The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-07-26
The SITUATION
THEA1RlCALLY
Announcement Made That John cort,
Veteran Theatrical Masnate.
rs. Purchased Burlington
Opera House.
Open DOOR POLICY
transaction Which Took Place ReIa-
tive to keokuk Opera House &
Somewhat 'Puzzlins to Bur-
lirston People.
Open DOOR POLICY

Increased interest in the theatrical
situation in this section was added
yesterday by the announcement that
the Grand opera house Of Burlington
had changed ownership. The Gazette
tells of the deal as follows:
The stock Of the Burlington Grand
opera HOUSE, compaAv, a corporation
with capital stock Of $4,000 market
value over $4,000, has been purchas-
ed by John Cort, the western theatri-
cal magEate. Negotiations for the
purch ase of the. stock was carried on
by John Cort presumably for himself
and the Schuberts.
The stock in the local opera house
was owned by the C. E. Perkins es-
tate. the Chamberlain estate, w. W.
Baldwin, Horace Rand, Della G. Cham
berlin and T. W. Barhdyt. BY the
transaction John Cort secures the
lease OF the Burlington opera house
which was owned by the Chamberlin-
. Harrington Co., as well as the play
house property, giving Cort absolute
control.
In the previous transactions in
which Messrs Cort and Schubert
purchased the stock of the late Frank
Chamberlin in the Chamberlin-Har-
rington Co. they secured half inter-
est in the Observation-Disclosures cir
cult, Messrs. Harrington, Peck and
Kindt owning the remainder. Messrs.
Cort and Schubert wished to purchase
the Burlington opera house independ-
ent of Harrington, Peck and Kindt,
which is ground for the superstition
that the central offices OF the circuit
are to be located in Burlington.
The circuit of theatres is horseshoe
in shape with Burlington in the cen
ter. The circuit owns ten opera
houses which form the horseshoe with
about fifteen, other houses branching
of, over which they have leasing con.
troll and part ownership
The Burlington opera house -epre-
sents an actual invest. ent of $4,000
and Is said to be the best constructed
1881 at a cost of $4,000, and was
opened January 2, 1882, by the Emma
Abbott Company in FRA Diayolo."
Many of the older Burlingtonians have
among their cherished possessions
souvenir programs of the first attrac-
ton. printed en- silk. The tickets were
sold at $40 each. Since 1882 the house
has continually undergone changes
which required the expenditure OF
more money, so that the house as it
stands today would require $4,000 to
build. 1t is understood that the pur.
chase price greatly exceeded that
amount.
The new owners of the opera house
will come into possession August /
In the meantime the machinery of the
combination has been at work book
ing attractions for the coming season
The Cort-Schubert syndicate will con
tinue the policy o, the Chamherlin
Harrington circuit and that Of the
Western Theatrical Managers asso
citation in maintaining the "oper
door policy. They propose not onl.
to show independent attractions but
to book trust shows as we'll. The
schuberts have enough first class
productions to keep the time of the
theatres we'll taken up but any oper
dates are at the disposal Of the trust
should they desire to book. There
will be no attempt to shut out an.
manager or producer. The circuit ha!
an extremely heavy investment, igur
Ing over a million and a half, and i
must be made to pay dividends which
can only be done by keeping ih'
houses open.
Another transaction which puzzled
the public lately was the filing Of
deed (which gives to S. b. Harring
ton half interest in the opera hous
at keokuk. This looked as if MI
Harrington was goin;t 10 make Kee
kuk his headquarters, but It is not
new transaction, s. M. Harrington
mas owned the half interest in tn
keokuk house for number of year
but 1t was purchased in the name G
Frank Churchill and the title wa