Variety (September 1924)

Wednesday, September 3, 1M4 OUTDOORS VARIETY 31 AIR-AGENCY EXPOSE INVOLVES SCANDAL OF FAIR AND AGENCY MEN LOO Many. Diamonds to Wives and Daught< Booking Agency's Head Able to Book Any Act at Any Price with Certain Fairs DIGGING FACTS Chicago Sept. 2. Out of the upheaval and stench of the sensational Wisconsin State Fair expose comes the realisation to outdoor showmen throughout the pitted States that the fair business li due for a general airing. That politics will play the major tele In the expected revelations of what the inside of outdoor show Business looks like only serves to prove how Important the situation really is. If the Impending show-up, said to he under way. is as thorough M the Wisconsin scandal indicates. the public Is due for a generous dose ef the who, why and how of "grift" to the fair business. It is said that several States have had Investigators working quietly in Chicago getting the dope on one of tfcfc big fair agencies which is said to have an "in" in some of the larg- est fairs in the country. That the head of this concern has become a little too powerful In func- tioning as the "csar" of the fair booking agencies in this section of the country seems to be no secret among the investigators, who say they are out to learn why this po- tentate can usually book any act he ises and run the programs to suit elf. Too Many Diamonds Too many diamonds said to have sa scatter** with prodigality among the wives and daughters of fair secretaries was reported as the first sign of an odor which failed to please several higher-ups of the State governments in this section and causcd~thcm to wonder "why." When the agency In question was able to secure an act not Its own and sell It at a higher figure than the price quoted by the controlling agency the officials decided to quit wondering and start acting. With the Wisconsin affair as a beginning, the final results promise to be more than Interesting to out- door showmen. Ohio State Fair Put Over John W. Davis as Feature Columbus, O., Sept. S. Fair Manager George R. Lewis and Director Charles V. Truax are to be congratulated upon the splen- did sjiccess of the Ohio State Fair this year. Up to Thursday last four Says' records for attendance were broken. Tuesday's totals were 40,663 persons, away ahead of 1923 for the day, and Wednesday over 66,000 persons passed through the gates before the official count, which was 1,000 over last year. John W. Davis 1 , the Democratic Presidential nominee, was the big attraction on Tuesday. There was no carnival, although It Is possible that arrangements may be made by Manager Lewis for one to exhibit at the Bute Fair next year, as he is known to be in favor of the clean carnival. Riding de- vices were on the ground, but con- cessions comparatively few. The State Fair this year Justifies a cheerful view of the farm situation In Ohio. JOCKEY KILLED AT FAIR Atlanta, III., Sept. 2. Ramond Cockran, a Jockey, was fatally Injured In the last running race of the Atlanta fair program last week. He was riding Frank Sumpter, a horse that had run wild the previous day, and came neck and neck with the winner In front of the grandstand on the first lap, but at the turn bolted for the stable. Cock- ran was thrown against a tree, hit- ting head first and his body wrapped^ around the trunk. He died on th«! way to the hospital. Cockran was 20 years old, and bis wife was in the stand. Man Attacked Concession Girl as Wife Looked On Cortland, N. Y., Sept 2. William F. E'dred. charged with attacking a young woman who oper- ated a Dobyn's Greater Show con- cession at a Cortland County Fair carnival while bis wife looked on, was refused bail In City Court. Hearing was adjourned until Sept. 10. L. R. Case, of Cortland, ap- peared for Eldred. The complainant told the police that Eldred and his wife took her to a spot la Groton avenue on Aug. 19 and that Eldred attacked her by the roadside while his wife sat in the oar. After the attack, she was brought back to the city, she said, with threats against her life If she reported the affair. According to the police records, Eldred has been before the courts charged with assault, third degree, petit larceny, and three other charges similar to the present one, and has served time In Auburn and Jamesvllle. His first record of- fense was In 1900. The complainant. In the present case is now in Auburn with the Do- byn's Shows. Elgin, 111., Practicing Discrimination on Shows Elgin, 111., Sept 2. The city of Elgin, 111., does-many flops from one side to the other. After the Wolfe Shows played there, the edict went forth that there would be no more carnivals this year. Then the Dykeman and Joyce shows operated, but they closed the concessions, and so "No more concessions.'" Then the Amer- ican. Legion, who held a homecoming last week, found that they co»ld not ran a carnival on their own account as they Intended to do, so the Strayer Amusement Co. was engaged at the last moment and allowed to run their own conces- sions In spite that Dick Dykeman was closed tight. Strayer has a nice small outfit and was of aid to the Legion, but that does not alter the Injustice that was done to Dykeman, by closing up one of his chief sources of revenue. Looks like it Is a question in Elgin. HAMPTON BEACH RECOUPING Hampton Beach, N. H., Sept. 2. The tenth annual Hampton Beach carnival, opening Labor Day and continuing through the week, has announced $10,000 in free attrac- tions. Monday night, the opening. It was estimated the crowd was the largest to ever gather at the beach. The beach, wallowing in its worst slump In years, has taken on a new lease of life as thousands of visitors throng Into the resort. The theatri- cal acts are all announced as be- ing booked from the Keith office. Utah State, 1 Day Extra Los Angeles, Sept. 2. Utah State Fair, at Salt Lake, has extended Its meeting one day for the purpose of conducting A. A. A. racing. The dates as now arranged are Oct. 1-8, with the rac- ing conducted on the last day un- der the auspices of the Western Racing Association. Ralph De Palma and ten other riders are to compete. The booking was made by Harry Casteel. Vt. Fairs Drawing Rutland. Vt., Sept. 2. Seven of Vermont's 16 fairs were held during the past two weeks. Three were in progress last week. Despite the general business de- pression the fairs are being attend- ed by large crowds, spending freely. The concessions, rides and tshows,' are getting a good play. GERMANY'SPERFORMERS (Continued from page 2) attacking in Individual Instances whenever the time seems favorable. In Koenigsberg at present the West Prussian Fair la filling the city and all the cabarets and vaude- ville houses are doing a booming business. Konorah. the- president of the Loge, saw that this was a favorable opportunity and, going there, assumed charge of the situa- tion. * All the performers in all the seven cabarets and vaudeville houses demanded that the individual managers sign a paper prolonging the old contract. Five of these at once did so, and U\ey continued to play. The other two, the "Fleder- maus" and "Dahm's Kuenstler- splele." refused and the perform- ers struck The International Varlete-Dlrek- toren Verband (German vaudeville managers' association), has changed the place of its general meeting Sept. 10 from Munich to Berlin. The reason given by James Klein, president is that the associations connected with the main organiza- tion have their headquarters in Ber- lin, and, therefore, find this city more convenient for them. The af- filiated organizations Include those of the cafe owners, the picture theatre owners, the restaurant own- ers, the hall owners and hotel own- ers. As this is a special meeting, It is evident that one of the reasons for calling It Is to discuss revision* In the contract with the performers. Managerial Threat Another development in the strike Is the threat on the part of the managers' association: that any actor who has already signed the new contract coming Into force August 1, -and who, nevertheless, has struck, demanding the old con- tract shall be barred from all Ger- man vaudeville stages for two years. Immediately after the strike In Koenigsberg, Klein called his or- rnlzatlon together by telegraph, hundred managers from all parts of the country made their immedi- ate appearance. The above men- tioned ban was at once passed, and the managers agreed to pay a $2,600 fine for each Instance in which they failed to carry It out Konorah, as an answer to this, threatened to call a general strike. It Is understood, however, that there Is much difference of opinion about this as the latest figures here are that 80 per cent of the acts now employed In Berlin are foreign. The measure already put Into ef- fect by the Loge, namely, that all members who are working shall pay in 2 per cent of their salary to help the strikers, seems on the face of It too futile to be of anything but most superficial help. Broke Record at Ionia Chicago, Sept S. Fred A. Chapman, secretary-man- ager of the Lonia Free Fair, reports the Zeldman and Pollie shows played to 108,26$ paid admissions on their shows; that they grossed 60 per cent, over any previous show that ever exhibited there. Making Later Summer Move Back Labor Day Lake Placid, N. T., Sett. 2. At a recent dinner of all the Chambers of Commerce in the Adirondack region, the Lake Placid branch asked that a committee be appointed to consider the advisability of a nationwide campaign to amend the statute fixing the first Monday in September as Labor Day. The local Cham- ber of Commerce wants the date changed to later In Sep- tember or the early part of October. As It is new, the exodus of summer visitors Is In full swinir by Labor Day, and the month of September, one of the most beautiful In the mountains, is thus enjoyed by few.' ij«'«j • ' i J i n'-rtii ; ii ; '•■ Showmen's League Day September 8, 1924. Today Is Showmen's I.rague Day Chicago set apart 'or con- tributions toward the greatest charity In the outdoor show world—The Showman's Rest— where showmen, whether they are members of the order or not are buried by the League, where they may rest In'peace with their fellows and wliere none but outdoor showmen sleep In death. This' Institution has to be kept up by the voluntary con- tributions of members and friends. No sum is too large that the work does not merit It and no sum Is too small that It will not be thankfully received by the chairman of the com- mittee, .Fred M. Barnes. The League appeals to you, one and all. Perhaps you have forgotten. If so, don't delay. Send In your contribution to the League. Every dii..s counts and many are needed. UPSTATE FAIR SEASON STARTS Half of Them Over with Few Yet to Go Watertown, N. T., Sept. 2. The north country fairs have started and during the next two months practically every city of any Importance In Northern New York will have a fair. All of the exhibitions are expected to be bet- ter this, year, as many new attrac- tions have been added to the program. The Gouverneur fair And Sandy Creek fair were held during the week of Aug. 19 to 22. The Gouver- neur fair was better than ever this year, except that the Greater American Shows, which played In Watertown for two weeks before, had all of the midway concessions. The carnival did not make a big hit with the persons of the Gouver- neur. The Sandy Creek fair, which is one of the best in Northern New York, .went far ahead of former years. The horse races were of a higher class and all of the conces- sions were exceptionally good. Dates of fairs to be held In Northern New York are: Aug. 25-29— Pittsburgh. Aug. 2$-2$.—Low vine and Can- ton. Sept. 1-6.—Boonvllle. Sept. 2-6. — Jefferson County Watertown. Sept. 8-11.—Cape Vincent Fair. Sept. 8-1$.—State Fair at Syra- cuse. Sept 1-12.—Potsdam fair. Sept 16-19.—Malone fair. Austin's Rodeo Takes On Promising Activity With the Madison Square Gar- den date of the Tex Austin rodeo set for the two weeks of October 18-81, the offices of the Tex Austin Enterprises In the Selwyn theatre building have taken on greater ac- tivity. Frank Moore, secretary of the concern, la getting Inquiries from all parts of the United States and Canada from riders 'anxious to compete for the cash prizes that Austin' is to hang up at the Garden. Austin plans to make the "rough riding contests" the big feature of the Garden show, and expects to have a greater array of contestants than ever registered In any previous rodeo, stampede or roundup In this country. Strayer at St. Charles St. Charles, 111., Sept. 2. The Strayer Amusement Company Is playing St. Charles, III., this week. The/ are the first to obtain a license this year. The credit of getting the date, which Id under the Legion, goes to W. A. Atkins, well known show correspondent at Elgin. BIO TORONTO EXPO. Toronto, Sept. 2. Reports from the Canadian Na- tional Exposition are to the effect that it Is enjoying one >f l'» best seasons, and that the Johnny J. Jones shows, again providing all of the midway features? are giving the greatest satisfaction. BLACK-EYE FOR CARNIVALS IN CHICAGO - Authorities Name Seven Passable Shows Out of 21 Appearing There Chicago, Sept 1 Twenty-one carnival companies— or so-called carnival companies- have operated In Chicago this sea- son, according to statistics fur- nished by Thomas P. Keane, city tax collector. These shows have operated 4$ riding devices and two to three hundred eonoesslors. Mak- ing by reason of duplication over 200 week to 10-day stands on vari- ous lota Some have played under church and other auspices, some simply did their stitching and lighting, but anyway they showed. The majority of these 21 shows played Chicago from the beginning of May to this time, about 11 are still operating and will continue until October. In the majority of cases, accord- ing to the Information from the City Hall, numerous complaints have been the rule against all except a few. Permits have been issued to run a stipulated number of/wheels. When the occasion arose they doubled and trebled up, running any old way to suit themselves. Some got closed up and caused the repu- table ones among them to bo closed as well. Wards are closed to all carnivals In many cases, according to Mr. Keane. In his ward they cannot operate at all and there are others that take the same stand. 7 Good Out of 21 Out of the 21 shows only seven, the City Hall authorities say, are anywhere near what they ought to be. These are the DeKreko shows, Boyd and Llnderman, Jimmy Campbell, Jim Bowe, Bodnar Bros., Baba Delgarlan, W. O. Brown and Farquharson. Complaints have been made against some of these in some cases, but taken, as a whole, they have not burnt the city uj. Chief Collins has been pretty liberal with carnivals. But he is fast getting hard boiled against them. When, as a matter of fact continuous complaints come into his office day after day of gambling de- vices run on the sly, concessions playing to children and getting their money, sure thing devices fa so- called science and skill games and other nuisances, he and the city collector are getting so that the word carnival is a bugbear to them, and showmen will find increasing difficulty getting local licenses. The only really legitimate carni- vals that have played Chicago this year are the DeKreko Brothers and Boyd and Llnderman. Both of these organisations suffered from the malpractices of the fly-by-night concessions, utterly irresponsible, only after one thing—to get the money no matter what methods ,were employed. Making Chicago Harder Among the smaller organizations are men who only operate rides and concessions, and on the list given above there are men who do so legitimately, and these do no harm to the larger shows. Unless the Irresponsible, gritting conces- sions are put out of business, Chi- cago will be about as easy to play by a legitimate carnival or riding device man as the Capitol grounds at Washington. Variety gets this Information from first hand. It Is not hearsay, it comes from headquarters, and those who wish' to see shows still operate In the city had better take heed thereby. Chicago closed would mean a big hardship to many a showman, but the handwriting is on the wall. A certain official, asked why he did not appeal to the S. L. C, stated that the only Information that ho oould get was that outside of Far- quarhson, Boyd and Llnderman and DeKreko, Hone of the others was a member of that organization,. and , that 'ft had no Jurisdiction over them, and they could/ do nothing;