The Washington times., 1915-01-10


sess . single element Of iapger--it is
in the stoppage of the fail that the
danger lies. II the person falling
happened to alight in river or lake
or . tree or a net or some other
plant or flexible substance that
would cause him to stop gradually,
there would be no need for alarm.
one might apply this ruling Of the
law Of physics to the business side
OF the drama and interpret recent
happenings in New York as the ef-
forts Of the forces OF Messrs. Klaw
ana Erlanger and Shubert Brothers
TO spread what might bS called q sort
Of community net in the holding Of
which they seek to unity their here.
tofore individual EFFORTS to save the
theater from the disastrous conse-
Quences Of the wild bit of nnancial
aviation In which 1t has been In
dulging for several seasons past. OF
course the net these gentlemen are
holding 10 of . closely woven fabric
from which none Of the valuable de-
brts OF the, drama can possibly
escape and In sd1ustinxs 1t to the
needs Of the occasion they will un-
0ouotedly be able to gain much Of
value for themselves. But it is not
uoreAaonable' to assume that what
they are doing for their own gain
Win eventually be q decided benent to
the people who pay money to be
amused .-.tet -.
The firms which have just been re-
ported to have united practically con-
lieu Of . better term, the best class of
amusement offered the public. When
the Shuberts and Klaw and Erlanger
were competins in the field Of legitimate
by. both firms. The imitation Of the sal
aries OF the players was one great
souroe Of expense. The higher salary
wos the lure that induced the actors and
actresses to 90 from one concern to
tions was notable. Under such condi-
tton0 with absolutely no chance to an
ply brake. 1t was only reasonable to
expect that some day q crash would
coine tnat would smash the whole thea
The producers view Of the situation is
best illustrated by the recent efforts
Of a. F. Albee to put the vaudeville
and which is now recognised as Just
that Vaudeville has become a big thing
IN the life OF the average pleasure-seek-
ef. 1t offered a maximum Of entertain
!nsnt Tor = minimum Of price and at
an actor Of note was induced to give
a short play as part Of vaudeville pro-
gram. He liked 1t immense because 1t
meant considerably less work and more
approached. Each demanded little
moro money--not because his efforts
were worth It.. but because the other
fellow was getting it. There might have
osen pee n . certain ,taI1 percentage Of the figure
the elusive something which lawyers
do down e from the so-ca,led ,esit|%see sRnSs
stage There are too many Of them
caste enter into the egotiations now. The
result was that salaries were inflated
to enormous proportions. A leading
actress who visited Washington recently
pany was paid the sum Of $500 per
week for her services-more money than
the average wage-earner of the United
states receives in four or five years.
Having practically monopoly On
the vaudeville business, Mr.. Albce de-
ctded this year to cut salaries down to
a better working basis. Some Of them
host Of foreign artists to draw upon
who could fill in for these performers.
they were compelled to accept the cut
or get out of the business. There was
were said OF the magnate. He was re-
ported to be taking advantage Of art!-
ticial conditions created by the war in
Europe to gouge' the people working
nest na%Ssr oi fs'nsh the shnss
that were said might be true--but the
fact remains that in cutting salaries
MIR. Albee also performed a service that
vaudeville bills to the proprietors of
theaters was becoming SO great as to
be almost prohibitive. and it would
only be q short time when it would be
impossible for many theater owners to
provide satisfactory bills at all. -
The same situation was to be found
in the legitimate field. There has been
much comment in this department re.
out Of the large producing centers.
The theater-goer suffered, and the SELL
Ing OF tickets to such performances was
something Of a eontidence game; There
lie with regulations that made success
limitations OF what the people owning
the regulations did with the plays pre-
ton and the imitation Of salaries is
one Of the things the producers say
lay at the bottom OF this condition. The
cut-throat methods OF competition We're
responsible. Recently we have seen
two of the biggest producers OF the
most artistic plays-the Lieblers and
Harrison Grey tiske-seek refuge in a
recetVershlp ana the bankruptcy court.
respectively, because they were unable
to keep up with the eStravagances OF
their competitors. 1t Is a real loss to
the drama to have such firms pushed
to the wall. But that Is what is bound
to happen under the conditions that
have existed for some time past.
This Is not an attempt to excuse
the methods Of certain producers who
are actuated solely by catch penny
principles or to condemn competi-
tion. 1t Is simply a statement of fact
There seems to be better chance
for a sane condition Of affairs to be
restored to the theater under the
agreement Of cooperation between
the Shuberts and Klaw and ErlangsI
than there Is without 1t. They will
undoubtedly cut expenses in produc.
tions because they enjoy almost q
monopoly of the best sort of enter
tainment. They will also undoubted'
ly cut salaries and bring their pro
ductions down to a basis where they
can send companies on the road with
casts of competent artists without
fear of running themselves into bank
ruptcy. Perhaps this fear has beer
without foundation. Perhaps the
managers set too high an estimate
on what their profits should be. The
result is the same no matter how the
manager might view 1.-THE people
Hyho maid real mOney for real dram.