Arizona republican., 1906-06-18
MOVING PICTURES
 WORKS OF GENIUS
How Csrvera's Fleet was Destroyed
 in Waukegan, III.

For most people there has always been deal of mystery about the nov Ing pictures business, especially con corning the securing of the negative films of scenes and incidents which m the nature of things must occur without prearrangement or foreknow- ledge on the part of the picture man. For instance, all patrons of the picture ShoWs have seen reproduced, such thlhgs as train robberies, or big battles that came to an issue unexpectedIv either as to time or place. and numer- ous other things where it would seem impossible for the maker of the film to have an opportunity for a proper exposure. Human intelligence natur- ally suggests that such pictures are in large degree, if not entirely, fakes but on the contrary, the critical are forced to admit that the pictures so lar as they can be compared with the stories of eye witnesses. seem to be exact reproductions of what actually happened
 E. H. Amet. inventor, electrician and mechanical engineer, who for the pres net, at least, is resident of Phoenix. has been one Of the most successful makers of moving pictures and picture machines in the world. It was in con
 
 his home in Waukegan, Ills. that the Chicago papers few years ago. gave him the title the Wizard of the North" which has clung to hin, throughout his other operations. and has to some extent done for him what the Pabsts have done to Milwaukee A little conversation with MT Amet re- gently was fruitful of eliciting consid- eraple information along the line of the picture business, though he is not en- gagged in it personally at this time. He explains that what is referred to above as fake as being both false and gen. tune. In other words the. man who al- leges to have his picture machine on the ground when railroad robbery takes place, or who has his machine in a reserved seat next to the orchestra while Oyama is administering corporal punishment to Kuropatkin and his Cossack hosts, is saying something ne would not dare to testify to in court In like manner. the hundreds or thousands of people who have lis tened to the story of how. at great ex- pense. the moving picture man hap pened to be in Santiago harbor during the destruction of CeVera's fleet. have only been absorbing the imaginary creations of the press agent and spieleC ''AiiC tAiIy NltNeu NilH rapture the de- struction of the Spanish invaders on the canvas. MT. Amet knows for he made the films up in Waukegan. New ertheless, the moving pictures. when properly made, are genuine in that they are reproduced. from miniature scenes made with mathematical accu- racy in reproduction of the original scenes and incidents
 The story of the pictures of Cervera's s | fleet is an interesting one. A number of energetic newspaper men, knowing MT. Amets success in that business at first organized a company, or proposed | to, to send him to Cuba. It was con- fidently expected that there would be l big doings there some day and pictures of what might happen would. of course. i be valuable But after learning that i no picture boats would be permitted | within six or eight miles of the fleet. | and with the further probability that r the picture boat would be in the wrong | place at the right time. considerable | was taken out of the pro- Ject. It was also taken into account l that the water might be rough and the | boat unsteady and that a hundred other little things might occur to mar or utterly destroy the effect or the pos sibility of getting a picture at alL As