Money had been hard to come by from the first days of the Chicago Little Theatre .
As the United States became involved in the First World War in 1917 , interest in the company dropped off dramatically , placing the company in an impossible financial position .
Money had been hard to come by from the first days of the Chicago Little Theatre , and as the United States became involved in the First World War in 1917 , interest in the company dropped off dramatically , placing the company in an impossible financial position .