Moving Picture World (March 1908)

THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 183 Trade Notes Holyoke, Mass., Feb. 25.—Three moving picture theaters were peremptorily closed to-day by order of State Building Inspector Howes for alleged repeated violations of the stat- ute against permitting patrons to stand in the aisles or other- wise block the exits. The Selig Polyscope Co., 43 Peck court, Chicago, 111., ask us to state that they will be pleased to send their Film Supplement regularly to theater managers who register a request for same. The object is to place in the hands of managers who give a lecture with their films an advance story of the plot. NEW COMPANIES. The Actograph Co., Manhattan. Manufacturing and deal in moving picture machines; capital, $30,000. Incorporators: A. V. Jones, H. M. Browne, New York City; H. W. Mills, Jersey City, N. J. Happy Moments Co.,' Fitchburg; moving pictures; capital, $10,000.. President, Louis N. Fuller; treasurer, William G. Hidden, both of Fitchburg; clerk, Timothy A. Fuller, Boston. Bijou Co., Atlantic City, N. J.; moving pictures, songs, vaudeville and variety performances; capital, $50,000. Incor- porators: Abraham D. Feigenbaum, Frank W. Gordon, George W. Bailey, Atlantic City, N t J. Film Import & Trading Co., New York; to manufacture picture films, operate amusements; capital, $25,000. Incorpo- rators: Charles E. Dressier, No. 16 Fort Charles Place; George F. Bauerdorf, No. 625 West End avenue, both of New York; Isaac W. Ullman, No. 555 East 141st street, the Bronx. MOVING PICTURE HALL FOR BRONX. Prospect avenue, in the Bronx, N. Y., is to have another amusement hall which will be devoted to moving pictures. Plans have been filed for buildings, which will be erected at once, on a plot 08 x 142 feet, on the west side of Prospect avenue, about 219 feet north of Jennings street. They will consist of stores fronting in the avenue and backed by a well-appointed theater or hall having an entrance between the stores. None of the buildings will be more than one story high. They will be of brick construction. George Keller, of No. 970 Prospect avenue, is the owner THE LAST CALL. Do not forget that Miles Bros.' employees hold their first annual ball on Tuesday, March 10. There will be a beautiful bevy of lady clerks, stenographers, etc., looking out for suit- able partners, and a lot of fine boys looking for "fayre ladyes." So ye come one, come ye all, Trip fantastic at Miles' ball. By the way, talking of Miles Bros., we note they have in- stalled a private wire from the Western Union Telegraph Co. ■ their office, so that now their customers are in a still better position for quick service. MOVING PICTURE BILL IN THE ASSEMBLY. Afk m ° ng the most active of the Brooklyn Assemblymen in Albany this year is Dr. S. A. Gluck, representing the Twenty nrst Assembly District Since the beginning of the present Mu? s > ntrodu ced twenty-two bills. Several of these •pL i v -, e . t0 do w ' tn & e moving picture shows oh Sunday. Ch f ■' cntitle d "An Act to Amend the Greater New York garter m Relation to Licensing Moving Picture Shows,'' ? rovide s that it shall be unlawful to "exhibit to the public w any building, garden or grounds, concert room or other piace or room within the City of New York any interlude, gpay. comedy, opera, ballet, play, farce, minstrelsy or or an 08 ' ° r any m0v ' n eT picture entertainment of the stage, or m ^ ar * ° r ? arts therein, or any moving picture exhibition. elerc e< J ue strian, circus, or dramatic performance of jug- * or f ope dancing, or acrobats, until a license for the place of such exhibition for such purpose shall have been first had and obtained, as hereinafter provided." This bill was, of course, aimed at objectionable shows, for, in another, also introduced by Dr. Gluck, it was provided that public entertainments to be rendered on Sunday under the auspices of and for the benefit of a religious, charitable, edu- cational or benevolent society or institution, provided such entertainments be confined to sacred concerts, opera sing- ing, monologues, musical acts and vaudeville acts, "other than laborious ones," should be regarded as lawful. SHOW PROPRIETORS COMBINE IN ST. LOUIS, MO. Henry Scherrer was elected president and Frank Talbot secretary of the Motion Picture Exhibitors' Association, which was organized at a called meeting at the Gayety Thea- ter. The organization is due to the announcement of a 25 per cent, raise in the price of films, which will take effect March 2. The object of the association is to force out the small, cheap shows, where "rainstorm" or worn-out films are shown. J. L. Randman stated that the question of raising the price of admittance had not yet been settled. The raise in the price Of films itself will cause many of the smaller dealers to go out of business. A committee of eight was appointed to visit the proprietors of the different shows and work for the interest of the asso- ciation. The committee will meet again at the Gayety Thea- ter, and the by-laws of the association will be drawn up. At a hearing in the office of Building Commissioner Smith yesterday on the proposed ordinance regulating moving pic- ture shows, the proprietors disagreed over the age limit, some contending for 21 years and others for 16 as the minimum for operators of machines. BAN ON THE PICTURE MACHINE. Phillipsburg, Kan., Feb. 15.—The City Council has met and passed a resolution fixing a tax of five dollars a day for moving picture shows and prohibiting them entirely where they cannot comply with the regulations of underwriters. NICKELODEONS LOSE LICENSES IN SPRINGFIELD,. MASS. State Inspector J. R. Howes on January 27 ordered the closing Of the Grand, Bijou and Star moving picture theaters for violation of the State law relative to allowing persons to crowd the passageways and aisles. Mr. Howes says the proprietors have been warned in the past, but Saturday the same trouble was noted and the action was accordingly taken. The action of the State inspector amounts to the revocation of the licenses of the theaters, and they will have to remain closed until new ones can be obtained. Before new licenses can be obtained application will have to be made to the chief of the district police in Boston, and a hearing given, after which the chief may renew the license if he thinks it advisable. The proprietors of the theaters have retained Attorney Thomas J. O'Connor, who win appear be- fore Chief Whitney, of the State police, at the State House in Boston, in the endeavor to have the order closing the houses removed. It is of interest to note that theaters can not legally sell more tickets than there are seats for patrons, and persons are not allowed to stand in the aisles or passage' ways. The theaters ordinarily are not crowded, but on.holi- days it is evident that a larger number of patrons have been admitted than could be seated, and the aisles have been blocked to some extent. RULES ADOPTED BY BRITISH COMPANIES TO GOVERN EXHIBITIONS. The Canadian Government has signified its intention to introduce legislation regulating the exhibition of moving pic- tures. In view of this it will be of interest to know the rules which have been adopted by British fire insurance companies governing the exhibition of "animated pictures." The regu- lations, which apply to either the temporary or permanent use of cinematographs or similar apparatus, follow: 1. The lantern must be constructed of metal or lined with metal and asbestos. 2. An alum or water bath must be used between the con- denser and the film. 3. The apparatus must be fitted with a drop shutter avail- able in case of emergency. 4. If the film does not wind upon a reel or spool immedi- ately after passing through the machine, a metal receptacle with a slot in the metal lid must be provided for receiving it. 5. If electric arc lights are used, the installation must be