Evening star., 1917-01-07

III motion picture is destined to be
I'm one of the big educational and
= - recreationai forces of the fu-
ture. the United States government has
taken up the subject of Aim making on
o bic scaae. and has already stored
away more than hundred miles Of pic
lures. TO be released" to the public
whenever Congress makes an appro-
priation sufficient to cover the cost Of
their exhibition.
with but one exception-the Depart
ment OF Justice-every branch or the
government service has entered the
moving picture field, either through
reels taken by their own agents or by
private Individuals with the sanction of
the government. The enthusiasm
which has everywhere greeted the
showing of these pictures is evidence Of
the great interest felt by the public in
the machinery of its governing bodies.
The greatest effort made by Uncle
Sam to break into the movie field as an
exhibitor occurred at the Panams-Pa-
cific and the San Diego expositions at
each one of which the government
maintained a motion picture theater.
with n barker" to announce the at
fractions and a complete show every
hour from IL o'clock in the morning
until midnight. At practically every
one of these performances the theater
was crowded. and scores Of people
stood in line to view the animated IL
Illustrations of how the government con-
ducts it's manifold industries.
After these expeditions closed the
films were returned to Washington.
where. owing to lack of sufficient ap-
propriations to permit Of their being
given a nation wide showing. they have
remained. for the most part. in the
government vaults. Some day. the off1-
cials of the various departments hope.
Congress will awaken to realization
OF the Importance of the screen as an
educational factor. and set aside suffi-
cient money to permit these films to
be exhibited broadcast.
Rut this day has not yet arrived, so
rncie Sam. who is really firm be-
1iever in preparedness. intends to go
on storing up miles of films against the
time when he will be able to enter the
field an exhibitor as well as a camera
man.
The first division of the government
TO recognize the value of the moving
picture as an educational factor was
the reclamation service. a branch of the
Interior Department 1t was here that
c. ]. blanchard. statistician of the
service and a former newspaper man.
first brought to the attention of the
government the fact that a permanent
and interesting record ought to be kept
Of the various activities in the interest
OF the people-records which would be
of interest not only during the life of
these activities. but also for many
years to come.
The motion picture appeared to be
the most logical method OF preserving
these records. and Mr.. Blanchard at
once went to work to secure films Illus
trative of the great work being accom-
plished by the reclamation service In
the west Since that time his division
has secured large number of highly
entertaining. and in number OF cases.
unique films. showing the various
phases of the work OF the Department
of the Interior.
Less than a month ago one of the
operators in the employ of the reclama-
tion service returned to Washington
with a hundred reels-nearly twenty
miles-of pictures taken in the west.
Among these was a remarkable hlm
showing the various ceremonial dances