Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-01
General Theaters Equipment
Now Occupies Strong Posi-
ton in Movie World.
FOUNDER NOW AT HEAD
OF FOX FILM INTERESTS
Harley Clarke Won Start in Life
as Salesman to Utility
Companies.
BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR.

NEW YORK, May 3l.-Is the Gen.
eral Theaters Equipment Corporation,
Inc, to be the dominating factor in the
movie world? 1t was started as hobby
by Harley L. Clarke of Chicago, who
rose rapidly to the dizzy heights Of
business success in public utilities and
movies" and who Is not even men,
toned in Who's Who in America"
Mr.. Clarke, At, is the son of a country
doctor. After he graduated from Lake
View High School in Chicago he became
That was too slow. He quit writing and
went into selling machinery Here is
where he got his real start. for among
his customers were the larger Middle
Western public utilities.
Now his Utilities Power & Light Cor
poration serves 832 communities In
more than 20 American States, while
his foreign public utility subsidiaries
serve population of more than 2,000,-
900 in London as well as 100 cities in
Scotland and England.
His advent into the movie field was
anything but suspicious Believing that
the country needed educational films,
he associated himself with an old school
friend, DR.. F. r. Moulton of the UNI
versity Of Chicago, and formed a COM
pany to market them. But the schools
already offered free films and would
not pay for these new productions, so
Mr.. Clarke found himself out $4,000
on the venture.
Still the by-product was good, and
the scheme was not total loss. DR.,
MoultOn developed successful portable
protector for displaying films. He
nHTf frrrr
been very successful financially, Simplex
and Powers, combined them with his
own and the tide turned With the
profits and a little extra cash Mr..
Clarke bought 80 independent theater
supply houses. They became howlingly
successful and presto-before the world
stood the National Theaters Supply Co.
Last year he merged it into the Gen.
eral TheaterS Equipment Corporation.
Inc.
When William Fox got into dificuI-
ties Mr.. Clarke saw his big oppor-
tunity. The rest is history-Ntr. Fox
moved out. Mr. Clarke moved In. To-
day, as president of both the Fox Film
Corporation and the Fox Theaters, he
is a potent factor in the motion picture
industry.
Foreign Debts.
Did the United States show the
Shylock spirit when foreign debts of o
face value of more than $12 ,000, 000, 900
were cut down to present-day value
of about $5,sss, 100000, on a per
cent basis?
ut is difficult to see how we could
have gone much further without I'M
justice to the American taxpayer" said
Ogden Mills on a recent occasion.
And while we are on the subject Cd
foreign business it is well to remember
that julius Klein has pointed out that,
although the trade balance between
England and the United States last
year showed a debit against England
of $499 900, 900, the sting was taken
away when it was learned that the
United States imported from India and
the federated Malay States some $780,
OO0,0 900 more than the United States
exported to them.
So all factors must be taken into con-
sideration-all the debts and all the
credits of all nations-before the bal-
ance for or against can be struck.
Here is where the famous HooveR
triangle balance of international trade
comes in.
Newspaper Securities.
One of the first newspapers to offer
its securities to the investing public was
the Minneapolis Tribune, which hoated
a loan Of 81, 500, 900 in 1922. Since that
time there has been steady increase
In the amount of newspaper securities
sold to the public.
The Chicago Daily News, upon the
death of Victor Lawson, was largely
financed by public participation.
Possibly $100,000000 in newspaper
securities have been sold to the public,
nearly half of which took place in 1927.
The daily newspapers of the United
States have gross earnings annually OF
more than $1,000, 100000 so the invest
ing public to date has played very
minor part in its expansion.
The largest single public fiotation in
the last eight years was that of the
Hearst Publications, Inc, which sold
$20,000,000 of 61a per cent first mort
gage and collateral trust serial gold
bonds in october 1927.
One of the smallest offerings was that
of the publishers of the Greenville, S. c.,
News, which sold $4,000 612 per cent
serial notes.
Newspaper profits have been relatively
large in the last few years, and more
and more public participation in their
securities may be expected. The New
York Stock Exchange has no newspaper
securities listed. But the London Stock
Exchange has more than $100,000,000
of such stocks listed and an additional
$50, 100000 of funded debt.
The potential value of newspaper cir
culation has been steadily rising during
the last decade. Formerly a subscriber
was considered as worth SIS to pub
Usher. Today the subscriber Is worth
anywhere from SIS to $40.
The newspaper business Is FSoving
into the field of big business, too.
Copyright. $780, by North American News
paper Alliance.)