Perth Amboy evening news., 1921-03-15
CENSOR FOR MOVING PICTURES.

io,u theatre owners are becom-
~.oa.,, alarmed over the prospects Of hav-
,ne 10 submit all motion pictures TO a s's.e
-.u :, cansors before exhibiting them, as Is
.~o,,d.d in a bill now pending in the leglsia-
tares John t. Collins, Of Rutherford presi-
dant of the Motion Picture Theatre owners Vi
New Jersey, has issued a statment on the sun
soc, in which he predicts that the people oi
the state will protest vigorously against such
proposed drastic action. Mr.. Collins Is right
The people are sick and tired of government
,,terference in practically every Ing a per
son does. We are being governed to DEATH
vet. the moving picture producers nave d
creat responsibility of their own in TINS mat
,ar II the law descends heavily upon them
n will be largely their own fault, just as II
Is largely the fault of the saloonkeepers that
We have prohibition today. The movie houses
r having their warning just as the liquor
dealers had their warning. The latter heedeo
i not and now find themselves legislated out
Of business by an aroused public opinion. II
the movie people are wise they will clean house
themselves before it is too late.
There is no question thar many of the pic
.rrss being shown today are utterly unfit.
while some of them are bad enough from a
moral DOlQL OF VIEW II " "NN
all forms of crime they present cannot but
help to have a most degenerating effect on the
minds Of Just the class of people who go to
see such pictures.
The higher class movie houses do not show
such pictures, yet none Of them are free ITO"
the faint. The greatest harm comes from the
cheap theatres such as are to be found on the
Bowery in New York and among the lowest
grades of society in all the cities. NO DOUBT
the ideas put into the heads Of the weak
minded fools who sit by the hour and gap at
these pictures make crime appear so easy that
not a few are tempted to go out and try II.
or course. it is claimed On the part OF those
defending such pictures that the william always
suffers in the end. But that makes no dif-
ference to the rattle-brained individual taking
chem. He thinks he can do a little differently
and get away with it.
A board of censors for moving pictures would
h~--constant source of irritation and a gem
eral nuisance. We want none of it. But some
,hinr must be done to clean up the situation.
rba movie producers should make the first at
tempt.
It will be remembered that the brewers and
liauor dealers associations were always going
TO do something to clean up the saloons. the
lawlessness, the back rooms, the Matching OF
crimes and all the other evils of the average
booze joint were notorious. But aside from passing
resolutions condemning such features in connec-
ton with the drinking places. nothing was done
by these liquor interests.
The public put up with the abuse ard de-
fance of all law and Gecency for years. but
when an organized movement was started that
not only would wipe out the saloon. but put
an end to the liquor business altogether, they
welcomed it as a means of securing the re-
forms that the liquor men themselves had so
often promised. but had failed to make on their
own account.
Let the movie houses take fair warning. They
are opposed to a board of censors; SO are we
all. But just as surely as the evils and abuses
of the liquor business brought about radica
action on the part of the public, just SO sure
Iy will the movie houses bring down a noar'