Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-02-22

booby-hutch.
know a great doctor who prescribes
p picture show every afternoon for a
patient whose nerves were getting on the
outside of his clothes.
The man who lived mile from down
town. and has to walk the distance TO
the show and back.
The patient rebelled. He secuted the
idea. He wanted to take something out
of bottle or be operated on.
do as I say" firmly ordered the doc
tor; "a picture show every afternoon for
week"
But hate them"
Then grin and bear it,
I'm bear it, but damme II I grin"
"All right, but go-come back In
week -
In a week the man came back.
Two grins had grown where there was
only crouch before He had gotten the
taste.
! This story has the rare and UNIQUE
quality of being true. And the moral
Is this: That the thing which lifts us out
Of ourselves. that makes us forget our
troubles, that stops brooding and puts
the kibosh on introspection, is good.
For nervous prosperity try the moving
pictures.
If you go to the races you'll probably
bet-and, anyway. you'll get excited. II
you go to the theater you will have to
dress for II, perhaps have a carriage AMI
a little feed afterward. And you'll get
| tired out.
But the moving picture is Jeffersonian
simplicity and practical democracy. You
slide in and out, and the whole thing is
free from frills, fads and business. You
always get your moneys worth, and there
are no haunting regrets as to your hav-
ing made fool OF yourself by spending
a whole evening on a bum play and
knocking IS bill to flinders.
Another thing about moving pictures
is that the invention is one of the great
educational factors Of the time. 1t is
one OF the things that is helping TO make
this old world over into better and hap
pier place
Up to fifty years ago civilization was
provincial. Only a few people could
travel, see and know. The many were
submerged in ignorance and supersti-
ton. The sailors who went around the
world were nature takers
The stories they told us would make
your hair curl.
Read John Vaudeville and you get a
pretty good idea Of the snake stories that
once passed as truth. Even Christopher
Columbus gave out a few. You remember
how he told of two islands just off the
coast OF America where on one island
lived all men and on the other all women,
and once a year all the people on one
island went over and had a picnic
That was interesting. but it wasn't
true.
Now we are getting acquainted with
the world. Quick transportation, the
mails. the daily paper. the telegraph, the
telephone, the talking machines and NOV
mig pictures are bringing the world to
our doors.
7 once knew a dear old lady who had
way of saying when you told her any
, thing; Il want to know-I want to
know"
I used to laugh at this. but now SYM
pathize with the sentiment 81 want tn
know-I want TO know"
In Missouri the folks ask for visual
demonstration. This to me is also beau
tiful. SHOW me-"
/ The moving picture satisfies our desira
to know because II shows us. The ex-
tent OF knowledge which II Sistr,brte.
. as to the ways, customs and habits Of
1
far-reaching for good.
am writer In my writings de-
scribe what have seen and the things
that seem to me to be true. Just 10 thu
, degree that I express truth and make
: men think do 1 benefit them. No critf-
! elsm can be brought against movies
which cannot be brought against books
with equal truth There are good books
there are bad books. and there are bum
books written by punk parties with lit
erary eczema which are neither good nor
bad.
IL is exactly so with moving pictures.
These pictures tell you a story, playing
the thing out while you sit and Iook
Good people want to see only the truth
ful and the worthy. As we grew better
We will have better moving pictures. AS
: is now, believe the silly and absurI
are being eliminated. and the helpful ana
r the true are coming to the fore.
Show mel want to know.