The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1914-05-14
ALDERMEN MAY TAKE ACTION
Members Of the Council Visit Theatres
and Declare That There Gould Be a
Big Improvement in the Character of
Films showrl-Favor Chicago Plan.

City officials were being bombarded
today to take some action to secure
censorship of moving pictures shown
at theatres in Kenosha and so insistent
was the demand made by some of the
mothers of the city that it is expected
that the council will take cognizance
of the conditions and pass an ordinance
providing for some censorship of films
shown in KenOsha. 1t was shown to-
day that members of the council, who
have taken an interest in this matter,
have recently made the rounds of the
"mOvie" theatres in KenOsha and
they have found that lot Of films
are being shown in these places which
are not conducive to the advancement
of the moral tone of the community or
Of any great value in providing enter
tainment for the boys and girls. Lit
tie objection has been made to some
of the showings of theatres in Kenosha
but in recent weeks there have been a
lot Of films brought to the city which
would fail to pass the censorship in
any of the larger cities
1t is admitted by film manufacturers
that the big film companies are using
the smaller cities as dumping ground
for films which failed to pass censors
in the larger cities and it is certain
that number of these films have been
shown in Kenosha in recent weeks.
Several of the local theatres have
adopted the rule that no film can be
shown in them unless it passed the Chi
cago board Of censorship. These man
ayers are anxious to have proper reg
ulations thrown about the business in
Kenosha They admit that the films
made up largely of shooting ARRAYS
and sensational crimes, appeal to lot
of people, but they appeal to class
to which these theatres do not care
to cater.
The aldermen who have made the
rounds of the theatres, believe that
censorship may be best secured in Ke-
nosha by the passage of an ordinance
which will stop the showing of films
which have not been approved by a
regular board of censors in some other
city. It would be impossible for a
local board of censors to pass on the
films without great expense to the pro-
ducers but making the rule that they
must have been passed by some other
city it is thought would secure the
wedding out Of nearly all of the OBJ
jectionable matter. 1t is declared that
some of the films now being shown in
Kenosha are decidedly Objectionable
The police are powerless to act in this
matter without some definite action of
the council and it is expected that this
action will be taken within the next
few weeks and that Kenosha will put
the same safeguards against the
movies that have been established
in other cities On account of the
complaints against sensational pictures
the pobce are keeping close watch
on the theatres.
There will be no objections made to
pictures of an educational nature or
pictures which have been brought out
with view Of aiding in the solution
Of great public problems Of social life.
The complaint is especially against the
vicious pictures which have nothing
to recommend them but the display of
crime and criminals.
Former Alderman Joseph G. Rhode,
manager of the Rhode Opera House,
and the pioneer in the picture business
in Kenosha, said this morning: ''T am
heartily in favor of proper censorship
of moving picture films if any plan
can be worked out. It would be i'm
possible to have local boards of cen
sorship in all of the cities and it an
pears to me that the proper plan would
be to have national board of censors
with Offices in New York, Chicago and
San Francisco / would be glad to
abide by any ruling made by such
board Most of the managers are now
insisting that films shown be passed by
some responsible board and this has
done lot to eliminate the display of
pictures unfit for the view of the
young,