The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-08-01
Vaudeville Features.


 Many managers have added vaudeville features to the picture shows, and have heightened the time of the performances s duration to an hour or twice that time. This makes a hybrid, however, that does not suit everybody, and the proprietor who conducts his place on the level of the legitimate moving picture emporium Is pretty apt to enjoy a steady stream of prosperity The vaudeville feature is costly if the acts engaged are to be kept on a par with the tone of the the atre, and either the 1price of the show must be raised or the profits of the busi- ness suffer materially. Patrons, however, can be found for both classes.
 Washington caught the moving picture , craze some time ago. All over the city the places of amusement have put in appearance until there is no excuse for any one spending dull evening when the 5-cent theatre offers counter attraction. Every neighborhood boasts of it's moving picture theatre, where crowds may be seen going and coming every evening. The center of the enterprise in this city is in the vicinity of Pennsylvania avenue and Ninth street. extending from Seventh to Tenth street on the avenue and up as far as G street on Ninth. Here the the atres show a blaze of electric lights every evening, and the exterior of the places presents cOHStdul dcliHity uilu all Hour before midnight.
 But though a concentration of moving pictures may be noticed in the locality mentioned there are many scattered all over the other parts of the city. Co., lumbia Heights, Georgetown, Anacostia, the northeast, southeast and southwest sections all have their quota of we'll patronized resorts where films are shown every hour in the day.
 rThey instruct anuSe and entertain 65 per cent of the citizens of the district, their wives and their children every month.
 Upon a rough estimate they contribute $4OOO a year to the district government as license fees, and are paying taxes amounting to thousands of dollars every year. They are distributing in salaries a quarter of million dollars year. and are paying more than $15O,OOO for rentals.
 To Improve Quality of Pictures.
 Owing to the fact that the moving pie ture business has become so firmly es- tablished as a national institution of di- version there Is movement under way to improve the quality of the pictures shown It Is now fully realized what an immense influence for good or evil esae moving picture show can wield. Some of these movements emanate from public spirited citizens and organizations others from the film manufacturers themselves.
 There has been such a tremendous de- mand for pictures that some of the sub jects dealt with have been of a demoral- izing character. Especially is this true of the films that have a depressing effect upon children. to whom the moving pie ture theatre idea was primarily expected to largely appeal The suppression of palpable fakes is one of the objects of the reform movement, and the elimina- ton of scenes of suffering or degradation will also fall under the ban.
 Men of intelligence who occupy posi- tions as ministers recognize the educa- tional benefits to be derived from the sermons thrown on the screen. In vest ern cities the effect of the moving pie ture business has been to close up great many places where the entertain ment offered Is of demoralizing nature.
 Every picture that is produced Is cen sored before 1t Ia printed to be sold to