The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-05-18

The little summer theater at Vine
wood park which has had strenuous
time is again closed and there a half
dozen or more stranded and angry
actors and actresses in the city who are
loud in their denunciations of the
management of the park and the
street car company in particular. The
theaters has been opened twice this
season and as many times has closed
on account of lack of patronage, but
the performers in the past have been
pacifieds and not permitted to give
voice to their feelings in the matter,
that is until they have been gotten out
of the city.
The theater was opened last Sun
day by number of acts that were
booked from Wichita TO take the place
of the dog and pony show that opened
there last week and was let go after
giving few performances. The actors
claim that the treatment accorded
them by the management of the street
railway company and the management
of the park was unjust, and not cent
was paid to them and as a result sew
eral of them are standed IN Topeka
without enough money to get out OF
town.
The acts were booked by Ocean
Brothers & Baldwin of Wichita ana
the performers were told that the park
was under the management OF the
Topeka Street Railway company and
for that reason a reliable institution
Taking ii for granted that thelr sal
aries would be forthcoming at the end
of the week the professional people
did not take the usual precaution of
demanding their car fare in advance
nor try to protect themselves in any
way.
As far as can be learned the per
entirely S9f1S-
factory excepting that no CROWDS
came to see them. and as result tnefe
were no box office receipts ana lne
management of the theater seemed 70
think that the proper thing Tor 1heln
10 do was to let the professional people
stand the loss and protect tfleIllse5N Yes
Al the opening performance there
we're not a dozen paid admissions, az
the second show there were less ana
when the curtain was rung up Tor lhe
show Tuesday evening the perform
sers faced empty seats
Among the stranded artists left IN the
4 city is Mrs NJ T. Davis and her TWO
I litf4e daughters. Essie and Marguerite,
feu and tvelve. years Of age. who do
song and dance turn. Mrs. DAVIS sala'
/ Il have been in this class of work Tor
/ thirteen years and have been traVeiihg
| with my daughters for flve years ana
this is the first time that I have ever
received such strea tnent. from any man
/ aeer as was accorded me. When l lsft
Wichita it was with the understanding
that Vinewood Park and its theaIef
were owned by the Topeka Street Rall-
u-av company and that there would be
/ 17o chances te. run about getting our sal
! aries On the Sth Of the month l signed
I q contract to play one week at Nlne-
i wood Park for which I was to receive
4 $50 I have not received Single cent
/ from the management OF the PARK or
i theater though I went to see MI Kelly
repeatedly. He kept promising me that
/ if I would not say anything about II SO
! that the newspapers could get noiu
1 Of the story that he would fix up mat
ters with me in a few days ana TOT TINS
1 reason have kept quiet until this time
] I have actually gone hungry Tor the
w-nt of money with which to buy my
meals and the little girls have had but
! two meals a day.
| Il expected that Mr. Kelly would keep
his word and believed that he would un-
4 til Wednesday afternoon / was told by
4 one of the performers at the Novelty
! theater that my trunks were sitting on
4 the sidewalk at the corner of Eighth
and Kansas avenue did not fTve a
quarter to pay a drayman to have them
4 hauled to the room in which we were
! living and was compelled to ask assist
| ance from a performer at the Novelty
mot only myself and children are de-
pendent upon the salary that we earn
/ but HUSBAND also VINO IL III <Att1O@iee
slowly dying with consumption. and a
portion of our salary must go to him
each week as he IS unable to work at
all
sssMr. Kelly told me that I could
leave my trunks at the theater at
Njnewood. and then put them out on
the sidewalk and did not even notify
me of what he had done and it was
only by an accident that | learned
that they were there. have pawned
my rings and will try to get back to
my home in Wichita on the money
/ that T have realized on them. Dur
! ing the thirteen years that have
heen on the road this is the first time
that I have ever been compelled to do
a thing of this kind and have never
heard of such heartless treatment as
my children and have been subjected
to bv the management of the street
railway company and the park There
may be recourse for acts of this kind,
but I am woman and without
/ friends and I suppose that the best
thing that I can do is to try and get
back home and get to work. for we are
dependent upon our weekly salaries for
| our livelihood.
Ring and Williams are two more OF
/ the professional people who received
i about the same treatment as did Mrs
Davis and her children Mr. Viii
liams said. I'VE were booked out OF
| Wichita by Ocean Bros. & Baldwin,
who get $3.50 for their portion cf the
performance. and assured us that as
the park is managed by the street
/ railway company there would be no
trouble about salaries. and we did not
even ask them to advance us our rail-
way fares which is customary. We
went to the theater. put on our turr
to three houses. all of them prac-
tically empty, and the next thing tha'
I heard was that we would not bt
wanted longer went out to fns
park to see Mr.. Kelly and to get M
grins and efects and the saIarx du.