Variety (October 1922)

^.'" .■'!7r 1 •{;.■ ».'<-*• I ■!.■ ;-^ ■ VAUDEVILLE •f ■•?>'v';ir'''^ \ ■. ' 7"^r^ ■ <^jy.' jrw'^:;7'"\ Friday, October 6, 1922 TERSONAL REGISTRAHOIT MAY ' BAR MANY ABSENTEE VOTES Travelers Must Appear in Person Week of October 9 in New York to Observe Formalities as Pre- scribed Under Section 588 FRAUD ORDER ISSUED AGAINST PUBUSHER P. 0. Charges Needham Fleeced Amateur Poets of $20,000 a Year •<>•,> DEMOCRAHC CONOmON UPSTATE VERY ENCOURAGING HUS YEAR •\: For ihe bc-nf>fit of citizens who will be absent from New York at ♦loction time, the Board of VA^c- tions of the city of New York, Mu- nicipal buildinp, New York, has prepared the following Information relative to manner of obtaining ab- •entee voters' ballots as prescribed >inder section 588 of the laws of 1?22 of the State of New York: "The election law of this State allowing absentee voting requires personal registration for the city of New York at the polling place of the election district in whifh the •^lectop resides and the mailing or delivering .of an atndavit setting forth that the affiant is a commer- < ial traveler, actor, federal employe whose duties are outside the county, or an employe in the operation of railroad trains which cross the boundary of the county; which affl- davit shall state his name and resi- tknce address, that he is a qualified voter and expects to be unavoid- ably absent from the State or < punty on the day of the next gen- eral election because his duties, occupation or business will require him to be elsewhere within the I'nited States on such a day, and in the case of persons other than of any of the four classes above enum- erated, such artidavlt muf^t also specifically state the special elr- cumstances by which such absence is required. The aflidavit is to be taken before a notary with seal, if taken out of the State, and must be received at the general office of the board of elections. Municipal build- ing. Borough of Manhattan, New York city, not lalpr than the 17th «lay before the general election (October 21). "It will therefore be rtece.sj'ary for you to personally register in this city during the week commencing October 9 and ending October 14. and having done so and submitted" your application and affidavit within the time spef-ifled, if it thpn appears to the board of elections th.it your application is made in good faith. «ind the facts as therein stated ap- pear to be within the requirements of the law, you will be entitled to receive a set of absentee voter's ballots as prescribed by the eioetion law, which will be delivered at the f;cneral oAce of the board to the applicant in person, or if .so re- quested to a member of his lamily, <»r will be mailed, if desired. \o any I»art of the I'nitrd States desig- nated by the applicant. The ballots >o received with the voting records thereon must be enclosed in the ♦■nvelope furnished with .»-anie .md mu.st be ref'eived by the board o{ elections at the said general offici not later than twelve (12) o'clock noon on Friday, Nov. 3, proximo. "Blank affidavitf may be liad by registered applicants on ami after October 9 next upon request at the several borough otficcs of the board of elections." The five bofough offices are lo- cated as follow^: Manhattan, room ]K35, Municipal building.; I'.ronx. 442 Kast 149th street; Brooltlyn. 26 <.'ourt street; Queens, 10 Anable aveniie, Long Island City; }{lch- mond, Borqugh Hall, New Brighton, Staten Island. It will be noticed that absentee voters' ballots will be mailed only to any part within the United States. Traveling professionals ful- filling dates in Canada or Mexico may find themselves deviiid of the voting privilege unhss they take the precaution of leaving tlieir home or club forwarding address and thus k«cp in touch iiidiroitly. Kven a route is liable to some un- loosed for change and ili-' hoard advises a permanent city ;iddreps to which to forward the ballot!?. The j»rofessional, of oonrj-e. is to advise his home or club of his wcck-to- week stands. . The "j>ersonal registration" re- quirement will probably prove a -ktumbliug klucic lo the prufcaalunal who is too far from. New York to jump in for that purpose, but that is the law as it now stands. The National Council oi rravcnng Sales- men's Apsoeiation, which t.ik^s credit for having the absentee voter accorded even this nuid) considera- tion, states, through counsel, it is their intention to fu) Ihev anuqd the LONDON BUSINESS GOOD "Decameron Nights" Crowds Out Drury Lan« Christmas Panto ' London, Sept. 22. Business is increasingly good at the majority of houses In the West End. Following R. H. Gillespie's statement to the effect that vaude- ville had bucked up wonderfully during the past few weeks. Sir Al- fred Butt reports success at his im- portant West End houses. "Decameron Nights" at Drury Lane continues to attract huge audiences and Is already booked throughout the Christmas holidays, which means no pantomime at the Lane this year. "Bluebeard's Eighth Wife" has broken the "Potash and Perlmutter* record at the Queen's, while "The Smith Family" at the Empire Is now doing well. This piece has b'^en overhauled by Fred Thompson and is now settling down for a run. Chicago, Oct. 4. A firm of song "publishers" Is alleged to have been getting away with fleecing amateur authors and lyric writers for $75 a song. Busi- ness with the impostors was clip- ping along to the tune of $20,000 an- nually, and the government came along and set the words to the hit song by charging W. L. Needham and his nephew, Emerson C. Needham, with using the malls to defraud. The Needham firm was known as Song Writers' Exchange, with the only exchange the authors and suckers received being a receipt for their money. The firm operated at 1714 North Wells street. Republicans Rent by Factional Struggles—AI Smith Wrote In Wet Plank—May Become Paramount Issue of Campaign f PROFIT IN SUB-LEASE Premium for Savoy, Vacant by Close of "Lawful Larceny" PIRATE IN WKONG London, Sept. 22. Pirates are plentiful in British vaudeville, despite the never-ceas- ing activity of the V. A. F. One well known turn Is doing Frank Tinney's act as a 'mimic." Prob- ably, however, the palm will go to an actor who appeared some time ago as a "trial turn" at the Ken- nlngton, which Is being run by Syl- via Rosen with the philanthropic idea of giving artists unknown to London a chance of being seen. He applied to Sylvia for a week for a new act. which he guaranteed to be the goods. His request was granted, but the lady's interest deepened when, In order to prove how good the new act was. the as- piring arli.'^t informed her he was certain to ^o well with his "new finale," as he"d pinched Jack Rose's art. which he"d seen at the Victoria. What he did not know was that Sylvia Rosen js Ro8e"s sister. KEITH'S LEAVINa H. 0. H. The Harlem opera house, New York, will begin playing Shubert vaudeville units Nov. 6, following the withdrawal of the Keith pop shows October 31. It will be a full week stand on the Shubert circuit, taking the units after the Central, New York. The opera house has been playing Keith vaudeville for seasons. The Keith people declined to renew their lease, which expires November 1. The Alhambra, around the corner, a Keith full-week stand, will continue that policy. A probability that Loew"s Victoria on the same street may take the Keith big time bills and the Alham- bra switch to small time has been consistently rumored. GEO. HcDIRMITT RESIGNS Baltimore, Oct. 4. George McDIrmitt has resigned as general manager of the Whitehurst interests here. He was in Baltimore for five years as the local represen- tative for Marcus Loew and man- aged the Hip. A year ago he re- signed to go with Whitehurst and has operated the three theatres>ind two roof gardens which Whiteliirrst owns here. McDlrmltt left for New York this week after having cleaned up his personal as well as businesii affairs hero. TYLER BROOKE RETURNING According to a cable received this week in New York by a friend of Tyler Brooke. Brooke is reiurning from London without opening over there in 'Angel Face." for which lie w.a.s engaged. Brooke left for London Aug. 25. was detained for a day at Liverpool, pending the production of a labor permit to enter the country, and thereafter .started to rehears^' '.villi the Engli.-?a i)roduction of the piece. bill and do away with tli»' p. r.sftnal registration formality. I'.ut as it stands, a professional, if he cannot register pcrson.ally. will have to forego the privilege of casting his or her vote. At the ne.\t legislative session the N. C. T. S. A. will aiM'cal by petition and lobbying to atiund llie absentee voting law so as to elide the personal registration requi)"e- ment. This salesmen's organization, which secured the pas«<agc of the bill without the a.sslstan<e of the theatrical profession, to whom it ap- plies equally as much, linds that practically 90 per cent, of the Em- pire Stat»» members-voters are de- prived of their ri^ht of suffrage. They will'proceed in securing their amendment on the simple fiuery. "Is a tr.iveling man whose h\isines8 takes him away from his district at election time entitk-rl to 1j s full citizenship rights, whicli tarries with It the right to vote?' The question being theoretical, lli^^y will petition for .a means to facilitate this right of suffrage in its most practical manner. A narT/bt r of tlieatrical .ttorneys who \v. re <iuened on the cliances of ac' uiiig the inim^dlat'? p.i.v.itgc of DEMAND FROM HAVANA American vaudeville acts are In demand fqr the Payret, Havana, which opens October 13 with a vaudeville bill, topped by Singer'a Midgets and including General Pi- sano. the sharpshooter. The house is operated by Santos & Artigas. the Cuban theatrical pro- moters. Acts receive transporta- tion and berths both ways and re- main four weeks at the Payret. London, Sept. 22. Harry Burns is keenly disap- pointed over the failure of "Lawful Larceny" at the Savoy. So confi- dent was he that it would "click" that he rented the house for thir- teen weeks at £350 a week in ad- vance. He takes It off at the end of five weeks, and sublets the Savoy to the Hawtrey management for the remaining eight weeks for a resumption of "Ambrose Applejohn"s Adventure" (known in America as "Captain Applejack"") at a subrental of £400 a week. Burns had no difRculty in dispos- ing of the remaining eight weeks of his lease of the Savoy. There is the usual scramble for West End houses at the opening of the legiti- mate season. There were many con- tenders for the house, including Andre Chariot and Paul Murray, who were anxious to secure it to continue the run of "A to Z," which must close after one year's run at the Prince of Wales to make way for "The Co-Optimists," who have rented the house fiom Chariot. Cu- riously enough, "A to Z"' is doing bigger business at the present tin>e than at any time during its entire run. Paul Murray's share of the profits of "A to Z" are several hundred "quid" a week, and If you want to 'see a fine exhibition of mustache .pulling, ask I'aul where the Khow goes to. RUNNING FOR SHERIFF Columbus, O., Oct. 4. Bob Benjamin is running for sheriff of Franklin county, which takes in this city. He was formerly of Benjamin and Laypo, comedy acrobats. In vaudeville. Benjamin retired from the stage and opened a gents" furnishing store here. His former partner, Laypo. is also in commercial business here, con- ducting a ladies' shop. ' ' HOUSES REOPENING Tlie Cort, Summerville. jN. J... opened Monday, with a split week policy. This is a new house and is being booked by Fally Markus. LOEWS OPPOSITION IN B*KLYN The Loow Circuit has declared the Republic, Brooklyn, opposition. The Republic is opposition to Loew's Delancey St.. just across the Will- iamsburg bridge. The Republic is a split week vaudeville house booked by Fally Markus. the Independent agent. The Loew declaration parallels the Keith ban on the Astoria, L. L, which is considered opposition to Proctor's 58ih St. such an amendment disclosed ihi-m- selves surprisingly Icnor.iiit of the- absentee -voters' bill, one (.,r two confessing not even havint; r« ad it. •Ji'iome ^V^!7iM, aw cour.sM fur ti)e salesmen's f»rp,'ariization. is optirnij-- tlc for pusliing the atiieri«lnient through, if it i;; prnpej Jy H-.ij»i>ort«<l and backed. Albany, Oct. 4. The platform of the democratic party In New York state In.conven- tion at Syracuse for the nomination of state offlcera recognizes as an important issue the modification of the V<)lstead act. The platform states: "Recofrnlzing that the in- terpretation of the eighteentih amendment to the federal consti- tution and the Volstead act has resulted in widespread contempt and violation of the law. In Illegal traffic in liquors and ofl!lciaI cor- ruption, we insist upon such modi* flcation of the Volstead act as shall legalize, subject to the approval of the state of New York, the use of beer and light wines under such cajreful restrictions as were im- posed by the law passed in New York in 1920." (Mullan-Gage act.) The platform also calls for a con- stitutional amendment permitting the payment of a soldiers' bonus and for the submission to the people of all proposed amendments to the United States constitution. The republican state platform makes no mention of any modifica- tion of the Volstead act. The plat- form of neither party makes allusion to the I4^e law legislation whiHi has been a tendency of the legis- lature of the past few years to consider nor to the enactment of the motion picture censorship law. While campaign managers expect the election contest in New York state tp center around water power and regulation of public utilities, and show a tendency to dodge as a major issue the Jirohibition i|ues- tion, if th^ hotel and- restaurant owners and the National Liberal Alliance make a concerted drive the question of the enforcement of the eighteenth amendment and blue law legislation may become the para- mount topic of di.scusslon during the campaign. The political situation up state Is particularly encouraging: to the democratic party this year. The re- publican organizations in the home counties of the former four big bosses of the republican organiza- tion have been rent by factional struggles at the primaries. In Westchester county "Boss Ward" sustained a victory, but a serious loss of votes will occur on election day to the G. O. P. In Albany county, the'home of William Barnes, the Independents polled over one- third of the primary vote and show no disposition to return to the reg- ular fold for election. In Monroe county a bitter contest is being waged to acquire the leadership made vacant by the death of George W. Aldrich, while in Jeffer- .<on county, the home of the late Senator Elon R. Brown, who died the Sunday before the republican state convention, so Incrlmln.ating a primary battle developed as to re- sult in the suicide of the leading republican organization candidate for senator on the eve of the primaries. The light wine and beer plank was written into the democratic platform on the insistence of for- mer Gov. Alfred E. Smith, who was nominated as the democratic stand- ard bearer to run against Nathan L. Miller, republican nominee. There Is no doubt how he stands on this question as well as on the matter of further blue laws. DECLINED ALIMONY TRIXIE FRIGANZA in MAHY Bol'.KKTS RMI.Ni:!! A FiT'S story of TI.^II in M'jTOR." u WAHl) LAHCKI.LK |>roduction. Blake-Hampton Divorce—Wife Se- cured Decree Chicago, O't. 4. ; D rotliy P.lake states she .secured a divoxvc In New York state from lOarl Hampton, on statutory ^a'ounds, and that she declined to .'Accept the alimony allowed her. ^ILLNiCi: TOWER IN HOSPITAL Chicago. Oct. 4. Silence Tower is critically ill at the American Hospital lierc. with the hosiiit.al .*<taff having liut little information concerninj^ her. Communic.itions, addressed t) the MIND OVER hospital, arc reiiuested from anyone who may know Miss Tower. ~ i 1 4