THEATRE QUEUES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1189, 26 July 1911, Page 7

THEATRE QUEUES.

« ABOLITION IN STDNEY. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyrlcht Sydney, July 25. Tho City Council's order for tho abolition of queues outside theatres came into force last evening. A pitiless downpour of rain obviated the need of action on the part of tho police. A SYDNEY GRIEVANCE. The Sydney City Council last week discussed at length the recommendation of tho Health and By-laws Committee to abolish the theatre cjueuo system. Aid Dayoren complimented t'he Lord Mayor on his firmness with tho deputaof theatre proprietors that had' waited upon him respecting the matter. He claimed that the queue system gave proprietors an unfair advantage over the public, by allowing them to extract somo extra money from the pockets of their patrons. And this in face of the fact that some managers paid thoir ticket-sellers 4Jd: per hour for their work. 'Aid. Meagher said that personally_ he thought the nueue was an excellent thing, and represented all tho differenco between chaos and order. But when used asa stalking-horse to get money from the pockets of a section of tho. community, by moans of early doors, it becamo an abuso and an excrescence. 'To arrive at some understanding in the matter, he moved the addition of the following words to the committee's recommendation:—"Except in those cases where the proprietors of theatres or other places of entertainment open their doors at least two hours before the advertised time of commencing the performance, and at their prices for each particular class of scat." "It is common knowledge," said Aid. Meagher, "that athletic young men, known as packers, are einployed_ to pack patrons in the galleries. That is to say, if a gallery will hold 200 persons, it is tho duty of this individual to pack another 100 into the seating space " "And he does it very offensively,' interjected AW. Gilpin. Aid. Meagher added that when tickets corresponding to the number of tho seats in the house were sold, managers should be compelled to hang out the card intimating that the house was full. Aid. Barlow said, "Only tho greed and avarice of theatre proprietors were responsible for the undesirable 6tate of affairs that now oxiste'd. The amended recommendation was car.Vied, by : 10 .votes to 7. ..;■•'■■ ■