The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-02-09
AT THE THEATRE.
Topeka People Pay Big Price for
Ordinary Play.

I'VE are at the mercy of the Craw-
ford theater management as long as
we want to play in any of the cities in
cIuded in the Crawford circuit of thea
ters,'' said James B. Delcher, manager
of the Helen GRAVITY company, to a
reporter for the State Journal last ev-
ening.
Mr.. Delcher knew to his sorrow of
what he spoke Three hours after he
made the statement to the reporter for
the State Journal he was paying half
of an advertising bill of sos presented
to him by the local Crawford manage
ment for extra advertising done in To-
peka newspapers.
The Crawford management has a
scheme by which it charges the COM
panies a price in excess of the amount
actually paid for 2dVert1SinS-1n some
cases double. BY this means cOmpa-
MES which apparently pay half, pay all
or nearly all of the actual advertising
expense. For its dlsapproyal of this
practice and refusal to stand for it, the
State Journal added to its list of diff
ferences with the theatrical monopoly
here which uses an unsafe mouse, which
charges $1.50 for s1.00 shows, which con-
trolls, but will not use a safe ground
floor theater, which supplies too many
cheap attractions and permits hlgn
grade entertainments to skip topeka.
The situation will never be right in
Topeka till the play-golng public is
given a fair variety of entertainment,
the best and the ordinary. in safe and
comfortable theater at fair prices and
on broad gagged lines OF management
The Crawford management pays an
annual rental Of 81, 500 on the Grand OPP
era house, and keeps it closed The
house is earning no income and to meet
the expense of rent, some provision
must be made Probably the inflated
prices of theatrical attractions at the
Crawford theater are intended to fur
nish funds to pay the annual rental on
the idle building.
The small attendance at the attrac-
tions this winter is probably discour-
aging if this is the method employed
to collect the money necessary 10 pay
the rent on the Grand.
Although Mr. DeIcher paid the adyer-
Using bill presented to him by the
Crawford management, he was wrathy
At the proceeding Il had trouble with
the Crawford management wnen was
here last year. he said, but what can
do. / am in the show business, and
I want to play in the territory covered
by the Crawford circuit Unless I do
as the management OF the crawford
circuit dictates, what Will happen?
might find myself shut out of all the
towns where Crawford has theater,
on some pretext or another, and that
would be extremely disastrous to me.
Notwithstanding the fact that S6s was
spent in extra advertising for the per-
Torrance of Helen GRAVITY in Her
Lord and Master at the Crawford the
alter in Topeka The attendance was
comparatively very small. 1t is report
ed that the door receipts for this COM
pany at the opera house in Junction
City on Tuesday evening were much
larger than the door receipts Tor her
performance in Topeka last night
Perhaps more money was spent in
advertising this attraction in Topeka
than was spent On any other attrac- |
ton that has been at the Crawford this /!
winter. But in the face of this fact