The Red Cloud chief., 1911-05-04

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 s1S,oOOOoo a year for their
films. The public pays $5750o.000 year to
them
therefrom of $4,000
So it is pretty big business, pretty thor.
oughy 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
good time as any rich young fellow with i'm
ported meerschaum and the best CASTLE.
So 1t Is with the movingpicture shows 1t re-
quires little capital to run them. long room,
easily darkened, ninefeet square patch OF white
CLOTH some benches for the spectators, an oper-
ator at ten dollars a week, and a rented film, 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 the rich boy can get
for any number of dollars
Yet, they run into dangers that no soap-bubbes
can allure Fire is Of these the most patent.
or the moral dangers will speak later 1t
is through the moral soap-bubble that we can see
more clearly the moving pictures gossamer
tnse
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 spark
upon some ceuoid moving picture films which
had been dropped into basket In Canton 600
men, Cinnamon, were burned to death In a fire
In a moving-pcture 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-
slant vigilance OF the fire departments of the
United States that 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 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 a national board OF censorship
The manufacturers, good trade diplomats
readily assented. and then to It 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 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 will permit;
no farther no sooner
One night went to a prize fight Only men
present, The casual observer might have
said they al tough men. After the fight
canvas 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 dive.
Instantly Kisses and 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 gloried in the action Of the