I wrote him again, and this time he came, and I found no fault until he began to eriticize my drummer, and I knew the drummer was right. so could net held un for him He said he'd So there you are WRIGHT. Prep... Gem Theater quit, and T said all right wK. F. Pr. S.—Anyone doubting my werd may call or write Ed Stadsveld, Crookston. Minn... home address, whe is now playing for me. I can refer to piano players and drummers who were with me one year each. Louis Press Club mitt, ae