Life — April 12, 1906 — page 14: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

* LIFE Troubles of the Trust Hf Theatrical Trust has not been having an enjoyable time of late. Its persecution of Mme. Bernhardt actually compelled that artist to give her performances in a circus tent in several cities of ‘Trust expected. The people of Texas have given th French actress a support and patronage greater than The result was rather different from what the any ever bestowed upon a theatrical attraction in the South. More than that, the popular fecling was so strong that the attention he au! called to the methods of the ‘Trust. The Texas laws are very stringent, and for once in its life the Trust was seared It is reported in the daily press that the ‘Trust representatives in Dexas, compelled thereto by their fears, humbly invited Mme. Be pear in the ‘Trust theatres in towns where she 1 not alr ade use of the tent ties of the State was off its high horse N NEW YORK also the Trust’ has en weather. It will be remembered that in February last: Mr. untered stormy Justice Fitzgeralc Supreme Court, in passing on a writ « the managers held for trial on he charge of criminal conspiracy in exc habeas corpus sued out in behalf ¢ fing Lire’s represents tive from their theatres, decided that the managers were rightfully accused and should be sent to trial. Most of the managers who ad joined in the conspiracy respected this jud the court, and,as Lirr’s columns have shown, admitted its representative to their theatres upon the presentation of properly purchased tickets ce of Justice carrying on their part of the conspirators’ agreen The writer visited two of their Messrs. Klaw and Erlanger, however, in the have persisted i Fitzgerald's decisic his duties and On the second occasion he was notified that he would not be admitt ed himself at any of the theatres con- trolled by those two theatres in the pursuit « was admitted without question again present nanagers. ot believing that these men would dare show such contempt for the court, or such defiance of the laws of the State, writer bought tickets for the first per- formance of “Abraham Lincoln,” at the Liberty Theatre, and was refused admis- This conjunction of names is omi- viewof the un-American character of the proceeding, and is emphasized by the fact that one of the managers has he name of Abraham Lincoln Erlanger. h last fact goes to show that a martyr President’ may bea martyr in more ways than one. This latest actof exclusion was followed by the necessary steps on the part of the District. Attorney to. make effective the On top of this, summonses and complaints were immediately served on the twenty-seven managers in a civil suit brought against them by the writer, the damages asked for being $270,000. ‘This y seem rather a large amount, but the principle involved is also a large one and juries are entitled to considerable leeway in punish- ing business men who introduce the methods of the highway robber into their dealings with the American public. And the only way to punish some men is through a money loss. There is no means of awaking the Trust managers to a sense of decency and fair play except through their pocket-books. Besides these steps in the courts, the Legislature of the State of New York has ad third reading, in both houses, a bill which, if it becomes a law, will make it a crime for any manager to refuse admission to any citizen who is presentable and pays for his ticket. Naturally this will put a brake on the Trust’s ambition to coerce the press and muzzle criticism or reduce it to a mone in the hands of critics of the Trust’s own selection These seem to be days of awakening for a number of vested interests. nced te AKING one consideration with another, a critic's life is not a happy one. ‘Tearfully or irately denounced by offended artists who think their abilities have been neglected or underestimated, curtain-lectured by over nsitive managers, sued and threatened with physical in- jury by brutal ones, turned from their doors by managers who try to kill criticism by the crime of conspiracy, it is a wonder there are any crities left Lire’s criticism of Mr. Mansficld has followers. ‘T sed a howl from his s was only to be expected. His patrons are a numerous body to-day, as is shown by his box-ollice receipts. It is this very fact that makes careful criticism of Mr. Mansfield a public necessity and a critic’s duty. If an artist is made a popular given all the generous rewards which go with public approbation, it becomes more than ever nccessary for the sake of the art he practises to determine whether he is entitled to what h receives. Otherwise he becomes a false example to others in his calling and we have the methods of the fakir, instead of those of the real artist, establishing not only the popular but the pr stand, In pointing out Mr fessional Mansfield’s defects and disputing his decision of the Supreme Court against the conspiring managers DALLAS, TEXAS —CHTT! G THE CIRCUS TENT READY TOR MME. BERNHARDT, WHO WAS BARRED OUT OF THE TRUST THEATRES IN THE SOUTH comicbooks.com