The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-02-16
OUR STAGE AND THE OCTOPUS
ENGLISH SYMPATHY FREELY
EXPRESSED For rs.
Fear over There That the Syndicate VIII
Extend Across the Ocean Its Policy
OF Making the Dramatic Profession
q Trade" OF Their Own.

Tradc"-syndicattng OF Their Own.
LONDON, Jan. s1.-A horrid fear has been
implanted in the minds Of English play
goers that the American syndication idea
may be applied in some way TO the English
drama. The fact that two orthree OF the less
prominent West End theatres in London
have come under the control Of the prlnci.
pal American theatrical combination has
perhaps nae something TO do with causing
the alarm. The chief cause undoubtedly
is, however, that the American stage has
recently been held up before the English
public as an awful example, of the blight
ing and demoralizing effects OF ~syndicatine
art. Pity and COMMUNICATION by the col
umn have been offered to the American
play-going public.
You will be interested to know, for in
stance, on the authority of the New York
correspondent Of the Times. that as the
result Of the operations Of the American
theatrical trust art Is degraded and the
dramatic profession has become a trade.
Another writer intimates that the public
taste Of the United States, II It were not
starved and stunted by the weak pabu-
lum supplied by the syndicate. might grow
into the beautiful Apollo of culture which
passes judgment at a London first night.
Worst of all is the suggestion-'with certain
honorable exceptions Is the only saving
c~lause-that the American press has been
"nobbled' by this awful creature. the
syndicate. n that the poor stuff which Is
inflicted upon playgoers never receives
the condemnation II deserves.
This will give you but a faint idea Of how
hopeless the present situation Of the Ameri-
can stage Is from the English point Of view
But before explaining in fuller detail what
a great national evil and peril the American
people have In the theatrical trust, II may
be pardonablo II l point out highlands
chief accomplishment in the way Of syndi-
| Gated public amusements. / do not know
what is the commercial scope of Mr.. Froh-
mans combination in the United States.
but II will be conceded tina an amusement
syndicate with a capital Of fully $40, 600 900
operating in every large city in Great
Britain is an enterprise approaching the
dimensions Of a trust. This Ia a vaudeville
syndicate and the whole British public
owes it a debt which Is only partially paid
by the millions Of shillings which 1t gladly
pours into the box Offices. II aims, Of
course, only TO amuse and entertain. but
III DOES IL III II way Which, Wou4u De flIllIlY
impossible on any other basis than that OF
a chain Of syndicated houses. ] dropped
into one Of these syndicate theatres in
Leeds not long ago and enjoyed an enter
tainment as good as that provided at the
best music hall in London. And the same
thing is provided, with weekly changes OF
bill, in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester.
Liverpool, Newcastle and other towns.
But | shall be covered with English scorn
for having presumed to mention a music
hall syndicate even indirectly in connec-
ton with the subject OF dramatic art.
And now-take a long breath. please
/ will tell you the story Of you dramatic
degradation. The Times speaks:
Not many years ago Matthew Arnold
exhorted the Anglo-Saxon world to 'or-
ganize the theatre He would have been
somew hat surprised at the fashion in which
certain astute persons-not obtrusively
Anglo-Saxon-have taken TO organizing
the theatre on the other side of the Atlantic.
A recent letter from our New York cor
respondent on the subject will have opened
the eyes Of a good many people in this
country. The present history OF the
American stage, he declared, is the history
of a ~syndicate;' and he went on TO show
how this syndicate, proposing TO itself the
sole aim Of reducing TO a purely CONNIE rcial
basis the practice OF a great art and an
honorable profession, Ia degraded the
art and turned the profession into a trade
Particulars Of the syndicate, its history and
it's machinery, il did not enter into his pur-
pose 20 give. 1t is, however. desirable,
that they should be known. and We will
endeavor TO supply them. The American
Theatrical Trust-a combination, as is
generally the case. of smaller combinations
was formed in the winter Of is95-96 and
started with the control Of thirty-seven
theatres. Thereafter, like the Djinn re-
leased from the bottle or rather like the
Fat Boy in "~Pickwick, it -swelled wisibly,-
till to-day il holds the theatrical continent
OF North America i'm fee. Its leading men,
bers are reported to be Messrs. Charles
and Daniel Frohman, Jacob Lift, Klaw,
Erlanger, Samuel Schubert, Hayman and
Lichtenstein-men OF business. every one
of them. What else could they be, with
Just those namesY
The rqison d'ttre of their combination
is, as our New York correspondent has
indicated, extremely simple. II is summed
up in one word-money. Corporations of
any sort. il is said, have neither body to be
kicked nor soul TO be damned; this one, at
any rate. has no artistic reputation TO lose.
II means TO play Though present is its
darling world what il pays 10 play; and
il means to play nothing else. A fixed
principle OF this kind, as the animating
principle of a monopoly, would be powerful
anywhere-as We may some day find out
/, in this country, If we do not bestir ourselves
in time. A glance at the map will show
why il is peculiarly powerful in the United
States. Ii must be remembered that Amerj-
| can theatrical ventures originate in New
York. as English theatrical ventures origin
ute in London; but. unlike London, New
York is not large enough to make a com
plete theatrical success. Play and players
have in due course TO DO exported 10 Phila-
delphia and Chicago, 10 San Francisco and
New Orleans. IL may be that the trust
does not control every theatre in each Of
these distant cities, but that is Of no conse-
| qucnce, for IL takes care to control the
routes. A free" theatre in New Orleans
Is OF no use 20 a manager in New York If
the syndicate holds-at IL does-the places
Of varying importance, known in the local
jargon as "one-week stands or -one-night
stands, on the way. What Is the inevitable
economic resultp The profits OF local
managers, the supply Of plays, the salaries
Of players, are at the mercy Of the syndi-
cate. II has absolute control of the the
atrical market.
But the economic result. as II only con-
cerns the theatrical profession, is a COM
paratively unimportant matter. II is the
artistic result which concerns the world at
large. and that is deplorable. Drama, TO
count for anything In the national life,
must be Of native growth; but the syndicate
Ella No mas fnr thn native AuNariaan