New-York tribune., 1919-09-03
Theatre Peace
Fails; Fight to
End Declared
Continued from page I

"a! ''S 'ha. ''tcSe organizations do not
demand the stage be made closed
shop.
"If we get these statements and the
managers then refuse to settle" one
OF the embers of tho committee said.
we Will bring mandamus proceedings
against them to recover our plays will
obtain financial aid from downtown
and with the aid of the Equity will
produce these plays ourselves"
Authors to Reserve Rights
he committee also announced that
1t intended to impose a standard con-
tract for playwrights upon the man.
ayers, reserving for the authors the
foreign. moving picture and stock
rights Of plays produced.
The managers" one Of the commit
tee remarked. certainly put their feet
IN 1T when they started this trouble"
The managers often repeated charge
that the actors wanted nothing less
than the closed shop was bolstered up
yesterday by Bessie Mccoy Davis.
dancer and widow of Richard Harding
Davis. Mrs. Davis has been featured
for many weeks in the "Greenwich
Village Follies." She is not member
of, the Actors Equity Association and
recently joined the Actors Fidelity
League, which is opposed to the strike.
All the other members of the COM
pany are members of the Equity. No
strike has been called on this company
because it has no affiliation with the
+. NJ. A., and has been playing in the
Greenwich Village Theatre also with
out P. NJ. a. connections.
Mrs. Davis charged yesterday in a
statement to newspapcrmen that the
Equity members of the company for
more than six weeks had been resort
ing to unusual methods to force her
to join their organization until in fear
of bodily harm she had hired a body
guard. On Saturday, she said, AL Jones,
the manager of the show, told her she
had 20 join the Equity or the show
would be closed.
Mrs. Davis Tells of Threats
Last Saturday," she said, "Mr.
Jones came to my dressing room
and told me that unless / Joined
over Sunday the entire company
would walk out on the Labor
Day matinee. Then. later they told
me that unless ] Joined over Sunday,
the members Of the company would
humiliate me in such a way while I
was On the stage that I would never
dare appear again.
II told him I would not Join the
Equity. He said members of the
company would refuse to play with a
non Equity member Then he tried
to persuade me to resign from the
company and offered to continue my
salary ii 'Yould quit.
NY contract calls for $500 a week,
6ut am only paid s4oo while we arc
forced 10 play in tho Village in a
small house. But declined to take
my pay on any such basis and tod
Aim ! would play Monday. and I did,
and am going to keep on playing.
Now here Is very hard thing
that | have got TO say. For six weeks
the other members Of the company
nave sought By every means at their
command to embarrass me. They have
written 'Scab on ny dressing room
mirror viii soap; have written that
and other things on the walls and an
noyed me in other ways until l had
20 put a paddock on the door.
Shower OF Eggs Hinted
Then when I'd pass they'd sing:
The worst is yet to come the worst
is yet 20 come and talk about the
eggs that were going to be thrown In
one Of my changes, which has to be
made very quickly. / have been ham
pered because Equity members would
crowd IN front of me when I was
hurrylng to my dressing room.
In one scene am brought on the
stage IN box. do marionette
dance. The four men OF the company
who carry this bQt on have developed
the habit Of dropping the box. 1t
doesn't hurt ne seriously, Of course,
but when [ emerge ! am hardly in
shape to do my best work. Then, too.
one one Of them is supposed to open the
box. Several times he has forgotten
this. so | had to tumble around and
open the box myself. This is a bit
difficult and spoiled the effect.
"On Monday some one shouted from
the wings, Look out.' | thought they
were going to drop the curtain on me,
and, frightened, stepped toward the
footlights. | was prepared to jump
over them. into the audience, where l
knew had friends. l had none back
stage
A Theatrical Third Degree
'"Only three days ago they began to
rehearse other people in my part. This
was done in my presence, a sort Of
quit. The last story my husband wrote
was called The Dcserter' He hated a
gutter, and won't quit.
ION the advice Of my brother-in-
law, Charles Belmont Davis, | hav.
hired guard. He is Bob Oakley, a
brother of Annie Oakley, the circus
crack shot. If there is going to be
any rough stuff pll be ready. They
won't allow Mr.. Oakley on the stage,
but with him around I don't think
they'll try anything very bad. In
addition to him, my companion is with
me every night. Some of the things
that have been said to her won't bear
repcating."
This is what Grant Stewart, CORE
spending Secretary of the Actors
Equity Association. said in reply to
Mrs. Davls's statements:
Our members Of the Greenwich Viii
lage Follies' company have been very
r., restye ,'e over Miss Bessie Mccoy Davis's
Fidelity propaganda. Her coming
GREATNESS out of n box and tryinp to
convey to the audience that she was
Kept IN there to the point of suffocation
and her various other little tricks to
show imaginary persecution have not
endeared her to her associates.
Impending Outbreak Denied
Her friends spread report yester.
day that some kind of demonstration
would be made against her at the
matinee and many went to the theatre
expecting something of the kind would
be done. The Equity is not fighting
that way. We understand that Miss
Davis has engaged Annie OaHley's
brother to protect her. Annie Oakley
IA lnrfr