Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1923-01-25
OPEN SEASON ON THE MOVIES

II the world applied the same at
tftude of morals to itself as 1t is
trying to apply to the members of
the motion picture industry, partfc-
ularIy in the Hollywood community
where the industry Is centered,
there might be better reason for
the storm of abuse that is sweeping
from the four corners of the earth
upon that over-grown village. II
there were no liquor law violators or
drug addicts or sex perversfonists
in New York or Chicago or Omaha
or Fremont, we would be more just
ified In turning our shocked eyes to-
ward that beautiful colony which
has become the worlds amusement
factory almost overnight.
This practice Of declaring an op-
en- season on the movies all the year
round has become disgusting. There
are thousands Of people employed in
this giant industry. Less than
score of this multitude of men and
women have been involved in the
so-called scandals of Hollywood.
What other great industry. or pro-
fession can show that good per-
cency?
Every time a film worker steps
out of the straight and narrow path,
the rest of the world tries to kick
props from under the thousands of
neople who harren to be making a
living in the same channel with him.
There have been plenty of Instances
II the current news where preach
ers, lawyers, newspaper men, doc
'ors, etc, were implicated in Grim
ina1 proceedings, but there has been
20 vituperative clamor from the
aultitude for the disintegratfon of
any Of these professions. What
manner of reasoning is it that i'm
rels us to vent cur righteous indig-
ration upon the '-nfortunates who
seek livelihood on the screen?
There hasn't been a scandal in the
film colonies in the past five years
tSat has not been duplicated a
hundred times over in other parts Of
the country The party" which
resulted in the death of Virginia
rqppe and the banfshment of Ros
zoe Arbuck1e has had its counter
rart, and many times with even
+ ore fatalities, in every city of any
ste in America, but this is the first
the one of the participants was ex-
lied from his profession. Jury ac-
a. ittal, evidence that he was vic
tim Of blackmai1ers, none of these
things could save Arbuckle, because
he was a movie star!
There have. been many divorces
among the movie folk, but what in
the world would happen to poor old
Dodge county, Nebraska, if our long
list of sensational divorces were
blaZoned to the gaping public as the
divorces of Los Angeles county have
been? There was a bank robbery
at Piru, California, recently. in
which few extras" of the film in
dustry were implicated, and the
event was Immediately heralded as
another movie scandal" How, in
the name of reason. can this insight
ficant little affair be set above the
100000 mint robbery in Denver or
any one of the thousands of sensa
tional bank and messenger robber-
les of the past few months?
IF we really feel that the criminal
and moral conditions of this country
HCCO IcIOl llIluSp dHu uOd huONS
they do, let's lay off Hollywood for
wEile and start paying a little
more attention to conditions at
hcme. We are acting like the farm
er who, when he discovered that
his house was afire, rushed out into
the hack yard and started throwing
water on the hen house
Ii we wolld Just quit shouting
about Hollywood for a while we
would very probably hear a few
very distinct whispers about few
thousands Main Streets throughout
this indignant lard There appears
10 be no reason. nor no evidence,
that bootleg Whisl5ey should flow
any freer along the Pacific seaboard
than it does in the Rocky mountains
or along the Atlantic coast Pret-
ty women have no greater appeal for
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