The Washington times., 1914-04-02
THE BEST
Photoplay Department in
WASHINGTON
tOWMurder and Theft
Are Impressed on
Child Mind by
PhotoplayS

~ ment was recently unOeT-
- taken with a view of as
certaininc the value of
nhotoplays. After particularly
Encouraging encounter with the
home work question the teacher of
fifth grade school in Washington
FOUND that most of her pupils were
icing to the moving pictures in
the evening instead OF doing their
work At least they were going to
the moving pictures and trying to
DO their work also She was inter-
ested to know just what the pupils
learned at the moving pictures and
If they learned from the pictures
any better than they did from their
hooks. So she gave out sheets of
composition paper one morning
and asked each child to write the
story of the last show seen by
them or the thing that impressed
them most.
OF what did they write"
Love. languishment. divorce. muir
der. burglary. drunkenness.
4 few excerpts from stories will
suffice. will show how such a mar
velous power for good is prostitut-
I'd by the presentation of subjects
which feed the growing mind of
he child with a sordid and nause-
ating diet In almost every case
he memory of the child did not fail
20 represent the tale in perfect
sequence.
Boy. aged ten:
In a big apartment in a large
city lived some people.
One night the men went out and
got drunk. and at the same time
their wives were walking in taeir
sleep from room 10 room. Then the
men came home very drunk. ard
found their wives gone. They began
10 60 in all of the other peoples
rooms. hunting for their wives, and
found people asleep At last one
woman got a cop, and he went after
the men ana the women. Then he
made the wives take their husbands
in their rooms. The wives got the
men by the ear and put them in
their own rooms"
Here is another. The writer is a
girl of ten, and we print t as she
wrote il:
Violet and Edith were coming
home from their sister Grace's fu-
neral. They went into the house,
and there was a Catholic sister with
8 letter in her hand. She gave it
to Edith. and on the front 1t said:
Not to be opened until j lie. So
Edith opened II. and inside was
mans picture and a letter which
said: This man has rewined me,
and promise not to marry Until you
find him.
Part ii
These girls were dancers.
There were two men in the theater
Wlo admired them very much After
they had finished dancing one of the
men said he was going down TO see
the manager. He went down and
asked the manager to interduce him
"a Edith and Violet. When lie did
V;olet fell in love fwith him. but ne
didn't know her. and when they all
got home Edith knew he was the
man in the picture. she took eff
her mask and when ne knew who
she was h. went away"
The little girl didn't know how TO
spell ruined but she knew how
10 use il. She did not. perhaps, quite
catch the meaning of the story, but
was able 10 repeat it
Other compositions are in the
same vein, all are better than the
compositions which the pupils tell
under pressure.
There are many wonderful and in
rerestinS subjects in the world the
field is ineNhaustible. The child has
much TO learn. ye- the men and
women of America. the parents Of
the coming generation are allowing
few INSCRIPTIONS moving pIfture
managers to supply their children
with fund Of tales which rival
salacious manuscripts of old, and
VIC with sixteenth century wit in
Rahelaisian flavor
The parent has always ~hosen
What the child should read. but DO
thev now choose what they see
The Law prohibits the child from
entering a bar-room out the avers
age parent thinks nothing If taking
The same child 10 a moving picture
Performance at which at leas; one
hlm shows the interior of typical
ba~
With these conditions. is il n-ces-
sar. for The Times to ask again 10
have the mothers and fathers IF
the Washington school children tell
ehat II is they want TO see In the
moving picture shows
What d. you want your child TO
see there?
We are striving TO help clean the
hlnIs. And we have been promised
the support Of the better class of
managers of photoplay houses il
- business proposition with them
and they realize their responsibility.
We believe absolutely in the NOV
,nS picture as an educational force.
The stories we have printed nroye
y. Why is it not Utilized as a force
Tor good instead Of evil?. Perhaps
the public has been 10 blame. Per
maps there has been no one TO give
the public's ideas on the question.
That Is what this column of The
Times Is for and we want TO hear
from the people who are interested
Write to the Photoplay Editor of