The Detroit times., 1915-11-25
DE ROT TIME -

lust as desirous OF protecting the
youth OF this city az the estimable
ladies and gentlemen who are pres.
ent m this Office this morning /
hold no brief for the Lurlesque
houses, much less for those that
are offensive Ia g"tlic aec-acT AID
morality. With eaRerness. vel
come any sincere effort on the part
Of the individual or newspaper that
viii make for the bctterment Of the
city. In fairness, to my position IN
this controversy. however, ask
that the public take cognizance OF
the following facts:
"The managers OF the three bur
lesque houses m this city, ;he FGA~
Gayety and Cadillac. were summon.
ed 10 this Office, following complaint
| by the police department that per
formances al ih-se theaters were
vulgar and otherwise Objectionable.
Reports from officers who visited the
/ showhouses unknown 10 the seteral
managements. accompanied thS COM
! plants
1T is not my wish TO make de-
fense for the theaters which produce
unsavory shows. Nor can the man
ayers or these theaters plead any
justification for their action in put-
ting on such performances
The public is entitled 10 know.
how ever, that the newspaper which
has selected only ont of these places
for It's attack, accepted money from
this thcater and other burlesque the
alters from the time OF their opening
until Oct 2S. In other words, the
| Detroit Journal saw nothing objec-
tionable in the performances OF
these burlesque houses as long as il
was accepting money from the man.
agements for advertising and never
hought OF insisting on the revoca-
tion OF the Folly's license until II
discontinued the exchange of adver-
tislng space for cash.
'In a recent edition OF the Detroit
Journal for instance. we read that
the Folly is "eesspeoi" and a place
where the youth OF the city are lured
TO destruction In issues of the De-
troit Journal previous 20 this time,
when the Journal was accepting
money from this theater, we find not
only advertisements of The Folly but
gratuitous notices as well May we
not In all justice assume that these
mplimentary notices aided In at
tracing TO this theater the youths
whom the Detroit Journal has been
so anxious 10 protect since Oct. 2S,
when /; ceased ID receive money
from the Folly theater FOR advertis-
ing.
"Whilc these circumstances have
no bearing whatsoever OF my action
regarding the licensing Of burlesque
houses. it strikes me that the posi-
tion OF the Detroit Journal is at !oast
Inconsistent and its motives less
holy than I fear many Of the ladies
and gentlemen Hhc --,enCed this
hearing this morning believed them
TO be.
Equally incongruous is the Jour
nails insistence that the Folly the
ater be closed the minute the Jour
nal refused TO receive cash from this
;heater for advertising. The per
formances in this theater are no
worse than they we're when the
Detroit Journal vas advertising
them in its columns. The Journal
had an opportunity to reform, and
did so by throwing out Eurlesque
advertising from it's columns. yet il
IS not willing that the theater
whose advertising it accepted. shall
be given the same opportunity for
reformation.
Furthermore, | wish the people
Of Detroit TO remember that the laws
of this city provide for the licensing
Of burlesque theaters: that these