Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-02-27
People Held to Blame
for Bad Motion Pictures

partment Of the Davenport Woman's
club at the public library in that city,
H. E. Downer read an interesting pa
per on the motion picture business.
He declared that people were at fault
largely in the display Of Objectionable
pictures. The owners Of the movies"
endeevor to cater to the wants Of their
patrons Many Of the best and most
inspiring pictures ever put upon reel
have been consigned TO the waste pile
for the want OF patronage. On the 9TH
er hand pictures CT just the opposite
nature have met with tremendous
success. Only as long as the people
demand pictures at the lower standard
will they be exhibited. Mr.. Downer's
paper was as follows:
The subject assigned by the pro-
gram committee reads, What Is the
Educational Value of Historical Pag-
eants and Moving Pictures?' Through
sympathy for people who are con-
demned to listen while other people
talked about things of which they
knew nothing the historical pageant
was eliminated from consideration
from the outset. The second portion
was all right as the speaker confessed
70 being a 33rd degree fan so far as
motion pictures are concerned. After
noting the session OF the committee
on police regulations Of the 35th gen.
| eral assembly of Iowa where speeches
we're made in condemnation of motion
pictures, where letters we're read from
| prisons denouncing motion pictures
and where statewide censorship of the
| strictest sort was advocated, a sharp
/ discrimination was drawn between
the motion pictures which induce
crime and those which appeal to the
/ best emotions, those which refine and
educate. It is true that motion pic
lures may incur the condemnation of
criminologists and that motion pic
lures may deserve the praise of educa-
tors and social students. 1t all de-
Ponds. It is easily possible that any
single motion picture may be either
good or evil educative or pointless, in.
holy emotions or debasing, destructive
Of morals, criminal-it all depends up
on the message it brings. Motion pic
lures must be judged by the same can
ons as music, painting and literature
The motion picture industry has not
yet recovered from the low grade be
ginnings in this country when the pic
lures were shown under the worst con
ditions and imported films were used
many Of them coarse in tone and re
pellant in incident. II is time for the
general public to discriminate between
that which is evil and that which is
good in this tremendous power which
larity of motion pictures comes
through their strong appeal to the
emotions. The audience in the mo
ton picture theatres is consciously Ol
unconsCiOusly in search Of something
to color eyentless lives Those who
have monotonous occupations revel IL
the imaginings Of playwrights whose
diaphonous plots need no thought anC
enjoy the story in which action hur
ries TO a climax before the end of the
! 900 feet is reached. The ordinar!
motion picture of the customary thea
tire is designed to satisfy an elementa
taste. The print is plea: the point!
pike-staffian. The emotional colorint
IS that Of the circus parade, red, blue
and yellow. The virtue is very virtu
Gus, the villainy badly cussed. III
appeal is largely 10 the people WHIT
daily pass the doors of the public Ii
brary unaware and without regret
p And yet this same picture story o
p screaming. squalling poster and point
| less narrative is the basis of a grea
2 and glorious influence for moralit!
! and enlightenment There will be BET
, ter pictures and better taste. TIL
motion picture will be improved with
out surfeiting its immense clientel
now uniniuenced by church, librar.
or art gallery. The motion picture |
, now the greatest unutilized education
al force Its day of usefulness viii
4 come"
The motion picture theatre wa
) classified with the saloon and dano
i hall in the list of cOmmercialize
. amusements and the presentation Q
! pictures which deprave and lead t
crime brings it in danger of polio
4 regulations now fastened upon othe
i branches OF commercialized amust
i ment The greed of unprincipled me
!. in the business has brought conden
\ nation and reprOach upon the army c
o men of good business principles an
n respect for the proprieties. The gree
{ for the Y els of the vicious ha
!. brought about a call for the un-Amer