The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-07-28
With the State Press
Harmful Moving Picture Exhibits

harmful Moving Picture Exhibits.
Moving picture shows can be made
10 serve a splendid end They can
be SO conducted as to furnish innocent
am tsemcnt, to excite wholesome mer-
riment to instruct, TO elevate, to
charrn-to provide altogether delight
f4l sources of diversions, And be-
cause capable Of being so utilized,
and at a small price OF admis-
SION. they have proved a means OF
genuine pleasure to the American
masses. and grown into an indispen-
sable feature OF public amusement
t'nbappily however, many OF the
films which are being exhibited 70
mixed audiences women, girls
and bOys-are unQuestionably amen
able to the gravest sort of objection;
and with especial force may this be
said of the production OF social prob
lem pictures and the representa-
lions Of crime and human weakness.
/ 1t is no sufficient answer to assert
that these things carry good moral,
and are therefore not TO be con-
demned Sometimes they carry no
moral at all--sometimes their por-
trayal OF brazen RIGHTEOUSNESS and
scarlet robed sin do not even pretend
/ to carry a moral--and in some cases
even If ostensihly designed to sus-
gest a moral, the offense and the
peril Of these shocking revelations
are calculated to accomplish far more
or harm than any good that might
/ be derived from them as messengers
4 of warning
/ by way Of defense or palliation. il
is said that the moving pictures pre-
scented In this city and elsewhere have
! eynpri9nrad rjEiH FGnanrzhirt hafnra
being released, We respond that a
+ censorship which viii pass certain
films recently exhibited in at least
two theaters in LynChhurg is abso-
lutely worthless as a morally defen-
Sive measure The editor OF The
News says this upon his own respon-
sibility and rests the statement upon
actual personal observations. Up to
within a short time since, he had
rarely ever attended these places OF
ment-certainly on not more
than a score of occasions. But during
the past few days. and because de-
string to see for himself whether va
rious objections which he had heard
urged against the decency OF some OF
these productions were found in a
reasonably accurate conception of
fact, he has almost daily gone to one
or the other OF two local picture
Itheaters. Within that time, he has
seen the portrayal OF hrazenly faith
less wife, pitted against a girl thief
In rivalry for q mans love, resulting
In a series Of engagements and COM
plications which. while perhaps cal
culated 10 thrill the young and
Ithoughuess. embodied, as we saw II,
not one feature of redeeming, ele-
waiting or wholesome significance
! Within that period he has seen upon
abe screens wildly realistic produc-
tons OF lascivtous import. of de-
graded womanhood Of midnight
revelry which flashed upon the vision
of innocent youth as well as Of older
people-cOndltions and evidences OF
human infirmlty and ruin too
altogether raw to bear extended
discussion here. Not that all of
the pictures are to be condemned
In every instance where We have seen
a harmful picture, we have also seen
q harmless one, which either amused
or appealed 10 the clean hearted in
terest Of the audience.
Because Of these abuses to which
the picture shows are often put, The
News conCeiNcs II TO be it's duty to
sound word OF protest, and
to suggest that II Lynchburg
is without a local BOARD OF Cen
sors, il should have one and invoke
its service in behalf of an acutely
needed reform.-Lynchbur News