Variety (July 1922)

r Friday. July 1. l»i» OUTDOOR AMUSEMENTS 9 CARNIVALS AFTER "ALL OR NONE" CONTRACTS WITH OUTDOOR EVENTS Wortham Shows Close for Toronto and Other Con- cerns Bid for 26 State Fairs and Over 200 County Fairs—Mugfiiivan-Ballard Behind Plan It bc.amc known this week that tho Wortham Shows, a big carnival concern, had signed an "all or none" contract for the Toronto Exposition in October. This means that the carni/al company w*n take over all the concessions and (displays, payinjf the exposition a flat sum and sharing in the p.oiits on a per- centage basis beyond an agreed gross. It is said several of the state fairs have been handled in the same way ART AND COLUMBIA THEATRES By J. HERBERT MACK expen.ses in a hundred ways and can give Letter terms to the fair peo- ple per front foot v.^ithout advanc- ing the frontage rate to the con- cessionaire or exhibitor. For instance, the Johnny Jones Shows could make an "all or none" deal with Brockton as part ot a chain of New England events that could be routed continuously at a saving of railroad fares. In its deal- ings with concessionaires, and es- pecially exhibitors, it could sell frontages at Brockton an part of the whole group more cheaply than . ^ ^ - , ., Brockton alone could sell its own before, but this is the flrat deal of frontages and at the same time the kind that has come into the ^^^^^ ^^.^y ]j,ockton a^ much as it The Columbia Amusement Com- pany is a busines.* institution, lirsi, last and all the time. The theatres on its circuit are managed with this fundamental constantly in mind. We recognize two elements that bring money Into our box olTlces. They are attractive shows ami comfortable, clean, orderly Ihiairt**. ofllcered by efficient, courteous and loyal men. These go hand in hand in our houses. They must exlat without Intermlttence. The fact that our theatres are so widely separated from the gen- eral oHlces of the corporation nec- essitates the utmost care in tne selection of house managers. They must be showmen of known familiarity with the business and with knowledge of present-day methods of operation in front and back of the curtain, and they must be Industrious, It is up to us to make no mistakes in the selection. such as minor Items for dally no- cessitlea for the itage, cleaner'.s .supplies and toupon tloket.s, all biilH against the theatre are p.'Aid every Friday. There never is any deviation from this. Our credit is of first importance. With our policies clearly deilncd. our managers are held accountable for their observance. They are not restricted, however, in their en- deavors to Ket business by tne em- ployment of their ov.'n ide.is of ad- vertising in any cmeij^ency requir- ing action. Being showmen, and on the ground, they arc expected to u:.e Kood Judgement in all of their operations. W'q exact only that they keep Mr. Seribner fully Informed at all times of what they are doing. In brief, our house managers muit be "on the job" always. And another important exaction we make upon our managers is me iiindin:; of a detailed report on the «how3. This is in the nature of a We aie in a fortunate position to' review or criticism of the perform- I pedient has very rarely been ro- the outset of th« aeason. Scenes, musical features and performers that looked good at rehear.sals fre- «iuently "fall down," as the saying goes. It is In lhe.se cases in tho early weeks of the season that houso managers are expected to bring tluir .^showmanship to the aid of tho jiro- ducer ajid suggest changes calculated to improve the performance. Wo rely upon the local managers to keep ua fully informed as to the merits of shows, and their reports a:e very carefuUy studied and com- pared in the general office. If fhe eonsen.'uis of Judgment is unfavor- able we send a qualified man or a committee to inspect the perform- ance for the purpose of determiningf wherein it fails to reach the desired standard. Upon receii)t of thiH final report and analysis of the show we request a conference with the pro- ducer and measures are at once adopted to eliminate the weak spots and substitute material for the gen- eral improvement of the entertain- ment. The producer Is given 21 dnys in which to accomplish tho desired changes, failing the accomplishment of which the franchise Is taken out of his hands and another producer assigned. This latter drastic ex- now gets, besides doing a greater volume of business. JONES' CANADIAN FAIRS . Calgary, Can., July 5. The Johnny J, Jones Exposition opened its Canadian fair season here this week. The show will pLay all of the big Northwestern fair dates before returning to the States, where it will fill Southern fair events, with all consecutive fairs until December 15, when the show will go into winter quarters at Or- lando. Fla. Aiten Contracting for United Co. Toledo, July ». Tom Aiten Is now making the contracts ahead of Morasca and Harts' United Amusement Co. The show is a ten-car organization car- rying three riding devices, seven shows and about thirty concessions. The show is playing through Ohio, mostly under Araeric.an Le- gion auspices. CIRCUS ROUTES Ringling Bros.-B.-B. July 7, 8, Toronto; 10, Hamilton, Canada; 11; Kitchener; 12, London; 13, Port Huron, Mich.; 14, Flint, and 15, Toledo. Soils Floto July 7, 8, 9, St. Louis; 10, Quincy, 111.; 11, Centervllle, Iowa; 12, Shenandoah; 13, Omaha. Neb; 14, St. Joseph, Mo.; 15-16, Kansas City. open. The intide story is that tho plan is the work of Ed Ballard and Jerry Muggivan. principally known as prop.ietors of circuses, but said by showmen to be widely interested In carnival companies all over the country. The proposition is an intricate one with many angles and its pro- moters are said to be going after it in a wholesale way. making bids for all the principal state- fairs, numbering 26, and the main county fairs which run beyond 200. The contention is that an efficient organization can supply a better line of attractions to bring the peo- ple out than the scattered smaller amusement agents and for less money. Another principal angle is that such an organization could re- establish the institution of the in- du.strial exhibit which -f late years had somewhat fallen into disuse. Practically all the fairs formerly had elaborate exhibitions of agricultural machinery, but the manufacturers gradually let this sales and publicity medium lapse because the manufac- turers were not prosperous; the handling of a season's exhibits in ■widely separated places required the upkeep of an expensive depart- ment and entailed a vast amount of trouble in contract making, pack- ing and shipping and railroading. To Revive Exhibits Since the beginning of farm pros- perity that came with the war the old practice has been in part re- newed, but not to the previous ex- tent. It is said to be the plan of the Dallard-Muggivan people to go after this industrial exhibit busi- ness in a big way, putting a force of solicitors on tho road to canvass the breakfast food, tobacco, farm machinery and cigaret people as well as covering the whole field of national advertisers. The sales argument of the pro- moters will be that their organiza- tion can handle the whole exhibit at a minimum of cost and by reason of their co-operative system of play- ing whole routes of fairs from late August until well into October, can route an exhibit over wide terri- tory, delivering valuable nation- wide publicity for lines of goods and trade-marks at relatively small cost. The profit of the system comes from the "all or none" contract. The carnival companies will take over the whole fair, paying an agreed- upon price for "front footage" on the .'holesalo plan and selling it in parcels at retail. Fair associations are said already to be sold on the proposition that the delivery of all concessions to a single carnival coacern is good bu-iiness. The as- sociation gets a lump sum promptly, based on some computation of previ- ous years instead of making in- numerable small collections from in- dividual concessionaires and ex- hibitors and is relie ed from the labor and cost of negotiating indi- vidual contracts. Profit from Big Operations The carnival people argue that they can contract or manage con- ce.s.slons for a group of fairs .'ind solicit exhibits for a whole route of 0ut-of-dbor events as cheaply ns a single fair association caa handle a single exposition. Since they handle the proposition Shows at Oshkosh, Wis., a few days on a wholesale basis they can cut I ago. Al G. Barnes July 7, Ottumwa, Iowa; 8, Musca- tine; 10, Burlington; 11, Galesburg, 111.; 12, Kewanee; 13, Canton; 14, Jacksonville; 15, Lincoln. Walter L. Main July 7, Woonsocket, R. Samielson, Conn. I.; 8, OUTDOOR ITEMS W. H. Rice and Dick Ferris are promoting an outdoor celebration at Culver City, Cal. A. H, Hogan, formerly with the H. W. Campbells United Shows, has joined the T. O, Moss Shows as business manager and adjuster. Several carnivals have Installed radio outfits on their show trains and in the offlce wagons. Some have sending and receiving facilities. Carnivals playing west of the Missouri report a vast improvement ii. business conditions the past few weeks. Conditions in the far West are reported as still bad for outdoor shows. R. n. Doan has clo.«;ed as press agent with Clark's Hroadway Shows. Fred Miller, owner and manager of the Miller Midway Shows, is recoveriog from a broken arm sus- tained in a recent accident. A lieavy panel show front was badly damaged by a windstorm which struck the Creat White Way J. HERBERT MACK PRESIDENT COLUMBIA AMUSEMENT COMPANY chooM our managers. The jobs are desirable and inviting because our seasons are Invariably long and salaries are good and sure. General policies are adopted by the main oflUce and our managers are required to observe them. lUit the details, such as engaging the houso staffs, keeping the theatres clean and in constant repair and looking after their upkeep In every department are left entirely to the managers. The executive committee of the corporation, consisting of Mr. Scrib- ner, Mr. Hynieka and myself, who are also the voting trustees, meet in dally conference and map out tin- plans governing the entire circuit. Mr. Scribner. who Is in con.stant close touch with the managers, all of whom are \intlor his direction, re- ceives daily sintements of the re- celi»ts of each tlieitre. together with a (hjplicate deposit slip of each (lay's receipt.*?, which are de- posited' in the local batiks knd a check for the profits sent Into our ofllce nt the end of each week. With the exception of a few V) days running or open account.s, ance and a description of the pro- duction. The manager is cm- powered to arbitrarily order elimi- nated from the performance any part of the dialog, action or musi- cal numbers that In his judgment is objectionable. We proceed on tne principle that our patrons are the buyers of our goods and our em- ployes the salesmen, with the man- ager in charge and responsible to the generaf cfflce. Daily box ofTlce statements con- vey Information of weather condi- tions and ''opj)osltion" for that day. and are carefully s<^anned here In N'ew York. This enables us to make roinparlson.'j which ultimately gives us a lino on the drawing powers of the individu.al .«<ho\vs. All things being equal—weather conditions, time of year, opposition or other conditions over which we have no control—we can see no rea- j;on why one .show's rereii)ts should fall below those of any other except inferiority of the Fhow. We know the pro<lucers strive to secure at- trartions that will <lraw money. Hut. as in all other end.? of the business, this is not aJways accomptisheJ at ^ sorted to, however, with (he result our shows are generally satisfactory within six or eight weeks after the beginning of the season. By these methods it will be ob- served the management of the the- atres In a very Important part of our general operations. As I have said, the Columbia Amusement Company Is to all in- tents and purposes a commercial in- stitution. We do not aspire to a high degree of "art for art's sake." Our theatres are established for the puri>o.se of furnishing entertainment that will amuse the public by lively comedy, popular music and enjoy- able dancing, supplemented by color- ful displays of scenic and costume adornm(^nt and with pretty, graceful girls. W^e permit nothing upon our stages that even slightly savors ol Indecency in word or action. Art. as such, does not enter into our preparations. We want shows that will draw money to our theatrfMit- Our pre-season plans call for the exi»eiidihire of large sums of money at r ly point on the circuit, and '(Continued on page &!>) L