New-York tribune., 1910-10-23

in the afternoon for his two seats Inc
house was crowded, and / had only TWO
seats left I sold them TO the boy. In the
evening the man himself came to the Win
dow IN white rage.
Here I buy two seats SO that can De
comfortable he shouted. and one on them
is IN the orchestra and the other in the
balcony
TT is astonishing, too that some full grown
and well set up looking persons some
times ask questions which show that they
have never been In theatre In their lives
There were three shows IN repertory once
at a theatre where was treasurer They
were Hamlet 'OtheIIo and Macbeth A
man came in 10 buy orchestra chairs for
Hamlet I looked and found no seats left
IN the orchestra but there were some good
ones in the balcony, and I offered them to
him Well said he. doubtfully, which Of
the plays do you see from the balconyT
Box office men often develop a constdera-
BILE interest in humanity-after they have
heard something of it's infinite variety, even
in the small matter of buying seat. And
during the morning and middle afternoon
hours. when there is no rush. they listen
encouragingiy to the personal histories that
are often coufded to them.
Southern people," declared the treasurer
OF The New Theatre, ARE the most salts
factory 90 deal with. They are trustful and
easily pleased. You know there IS an al
most universal distrust of box office men.
Most persons are suspicious that we never
give them the best we have. They always
ask US for the best and believe that they
never get It. But Southerners as a class
Enr1'r 70 char m x
tent They tell me all about themselves
very often, where they came from and why
they have come to New York.
'I usually know however, where people
have come from in a general way by the
kind OF money they use. westerners. for
instance. Invariably hand in silver and
gold During the Christmas holidays the
amount of silver dollars I take in through
this window IS wonderful, and you know
we never can hand any of them out IN
change Nine people out of ten in this sec
ton OF the country resent them. 1 have
found time and again that have made an
enemy for the theatre by offering silver
dollars IN change.
Some funny notions have got around
about this theatre. and that often makes
things lively for me. have found people
refusing to buy orchestra seats because
they thought full evening dress was re-
qutred of those who sat there.
The other morning about u o'clock
woman came in with two little children
She bought tickets for the matinee and
then SAID TO me:
Now. 1 shall just go upstairs and have
lunch quietly. and by the time we are
finished the matinee will be beginning
L2,7r +aH
keep a hotel here you know. We have q
little tea room: but for life sized restau-
rant you will have to go out
oh said she, L thought you had every
thing here; I have read so much OF your
resources
To the credit OF the box office men It
should be said that they all dwelt on the
comic and well meaning rather than ON the
grouchy folk who are constantly troubling
the box office men. Persons who cannot
get the seats they want, those who fancy
the ticket man is giving them the worst he
has. those who rush in after the perform
ance has begun and find the seats they had
telephOned for have not been held after
certain time, according to the invariable
rule IN such cases-such persons often raise
a lively row around the box office. And
the man behind the window can never
argue. He must work at extreme pressure
during the rush time before a performance
SO as TO keep no one waiting, and he must
never make & mistake. These are the re-
quirements that finally succeed in turning
the face Of the box Office man into a stone
mask. that often shows no trace OF human
emotion, no matter what happens. Some one
has said that the Ideal box office man must
be an expert accountant, lightning calcu-
lator and athlete, as well as gentleman and
angel Il is no easy task c. L D.