New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-03-11

quite as much 'stductions satanques the
case in the year 1911. It is in the Paris the
aires. and above all in the concert halls. that
spread broadcast among the young people Of
Paris the seeds of that mental and moral cor
ruption which is gnawing at the heart Of the
nation. To-day, as in the sixteenth century, the
only redeeming feature of the theatres is the
vast sums they produce for the Paris poor 1t
is penance imposed upon the pleasure seeker
for the suffering and needy, and in my opinion it
would be a grave public calamity We're the
charity tax, cOnsecrated by four centuries of
usage, to be tempered with.
on the other hand the managers of the the
aires complain that during the last four cen
turtles the burdens imposed upon them have been
steadily increased, until they have become
intoerabe. Nine. Sara Bernhard expressed
herself most emphaticaIy on the subject. She
said:
1T is certainly unfair Tor the tax to be based
on a percentage of the gross receipts. The more
a manager spends to crafty the public anG put
a spectacle the stage worthy of the artistic
sense of the nation, the heavier is the burden.
\ tax of 10 per cent the real net receipts
would be fair for all. The managers are al
ready ground down by an absurd tax for
thors who have rights to seats which in some
instances valid for two generations 1t is
on this account that the middemen and ticket
SPECTATORS thrive. The absurd medieval laws
of i34l bind the managers of Paris theatres
hand and foot, and each year the expenses are
increased The new police regulations. for in
stance are excellent, but the cost of carrying
them out falls exclusively upon the theatres
and greatly diminishes the receipts. You can
imagine how unjust this tax on the gross re-
ceipts is when tell you that it has cost me
enormous sum of money to put 'Agon' the
stage, and this is again increased 10y the 10 per
cent for the poor for net receipts are not con-
sidered by the municipal authorities"
NJ CoqueIin, manager of the Porte-Saint Mar
tin Theatre, where princely fortune was spent
in mounting "Cyrano de i3ergerac," expressed
the same views Nine. Sarah Bernhardt.
Although after March l the prices of Paris
theatre tickets will be increased 10 per cent. it
is consolation for American visitors to know
that the average prices of tickets will still be
somewhat less than in New-York The prices Of
the best orchestra stalls at the leading Paris
theatres without the l0 per cent charity tax
are as follows: opera, II francs when purchased
at the door, and IL francs when bought before
hand at the location. Theatre Frdncais or
ohestra stalls francs and 10 francs; Opera
Comique. orchestra stalls francs and 10
francs; Odeon, francs and francs; Vaude-
Vile. 10 francs (same price when bought in ad-
vance, 'ISHlhdSt, Io francs; Theatre Sarah
Bernhardt 10 francs; Varieties 10 francs: Porte
Saint Martin francs and 10 francs when taken
ahead; Theatre Lyrique de la Renaissance Is
francs and I francs, Nouveaut6s. : francs and
10 francs; Palais Royal, { francs and francs;
Bouhes Parisiens francs and francs Chate-
let, : francs ana francs; Ambigu, ! francs
Gate francs and francs; Folies- Drama
tiques. francs and Z francs. The orchestra
stalls at the dozens of smaller theatres and CON
cert halls vary from ) francs To t francs