The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1922-06-16
WILL II. HAYES
AND THE MOVIES

and comfort that was achieved in
this country through means of ordi-
nary photographs of better homes.
This education of the public, this
indirect implanting of standards of
! taste and morals and art in the pub
lie mind is inherent in the motion
| pictures. We can not avoid it if we
would. Since the nature of our bust
ness makes it inevitably that we
| shall portray some standards, the
| duty involved in our relation to the
| public makes it incumbent to hold
| up the best.
And above all. perhaps. is our duty
to the youth. We must have toward
that sacred thing, the mind of a
child. toward that clean and virgin
thing. that unmarked slate-we must
have toward that the same sense of
responsibility, that same care about
the Impressions made upon it, that
| the best teacher or the best clergy
man, the most inspired teacher of
| youth, would have.
Things are taken a good deal for
granted. and / wonder if you just
| realize, you men who have at heart
| the general welfare-I wonder if you
| realize just what the motion picture
| means to the youth. During the
time when l had the acceptance of
thisnew work under consideration l
| took three little cowboy suits home
to Sullivan, one for my boy, aged
six. and one for each of his cousins,
ages five and eight. They took
those little suits into the bedroom
| to put them on and come out and
show me. | heard them quarreling
IN the bedroom. and | wondered what
they could be fussing about under
those circumstances. | went to the
door and listened. They were having
real quarrel as to which one when
they came out to show me would be
Bill Hart. Mark you, ages five,
six and eight. And finally my boy,
in very vigorous voice said, Cali
right, then; all right, then; | will be
Doug" Well, it was a lesson. It
used to be when We were boys that
possibly we quarreled a little over
who would be Abraham Lincoln or
George Washington, or if we were
real nifty we might have wanted to
be Buffalo Bill. but now it is who
will be Bill Hart or Douglas Fair
banks or Charlie Chaplin, and sol
forth.
We say twenty million people a
day see motion pictures. Very well;
possibly half. l do not know, may be
children. and they go. too. with the
same open mind referred to. Don't
forget that the quick way to the
brain is through the eye. There
may be fifty different languages
spoken in this country. but the pic
ture of mother is the same in every
language. Obviously it is true that
the influence of the motion picture
on our national life is indeed abso
lutely limitless-its influence on our
taste, its influence on our conduct,
it's influence on our aspirations. it's
influence on our youth and its conse-
quent Unreasonable influence on our
future.
Our Cause
l wonder if you realize Just what
it means for these men who pioneer
ed in this industry, who had the
vision, initiative. industry and nerve,
if you will. to have made this thing
what it is in twenty years. | Won
der if you realize what it means for
the general good for these men now
to unite and make it their first bust
ness to do everything in their power
to reach the highest possible moral
and artistic standards of motion pic
lures. This movement is a Cause
with capital C. In this Cause each
of you is as interested as the men
who inaugurated it, l know if ever
i say if ever-I am of any value
in any situation it is when | have a
Cause. / thought l saw Cause
when l went into the work. Now
| know it is there. and | am going
to give all have got for this period
to this Cause. And l bespeak for
it and for these men your most
earnest and sympathetic co-opera-
ton. l do not know what can be
accomplished. A man is safe if he
knows when he does not know. What
| do not know about this industry
would fill the Encyclopedia Britain
MICA, but / am going to work very
hard to learn it. and l do know that
there exists the most honest and
earnest purpose. And right here,
talking to Democratic and Republic
can editors alike, let me suggest
that | am glad finally to be in an
activity where We are all on thel
same side of the table.
Most certainly will not be put
in the attitude of being a judge of
the morals of those who are In the
industry. There has been much
loose talk on that subject, and the
fact that the morals of the thou
sands and thousands in this industry
are lust as good as those in any
other.
The vital thing now is the certain
good faith of those who have set
about these major purposes, and
do know of the certainty of that good
faith. / know that these men with
millions invested will go through
with this thing. This industry must
and shall maintain its high place in
the business world along with the
other great industries, offering en-
terprising capital legitimate oppor-
tunity for profitable investment. es-
tablished on a solid foundation, OPP
Grated with reasonable economy and
supported properly, as are our other
great industries, by the investingI
public. And it must and shall and
will take it's very high place in pub
lie estimation.
So certainly is all this a matter of
your concern that we earnestly ask
your advice in the situation. | have
thought the problems would be
solved if we could make certain the
establishment of two things: Con-
fidence and Cooperation. We must
have Confidence and Cooperation be-
tween those in the industry. a Con-
fidence and Cooperation that will
bring a mutual appreciation and ac-
tion together i'm those things in
which we are mutually interested.