The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1911-12-14

Anywhere everywhere you find them. In the
United States you will have to hunt town of
less than 1000 inhabitants If you wish to escape
the moving pictures.
Five millions of Americans daily visit these
shows.
The exhibitors pay $4,000 900 year for their
films, The public pays $57500,00O a year to see
them.
Mr.. Edison has an average weekly royalty
therefrom of IS 900.
So 1t is a pretty big business, pretty thor
oughly organized, quite universal in its reach,
soap-bubbly in its universally.
The child Of the poor, with clay pipe and the
suds from the weekly wash, can have Just as
good time as any rich young fellow with an i'm
ported meerschaum and the best CASTLE
So 1t is with the moving-picture shows. It re-
quires little capital to run them. long room
easily darkened, nine-feet square patch of white
CLOTH some benches for the spectators, an oper-
ator at ten dollars week, and rented film, now
takes the place of company of actors, stage
scenery, properties, lights and a properly
equipped building. And the poor boy gets as
much value for his nickel as the rich boy can get
for any number Of dollars.
Yet, they run into dangers that no soapbubbles
can allure. Fire is Of these the most patent.
OF the moral dangers we will speak later. 1t
Is through the moral soap-bubble that we can see
more clearly the moving pictures gossamer
tinsel.
Fire, however is the first and most vital dan
ger The Charity Bazaar fire In Paris, in which
SO many women were trampled to death by cow
ardly men. was caused by the fall OF a spark
upon some celluloid movingpicture films which
had been dropped into basket. In Canton 600
men, Cinnamon, were burned to death in a fire
In moving-picture show house. In Quito, Ecua-
DOR fifty men and women lost their lives in a
similar calamity.
1t speaks well for the widespread and con-
..I--lI...
United States that no great catastrophe has yet
come to the moving picture houses of this
country
Lives have not been lost In the moving picture
shows. Lives have been lost through the moving
picture shows
Where once the dime and nickel novels sug-
gested ways of crime to unbalanced youth the
moving picture has come to make a more ready
and more potent appeal. The printed word Is
never so ardent with en- impressionabie mind as
the acted word.
Several ways have been thought Of to lessen
these obvious evils. Charles Sprague Smith, late
chief OF the Peoples Institute In New York,
thought he had solved the problem when he In
duced the manufacturers of the moving pictures
to agree to a national board Of censorship
The manufacturers, good trade diplomats.
readily assented and then saw to it that the
board of censorship should be advisory and not
antagonstic. The result is that many pictures
that create havoc among youthful minds when
shown the public screens get by" the ma
tional board of censorship.
No. This bubble that Edison has loosed upon
us will play itself out just far the instincts
of the whole people Of this country win permit;
no farther, no sooner.
One night went to prize fight Only men
were present The casual observer might have
said they were all tough men. After the fight
a canvas was erected in the ring and an an
nouncer said IAN exclusive film will now be
shown to the members of this club"
The picture proved to be of French manufac-
ture and portrayed a vile situation in a dive.
Instantly Kisses and a storm Of execration burst
from the audience The running of the film was
stopped and the picture removed before it was
all shown. Grim silence greeted the removal Of
the canvas
The crowd that glcsfed in the action of the