The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-05-23
LYRIC THEATRE TO
GET NO LICENSE
tcontinued From First Page.)

Continued From First Page.)
Mr. wallerstcin acquired property at
eighth and Grace Streets. paying
$4,000 forfit. Shortly afterwards GER
tain Richmond and New York parties
suggested that IL he woulu enlarge the
lot and erect on 1t q modern play
mouse of tho first class they would
tease 1t for fifteen years. He therefore
purchased the adjoining lot in the rear
Tor $4,000, making a property invest
ment of SOS, 500, and closed q ffteen-
year loase with tho Keith theatrical
interests, through Jake wells.
The Building Inspector on April O., by
letter, gave permission for clearing the
lot. and promised to issue the neces-
sary building permit IL the plans were
in conformity with city ordinances. Mr..
Wallerstein then sent to New York,
and at a cost of $4,000 had the draw
ings prepared. and was prepared to
proceed with the work, having no in
ttmation of objections until he had
Incurred great expense. On May IS the
building permit was issued, and on the
same day MIR. Hunton wrote a letter
calling attention to the fact that the
ordinance had been introduced at the
instance of st. Paul's and st. Peters
Churches.
No Civic Demand for 1t.
Mr.. Gordon proceeded to argue that
there was no civic demand for the
ordinance, and could not be; that it
was special legislation for two
churches. He called attention to the
phenomenal rise of property values on
Grace Street. and named the Broad
Street stores which have acquired
property for. Grace street entrances
with q view of making 1t q business
t~horoughfare as far west as Foushee
Street. H
The churches, he said. could not con-
tinue to sequester themselves In a
residential section-the signs of the
times were all against it-and It was
the history of every city with u
healthy growth. The churches. II they
cared to sell. would feel the advance
Presbyterian Church, at Fourth and
Grace Streets. of which Mr.. Gordon
IS an officer, he stated, had Just de-
clined an offer of $4,000 for It's prop
erty from a business house. High
prices on Broad Street. he contended,
were inevitably forcing certain lines
of business to Grace Street, and no
; special interests could stop such a
movement
Mikes Strong Protest.
what IS the influence thet has been
brought to bear?' he asked. 81 am
not q devotee OF theatres. nor am l
here TO speak for their moral infu-
ence, but to protest against this inter
ference of ecclesiastical powers with
, state affairs. No business or social or
educational interests ask for this OF
~dinance. The only Interests are two
churches. You arc here to vote on this
ordinance at the behest OF these
churches. and for that alone"
Mr.. Gordon continued his argument
for more than an hour, taking the
ground that the proposed legislation
| was unwise. because unnecessary; that
neither of the churches would be
harmed by the erection and mainte-
! nance of such a theatre as was pro-
Rosed. The owners would agree ina
there would be no billboards on the
Grace Street front. and that all gal
lery entrances and the exit
the acts would be On Eighth Street
and that no effort be made to open on
Sunday or during Holy Week. me
! theatre. ne maintained, would DO oS
the churches as 1t would nave the
churches do by 1t.
He asserted that it was rather IN
consistan, for churches that have not
given any deliverance oil theatres OF
attempted to discipline members Tor
attending 10 oppose an institution
they have tacitly approved by fallins
TO condemn.
Permitted to Attend Theatres.
If the churches were attempting "
thwart a public enterprise as an evil
he wanted to know why the bishops
had not taken action &c suppress
theatre attendance among the mem
here. Further, 1t was a gross dis
c~rinination against one line OF ousi-
ness. Show windows of stores gar
inzly lighted would prove more allur-
ing. and he wanted TO know what the
Council would 90 to protect the Grace
Street Baptist Church when the Coheh
| Company built it's Grace Street Annex
or other churches lower down, wnen
! Miller & Rhoads came out to Grace
street on property already acquired
for tho purpose. The nearest point OF
the Academy of Music by actual meas
urement. he said. was Just 6 Inches
over the 75-foot line, from the neerest
point of st. Peuls-measuring from
the caves it would be less. The COLO
NAL, with which 1t was proposed that
there be no interference. was within
a few feet of st. Johns German Evan
gelical Church.
The crux Of the situation, he said.
was the great principle before Yir-
ginia since the earliest times. the en-
Lire separation of church and State.
Mr.. Gordon's intimate knowledge OF
church law and his familiarity with
the Scriptures stood him in good stead,
as he told how nations had taken to
the sword for their faiths and per
ished by it; how the Puritans had tried
to legisIate morality and had failed.
Some Other Speakers.
Henry Atkinson, the only private
citizen now living on the block and q
member OF ST. Peter's Church, said he
saw no objection to the theatre.
Building Inspector Beck was called as
q witness, and in answer to questions