The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-08-01
MOVING PICTURE
 SHOWS BOOSTED President Lends Stamp of Ap- HAVE COME TO STAY Popular Form of Aumsement-Chi Has Nearly 400 shows-New
 York Has Passed the 300
 Mark-vast Enterprise.
From the Washington Post.

From the Washington Post.
 Now that the President of the United States has put the stamp of his approval upon the moving picture show, it can be safely predicted that this form of amuse- ment has come to stay. In fact, it has already gained such headway in the field of popular amusement for people of mod crate means that it only needed MT. Taft sanction to become a source of diversion for even those whose purses can afford more expensive pastimes.
 A vast fortune has been invested in this industry, which Is probably as yet only in its infancy. It has been esti- mater that something like $50 ,OO0 capital will represent very closely the amount that has been expended in the manufac- ture of films, the erection of suitable theatres and halls, and the equipment of machinery. etc., that is necessary to place the pictures attractively before the pub lie.
 Every city of consequence has its nov ing picture theatres, and the business is rapidly extending to the smaller towns and villages, until there are in the neigh
 
 all over the United States.
 Some Interesting Statistics.
 Already Chicago boasts of nearly 400 moving picture theatres. The western metropolis leads the list of American cities in this particular, although her an- cient rival, New York. has al- ready passed the 300 mark. Of the other cities and towns, the number of places given over to this popular entertainment vary, according to the size and import ance of the locality. The enterprise also extends to all parts of the continent, in- cluding the Dominion of Canada, Mexico Central and South America, Cuba and the canal zone.
 As a purely business proposition the moving picture idea is gaining enormous proportions. When one stops to think of the immense amount of labor and ingenu- ity which is brought to bear upon the perfection of any one of the films so temptingly set forth for the public de- lectation, and the vast number of diff ferent pictures which one sees In the course of a very short time, some ade- quate idea can be gained of the magni- tude of the enterprise. Of course it is true that large number of the films which are displayed are of foreign man ufacture-France, 1t Is understood, fur nishing the greatest number of diversified subjects This, however, applies to the comic and sentimental subjects, embracing those which are made to order"
 Naturally, pictures are taken in all countries, and geographically speaking there Is no special locality where films emanate from. The film machine can be found everywhere-from the crowded Ghetto on New York's East Side, to the Bois de Boulogne or the Champs Elysee in Paris. group of miners toiling in the depths of the earth may be shown cheek by jowl with representations of a drawing room at Buckingham palace. Nothing Is too great or too inaccessible to attract the moving picture purveyor, and his reward comes with the delighted mutitudes who never seem to tire of the result of his indefatigable labors.
 A Vast Enterprise.
 Some idea can also be gathered from the statistics collected, which show that nearly 1000 900 feet or 190 square miles of films are shown every day in the United States. Fourteen separate pictures pass the spectators eye every second, calcu- lating by the average rate of speed at which the machine travels, so that every day the public sees more than 15, GOO of separate and distinct photographs. This is one of the things accomplished by pho tography, and can well be classed as one of the greatest wonders of the world.
 Of course, in accordance with the bus mess methods of the day, and the neces- sities of everyday competitive endeavor,