Moving Picture World (March 1908)

THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 181 of, either directly or indirectly, any of the vendor's licensed motion pictures (however the same shall have been obtained) to any persons, firms, or corporations, or agents thereof, who may be engaged either directly, or indirectly in selling or renting motion oicture films. 6. The vendor shall not make or cause to be made or per- mit others to make, reproduction or so-called "dupes of any of the vendor's motion picture films, nor sell, rent, loan or otherwise dispose of or deal in such reproductions or "dupes." - • 7. The purchaser shall not deliberately remove the ven- dor's trade-mark or trade name or title from any licensed motion picture film obtained from the vendor, nor permit others to do so, but in case any title is made by purchaser, the vendor's name is to be placed thereon, provided, that in making any title by the purchaser, the vendor's trade-mark shall not be reproduced. 8. The purchaser shall return to the vendor (without re- ceiving any payment therefor, except that the vendor shall pay transportation charges incident to the return of the same) on the first day of every month, commencing seven months from the first day of the month on which this agree- ment is executed, an equivalent amount of positive motion picture film in running feet (not purchased over twelve months before) and of the vendor's make, equal to the amount that was so purchased during the seventh month preceding the date of each such return, with the exception, however, that where any such motion pictures are destroyed or lost in transportation or otherwise, and proof satisfactory to the ven- dor is furnished as to such destruction or loss, the vendor shall deduct the amount so destroyed or lost from the amount to be returned. 9. The purchaser shall not rent out licensed motion pictures below the minimum rental schedule above set forth, or any substitute or substitutes therefor, which may be regularly adopted by the vendor, and of which the purchaser shall have notice. 10. The purchaser shall not offer any inducements or con- cessions in the form of premiums or rebates or furnish to the exhibitor any supplies or merchandise by which, either di- rectly or indirectly, the licensed motion pictures will in effect be rented at prices below said minimum schedule.. . 11. The purchaser shall not sell, rent, loan or otherwise dispose of any of the vendor's licensed motion pictures (how- ever the same may have been obtained) to any person, firm or corporation in the exhibition business, who may have vio- lated any of the terms or conditions imposed, by the vendor through any of its other vendees and of which violation the present purchaser may have had notice. 12. The purchaser shall not rent out licensed motion pic- tures to any exhibitor unless a contract with said exhibitor (satisfactory in form to the vendor) is first exacted, under which the exhibitor agrees to conform to all the conditions and stipulations of the present agreement applicable to the exhibitor; and in the case of an exhibitor who may operate more than . a single place. of exhibition, a similar contract shall be exacted in connection with each place so operated. 13. This agreement is personal to and non-transferable by the purchaser. 14. The vendor agrees that before making sales of any li- censed motion pictures to any purchaser in the United States (not including its insular territorial possessions and Alaska) it will exact from each such purchaser an agreement similar in terms to the present agreement, in order that all pur- chasers who may do business with the vendor will be placed in a position of exact equality. IS- It is understood and specifically covenanted by the pur- chaser that if the purchaser shall fail to faithfully keep and perform the foregoing terms and conditions of sale, or any of them, or shall fail to pay for any goods- supplied by the vendor within the time prescribed for such payment, . the vendor shall thereupon have the right to refuse to supply the purchaser with any further goods and shall also have the right to _place the. purchaser's name on an appropriate sus- pended list, which the vendor may publish and distribute to its customers, associates and the several licensed manufactur- ers under said reissued Letters. Patent, and the vendor shall also have the right in such case to immediately terminate the present agreement, without prejudice to the vendor's right ~ sue * or an( ^ recover any damages which may have been suffered by such breach or non-compliance with, the terms and 'conditions hereof by the purchaser. ' ". 10. It is understood that the terms and conditions of this ^Sreernent may be changed at the option of the vendor upon sixty (60) days' written notice, to the purchaser, but no such cnange shall, he effective and binding unless duly ratified byv an officer of the vendor. PRICES OP LICENSED POSITIVE MOTION PICTURES. List 12 cents per running foot Standing Order 1 print 11% " " " " 2 prints.. 11 " " 3 prints 10% " S prints 10 7 prints and over 9% " A purchaser may give a separate standing order for each of his offices. All prints for each separate standing order will be shipped only to one office. The price charged will be, for each office, according to the number of prints shipped to that office as per above. The vendor will allow, on all the licensed positive motion pictures sold by vendor to the purchaser, prior to September 1, 1908, a discount of 6 per cent, off the above prices for cash remitted on delivery of goods. A TRIBUTE TO MOVING PICTURE SHOWS. The official investigators of the New York People's Insti- tute and the Woman's Municipal League who set out to thor- oughly examine the five-cent moving picture shows (popu- larly known as nickelodeons) seem to have found the un- expected and to have had the unusual fairness to acknowledge their find; Out of about six hundred such places in New York which, are attended by more than three hundred thou- sand people every day, it.was only reasonable to anticipate that a considerable portion would be open to criticism. But much to the astonishment of the investigators, as the story is told by John Collier in a recent issue of the New York Press, the objectionable specimens were discovered to be few and far between. 1 The nickelodeons were furnishing upon the whole healthy and even educational amusement to classes which stand sorely in need of it. Many of the amateur sociol- ogists who had long dreamed of a theater within the reach of the means of the very poor were surprised to discover that something very much resembling it had grown up unaided in these shows in which pictures take the place of scenery and actors and recitations of poems or renderings of popular songs furnish the human element. The old economic doctrine that whenever people really feel the need of a thing they take measures to obtain it for themselves never received a more striking illustration. The other truth which those who have had extensive dealings with genuine working people of the poorest class are never tired of emphasizing also received ample confirmation. The nickelodeons plainly demonstrated that it is not the industrious poor who seek for vicious recrea- tion. J There was an enormous attendance of children at these five-cent entertainments. In an East Side public school of eighteen hundred pupils, thirteen hundred confessed to being weekly patrons of some nickelodeon or other. Incidentally the teachers complained that these pleasures -tended to in- crease the number of truants and the proprietors of the shows did not deny the charge. The more respectable mem- bers of the.fraternity expressed their willingness to keep their shows closed in school hours if there was any public demand for such restrictions. The audiences.chiefly consist of the newest Americans and their children. Scenes and adventures of travel were very popular, and the ancient threadbare fairy tales which can never be superseded delighted the younger people. At one nickelodeon the children were earnestly repeating Longfel- low's Ride of Paul Revere after the reciter while the pictures flitted across the screen. While the need of moral censorship, better exits in case of fire and stricter regard to cleanliness and ventilation was un- doubtedly displayed, the general showing was a surprisingly encouraging one. It is probable that henceforth the settle- ment workers will endeavor to utilize the nickelodeons in- stead of denouncing them as enemiesj Charitable and phi- lanthropic societies are slowly learning that great 'principle to which the most successful of creeds has always owed a large measure of its power over the unlearned. They are being.taught to work out from the things people naturally like and to which they are accustomed rather than to be- wilder them with wholly unfamiliar things. There are many similar .lessons .awaiting those who are flexible and broad- minded enough to Veceive them. Those who start with the idea that because the poor like a certain form of amusement, it must necessarily be an evil one, probably do much more mischief in the world than those who merely stand aloof and leave their poorer brethren to attend to their own affairs.— N. Y. Morning Telegram.