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TTgjr*® THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 283 |VlNG;l:.PlCTii Published Evbby Satokday. Copyright, 1908, by The WwM Fk.toirapbic Publishing Company, Mew Terl ALIBIS H. SAUSOEBS. Eiiter. J. P. Chatavn, AiMrill* Edlt.r an* !■■ !■ —■ Hmmmgt. Vol. 2 APRIL 4 No. 14 SUBSCRIPTION: $2.00 per year. Post free in the United States, Mexico, Hawaii, Porto Rico and the Philippine Maude- ■ - CANADA AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES: $2.50 per year. All communications should be addressed to MOVING PICTURE WORLD, P. O. BOX 450, NEW YORK CITY. Advertising Rates: $2.00 per Inch; 15 cents per One who pays it? Not the manufacturer! His price for film\ has_gone up__from-_ci ght or nine cen ts_to^welvecents I straiglrtTandhecan easily attord a half centfoi" tax. If / don't come from the exhibitor; he is paying less for his service. The renter is paying to sub-rent films three and four cents per foot more and receiving less for the service he supplies than he did two months ago. Then where does the money go and who benefits? Is the renter any better off? "Why, I tell you what, when I had paid all my bills on Saturday I had just got fifty cents to give the wife. There is only room now for two or three big renters in each city; the little ones must go to the wall. I cannot supply variety enough and we are all in the same boat. Tell us what we are to do. I speak for sev- eral to whom I have spoken and all complain as I do. There are not half enough new subjects to go round, and it is harder to get business. Just you go and visit the shows, take any half, dozen, and I'll guarantee you will see the same subjects in all." Scarcity of Film Subject*. The contents of this magazine art protected by copyright and all infringe- ments mil be prosecuted. Editorial. We went to satisfy ourselves concerning the scarcity of subjects and visited, within a radius of half a mile from the Flatiron building, ten nickelodeons, and in nine the same reel was being shown, and these were two of Pathe's. The tenth house had an old reel on exhibi- tion, and it was raining a perfect deluge. We do not think the exhibitor is going to submit to such conditions long, as one of the audience remarked: "I have been in the habit of going to every show in a block or two, but I've been done twice to-day. I went to , then to -, now I'm here and the same thing's on that I have The Film Service Association. When we were in Chicago we saw a petition signed by holders of some 40 votes in the Association, asking that a meeting be called at an early date, suggesting the 28th of March or April 4th. This was duly forwarded to the proper officers. 1 The Executive Committee met March 21 and submitted the request to the manufactur- ers, who at once vetoed it, saying that under no consid- eration must a meeting of the F. S. A. be held. Why? The Executive Committee decided to act as detectives, seen twice before, so I'm going to quit running round and stick to one." Continuing our visits uptown east and west to Seventy- second street, we found rather better conditions prevail- ing. Returning downtown we found still -greater variety than existed in the shopping district. Who is responsible for this state of affairs? Will you answer, Mr. Renter? Our Visits. Who is,* or was, Goebel? and who Caleb Powers? ine lixecutive l^mmittee decided to act as aetecuves Thesg stions we asked several of the au dience where a other words, it was decided that the Association itself a film s £ owing the gKat Goebel tragedy was being shown. and no one could answer our query. We were very much disappointed in this production, the photography, and give every possible aid to the Edison Company in fur nishing information arid data upon which the parent con- cern of the film amalgamation would be able to bring further suits against the alleged infringers. Discussing the position with some of the renters, they, with one exception, all complain of undercutting of prices and a large diminution in their receipts compared with four or five months ago; that it was just as much as they can do to pay the accounts, as they have become due, and further, that they were giving thirty days' notice to the manufacturers to discontinue the service as ordered, because it is impossible to make it pay under present con- ditions. One renter said the position of a renter is not an enviable one; he is paying exorbitantly for the privilege of being a member of the Association. Not only is he paying his dues, but he is also paying for all the litigation that the Edison Company is now entering upon, as well as 25 per cent, increase for film. We asked how he made that out? Well, said he, Edison Company get $200,000 royalty. Yes. They promise to*spend all that, prevent- ing foreign fihn_coming into the country. Yes. Well, the perspective are poor, the scenes mediocre, and why a trial scene is shown three times over we are at a loss to understand, unless it was to add feet length, and dol- lars to the cost. We never saw fantastic scroll work in a court of justice, and why the scene painter put them in this is a puzzle. The death scene is gruesome and wants cutting out as unfit for exhibition to women and children. Taking the film as a whole, it seems to us as if the voice is the voice of Jacob (Laemmle), but the hands are the hands of Esau (Lubin). We want to see more edifying subjects than common murder trials produced, especially such poor attempts as the above. Send $2.00 for a Subscription to the M. P. W. and get posted with first information. Six months, $1.00.