The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-05
 BIRMINGHAM ID SEE MOVING GP|CTURES0N SUNDAY AF TERNO0N Permission Obtained From City Commission by the Exhibitors League
WILL CHARGE NO
 ADMISSION FEE
Basket Will Be Placed Just Inside Door and Voluntary Contribution May Be Made-Understood
 Pastors Will Not Oppose

Beginning next Sunday the motion pie ture shows of Birmingham will run every Sunday afternoon from to 10:s0 o'clock. A movement to this end has been on foot for the past several days, and it
 came to head yesterday when permis- sion was secured by the Moving Picture Exhibitors association from the city com mission.
 No admission to the shows will be charged, and strictly high-cass, moral, religious and educational films will be shown. Inside the door, however. lady will be seated with collection basket and all persons who enter may or may not. just as they wish, place contribu- tion in the basket This voluntary col lection scheme, 1t is said, is being prac- ticed in several southern cities and has proven complete success.
 The indorsement of many of the pas tors of the city has been secured and it lis understood there will be no fight whatever made against the movement of
 the motion picture men. President A.
 A. Wall of the local Motion Picture Ex- hbitors association appeared before the Pastors union yesterday morning and while the union would not officially go on record in favor of the Sunday pic- lures 1t was generally understood that
 it would not oppose MT. Walls plans. Wall Confers With Ward Yesterday afternoon Mir. Wall called upon President George Ward of the city commission and after a conference MT. Ward stated that the commissioners would offer no opposition to the Sunday
 shows. There is no law on the city statutes against Sunday shows, 1t is said,
 and therefore the commissioners will not oppose them.
 "A strict censorship over the films to be shown on Sunday will be maintained said President Wall after he had talked i to MT. Ward. There will be no western stuff, no slapstick comedy and nothing objectionable in any way to the proper observance of the Sabbath day. All Sum day films will be confined exclusively to high-class moral educational, religI- ous and similar subjects. have talked with many of the pastors of the city. | city officials and others and they are | thoroughly in sympathy with our aims l '"The pastors admit that, if we can sub l init play with a moral, showing where
 sin and wickedness Is always paid for by ! the transgressor that it makes a bigger l impression probably in many cases than
 they can make by words from the pulpit. We moving picture men have high ideals and we want to educate and elevate arid better the public mind as much as any body. We believe that we can do much l in this line through Sunday shows and
 that's why we wish to try 1t. Every show which runs on Sunday will be 1 closely watched. and the first time any | xx,1,t ,t,hx l jectionable on account of the Sabbath l day the show will be immediately
 closed"
 No Opposition Indicated
 l Several of the pastors and church lead CTS of the city were communicated with l last night in regard to the Sunday mov- l ing picture shows and they stated that while they did not wish to come out pub licly in favor of 1t. nevertheless they be-
 licved 1t would prove good thing as now | proposed and would offer no opposition
 to 1t as long as the shows wore conducted along a high plane.
 After tho conference with Mir. Wall, President Ward of the city commission | said:
 q understand that the proposltion of | the motion picture show men 10 to make 1 tho Sunday show matter sort of voIun-
 tary proposition. not charging any ad- 1 nlboiOut put thNi'e WY v SNhcs'tbcu A'oIi> 1 tho audience Mir. Wall merely wanted | to get our sentiments un tho matter, and l tho proposition will probably be worked out fully within tho next few days. 1T told him that 1 could see nothing objectionable In his scheme. that we had no city laws against 1t. and therefore tho 1 commission would offer no objections" Tho Sunday moving picture movement l has been agiteted fin Birmingham of and 1 on for years. but until this tiIne has never been successful. Nearly all of the larger | cities of the country have open motion picture shows on Sunday, 1t is said.