Putnam patriot. [volume] (Putnam, Conn.) 1872-1962, 1919-09-19
FREE MOVING
PICTURES
Educational Films Shown On
Union Street Monday Night
Bureau of Commercial Economics
Touring Country

ternoon and attracted a great deal of
attention on the square The truck
carried a complete moving picture
outfit and is touring the country
showing educational films in the open
air. The truck was in charge of H.
f. Seidel. field secretary of the bu-
reau, and also carried an operator
and a chauffeur. Fully loaded Mr..
Sidel said that the truck weighed u
tons.
1t was intended to come to Putnam
next month, but as the schedule cali
ed for Boston this week it was chang
ed on account of conditions there and
after showing in Providence Sunday
came to this city.
The service of the bureau is abso-
lutely free and chambers of commerce
or schools may obtain the films abso-
lutely without charge except to pay
transportation charges to and from
the distributing center. This puts
library of diversity of educational
pictures at the disposal of any munic
ipality or society seeking such
means of information.
The Bureau stands ready to help
New England industries get their
share of South American trade.
DIR. Francis Holley, bureau direct
or, declared the bureau could render
service of unreasonable value to in
dustries of this city in the way of
making South Americans acquainted
with them and their products--if only
the manufacturers would avail them
selves of the opportunity.
Acquaintanceship and friendship
go long way in the continent to the
south of us, much further than up
here A Latin merchant will continue
to buy from the man he knows, even
| trough a stranger comes along with
better goods at lower price. That
was the secret of Germany's virtual
supremacy below the equator before
the war; the Germans had made
| friends with the South American mer-
chants and American industries found
| it difficult to break in.
According to DR.. Holley, the motion
| picture screen presents wonderful
! on,0a,+,,n;+,r for A,,aa,,aan industry 70
get acquainted" in South America.
A manufacturer may have films made
of his plant showing each process in
the making of his products. These
films could be made so realistic that
after viewing one South American
audience would sort of feel that they
themselves had been through the in
dustrial plant although it was actually
( located thousands of miles to the
north DIR. Holley feels sure that
American statesmen would have much
more success in South American
city after motion pictures of the in
dustries of the United States had been
shown there.
Films visualizing how people of the
United States work and how commod-
tiles are made have great educational
value in the southern continent, the
same as rubber harvest picture
would have up here. Because of their
education value the bureau accepts
such films for distribution in South
America and other foreign countries.
The bureau is now sending a COM
paratively small amount of American
industrial pictures to South America
about IS, 900 feet of film month.
But it is sending 100000 feet of
film showing English and Japanese
industries a month. The bureau is
world wide in its scope. Its support
is international, the governments of
principal foreign nations as well as
the United States government coop
Grating with it. Therefore, it accepts
motion pictures which will help Eng
lish and Japanese industries in South
America just as readily as films por-
traying Americas products-provid-
ed, of course, the films come up to
the bureaus standard.
1.-The business men of america,
said Dr. Holley, Hare not so alert as
their foreign competitors or else
more of them would seize the oppor-
tunity to use motion pictures to help
get this country's share Of the South
American trade. l have reliable in
formation that Germany has prepared
literally millions of feet of industrial
films for use in trying to win back the
South American business"
South America is now more friend
ly disposed toward the United States
than at any other time in history. The
South American merchants are ready
to make friends with their North
American cousins, if the latter will
only go their half of the way But,
according To DIR Holley's figures the