The Moving Picture World (1907)

668 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD. every kind and class, and they must all be stopped. We are not to inquire into the merit of the law. We are to execute the law as it reads. "Now, that order and that decision mean simply the stopping of any public entertainment or performance of any character in a place of public amusement on Sunday; that is the keynote. And it won't be often that you will have to exercise any dis- cretion at all. 'All performances of any character in a place of public amusement' is the way that decision reads. Now, that covers Carnegie Hall as well as the one and five-cent vaudeville and moving picture shows. "It covers roller skating and it covers benefits like that one they want to get off at the Hippodrome. They will spring on you that certain shows are for charity; well, it is up to them to prove it is charity, not us. 'All performances of a"ny character in a place of public amusement,' the decision says. "The Y. M. C. A. entertainments on Sunday nights are per- formances in a place of public amusement, and while they are run for the purpose of getting boys and young men off the street, under the decision it is no go; it puts out the Educational Alliance with their little arrangement that goes on Sunday nights, because it is a place of public amusement Then, in the course of the Judge's decision, he says: 'It prohibits public sports, exercises or shows'; that cuts out the Celtic Park, for instance, although it is a nice, clean show. "We have no discretion whatever as the law is laid down. It cuts out all games of football or any other kind of ball. Naturally it cuts out that bicycle race at Madison Square Garden until 12.01 Monday morning, and the authorities of the Garden have been warned of this fact. , "They promise this year to have the inside of the Garden well policed, and say they have taken the necessary precaution to pre- vent the scenes of last year. If they have not done so, the strong hand will be put on that bicycle^race." "Does it cut out dancing academies?" one of the inspectors asked. ^ " 'All performances and entertainments in places of public amusement,' is the decision and that takes in dancing academies. "Just to repeat once more: This thing is far-reaching; it is sweeping; it is perfectly plain and everyone must be given a fair deal and treated alike.. "Some of the theater men wanted to make a test case, wanted to have an arrest, and I sent them to the Corporation Counsel. He writes back that he does not approve of it, because it is to a certain extent a violation of the decision, and it would be con- niving With the law, and, therefore, the keynote is, absolutely no arrests unless forced to it; put your men by the theater; let it be understood that all the theater men have had notice and let it be understood that there will be no show. The presence of a couple of men in uniform there will probably indicate it. and the people will ask questions. The reply'will be, There will be no show,' and if they go in, let them go, for you have no authority to stop them. "But you will arrest the first bunch of actors that appear after the curtain rises, and if they keep it up you will arrest the next hunch, and you will arrest the ticket seller and anybody else you can get hold of in the office, including the manager and pro- prietor. Do not be silly or domineering, but say simply, These are our orders.'" # * * DOWN WITH "BLUE LAW TYRANNY" CRY LABOR MEN, 250,000 STRONG. Reoresentatives of 250,000 union working-men. at a meeting Sunday at the University Settlement Building, Rivington and Eldridge streets, declared that the people themselves should be allowed to be the censors of their Sunday conduct, within rea- sonable limits. "Open the theaters," exclaimed President Henry De Veaux. of the Actors' Protective Union, and the applause was long and hearrv. Resolutions were adopted, saying: "Whereas. Justice O'Gorman has rendered a decision creating a puritanical Sabbath . . . and, "Whereas. The said decision sets at naught the fundamental prircioles of our government, to wit: Equality before the law pnd the pursuit of happiness and creates a class distinction by permitting a certain few to follow their pursuit of happiness, while denying the same right to a large majority, and . . . "Whereas, The enforcement of these laws will CTeate untold hardship uoon the thousands of citizens in our community, who. by the closing of theaters and places of amusement, will be barred out of employment, . I . such as actors, musicians, bar- tendecs, waiters and indirectly a large number of trades too numerous to mention; and. "Whereas, These puritanical laws simplv cloak hypocrisy; . . . "Resolved, by the Central Federated Union of Greater New York, to use all of our influence and endeavor to the end of .obtaining the abolition of the entire tyrannical blue laws and call upon all liberty-loving citizens of this community who favor fair play and justice to act with us." In advocating the resolutions President De Veaux said: "I have every respect for clergymen, but I do not believe in their right to be intolerant any more than any other class of people. The clergymen themselves work only on Sundays and they have no objections to the people working in their own churches on Sundays, such as the firemen, the janitors and the engineers. I never knew of these people who are so anxious to close the theaters on Sundays helping to bury a musician or an actor who died in poverty. I understand that even some of the churches have been giving vaudeville performances on Sunday." Mr'. De Veaux quoted the Rev. Dr- Curry's interview in the World, saying: "Father Curry says that this kind of drastic legislation like the Sunday closing law does more than anything else to drive people into saloons, and he is right" Eugene Canavan^ representing the 1,500 musicians who were left idle Sunday, said: "I represent a union that suffers more than any other because of the closing of the .theaters. The law should be repealed at once. The Aldermen should fee appealed to as well as Mayor McClellan and Governor Hughes." The resolutions were adopted without a single protest. * * * MORE THAN SIXTY THOUSAND PERSONS DEBARRED FROM THEIR WONTED RECREATION. The East Side Sunday was one continuous wail because of the closing of the Sunday theaters. For years it has been the custom of the head of the family to take his wife and children ta one of the Yiddish playhouses. This enjoyment was denied Sunday. ,'••'■ There are three big Yiddish theaters on the East Side, the Kalisch, formerly the Windsor; the People's, and the Grand Street. Besides these there are forty smaller playhouses. More .than 60,000 people had attended the Sunday afternoon and even- ing performances at these playhouses, and each of them was closed as tight as a drum Sunday. Now and then a policeman would appear, but he found the law was being obeyed to the letter. "If those who brought about this severity of the law," said former Commissioner Jacob' Katz, "would take a walk through the East Side to-day and see for themselves the injury the'clos- ing of these harmless places of amusement has done, they would open their eyes. On almost every street comer I saw a crowd of young fellows at a loss what to do with themselves. They would have enjoyed their afternoon at some playhouse. _ Thou- sands of parents and the children at home were also' miserable because of the loss of their Sunday enjoyment The decent folk of New York are being punished. We should' see that, these decent places are opened so that Sunday, which is the people's dav, can be enjoyed by the people as they deem best." Thousands of East Side Germans ■ also missed the Atlantic Garden, on the Bowery. This respectable German institution was compelled to close down its sacred concert, and its patrons ' went away indignant. All in all it was an unhappy Sunday for the great East Side -population. The streets were crowded with people, who talked about nothing except the closing of the places of amusement. The police closed up all the dance halls. * * * : Regulations for the storing, manufacture and exhibiting of films are getting more stringent every day on the Continent. Germany has followed the lead of Norway, Sweden and Den- mark, whereby every film subject has to be passed by a police censor before it is exhibited in public. This is the direct out- come of the Continental style of subject. Some of the ideas need censorship, for some of theni are not quite the sort of thing we should//take our wives and sisters to see, to say noth- ing of the baneful influence on the minds of young children. Now German officialdom has gone a step further. Notice has been served on all who deal in films that they must, in future, only occupy the TOP floors of buildings,, and that those who stock films can only do so in buildings that are fireproof, and specially adapted for the purpose. This is certaintly O, T.— warm! British red tape is bad enough, but the German tape— we don't know what color they use there—is apparently worse in some respects. We often grumble at municipal regulations in this country, but our position is Elysia when compared with ' the trade abroad. Let us all set our houses in order. Let every ' maker and dealer take every precaution against the fire fiend. Let every operator be proved competent to have charge of a ma- chine and films, and incidentally the lives of hundreds of people who are watching his pictures. This-is the only way to prevent stringent regulations. Cinematography and BioscopeMaga3ine.