Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-05-01

Hold 'eml What name? All right. No, i'm
possible. I'm sorry. but l can hold EN- only
till seven-thirty. You'll CALF Very well"
had nothne thaa and tod tHs
lady the she s could have Msr in
two next to them. Yes; they are in the balcony.
You don't want them: Very we'll.
Good morning. Miss Beasley. How do you
do? Certainly. l have saved the seats you
| asked for, with the managers compliments.
| Goodby.
No. that was not Ethel Barrymore
And SO on. ad minimum.
Then Counting Up
| A night after the house is sold out, or at any
rate sometime during the performance. the
| treasurer and the manager OF the company
| count up. This is an operation of great neces-
sity with every performance. The treasurer
goes through the ticket rack and finds what he
| has not sold. He must put down the rest OF the
| seats sold then though he can account for
| some of them as having been issued on passes.
All passes. however. must be found in the
| ticket boxes. which are brought in and enptied
on the table IN the presence of both the treas
| urer and the travelling manager. who then pro-
| coed to see how the stubs. which have been put
INTO these boxes by the ticket takers at the
| door. correspond with the number stated as
| sold by the treasurer
| If the tallies do not agree it is the treasurer
who is stuck for the balance. AS the salary of
/
| three thousand dollars year it is easily seen
that he cannot afford to be very much short.
| 1t is arduous work, and work that requires.
as may be seen. peculiar temperament Ihere
theater treasurers in the country compare
lively few who shine as individuals. And these
| are not only treasurers but treasures to the
managers who employ them.
4 The business has developed as the entire
| theater business has developed. marvelously
during the last twenty years. The average
theater treasurer in the old days was looked
on with general dstrust by the general public,
who saw in him grasping ogre whose one mis-
| sion in life was to short change them when they
put money into his hands and to lie about the
location of seats. In some respects. the public
was right; not that the average boxoffice man
was dishonest but some of them were.
The Old Short Change Game
T REMEMBER, for instance, an individual in
| theater in Boston who could take twenty
dollar bill from woman who was buying two
one-dollar seats, and then look her IN the lace
and swear that she had given him only two
dollar bill. l saw HIM do it once. The woman
demanded change, and he looked smilingly at
| her saying.
Change, madam? For WHAT"
| 81 gave you twenty-dollar bill"
"You gave me a twen-' and then ne
reached for the money drawer. into which he
| lad thrust the bill with apparent careessness.
opt ming it she could see its contents There
| was certainly nothing that looked IKE twenty
dollar bill in sight Instead on the pile where
he had plainly placed the woman's money re
posed a neat two-dollar bill He pointed to it.
"There. madam is the very bill you gave me.
You saw me put it there didn't your"
II did but | am sure
| every sorry, madam. but you are mistaken
| However if you doubt me. am unable to help
t. What can you do? Well. ! will count my
cash carefully this evening and if you come out
during the performance I'll see if have made
a mistake. But think you will find on taxing
YOUR memory that you have made the error.
| Good morning. madam"
Now had not seen the twentv-dollar bill so
surely that could have sworn that the treas
urer was lying but had my opinion about it
A few years later he was caught stealing from
| the manager of the theater exactly as he had
stolen from the public.
| An Inconvenient Draft
I RECALL similar case. which occurred in
| New York. The front of the theater had
| been remodeled and the boxofhce moved across
| the lobby. The treasurer moved into his new
office, and Immediately there was howl from
| him. The manager came in to see what the
| trouble was.
1.-The draft Mr.. Blank" said the treasurer.
| Its terrible. How do you expect me to work
in this placer"
why" said the manager on investigation
doo't that there's S,,ch terrible draft