Motion Picture News (Oct-Dec 1930)

34 M o t i o n P i c I u r e N c n .s November 1, 1930 Allied to Enter All Key Points Before January Washington — Allied States Association's expansion program, begun several weeks ago, is to be carried out with renewed vigor so that the first of the year will see the organization entrenched in practically every key city of the nation. The expansion is being carried out under direction of President Abram F. Myers. Already Allied units are operating in 20 trade zones, with 14 or 15 additional key headquarters soon to be opened. The organization is adopting a principle new to organization work. While each unit will be self-governing and self-sustaining, close watch will be kept upon each new zone organization formed, with the paid secretary in charge of the individual unit responsible for its development and efficient operation. Thus a home office system of supervision similar to that employed by distributors, will be relied upon to speed organization work in each instance. Many Cities To Be Visited Cities scheduled for visits by Allied organizers within the next few months are understood to be New York, Buffalo, Albany, New Haven, Cleveland, Kansas City, Memphis, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Washington, Omaha, Charlotte and San Francisco. Units now affiliated with Allied, together with their headquarters, president and secretaries, are : Northwest Theatre Owners Association (Minneapolis), Bennie Berger, president ; W. A. Steffs, general manager. Allied Theatre Owners of Michigan (Detroit), Allan Johnson, president; H. M. Richey, general manager. Allied Theatre Owners of Texas ( Dallas), Will Horwitz, president ; B. H. Haralson, general manager. M. P. T. O. of Southern California (Los Angeles), L. L. Bard, president; W. E. Knotts, secretary and business manager. Associated Theatre Owners of Indiana (Indianapolis), Charles R. Metzger, general manager and attorney. Montana Exhibitors Association (Butte), E. P. White, president; John A. Gaven, secretaiy. M. P. T. O. of Wisconsin (Milwaukee), Fred .\. Meyer, president; Steve Bauer, general manager. M. P. T. O. of Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia ( Pittsburgh ) , Anthony Jim, president; Fred Herrington, secretary. Intermountain Theatre Owners Association (Salt Lake City), J. J. Gillett, president ; Homer Holgren, secretary and general counsel. M. P. T. O. of Colorado and Rocky Mountain Region (Denver), H. E. Huffman, president; Tom Sullivan, secretary and general manager. Independent Motion Picture Theatre Owners of New England (Boston), Nathan Vamins. president ; Ernest H. Horstmann, secretary. M. P. T. O. of Maryland ( Baltimore), Charles E. Nolte, president ; William E. Stumpf, secretary. M. P. T. O. of New Jersey (Newton), Sidney E. Samuelson, president. Leads Allied Drive ABRAM F. MYERS Van Hyning Warns Allied States Not To Slur Motives Allied Invades 'Cincy' Zone in New Expansion Cincinnati — Continuing the expansion program which has for its object the formation of a unit in every key city where the organization is not now represented, Allied States Association has formed Allied Theatre Owners of Southern Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. Frederic Strief, veteran exchangeman, is business manager of the new organization, with headquarters here. Exhibitors who attended the organization meeting are: Henry Levy, Elmer Shard, Phil Miller, Charles Fine, Mrs. A. Schwenker, Andy Hettescheimer, Miss Doris Stecker and Carl Brown, all of Cincinnati : John Kaiser and Earl Myers, Chillicothe; Harry Silver and Nat Turburg, Hamilton ; Ed. Keene, Oxford; Fred Rowlands, Real Neth. William Pullin, L. Goldsoll, Columbus; Theodore Chiffas, Middleton. Ohio: Lamothe Smith. Huntington, W. Va. ; P. Barrett, Parkersburg, W. Va. ; Charles Brown. Middleborough, Ky. ; ]. Guilfoile, Wellston, who represents 30 theatres. Al Steffes and Aaron Saperstein conducted the meeting. Elmer Schard, manager of the Monta Vista theatre here, was appointed secretary-treasurer and Charles Meyers, Chillicothe exhibitor, was named chairman. Offices will be opened in the Film Building. Pantaaes Must Go to High Court on Appeal Los Angeles — Alexander Pantages must appear before the Supreme Court in December to press his claim for a new trial. Recently, the Appellate Court granted Pantages a new trial. He is under prison sentence for an alleged attack on a dancer. Kansas City — Reflecting the declared attitude of the M. P. T. O. A., that there is room for two exhibitor organization in the field, the M. P. T. O. of Kansas and western Missouri will not object to invasion of this territory by Allied States Association, but the organization does resent any attempt by Allied to impugn its motives in any respect. It all came about through a statement in Allied's house organ, to the effect that the local organization cut dues to offset threatened invasion by Allied, which incidentally is scheduled to materialize in the near future. E. Van Hyning, president of the local unit, has called upon Allied for a retraction of the article which he says "conveys impressions so erroneous and prejudicial" to his organization that he fails to see how it could have been printed except by oversight. No Quarrel With Allied "In an industry so wide-spread and important as that in which we are engaged there is certainly room for two such associations as ours, and it would seem to be the part of wisdom no less than the part of common courtesy for publications issued by any branch of the business to devote their energies to promoting the general welfare rather than to incite the illwill of one group toward another," Hyning's protest says. "Certainly the organization which I have the honor to represent has no quarrel with Allied or any other organization engaged in popularizing and building up the great industry in which we are all vitally and equally interested. We are doing our best to buiid up our own organization, of course, but we are not devoting a dollar of our money or a minute of our time to tearing down Allied or any other organization. In the course of the discussion which resulted in a determination to reduce our dues, the Allied was not mentioned, nor so far as I know, so much as thought of. We were considering our problems, not yours, and we reduced our dues for the very simple reason that we believed the welfare of our Association and thereby the general good of the picture industry would be advanced by such action. Financing Own Business "As to the manner in which our Association is financed, I do not know that that is anybody's business but our own — but there is no secret about it. We are financed in large measure by the Affiliated Theatres, even as are several of your units, a fact which we are glad to have known for the reason that it is an evidence of the importance the heads of the great theatre chains attach to our Association, and at the same time assures our Association the stability which only an ample and certain income could give it. But the contribution which comes to us from this source does not carry with it any domination of our board or any authority or power to dictate to that board, or to any individual member of our association. Proof of that is found in the fact that the president of the association is a small town independent."