Life — February 18, 1909 — page 18: what you’re looking at

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

230 Another Victim ? ME. AktHtr BRISBANE tells us, in the Evening Journal, that “science, progress and health demand the vivisection of animals.” Mr. Brisbane is such a good fighter for the under dog—the human under dog—that we marvel slightly at his want of sympathy for the canine crit- tur. Perhaps he believes whatever the doctors tell him. Many good men are fooled that wa What sudden changes of opinion we should witness among the doctors if “science, progress and health de. manded the vivisection of "—Doctors! How clearly and how quickly would its uselessness be demonstrated! N the 22nd prox. there will be a spe- cial meeting of the Ananias Club to investigate the cherry tree incident and determine whether or no the late George Washington would have been entitled to membership if he had been a contemporary of our-present President. One of New York's Conspicuous Disgraces ROM Chicago, San Francisco and other cities which have at times been held up as notable examples of bad municipal government there has come no complaint of the ticket speculator nuisance. New York seems to be the only city so thor- oughly controlled by small politicians that cannot wipe out a petty evil which is condemned by every one except those who profit by it. In respect DS of the nuisance Lire has received this letter: Keitu & Proctor. Orrice of tHe Punticity DepartMeNt. JAMES D. DE WOLFE, REPRESENTATIVE. New York, Feb. 1, 1909. To tHe Epitor or Lire:—In the dramatic columns of your last issue Mr. Metcalfe devotes some space to the ticket specu- lating nuisance. Rather unfairly, we think, he states: "A speculator on the sidewalk means a crooked manager inside.”” We do not believe in calling names or making slanderous as- sertions, but we do believe in action, especially in so far as ticket speculators are concerned. We have acted and are constantly at it in an endeavor to put a stop to this evil. We have made various experiments, but have not as yet been able to fully solve the problem. Our efforts have been and will continue to be honest and conscientious. We would like to have either yourself or Mr. Metcalfe come around and see Personally what we are doing at the Fifth Avenue Theatre. We should be glad to consult with you. Mr. Metcalfe states: COLUMBIA’S SETTING SON “The remedy is entirely in the hands of the managers." We are striving to find that remedy. Perhaps Mr. Metcalfe can advise us. We are in a particularly receptive mood on this question. | And just as an incentive for a little serious thought on the subject we will be happy to contribute $100 to Lire’s summer charities in exchange for any plan that will operate successfully in abating the nuisance complained of. Trusting that you will give this matter serious consideration and also that you will see fit to place us in a somewhat better light be- fore the public, we are, Very truly yours, Keitti & Proctor. That one hundred dollars would do Lire’s Fresh Air Fund much good, but there is no necessity of our going to work to arn it in the manner indicated. Personal inspection shows that Messrs. Keith and Proctor have practically solved the question themselves, just as Lire has always maintained that honest managers could do if they honestly wanted to. The crusade that Messrs. Keith and Proctor are carrying on against the speculators seems to have been pretty thoroughly successful so far as the front of the Fifth Avenue Theatre is concerned. The newspapers and police-court records show that the effort has been honestly made and at the expenditure of time, ef- fort and money on the part of the managers. oars If they had been aided in their efforts by Magistrate “ Bat- tery Dan "’ Finn, instead of being thwarted and told that they were depriving poor men of their means of making a living, this contest in question would have been of short duration. In the largest city of America, however, the smallest kind of politics seem to prevail, especially where the money-making of the individual interferes only with the comfort of the many. The success of Messrs, Keith and Proctor, in the face of considerable odds, simply goes to prove the truth of Lirr’s original statement. The crooked manager who tries to cheat the public by putting his tickets at advanced prices in the hands of speculators acting in collusion with the box-office cannot successfully carry on a fight with other speculators who are not his pals. But the honest manager can do it, even with “ Battery Dan’? against him. And, by the way, what has become of the tremendous ef- fort that the Theatrical Managers’ Association was making to have a proper. ordinance passed by the Board of Aldermen? Haven't the clever lawyers of the Managers’ Association legal comicbooks.com