The Moving Picture World (January 1908)

THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 35 Published Evssv Saturday. Tbo S7a?13 Photographic Pablishtng Co&panr, How YorM J. P. 23 n* siunDsasr Earns*. Vol. 2 JANUARY 18 No. 3 SUBSCRIPTION: H$2tf(Kper year. Post free in the United States,;:Mesico,L:Hawaii,-"Porto Rico- and the .Philippine Islands. Cm&B&^£8D SOBSSON CaUITTBXSS: ;$2.50 per year. • All -eoT r rntinic ation s i should be addressed to P. O. BOX. 450, .NEW YORK CITY. Ret Advertising Rate: $1.75 per inch; 15 cento per line r&ditotdal. . Boyertown, ^Pa. Wherever we went Tuesday this week, we were met with the question that was on everybody's lips: "What do you think of Boyertown?" "Isn't it awful ?" "How are you going to treat the subject?" "Our industry has got another black eye," and similar remarks. Boyertown has certainly added another calamity to his- tory, .and- thanks to the Associated Press every paper in the country had its-headliners, and for a time, a little panic may prevail. We are deeply grieved at the loss of life,, and sympathize with those who are bereft, and also, with the sufferers. Looking at the calamity with a judicial eye, and sifting out from the mass of printed details, in which we find so many conflicting statements, then getting down to bare facts, we find there was an amateur theatrical company staging a production called "The Scottish Reformation.". Now, what does this play need amoving picture machine for? And if a machine was in Use, where was it placed? It certainly could not be used on the stage, where the trouble commenced. We learn that Boyertown is a country village, without electricity or gas, using kerosene as an illuminant. A St. John's Lutheran Church had engaged the Opera House for an entertainment. Sixty boys and girls were on the stage, capable of holding forty comfortably. Kero- sene lamps were being used for footlights, and an acety- lene generator was supplying a spot light. Another source says the generator was supplying a moving pic-. ture machine with an amateur operator in full charge of spot light and machine.. The rubber tube became dis- connected with the generator, putting out the lights and causing the children to'stampede towards the front of the stage, treading on the board holding the kerosene lamps, which upset; setting fire to-the scenery and caus- ing the fearful holocaust. Another says an acetylene gen- erator caused the whole trouble; it got out of order and the operator in adjusting things set fire to the moving picture machine. Two lessons may be learned^from this: First, the absolute necessity of employing^a^re'xpert op- erator, and secondly, the prohibition of^aeetylene gas in a moving picture machine. Acetylene'is not and never will be suitable for this purpose, because it is not portable, needs constant attention, thus distracting the operator, is an element of uncertainty in its present method of use, and cannot be made portable by compression owing to its great explosive qualities when compressed in cylin- ders. Experiments along this line were made at the Birmingham Oxygen Company's works, England, in 1901, which we watched with great interest. In the final results- it proved to be unusable as a compressed article, being almost as explosive as if oxygen and hydrogen were mixed and a light applied. Later reports may give an entirely different version of the accident. We strongly object to every little acci- dent at an entertainment being headlined with the mov- ing picture machine, on the basis of "Give a dog a bad name and hang him." All such scares -can be eliminated when the trade employs only first-class men. and local authorities refuse permission for anyone to operate a moving picture machine except he be an expert. Since -the above was penned we received the following information: "The origin of this holocaust was a mere trifle. The stereopticon used in the entertainment got out of order and several little girls on the stage rushed to the curtain to peep out to see what was the matter. One of them kicked over a lighted kerosene lamp, which exploded. Then there was a general stampede. The one narrow exit was choked. Men, women and children trampled one.another in their mad confusion. Many persons tum- bled over seats, to perish where they lay." So that, after all, the poor moving picture machine had nothing to do with the.affair, and we consider great censure is due the Associated Press for spreading such a canard and to the whole press of the country for pub- lishing it so prominently. We trust that-in the future there will never occur a fire in connection with a nickel- odeon or moving picture exhibition, and that all opera- tors will redouble their exertions to restore the confidence of the public in their safety. Our Visits. We saw advertised outside a nickelodeon, "Fire at the Parker Building," and went inside to see—one of the biggest frauds ever put on canvas by a projecting ma- chine. The fire (that is, the original one) occurred at night. We saw a bright sunshine, a holiday crowd at windows and on the sidewalk, watching the gala run of the fire brigade, waving papers and shielding their eyes from the sun, the dense masses of smoke stained red to represent the fire. The audience expressed disapproval at being taken in, and so do We. Another film, beautifully photographed, "The Moun- taineer," but—it is a travesty on the marksmanship of Uncle Sam's regimental scouts. A sentry looks at a girl and lets her steal his rifle; then, without a murmur, at the command of the girl, throws up his hands and releases her sweetheart, who binds and gags him, makes him take his place and locks him in. Then with the girl he flees. By-and-by the relief discovers the sentry locked in the jail and the prisoner flown. Releasing the sentry, who tells of the escape, they call for aid, and some