Variety (December 1920)

■ ssl Tttlay, December 31, 1920 VARIETY 11 ■ %KIETY rubllMhrd Weekly toy VAKIETY Inc. 8IMB SILVERMAN. President Wtit 46th Street Ntw York City SUBSCRIPTION .nnual IT Foreign ..SI Single copies. 20 cents VOL. l.Xl c — 120 No. 6 VARIETY'S 15TH ANNIVERSARY A vtry happy and prosperous New Year for you. This special number marks the ending of the 15th year for Variety. It was first published In December, 1905. There is no particular feature In Variety passing its 15th year that need be dwelt upon, excepting we arc lucky to have reached this far. The* cabarets around New York and in fact all over the country did not quietly pass outfit 1920 on pro- hibition coming in, as had been pre- dicted ami expected, Many trailed along for a time, doing away tem- porarily with their floor revues, and then continued, putting on a'nother show, with an increased couvert charge besides a newly written menu card. If it were a matter of liquor sell- ing, the cabarets seemed no differ- ent from other restaurants, which kept right on doing business. But it was not a matter of liquor sell- ing, though liquor •..heavily leaped iu profit. Some cabarets commanded business and the price lists around the house made It profitable with- out liquor selling. Patrons may have brought in their own liquor, and if so, required items on the cards to go with it. Everything has boc.n charged for J of late. Some hotels are even j charging for cracked ic£ when eent to rooms. The restaurants missed nothing. » But of late in New Vorkr the cab- arets have, not been over healthy. The cabarets must have transients. One of the best paying night places on Broadway was extremely dull during last week and even on Christmas night (Saturday). Localites have shied off the cab- arets. They can't stand the prices. Without liquor the check is ap'pall- ing; with liquor it's awful. There are other places to go besides res- taurants, and if not v other. places more Inexpensive, then 'tbeVe IS the home or the club. The nice girls of New York have sensed the condition of the restaur*- ant check. They are not over- anxious, or make it appear so, to visit cabarets after theatre. Per-' haps their fathers or their mothers have told them to exercise some judgment. Anyway the after-thea- tre business in the cabarets which ordinarily would draw the nice girls are not doing business at that time. The oth^r night places that draw anything willing to stay out late keep up their pace in a way. one place in particular being notorious for its ail night mob. The police all over have kept an eye on the cabarets at least, despite the Federal prohibition, using the dance license as the excuse. That is local jurisdiction. The New York restaurateurs look askance at toe prospccLjOf the New York Legisla- ture parsing an enforcement (li- quor) act this session. It might place the enforcement of the liquor celling in the hands of the metro- politan police. In that case the police could stop liquor selling as effectively as they supervised the liquor trade in New York City be- fore prohibition. But even that ,might bother only a few restaurants. Tho people must go somewhere and while the New Yorkers may not go as frequently as before, the transients in the city are idle at night. They are tho main- stay. Outside New York there seems a desire tq, have all towns close up around ope. Mctat of the New York places have,closed by one or short- ly after^ through the little paying business alter that hour. ih "New York City 'prohibition made its greatest display as nioney loser when the Hotel Knick erSocker sold Its lease back to the Asors Willi its proprietor, Reagan, retiring, ami the Knickerbocker promised ;is a future office building. It i- said y.rfr^Kn'ukcvt*oi:^''y made $500,000 annually out of the liquor sold in the hotel bars and rooms. Other hotels are now selling liquor openly, almost. One of tho beat know i and newest New York hotels is ''standing for murder" in almost everything: another pays little at- tiiition to v h;it other boslolries con- sider heinowa offenaes, while still another big hotel that won't sell a patron a drop of liquor direct, pay* no attt lit ion to its cigar stand where one may order anything wanted, de- livered on ihe spot Of sit the room Meanwhile New York has a crop or dance places, Piaxjea v.:.ere dancing only goes on. Admission is charged cither :it the gate or f<>« each dunce. They are d .me- pome- (C.on»muvU on page 13 ) :# The make up of this issue should have attention directed to it. In other Anniversary Numbers Variety has made up in departments, that is, holding the reading matter and advertising of a certain brai.ch to- gether, or composite. "Variety" as a title for a theatrical trade weekly often has been taken to imply this paper covered only the variety (or vaudeville and burlesque) field. The title was not so intended. Its in- tent from inception was to cover everything in indoor amusements, as far as that could readably be done, for the profession. When Variety added its legitimate department, staff members suggested a change in title through the common impression that a paper called "Variety" would not be suspected of containing news of the legitimate. Likewise pictures. While that may have been the funniest •'banning*' anyone erer beard of, the others are as funny in their way, and the attempted present one by the A. E. A. of Variety, no less. Hut up to date we have refused to fight back with the A. E. A. as an organization. We believe ita executives should exercise more judgment and Its Council exercise more authority, but we have no fight with its members, and will have none, unless the members forco it upon us. May we modestly say Variety is credited as an influential theatrical trade paper, among theatrical weeklies. Tt you grant that, will you ex- plain this—why organizations of actors, to which we freely and gladly give our support, always turn on us? The make-up is for the purpose of bringing before the readers, as they may glance over this issue, the variety of reading matter and announce- ments in it, covering vaudeville, picture, legitimate and burlesque. * Another matter we would like to clear up at this time. In the charges before the Federal Trade Commission, when Variety was named as a defendant with the vaudeville managers, it was alleged Variety's Anni- versary Number, Just previously issued and containing 212 pages, had secured all of its advertising from vaudeville. We id not deny it then, nor did. yf.e specifically deny any of the charges made by the Commissi jn. But that allegation was untrue, as much so 'hen as now. To evidence its untruthfulness, which, though It may be seen for itself in reading the advertisements in this number, might not be noted in that way. herewith 'ia the;-percentage of all announcements .n this number: Vaudeville, 40 percent.; Pictures, 25Vi percent.; Legitimate, 15 per cent.; Burlesque. 6% per ocnt.; Miscellaneous (unclassified), 13 per cent. The percentage of vaudeville advertising in the issue the Commission referred to was even less than now'; it was 34 per cent. * While telling things that may be of more or less interest (probabiy less) to Variety readertj. we may just as well go into another subject, that while often employed in an effort to do Variety an injury, in the jstima- tion of its cirole and the profession in general, has never been previously mentioned by us. That Is, the ownership, of Variety. When the White Itats spread their propaganda of the vaudev lie man- agers owning Variety, we paid no attention, for we knew the Hats were deliberately falsifying, and they knew they were. Why they knew it was this: Variety sued the White Rats to recover monies due it from that organization for advertising. The Rats defended the action. At the trial. the then aerxetary of the Variety corporation testified under oath' that all stock of Variety was held by one person, the publ sher. Judgment was given Variety against the Rats. The Rats appealed, on the ground no one person could hold all of the stock of a corporation. They were beatbn on appeal and the judgment affirmed. In drawing up ^Variety's incorporation papers it had been provided one person could so hold.*which was upheld. Therefore, the Rats, though knowing this, re- peated ttmlr statement of the vaudeville managers owning Variety, that" stamping thj^m as wilful falsifiers, the term requiring no equivocation with'-t'bdseV£ind of Rats. Here are the circumstances in two instances: First, the Actors' Equity. We once made a statement before the members of the Executive Board in the A. E. A/s Longacre building offices; we would .always be with the Equity as long as we thought it was in the right. That statement was made abotit six months before the strike, and in the course of con- ferences regarding a proposal we then submitted i.o the Council. The proposal did not go through. However, we supported the Equity in the strike, and thereafter as far as we could, without misusing our newa columns, until the last Equity general election, when we supported tho Independent ticket as against the regular ticket of the Equity. Shortly after notice was posted in the A. E. A. offices Variety and Its representa- tives were barred from the Equity offices and Equity news. No valid reason for that action was given by Equity at the time or since, except- ing it was cluimed "six months ago Variety distorted news we (Equity) gave it." Silly on the face of it, and our challenge to point to the dis- tortion remains unanswered. Second—The White Rats. Variety built up (he White Rats after th« organization's first disastrous strike of 1900. It built up the Rata from Hs small room office in the St. James building, to the headquarters on the two top floors at Broadway and 46th street, to the club house on WesL 46th street. The P'-'iof Variety are the proofs. The impetus was a series of articles, headed -VWhy Artists Should Organize." When the I tat a developed sufficient membership to satisfy its executives, it started •The Player," and launched a campaign against Variety. "The player" cost the Rats over $60,000, to secure less benefit and an inferior support than Variety had given the Rats for nothing, Any oldtimer in vaude- ville can verify this. After the second decline of the Rata Variety again built it up, giving it support, credit and publicity, on the express pledge of Harry Mountford that he (Mountford) would do nothing during Mountford's second period of direction of the Rats to imperil the vaudeville artists. We told Mount- lot I if he did we would oppose him. He knew Variety would not sup- port him in the strike of 1916, Mountford's lies to the contrary notwith- standing. Fitzpatrick must have known it as well, for Mountford and Fitzpatrick came into Variety's office, pleading with the publisher of this paper to throw out news of the managers and.print news of the Rata only. That was two weeks before Mountford left New York for Chicago to start a vaudeville strike, which was the Rats' strike of 1916. But the Actor's Equity Association executives, especially John Emerson, the A. E. A. president, followed up this line of Innuendo, first saying Variety waa~*'a managers' paper" (meaning legits), afterward changing his impl - cation, to make it direct and name E. F. Albee as the owner of this paper. When Mr. Emerson mentioned the legitimate managers, we didn't mind, as it seemed he was looking for an excuse to justify the stand of the A. E. A. executives against Variety. TThat stand has never yet been ex- plained, and we know no more of the reason for it now than we did when the executives first announced Variety and its people were barred from the A. E. A. news and offices.) When Mr. Emerson mentioned Mr. Albee, the White Rats connection could be traced. Hence, this, for the members of the A. E. A. who may have their own opinion as to the fight the A. E. A. purports to put up against Variety should kndw the fact. V/e were against that strike, and the Rats used our editorial against it as an excuse to revive "The Player," again casting off Variety as a medium, or support, or for publicity. Why these things, if executives of actors' organizations are working, figuring and circulating in the interest only of the membership? We may be thick, but we have never been able to find an answer. This issue of Variety Is the largest in the gross number of inche« a theatrieal paper in this country ever published. While the actual num- ber of pages does not reach as h'gh as some of the previous special issues of Variety, in its formor size (with the green cover), this page holds 75 ineh«s, whereas the former size was 4S inches to the page. Variety has never had any other owner or controller, in its 15 years of existence, than its publisher, who published the first issue and has published this Issue. He owns every share of stock ever issued by Variety, Inc. He now holds them. He has never hypothecated a share: there Is no mortgage nor lien of any kind whatsoever upon Variety, and here are the names of two reputable New York attorneys, both having personal knowledge of these statements, who can verify them and have our permission to do so. They are J. Robert Rubin, of 165 Broadwt ., New York, the attorney who incorporated Variety, and has been of per- sonal counsel for the publisher continuously before and since then, and Dennis F. O'Brien, of O'Brien, Malevinsky & Driscoll, Fitzgerald budding. New York City, who also has Intimate knowledge of the personal affairs of the publisher of Variety. Mr. O'Brien's firm is counsel for this paper. Variety was forced to its present size last spring through trade con- ditions. It had previously advanced its sale price from 10 to 15 cents and again to DO cents, to meet in part the increas'ng cost of production, through heavily priced white paper and the rise in the cost of printing. Variety paid as high as 14 ft cents a pound for paper of no better qual- ity than what this Is printed upon. The same paper before the war would Jiave been expensive at 2ft Canta a pound. While paper has declined slightly of late, it was only the day before Christmas a board of arbitra- tion allowed the printers an advance averaging 11 per cent, over their fornjer scale, making it retroactive to Oct. 1, last. No share of stock of Variety ever has been sold, and the only stock ever offered for sale was to professionals, in an announcement in Variety In 1915. There is no stock held by any other person at the present moment, and the publisher at this time owns and holds each and every share. Even beyond that for conclusive proof is the affidavit Variety Is required to furnish the postal (second class) department each six months, and publish in the paper, of the paper's ownership. Papers of limited circulation are not greatly troubled by cost o' paper or printing, since a small circulation requires little of either. This ac- counts for a great deal among theatrical papers. But with Variety hav- ing a very large circulation for a trade weekly, those two items are mod important in getting out tho paper. Variety, during its life, has seemed to be the aim of many who wanted to "fight" with it. Variety has always said and still maintaiis it never started any of the battles it has been drawn into, but neither haa it dodged any. There is one, however, few of the show people know any- thing about. Variety didn't know it for a long time after it had hap- pened. That was when the I. A. T. S. E (stage hands) severe 1 years ago at Seattle, in annual convention, declared Variety "barred." Sev- eral months afterward, in conversation with Charles C. Shay, then presi- dent ef the I. A. T, S. EL, Air. Shav very courteously asked why wy did not write a letter of explanation and aave the ban lifted. Asking what it was about. Mr. Shay told. Someone at the convention read An article, said it had been published in Variety, °nd that Variety was bHng printed in a non-union shop. Variety had never published the article. It was another theatrical paper. Variety was then and always has b< en printed in a union shop. We never wrote the letter Mr. Shay suggested, Two years int*-.- ^he !. a. t. s. IS at i:s annua I.convention removed the ban. It was also some months alter that before we Were aware of it. The snapper t<- the I. A. T. B. B. action was that although Mr. Shay, whom, through many years of acquaintance, we came to admire, Cor ins reputation, sincerity and integrity, had said that In all oi the existence of the I. A. T. s. i:.. Variety win the first and only theatrical paper to ever nivc the stage hands "an even break" (meaning In r< porting news). Still, on the word of one person, without Investigation, without ewn looking at the Local No. »'» directory that lists all publications and where printed, Variety was banished by the organization that its president admitted more than once never hail a than cm of haying tide put !><•- fore the profession! publi. in Its moves wlt'i managerial Interests until Variety did so. Mr. Sl»i> knew Variety pretty well, and Variety knew .Mr. Slaw There v.un ho blame attached to anyone in that Seattle affair. We have told Mr. Shay in Ihe past th ngs that were of Importance to him :md he haa told u« ittings we were grateful to him for. In be- tween, the l. A. i\ S. li. alw ry* had Variety at their command for pub- licity. And often ivalled themselves of it. And still "banned" us. And we are stilt, we l ope, on .« friendly footing with' Mt Shay also iu p ] crd president, Jam< I.■ m!. ■. and » the I. A. T. s. i: .■ - n body. ■ I Some fault was found with Variety in its new form because it was not bound. Not binding the paper was more of a time-saving expedient than an economical one. It takes almost a day to bind Variety. Through that loss of time Variety ha. been, when bound, repeatedly missing train connections for important eastern and western points. We believed it was of more benefit to the reader to have Variety on sale In Chicago and eas: by Saturday than to have the paper bound for the reader's conven- ience, to have it Out at those points the following Monday. On the Coast likewise it made the difference of Variety being out Tuesday weekly, in- stead of tho following Thursday. - ——.-— This issue of Variety is bound, as it Would be Impracticable to issue It • otherwise But instead of going to press Wednesday night, the customary time for Variety, the forms were finally closed Monday morn, -.g. L > ■ The casting aside of Variety's green cover seemed a foolish move at the-time to any number of readers, to whom the green cover was Varie'y'a trade mark. That may have been, but a better trado mark had been established by Variety-news. That is the feature of Variety In its pres- ent form as it was of Variety in its former form. That is what our readers pay for, news; that is what we try to serve them with. AMATEUR GAMBLERS OF TIMES SQUARE. Variety nas been" moved to address a word of advice to the amateur stock speculators of Times Square. The impulse comes from the desire of stock dabblers when they lose to seek some one to biamc it on. Lately many have tried to pin the blame on Variety, which they declare has been aggressively bearish toward the amusement Issues, MX ■ In particular Variety's critics would start putting out the alibi? that tiny bought or sold beeause they saw something in Variety which hoi the look of being "inspired"; that is to *ay, as com'ng from some com- pany inside of a film Stock and appearing in these columns for some sinister purpose. As a matter of fact. Variety's financial comn are not op. n to .my company Interest, and no company as far as we know has ever been enabled or tried to speak through Variety, of course, it a company otfi- c'.'il in whom we have confidence supplies us WK|j data. we aiv perfectly tvlll.ng to give tie- facts publicity; but we ure prett] careful from whom we have taken observances bearing on the course of market pi md we decline to lend our aid to manipulation. If one bases his judgment only On What : place <<u t!c t'eker, one is sufficiently m danger.of going wrong. If be Is swayed b what .v<m- par.y officials say. he is almost certain m guess \wong. That a why Variety ruakei its own guesse (< '.III ti ' 1 Oil [I )