The City Rallies for a Bankrupt Manager
When the Traders' Bank in Tacoma folded, it took the theater manager's personal funds with it—prompting an outpouring of support from the Seattle, Portland, and Tacoma arts communities.
The story, cleaned up
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The closing of the Traders' bank in Tacoma last week included Manager John F. Cordray among those who have been either temporarily or permanently injured by the unexpected collapse. In addition to the receipts taken at Tacoma until the bank closed, other money deposited by Mr. Cordray at the bank was shut up, and seriously interferes with his plans for the next season. The members of the theatrical profession in Tacoma communicated with their brother members in Portland and Seattle, stating Manager Cordray's situation, with the result that a grand aggregation of professional talent, both legitimate and vaudeville, has been voluntarily offered for a complimentary benefit to be tendered to Manager Cordray at his Seattle theater Saturday evening, July 29. The event will prove a remarkable one of its kind, as the programme in preparation is pretentious and inclusive. A committee of the leading members of Cordray's 'Black Crook' Company called on him Friday evening and requested him to accept the offer made by members of the profession in the three cities mentioned. Yesterday an affirmative answer was given, and the affair is already well beyond the uncertain stage. It is only to be expected that Seattle theater-goers will turn out en masse on the occasion and, in addition to being royally entertained, show by their presence their appreciation of the popular manager who was the first to establish in this city a clean family resort at popular prices.
“It is only to be expected that Seattle theater goers will turn out en masse... to show their appreciation of the popular manager who was the first to establish in this city a clean family resort.”
Bank failures were a common source of civic anxiety during the Panic of 1893, which saw hundreds of banks shuttered nationwide. The community-led effort to save Manager Cordray echoes the ways local theater and arts groups still attempt to self-organize when economic forces threaten the city's cultural infrastructure.
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