The Mormons and the Theatre; or, The History of Theatricals in UtahLindsay, John S. (John Shanks)
Religion
The Mormons and the Theatre; or, The History of Theatricals in Utah
Lindsay, John S. (John Shanks)
Latter Day Saints; Theater -- Utah -- History
That the reader may better understand the flour sack incident it must
be explained here that what little pay the actors and musicians had
been receiving for their services through the benefits was not all in
cash, but store orders mostly on the tithing store. The cash receipts
of the theatre up to this time and indeed as late as 1870 were
probably one-third of the gross receipts, the other two-thirds
consisting of orders on various stores or tithing pay, which consisted
of all kinds of home products--so that when the "benefits" were
divided up among the company each member got about one-third of his
"divvy" in cash and the other two-thirds in store orders and orders on
the tithing office. Evans was the possessor of an order on Brigham
Young's private store, and he felt chagrined that he had been so often
with that order and failed to draw it. Flour was flour in those days,
running as high at one time as twenty dollars per hundred, but the
uniform church or tithing office price was six dollars per hundred,
which was what the actors had to pay for it, but it was doled out very
sparingly to them at times when it was commanding high prices in
outside markets. With these orders they drew about all their
provisions from the tithing store. Artemus Ward amused the world by
telling how the Salt Lake Theatre used to take in exchange for tickets
cabbage, potatoes, wheat, carrots, and even sucking pigs through the
box office window. It was perhaps nearer the truth than he himself
suspected, for these tithing office orders were good for all these
things.
After the titter had subsided Brigham arose again, and answered
Brother Evans that he was sorry he had been disappointed so, but there
really had been a great scarcity of flour during the past month or so,
but he would see to it in the future that he would meet no more
disappointments. To Brother Phil Margetts he made an offer to come and
work in his blacksmith shop (Phil was running one of his own) and then
he need not lose any time; his pay would go on whether working in the
shop or in the theatre. Brother Lindsay could bring his carpenter
tools to the theatre and he could find plenty of work for him to fill
up the time between the rehearsals. To others he made similar
propositions; but these suggestions were not in harmony with the
feelings of the company, who thought they had given their time to
Brother Brigham long enough, and now contended with Brother Evans,
that as they were furnishing the amusements for the people, it was
only right that they should be paid for their services, so the result
of the meeting was that the company was put on salary. Salaries ranged
from $15.00 to $50.00 per week, one-third cash, the balance in store
orders and tithing office pay.
CHAPTER X.
SEASON OF '66 AND '67.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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