Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1917-11-01
MAIN PROP OSALS
IN R|NGlING GIFT

AT d regular mG6lluS OA GHo City
council Thursday evening, the finance
committee reported for public dis
cussion and consideration the propos-
al of Ringing Brothers to transfer
the Al Ringing theater to the city
/ of Baraboo. The members Of the COM
mittee are favorable to accepting the
opera house, but on account of legal
objections raised by the city attorney,
v. H. Cady, as regards Ringing
Brothers maintaining controlling in
terest in the institution during their
lifetime, both as to the management
, of the theater and the making of rules
governing the managing board, the
committee recommended that the mat
ter be held open for the present in Or
der to give the people chance to in-
vestigate the matter and give express
sion to their sentiments On the sub
jcct
The committee report is accompa-
MED by a report Of the city attorney.
The report of the committee states
the Ringing proposal in detail and
recites a history OF the proceedings
lad belo1e the committee. The attor-
ney's report contends that the gift to
be legal and effective must carry with
it control of the theatre by the city
and the making CT the rules govern
ing it's operation by the city council
Both the committee report and the
report of the city attorney may be de-
tailed more at length in later issue
of this paper.
The main provisions Of the pro-
posal are that during the lives of any
of the Ringing brothers, one of them,
or a substitute, shall constitute one
of the members Of the managing
board of five members. Two other
members shall be appointed by the
Ringing brothers, subpect to the con-
firmation of the council, and the city
in its own right to choose two mem
bers of the board. No member of the
board shall be over sixty years old
and all except the first shall hold for
one year, none to receive pay for his
service; that the rules made by the
council be in accordance with the
terms and conditions of the grant;
that the building shall always retain
it's present name; that it be rebuilt in
case of fire; that none of the pro-
ceeds be used other than for it's oper-
alton and upkeep; that free seats or
boxes be given to the several Ring
ling families, including their children,
and also to Mrs. Ida Ringling North,
her husband and their children; the
members of the board also to receive
free seats for themselves, but no one
else is admitted free; that no one
may use the opera house without the
boards permission and without pay
ing the regular scheduled price for it's
use; that liquors shall not be sold in
said building at any time, and that
reasonable fire insurance be carried
on the building and its contents. The
gift is made subject to these cOndi-
tions, and others named in the pro-
posal, including a mandate that the
building shall always be used for
amusement purposes.
The report of the committee states
. that the taxes on the opera house in
| the past have been about $500 annual
ly, and that the committee does not
know what the income Of the build
ing amounts to, nor what the cost OF
it's maintenance and operation is.
The council adopted the commit
tee report, Alderman Altpeter favor
ing acceptance Of the opera house at
once, in the form proposed by Ring
| ling Bros.