Reel and Slide (Jan-Sep 1919)

46 REEL and SLIDE fireproof Picture* Without Fireproof Booth* |||II!!I!III]|||I1III!IIII!IIB Which are you a clog or a cog in the machinery of human advancement ? DO you belong to that group of broad-visioned human beings, working for the betterment of Society's needs; or are you one of the pygmies throwing out your own little obstructions in the path of progress, blinded to everything but your own individual greed? Does your sense of responsibility to the race lead you to protect the safety of your fellow beings; or does your desire for self-aggrandizement lead you to protect only your own profits? Are you a Law Evader, or a Law Enforcer? Do you conscientiously observe the legal rulings of the country — realizing their intent to protect and assist the majority; or do you slyly evade these rulings — realizing therefrom an individual gain? When you answer these questions you signalize your position in regards to the Safety Film Standard, approved and adopted by the Society of Motion Picture Engineers at Rochester, New York, April 8-9, 1918. There is a law, forbidding the use of motion picture projectors, employing Standard Theatre film, unless the projector is enclosed in a fireproof booth. The sane justice of this law is at once apparent to anyone acquainted with the hazards connected with the use of inflammable film. This film is of the nature of gunpowder, and is composed of nitro-cellulose, a highly explosive material. The disaster caused by having a single reel of inflammable film ignited in a crowded room is terribly apparent. The modern motion picture theatre is made absolutely safe by the inspection of the Fire Marshal, requiring the projecting apparatus to be enclosed in a fireproof booth, with an iron chimney, making it impossible for the flames to reach into the theatre, in case of film fire. The use of inflammable film without such a fireproof booth is illegal and criminally hazardous. Owing to the existence of a certain class of law-evaders, legislators found it necessary to forbid the use of standard projectors, employing standard film without booth, even though such film is made of non-inflammable stock. The unscrupulous exhibitor can too easily substitute the unsafe for the safe. The Safety Film Standard, adopted by the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, at their meeting August 8-9, 1918, is intended to meet existing legal requirements — and further the advancement of the industry by opening SAFE channels for the broader use of motion picture projectors. It makes the portable projector a useful citizen; where it has heretofore been a dangerous outlaw. With the new Standard Safety Film, motion pictures may be shown anywhere, without booth, and without risk. The new Standard is UNPATENTED AND OPEN TO ALL MANUFACTURERS. Its aim is not monopoly, but advancement. Raw stock of the new Standard — perforated or unperforated — is now available to all users. One pioneer concern in the field of safer and more useful movies has ready for immediate use and projection thousands of film subjects, and offers help and co-operation to anyone wishing to enter the field. Other manufacturers are strenuously at work getting out film and projectors. New and extensive libraries, able to take care of every need, will soon be available. And all these projectors and all these reels of film may be used SAFELY and LEGALLY anywhere and at any time— WITHOUT FIREPROOF BOOTHS. For the school— the church — the home — the movie enters its broader field with a clean bill of citizenship. As a purchaser of a projector for your home, school or factory — Where do you stand? Are you backing the law and accepting your ethical responsibility of protecting your audiences by buying a machine employing Safety Film? As a manufacturer — Are you a clog or a cog in the wheels of advancement ? Will you continue to manufacture and sell a criminally hazardous article, in order that your individual profits may accrue more rapidly, or will you work sturdily in the path of progress, in order that the industry may advance? Do you stand ready to help make the portable projector as safe in its field of the home, school and church as the professional machine is in the_ theatre? Personally, I stand for advancement and development, secure in my belief that while profits may be delayed by the growth of something new — they will also grow with the industry. ALEXANDER F. VICTOR, President VICTOR ANIMATOGRAPH COMPANY, Davenport, Iowa Please say, "As advertised in REEL and SLIDE," when you write to advertisers