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CHICAGO
BIG SHAKE-UP IS DUE
IN VAUDEVILLE FIELD
Smoking Volcanic Rumors Indicate Eruptions in the Near
Future Variety Guns in Town.
Volume V-No. 21
i6 THEFT OF SCENERY
STOPPED BY MANAGER
Daniels, of the Cleveland Hippodrome,
Prevents Wholesale Robbery in
Nick of Time.
CLEVELAND, 0., Nov. 10.-Manager
Ianiels, of Keith's Hippodrome, is look-
ing for the man who tried to steal
l.000 worth of scenery from the treater.
e is also looking for the man who
otered a stage hand $50.00 to help.
Scenery that cost $40,000 is in storage
o the Hippodrome. The man who at-
fempted the bribery pointed out that
I everal caroads could be carted away
nseen and that it would not be missed
Iut of the great pile in storage. The
tage hand reported to Daniels.
Daniels at once began an investigation
nd found a car load that had been
iken from its storage place and locked
up In an unused and unfinished room
n the building.-FRYE.
LAIM ARTISTS BROKE
NEW CONTRACT FORM.
Agents Threaten to Prefer Charges
Against Performers Who Failed
to Live Up to Their Word.
During the past month, the complaint
against the booking agents not using
to new form of contract has been all
one side, but since the new  form  has
eenadopted and usedbycertain offices,
he situation has changed and now some
p1f the artists face trial in court as a
esult of breaking contracts, which were
said to have been made in good faith.
The first and most important case is
that of Hall & O'Brien, a comedy sketch
team, that was sent to Flint, Mich., but
declined to play the date for some rea-
an and as a consequence Walter F.
Keefe may seek redress as he sent the
teaMto that city.
tIsthought that the matter will be
oniciably settled  before  the  matter
reaches court. Others, who are said to
have broken contracts, are Sid J. Allen,
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Wilbur, "Napa-
tees' Vacation  Those Three Boys,"
AndB. Miller. Certain attorneys will
endeabsedly take up one of the cases
ad push it tothe limit, hile most of
the others are understood to be pending
settlement outside the jurisdiction  of
the court.
Whatever action is taken, the artists
'till have to fight theirown battles, as
the Actors' Union in particular wilt not
have anything to do with any of the
1ases.
Z . X. A. REPORTED APTER
SULLIVAN AND CONSIDINE.
Iruors from Seattle Are to Effect That
Big Combination Is About to Be
Consummated.
SEATTLE, Wash., Nov. 10.-It Is ru-
bored here that negotiations are on
henween the Western Vaudeville Man-
gers' Assoctation and Sullivan and Con-
uline with view of consolidating the
hllevan and Considine interests with
hseof the Western Vaudeville Man-
agers' Association.
It Is also rumored that members of
he Interests arenowon theirway east
Its Present the proposition.  The result
Of these negotiations are being looked
forwarded to with great interest in the
tvaudeville world.
That Main Circus.
Can I be that Walter L. Main has
nuanged hs mindmand thathe will put
0tna large circus next season?  Nu-
vMersus rumors  were   afloat  a  few
months ago "that he would be once
more active In the circus field.  This
as denied by the showman. This week
hewas a vsitorttoCincinnati, theapur-
Coek Information and new Ideasopertain-
ing tscircuadom. He is authority for
thsatement "That ifhe takes a show
cittwill not be aback number."
I Condition Remains Unchanged.
The condition of Mrs. Ed Stout, of the
toudeville team of Blanche and Ed
ltawho has been quite ill at her home
I Chcago for the past two weeks, re-
'ins Practically unchanged. Mr. Stout
o the well known manager of the Ac-
nra'Union of Chicago.
Des Moines Park rails.
WEBSTER     CITY. Iowa, Nov. 10.-
Des Moines' White City amusement ven-
ture has turned out badly and the
park may not be reopened next season.
Meantime a horde of stockholders scat-
tered over the state are making it un-
pleasant for  the  promoters  of  the
venture.  Stock salesmen   were  sent
overthe statecand shares sold In many
towns and cities. The holders ofthese
shares are swamping the managers with
letters requesting information as to the
financial condition of the venture.-
TCKER.
Reformers Are Invited.
When the latest revised billboard
ordinance comes up for discussion next
Monday, a committee of reformers, who
are trying to do away with unsightly
boards, will be present to aid in plan-
ning the ordinance, so it will remedy
some of the existing evils. Among the
notable men present will be Lorado
Taft, the sculptor, and Ralph W. Clark-
son, president of the Municipal Art
League.
Talking further Mr. Beck said that
many rumors had been printed, but there
was no truth in them. "Every time
Mr. Meyerfield or I make a move, the
newspapers think something is going to
happen, and not being able to find any-
thing, they print all sorts of rumors. I
tell you the truth about things. I never
say that I am going to do a thing. I
do it, and then I point to what has been
accomplished.
"I have purchased Buchanan's inter-
ests in the Majestic theater in Des
Moines. Is that news?    I have also
made arrangements for new houses in
Duluth and Winnipeg. These houses
will in no manner interfere with or an-
tagonize the Sullivan and Considine in-
terests, as the Sullivan and Considine
people offer a different grade of enter-
tainment. The new    houses in these
towns will be on the high class order.
Meeting Lasts But One Minute.
"There was a meeting of the Western
Vaudeville Managers' association, held
Tuesday afternoon, but it only lasted
one minute. No business was    trans-
muted."
It is known that the directors of this
association did meet, and that there
were present at that meeting the follow-
ing persons: Max Anderson, George
Middleton, Charles E. Kohl, Martin Beck,
J. J. Murdock and Maurice Meyerfeld,
Jr. Castle, of Kohl and Castle, was not
present. Further than a discussion of
the new offices opened up on the elev-
enth floor of the Majestic building, no
business of any import was transacted.
It is further known as a positive fact,
that Max Anderson, who recently gave
up his interests in the Hippodrome in
New York was present at a banquet at
the Congress hotel Tuesday night, and
that preceding thEtbanquet it was an-
nounced that Mr. Anderson had broken
all the ties that bound him to the'east,
and had decided to cast his lot with the
west. Mr. Anderson controls the An-
derson-Ziegler Amusement company of
Cincinnati, Louisville, and Indianapolis.
Mr. Anderson's arrival in the city hap-
pened to coincide with the twentieth
anniversary of the association of the
prominent members of the Western
Vaudeville Managers association in busi-
ness, and so he was invited to partici-
pate in the festivities of the celebration
of that occasion.
The rumors concerning the elimina-
tion of the so-called blacklist, could not
be authenticated. It is said, however,
that this blacklist is about to be ab-
rogated. It is a known fact that acts
playing the Morris time are not wel-
comed with any degree of fervor by
the Orpheum people. It Is said that this
has been working to the benefit of Mr.
Morris, and to the detriment of the
Orpheum  circuit, and for that reason,
the blacklist will soon be a thing of the
past.
Premstad Eludes Officers.
Mme. Fremstadt, who sang at the
Auditorium last Sunday left the city
the same day in order to avoid officers
who tried to serve papers on her be-
cause of the fact that she was com-
pelled to cancel her engagement to sing
in Milwaukee.  The promoters of the
Milwaukeeconcertallegedmthat they had
been damaged in the sum of $3,000,
and they tried to serve a warrant on
the opera singer, but she eluded them
by leaving the state on Sunday.
Candy Man Sued.
The Sans Souci Park company has
brought suit against George Levee, who
had candy rights at the resort during
the summer, for breach of contract and
the case has been placed on the jury
calendar. Levee is said to have failed
to live up to his agreement with the
company regarding his privileges on the
grounds.
November 13, 1909
MORE HOUSES ADDED
TO THE MORRIS TIME
String of Theaters in Ohio on List. New
Colonial in Indianapolis to Open with
Cecelia Loftus November 22.
From information gleaned from the
inside of the William  Morris booking
office in Chicago, new houses have been
added to the, ledger of the Morris time
- and acts will be sent to them out of
the local agency. Though the Morris
house in Toledo has been closed, ar-
rangements have been made to book
another theater  in  that city. Other
Ohio towns which have been gathered
to the fold and will be booked by J. C.
Matthews are Cleveland, Detroit, Lo-
raine, Dayton, Erie and Hamilton.
The Morris agency has also corralled
new houses in St. Joe, Mo., and East
St. Louis.
The new house in Indianapolis, which
cost a mint of money and is a play-
house beautiful in every sense of the
word, will be opened with due pomp
and ceremony on November 22 and re-
presentatives from the Chicago office
will attend the opening. The bill will
have as its headline feature, Cecelia
Loftus andothernMorris headliners will
be sent to the Indiana city. It will be
called "The Colonial."
PRODUCING COMPANY
IS IN SORE STRAITS.
Show Put Out by Western Company
Returns After One Week-Trou-
ble Said to Be Brewing.
"The Girl in the Grandstand" has re-
turned to Chicago. The attraction was
out but one week, and it is rumored that
that week was one of trials and tribu-
lations for all concerned. It is even
hinted, and on good authority, that the
manager of the company had to borrow
money from the manager of the last the-
ater in which he played in order to get
the players back to Chicago.
There Is an Interesting story con-
nected with the show and its inception.
It appears that Arthur Weinberg and
David Wolf wrote the piece, and they
had an idea that Will J. Block would
Put it out. They found later that Mr.
Block would not, or could not, produce
it, so they looked about for some other
means of putting the piece on the road.
Then it was that some one suggested
the organization of a company. Her-
bert C. Duce, manager of the Garrick
theater, was interested in the matter,
and he decided that this might be the
means of furnishing one or more good
shows for the "open door" time of the
west, so he entered into the scheme
heartily. He was elected president of
the Western Theatrical company, which
was organized for the purpose of put-
(Continued on page 26.)
TIPPETT IS TO PILL
COL. HOPKINS' SHOES.
Prominent St. Louis Man is Logical Suc-
cessor to Late Picturesque
Theatrical Promoter.
John D. Tippett, general manager of
the Park Circuit and Realty Company
of St. Louis was in the city this week
on his way to New York. Mr. Tippett,
is also manager of the Park Film com-
pany in St. Louis, and is interested
in several moving picture theaters. Mr
Tippet was one of the intimate friends
of the late Col. John D. Hopkins, and
IS the logical successor in his sphere
of influence.
Jencks Sues Lessor.
WEBSTER CITY, Iowa, Nov. 11.-
Maurice W.Jencks, manager of theNew
Grand theater In Sioux City, Is suing
Atust Nelson, proprietor of a dance
hall over the theater, for $lO8.3-a
month's rent. The defendant claims
Jencks was making Improvements in
the theater that month and that the
dance hall could not be used on account
of them.-TUCKER.
Majestic at LexingtonCloses.
LEXINGTON, Ky., Nov. 9.-The Ma-
Jestic theater in this city, afteracheck.
ered career, closed againlast night,eaf-
ter Puttingupa hard fight against Ram-
sey's Hippodrome, to no Purpose.
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY AMUSEMENT WEEKLY
Published at 87 South Clark Street Chicago, b- THE5OWLY        RL   Publishing Co.
Entered as Secodi-Cla ss Matter WA R~twA. PAIIC61-NPALPqCTON  - tlePost-Of fice atChigttiilhois
Juuie 25, 1907.                                         uldrheActof Copgresof Narch).3-79.
The air is thick with vaudeville rum-
ors. They are to be encountered on
every street corner, and in every book-
ing office and in every place where vau-
deville people congregate. There is vau-
deville war and rumors of vaudeville
war.
When such persons as M. Meyerfield,
Jr., George Middleton, Martin Beck,
William Morris and Max Anderson are
all in town at one and the same time,
rumors are certain to be floating about
in all directions. In the present in-
stance, the vaudeville world has been
agog with all sorts of reports, and
among them may be mentioned the fol-
lowing:
Rumor No. 1.-That the eastern man-
agers had banded together to keep Mar-
tin Beck out of the eastern territory.
Rumor No. 2.-That Sullivan and Con-
sidine would combine with the Western
Vaudeville Managers' association.
Rumor No. 3.-That Martin flek
would relinquish all hold on the east and
devote his entire attention to the west.
Rumor No. 4.-That Martin Beck was
negotiating for a house in New York
and had so managed affairs that he was
in a position to defy any coalition of
eastern managers.
Rumor No. 5-That Martin Beck and
William Morris had reached some agree-
ment whereby they would fight the re-
mainder of the vaudeville world.
Rumor No. 6.-That the so-called
blacklist, which is alleged to have been
in force with the Western Vaudeville
Managers' association, had been abro-
gated, and that the ban had been lifted
from those acts that have had the te-
merity to play the William Morris time.
Martin Beck Was in Town.
About the only certain thing about the
whole matter is that Martin Beck and
several of the big vaudeville guns have
been in town. Mr. Beck, when seen by
a representative of the Show World, ap-
peared willing and anxious to talk, but
his conversation was more occupied by
the weather than vaudeville.
In the first place he was asked what
significance the combination of eastern
managers had, and whether or not the
merger was aimed against him. Mr.
Beck replied: "I do not think the com-
bination was aimed against me or
against the Orpheum   circuit. It was
formed for another purpose. But at any
rate, if it was formed for the purpose
stated in some of the daily papers, It is
like the incident of the Russo-Japanese
war when the Slavs stored arms in
Manchuria, which were allowed to rust
and were never used at all."
Mr. Beck was next asked concerning
the numerous rumors connecting his
name with that of William Morris.
"I know no more about Mr. Morris'
business than I do of the business of
the Mandel Brothers. I have heard of
was in the city. He has not been in
conference with me."
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