6 V A R I E T Y

SMALL TIME MANAGERS AIDED BY BIO TIMEVBOLD GRAFTERS

Acts Sold on Smaller Divisions at 50% of Big Time Salary. One Grafting Agency with Influential

Backing Reported on Slide. Other Agents Believe Now is Time to Get All in

Sight. Wondering How Long Managers Can Stand

the Bleeding. Vaudeville acts, or many of them, are

sow giving their services to small time managers at one-half their big time sal­ary. The small time directors admit that the grafting on the big time is aiding them.

When speaking about big time graft and relating incidents in connection therewith, small time managers ask how long the big time managers can stand the bleeding and live.

Two acts in one day applied to a small time agency, asking a salary be­tween 45 per cent, and 55 per cent, less than they had been receiving on the big time. When this was mentioned to them they retorted they only wanted what they had received on the big time, and if their contracts there called for more money, it didn't do them any good. The inference was obvious.

All small time agencies, however, do not derive the benefit of these low prices, for one reason or another, but there are plenty of acts booked or plac­ing applications for engagements to prove that the "graft" on the big time must be enormous.

The principal big time managers know of this graft and connive at it if they do not actually encourage it, al­though the finish of the grafting agent is certain to arrive, sooner or later. In substantiation, it is pointed out that one vaudeville agency with the patronage of tn influential man in big time vaude­ville (who is a despicable grafter him­self) is now rated among thfe smaller of the big time agencies, notwithstand­ing its strong backing, which "stole" acts to give this agency more business. The decline of the pet agency is one of the oddities of vaudeville. Even its grafting patron does not seem able to stem the tide against it.

The "work" this agency has been con­cerned in, "inside" and "outside stuff," is sufficient in itself, say vaudeville peo­ple, to convince the circuit or house managers that they have been and are being milked.

It is no extraordinary proceeding nowadays for an act on the small time receiving $80, $90, $100 or $125 weekly to be informed it can have the big time at $150, $175, $200 or $250 a week, with other salaries graded accordingly for the larger houses in ratio to the amount they receive in the smaller division. These same acts, it is said, could be transported to big time for their small time salary, if no one on the "big time" were "standing in" with the agents, or whoever entices the small time turns away from that field.

One act playing on small time receiv­ing $500 remarked it expected to go on the big time at $1,000, although satis­fied with the small time salary. A sin­

gle act offered big time at $150 and re­fused was booked shortly afterward at $275. It was then learned this act had been "stolen" by a particular agency.

Overpaid acts are said to be so nu­merous on the big time it would be a waste of time to count them. A certain summer colony where booking men found they could spend the summer for nothing has cost the vaudeville manag­ers half a million dollars in salaries this season, according to the story. All of the excess salary is not being paid solely through free lunches and banquets.

Vaudeville men make no bones about asking when E. F. Albee will put an end to the grafting. Albee and John J. Murdock stopped the agents from or­ganizing by a single word. Either one could stop the agents from grafting, for the Albee-Mtirdock graft from the "spit commission" doesn't commence to compare with the immense amount that is being wrung from the vaudeville man­agers every way in the form of padded salaries, most of which the agents and their "inside" confederates receive.

The agents are proceeding on the theory that now is the time to get all the money there is in sight, for they realize that if a showman with a clean record is placed in charge of the United Booking Offices, their graft will end from the moment he takes charge. When the time arrives, big time vaude­ville (if it is then existing) will be on a firm foundation.

All the grafters in big time vaudeville are taking their lead from the top, and that is some lead to follow.

BORNHAUPT REACHES TOWN.

Charles Bornhaupt, the foreign agent, accompanied by his wife, arrived in New York Tuesday on the German boat, after an absence of just two years. It is about four years in all since Bornhaupt resigned as the Mar-inelli representative here to take up bookings abroad for himself.

He is located in Brussels, where he books the big vaudeville theatre in "Luna Park," during its season, run­ning from April to October. A high class of show is given, acts remaining two weeks. While in New York, where he expects to remain for a month. Bornhaupt will engage turns for the other side, also place foreign acts he has under his direction.

Besides the general booking business on the other side. Bornhaupt does an extensive business in placing attrac­tions for the American circuits.

After you hear the MOIXFR PIPK-OR-fHESTRA at 11th 8t. Theatre play for a big not. a«k the man on the bench to demon titrate the various specialties on picture*.

BLUFFING A BLUFFER, The "high and mighty" methods pre­

vailing at the United Booking Offices received a little setback recently. A well known and prominent legitimate producer has a number of acts in vaudeville. A few days ago he was informed by one of his assistants the U. B. O. has elected to censor one of the acts and proposed to cut the sal­ary of it down.

The manager put on his hat and paid a call on E. F. Albee.

"Hello, Ed." "Hello, Jim." (Only his name it not

"Jim.") "I hear you are gofng to cut one of

my acts." "Yes, i f 11 have to be cut." "The hell it will!" "The hell it won't!" "You won't cut my acts!" "Why won't I?" "Because if you monkey with me I'll

shut up every one of your vaudeville houses in New York next Sunday!"

"Now, Jim, don't get excited. Let's talk this thing over."

(The act wasn't cut.)

MACK RESUMES PLAYING. Next week Andrew Mack, under the

direction of George Mooser and booked by Chris. O. Brown through the Loew-S.-C. agency, will headline the two-a-day vaudeville show at the Empire, Paterson, N: J. The follow­ing week Mr. Mack will do the same duty for the Broadway, Detroit—each a two-a-day vaudeville theatre.

PRODUCER BETTER LOOK OUT. A. G. Delamater is the latest legiti­

mate producer to have a try at vaude­ville. Before he gets very deeply into it he will be a wiser and probably sad­der, individual.

Delamater has in preparation two acts, one in rehearsal—with a cast of two principals and 12 girls; the other, six principals and eight girls. Both are by Mark E. Swan, music by Anatol Friedland.

Things will progress smoothly until the manager seeks big time routes for his productions. Then his views on modern "supreme" and kindred vaude­ville may make interesting reading.

HALF A WOMAN WHOLE ACT. The "direct from Coney Island" act

announced by William Hammerstein for his theatre, which opens there Nov. 3 and is "Half a Woman," was exhibited at Coney last summer. Lon-ey Haskell will do the "announcing."

BIJOU KEEPS OPEN. Philadelphia, Oct. 15.

An order was issued to close the Bijou, Keith's small time house on Eighth street, but arrangements ,were made with a Catholic institution in the rear of the theatre to perimt two exits to be cut through to the yard, and the erection of a fire wall.

It took some clever handling and manipulation to bring this about.

LAND SHOW WINNING. San Francisco, Oct. 15.

The Land Show is on full blast and is drawing so strongly that it looks as though the affair will prove a big financial winner.

KOHL MEETS BECK. Charles E. Kohl was in New York

Wednesday when he had a meeting with Martin Beck, also others inter­ested in the Western Vaudeville Man­agers' Association of Chicago.

Several affairs upon which all parties were not in thorough accord were dis­cussed.

The reports of the meeting said the attitude of Mr. Kohl during it greatly disconcerted the others present He was non-committal on several impor­tant matters under discussion, leaving it to be decided by speculation how he stood. In any action Mr. Kohl takes in connection with the W. V. M. A. he will be supported by his mother, Mrs. C. E. Kohl, a large holder of stock in the Chicago booking agency.

No one would venture a guess as to the outcome of the Kohl-Beck meeting.

One or two of the questions raised at the conference had reference to Chi­cago agents booking with "The Asso­ciation."

CAN'T STEAL ACTS. New Bedford, Mass., Oct. 15.

The ice has been broken in Massa­chusetts on the contract breaking which has been going on with reckless abandon in this state and which has done more than any other thing to increase the bitterness between the United Booking Office and those who are offering valiant battle to its meth­ods.

Judge Wentworth in the civil court has handed down a decision in favor of Manager Lefebre of the Orpheum, this city, awarding $25 and costs against Mason, Lee and Mason. The trio signed a contract through the Paragon Booking Offices to play the Orpheum a split week opening in September. After accepting it is claimed the act received a contract from the U. B. O. to play Bullock's, Providence, for the same date and did not appear at the Orpheum.

Judge Wentworth ruled that when there is no cancellation clause in a contract that has been signed, it can­not be broken through the signing of a subsequent contract with another agency.

Three more suits are to be filed im­mediately against acts which have "jumped" their contract through in­ducements offered by the United Booking Offices, which seems to be offering strange prices for acts in order to bring them into the fold where they are so badly needed.

PITCHER LOSES NERVE. Albert Demaree, the cartoonist base­

ball pitcher, who made a big reputa­tion in the National League this sum­mer with the New York Giants, has given up the idea of vaudeville. De­maree was to have opened at the Union Square next week in a cartoon act, which Tommy Gray was arranging. He lost his nerve at the twelfth hour and passed up the engagement.

Demaree figured that after being driven from the box by the Champion Athletics in the World Series the pub­lic might take to kidding.

Gray is sad, although he still has Rube Marquard and Blossom Seeley.

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