The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-08-20

"Witching Hour will pIay Valencia
theater the time you have arranged.
sHUBERT THEATRICAL CO.,
Per j. j. Shubert.
Never was there so much dust kicked
up in theatrical San Francisco as is
clouding the fight now going on by wire
and letters between the Valencia thea
ter, the American theater and the Shu-
berts The row has reached the acute
stage, wherein it is alleged on one side
that the other isn't telling the truth.
The lie has been passed. Manager Cohn
says that Bradford, Shuberts agent.
told him the reason why the Shuberts
were leaving the American theater for
the Valencia was because of a 10 per
cent bonus granted by the Valencia
management to secure The Witching
Hour" which inducement, of course, the
Shuberts could not ignore.
BRADFORD CONTRADICTS COIN
Charles Bradford. who is at the head
of The Witching Hour" company, says
he never told Cohn any such thing
Our reason for changing theaters. y
says Bradford was because Cohn did
not live up to his obligations in the
contract to properly advertise this at
traction
Cohn says there is no such obligation
existing. and there you are
Meantime the rumor gained currency
last night that Manager Coin. seeing
that there was little likelihood of hold
ing the Shuberts to the agreement, had
started to perfect plans to install a
CT nlI Of A ~.
ter and that he had made an offer to
Paul McAllister to serve as leading
man at the conclusion of Frank Ba-
cons brief engagement at the Amer
lean. Confirmation of this and a thou
sand other rumors was not fortheom-
ing last night.
Both theaters are offering seats for
sale for THE Witching Hour and are
taking orders, they say.
DISPUTE ABOUT PRICES
Cohn. in a formal statement, also
urged that the prices insisted upon by
Bradford for seats to hear The Witch
ing Hour We're too high and that the
show wasn't worth 81. Cohn says that
Bradford himself admitted this. Brad
ford says he never admitted anything
of the kind but that on the contrary
50 had been the prevailing price ever
since the show was started on its sue
cessful way.
AT the Hackett theater,' said Brad
ford last night, I'VE got 81 for the
whole lower floor during the entire Is
months of the run in that playhouse.
The salary list alone, and we can
prove it. is $4,000 weekly. as against
the usual average of less than $4,000.
The cast is long and the cost of pro-
duction more than usual. I do not
think San Francisco is a cheaper city
than Seattle is or than New York is.
Augustus Thomas, who will be here
in a few days, would not consent to
have his drama played for less.
COIN ACCUSED OF "KNOCKING'
However" said Bradford, that sort
of a statement is to be expected. If
Cohn can't play us himself, it is nat
ural that he would employ his oppor-
tunity TO knock our show. The differ
ences grew out of his refusal to adj
vertise our attractions, and that is all
there is to it. He knows it and
know It,
when this same company was three
weeks out of Boston we had already
spent 81 100 in advertising in the Bos-
ton papers, establishing a mail order
scheme This has proved of advantage
clear across the country. I sent Coin
the material to do this advertising,
but he refused, saying that such adj
yertisements would inJure the business
which his stock company was doing
So instead of spending, on our orders
s1.10O he has not, up to the present
time. spent II cents. That isn't the
way the Shuberts do business
| ROTH SIDES OF CONTROVERSY
To give both sides of the contro-
yersy and to let 1t be seen how merry
the fight is waging. Manager Abe S
| Cohn's formal statement is published
| herewith. He had no other statement
| to make. except to deny the rumol
| that Paul McAllister had been APP
preached with a view to engagement
as leading man for the stock company
| which. it had been said, the American
/ intended to establish.
/ IF the Shuberts are not to be hello