Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-12-21
POWELL PROPOUNDS
PREPAREDNESS NEED
He Talks on the Conditions as
Seen by One With Actual Ex-
perience at the Front
BY the Photoplay Editor

Preparedness is word which is on
every ones lips these days. but T. Alex
/ ander Powell, through whom the war pic
lures Of Fighting in France" were
brought to this country and eventually to
/ the Chestnut street opera House here,
declares that only those who have actu-
ally seen war can realize the full meaning
of the word.
THE men Of France, for instance" said
! Mr.. Powell, Were, every one of them,
/ ready to go to war, and the nation knew
/ how TO turn every profession to account.
/ The reservist who was motion picture
l operator became a member Of the corps
/ Of 'operateur mobilises'; the scene-shift-
/ ers and painters Of the theatre were put
I into the companies OF soldiers whose duty
/ II is to mask the batteries, to paint the
great war motors chameleon colors to
match the landscape or to erect fake land
scapes To hide the movements OF the
army.
Nor was this the only sort of prepared
ness. The great guns were ready for
their work, the aviators had their birds of
war in shape and there was ammunition
| ready. and the tremendous amount of ann
munition required can be guessed at by
the simple fact that during one battle
alone the French shells fell at the rate
of SO per second upon the German lines.
France knew Just how she was going to
feed her troops and how to clothe them,
and though the military spirit that has
reigned so long In Germany was never
evident in the more volatile France, the
work of preparedness still went on-as
these pictures of Fighting I'm France
show-for without preparedness there
would be none OF the buslnesslike, cool
courage Of the fighters which these pic
lures reveal. But pictures are at best
poor mediums to show America what I
have seen with my own eyes-war-and
what 1t means The awful devastation
that n single battle out of many can do;
the awful suffering, the stripping bare Of
fertile country, and the constantly grow
Ing needs of an army in action: but II Is
certain that even the pictures are a big
lesson in the Importance Of what is now
not much more than n word to us-'pre-
paredness.
"The Birth of Nation closes its sue
cessful Philadelphia run on Christmas
night at the Garrick. The leading roles
in this great film, based on Dixon's THE
Clansman," are taken by Henry b. Walt
hall, Lillian Gish and Mae Marsh.
The PUBLIC LEpGER's fine war pictures.
Fighting in France" continue at the
Chestnut Street Opera House. The pic
lures are remarkable in the way they
disclose conditions in the war zone.
The Stanley opens this week with "The
Reform Candidate" with Maclyn Ar
buckle and for Thursday, Friday and
Saturday Denman Thompsons old classic,
"The Old Homestead" with Frank Losee,
will be screened.
The Arcadia for the first three days
offers THE Coward" with Frank Keenan,
and Charles Ray, and for Thursday, Fri
day and Saturday a Triangle film new
to Philadelphia, "Cross Currents" with
Helen Ware, will be featured.
The Regent opens with "a Soldiers
Oath" with William Farnum; on
Wednesday and Thursday Rosemary"
with Paul Gilmore and Marguerite Snow.
will be shown, and for Friday and Sat-
urday "The Great Divide" with House
Peters and Ethel Clayton. viii be the
feature.
The Palace begins the week with Mr..
Grex, of Monte Carlo" with Theodore
Roberts; Wednesday and Thursday THE
Prince and the Pauper," with Marguerite
Clark, will be screened, and Friday and
Saturday Jordan Is a Hard Road with
Dorothy Gish. Frank Campeau and owen
Moore, will be the main attraction.