The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1911-04-29

Anywhere, everywhere, you find them In the
United States you will have to hunt town of
less than 1000 Inhabitants il you wish to escape
the moving pictures
Five millions of Americans daily visit these
shows
The exhibitors pay $1s, 900 900 a year for their
films. The public pays $5750o,oo0 year to see
them.
Mr.. Edison has an average weekly royalty
therefrom of IS, 900.
So 1t is pretty big business, pretty thor
oughly organized. quite universal In its reach.
apbubbly in its universally.
The child Of the poor. with a clay pipe and tho
suds from the weekly wash, 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. II re-
quires little capital to run them. A long room,
easily darkened, a ninefeet square patch OF white
cloth. some benches for the spectators, oper-
ator at ten dollars week. and a rented 1lm. now
takes the place of a company Of actors. stage
scenery, properties. lights and 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 soap-bubbles
can allure. Fire is Of these tho most patent.
OF the moral dangers we will speak later 1t
is through the moral soapbubble 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
COW
ardly men. was caused by the fall Of a spark
upon some celluoid moving picture 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 q
similar calamity.
1t speaks well for the widespread and con-
slant vigilance Of the fire departments of the
United States that great catastrophe has yet
come to the moving ngpcture 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 to make a more ready
and more potent appeal. The printed word is
never ardent with an impressionable 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 1t that the
board of censorship should be advisory and not
antagonistic 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 SO far the instincts
of the whole people of this country will permit;
no farther, sooner.
One night l went to prize fight. Only men
were present. The casual observer might have
said they all tough men, After the fight
a canvas was erected in the ring and
pouncer said, AN exclusive film will now be
shown to the members Of this club"
The picture proved to be Of French manufac-
ture and portrayed q vile situation In q dive.
Instantly Kisses and storm Of execration burst
from the audience. The running Of the nlm was
stopped and the picture removed before It was
all shown. Grim silence greeted the removal Of
the canvas
The crowd that gloried In the action Of Tie