The Canadian Independent (Jan 1, 1938)

Bip anaes THE Gradian INDEPENDENT VOL. 3, NO. 1 — JAN. 1, 1938 S. H. FALK Managing Editor Published Semi-Monthly by. The INDEPENDENT THEATRES ASSOCIATION 511 Hermant Building 21 Dundas Square, Toronto, Canada Subscription Rates: Canada and U.S., $5.00 Per Annum Address all communications to The Managing Editor The CANADIAN INDEPENDENT 21 Dundas Square, Toronto, Canada EDIT VIEWS (Continued from Page 1) wars are mistakenly regarded as holy crusades fought for ideals, for principles, for God, for the Truth. The muddle seems to_ spring from the fact that man, in his pursuit after absolute truth, has only the use of his finite senses. He is. not equipped to see the whole truth, therefore every splinter and fragment that he finds seems to him to be the whole answer, seems to fill his whole universe. He is willing, on the basis of his limited, weak perceptions, to either sacrifice himself or to turn on others who deny his God, his Truth, and sacrifice them. The parable of the three blind men who met an elephant on their travels and stopped to investigate the phenomena, illustrates the limitations under which man functions and his foolhardy willingness to defend with his own or other men’s lives his conclusions based on faulty, partial observations. Each blind man reaches out to touch this strange obstruction in the road. One touched the elephant’s tail and cried out, “this thing is very like a rope.” The second blind man, who had hold of the creature’s leg said, “Oh no. The thing is like unto the trunk of a tree.’” Whereupon the third blind man, who was feeling the side of the animal with both hands said, “You are both wrong. This thing is hike a great wall.” Then they fell to arguing among He CANADIAN Gi (SC CUED FOR NW /NDEPENDENT a HE BENEFIT OF THEATRE OWNERS themselves, abusing each other and finally ended up by beating each other. 0 Oo Oo Occasionally a superman comes along with vision great enough to see a larger section of the truth than is given to most men to see, | If such a gifted one has also the power to make _ other men see what he perceives, | he becomes a great leader, or a prophet. O 0 0 Now, at this holiday season, we are celebrating the birthday of such a prophet. Christ was able to envision the brotherhood of man, the wholeness and the one-ness of life, the unity that binds all men from a common beginning to a common fate. But Iamentably enough, the Christian civilization that he inspired, after nearly two thousand years of practicing Christianity, is still very inexpert in its tenets. It is still in need of a great deal of practice. Differences of race and ideology are being emphasized to the point of persecution and murder. The perpetration of diabolically fiendish wars waged against the weak and defenceless is a denial of the brotherhood of man aserted by Christ. These crimes are committed today under the banner of Nationalism which is a reaffirming of the differences between races and nations. This is the exact opposite of Christ’s conception of unity. This outlaw paganism rampant in the midst of a Christian civilization, and being tolerated by it, is an insult in the face of the great creativeness that fathered and mothered all the races and all the nations. It is a breaking up of the whole truth into its component parts and each part seeking to be the whole and to deny all of the other parts to the point of obliteration. With forces pitted against each other so ruthlessly, the warnings of the so-called alarmists may yet be justified. Pushed to its logical conclusion, the pagan desstructive force loose in the world today, may bring about a war of mutual ex INDEPENDENT PATRONIZE THE ADVERTISERS WHO MAINTAIN (7. =e Hays Says U.S. Distrib. Won't Quit Italy And Germany ~The American film. distributors have no intention of quitting the German and Italian market, according to Will Hays, in spite of the fact that they are permitted to take out less money from these countries than it cost to maintain the foreign business Offices. It is intimated that New York banking in terests will not permit the withdrawl. i termination. 0 oOo oO But fortunately. man _ is not altogether a logical being, and hitherto, someWhere along the road toward the precipice, the instinct for preservation has turned him from the path of destruction and set his feet again on the upward path of evolution, his hands to creative effort and his imagination to the searching for a greater truth than h had hitherto known, It is our faith in the innate sanity of man that we wish to affirm at this time when all men will be mouthing the formula ‘Peace on earth, goodwill to men.” We should pray for a miracle to galvanize these beautiful words into life again, to ressurect them from the dead formalism of routine ritual into a potent reality in this year of our Lord 1938. PRODUCTS THE COMPLETE LINE OF MAINTENANCE AND CLEANING SUPPLIES. FOR YOUR THEATRE Cleaning Compound, Deod orant Blocks, Paper-Towels, Cups, Toilet Papers, Soaps, Disinfectants, Brooms, Brushes, Mops, Ete. 19 River Street WA. 8601 Toronto falling off of business Jan. 1, 1938 M GM SHOW (Continued from Page 1) on the night in question. Mr. Brandt admitted that part of the falling off was due to a general business recession and part to cold weather, but said that, there was no doubt at all that it was largely due to air competition offering free entertainment as against paid shows at the theatre. It was his opinion that the earnings of the Loew theatres would also show. the effects of the tapering off on Thursday nights and that in the last analysis MGM would have to choose between the theatre business and_ radio work. The Cocalis. people have registered a strenuous kick to the Loew offices claiming a 20-25 percent on Thursday nights in all of their theatres, and a corresponding 25 per cent drop from the Thursdays of a year ago. Many other independent circuits have produced. figures showing the same drastic drop in Thursday business. os PARA. STRIKE DECLARED “COMBINE”. (Continued from Page 1)~. legal for exhibitors to organize for reprisals in what they consider “unfair” business conduct on the part of distributors. The strike and boycott were a result of pictures withheld from delivery on the Paramount 1936-37 schedule. ; COMPLETE THEATRE EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES | R Coleman Electric Co. 258 VICTORIA STREET TORONTO