The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-06-20
THEATRICAL WAR
IS PRECIPITATEO
Expected Break Between the
"SkindiCate" and PeIton &
Shutter Is a Fact.
LETTERS ARE EXCHANGED
WESTERN CONCERN is EVIDENT
~ PREPARED TO FIGHT.

The long-expeCted break between
Pelton & Shutter and Klaw & Erlan-
ger has come, and it has come in ear
nest Pelton 6, Shutter are the head
Of the intermountain theatrical circuit,
with headquarters I'm Denver, which in
cludes the Grand theatre in this city
and theatres in every town in Utah,
with the exception Of Ogden. They
also control circuits in Colorado, Ari-
iona. New Mexico, Wyoming. Nevada.
Idaho and other western states The
Klaw & Erlanger people are the most
powerful theatrical syndicate in the
country.
Not long ago Pelton & Shutter made
an arrangement with the Shuberts, VINO
are at war with the Klaw-E rlangeT
syndicate, for the booking Of the Shu-
bert attractions. Salt Lake has seen
some OF them, notably Mrs. Fiske. THE
Blue Mouse" and others. This arrange
ment was not TO the liking of Klaw &
Granger, and they made vigorous pro-
test.
Syndicate Makes Protest.
On the last of May the syndicate sent
a letter to the Denver people a part OF
the contents Of which reads.
''Shuberts announce that they have
arranged with you TO book their at
fractions. in houses which we have
agreed TO represent exclusively. II this
is true it viii cancel our contract with
you. and all bookings made for next
season Their. Understand that we do
not intend that our organization shall
be used TO demOralize the theatrical
business. You got most OF those houses
because you We're affiliated with us.
Please answer definitely Immediately.
If true, we intend making other ar
rangements at once"
This brought forth from Pelton &
Shutter reply i'm which they
charged Klaw d Erlanger with bad
faith and failure TO give the protection
agreed upon. Klaw & Granger are
taken TO task for failure TO fill dates
for the Salt Lake (the Grand and the
Denver house jthe Curtis}, and denies
that the action Of the circuit mana gers
in making their houses open to the
Shuberts viii demoralize the theatrical
business. The letter says I'm part:
Failure Is Charged.
You were certainly laboring under a
lisapprehensiOn when you say that
most Of our houses were secured be-
cause we were affiliated with YOU. We
had all Of them but six, and could have
soften them Just the same. Your at
fractions would have been playing these
houses. would be compelled TO do so. as
each town has but one theatre. end
companies could not jump 1000 miles
without filling in their time in these
houses.
Last season you gave US in the Ar
iona country, according to our records
about eight attractions. The mana gers
of these houses booked direct anything
and everything that same along. as
they could not afford to keep their
houses dark and suffer losses when you
could not give them any goods to sell.
You cannot expect a situation like
this TO continue. and attempt to force
these managers to refrain from playing
anything else than the attractions
which emanate from your office. They
would not do it to oblige US, and we
know they would not do fl TO oblige you.
But, on the contrary, we are going to
do all we can to help these boys I'LL
their houses with whatever they can
get"
Treat All Alike.
In conclusion. PcIton & shutter de-
fine their position on the Open-doOr pol
icy;
You are taking a stand which is
bound to demoralize the theatrical
business when you arbitrarily, em9hat-
ically and czariCally attempt to cOerce
as small an Institution as ours into try
ing to prevent US from making an hon
est living.
we realize that the firm Of Klaw &
Granger is large and powerful and we
HOTELS AND RESORTS