Variety (July 1922)

P" Friday. July 14. !•» OUTDOOR AMUSEMENTS ENTERTAINMENT IS NECESSARY SAYS NEW YORK STATE FAIR MAN George Dobyn's Carnival Engaged for Syracuse—Must Have Amusement That Must Be Clean—General Opinion of All Large Fair Directors—Circula- tion Sedsing Periodicals Lack Good Faith Punch in ''Carnival Campaign'* NOTICE TO OUT-DOOR SHOWMEN Syracuse, N. Y., July 12. The New York Sta<e Fair, to be held here 6n its^own ground* In September. ha« booked the George Dobyn carnival as the main enter- tainment feature. There will be free attractions and Conway's band will play daily. A carnival attraction of last year's annual fair left plenty of room for criticism. This will be overcome. It la thought, by the Dob>ii cn{;age- mept. It is a carnival bearing a clean name in all operation. This will be the first time the Dobyn show.s will have played Syracuse. 1. Dan Ackerman, secretary of the New York State Fair commission. commenting upon the onRagement of the carnival in the face of the agitation over this branch of amuse- in«»ts. said: -While the Slate Fair commission is in favor of the clean- up movement for carnivnls, the first objects of the fair are to educate and Instruct, but at the same time the fair must offer entertainment. Wc-insist, however, on clean enter- tainment. There must be no ques- tiortable shows, no fortune telling tents, and no so-called games that 'are really gambling schemes. "Our concessions will be as clean as the midway. The Immoral ahow or degrading exhibition has forever pa,8?ed for our fair. No more '49 C4mp,* 'Underground China/ nor the cootch dance nor the shimmy. We betieve a clean midway free open air attractions, good music, .j^and circuit racing and other legitimate amusements will meet every enter- tainment demand." . raw stuff." could not keep itself clean for weeks in succession. Some towns barred out all carni- vals, bunching the bad and good, thereby iNreventing the population, including children, who enjoy car- nivals the most, from that kind of amusement. Other municipalities thought they had located the solu- tion by placing a high license fee. keeping out the small and good carnivals but holding the town ripe f©r the first big bad carnival coming along willing to take a chance and pay the fee. The local authorities invariably have made the error of believing all bad carnivals are small carnivals. Variety's carnival campaign, com- menced to oblige the bad carnivals to either clean up or retire, has had a greater effect than the s?nspless articles in magazines merely writ police in the United States and CanMa about any carnival. This offer was made through a confiden- tial circular sent to every town and city on the western continent above the Mexican border. It has done more to educate local authorities how to guard against the bad car- nivals than all the experience of years with those self-same bad carnivals had taught the country folks. Any number of towns, disregard- ing the confidence requested in the circular, gave the contents to a local paper and published a story that any society in the community wishing to play a carnival under au.spices cuuld secure infoiinaliun without charge about.the attraction through Variety, a theatrical paper. Variety established its standing as a theatrical paper in the circular Do not recognize anyone as represent it^g Variety unless Indis- putable credeulials are exhibited. Varh^ty liaA no representative who will approach a show or show- man without being able to properly identify himself. Variety haa no traveling representative authorized to Interview or inspect any outdoor attraction. Representatives so authorized are on Variety's staff only. When In doubt, wire Variety, New York, for information. Anyone making any statements or promises on behalf of Variety Is an importer and should be so treated. WORTHAM HAS MIDGETS A troupe of 28 midget actors wirl be brought here by Ike Rose, sched- uled to sail from Hamburg aboard the America Wednesday. Rose's act Is made up of what were originally two midget acrobatic turns and one specializing in musical comedy. The combined act will carry minia- ture coaches and animals, being de- signed somewhat along the lines of the Singer's Midget act. Ro8t>a novelty will be booked in the ro- sorts and probably placed in a show in the fall. Clarence A. Wortham, the carni- val nrian, is said to have first call on their services. They will appear with the Wortham Shows for'the first time over here, when Worthaia plays the Toronto P^xposition. NOVELTY WHOLESALERS WOULD DEAL DIRECT Circus and Carnival Supply Dealers at Odds with Mid- dlemen ten for sensationalism and as cir- through referring the local official The common sense expression of the New York State Fair's secre- tary, Mr. Ackerman, coincides with the large majority of the medium and big fairs of the country, not- withstanding sensational articles in periodicals that were published as •'circulation makers" only and scarce clung strictly to the fact. "The Country Gentleman" led the carnival attack after Variety had opened its campaign against bad carnivals, but "The Country Gentleman" did not confine •Itself to bad carnivals; It Included all and advocated the abolition of any amu.sement at state or country fairs. Fords "Dearborn Independent" thought it saw an opportunity to pick up another sensational sub- ject and recently carried a sickly •tory about "The Carnival Menace," aping all of the others that had preceded It. When these stoftes mentioned a carnival concessionaire had used 1^ ink to color lemonade, the car- nival people stopped thinking about It. No one ever connected with an outdoor exhibition, from fair sec- retaries to the lowest grafter, could give countenance to that wild state- ment. The campaign to segregate the bad carnivals in a division by them- selves, allowing the clean carnivals to operate, has borne result, with- out aid from the nationally circu- lated mediums that rushed Into their stories without appreciating there is a demand not alone from •tate and county fairs for amuse- ment, but from the medium and ■mall towns. That demand will be met by only one means or another. The way to meet it properly, as the better outdoor showmen concede, is through supplying the very type of entertainment required and asked for. Fairs, cities and towns in the past were lax in investigating the ■landing of carnivals. They ac- cepted "letters of recommendation" carriod by hundreds In every car- nival which mean nothing. The Carnival's precious record or how it operated in other stands Ju.st pre- ceding Were given no attention. When the bad carnival .secured a aate and operated to bring about the diaguat of the community, the Kood carnival following accordingly suffered. Investigation would have «^Pt out the bad carnival, for a bad carnival. thouRh cleaning up In this or that town not standing for "the culation pfiaUers. Variety's campaign has not been waged in the interest of the public so much as for the decent show business, in and out of dooi's. The decent showman does not want to be classed with the purifier of "The Sewer of the Show Business." There are carnivals in this coun- try travelling with an investment of $500,000. They believe to protect their Investment their business must be clean. The gyp carnival can 'I hurt their reputation, as all are 'condition for them. called "carnivals." One carnival now travelling carries more railroad cars than the largest circus. All carnival men at one time thought Variety's campaign was in- spired by indoor showmen (thea- tre?), but changed their opinion when Variety lined up its "White," "Blue" and "Black" list of carnivals, offering gratis Information to any to any theatre manager in his town. The periodicals advocating the en- tire elimination of carnivals or amusement at fairs unthinkin(;ly aimed to open up a field for every crook in the country, toinvade fairs where there was no amusement, to take advantage of the country folks as their . wits decided, while the absence of clean amusement would have left an open field for any de- graded class of people that might want to walk into a ready-made Fairs maintaining the attitude of the New York State Fair and others in demanding the class of conces- sions and shows it will only permit will KO a long way toward cleaning up the carnival situation, for they leave open an avenue only for the outdoor allruction.s willing to play on the terms of the other fellow, with cleanliness necessarily follow- Chamber of Commerce or chief of ing. KENNEDY'S FAIRS The Con T. Kennedy Shows will open their' fair tseaoOn at the Wis- consin State Fair at Milwaukee, after which they will play the State Fair 6f Kansas at Uttiehlnson; North Missouri Va.ir at Bethany, Mo.: Missouri State Fair at Se- dalia, Mo.; Free Slate Fair at To- peka, Kas.: Oklahoma State Fair at Oklahom.* City; Cotton I*.i<ace at Waco: and several other big fairs in the southwest. All of these are considered as big doings, and the list represents one of the best strings the Kennedy Shows have played for several years. CONEY DESPERATE Following the disa^ktrous season, including July 4 at Coney Island, the concessionaires became desperate. With rent due several are reported to have Itiade appeals for extensions or reducilona, with all reporting bu.sine.ss in a terrible condition. Immediately after the Fourth two men committed suicide -it the Isl- and. They were said to have been interested in local exhibitions. "MIGHTY LAK A ROSE" FILM Edwin Carewe is to make several productions for First National. He has signed a contract with that or- ganization and his first will be a screen version of "Mighty Lak a Rose," a seml-cIassical negro lulla- by, written some years ago. Carewe la to start work on the picture within a few weeks, the work to be done around the Dela- ware Water Gap. Gerald Duffey is to adapt the story for the first Carewe-First National production. Toronto Expo., Aug. 29-Sept. 9 Toronto, July 12. The Canadian National Exposition will be held hero as annually cus- tomary, Aug. 29 to Sept 9, In- clusive. I You Don't POUCE CONVENTION AT FRISCO PASSED UP CARNIVAL MATTER Pittsburgh's Chief l^ubmitted General Carnival Barring Resolution—Pittsburgh Cleaning Up in Interests of Public Safety Advertise m DON'T ADVERTISE Pittsburgh, July 12. George W. McCandless, the new director of public aafett^. will keep out of Pittsburgh carnivals of every typo if he has his way. So far this season only one or two have been able to sati.sfy his re^julrcments. while all others have either been kept away or quickly closed. When Police Superintendent "Red" Calhoun recently left for San Fran- cisco to attend the police conven- tion he went under the director's in- structions to present a motion before the police organization that carni- vals be barred everywhere. Superin- tendent Calhoun, who rolurned a few days ago, stated the motion was presented at the convention and, while generally indorsed, the organi- zation decided the condition was more of a local one and for the time being at least would have to be handled in each locality. The local police department Is working in co-operation with the] public .safety department and there is no question as to the f-erious in- tent of both not only in wiping out the bad carnival. l->ut oth^r kindred 'nioo<-h'* propo.sitions. - Kollowirii; n tr.iK'dy l.i>r wr^k in \vhi<^h a young married wcjinun was m\ir<bred by h^r hushand, the father of the woman tol 1 polic: authorities I'itt.^^bursh'H nJKht lifo was tb*> ruin of h.-r. and speciJicilly nanvd the H()t«'l (;«'ori^''. owned by (Jeorge .laffc. Irnm«'(li.'»t«dy nftr-r that hos- telry Xvas elosed. and Dirortor Mc- Catidles.** .strifes he InteiiiN to kfep tho pl;»r«' rloKcd. The hot^l pro- prietor Is said to be contemplating legal action in an effort to reopen. Other questionable places are al.so likely to be closed In the near future. Lowrie Hall, a popular north side dance hall, was ordered to quit op- erating last week because of un.<)afe conditions. ▼EAL BROS. CHANGES Several changes of late In the ex- ecutive .staff of the Vea'. Pros. Show, since the death of .John Veal a few weeks ago. Jack K. Lawson, late of the Gloth fireater Shows, hn j been ap- pointed m.'ir.ager, with T^ave Wise as i.Hsist.int. Jack Rainey Is sec- r«;tary; Edward Hanover, general asent, and 'Ice Water" Wilson, b'gal adjuster. The owners are Mrs. John Veal, Karl Veal and Fred Veal. A general movement Is In the making for the elimination of the middlemen who act as jobbers be- tween the circus and carnival men and the manufacturing and import- ing wholesalers of supplies ' and novelties. Both the wholesalers and the field men appear to be in ac(;4^rd upon the proposition that direct dealings would be an Im- provement, but the trade is scat- tered at this time of the year anti the fixed custom of dealing through Jobbers has continued more or le.sa In default of the producing and consuming Interests getting to- gether. The wholesalers have been sev- eral times the victims of sharp practice by several jobbers, but have stood for being victimized rather than move too quickly to revolutionize old customs. The wholesaler contends that the mid- dleman Is doing him small service and at the same time Is drawing down a flat 20 per cent, proflt on all goods handled. In other lines, the wholesalers contend, the jobber customarily carries tbe credits for the retailer, but It Is said this Is not true In the outdoor amusement supply business. More often than not the wholesaler has to carry the Jobber. The middleman frequent- ly makes requisition on the wholo- saU'r for a bill of goods, delivers the material to the retailer and th<n waits until the retailer has paid for them before he pays his bill to the wholesaler. The thing that is now being t^-n- tatively arranged Is a credit sys- tem by which the wholesaler can cla.ssify the circus and carnival men as to dependability. When that h.is been classified. It Sfems likely an effort will be made to handle the business between wholesaler ai d carnival or circus man direct In- stead of through an intermediary. A sample of sharp practice came up only a few days ago. One of th« leading importers had received a big consignment of a novelty—a flashy looking universal metal handl<» to which seven steel manicure tools could be attached by a clutch device. The Importer was willing lu sell tho goods in quantity for retail around 12.50 or 13. At this rate the Jobber would deliver the article to the con- cessionaire at a rate of about 112.'); the concessionaire making a turn- over of about 100 per cent., which Is the recognized proflt. On this basis 1,000 dozens wero contracted for the Toronto exposi- tion alone. But no sooner had the article been Introduced than an ir- renponslble middleman reproduced substantially the same novelty made out of Inferior materials ;u;d undersold the orlginsi importer. The first Importer In the Interests of getting wide sales for his nov- elty specified the retail price should be not more than $3. while the Imi- tator left It wide open for the cir- cus or carnival man to charge any- thing he liked. It Is reported that some carnival men have disposed of the Imitation device for as much as $5 each. CIRCUS ROUTES Ringling Bros.-B.B. July 11. Klint^fifh.; l.'», Toledo. O.; 17-lX. nel]Jr|rr.rand River Avenu*' lot); lU.. Laullnt?. 2«>. fJrand Hapids; L'l. Hnulh Bend. Ind.f 22-30. Chicago (Crarwl Park-L.'ike Front). SclltFloto July 14. St. J.jseph. Mo.; If)-10. Kansas City; 17. TopcUa, Kan.; IH. l']mporia; VJ, Hutvhinson; 20, DocIk*- (Jity; 21, I.;* .lu it.i. Col. and 2ii. Pueblo. Hagenbeck-Wsllscs 'July 14, Monmouth. Ill; 15, Str»'ator; 17. Gary, Ind.; 1 :, IMy- moulh; 19, Lonan.sport; 20, Ilart- for«l City; 21, Connersville, and 22, Aiider.son. Waltsr L. Main July ! 1. Mount Vernon, N. T. Fietpoit, r,. I.; 17. Babylon; r.il''h >i:u"; 1^. Sag Harbor; .Southhimpton; 21, Hiverhead; iZ, c.re<'n[)ort. 15. 1«. 20,