The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-06-03
4 VARIETY THEATRE
Mayor Scott had a Roll of Bills
Pushed Under his Nose"
A LOCATION HAS BEEN SELECTED
Persons Of Alleged Responsibility Who are
More Than Anxious to See the
Infamy Established.

A fat, red-faced man, flushed with
liquor, -well-dressed in suit of dark
clothes, thlck-necked ndstoclly built, with
compact limbs and looty look was intro
Guced to a HERALD reporter the other even
ing.
He did not seem bad fellow to'lsnow,
and, though stolid and phlegmatic in build,
had a convivial capacity that when excited
yielded conversational flow that would
lead one to believe that he had not only
seen the world. but had been seen by it.
His mission in this city, as learned from
his own lips, is to open variety theatre.
Several other enterprising men have been,
in this city on like mission and found,
plenty of men ready to back them, if they
could only get away with territorial
statute and Mayor Scott. "One of these"
said his informer, ''shoved a roll OK bills as
big as that Indicating the amount by hold
ing his hands two feet apart)-mone money
than the mayor can make out of his bpsl-
ness to the end of his days; but the mayor
only looked at him and said: 4 know your
record But didn't go at the mayor that
way. and now have it all fixed to open
variety theatre in this city, and bank
4
ssWhere will it be located!''
al have that all down fine. It won't be
on Main street nor in the business part OF
the city, as they never would stand that,
but it will be right where the tough houses
are togo.o
Then it will be on some alley way where
man can make a sneak!"
srNo. it won't be on an alley way, but on
an avenue that is SO located that man can
leave his wife on the street half a block
away and she won't know what has be-
come of him."
ssWhere is the toughest variety theatre
in the west"
'There is nothing that amounts to any
thing between Omaha and Denver; but
they are at Leadyille, Butte, Helena,
Seattle, Tacoma and Ogden, and one is as
tough as the other
The variety missionary having given his
snap away in its true color, looked at his
time piece, and noticing that it was after
midnight, tore himself away to keep an
enhancement. A man standing by, sporting
diamonds on his hand and chest was
greatly amused at the dense ignorance OF
the reporter in regard to variety theatres,
and particularly amused at the idea that
one was better than another, and pro-
ceeded to enlighten him by saying
sHouses of ill-fame are respectable beside
Them
$50 Salt Lake is to have a variety
theatre?' meditated the reporter on his
way home. This town so free from muir
derers, is to cut the tiger loose.
If there is one place where hell breaks
through the earth's thin crust more than
another it is at the places where variety
theatres touch the old shell.
The charms of the brothel are tame and
unsatisfactory as compared with those OF
the variety theatre; it is but as beer te
birthstone one is warming, the other con-
sulning; and in the eyes of some very bust
ness like people, for the youth and old
heads of this city, it is contamination de
voutly to be wished. The destroying
ANGEL to make an entree into society
courts partnership with responsibility.
But the variety theatre will only add one
more to the catalogue of crimes that already
exist here, and as it is the last and lowest
deprayity that can be licensed, why no
make the final plunge and be done with 1T
The Personal Liberty Party then would
have run its full swing.
Rivers of vice, like rivers of water, mus
have an occasional whirlpool, and if a mai
occasionally disappears it makes thing
lively.
The variety theatre will swallow VI
many heads of respectable families land
great many that are not so respectable;
suck in a cargo of embezzlers from thei
counting desks, contaminate the morals o
a thousand persons who may, by miracu
lous swimming, keep afioat for a while
furnish the daily papers with escapadeS an
murders, and in many ways give this cit
the appearance of lively town.
The reference to one of Salt Lake
banks is not creditable, as the men con
nected with it are not the kind that len
their money TO questionable undertakings
neither is it for a moment believable tina
Mayor Scott's consent has been secured.
There has, however, been a powerfu
pressure brought to bear by men who pas
themselves off for respectable members Q
society and the pressure instead of dinir
ishing is increasing. Since the saloon
succeeded in breaking the Sunday ordir
ance, the gamblers have taken courage, an
as variety theatre is good place to pre-
pare a bird to be plucked they are maxim
mighty efforts to break through the bal
riers.