San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1926-01-03
Photograph of the Front of the
Empress Theatre in Shenandoah,
Iowa, Showing Mr.. Latta and
His Megaphone Announcer.

MFR. C. J. LATTA, owner of NOV
NI ing-picture theatre in Shenandoah,
Iowa, hung out sign the other
day that caused people to stop in their
tracks and cape. They formed curious
crowd, but they did not go inside and
buy seats, which is what signs in front Of
theatres are for.
This sign was a warning to the public
that the picture being shown within was
poor. Mr.. Latta was simply telling the
truth, and no more than the truth, and
everybody knows that honesty is the best
policy. Yet that simple, Straightforward
act of sincerity caused sensation which
brought letters and kilograms of amazed
congratulation all the way from Bangor,
Me-, to California. Even in his own home
town the theatre man is suddenly looked
upon as a genius. Yet all ne has done
is to take seriously an ancient motto that
we were all taught at school.
How could man afford to be SO ''fooI-
ishly honest?" was the question on every
ones lips. If he tells them that his pic
lure is not worth seeing, it stands to
reason that nobody will pay to see it,
and he will lose money. That is just
about what happened. The evening after
that warning sign went up and a long
announcement appeared in the local pa
pers, explaining his frankness, only a
scant hundred people trickled in among
his 500 seats. The reckless persons said
that they were so used TO being misled
that they would not even take mana
gers word for il that his feature was poor.
When they came out some stopped to
tell Mr.. Latta that he had not deceived
them nor exaggerated; that the feature
picture was not only poor, but rotten.
They looked at him strangely and went
home, while he remained to figure up his
losses and wonder what he had done to
himself. There were no profits in honesty
so far.
Next morning he advertised another
feature and informed his patrons that this
one was pretty good. This, if anything,
was a more surprising statement than the
other. Who ever heard of any kind of
show being advertised as "pretty good?
Every show since Bsrnum's day has been
like the circus, the greatest show on earth.
It did not seem possible that any one
would pay to see something that was adj
mittedly only pretty good.
But they did. That night Mr.. Latta
sold his 500 seats, stood up as many more
customers as the fire department would
allow, and turned hundreds away. II was
a long time since he had had rush like
that, and for once in his theatrical career
he was not afraid TO face anyone on the
way out.
In the theatre lobby after the show
groups of men and women stopped to ar
que with him. Most Of them thought the
picture was a little better than pretty
good-it was almost good. They wanted
to know how he happened to invent the
novel and ingenious idea Of telling the
truth. Since that day the theatre has
played TO the best business in its history.
All over the country people have real
lied that an astonishing thing has hap
pened and are trying 10 figure out what
Z means, and if the discovery can safely
be applied TO other kinds Of business.
Barnum was probably right in his time
when he asserted that the public enjoyed
being fooled Have the times changed and
the people changed their minds?
All sorts of unsolicited compliments