New-York tribune., 1910-06-10
HAMMERSTEIN BARRED
FROM RUSSIAN DOMAIN
lmpreSariO, for Obvious Reasons.
May Hot Cross Border of
Cars Empire.
WAS GOING FOR DANCERS
Son Has Not Heard of Exclusion
and Will Take No Steps
Until He Hears from
His Father.

~ 1 CNCA 81 u1 X y uIe S.-BSTnlSSlOn ha &
been refused to Oscar Hammerstein. the
theatrical manager. of New York 10
visit Russia. It was Mr.. Hammerstein's s
original intention to come TO St. Peters
burg to secure Russian dancers.
William Hammerstein said at the
Victoria Theatre last night that he
hadn't heard of his fathers exclusion
from Russia. and didn't know that he
had any intention of going there right
away. anyhow However. he said. until
he heard something more definite from
Paris he couldn't comment upon the
news in any particularly enlightening
fashion, and he couldn't tell whether he
would take up the matter with the De
partment Of State.
OF course, my father is a Hebrew"
he said. in answer to a question as to
his race, il having been suggested that
Oscar Hammerstein had denied that.
and he's never been at all desirous of
denying or cOncealing it
New Workers are we'll acquainted with
the personality Of the whimsical i'm
presario- oscar Hammerstein has been
active in the life of the city for many
years, and his peculiarities and also his
activities in the world of music and enter
talnment are a we'll known story.
Ever since he came to this country in
1863 and worked as a cigarmaker he has
been making money. Not long after he
came over he tablished trade journal
for the tobacco industry, and in 1868
began to write some comedies. He went
extensively into Harlem real estate. in
which he made money. and he made a
fortune from a patent for moulding
cigars
In the late 10s he took the lease of the
old Windsor Theatre, in the Bowery. and
ran it as a German playhouse. To the
Germania Theatre in 14th street he
brought Heinrich Conried. a young Ger
man actor and afterward his great rival
in the operate war.
In 1880 he built the Harlem Opera
House, and said afterward that he sunk
from 100000 to 100000 in it The
Harlem Music Hall. the Columbus Thea
ire, the Manhattan Music Hall. which
was afterward Roster & Bials: the
the Victoria, the Republic. afterward
Belasco's. were some of the theatres he
built before his final effort in this line.
the Manhattan Opera House in 34th
street
He is more than sixty years old now,
but is still a fighter. and has furnished
as much good copy" TO the newspapers
through his eccentricities. as any other
man in New York. There were fights in
the courts. and fights in the streets, and
fights in the newspapers. Back in 1894
he Kissed a singer in his own theatre
(koster & BiaTs). had fight with the
stage manager and was taken to court,
while only a little over year ago he
had an encounter with rwo newspaper
reporters in front of the Knickerbocker
Hotel. He said that at his failure in
1897 at the Olympia he lost $4,000 to
$4,000, and when he turned over his
forces TO the Metropolitan Opera Com
pany the other day he asserted that he
had lost about s25O,00O during the last
season. He called the Olympia My
monument" at the time of his failure
there
During the long fight with the Metro
politan forces under the generalship of
COnried and DippeI Hammerstein crit
icised the New York public very bitterly.
At one time he said that trip to the
Manhattan Opera House meant about as
much to them as a trip to Chinatown
He was constantly having trouble with
his singers. His rows with Mary Gar
den are history Of yesterday He sued
Fiorencio Constantine, a tenor. for
s25, ,00O for breaking a contract, and sued
the Metropolitan because he said he had
loaned ZenatelIo to them to take the
place of Caruso on a Western tour.
After annual threats to get out of
opera here and in Philadelphia-at one
time a lawyer in Philadelphia said that
his client, Mr.. Hammerstein, had brain
storm'-he sold his interests recently to
Edward T Stotesbury Of Philadelphia,
whereby the latter became the owner Of
the Philadelphia opera House and di-
rector OF the Metropolitan. The price
raid was said TO have been 81 1000. 900
Hammerstein said as late as last De
cerlber that he was not broke" but that
instead he had 100000