The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-11-25
WAS MOVIE STAR
w. A. Billy Played Lead in
Movie Taken in Near East.
BoIshevists Stopped Filming of
: Picture Several Times.

Seeing Is Believing, or Uncle Amer
lea Sees 1t Through the new motion
picture depicting the work of the Near
East Relief. was recently shown for
the first time at meeting in the Town
Hall at New York City, attended by
the trustees of the organization, promi-
nent Protestant, Catholic and Jewish
leaders and invited representatives of
agencies that are cooperating in the
! Near East Emergency Appeal
Archbishop Hayes of New York
City. Rabbi Alexander Lyons, of
Brooklyn, DR.. Robert E. Speer, presi-
dent of the Federal Council of
Churches, DIR. John H. Finley and Will
H. Hays, chairman of President Hard
ing's co-ordinating committee on the
Near East Emergency, saw the film
and spoke on different phases of the
situation in the Near East.
Biby Took Leading Part.
w. A. Biby. of Topeka, state director
of the Near East Relief in Kansas,
took the leading part in the picture
which was filmed in the Near East
during Biby's recent tour there.
1--WE had some interesting times,
filming that picture" Biby said. Sew
eraI times BolShevist soldiers and
minor officials ordered US to stop the
taking of the picture, and we had to
appeal to the president of the Georgian
republic for permission to complete it.
THE camera man whom We took
with US into Bolshevist Russia was
compelled to leave the party when We
returned to Constantinople and were
ready to go TO Persia, and we had
to get a commercial man from Con-
stantinople. He turned out to be vet
eran of the A. E. F., who had been in
the Signal Corps, taking pictures of
the world war, and who had remained
over there to shoot films of interna-
tional interest.
~
U. S. Destroyer Litchfield, he asked
# 1 was any relation to Ed Biby. I'M
der whom he had worked in Califor-
MIA. Ed Biby is my brother. and was
formerly assistant director for the
Mack Sennett comedies.
This man, who took our pictures
for us, stayed in Smyrna, and got out
the first pictures of the fire which fol-
lowed the sacking of that city by the
Turks
Story of a Business Man.
The story in the picture is that of
an American business man. played by
Biby, who feels he has done all he
should to help, but after seeing the
actual work, appreciates for the first
time how much good Is really accom-
pIished by every additional bit he can
do. His cognomen of "Uncle Amer
ica' was actually bestowed by the
children of the worlds largest orphan
age, at Alexandropo1. wnere 1900
of them have called the United States
their uncle country" and named the
various buildings after the different
states.
Mass pictures of this "city of schil-
dren" show $4,000 in a grand review,
Uncle America" on his tour of in
spection, is piloted thru thethree prin-
opal areas in which the Near East
Relief is working One of his sire ng-
est impressions is of the magnitude of
the operations-there are 115,000 or
phans now in safety zones
The picture is to be brought to To-
peka for a private showing before Of
ficials of the Near East ReHef in :his
state. within a week, and will later
be released for exhibition purposes n
Kansas theaterS.