The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-11-21
BrownIoW Tells Monday Even
Ing Club Remedy Lies in
Hands Of Producers.
URGE COOPERATIVE EDITING
Marvellous Growth to Point
Where Yearly Receipts Are
s350,0o0,000 Emphasized.

Motion picture censorship was dis
cussed pro. con, and crosswise before the
Monday Evening Club. meeting at the
Y. M. c. A. last evening.
TWO members OF the National Board
OF Review formerly the National Board
or Censors) outlined the perils of CEN
sorship and urged instead what they
termed cooperative editorship."
Commissioner Louis Brownlow warned
that censorship was bound to come In
washington unless producers combined
10 eliminate certain types OF pictures.
There Is certain class OF pictures
now being shown that are bad In their
effect just In proportion as they are
we'll acted. The better they are ar
tistcally the worse they are morally"
the Commissioner said.
Opinion Divided on Nudity.
The Commissioners were condemned
by some speakers and commended bs
Others for the rule against screen nudity
which resulted in the disbarment of the
MN Purity from Washington
theater.
W. ID. Mcclure, executive secretary
OF the National Board OF Review of
Motion Pictures, explained .he att.
.4ae or that board regarding the film,
The Rev. DR.. John Van schaick,
president OF the Board OF Education
raised the question OF advertising Ger.
tain motion pictures.
The Rev. Randolph McKim, pastor
OF the Church of the Epiphany, who
bition, said:
"sOme folks always raise the issue
mat we ought to remove statuary
ana pictures from art galleries II we
disbar nudity from the screen. Well,
would be glad to see some OF them
removed: II an art gallery had moth.
ing In IL but nude pictures I would
help close 1t up"
Declares Standards Change.
Aaron Brylawski. representing the
Exhibitors League of Washington,
said:
"Our standards change. Many OF
our grandmothers would not be seen
on the streets with their own grand
deuGhters in the garb which young
folk now wear.
There was cause for complaint
against some pictures In the early
days of the business. Then we i'm
ported many pictures from France.
and their standards are not ours. But
now America makes its own pictures.
and ships many abroad. and what is
made in America is ail right"
w. Frank Persons. member OF the
executive committee OF the National
where io,6oo,o6C p pT iH'S attend he The
York. made strong plea against any
fo !Ins,S Of legal censorship,
he said. In ten wears thew have
reached . roint where they are
shown daily in $4,000 thcaters: when
when 100000 people attend the
shows daily: where at least 65 per
cent or our population over ten years
or age are more or less regular at
PENDANTS at the exhibitions.
People Want Better Pictures.
"American people want better pic.
lures, and they also want them. az
an art, educational device, and means
OF entertainment preserved and al.
lowed to grow. G. Stanley Hall call,
them the Greatest didactic device
since the invention of printing
compared to the printing press IN,
motion pictures have taken hold like
lightning. In a decade they hav,
all nations, everywhere on the civil
Mr.. Persons said that the motion
picture: Ike the theater. had suffered
MOTION pictures should enlist tn,
sn%e sort 81 5fe ana ge enr,
lavish on our public schools"
Needs Serious study.
Mr.. Persons said that a serious Of
fort should be made to study the mo
ton picture problem before attempt
ing to deal with 1t. He defined tn
problem as threefold.
How to eliminate bad pictures, es
psciaiiy for the protection of child
rem:
How to study audiences.
How to improve and liberats tn
art and make OF It what It may be
Mr.. Persons then told of the effort
OF various States and cities towar
censorship. He said that in ChicaR
they had been as efficient and inte
ligent as any local censorship coul
81 don't think any one contends, 4
Chicago or elsewhere, that city ha
developed motion pictures or ha
elevated them. Chicago's effort ma
been destructive, preventive, and nc
constructive"
Tells Ohio's Experience.
Mr.. Persons then told OF Ohio
experience, where effort was made b
three people to review about 700 pic
ures a month. This entailed such Il
Dor that some of the reviewers,
said, were placed In a room to pas
upon two pictures shown at the sam
Asserting that few now conten
that State or city censorship is tn
way to deal with pictures, Mr.. Pc
sons then sought to show why til
proposed Federal censorship would b
inenective, and defeat the end &c
which 1t was devised.
Federal censorship would make {
motion pictures a political issue {
paramount Importance, Mr.. Person
predicted. He recalled that motto
picture men had called on both cand
dates before the recent election to q,
their views on censorship He to-
how a member of the New York Legi
lature who had proposed a measuI
for restricting certain motion pictuI
exhibitions had been defeated In a di
trict he was supposed to control, b
cause the motion picture exhibitor
throw on their screens daily SON
variation OF the injunction: "Vot
against Blank; he would suppress m
ton pictures"
"CensOrship Unnecessary.
Censorship in America il un-AmeI
can and unnecessary" concluded NJ
Persons.