The times., 1897-12-26

/ cannot De lOuUu OuUsluG Oi tiiusc
| by us and our associates. What we are
| trying to do is to bring about stable con
| ditions in a business WHICH at best ls very
| precarious and. where the results, Whei
| tne risk is taken into con sideraUlon, are tIie
| smallest of any business known. W nen
| man fails In the theatrical business he fails
| for hundred cents on the dollar, because
| there are absolutely no assets to mitigate
| We got together because we found that
| there were not enough firstcass q ttra ctl0nS
! to fill the time in the number OF tiieaters
! throughout the country, with the constant
| increase that was being ffade to their NUM-
ber, and only ambition has been 10
| make our theaters the Heading tfeaters
| by playing the best attractions. Now this
| alliance has been In existence nearly Two
years, and practically for the pa st ten years,
because Messrs klaw ana Eriaamger s anu si,,
resented during that time in new lorh
every theater in our circuit. In sIlte on
the fact that this socalied syndicate WI was 3
| publicly announced.Oyec year anu y ma !,
ago, actors and actDr-nia nagers cohtlnueu
| To- book their time without any trouble or
| interference, and not voice was fai'eu
against it, with two exceptions.
| iAa geu,ie.noii; 6e5eI3s themselves II
| they believe that not "a voice has been
raised against them. The exceptio ons
are those who have spoken out loud ike
| the two noted, Francis Wilson and Mrs
Fiske, but prevented by policy from speak
ng otherwise than i'll confidence large
number cf actors aud managers are very
bitter against their present conditions
OF Mr.. Wilson'S present post ion the
Interview cont inues:
The first Of these was Mr.. Francis WI
son to whom MeSsrs. Al Hayman and kla w
aud Erlangcr wrote letter last spring,
when they discov cred that he had been Jue-
CLING with them. So tnat yourreaders may
understand, let us explain what we mean
Mr. Wilson book ed tinic for the same oates
in two theaters i'll Baltimore and Washing
ton When these theaterS were placed uhder
our ntroi and we were made acquainted
with these facts, Mr.. Wilson was promptly
notified of what we considered ms douDle-
dealing and was told that IT was not gues
tion of uoneyor terms, that we diu not "ane
to play him anywhere.
The otner exception Of the two noted
is Mrs. Fiske, who plays here this Week
in a house not controlled by the combine,
and this is tie reason, as stated Ill the
interview:
Mrs. Fiskc js one of those talented women
who is ALWAYS well received by The press,
but unfortunately, has never drawn any
money. Her husband happens TO be the
editor of dramatic new spapef, anu IL
also her manager. When he got ready to
hook q tour for her he went to The oiiices
of MIR Al Ha yman and demanded wnat MT.
Havman considered unreasonable ana eN-
orbtant terms. Mr.. Hayman told liin that
if his wife could draw the money thaU otner
hig stars drew she could have the sdlle
terms. Her husband declined tie ' coluiliohs'
which was purely business dIietenee'
and they parted company. ms diu not re-
suit in any hardship To Mrs. fiske heca use
size had The opportunity OF seleGtlnS tneittis eIs
to pla V In in other cities IN the niteu 'otdtcS
ynere she wanted to appear. Her huspanu
booked her on q circuit OF theaUerS IN Up
position to us. and we have no coiiipiat1t t ~ "
make ON that score. 1t was Simply hiatteI
ns business with Mrs. Fiske To play AGAINST
rs inst rs IL was a business proposition on
our part to be dsinclined to be dicta'ed 10
by her husband.
W.. win te letter able To judge - vi
Fiske's drawing powers 3ttef the "e'N
at the Grand. Her receIp's cise" ieie
have not been announced TO our RhoWleu 'c'
except in the case or CINCINNATI, "h re-
sccordinc To the NirGor, she pia III the
vsek az November ~ to- -, AZ. he
balance Of the interview relates ." the
Worlds nisr representation OF Fanny DaFeh-
port's position. 1t persistentlE teit-
era ted that size was going to close her
sessnn because the trust Lad pract-cii!
driven her away, when the iact IS thle
ye have been helping her iii every way
as sh. has repeatedly stated, and th.tt she
had no Intention OF closing whatever
'.Cnu,berland. 81" proved to be
Iamenta bic specimen OF pla y-maKihg' IL
ba Il scenes which were meant to lie strong
and rniaht nave been. If the motives ana
ground work had been proha bie.+ar even
rational We rointed out ltw OF tIese
defects last Tuesday, but not a ii or tfein-
Bat besides the Impossible propositions
which underlic the detail. there IS the
sn,erstr,c,ure. which is drawn with wrong
ANGLES and disproportionate lines. The
language, even, OF tie piece, WIiiie correct
and uuot. ject ion a ble hasn't the alert
ness and smartueSs not TO mention literary
flavor. which Mr.. Franklyn Fyles ought
To write. If Mr.. Pitou is willing to weather
the billo WIS ahead of this piece so long as
il bids for high-priced and discriminating
audiences in the firstclaSs theateTs, ne
can bring it back year after year to the
poDular-priced houses, where such beau
tifuI scenery ard fIamboyant EeroicS cover
a multitude Of artistic sins.
The failure OF Mr.. Fyles, who is dramatic
editor of the New York Sun, will suggest
to certain minds that dramatic critics
cannot write plays. on the contrary,
Mr. Fyles IS a witness to the contrary He
wrote 1.-The Girl | l. eft Behind Me-" Z.
NJ. s. NJ. CIellan. who used to be dramatic
editor of the New York Press and Town
Tonnes. is wealthy from the profits on
his I'm Cav New York" It he Whirl OF
the Town" The Lady Slavey' and The
Belle of New York Those two successes,
THE Still Alarm and Blue J cans, were
in large part the work of Nym Crinkle,
who used to be dramatic editor of the
New York World. Elwyn A. Barron for
merly critic of the Chicago Inter Ocean,
pfrI- nd hn MI
'.Ramola" from the novel for Julia Mar
lowe. Clement Scott, critic of the LOnd0n
Telegraph ada pied Diplomacy " and
Edwa A rd Rose, who made plays out OF he
Prisoner of Zenda'' and Under the Red
Robe is dramatic editor or the London
Times John j. McNally is dramatic edi-
tor OF the Boston Herald as We'll as author
of "A Straight Tip "A Country Sport"
'.The Widow Jones, "Courted Into court
and lots more. Benjamin Wolff, the music
critic of the same paper, wrote 'Pounce
Co.." '.The Almighty Dollar" and west
wardHo'' LeanderRichardson has written
a number of plays, so has Harrison Grey
Fiske. editor OF the Mirror; Hillary Bell,
j. Edgar Pemberton, who Is British
critic, and Evelyn Greenleaf Switzerland.
of Boston Charles Hoyt left off dramatic
criticism in Boston for play king.
Bernard Shaw, who wrote " A rms and the
Man. and 1.-THE Devils DISCIPLE is
the critic of the London Saturday Review.
r. N. Stephens, whose An Enemy 10 The
King vas staged by sotbern, is critic
turned playwright. The editor Of the
Chap Book ha $ had play accepted by Julia
Marlowe; SC las Fales Coword, dramatic
editor of the World. Espy Williams a
New Orleans critic, is the author of numer-
Gus plays. Peter Robertson, Of the San