New Britain herald., 1916-05-13
THE MOVIE" PROBLEM HERE.

THE MOVIE" PROBLEM HERE. Many states in the union are now considering a universal proposal to censor the moving picture. In New York yesterday a delegation of nov ing picture men besieged the legis- lators at Albany to defeat a bill which would place a rigid censorship oyer their products. The newspapers are deluged every day with literature for and against the idea of censorship for the movies and it is all very con- vlncing, both pro and con. The men behind the moving picture business claim that a rigid censorship imposed upon the moving picture films means the death of free speech in this coun- try. Should the national government see fit to appoint a board of censor ship, in comes politics. ShOu1d the
 movies be censored, the newspapers will be the next medium of expression to fall under the ban, these men argue Whatever methods are taken, it all devolves back upon a few men to tell what the millions must and must not see produced on the films, is another salient point of argument Under censorship one man can dictate the thought of the millions
 While this movement against the motion pictures is being brought to a crisis, the board of education of New Britain comes forward with a resolu- tion calling on the common council to draft ordinances which will regulate the pictures exhibited in New Brit ain. The claim is set up that some of the pictures shown here are detri- mental to the moral and physical vel fare of the youth and the younger grOwn-ups of this city. From police court records, and from stories told on the stand almost every day there is a great deal of truth in this asser- tion. Just what the common council should do about the matter is a prob lem that will take many long drawn out arguments and debates to decide
 
 is going at full speed ahead, disregard ing the conventions to great extent, and calling down the wrath of the good people upon it's head. Truly, the movies" or there would be no movement against their performances. And yet, as the makers of films claim, 1t is not just that one man, or a board all what men and women of the nation, of the state, of the city, of the town, shall witness on the screen Any great divergence from the path of righteousness will be taken care of under the police statutes
 Up to date, the moving picture the aters of New Britain have shown films that are detrimental to the morals of young people. There is no gainsaving this fact. It would seem then that the managers of the local moving picture houses would take warning, would do something to prevent the demolishing of their own business. Many people are not going to the movies" be- cause they are not sure just what kind of an entertainment will be presented, are not sure they will be given good, clean, wholesome entertainment. Even in some of the advance notices of films, there is the tendency to play upon the emotional drama, to gently hint that what will be shown will smack of the salacious. This is done ostensibly for the purpose of drawing people to the playhouses. While it may lure a cer- tain class, it has the effect of keeping the better classes away. This is where the managers of these theaters should exercise foresight and stem the onrushing tide. There must be an unlimited number of films that are