New-York tribune., 1919-08-22

advocate of individual contract viola
t1on, and has thereby DESTROYED all
confidence the managers may have had
IN It, In answer to that it should be
known that some of the members of
the Managers Protective Association
nave for years branded themselves as
v1olators of contracts to such an ex-
tent that 1t became an inspiration to
organize to protect the actor. The re-
suits have been that since the founda-
ton of the Actors Equity Association
SIX years ago it has succeeded in
wrestling from the grasp of the man
ayers close on $5O0,OOO to which the
actors were rghtfully entitled and of
which they became eventually pos
sessed through the Equitys concilia-
tory Intervention or by convincing the
managers of the illegality of their
acts
"The very title of the Equity shows
the loss of confidence some of the
wants to deal with a body of the man
ayers that has not demonstrated it's
complete disregard of human and con-
tractual rights.
mo one knows better than the actor
how difficult and delicate is the cast
ing of play, and in that spirit the
actors of the Equity grant the man
ayers the right to engage another actor
in the place of one who, after ten days,
may have proved unSuited to a part.
But let it also be understood in this
connection that there are numerous
managers who, while rehearsing an
actor, have another actor concealed
out in front studying all the work of
the actor on the stage, whose place he
is destined to fill at a cheaper salary
and in the guise of an imitation.
Want Issue Made Clear
"Let not the issue be clouded with
that. # their interest in the theatre
had been as sincere as they claim, they
would not have helped to degrade it to
condition against which not only the
press, but long suffering and indul-
gent public has murmured or even
shown its disgust by staying away. MANY
time an actor has protested against
objectionable things he had to do or to
say on the stage, things that were
never planned by the playwright, but
iHterpolated by the insistent authority
of the managers.
'He often usurps the position of a
PRODUCER playwright and actor in the
exercise of his power within his realm,
his theatre, and his misleading claim
that he must give the public what he
wants"
There viii be two meetings of actors
this afternoon. One is scheduled to
be held at the Biltmore This has been
called by six actors not in sympathy
with the strike. They are Fay Bainter,
Lowell Sherman, Jane Reecher, Olive
Wyndham, Robinson Newbold and AL
Ian Dlnehart George NJ. Cohan said
he would endeavor to attend this meet
ing and explain in detail his plan to
finance a new organization of actors by
giving them 100000 and as much of
his energy as it needs to put the
Actors Equity Association out of the
running.
Arthur Hopkins, speaking for the
Producing Managers Association, has
said that its best hope of ending the
strike lies in forming new organiza-
tion Cf actors. The striking actors ex-
press the belief that The Biltmore meet
ing is nothing more nor less than an
offensive against them By the man
ayers.
The Actors Equity Association is
to hold a meeting this afternoon at the
Lexington Avenue Theatre. Miss Helen
Keller will be one of the speakers.
Others will be Francis Wilson, Frank
Gilmore, Hugh Frayne, organizer in
New York for the American Federation
of Labor; De Wolf Hopper, Pearl Sim
delar, Lura Lawrence and many others.
The meeting is intended to Sustain
morale" of the strikers.