The end of the old Trust came in a natural way. The Shuberts became rich and powerful, and the Trust was then willing to do business with them. Some of the Trust members died, and about 1910 the old Trust ceased to exist as the dominant factor in American theatrical affairs. But the rise of the “Independents” did not bring relief; it only captured for Jewish enter¬ prise that part of the theater which might have become the prize of a legitimate body of protesters against the old cheapness and vulgarity. The pretended protest won. The theater was saved to Jewish control.
Jewish managers had created the public disgust in the first place. They knew what the public reaction would be, so they prepared to capitalize the reaction, and thus control the theatergoing public both going and coming. This they did with admirable strategy.
During the outbreak there was some genuine feel¬ ing of independence on the part of a few non-Jewish managers. John Cort organized a western theater cir¬ cuit. Colonel Henry W. Savage swung loose from Klaw and Erlanger, as did also William A. Brady. But independence of the Jewish control has never flour¬ ished. Wherever it did keep up an independent front, it stood for the theater in its best sense, and served as the only channel of expression for the remaining few stage artists. The coming of the motion picture, however, gave true independence its quietus. The motion picture “industry”—and it is rightly named an “industry”—is entirely Jewish controlled, and as it is pushing its way into the legitimate theaters and crowd- HOW JEWS CAPITALIZED A PROTEST AGAINST JEWS 115 ing out human players for long periods every year, theater managers have to bow to it more and more.