The Savannah morning news., 1904-02-07

Returning to the earnings of cele-
brated singers for a paragraph or two,
it may be stated that Mr.. Conried, the
present impressario, has been far more
chary of giving out the figures OF his
salary roll than was Mr.. Grau.
Yet there is no doubt that, even UNI
der Mr.. Conried's management, the
stars of grand opera in New YORK are
about the highest paid people who
work for wages in the world, when the
hours of absolute labor" each day Cor
night are considered. The prima don
mas who consent occasionally to sing
at private society gatherings get paid
a good deal better for such appearances
than they do for any OF their public
performances.
Thus, while Calve has sung in Lon
don at $500 for a full operate perform
ance. she has not hesitated to demand
three times as much, or $1,000, for three
simple songs, sung at private house
in the same city. An ingenious London
penny-a-liner, understanding that the
actual time consumed in singing the
three songs was twenty minutes, has
computed that the rate OF payment
was $50 minute and over.
Furthermore, calculates this same
nenny-a-liner, at this rate of payment,
Madame Melba could earn in hundred
hours enough to pay the salaries OF the
entire British Cabinet. In eight hours,
at the same rate of payment, she could
earn more than her weight in pure gold,
and she is no light weight, either.
Fortunately or unfortunately-ac-
cording to the viewpoint-there is no
call for continuous vocal effort among
the musical swells, and If there was not
one of them could stand the strain.
Still, the theoretical possibilities Of the
prima donna as a money mill are in
teresting. The income of the King or
England, for every purpose for whole
year, is only $1,000,00O. If Madame Mel
ba were to sing five hours every day
for only seven weeks at the rate paid
to her for private vocal performances,
her gross receipts would be more than
the Kings for the whole year.
She could earn as much as the beg
carly $4,000 paid to the President OF
the United States every year as sal
airy. in a little more than eleven hours
straight, steady work.
safety of Theaters.
The making safe of the theaters is
still a question in which the general
public of New York is pretty we'll in
terested, though not as acutely, of
course. as would have been the case,
had not the newspapers and the au-
thorities smothered 1t as promptly and
completely as possible after the fire in
Chicago.
At the same time is known that
the authorities have been making
things pretty lively for a whole lot of
the managers. Some of the latter have
been making plentiful changes and
improvements in their theaters on
their own hook, working in perfect
harmony with the authorities, and to
these all sorts of credit may be given.
There is one theatrical firm here,
however whose conduct hiss been
vastly reprehensible through all the
unheavel in the interest of safer thea
tres This firm, so runs the gossip Of
the street. at the beginning of the up
heaval. placed every conceivable OBJ
stacIe in the way of the inspector, re-
treating point by point from one I'M
tenable position after another only as
driven therefrom.
FINALLY, the inspectors succeeded In
getting into the cellar under the thea
fer There they found the scenery
,n,mensely infiammable-of 1--WE or six
Ola productions. So bulky was this
stuff that it filled not only the regular
cellar, but also a deep in-the-bowels-
of-the-earth sub-cel'ar. OF course,
me firm was obliged to remove the old
scenery and II was necessary TO lease
n three-story warehouse In order TO
store II against the day Of certain pos
sibIe revival OF standard old pieces.
''''S Duane.