The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1916-03-11

Go West" became the slogan of makers of
canned amusement" and one after another es-
tabllshed plants in or near Los Angeles.
BESIDES the advantageous climatic conditions
tnere are other reasons for film producers going
to California. Within a radius Of fifty miles of
Los Angeles practically any kind of a scene de-
sired may be shot"
1t was not until during the last year or eighteen
months that manufacturers came to realize fully
that the producing end of the industry should
be located in California, and now that some fully
appreciate the economy of such a move they are
building expensive permanent plants.
Before decisions for this move were reached,
however, every excuse was offered for %continu-
ing in the East. and attempts made to prove the
correctness of each one of them; for a big ex-
pense is added when the selling department of
a concern is located in New York city, three
thousand miles from the manufacturing plant.
New York city has always been, and, no doubt.
will for years remain, the theatrical center of this
continent. There it is that all big theatrical
producing organizations have their headquarters,
and as the motion picture has to a very great
extent taken the place of legitimate stage drama,
comedy and musical shows, and is conducted
largely by former theatrical men, its headquar-
tiers should, the managers think, continue in this
eastern metropolis.
With the Offices and selling force at one side
of the continent and the manufacturing at the
other additional expense is caused by the need
of each keeping in touch with the other. Prac-
tically all of the communications go by wire. and
the Geographic expense of some companies eX-
ceeds a thousand dollars per month. In one or
two instances wires across the continent are
leased from the telegraph companies and opera
tors maintained at the New York Office and the
studio, In the anne manner as newspapers lease
wires for news received. This has materially
lessened the expense and at the same time added
speed and efficiency to the service of the COM
panies.
AS the manufacturers come to realize the eco
nomical need of continuing permanently the max
ing of motion pictures in California, they have
gradually improved their properties there.
The first Universal producing company arrived
in Los Angeles Thanksgiving, 1911, and the man
agor, director, scenario writer, scenic artist,
property man, laboratory superintendent, and
Actor AL. E. Christie. with his band of thirty,
leased a barn. To save the cost of buying muslin
to use as cloths, that there would be no shadows
in the pictures and all faces and images be plain,
he caused the stage-which consisted of a mere
fat platform-to be built in the north side of the
barn where the players could work all day in the
shade without the sun spelling a single scene.
From this very humble beginning has grown
the only municipality in the world devoted ex-
clusively to the manufacture OF motion pictures
Universal City, four miles north of Los Angeles.
This mammoth plant consists of almost four
hundred acres. contains a river, valleys, hills
The grounds are divided into two sections, be-
cause of foot hills extending through the center,
with fiat valleys on either side. In front are the