The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1920-04-03

Extract from New Orleans Item,
March Gath, in refutatiOn of the ma
licious tissue of drivel and falsehoods
published by the New Orleans Daily
States)
"Saenger Manager Says All New Films
are Shown Here-Prices Low. :.
THE investigation of the Saenger
Amusement company by the federal
trade commission for alleged operat-
Il ing in restraint of trade ended Tues
day afternoon after the crOss-examin-
alton of E. V. Richards, Jr., general
Manager of the Saenger Amusement
company Mr.. Richards was the only
witness to testify Tuesday. and at the
close w. T. Roberts announced the
facts would be placed before the COM
missioners at Washington and the de.
cision left to them.
"Mr. Richards asked the Item to
comment on the hearing, declared the
testimony and the attendant effort of
certain newspapers to sensationalize
| it spoke for themseles
The Saenger Amusement Company
he said is not particularly interested
in any free publicity What space it
needs for the exploitation of its bust
ness it buys and pays for at current
rates
ct has seen fit to contine most of
this advertising to The Item for the
past year or more-and incidentally
we have played to capacity houses.
We have no political favors to ask,
seek to buy no paid write-ups, obey
the laws and attend to our own bust
mess.
1--WE recognize the rights of any
public journal to print anything that
| is truthful. If any newspaper wants
to accord large amount Of gratui-
tous publicity to our enterprise it is
welcome to do so so long as it con-
fines itself to the facts. On the other
hand if it INDUCES in misrepresenta-
ton because of our failure to buy
advertising from it which we do not
need, we are prepared to take care of
IOurselyeS-in the courts if necessary
Facts Distorted"
ga few of the facts in the case
facts that have been greatly distorted,
to fit the desires of those who seek
to injure us in the publics mind are
these:
That no old pictures are being
shown at the Saenger theatres-ex.
cept those whose merits justifies re-
turn. With such returns we have mer-
lifted and received such support as is
accorded return of Sarah Bernhard
for instance. Not as many as ten old
pictures have been shown in our the
aires in the last year
Charlie Chaplin is not making
pictures for the United Artists, whose
films we were so ridiculously charged
with barring from this city. He is still
making them for the First National
Exhibitors, and we are showing them
all
Mary Pickford has delivered only
one picture to the new association,
and Douglas Fairbanks latest picture
was shown by us.
a" d. W. Griffith has delivered only
one picture to the new association,
Pictures, not yet made-which we are
accused of barring from the city-can
certainly be shown by any of the So
called independent theatres on Canal
street, or any street.-the Pearce the.
atre for instance, when they are ready.
We certainly have no objection
What the Saenger Amusement
Company does object to however, is
lending itself to an arrangement
which would result in the boosting of
admission prices to all suburban the
aires from II to so and rs cents. That
is what the excess rate for United
Artists pictures would mean for New
Orleans under the first proposal. AS
it is, the suburban theatres in New
Orleans are, charging less admission
than in any other city in the country.
Ii this statement is doubted by any
one they can step to a universal news
stand and verify it by looking up the
ads in the newspapers of other cities.
On the Pacific Coast the admission
charge to suburban houses is from rs
cents to 70 cents for the same class of
pictures we show for II cents
Price Half that in New York.
The admission price of the Strand
theatre here is one-half of the price of
admission charged by the Rivoli,
Strand, Capital and Rialto theatres in
New York and the program and the
pictures are Identical
Our theatres are filled, and our
advertising is sufficient to fill them.
eve operate on volume basis
buy in big quantities at low terms
and exhibit the best for the lowest