The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1910-01-07
That Auditorium Proposition Again.
Ellitnr Reinrfner:

| f.1ltof heloffnef.
Our attention has been called to the
items and notices in the newspapers, re
garding our offer to lease the auditorium
and in Justice TO ourselves and the select
men OF Brattleboro we wish to give true
statement of the facts. We were informed
during the month Of December by one OF
the citizens of Brattleboro that the audi
torium was closed for the season as the
patronage of the dramatic productions did
/ not warrant keeping 1t open.
! On visiting Brattleboro. we learned from
al least a half-dozen people that the audi
torium was closed for the season, and that
there was some talk of putting in moving
pictures. Acting on this information, we
made the following proposition to John
Calvin of the board of selectmen;
That we would give them $500 per year
for lease of the auditorium, heated with
the understanding that we woald put in
vaudeville and moving pictures We would
also erect an asbestos booth as required by
the Massachusetts, laws, put in one Of the
latest improved moving picture machines;
would employ an operator who was IL
lcensed by the Massachusetts, district po-
lice We also agreed to rent to the local
societies and organizations at the same
rental as they had always been paying for
any of their regular annual events; also to
play any first-class attractions that we
might be able to secure, but we did not
agree to book any of the cheap melodrama
or repertoire shows. We also agreed to
pay the rent in advance, and the programs
were TO be subject to the approval of the
selectmen.
After making this proposition to the Sc
)ectmen, George Fox, the present manager,
called on us here at our Office in Green
field and asked us to withdraw our offer as
he wished to put in moving pictures and
claimed he could not afford to pay the
amount we offered We informed him that
we were in the business and knew what
we could afford to pay, that we had made
our offer in good faith, after we had been
informed that no more attractions would |
be booked this season, and that we would |
stand by our proposition.
In Justice to ourselves and on account of
some of the wTite-ups regarding this mat
ter we wish to say that we have always be-
ieved in giving the people what they want;
the programs that we are showing in all
Of our houses are approved by the National
Board of Censors and also by Gen. j. H.
Whitney, chief of the Massachusetts state
police. The vaudeville acts are the same
,cts that appear in the Keith, Proctor and
Morris houses. Our idea in making the
,ffer that we did was to book in good at
and on night that the theater
would be dark we would put in moving
pictures and vaudeville. this form of amuse
nent being the same as is now being
played by large number of B. F. Keith's
heaters.
We wish to have the people of Brattle-
,oro know the true facts of the case, that
We did not intend to shut out local or
ood attractions, and had the house been
eased to us. we would have booked as
many first-class attractions as we could get
nd the people would patronize, and in
ustice to ourselves we respectfully ask you {
o publish this letter. l.
Thanking you, we are I
Yours truly,
Tawlpr Rros Is