The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-01-12

New York, Jan, 11-That New York is the greatest threate city in the | world, is statement borne out by the | latest figures which show that the an
 nual threatre attendapce here is equal
 to one quarter of the entire popula-
 tion of the United States. In other words 2o,000.0o0 persons of whom prob ably one-fifth are visitors from other parts of the country. attend all sorts of shows here every year and in do- | ing so they expend the enormous sum
 of s10O. e.000
 | This of course is not paid entirely for admission tickets, since $2S,0OO,
 900 covers that item. In addition to
 this, however. nearly S10.0o0.000 Is
 something like $2.000,000 in flowers | and more than s60,00o.000 on food and
 drink before and after the theatre or
 opera In New Yorks various hotels | and restaurants. Out of the average
 cost of five dollars a person attending
 performances. therefore, three-quar-
 ters is spent on accessories and more than half for liquid or solid refresh | ment.
 In Manhattan alone there are sixty two theatres of which the total aver age nightly attendance is S2,000. To produce the plays which New Workers | go to see costs annually about $11,-
 100000 Of this salaries to actors
 takes about $4.000,00o ranging from the | SIP a week paid the member of the chorus to the q, ,000 paid to the biggest
 stars. although there are very few get ting this amount The regular em- ployes of the theatre, such as stage
 hands, ticket sellers and ushers, cost
 about s2.oo0.ooo annually in addition | to this.
 Another $2.ooo.ooo is expended in | trying out and putting on new plays | every year. thus bringing the total
 cost up to $s,000,000. The leases. taxes
 and interest on the sixty-two theatres
 valued at s3o.0oo.0O0 bring the total l cost of producing these various amuse-
 ments up to $11,000,O00. Even then | however, there remains profit of | about $9.000.000 for the managers. l Altogether 1t Is probable that the | expenditure for amusements in New York, together with the various access
 sories, is considerably in excess of | $100, 100000.
 1 With the sensational disclosure at
 the time of it's abolishment in certain
 Southern States 1t was believed that the lottery and the selling of lottery l tickets had been done away With In
 this country. Consequently the dis
 covery that a full fledged lottery Is
 being conducted in New York. with a
 regular sale of tickets, has caused a | great surprise. Information has recently leaked out,
 however, that such is the case and that
 for months past agents have been reap
 ing a golden harvest by the sale of
 tickets, particularly on the crowded East Side.
 So popular has the lottery become with it's patrons, who refuse to divulge
 information concerning 1t or its
 methods, that the combined efforts of
 the post office officials and the city
 detectives have not as yet resulted in
 running any one to earth. It is known however. that agents who sell tickets
 have regular territories throughout the city, although they use no offices oi their own, and that they will do no
 business with any one who is not in- ] troduced by a person known to them | to be trustworthy.
 l Tickets cost two dollars each but are
 sub divided into eighths at twenty five
 cents each. The principal prize is said