The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-10-04
MEN, WOMEN
AND THINGS

Satisfactory 10 the man IN the street.
Who was the first profiteer, and when
did it begin? Answer me this and per-
haps I will try and write the history of
the alphabet but while we say thing
is as simple as A, B, c, if we start out
to trace their origin we run UP against
hieroglyphics.
But not only who was the first, but can,
you lay your finger on one and say,
There he ISL" The whole thing is like
the children's game of "thimble, thimble,
who's got the thimble?" Or to put it in
modern slang it is the gentle art known
as passing the buck and profiteers are
pastmasters when it comes to playing
this game which is nearly as popular as,
is the national game Of poker which is
founded on bluff"
Far be it from me to take up a brief
for the "proiteers," and only got
started along this line when I picked up
a volume of Famous Singers" published
more than a score of years ago, in which
was stated the name of Patti has always
been associated with high prices, but in
spite of the fact that a good case is
| made out against her, / wish to go on
record in saying that Patti was not the
first prima donna who got wise to Amer
, lea being rich field for exploitation.
| Now a great deal of fooIishness has
been and is being written about the crime
| of preachers, doctors and school teach
ers caring about money. The public is
perfectly willing that all three of them
starve in a good cause; but at last there
is an awakening among the trinity that
perhaps after all, even though they have
been willing to eat the bitter bread of
/! poverty that it is immoral for them to
let society prey any further upon them
without demanding more in the way of
remuneration for their services to it.
|
I do not know what influenced Patti
to become the richest of all the artists
unless it was the memory of her early
childhood days when she saw her father
stranded in great city. eat up his
clothes, jewels and household effects. The
| three balls, the symbol of the pawn
broker, may have to use biblical phrase
"gat'' hold of her. Anyway, she had Bit
ter experience of bitter want. and we
know that her mother put needle and
thread In her hand so that she might be
prepared to use them in time of need to
make a living.
! 1t has been pointed out against her that
while other singers had received large
tsums for their appearances that not one
had ever succeeded in maintaining such
uniformly high rate. l do not think
| that this indictment will make any very
great appeal to the American public,
which has always been noted for being
willing to pay for what it wanted, when
it wanted it. 1t is only in war times that
the people of the United States take much
stock in thrift talk.
| Now, this thing of great rewards for
exceptional artists is no new thing. Lets
forget for the moment Charlie Chaplin,
Mary .Pickford, Fatty" Arbuckle and
1.-THE other high-priced screen favorites,
who have made the salaries of former op-
cratic celebrities seem but pocket
change. Yet, the rewards were not SO
bad before the days of Caruso. for Fa-
rinelli is said to have made $4,000 per
annum a very large sum for the times
in which he lived, as he made his debut
in Rome in 1872. Then Jenny Lind. for
95 concerts, under Barnums management,
received sos, s75. This was in the middle
of the last century.
Knowing this, refuse to get excited
: or become aggrieved because some sta
ltistician or prognosticator had it figured
out that Patti in four decades and half
had cleaned up 1878, 900, and refuse to
weep when l am told that she charged
Mapleson. the great impressario. 5000 for
each performance, but did get a hearty
laugh out of the story of how she always
made him pay her in advance before each
performance. For fear you are not IA
miliar with it, I am going to retell it. II
you know it, why just skip it, but it's a
glum person who fails to smile even at
an old joke.
, I'll use or paraphrase Lahee's version
of it, On the second night of her en-
gagement at Boston, Madame Patti was
billed to sing in "Traviatta." Business
had been good, but expenses had been
enormous, for Colonel Mapleson had pro-
vided special car fitted up luxuriously
at a cost of $S5 900. and requiring a large
retinue of servants, for she travelled like
royalty. and we'll she might for she was
the queen of song, and bear it in mind
that she died in beautiful palace OF hel
own at Craigly- Nos, in Wales. 1t took
much money to keep her up. and she knew
how to get it.
But halt the story. Signor Franchi
PATHS agent. called at the theatre
promptly at 2 o'clock. to get the Soot
from the colonel. but only $4,000 in cash
was available. He was indignant ant
said the contract had been broken, ant
: that the prima donna would not sing. AND
} off he hot-footed 1t to her hotel. But
Mapieson was some diplomat, and used
to tempermentai artists and persuaded
her to dress for her part. and he woult
dig up the other thousand. She agreed
to robe herself all except putting or
, her Shoes This last act of her toilet tt
be performed when she had received he,
fee in full.
Never was any French comic opera 81
funny. She kept her word and arrived
; at tho theatre costuned as Violetta, blu