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Show WILL INVESTIGATE MUSIC COMTBOVEHSY National Organization to Send Man to Get Facts on Local Dispute. A telegram received by W. H. Swan-son, Swan-son, president of the Swanson Theater circuit, which is operating the American, Amer-ican, Rex and Liberty picture houses in Salt Lake, from Joseph N. Weber of New York, president of the American Federation ot Musicians, announces that an officer of the national organization will be in Salt Lake about December 3 to look into the strike of the union musicians that has been called by the local union in the Swanson theaters here. The message states that the local union has been instructed by the national na-tional organization to hold the entire case in abeyance until the national officer of-ficer arrives and has opportunity to look into the situation and make a report.- The strike was called by the Salt Lake union of the American Federation of Musicians, as a result of refusal of Mr. Swanson to grant demands of the local union that "photo players" employed em-ployed at the Rex and Liberty teaters be paid $50 a week for seven hours' work a day and $1 an hour for an assistant assist-ant for such time as he might be employed. em-ployed. The circuit, it is explained, was paying pay-ing $25 a week to the chief player ana 50 cents an hour to an assistant, but the union demanded double that pav and the company balked. It is explained by Mr. Swanson that the position po-sition which the union demands shall draw $50 a week is one that anyone can hold, as it is merely the mechanical mechan-ical operation of an automatic photo plaver. He declares that no musical skill is required to operate the player and for that reason he considered the demand of the union unfair. The. union ordered a strike effective December 3, affecting all union musicians musi-cians at the American, Kex and Liberty, Lib-erty, but the national organization instructed in-structed the local organization to hold the matter in abeyance until the national na-tional officer can investigate the merits of the demand of the local union and determine whether or not the national union will sanction a strike. |