The Washington times., 1901-08-04

verses. Their membership has dwindled
until it is nothing like what II was at the
time OF the strike. The ntInners OF me
order find the maua gers Of The Nauue'llle
houses throughout the country are very
reluctant to give them employment, ana
especially at the same high salaries tAat
prevailed in the vaudeville world Il year
ago. So many of the society are without
any means Of earning q livelihood that at
a meeting held last week 1t was declueu
that the variety people might apply for
/ work at the Offices of the vaudeville
! Managers Association or might even ap-
proach the booking agents and even reiet
to the matter of commission Nlthpui
incurring the wrath Of the officers OF the
Rats ana taking desperate chances of for
| feiting their valuable membership priv
leges.
| This action on the Part of the White
Rats is a virtual admission of defeat, and
| their six months warfare seems to nave
| been without result, unless II be the loss
| of a great deal of money in the shape OF
| salaries that would have otherwise been
| earned. while, for some reason, the man
| ayers have been able to keep their the
| atres open and in almost every case there
| has been no falling of in the patronage
| In this connection, Epes p. Sergeant,
| who wri IS entertainingly over the sigma
! ture of Chcot about vaudeville matters,
! says:
| There are but three houses in this
| country in opposition to the Naudevlile
! Managers Association. These are the TWO
! Rdxfnson houses and the Boston Music
| Hall. These by no means are the only
| houses not represented within the asSo-
| citation. There are many not animated
| with that organization. But these three
| are the only ones whose managers are at
| odds with the men owning houses in the
| association, and these are the only ones
| at present likely to be profitable to the
actor. Robinson may have one or TWO
/ more houses. and there may be trouble
| in other places. These three houses VIII
! push the salaries up in order to keep GER
| tain acts away from their opponents,
| while the latter follow the same policy
Elsewhere the performer finds his oppor-
tunities contracted Just prior to the
| White Rat strike it was estimated that
there were registered on the association
records more than four times many
performers could be used in all the
houses in any one week. The figures in
cluded all places of amusement employ
ing vaudeville artists, even to some of
the better museums. This means that
for every one engaged there were four or
five applicants idle each week.
Since the strike the field has been con-
tracted. The Hasbims have given up their
ventures and Roster 6s Biars is to be torn
down. There has been no tenant secured
for the Grand Opera House in Philadel-
phia, and unless some one is given the
house the Hashim abandonment will mean
The Proctor houses, il is announced, will
hold to the stock company idea after the
regular season opens, and with the six
houses now actually In the circuit but
from twenty to twenty-four acts will be
needed. Under the old system ninety acts
would be required each week.
''P. y. Chase, Of Washington and Balti-
more, announces that he will have stock
companies in his two houses. and this
will throw out eighteen acts, while the
Brooklyn Music Hall will probably be
given over to combination. and ten acts
viii be thrown out here. The recent re-
volt of the actors has resulted in a desire
on the part of the managers to show them
it Will be possible to conduct the houses
hO1V of nl1Nprs
associated together. and in several ways
there will be put into practice schemes
tnat VIII further cut down opportunities
Even the recent emigration of acts to
England and the Continent will not
greatly benefit these remaining, for the
number OF travellers is small when com
pared to the number Of vaudeville per-
formers engaged in business. and the
supply still far exceeds the demand.
Some of the so-called headliners are able
to keep their salaries up. but there is a
steady tendency to cut salaries that will
result in a lowering of demands in order
to obtain employment
The White Rats declare they will have
another strike in the fall, October being
named as the month. and, while they
now lack sufficient strength to make
much 0f a demonstration, they are very
apt to hurt the chances of the outsiders,
since their method of conducting strikes
Is not calculated further to interest the
public in vaudeville theatres. The last
strike was costly in this regard "A sec
hurt the manager directly, but they may
cut down the attendance The managers
banded together to keep down salaries
and do away with the agents. The Rats
forced them back to the agents by their
strike, and while the salary question was
LEFT open many actors have had to ac-
cept work at less money than they were
in the habit of receiving simply because
they did not hold by the manager when
he needed them.
The demand for vaudeville has Iessened
somewhat, and with smaller patronage
the actor cannot keep up his salary since
he Is paid from the funds received and
a cutting down of this sum means less
money for the man who draws the pa
irons.
The old days of enormous salaries for
mediocre acts have passed in this coun-
try. Some American acts are getting
more money in London than they ever
received at home, but the number Is few
and the rest will have to content them
selves with what they are able to get
The business the past few years has suf-
fered from an unnatural imitation of
values. The valuation placed upon a
number of acts was far beyond what such
attractions were worth to a ma na ger,
and such salaries We're paid simply be-
cause others paid them and managers
were anxious for well known names.
THE White Rats hastened the end n
little by their misguided actions. but for
several years those who were not blind
ed to actual conditions have looked for
an upheaval, and il seems such a period
is close at hand. There was bound TO
come a readjustment, and, while il will
make matters unpleasant, those who are
able to weather the storm will then en-
JOY prosperity.
The business in this country Is too i'm
portant TO be permitted to be dropped
but before vaudeville can be placed upon
a permanent foundation such a founda-
tion must be constructed, and this seems
10 be the year for the building process
Once the new order is instituted return
Of prosperity Will come Till then actors
who have saved money win be glad they
have done 50. for there will be trying
times"
out in Denver Walter Clarke Bellows
keeps on winning praise from the news
papers of that city for the excellence of
the performances given by the stock com
pany under his direction. Last week the
organization gave Fedora, p" with Blanche
Walsh in Fanny Davenport's original role
| and John I. Sullivan in the part former
ly played by Melbourne Macdoweu
When Miss Walsh appeared at the La
fayettc in conjunction with Mr.. Meadow
ell in the SardOu piece two seasons ago,
she was enthusiastically received by a
small but highly delighted audience, most
Of whom had been attracted by the CLAM
our of the name of the French playwright