The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-02-13
THEATERS in PLEA
60 TO 1. C. C. Requesting
{ Passenger Rate Reduction.
lack Of Shows in Topeka Indi-
Gates Need of a Cut.

That the theater managers of the
nation are to take a part in the gen
eral appeal for lower railway rates
and particularly in reference to pas
senger fares is announced in a letter
received by L. NJ. Crawford, owner of
the Grand and Novelty theaters in To-
peka from the International Theatrl-
cal association.
The theater men of the country
thru their repreSe ntatives. VIII appear
before the interstate commerce COM
mission in Washington the latter part
of this month to present their case
according to this letter, and VIII at
that time eudeavor to show that the
public is being deprived of its amuse-
rlents by reason of the present high
rates Of passenger fares.
sWhile high costs all along the line
have diminished the number of pro-
ductions offered the public this sea
SON, the theatrical men maintain that
the chief and most expensive part OF
touring companies is that OF trans
portation The managers already
lave submitted briefs of their case to
the various railway mana gements and
rp the passenger associations OF the
United States. Their final argumen
w.l be made before the interstate
commerce commission.
1t Hits Government.
Not only viii the theatrical men ar
que that the people of the country are
being deprived Of proper means of re-
Taxation during the winter season, by
the present high cost of travel but it
will he called to the attention of the
commission that one of the biggest
sufferers is the government itself in
that the amount of revenue derived
from the theater admission taxes is
being greatly reduced by the present
situation
In support Of this latter argument,
the theatrical men have collected
figures and statistics from every place
OF amusement IN the country that pre-
SCENTS road shows" If these figures
submitted in totals to the commission
are in the same ratio as those of the
Topeka theateFs. they must certainly
have great weight in the final decision
of the body. as the disparity between
the receipts for 1920 and 1921 seasons
is quite large.
Fewer Road Shows Hero.
During the year 1920 there were
II road shows presented at the Grand
theater in Topeka as against eleven
shows shown for the season of 1921
which is not yet quite completed, but
with only three more companies book
cd for this city, there is every indi-
cation that the number for this sea-
son will not even reach a fourth of
those here last season. The amount
u Wal taxes cOlIecleu from the To-
peka show going public is not in the
same ratio. For the season of 1920
the amount turned over to the gov
cTnment was $4,000. So far this
season there has been collected in adj
mission taxes the sum of $1,000 and
by the time The remaining three com
panies have visited Topeka, the tax
collected will be over one-fourth that
collected last season.
The reason is easily apparent" said
il. i. Uhrich, manager of the Grand
tnc1ter. The people are show hun
rly and are patronizing to capacity
every show that comes here. In the
lrtt two months we have had nine
tOvs here and only one of these
] we'd to less than q packed house.
All CT them were what could be called
the cream of the road show business,
but one must remember that in these
Gays of the high costs of everything
tnt atrical. only the cream that can
attract capacity business. remains on
the road long enough to reach this far
west
Take on the Movies"
In the entire southwest there is
not a city the size of Topeka and many
larger that have a strictly Legitimate
tneater. All have resorted to pictures
10 fill in the big gaps between visiting
companies and to keep their houses
open. Really the pictures are now
the saviors of the theatrical busin ess.
1T would surprise lot of Topekans
10 know that despite the packed house
business done for the recent attrac-
tons offered at the Grand that the
profit has been almost negligible. This
Is because the companies. under such
heavy transportation and other eX-
pense. must take such d large per
centage of the box office receipts.
What is left for the local house is
eaten into heavily by expenses that are
OH 70 viz
time salaries of employees of all sorts
and the additional employees required
10y regulations that recently have
come into force"