THEATRICAL TRUST

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13959, 19 July 1907, Page 5

THEATRICAL TRUST

AN INTERNATIONAL UNION,

CAPITAL OF TWENTY MILLIONS,

Press Association—By Tckjreph-Copyrigh

LONDON, July 17. ■fierr Erlnngcr confirms the announcement regarding the formation of an international trust, with a capital of £At,000,000, for uniting the theatrical interest; of America, England, France, Germany, and Austria. The object is to secure a -working arrangement, not a consolidation. .

| klaw and Erlanger, Nixon and Zimmerman, Charles Frohman, and "Al." Hayman, generally referred to as members of the so-called Theatrical Trust of the United States, were indicted as members of the trust on. January 31 last at New York on a charge of conspiracy. Tho charge was that they conspired to monopolise theatrical business, both as to. the ownership of theatres and as to the production of theatrical _ attractions. _ The alleged conspiracy (writes the District Attorney" of New York) was in the form of written agreements, whereby tho members of the trust pooled all their theatres and all their attractions and divided tho'profits of tho business, whereby they agreed not to allow a.ny theatrical attraction to be played in any of their theatres unless the owner would agreo to play tho attraction only in theatres controlled by tho trust. In' 1905 the syndicate refused to allow Mme. Bernhardt. to play in the syndicate theatres because she was under the management of the Shuberts, who are their rivals' in business. They also Jsfused to allow any attraction owned by the Shuberls to be played in the syndicate theatres, and also refused to book any attractions that- they controlled in any theatre belonging to the Shuberts. .TVy refuse*] to book Belaseo's attractions in any of tho syndicate theatres. They were enabled to crush any owner of an attraction that they did not like or any owner of a theatre that would not comply with their demands. A cablegram from Nov: York dated June 20 stated tha.t the charge against- tho trust, had been dismissed, the United States Supreme Court holding that plays were not articles of trade in common use.