The Daily Intelligencer

An interesting case was recently decided in San Francisco. A fellow named George Harris paid for admission to the Bush Street Theater, and once inside, seized upon and attempted to hold a seat reserved for another. He was, after considerable commotion and the use of force, ejected. In passing sentence, Judge Rix said that theaters are open to the public, but that they must be under the management of the proprietor, or some one under him, and that it will not do for every individual who enters such a place of entertainment, because he happens to be displeased with the management, to attempt to manage it to suit his own peculiar ideas. He said that he knew of no law which fixes the price to be charged for seats in a theater, and there being no such law, a manager has a perfect right to set aside a number of seats for which he will charge one price, another set for which he will charge another, and that there is no law to prevent a manager from charging $50 for a seat if he desires, or to graduate the prices of seats according to his ideas of self-interest.