Exhibitors Herald (Dec 1917 - Jun 1918)

X H B O R H R D Trade Press and M. P. Advertisers To Fi£ht New Zone Postal Law H McRAE WEBSTER TO PRODUCE BIG 7-REEL FEATURE Charles Johnson Post Addresses Meeting Held In New York — Law Will Strangle Periodicals of Country i The first practical step in the campaign to co-operate with the trade papers and magazines that are allied with the motion picture industry to repeal the new zone postage law on second-class postal matter that goes into effect July 1, svas taken by the Associated Motion Picture Advertisers, Inc., at their meeting leld March 21 at Keen's Chop House, N'ew York City. Charles Johnson Post, director of the Publishers', Advisory Board, which represents practically every publishers' asso:iation in the United States, as well as he Allied Printing Trades Council and | :he Authors' League, spoke at some ength upon the evil effects of the law, ind urged immediate action to prevent : he strangulation of the periodicals of his country. In his official capacity Mr. Post represents publications having a combined :irculation of 40,000,000 copies. He is an mthority upon the working of the law, ind has already been instrumental in ecuring thousands of petitions to conjressmen asking for the repeal of this inprecedented and drastic legislation. Vmong the many interesting phases of he question that Mr. Post brought out, vere the following: "The Postoffice Department was not established, developed or intended to be one of the Treasury instrumentalities for raising revenue. It has not been endowed with taxing powers. It is expected to facilitate intercommunication between the people of the nation. This is its paramount function. "In 1863 this zone system which had obtained up to that period was abolI ished by President Lincoln. Every Woolworth Theatre Is Latest Scheme To help the t. b. m. of New York while away his noon hour, a proposition is on foot, it is said, to erect a motion picture theatre in the courtyard of the Woolworth building on lower Broadway, opposite City Hall park. F. W. Woolworth, president of the corporation controlling a chain of 5 and 10-cent stores, and sole owner of the 55-story building, has been approached by a promoter who has offered $60,000 a year for the privilege of erecting a six hundred seat house to be reached through the main corridor of the Woolworth building. The promoter claims that there are enough people in the vicinity _with nothing to do during a portion of the day, especially between 11 and 2 o'clock, to make the scheme profitable. The plan is to run thirty minute shows, it is said. postal commission from that time has denounced the zone system which has been established by this 50 to 900 per cent periodical postage increase law. "This penalty increase on' periodical postage will repel business and decrease revenue; and it means that hundreds of thousands of our citizens will cut down their reading at a great crisis in our national history when the most widespread reading is a thing highly to be desired — and when the President and members of the Cabinet are appealing to the newspapers and periodicals for the greatest possible assistance in spreading ideas of patriotic education and stimulation. "Surely the publishers, who are ready at this crisis to make patriotic sacrifice of their interests as any other group in the nation, would not resist the imposition of this tax so earnestly if they could stand up under it. They are opposed to this amendment because it means the destruction of their business. If that is the intent of the advocates of increased rates on second-class matter then fheir purpose will be achieved." C. W. Barrell, of the First National Exhibitors Circuit, was asked by Chair-, man Arthur James to draught a resolution expressing the association's stand in the matter, at the conclusion of Mr. Post's remarks. This resolution will be submitted at the next meeting of association. As chairman of the committee having the question in charge. Mr. Barrell is also arranging a joint meeting of the trade paper and motion picture magazine interests and the Associated Motion Picture Advertisers, with Mr. Post and other speakers to lead the discussion. Parrott Joins King Bee Charles Parrott, formerly director of Keystone comedies, is now director-general of the King-Bee Billy West comedies. Mr. Parrott has been in California for several seasons, and has directed many clever comedies in recent years. He was formerly in vaudeville and won considerable success as an Irish monologist. Mr. Parrott is now working on his first King-Bee comedv, to be published Mav 1. General Loses Salesman John J. McDonald, assistant to Sales Manager A. Schmidt in the home office of General Film Company, New York, has resigned to accept a position as a war secretary and physical director for overseas service in the Y. M. C. A. He will leave at an early date for France to take charge of the recreation work at one of the Y. M. C. A. huts back of the American trenches or in one of the foreign training camps. Harry McRae Webster, president of the Harry McRae Webster Productions, Inc., announces that work has begun on a seven-reel feature entitled, "Reclaimed," by Richard Field Carroll. The picture will be produced under the personal supervision of Mr. Webster. Mr. Webster several years ago wrote, and in conjunction with Frank Henderson, of Jersey City, produced "Lieut. Dick, U. S. A." It was at this time that George K. Spoor and G. M. Anderson persuaded him to enter the film industry and gave him the management of the Chicago Essanay studio. The following now well known professionals made their first pictures under HARRY McRAE WEBSTER Mr. Webster's supervision: Francis X. Bushman and Beverly Bayne. Bryant Washburn, Lenore Ulrich, Dorothv Dalton, Louise Glaum, Ruth Stonehouse and Dorothy Phillips. It was during the time that Mr. Webster was with the Essanay that he evolved and successfully put into operation the first moving picture stock company, an innovation for motion picture actors that caused considerable favorable criticism. Later he was associated with the Universal Film Manufacturing Co.. directing King Baggot. His independent productions during the past three years are "The Victor}' of Virtue," with Gerda Holmes and' Wilmuth Myrkle: "The Devil's Playground," featuring Vera Michelena and "Jimmie Dale Alias the Grey Seal" series, written by Frank L. Packard and starring E. K. Lincoln. This was a 32.000 foot picture and was issued through the Mutual Film Exchange. 15