Variety (November 1924)

5V^4n«ad«]r. Vovcmber S, m4 POLITICS VARIBTT Z^^ TESTIMONY M WASHINGTON « printed Verbatim Herewith, ^f^ RdatEnv to the Show ,.; BiuinoM When Testified 'Jito Last W.eek <n Connec- *°tioa With'kleports on Seme 'Subject From Chicago and p WaehinffUM, v JWii. ■/:■*)• •(.■jaji- ,:r-i,i '• Variaty Buraaii, |t(un <i^ >•'< Waahington, Nov. 3. '■_ '-^ohitl Mf. IJa Follette could Iftve ."''hid the aervlcaa of the actor toil- flitgent that came to Waahington, coupled with much other publicity, U^ t>« "handed" him by the lilc- CUteheon-Gefston Syndicate, styled a« a "aubftdiary of the Shubert The- ' atrtcal Oompanles." for the aum of $59,000, according to Qilsoa Oard- tHtX, a Waahington nevrspaper man, testifying before the Senate Com- mittee Inv^eatlgatlng the . various ittaiiiipalgn funda. ' Not . only could the Pl-bgreaaive candidate have had thece atars, ac- oordlng- to tha witness, but also the use of the several thousands of pic- ture theatres throughout the coun- try, the Keith vaudeville circuit— in fact, the witness brought out that the biggest portion of show busineifa could have bean La FoUette's for publicity purposes if th* neces- sary tSO.OOO^ould be found and paid over t^ the^%yndicate." That there -was abmathlng about to break was evident from the line of questioning during the teatlmony of Rhinelander Waldo, formerly po- lice commUsioner of New York, who '^'ipirwpeded Gardner. Waldo Was tell- -'hit* of the work'of the Non-Partlsan ■> Xi«ague and he' was constantly led ■ back to the vlslt^of t»e "pllgrlm- ' V ^ge" Of actors and actresses brought ' Itere a couple of weeks ago. - ' Frank P. Walah, attorney for La Follette before the committee. Anal- ly Jumped point blank fo the trip, quoting from a list previously pre- ■ aentcd by Mr. Waldo which covered •zpansa Itams of the Non-Partisan Xicagua. The item refarrad to ap- peared Iti the Uat aa followa: "Expenses-^dalegation ol Bon - partiaan actohi' ^ .-i • , v^. and actTaasaa to' / *. ; ' '>" Washington— ^ > Railroad fare |1,M4.7I 97.85 • Kii'tw ^ W,'**»*»»*t» « . ,'-• ■ ToUI tl,»««.«0" '.Waldo atated that be paid the con- tingent's railroad fare and aleepera down here, but when questioned aa to who secured them for the trip, be •Uted. "Al Jolson," expIahUng that "a young man" had cOme to hia of- fice and offered to bring Jolson to Waldo. Waldo's Examination In reply lo a question, Mr. Waldo . MMd: "They tQld me that At Jolson would ba interested In a thing of this kind." This man, whom Waldo couldn't •vvi descrlba, produced Jolson with- r^- si, In 24 hours, with Jolson showing Waldo the song he proposed to sing. Walsh wanted to know if he (Jol- son) had shown Waldo any of the Jokes he meant to tell; the reply was "no." When it was found impossible to get anything definite from Waldo aa to the man who brought Jolson to him, Walsh Jumped back to the list before him, from which he read that J>e Shubert had eontritMrted 97M, Waldo sUting that the sum was «lven the day previoua to Waldo's Appearance before the committee. When getting back to the trip of the actors. Waldo stated that he paid for their meals, but not the breakfast at the White Hotise, be- cause they "had not offeriMl to do «o themaelvcs." A group of adver- tising tnen brought down later by Waldo paid their own expenses, however. 'They offered to do It," said the witness. With the advent of Mr. Gardner, Washington got mora sensational stuff, which haa been referred to here as a bigger "Jolt" than from the Teapot Dome meas. The com- mittee before which the newapaper- man testified permitted him to tetl ;hls story la his own way. , The foUowlng is the official steno- graphic transcript of the testimony in full: Taatimony ef Qilaan Gardner (The wltneaa waa aworn by Sen- ator C^araway.) Senator Caraway: JWill you give to the atenographer your name and address and occupation? Mr..Gardner: Oilaon Gardner. 504 E^rana B<;ilding; newspaper corre- spondent. Mr. Gardner, ara you oannected a^ith any political organisation for the collection of fnnda? No, air. Have you had anything to do with the collecting of campaign contribu- tionaT Not oinoUklly; no. In any way at all? Tea: unofflcially I wrote to one friend of mine and atked for a anb- scrlption to the Ia FtoUette cam- paign, and aecured one of $1,000 and one of $100. Tou turned that in to the commlt- teet I tamed that in to the committee. Tlutt la yonr enttra political ac- Tfcat ia Bay polltloal activity in the way of nilalng funds. Mr. Walab: I want to «ak you aev- aral quaationa. Mr. Gardner, how long have you lived in tha city of Waahington? Mr. (Wdner: About 20 years. And you say your business is that of a newapaper correspondent? Tea, air. How long have you been In the newapaper business? Since 1894. I win get you to state whether or not, prior to th^ formation of the regular Z41 Follette committee in Washington, you attended to any- thing respecting tha Ia Follette campaign. I was consulted In regard to some matters in regard to publicity. And did you, aa far as you eould, look after the pulrilclty for the La Follette campaign prior to the for- matipn and location of the regular publicity committee here? I would not say that anybody realty looked after it. The publicity rather ran itself. Some people came to me under the impression that I would hare something to do with it or was having something to do with it. Tou are a friend and supporter of Senator Ia Follette In hia race for the presidency? I have been for his nomination and for his support ever since 1912. when he, on my solicitation, first became a candidate at that time. And you are well known as such a supporter of Senator La FoUette's? I think so. I will get you to tell the committee In your own way whether you were approached by any person or corpo- ration with an offer of selling to the La Follette rommlttee. or providing for the La Follettee committee, for CERSOIMIcaiTCHEON AD AGENCY AMD RS SHUBERT aHWECTION Chicago, Nov. I. Whatever connection there may t>e through the Oerson-McCut- cbeon Advertising Agency in this city mast be traced through Sam Qeraon. Oereon haa been for 10 years and la looked upon at pres- ent as the general press repre- sentative In Chicago for the Shu- berts. While Incoming Shubert shows have bad their own press agents, Oerson has been doing special feature publicity atuft for each as they arrived. About five years ago Gerson formed an association with the nephew of McCutcheon, the car- toonist on the Chicago "Tribune," with the couple Oi>enlng an adver- tising agency under the above title. It was rumored that Mar- shall Field. 3rd, waa Interested, but^that never has been estab- lished, although it is still reported there is money behind the concern. The agenc;/ at its inception went after theatrical accounts and ac- counts doing business with the- atricals. It is said that through Oeraon's strong political influence in Chi- cago, the Shuberts did not object to him becomlhg connected with the adverttoing agency while con- tinuing to do special publicity work for them. 9mrmmA Jolaan'a Harding Club It was generaUJr believed here four years ago that Oerson had been instrimiental In forming the Al Jolson Theatrical Club. There is a story that Gerson has been engineering the Jolson connection with the present Coolldge cam- paign. No ausplcton hereabouts the ShubA-ts are financially Inter- eated in the Oercon-McCutcheon Agency. "That agency operates on the usual It and S per cent, ad- vertising commission. Four years ago the Republican National Cam- paign Committee divided up Ita advertising for different aectiona, with Oerson-McCutcheon handling considerable of it In this territory, besides all of the theatrical adver- tlaing, deducting their customary commisaion. Connaetien With "Tribuna" It alao haa been clalOMd that through the Indirect connection of the Oeraon-McCutcheon agency with "The Tribune." that that paper at first got all of the breaks from the agency. This did not place the Oeraon • McCutcheon Agency in high favor with tha other local dailies, although of re- cent years this situation haa been smoothed out and la now not ao patent. Sam Gerson has been in Chicago for years and knows about every- body. He is said to have main- tained an Indeilendent attitude in his relations with the Shuberta. It has been reported Oerson has been on the Shubert payroll for his publicity work and alao that every time he has had dlfferencea of opinion with the Shuberta or their offices in New York, when the controversy was patched up, Ger- son suffered a cut In salary until his weekly envelope did not ex- ceed 1160. It la unknown if he is on the Shubert payroll at present. At present the Geiaon-McCut- cheon Agency is handling advertia- ing for aome railroads, liotela, shops and the usual advartialng agency'a buslnesa. Pat Henry's Side Lines Not so long ago it waa locally refiorted a representative of the Gerson - McCutcheon Agency, named Pat Henry, had approach- ed principals in Shubert shows In Chicago offering to do publicity work for them, IndeiMndantly of what the show's press agent or Oerson might do for tb« ahow or the star. It la aald that thU waa Uter followed by. Oeraon being called to New York by tha B^u- berts who told him they want*d that side line stopped. A more recent instance of • possible direct connection waa tba (Serson-McCutchaon Agency, tak- ing over the advertising for tha Hotel Sherman, wMch Includes the College Inn. During the absence of Isham Jones (Orchestra) from the inn a "Theatrical Night" was announced there for every Monday, with the same Pat Henry delegated to secure the show celebrities. It waa said at the tUne that people with the Shubert Shows in town were being forced to attend tba College Inn's "Theatrical Nlghta." Variety reported on it and atated that through the Gerson-Shubeqt association the show people were being "ordered." Immedlafely after the appearance of the story in Variety, the "Theatrical Nlghta" at the College Inn were stopped, believed through orders from tha Shuberta in New York. BURCHINWASH? HENRY IN on? money, a delegation of actora and actreases, and, if ao. Just state the whole matter to the committee. Tea, I waa. Give the date and all. MeCutehaoiuQarsun Mentioned Al>out a month ago; it muat have been early In September and before there waa any publicity deiwrtment organized for the La Follette people —during that period when people were coming to me and aaklng what about thU and what about that, I waa approached by a younc Jnan wt)om I have known for a number of years, a resident of Washington. He aald that he came as the authorized representative of the McCutcheon- Gerston Syndicate, of wiilch I never before had heard. He brought with him a chart, illustrated, done very carefully in India ink, and bearing at the top "The McCutcheon-Gerston Syndicate." and carrying the usual chart outlines showing, he said, what they were prepared to deliver In the way of publicity. He said: "I will explain to you that the McCutcheon-nerston Syndicate is a subsidiary of the Shubert the- atrical companies; that they ore prepared to sell political publicity, and," he said, "I think you La Fol- IF YOU WANT Your coupons rut and deposllrd Vour divldrnda rorehred and deiwalled Vour a^curttie* a^Casuardod i Your rcntp roll<"rl»d and rrpairs a4ip«r\'lafd To^r IrtT^Btm^nts analyzed To aav» aome of Vour Income Your ln\estmenta niadp To inakr a trust fund now for yoi^rsfl^. or anotlier ' '' i Advl,rf about ygur Will ' , : ° 1 ' ^ or P.»llef tram your flnanrlal rari^a ' !- COME IN AND TALK IT OVER OR WRITE US EAST RIVER NATIONAL BANK Broodwajr at Forty-fir^t Streot (In the heart of the'Times Square Diatrict) lette people ought to have the ad- vantage of thia. and I have come to you first, becauae, after all, our aym- pathies are rather with the La Fol- lette proposition, and we would rather sell you the proposition for less money, take less money for it, than to sell it to either of the two old parties." Ha aald: "As you see by the Illus- tmtlon, wa liave the following thea- traa. Here ara aevaral thousand the- atres devoted to moving pictures, and here ia tha Keith vaudeville syndicate, and here are the follow- ing actors who are under tha Shu- bert auspices. Hera is Jolin Drew, and Al Jolson and Charlotte Green- wood, and so on, and so on." Senator Bayard: May I interrupt you Just a minute there? Mr. Gardner: Tea. sir. Senator Bayard: Did he give you to understand that this organisation which he represented was for hire to the highest bidder? Mr. Gardner: I am trying to make that clear, sir; that h« said to me- Chicago Office of GersoB- McCutclMon Wobbly About *'Bureh*' . »• ■ ' ., ■ ; - Chicago, Nov. t. Understanding that William Burch, wanted aa a witneaa In tha investigation at Washlagton, could not be located in tliat city whan de- sired, an Inquiry regarding him waa made at the ofTlcaa in the Oarrlck theatre building of the Oeraon-Mc- Cutcheon Advartialng Agency hare. At the Oeraon-McCutcbeoa office they didnt know if Burch waa tUera —they would find out; then they aald they thouK'ht Butch waa con- nected wit^ tha New York offioa: than it wM ctatad Barahhad not b«en wt'h the concern for a long while uid a/taln imnadtateiy after It was said thara never bad l>aen , any Burch connected With tlie Oer- son-McCutciiaon AgMlOjr. No denial was awda aa to tba connection t Pat Henrr with tha aame agaaoy. Sevaral paopla around Mara baan aalcing if anyone knew both omb to dadda U Haary looked Uk^ Burch. Pat Henry's Paaarlptlan Pat Henry la about 46. atubby. weiglis around 160 (ounda, liad dark sandy hair and wears giassM. The Qerson-MeCutehaoa Aganoy has offices In New York and Waah- ington. It la vndarstood tha man- ager of its Waahington office ia Colonel Hampton, who la aald to have relativea In WaahlngtOn. . The talk here la that Pat Hanry, who has been wlta the cotuem fbr some time, knew of Sam Oaraon'a negotiatlona during tha Harding campaign to promote a theatrical club for President Kardiag. Oeraon la said to have first jut that propo- sition tp A. D. Laakar, aubmltting a scheme for a flat atmi for "book- ing tha event." Later Al Jolaon headed a theatrical party that called upon Mr. Harding, at Marion. Triad Other Candidates This camiMilgn tha Oeraon-Mc- Cutcheon Agency failed to aecure the placement of advertising for any part of the Republican appropria- tion, whereupon, it is claimed, Oer- aon, In going After buslnaaa tried other candidatea. Whether Pat Henry with knowl- edge of the Marien matter, took a chance on his own to submit a simi- lar Idea to the Washington office or through "Burch" appears to be merely a pure surmise in this sec- Uon. Jolson Wouldn't Switch One story is that someone asked Al Jolson for this campaign to switch allegiance, to either Davis or LaFoIlette upon request, but Jolson refused on the ground he waa a Re- publican four years ago and before then and also at present The Shuberta In New York are re- ported to have wired their peotlls here asking for Information, olso advlslnft them not to talk about the Washlnitton matter. . Meanwhile Gerson had gone to New York. Mr. Walsh: You had better let him tell it in hia own way. I have heard the atory. Senator Bayard: Go ahead, I wilt not interrupt you. Mr. Walsh (to the witness): You had better tell first what It is. I should like to get it in In that way. I thihk that will develop. Senator Bayard: That is all right; go ahead, sir, in your own way. Mr. Gardner: There were on this (Continued on page 9) Tk« SOTTOkoiaaMa laatrMllMi •— Special Routlnra Cmat'd ISIl B'war (Bnt. on 60(h St.) N. T. Maat Ca4«aiS«< MM Washington, Nov. t. Where Is William Burch. the man who made the offer to the LaFol- fette group that for $SO,000 he could deliver the American atage In all of Its branches for publicity pur- poses, the Senate Committee Investi- gating the campaign fands would ll!<e to know? He auccessfully dodi;e<l the subpoena server of the United States Senate and though elated for appearance before the committer Friday, there was no William Burch present. Inquiry at the Wyoming Apart- ments brought he was "out of town.' "What is Mr. Burch's occupation " ii»Ifed the *-.irlety man with th« the larty at the door saying, "I doti't know." The committee meets again shortly, ft Is expected. • <''■ •^v^ .=.«kj<£..ji-i- ^,,-m..--^-i .,....,. >.i —■■..-—.■ .-, '■'■ -'f-'-^'- . ^iSiiijaki*