The San Francisco call., 1908-08-16

entered into at a recent meeting in
New York when the following were
present:
Mare Klaw and Abraham L. Erlanger.
representing their own and Charles
Frohmanss interests.
B. T. Keith Of Boston, T. r Proctor
and I. F. AIbee of New York, repre-
senting the Keith & Proctor vaudeville
circuit.
S. 2. Poll, whose vaudeville interests
are confined to the New England states.
Percy G. Williams Of New York, own
er OF vaudeville houses in New York
and Brooklyn.
C. Z. Kohl, representing many Chi
cago theaters.
Meyerfeld, the vaudeville magnate of
the west.
Lee shubert of the firm of shubert &
Co, managers of a chain of first class
theaters in New York
George B. Cox, who controls theaters
in Cincinnati and is affiliated with the
Shuberts.
II. NJ Ziegler, also of Cincinnati.
Samuel F. Nixon of Nixon < Zim-
norman, who control houses in Penn
EylYania and Ohio, besides some in Bal
timore and elsewhere.
Al Hayman of New York, for Charles
Frohman and himself.
John H. Havlin Of Stair & Havlin,
owners Of popular price theaters
throughout the United States.
II. c. Anderson, controlling Ohio the
sters and interested with Shubert in
the New York Hippodrome.
Samuel Scribner and L. Weber, for
the eastern sburlesque wheel" and
Hermann Fehr. for the western
wheel"
J. J. 8Iurdock. for the western vaude-
vile circuit.
The real purpose of the meeting and
the purpose which the organization
VIII accomplish, according to Meyer
field, VIII be 10 prevent the oversupply
Of theater buildings. which are a men
ace to the established houses and
which usually fail into the hands OF
one night operators whose interest in
the coEntrY's theatricals is temporary
and usually a disadvantage BY
means Of the agreement entered into
an outsider may build theater in a
city or town, but that will be as far
as he viii get for he viii find It I'm
possible TO engage attractions unless
the building is warranted by the size
Of the town and its demand for the
atrical entertainment
Such battles as were recently waged
between klaw & ErIanger and the
Orpheum interests will be Impossible
ander the new order Of things. and as
* d e" dropped about $1,000, 900 in
that fight Il viii be an advantage to
producers at least Another recent war
between Keith and Proctor, which al
last LED 10 & merger Of their interests
has helped TO get the magnates to-
gether for mutual protection; then
there was the invasion of Williams
into the vaudeville business. All OF
these quarrels. il is claimed by the
managers. resulted in heavy losses tc
the managers and brought about nc
benefit to the public.
Absolutly no merger is contemplated
in this new agreement. it is claimed
al the managers and theaters doing
business viii continue as heretofore
pocketing all their profits or paying al
their own losses. There has been es-
tablished merely an entente cordiale'
between all the theatrical interests
which viii bring them together in any
cause and regulate the building of tie
aters throughout the country to the
end that there viii be a living bust
ness for those engaged in theatrical af-
fairs"
II may not be a trust, but il has al
the symptoms, you sec.
Even David Belasco and Harrison
Grey. the two independent managers
and producers. are in way concerned