The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1911-04-28

Anywhere, everywhere, you find them In the
United States you will have to hunt a 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 s1s.oOo,ooo year for their
films The public pays $57,5o0O0O year to see
them
Mr. Edison has an average weekly royalty
therefrom Of $1,000
So 1t is 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
sitds from the weekly wash, can have just as
good a time any rich young fellow with an i'm
ported meerschaum and the best CASTLE.
So It is with the movingpicture shows 1t re-.
quires little capital to run them A long room,
easily darkened, ninefeet square patch OF white
cloth, some benches for the spectators. an oper-
ator at ten dollars week, and q rented flm now
takes the place Of 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 soapbubbles
can allure. Fire Is of these the most patent.
OF the moral dangers we viii speak later It
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
f&Sf. ne ChaTlty-t5aZaaF uE0 IN Paris, In which
so many women were trampled to death by cow
ardly men. was caused by the fall Of spark
upon some celluloid moving picture films which
had been dropped into basket. In Canton 500
men. Cinnamon, were burned to death In fire
in movingpicture show house. In Quito. Ecua-
oor. nfty men and women lost their lives Ia q
similar calamity
1t speaks well for the widespread and con-
slant vigilance Of the fire departments OF the
United States that no great catastrophe has yet
come to the movng-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 more ready
and more potent appeal The printed word Is
never SO ardent with an impressionable mind
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 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
antagonistc. The result is that many pictures
that create havoc among youthful minds when
shown on 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 as the instincts
of the whole people of this country will permit;
no farther. no sooner
One night went to a prize fight Only men
were present. The casual observer might have
said they were all tough men. After the fight
canvas was erected in the ring and an an
nouncer 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 vile situation In q dive.
Instantly Kisses and storm Of execratIon burst
from the audience. The running OF the flm was
stopped and the picture removed before It was
All shown Grim silence greeted the removal Of
the canvas.
The crowd that xloried in the action AZ the