The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1912-06-22
NEW CHECKING PLAN WILL
BAR EVERY OBJECTIONABLE
MOVING PICTURE FILM
None Will Be Allowed to Be Ex-
hibited Unless Bearing o. K.
of Police Censors
LATTER ARE BUSY PAIR
Keeping Tab on Performances
of Detroit's 95 Theaters is
Strenuous Job
LATTER ARE BUSY PAIF

| Police Censors Royal A. Baker and
Lester Potter, who have the strenuous
task of guarding against Objectionable
pictures or vaudeville In 80 theaters In
Detroit are laboring day and night on
splendid system of control for all OF
the show houses, from the biggest to
the smallest. But just at present
they are up against the hardest task
Of their careers, through tangle IN
the various syndicates controlling the
moving picture supply.
II was through this tangle that one
of the Objectionable melodramas re-
| Gently mentioned in The Times, slip
ped through, and the two censors
were glad to learn where the picture
was showing. 1t was the tale OF Two
Men and the Law" in which an outlaw
! is made a hero. and a sheriff Is shown
! In very bad light,
| Baker explained that the film had
| been censored once before, the whole
latter part being cut off, ending the
picture with the proper capture oil
| The outlaw by the sheriff, and elimin-
sting the gambling of the sherin, and
/ tie blowing Of safe.
But when the supply depots OF the
different film concerns got into war
| for control, new sources OF flm supply
surang up, and the censors have been
forced TO pick up" films from the the
aters, instead of from the supply
depots.
| Baker says that his new index and
license system Is about perfected, and
that hereafter no film will be able to
show in a local theater without an u.
X" slip from the local censors, TO be
shown to the policeman on the beat.
AS 1t is now, films frequently slip
/. In" directly TO the theaters, from the
adjoining cities where sister the
sters" are located. and II has been a
difficult matter to keep the desired
check on the pictures. An idea OF the
work OF the censors Is given by their
report made this week to Commission
er Croul.
They cut 40 feet of film "Indiana's
| Gratitude" the eliminated portion
showing a hold-up, and being Grimm
ally educational.
'The Great Discovery" also spher-
ed the amputation of 40 feet, ad1uesed
"racy" by the censors.
Thirty feet was cut from the Might
Clerks Nightmare" showing a fire
and panic in theater.
THE Price OF Deceit" which the
censors describe as gruesome, too
melodramatic, and extremely brutal,
is barred altogether from showing
| here.
Thirty.eight feet was cut out Of
Room 257," as educational to crime.
called Back" got the shears for
| rs feet for the same reason.
"The Price of Beauty" 3,000-foot
film is barred entirely as suggestive,
immoral, too melodramatic, and edu-
cational to crime.
"The Price OF Silence" is also bar
red for its criminal education, and
melodramatic scenes.
Two posters, regarded as too thrill
| ling. were also barred.
With all OF the eye-strain and the
hard work necessary to guard the
public from Objectionable films, the
their jobs.
A few days ago, on> Of the theaters
offered an advance sample OF a three
sheet poster displaying "a train hold
up. Revolvers, knives, incendiaries'
torches and similar things are barred
from posters by Baker and Potter, and
when the doctored posters appear,
they are sometimes very funny.
In the case of the train robbery.
the censored poster showed the train
crew being presented with huge
boquets of flowers by gang of des.
peradoes, the bouquets being painted
over the revolvers which were leveled
at the train crew in the original pos
ter