Variety (January 1920)

LEGITIMATE IN RINGING TERMS JUDGE DEFENDS STAGE CHILDREN Believing Firmly Technicalities Should Not Triumph Over Common Sense, Court Dismisses Complaint Brought Against Managers of "Daddies" by Juvenile Pro- tective Association in Chicago—Praises Play . —Calls It a Good Influence—Stage Children Well Cared For. ..,■ 1 . ■ V :~ 8 fe m. ■■ ■■. § %. r- Cincinnati, Jan. 28. Municipal Judge Meredith Yeatman, in a written opinion in the case of A. £. Morgan, manager of "Daddies" and T. E. Aylward, manager of the Grand Opera House here, charged by the Juvenile Protective Association with having employed children under age to act 'upon the stage, handed down a remarkable document In his decision, discharging the de- fendants, the judge held: 'What was the Legislature's intention in passing this law? Undoubtedly it was interested as much as the Court and the people in seeing that no harm comes to children. Can any one say that the at- mosphere and mere presence of a child under the age of fourteen years on the stage is morally, mentally or physically detrimental in the time consumed on the stage as the facts in this case show? "The Court cannot agree that it does. Any fair-minded person seeing this high class comedy will agree that it is a won- derful and clean exhibition, artistically arranged to teach and inoculate the home idea—the very essence in safe-guarding American liberty, the practice of thrift, the fathering of the little war orphans, the converting of bachelors to the sense of their duty that there is no real home without the child. "It is contended that the scene of the 'spoiled child,' so ably portrayed by Loma Volare, shows a lack of raising, and lack of proper' surroundings. The Court will pass this allegation as this portrayal might happen in any family, from the highest to the lowest. The mothers of these children accompany them. A special tutor who receives a special remuneration is provided for them, which is more than can be said for our deserving but underpaid school teachers. "Who, better than mothers, can speak as to their child's welfare? Certainly, the people of the stage have just as loving affection for their children as we do for ours. The purpose of this comedy inspires love, for which the Juvenile Protective Association was instituted. "It is claimed that there is a technical violation of the law in that the children ore employed or hired. "The opinion of the Court is that the Legislature, in amending this child labor law, intended to protect children under the age with reference to cabarets and motion picture theatrical performances, and that the statute never contemplated the legitimate theatrical stage—certainly not a work of art such as this. Graver questions than this might be found to make a test case. Concede for a moment that the statute might be a technical violation as a matter of public interest. Then why is the question raised now? . Is there not enough agitation and unrest at present? Is there not too little atten-. Hon paid to the material things? Do we not need the wonderful, helpful and good propaganda these little ones are sowing? "This Court believes firmly that tech- nicalities should not prevail over common sense, so this case is dismissed." The trial was great stuff for Bob Harris, press agent for the Grand. Front page stories were carried by the afternoon papers; sketch artists and photographers were put to work, 'and even a photo from "Daddies," showing the scene objected to, was published. To make it an even better yarn, the kiddies rehearsed little plays of their own construction, in court. The child* ren are Mildred Platz, 9; Aida Arm- and, 7; Edward Quinn, 9, and 'William Quinn, 7. Through the cleverness of the dream- ful Mr. Harris, the trial was dragged out through the entire week. UNSATISFACTORY "COUNT-UP." The new box-office count-up system installed by the Shuberts has appar- ently not proved as efficient as ex- pected, indicated in a letter sent out by the Shuberts last week to producers with attractions in Shubert houses. The new system provides the ticket boxes be opened and counted "by a special corps in one of the Shuberts houses used as a central count-up sta- tion. _ As the counting is done on the morning following each performance, it has been necessary for attraction man- agers to report at the count-up station each morning. Some managers, at their chiefs' orders have, however, failed to appear for the ticket-box ccunt up. Instead these managers have counted up from the dead-wood, figur- ing that knowing the actual house' capacity a count of the dead-wood gives an accurate result on the at- tendance gross. The letter implied passes were not being accounted for on statements, the general tenor being that "in many in- stances we have found that neither the theatres nor the attractions are getting the money that belonged to them, caused simply by employees' negligence in watching ybur and our business." The latter requested an at- traction have a man of its own in the box office and one at the door. One of the-producers replied that no amount of counting the ticket boxes would be available if the box office men were not on the leveL KRE1SLER PUTS, UNDER GUARD. Rochester, N. Y., Jan. 28. While a group of state troopers and deputy sheriffs guarded the approaches and entrances to Normal Hall, of the State Normal School at Geneseo, 40 miles from here, Fritz Kreisler, the Austrian violinist, who was prevented from giving a concert in this city re- cently by the American Legion, played to a capacity house last Thursday even- ing. Despite every precaution was taken to prevent it there was not the slight- est evidence of intention or wish to break up or interfere with the con- cert, which headed the program in the^community lecture and entertain- ment course given in the school. SECOND "VILLAGE FOLLIES." What is called the second version of 'The Greenwich Village Follies" is un- der preparation by Murray Anderson, who is interested in the original com- pany. "What's.in a Name" is to be the title of the latest. Among those en- gaged so far is Ethel Sinclair (Mri. Mark Levy). "STRANDED" BEFORE OPENING. A plan to establish a dramatic stock company in the Princess, Chicago, with an opening set for last Monday, flick- ered out last Thursday night when the promoters, E. Cooper Willis and A. Walter Greig, failed to put in appear- ance at the Grand Central Depot with transportation and left a company of ten "stranded" before they opened. .According to information furnished the Actors' Equity Association by Les- lie Morosco, he was approached a couple of weeks ago by Willis, who re- quested him to collect a company for the Princess Theatre project. Willis, according to the story, told MorOsco he was supposed to be the director and Greig the financial man in back of De Luxe Productions, Inc., which was' claimed to be backing the stock ven- ture. Morosco says Willis "touched" him for a substantial sum while negotia- tions were going on,' promising to re- pay before the troupe left for Chicago. Meanwhile Greig, it seems, arranged with the American Play Company to release "Eyes of Youth" as the open- ing Princess play* In part payment for?"Eyes of Youth" Greig gave the American company a draft on the Illinois Trust Company of Chicago. This was two weeks ago. Thursday the draft came back unpaid. Inquiry by the Equity Chicago repre- sentative, Marcus Keyes, regarding Willis and Greig, brought to light that Greig was supposed to have been a captain in the U. S. army. Both men were known in Chicago, according to Keyes report to the New York Equity office. $12,000 ON ONE-NIGHTERS. Following the details in Variett last week of good business in the one- nighters is the success last week of "Sometime," which played a week of one-night stands in the Middle. West The takings averaged $2,000 nightly and $12,000 was played to in six nights. The dates played were Butler, Pa.; Wheeling, W. Va.; Newark, O.; Mans- field, O.; Pontiac, Mich., and Ann Ar- bor, Mich. The. week was originally booked for Toronto, but Frank Tin'ney, with the show, refused to accept the exchange settlement, demanding 75 .per cent American and 25 Canadian. "ADAM AND EVA" LATEST "BUY." Another buy was entered by 'the ticket offices last Saturday for "Adam and Eva," now at the Longacre. The buy is for eight more weeks, supple- mentary to the one expiring the date it was renewed. Another buy also reported for an- other Comstock & Gest show is for "Aphrodite" at the Century, which will probably take that piece to the middle of March. "ANGEL FACE" FOR BALTIMORE. Baltimore, Jan. 28. "Angel Face" will open here at the Academy Feb. 16, following its last performance at the Knickerbocker, New York, the Saturday night preced- ing the-opening here Monday. At the Knickerbocker it was said the new Savage production of "Shavings" may be the successor to "Angel Face" there. OUTDREW DREW. Atlantic City, Jan. 28. Willie Collier in the "Hottentot" out- drew John Drew in "The Catbird," by $150 in their respective openings here. "THE LILY" IN YIDDISH. "The Lily" will be presented for the first time in Yiddish at the Irving Place with Maurice Schwartz this Fri- day night "KICKBACK" MATTERS. The matter of returns from., ticket agencies, which was again resumed at the order of the Shuberts two-weeks ago, had not spread to other firms controlling houses in New York up to the-early part of the week. Other offices professed to have no . actual knowledge of a "kick back." One firm controlling several houses and affiliated with the Shuberts stated it had asked for no returns from the agencies. Still another controlling one house on its own and having at- tractions in two Shubert theatres, stated likewise and also claimed it re-, received no returns from the agen- cies for its own theatre. That ..the "kick back" makes an im- portant item is shown by the number of tickets handled by agencies. In one of the big musical shows some- thing like 1,890 tickets per week have sold by the agencies. This means around $200 weekly as a "kick back" from the agencies from one show alone. At a luncheon this week P. M. A. members discussed further the mat- ter of ^controlling ticket distribution. Whether the plan to establish a sys- tem in conjunction with McBride. Ty- son and Bascom goes through for a 3 months' trial beginning March 1 is up to the Shuberts and Klaw and Er- langer. In any case the agencies would be limited to a. 50-cent premium and their books subject to P. M. A. auditing. RUSSIANS BARRED ON SUNDAY. The troupe of Russian players here from Moscow who were scheduled to give a series of Russian plays on Sun- day afternoons and nights at the 39th street, were restrained* from giving such performances by order of the municipal authorities. The objection, it is understood, was the usual one with reference to a violation of the Sabbath ruling to that effect . r The players who. have the co-opera- tion of the Russian Collegiate Insti- tute on Second Avenue, state that the Gotham on 125th street had been taken over, and that after some alterations, a season of Russian plays in Russian will follow. ■■*■■. 'r -■' ■ PLACES HIT IN BACK UNE. Known as "The hit of The Golden Girl,'" Jeanette Dietrich, who started as a chorus girl in the front line with that show, is still a chorus girl, bat has been relegated to the back line. The new assignment, however, has not prevented Miss Dietrich from con- ■ tinuing to score, to the extent that the company has. placed her under a con- tract for the remainder of the season or the run of the piece at an in- creased-salary. CLEVELAND'S COAL SHORTAGE. Cleveland, Jan. 28. Theatres in Cleveland are undergo- ing a coal shortage that promises to linger with the announcement from the Cleveland Coal Commission all in- coming coal shipments are delayed be- cause of the unabatement of the storm on the Great Lakes. SHOW'S MUSIC BY ZIMBAUST. Joe Weber is negotiating for a mu- sical show by Joseph W. Herbert and Efraim Zimbalist, the noted violinist, ,to supply the score. Mr. Herbert is to write the book and lyrics. The latter has not been very active of recent years as a librettist. Mission Closing In Seattle. Seattle, Jan. 28. . The curtain will be rung down at the Mission Theatre Saturday night for the last time. The house will be razed to make way for a business b'ock. y