Exhibitor's Trade Review (May-Aug 1925)

May SO, 1925 Page 15 WAR DEPARTMENT WAS H I N GTO N . Aug 9 1924 Mr. M. J. C'Toole, President, Moti'on Pioture Theatre Owners of America, 25 West 43rd Street, New York City. Dear Mr. 0' Toole: Receipt is acknowledged of your letter of August 7, relative to your cooperation in explaining the "Defense Test" on the screen. I assure you that the Department appreciates very much your cooperation in this matter. It is realized that this effeoti've oooperation will be of great benefit in making our purposes clear to the Amerioan people. I am pleased to note your referenoe to the competence of Captain Wells and Major Rudd. Will you please express my thanks to the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of Amerioa for their patriotic attitude towards the "Defense Test". Sincerely yours, Secretary of War. CLYDE KELLY Congress of rfje llniteb States gousfe ot Eeprestntatibta SEafifjington, Q. £. April 6, 1925. Hy dear Mr. O'Toole: Just received your letter or the 2nd and read It with Interest. The original postal salaries bill, which provided readjustment in compensation In order to secure postal employees a living wage, v/as vetoed by President Coolldge on the ground that It did not provide postage rate Increases to meet the expenditure for wages. This veto was sustained by one vote in the Senate. It then became absolutely necessary to meet the President's demand, and this v/as done in the bill introduced by myself and which was passed by Congress and signed bj the President. With all good, wishes Sincerely yours. CK-dg PATHE EXCHANGE, Inc. Atlanta, Ga. Gentlemen : You no doubt are aware of the increased Parcel Post rates, which went into effect April 15th, making it impossible for you to receive film with the same expeditious handling as you diet before, unless you pay an additional 25c fee. Therefore, we feel in your interest that it would be advisable for us to ship all your films Express Collect in future, and you either return them to us Express Prepaid, or if you are circuiting them, do so via Express Collect. Unless 25c Postage is added to the regular postage rate, film shipments by Parcel Post will no longer receive special handling, but will be thrown in as Fourth Class matter which will make film shipments lose from one day to one and one-half day in transit. As an illustration, a one reel subject in the first or second zone, which prior to April 15th required only 20c now requires 2c additional and adding to this amount, 25c for special handling, makes a total cost of 47c as against 23c to 25c Express. Even at 47c on a single reel, you get no receipt and no insurance. This is all included in the Express charge. Any Exhibitors who wish us to continue to ship Parcel Post under the new ruling will be obliged to pay the additional charges for special handling, and will be obliged to add this additional 25c postage for our protection in returning film to the Exchange, or circuiting to another theatre. We know that you want to keep your transportation charges down to a minimum, we would like to be advised at once as to your wishes in the matter as to routing your shipments and if it is your desire that your shipments be handled by Express, kindly designate which Express Company you prefer in the handling of your shipments. By all means, do not return or circuit any films Parcel Post without the added 25c postage for special handling, as they will no doubt be late in reaching their destination, and you will be held responsible for any missouts caused through delay in delivery of film. Awaiting your prompt reply, we are Very truly yours, PATHE EXCHANGE, INC. (signed) W. W. ANDERSON, You have all probably received the same kind of a letter, and realizing what a tremendous outlay this would mean to the Exhibitors annually, I shall read for your information the letter which I wrote to Postmaster General New : Hon. Harry S. New, Postmaster General, Washington, D. C. Dear Sir: In correspondence with Mr. Will H. Hays on behalf of the Members of the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of America, respecting the "Special Handling" charge of twenty-five cents as the same is applicable to the shipment of motion picture film through the United States Mails, he advises me of your letter to him under date of April 11th where you state that the use of this "Special Handling" service is entirely optional with those who ship film. In this relation, I have also carefully read the Post Office order which you issued. The fact that Theatre Owners pay the postage on film packages both ways, deprives them of their option in one-half of these transaction!, should the Distributing Companies elect to use the "Special Handling" process. Then again these Distributing Companies in the main have advised Theatre Owners that the new "Special Handling" service must be used or the Post Office Department would not give packages containing film the "same expeditious handling" as it did before. There is absolutely nothing in your letter to Mr. Hays or in your Post Office order to indicate that Motion Picture Theatre Owners are to be deprived now of any mailing privileges and advantages which they enjoyed prior to April 15th, 1925. The increase in postage under the Act of February 2Sth, 1925, was but two cents. The payment of this, I understand, gives the Theatre Owners and other shippers of motion picture film through the Parcels Post exactly the same form of handling as was the case prior to April 15th. Am I right in this conclusion? Then there is another phase to this situation which is very prejudicial to our Government in its adverse effect upon the revenues of the Post Office Department. This is resident in the moves under way to transfer the bulk of parcels post business . to the Express Companies. I am sending herewith a copy of a letter which has been sent to the; Theatre Owners in the southeastern section of the United States by the Branch Manager of the Pathe Company. In it he definitely states that the Government will not provide the "same expeditious handling" as it did prior to April 15th and then advises the Theatre Owners to use the Express Company service instead of the United States Mails. This letter from the Pathe Exchange is entirely out of line with your letter to Mr. Hays, as I view it, and I do not believe that the Post Office Department proposes to deprive Theatre Owners or others of the mailing privileges heretofore enjoyed. Theatre Owners, like other patriotic citizens, naturally favor the Parcels Post. We feel that it is our service, created for the benefit of the people after years of the most pronounced opposition from agencies associated with the Express Companies. Now that we have it, I feel confident that those in whose official custody it is placed, will not allow any of its benefits to b#> lost to the people. The late John Wanamaker, when Postmaster General, sought to establish a Parcels Post. He failed and when asked about the cause of his failure, gave to the newspapers of that time an interview in which he said that there were five reasons and then he named five express companies. Under the circumstances, I feel that the very laudable purpose of the Post Office Department to secure additional revenue in order to pay a "living wage" to postal employees, will be defeat .'d through the driving away of patrons and the natural lessening of bulk of the Post Office business. In Iowa. I am given to understand that the Theatre Owners have been induced to use the express service entirely instead of Parcels Post, and it is easy to see that the propaganda against the postal service may lead to the withdrawal of the patronage of many others in different parts of the country. While I am discussing the particular subject of theatre owner patronage, no doubt, the withdrawal of many others is also be