The Huron Expositor, 1930-01-31, Page 614a1.,•••44 '4
';'!
ee",,,e,e;eae-eraiseles
eVree'000."44.,4-S4t,!,e-eres.
414^90.1.4g4,4n7rUeg.p Woh. ,furmicluble:
statistics, showin: the number of
people arrested, the number convict -
e, the /cseeil value of liquOr seized, I -
'the amonnt -Of fines qst boo of
°there etting only the surprising
disturibance -which !slain victims of
enforcement cheers would reach if
laid, end to end. Rather startling is
the admission of Prohibition Com-
missioner Doran that a will require
$300,000,000 a year to enforce the act
properly. There seems to be no
chance whatever that congress would
appropriate so huge a sum. From
time to time the wets have challeng-
ed the drys to vote the necessary
money. The drys, fearing a revul-
'ion of popular opinion, have not
dared to press for the amount the
prohibition commissioner says is
necessary.
It is difficult if not impassible to
say what is the prevailing opinion
on the subject of the Volstead act and
the Eighteenth amendment. The peo-
ple have never been consulted -..n pro-
hibition. There has been no refer-
endum In the last presidential elec-
tion it was hoped that there might
be discerned a clear expression of
public sentiment since Governor
Smith stood for a modification of the
Volstead Act. But so many other
factors entered into the campaign
that it would be rash to say that the
voters and states that supported
Smith were the wet and all the others
dry. It is quite possible that if
Hoover had represented the wets and
Smith the drys, the result would not
have been greatly different. But
this is idle speculation, and as we
hove said before the debate rages. In
the past ten years, so far as we are
aware, no conspicuous public man or
influential journal has changed sides.
Those who originally supported pro-
hibition continue to do so. The wets
remain hostile.
That there has been corruption of
such wholesale dimensions that it
liiight almost be called universal in
the enforcement arm is not to be de-
nied. There have been more chief
prohibition commissioners in a decade
than there have been premiers of
France or managers of the St. Louis
baseball teams. There have been grave
scandals in the release of alcoholic
liquor from government warehouses,
and there are those who say that this
leakage is doing more to supply
drinkers than importations from Can-
ada. On our own border there have
been incidents which, had they occur-
red say in the Balkans, would have
Prohbition's tenth birthday in the precipitated war. Canada has been
United States sees the experiment as asked and has refused to enlist in the
hotly discussed as the day it was American enforcement service, though
adopted or the year after or indeed there are hints that the refusal may
as on any other date in its history. be modified. Liquor in the United
It finds President Hover and per- States continues to be plentiful, bad
haps his most important supporter and expensive. It is as easy to buy
in public life, Senator Borah, at log- a drink in a large American city as
gerheads on the subject of enforce- it is to buy a magazine. In the
ment. The senator %from Idaho says country districts where there never
that there never will be enforcement was much liquor and where senti-
until the staff is overhauled from top ment was generally in favor of tem -
to bottom, and when he says "top" perance there is little drinking, and
be may mean Secretary of the Trees- the law is well enforced. Deaths
ury Mellon, in whose department the from alcoholism have increased.
administration falls. It sees also the Probably there is less drinking but
president receiving the preliminary more fatal drinking. With the exist -
report of a specially appointed corn- ing situation nobody is satisfied. A
mission which is to examine the change of some kind is certain.
whole problem, with the exception of
the really vital question. This report
is, iri effect, a recommendation that
more special courts should be e.onsti-
tuted to try liquor cases, and more
jails built to hold offenders against
the law. The vital question which
the commission will not consider is
whether prohibition is workable, whe-
ther, in fact, the nobly intended ex-
periment is not doomed to failure
and some other solution of the liquor
problem should not he attempted.
But if thprohibtion acts can be
enforced v;e think it reasonacle to
believe that President Hoover is the
man to enforce them. He is fresh in
office after the most tremendous
popular victory in the history of
American presidential contests. It is
true that he seems to have no fu -mer
grip on congress than President Coo-
lidge had, but he is a man of great
force of character, and unusual ingen-
uity of mind. He is, furthermore,
dynamic whereas his predecessor was
static. He is also a practising ab-
stainer. In the old bad days Mr.
Hoover used to take a drink, but it
has been officially announced that
from the time he entered the Coolidge
government he has resisted whatev-
er cravings he might have and drunk
nothing stronger than stewed tea.
What Mr. Coalid,ge's personal tastes
are we do not know though it is prob-
able that his palate is not an utter
stranger to Scotch. President Hard •
ing, the first president called upon to
enforce prohibition, was inclined to-
ward alcoholic conviviality. In short,
he drank and enjoyed drinking. It
is Washington gossip that the head
.of the Anti -saloon league with threats
made him quit and this forced absten-
tation after a life -time's indulgence
contributed to his sudden death. It
has been almost forgotten that Wood-
row Wilson vetoed the Volstead act
-which was passed, over his opposition.
Has American prohibition been a
success or a failure? It is not for an
.outsider to say. Americans differe on
the question. Prohibitionists say that
it has reduced drinking, increased
prosperity, improved industrial effici-
ency, and made a fairer distribution
of the country's wealth. They admit
hevrever, that enforcement has not
been general and that it has produc•
ed grave scandals. They contend,
'hewever, that enforcement is better
now than it ever has been and that
the general situation is steadily im-
.
liPPIVVIAILIB Working in a
- quarry as a driller,"
W.ritts, Mr- John J. 11-logan
ot'Soutli March, Ont., "I
was seized with rheuima-
t15,11 m the4/pft shoulder.
I followedtieatments for
11 some time without relief.
I had hearci so much con-
cerning Dr. Williams'
't Pink Pills that I decided
to give them a trial. They
' were certainly the medi-
cine that I needed for it
was not long before I was
as well as ever. Now I
take them every Spring as
a tonic."
This is one of hundreds of
cases in which these blood -
enriching, pills have proved
effective in eradicating rheu-
matism. Bay Dr. Williams'
Pink Pills now at your chug -
gist's or any dealer in medi-
cine, or by mail, 50 cents,
postpaid, from The Dr. Wil-
liams Medicine Co., Brock-
ville, Ont.
3.36
see
41,
•
DrIfl
PINK PALS
PER BOX
6‘11 HOUSEHOLD NAME
S.4 COUNTRIES'
ANGRY QUARREL MARKS
PROHIBITION'S lOtli YEAR
"AftAriaY*441g;
iii*Gairiedtlthe
WIMPOPROR
and we haveAways thought that this
was 41‘tbin,10(bk,
At fhe Mese* moment AM 1,44.tre1
States has1i'battleships to Britaan's
ittql*134i`Yeaat r /Mgt have 19 among them. Thew pi.
IA while Fance, Japan and Italy
viza
3` emit. baleen secy.
Qe tors cost in the neighborhood of $40,-
liceizeitvienarta. groce:el:Er l'ikilsres'escmagteTssit 000,000 apiece, and since there are
6 eses. Ne
many experteewho think they will be
uselese in the next war there is some
sentiment in favor of abolishing them
ea, ts of violence against prisoners. The altogether. Indeed a semi-offieial
Ganadians were supposed to be tak- , statement to that effect has come
ing revenge for a Canadian crucifieFfrom London. But the United States
with bayonets through his hands and I is not likely to agree and we should
feet, found in a German trench. This be astonished if their total scrapping
story was not believed, however, nor would be seriously suggested a
t tbe
was -the companion story of the Can- forthcoming conference. What is ex-
adians similarly treating a German. pected is a continuance of the holiday
By the way, is there any truth in this in the building of battleships whie.
tale? It was generally accepted in was inaugurated by the Washington
Canada some fifteen years ago but conference in 1921. There have been
may have been propaganda and now no keels of battleships laid down by
is treated as a legend. The writer the great powers since then. The holi-
admits that it was diflieult to know day, however, will expire next year
whether the stories of atrocities, and it is expected that the United
which, among the overseas men, and States will suggest tIntat it be con -
even among some British troops, was tinued another twenty. Should it
a boast, and not a confession, were last that long there is little doubt
due to bragging or kidding, in both that no more 'big battleships would
DI which departments overseas troops ever be built, and all those now in
were extremely proficient. If the commission would have become ob-
Australians were really as blood- solete.
thirsty as they represented them- Under the terms of the Washington
selves the reason is, according to conference both Great Britain and the
Gravea, that they were only two gen- United States are authorized to build
erations removed from the days of two battleships next year to take the
Ralph Rashleigh and Marcus Clarke, place of two which are now 20 years
who, we infer, may have been illustri- old and fit for the scrap heap. Japan
ous criminals banished to Botany is also authorized to build one, and
Bay. in the course of the next ten years
Later in theawar he heard this first Japan is scheduled to build nine. Great
hand account from a Canadian Scot: Britain and the United States 15
"I was sent back with three bloody each, iwth France and Italy building
prisoners, you see, and, one was limp- three apiece. That is to say, accord-
ing and groaning, so I had to keep on ing to the Washington conference,
kicking the sod down the trem h. He there may be built in the next ten
was an officer. It was getting dark years battleships costing an aggregate
and I was getting fed up, so I thought og $2,000,000,000. The United States
I'll have a bit of a game. I had them and Great Britain would each spend
covered with the officer's revolver and $600,000,000 on ships of this class.
I made 'em open their pockets. Then Here is a terrific outlay which might
I dropped a Mills bomb in each, with be avoided, in addition to strength -
the pin out and ducked behind a tra- ening of the (bonds of international
,verse. Bang, bang, bang. No more good fellowship, if it is found pos-
bloody prisoners. No good Fritizies, sible to extend the naval holiday. It
but dead ones." This shocking langu- is expected that at least the renewal
,age, we suppose, was not uncommon of the building race will be postpon-
among the men at the front, and ed until 1936. The United States is
readers must make allowances for it. willing. Britain is willing. That is
Was the story true? We have no
idea. But we have read letters and
from returned men tales of atrocities
quite as horrifying, though they
lacked the grim humor of this sol-
dier's method. Why should it be said
or thought that Canadians would be
incapable of killing off a troublesome
prisoner? Is there anything any man
would do that a Canadian would not
do? By universal consent, there were
no better soldiers in all the war
There were no braver men. There
were no tougher. Let the reader
think of the hardest -boiled customer
he ever met, and the odds are about
ten to one that it will have been a
Canadian. They,,don't come any bet-
ter or any worse than the Canadians.
Wc see it in everyday life. It was
proclaimed to the world by the fight-
ing men who left these shores. If we
claim a share in the glory they won
then we must accept equal responsi-
bility for whatever terrible things
stand to their account. If they killed
Germans it was not at all a personal
matter with them, but part of the
day's work. In any event if they shot
prisoners they did it without hate.
How many who stayed at home were
murdering Germans in their hearts
DID CANADIANS KILL THEIR
GERMAN PRISONERS?
Those muffled roars that have been
heard for a few days are being emit-
ted from indignant officers, formerly
of the Canadian high command, and
are understood to be wrathful pro-
tests against what Robert Graves has
been saying about Canadian soldiers
in his book "Good-bye to All That."
We have read the book with reason- People who suffer from indigestion
able care and though we are not a usually have tried pepsin, charcoal,
literary critic either by nature or drugs and various digestive aids and
training it impressed us as an unusu- got little more than slight temporary
ally fine piece of work, and its ref- relief—sometimes not ,even that.
erences to Canadians extremely corn- But before giving up to chronic
plimentary. Its merits are discussed dyspepsia, just try the effect of a
today in the literary department, and little Bisurated Magnesia—not the
here we shall comment only upon ordinary commercial carbonate, cit -
what is said about our own men in rate or milk, but pure Bisurated Mag -
the war. It is to ,be noted that he resia which you can obtain from
puts the Canadians corps among the practically any druggist in either
.best fighters in the whole army. He powder or tablet form.
says it was a matter of pride to be- Take a teaspoonful of the powder
long to one of"the recognized best or four tablets with a little water af-
divisions—the Seventh, the Twenty- ter your next meal, and see what a
ninth, Guards, First Canadian, for in- difference this makes. It will instant -
stance." But these, regiments had ly neutralize the dangerous, harmful
probably more than their share of acid in the stomach which now cans -
hard fighting, simply because they es your food to ferment, and sour,
could be depended upon for hard making gas, wind, flatulence, neart-
fighting when others failed. House- burn and the bloated or heavy, lumpy
man's lines would be their fitting feeling that seems to follow most ev-
epitaph: erything you eat. You can enjoy
-TIMIS your meals without a fear of indiges-
"Too full already is the grave tion.
Of fellows who were young and brave,
And died because they were.
to say, looking at each other they are
willing. But if Italy and France have
ideas of their own, if they see special
problems, the whole situation will be
altered, for it has long •been a prin-
ciple of the British admiralty that it
must be able to have a fleet in the
Mediterranean equal to any other
fleets likely to be assembled in that
sea.
The question of eruisers promises to
be more difficult. One of the unhappy
results of the Washington conference
was a new race in cruisers. This was
brought about by a blunder of Hon.
Charles E. Hughes, then United
States secretary of state. When the
conference came to the discussion of
cruisers, Mr. Hughes, aware that Bri-
tain had laid down four 9,700 -ton
cruisers with 7.5 -inch guns, proposed
that no nation should build a cruiser
greater than 8 inches. Up to that
time no other nation had. But this
agreement was understood to mean a
permission or indeed an invitation to
do so. Therefore nations great and
small began biulding these cruisers.
The naval competition was simply
diverted from the battleship to the
cruiser, larger, swifter and more
formidible than ever. The danger of
this race was soon perceived and the
Geneva conference was summoned to
correct it. This conference collapsed
because of disagreements among the
nations as to their need of cruisers.
There were those who said that total
tonnage should be the criterion. Bri-
tain said that she needed a great
number of smaller cruisers for the
protection of trade routes and for the
miscellaneous business of policing her
vast empire. She argued that one
large cruiser was more formidable
than two small cruisers half its
wcight, was in fact equal to two and
a half small cruisers. She contend-
ed, therefore, that total tonnage was
a fallacious standard and she could
not adopt it. The failure of the con-
ference led to renewed building riv-
alry in the matter of cruisers. It is
expected that the present conference
will come to an agreement about a
satisfactory yardstick applied to
cruisers. Destroyers and submarines
are subsidiary problems. Britain and
the United States would probably be
willing to abolish submarines alto-
gether. So would Japan.. But it is
here that the interests of Italy and
France may clash with those of the
other powers. The chief interest of
Canada, of course, is in a satisfactory
agreement between Britain and the
United States. This once reached,
other adjustments will surely follow.
Try Magnum
For Indigestion
SAFETY
Ver$US
HIGH RETURNS
Many a man has lost his
harclrearnecl savings because
of the fatal lure of high
returns. A safe general
rule to remember
greater the prospective rettn-n,
the greater the risk
KT YOUR SAVINGS INTO
A SAVINGS ACCOUNT
in the
BANK OF MONTREAL
Established 1817
There they will earn a
reasonable interest and be safe
Hensall Branch: L. R. COLES, Manager
Clinton Branch: H. R. SHARP, Manager
Brucefield (Sub -Agency): Open Tu esday' and Friday
43111MergZSE,
The memory of the Lusitania is in that the Lusitania would remain a -
all British and American hearts. Even float and that she might even be man -
the Germans remember her, a n d oeuvred to shore. This news was
thortly after the sinking issued med- communicated to the passengers, and
as a result life preservers were at -
als to commemorate the event. It
surely is time that those more nearly
affected should, after the fashion of
the race, erect a stone or shaft so
that later generations can call to mind
one of the great events of history.
That the sinking of the Lusitania had
a tremendous influence upon the Am-
erican people in making their final de-
cision to enter the war nobody doubts.
It did not, it is true, greatly alter the
immediate course of President Wilson
but it solidified anti -German feeling,
and made it certain for all time that
there rould be no quarreling with the
Allied ships for their interference
with American cargoes which might
eventually reach Germany. In this
sense it was an. epochal event. It is
as ugly in retrospect as it was the
day when the world was ringing with
the news. No later revelations- have
modified it. No pacifist or friend of
Germany defends it.
The idea of a statue appears to
have originated among the people at
Queenstown. The sinking of the
Lusitania was one of the most stir-
ring events of that town's history. It
was there the dead were brought and
the survivors nursed back to health.
Eventually a committee was i.ormed
to consider the matter arid this com-
mittee in turn \vent to Dublin to in-
terview Jerome Connor, the noted
sculptor. But he pointed out that
while the project of the memorial was
one which stirred him deeply and
would call forth the hest work tha,.
was in any sculptor, it could 'not he
de -alt with satisfactorily in any small
way. It was a great event, and there
should be something great in the,
spirit of the memorial. In fact, it
was beyond the power of the people
of Queenstown to build something
that would speak adequately for the
Lusitania. It was after this that an
appeal was made in New York. The
response' was swift. A powerful com-
mittee was formed including Gover-
nor Roosevelt, Charles Evan Hughes,
John 'W. Davis, Clarence H. Mackay,
Frank L. Polk, Morgan J. O'Brien,
Daniel Frohman, Owen D. Young,
Kenneth O'Brien, Edward N. Hurle&
Elbert Hubbard Jr, and Claude
Bowers.
Some of these men were relatives
of victims of the Lusitania, for it
will -be recalled that among the Am-
ericans who .perished were Charles
Frohman, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt
and Elbert Hubbard. Mr. Connor
has visited the 'United States and his
plans have been approved. His work
is already well known on this contin-
ent. His "Nuns of the Battlefield"
is in Washington, and his Soldiers'
Monument was rrecently- dedicated in
the Bronx. A full-size model of the
memorial has been completed in
bronze mounted on an Irish marble
base. The chief figure is that of a
woman, garbed in a robe which forms
a sort of hood over the head and part-
ly shades the face. One arm is
thrown across the breast -and the oth-
er is raised in a beckoning gesture.
The symbolism would no doubt be un-
derstood better from a study of the
model than from a newspaper repro-
duction. The monument will be rais-
ed in the Old G urchyard Of Queens-
1flivi.., Cat
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"The mess agreed," says the author,
"that the most dependable British
troops were the Midland county regi-
ments, industrial Yorkshire and Lan- There opened in London last week
cashire troops, and the Londoners. a conference which will be remember -
The Ulstermen, Lowland Scots and ed in the future with such events as
Northern English were pretty good. the Council of Trent and the Diet of
The Catholic Irish and the Highland Worms. Indeed, whether it fails or
Scots were not considered so good— succeeds, it can hardly fail to mark
they took unnecessary risks in trench- an epoch in world history. If it fails
es and had unnecessary casualties, and and the assembled nations find them -
in battle, though they usually made selves unable to agree upon a formu-
their objective, they too often lost it la which will reduce naval armament,
in the counter attack; without of- future historians will mark the date
fivers they were no good. English as that on which the preparations for
southern county regiments varied the next war, the war which it is be -
from good to very bad. All everseas lieved will destroy our civilization,
troops were good. The dependability got under way. Should it succeed it
of divisions also varied with their may become in the future an inter -
sere rity in date of promotion.. The national holiday, for it will be a sig-
lateet-7ormed regular divisions and nificant and never -to -be -forgotten
the second -line territorial divisions, milestone on the road to perpetual
con -
whatever their recruiting area, were peace. Strictly speaking it is a
usually inferior. Their senior officers ference about ships of four kieds—
and warrant -officers were not good battleships, cruisers, destroyers and
enough. We often discussed which submarines—but the general questimi
were the clsenest troops in trenches, of reducing armament a all kinds in
taken in nstionality. We agreed on eluding standing armies will be peel
a list ' • In descending order: sent in the minds of the negotiators
English s German Protestants; if not en the agenda paper. If it is
Northern Fee-- Welsh mid Caned- found possible to reduce naval arm -
inns; Trish and German Catheliea ; ament it can be predicted-- with all
Scottish; V ,fammedan Indians; Al- confidence that there will follow ens
geriaris; Teetugnese ; Belgians ; other conference to reduce °thee
Freech Tee Belgians and Frifigh Wenches. of the military establis,h-
were rat or §-pita; 'they We ment, nut as a mstter of fact the
not reslly "i tier than the 'Aligetiene five great powers involved — Great
er Porte ger re." Britain, United States, Prance, Itak#
We do net know whether any dug- and Japan—could not go to war Wit •E
Out kings will object to thise What oift &Wits. If mere of theta bad a
aeons to oboek sad outrage, Item t. ?AN*, laritted` conflict between thein
void ie impossible physically, e4
apt, it might -be- that -nadawould
iron& tVillaitt4 StateeTsa
NAVAL CONFERENCE EPOCH -
MARKING EVENT
tached calmly and there was no dan-
gerous excitement. Even when it be-
came plain that the vessel was dooni-
ed there was no panic, though there
was confusion and despair. There was
difficulty in launching the boats, and
when the vessel finally disappeared
under the waters there were hundreds
floating and swimming on the sur-
face. Many were rescued, including
some Toronto people, but no fewer
than 1,198 lost their lives.
IF YOUR EARS RING
WITH HEAD NOISES
If you have roaring, buzzing
noises'in your ears, are getting
hard of hearing and fear Catar-
rhal Deafness, go to your drug-
gist and get 1 ounce of Par -
mint (double strength), and add
to it 1/4 pint of hot water and a
little granulated sugar. Take
one tablespoonful four times a
day.
This will often bring quick
relief from the distressing head
, noises. Clogged nostrils should
open, breathing become easy
and the mucus stop dropping in-
to the throat. It is easy to pre-
pare, costs little and is pleasant
to take. Anyone who has
Catarrhal trouble of the ears, is
hard of hearing or has head
noises should give this pre-
scription a trial.
MONUMENT IN HONOR OF
LUSITANIA'S DEAD
Fifteen years will have passed on
May 7th since the sinking of the Lusi-
tania and we are interested to learn
that the plans for rearing a monu-
ment in memory of this supreme
tragedy aa -e almost complete. The
model of the statue which is to be
unveiled in Queenstown has been ac-
cepted, and a great part of the funds
required, estimated art $100,000, has
been subscribed privately. In the
United States the public is now be-
ing asked to make up the balance, anti
that a satisfactory response will be
made cannot be doubted. Since there
were Canadianis on the ship it seems
+Ito atm" of atrOcities. Oraves ear
that the Cariadirtna,,.andlatez the Au&
&aliens, had therlit topittation far
, . •
•
«1
-,e'eeedeerceleeekief
tion is well founded. Visitors to New
York are well aware of the difficulty
of buying seats at the theatre for a
popular show, and of the ease with
which they may be bought from a
scalper at double their face value or
more. In fact, we have heard of a
man who walked up to a theatre box
office to buy tickets for as show which
he had heard a good deal aboet, and
when the seller reached for a couple
of seats well down in front the pros-
pective purchastr turned and fled, be-
lieving the show must be a flop when
admission to it could be had at regu-
lar rates.
All the theatre managers in New
York City with the exception of Chas.
B. Dillingham and A. B. Erlanger
have come to an understanding where-
by after March 1st tickets will be
kept out of the hands(I•of speculators
sa far as it is 1,n their power to do so.
A Canadian might think that a law
making ticket speculating illegal
would end the matter, but New York-
ers know better and in all probability
they already have numerous laws
fully covering the crime of scalping,
and providing penalties un to elec-
trocution for offenders against them.
The scalping evil really grew out of
a laudable desire on the part of the-
atres to make the purchase of tickets
handier for patrons. Instead of in-
sisting that one should either line up
at the box office and buy a ticket, or,
if he was known, tele -phone to have
tickets reserved for him, the custom
of sending them to various hotels and
other places over the city where they
could be more conveniently secured,
was adopted. The theatres received
their full price for the tickets but the
redistributors of them were allowed
a commission, which is supposed to be
75 cents, and this the patrons were
willing to pay.
But when it was found that where-
as the hotel and cigar store brokers
were willing to buy in advance tick-
ets for good shows, they were natur-
ally reluctant to buy tickets for poor
shows. In other words, while they
co-operated joyously in helping the
theatres to distribute tickets that
could probably be sold at the theatre
anyway, they were loath to buy tick-
ets which were hard to dispose of.
Then arose the secondary practice at
the theatres insisting that the brok-
ers -should buy a certain number of
tickets for every show. This reduc-
ed seriously the net profits of the
brokers, who, to recoup their losses
on unpopular shows, were willing en-
ough to sell tickets for the good
shows to speculators at an increased
price. The speculators in their turn,
raised the price to the 'public and the
vicious circle was complete.
The new regulations will do away -
with this wholesale distribution in
advance to legitimate brokers. If they
are to have tickets the number will
be limited and they must buy them
from night to night. 'By stamping
the tickets thus sold or by. some other
method the managers expece to be
able to race them, so that if one finds
its way into the hands of a epecula-
tor the manager will know which
broker sold it. Presumably that
broker, unless he can give a
factory explanation, explanation, will be di -sieved
of the privilege of buying tickets at
all. Of course, it is not expected
that the evil practice will be wholly
done away with. But it may be re-
duced perhaps 90 per cent,, --ed the
general public will know that one
man will have as good a chance as
another to buy a ticket for a nopelar
shovi. As matters now star.
theatre receives from a ticerf - it at
$4.44, just $4, the other 44 eee's be-
ing a government tax. If a legiti-
mate broker sells the ticket he ehneg-
es 75 cents octet. ff a scalper gets
it, the show still gets its 4, the
legitimate agent gets 75 cen:-, the
government gets 44 cents if the scal-
per is honest in his returns, and the
scalper himself gets $4,01, er a cent
more than the theatre itself receisetts.
The. total cost 'to' the et:Wine* tete 'a
tibkist ?meth $4144 littliulik Win
irtt,,drzettiorprieS,T Stinebeirih
three times as ranch,
THEATRE MANAGERS WAR ON
TICKET SPECULATORS
New York theatres being pretty far
on the road to ruin, an effort is being
made to deflect their downward course
and restore public confidence in them.
They are being ruined, we suppose,
mainly because there are few import-
ant American playwrights and few
good American plays. The general
reason given for their decay, namely,
the competition of the movies, the
radio and other entertainments, is
logical only if the theatre itself is
inherently weak. If such plays as
"Rain," "A Texas Nightingale," and
"Strange Interlude" came along each
season, the movies would not do any
damage. The trouble is that perhaps
one of this calibre comes along every
three or four years. When it does
arrive it is faced with the embarrass-
ing circumstance that utterly worth-
less plays harve been ballyhooed so
often that the public will be naturally
slow to believe that the good play is
any more than a lavishly advertised
one. Its chances of survival, there-
fore, are about equal to its chances
of failure. It may fail before the
news gets to the public that here is
really an important show. That has
happened many times in the past and
is likely to happen even more fre-
quently in the future if good plays
continue to be written. But if the
theatres do not take a sharp turn to
the right the chances are that good
plays will cease to be written by
American playwrights.
Naturally it is not within the power
of associated managers assisted by
Equity, the actors' protective associa-
tion, to guarantee the appearance .of
good play. That is a matter for the
authors and the will of God. But
the Managers have to start some-
where; and they are trying to start
by eliminating the ticket scalper.
They belieiethat the scalper is large-
ly responsible for the general distrust
of the theatre manifested by the gen-
eral public/ It is the ticket scalper -
who 'heel' ceeated the general belief
'that if there is a good show a patron
willhave to pay exorbitant prices to
see It; and,that tkopyerserly it the tick -
AAS ire not-Ingthbliaiidtriorthe scalp-
ers Ale. ahoris an good. Tito. assump-
rather odd that no appeals have been - Whera 2 victims are buried,
made in this country though it is quite . tern
possible that Cai4adians hive subscrib- "'nest of them riving been washed a -
ed privately. ' Perhaps the sinking of , shore on the Ash .Coluit some days
the Lusitania and the execution of after the 1..moitesde was sunk.
}Edith Carvell were the meat Sheeting The disaster occurred 4ust five miles
events of the war ao far as the Bilge from the Irish.Goes4.and at 2 o'clock
Pah-speaking people were concerned. on a beautiful sPring, afternoon.. Tice
They were horrified by them. We are periscope of the sitbrfiatine was plebs;
'never likely to forget tie Staggering ly seen; and, likwa,• it. was not unex:
blow it was when the news of the, peeted by some, for the Gentian AM-
sinki ng of the British ships' at Car-. bassad,oz,i4 ,,the United States had
oriel was announced but thiswap a wOrnetrall paileengers by a prolama-
difte-retrt feeling tObtie Which. griPned On .thirt 'their' Were *tins their lives
us when the tiewi came, thattlteXelei- ml thelf haide If 'thee" eaited. on the
4-arrla with its non-edmbetants audits' Vessel. Prem., this it. wss plain that
women and ehildtenhtd, been genic by If ht tone..iutrined and
a Gerrn en enbratirInte. . 'n4 .....tet 'e W ' a not the Snipetuone, Tie o a.
un-
Seard that Nurse -Meet had beet shot- ' (1ling wheffthight net`liaVe'itingtiti-
Te awogiovpy.histi: ,:t..0 4.461141voirtsta,,Ittf the ship., After the torpedo struck
Igliadet.„,-,01400 _ tO,,,tha .c4nerluSlos,
atest. hies Strateii/
tie -Were by' ft51fone fame,-
'ticbrielientebt.
vessel immediately listed to straw
ra. Butgitg '17edroelikt
s ot en s) t
,
404 .4.44,!'•,;•ie,,, „ , ,,„ • ,
A
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ly