Educational film magazine; (January-December 1920)

LET US HAVE FREE MOTION PICTURE LIBRARIES Their Advantages Pointed Out in Di finite. Practical Fomi —Federal Regulation and Film Foundation I |- Mr. Carnegie realized the public benefit of free libraries so that he found joy in donating them pro- fusely, is it not possible that some large hearted mil- lionaire may see the immense advantage of founding tee film libraries? For everyone knows that the educational and amuse- aent value of good motion pictures is a hundred times ireater than that of good books. But it is also true that bad motion picture is a hundred times more harmful iian a bad book. For no one is injured by an e\il book nless he can read it, nor unless he has imagination enough reproduce in his mind the thoughi irinted in the book. Neither does he ead the book unless he deliberately looses to do so. But a child too oung to read who has no strong ower of imagination, innocently led y a desire for wholesome amusement, ees an evil picture, not from choice ut because it is forced upon him by greedy manufacturer or exhibitor d his mind is forever polluted by 'hat he has seen dramatized on the H'een. No T.\iNT OF Immorality The benefits which would come cm free film libraries are evident ne advantage would be that films in ich libraries would have no taint of Mnorality. For, as in our public )raries, a strict supervision is exer- By Rev. "« iLLiAM Shii\fe Chase, D. D. Rector of Christ Epi»ro|Mil Cburch, Brookl)rn, >. Y. To Encourage CHimcn Use of Films The tremendous help in portraying the historical events in the religious life of mankind and the clearness with ivhich the life and parables of our Lord would be depicted would doubtless lead the churches to use motion pictures in their work, especially with the young, as they now are not able to do. Under present conditions two obstacles prevent the churches making any large use of motion pic- tures, the expense of the rental of the films and the scarc- ity of pictures whicli are suitable for churches to use. A fourth advantage would be that free film libraries would encourage homes to purchase a portable projecting machine which needs no booth nor licensed oper- ator and which can be used in any house which has electric lights by attaching it to an ordinary electric socket. For it would make it easy for such homes to have pictures of the highest class. The time is not far distant when mo- tion picture machines will be as com- mon in the home as the phonograph is today. When that time comes it is of vital importance that there should be a large supply of clean films for use in the homes. In order for these film libraries to accomplish their greatest good, it is e\ident that there must be some method of securing a higher grade of pictures than is now manufactured. Episcopalians F.wor Federal Regu- lation The General Convention of our led to prevent books with an im oral influence from getting into the pAXOX chase, of Brooklyn, is the father of the »Tarv an Qnv man Inro-p hpnrtpd movement for federal regulation of the motion wary, so any man large neartea p,^,^^^ industry, which the RlndaU bill, to come be- OUgh to donate free film libraries fore Congress next December, is to embody in com- /l . . prehensive form. Dr. Chase is also one of the most . . t^ • j-j >uld provide that evil pictures active among the country's clergymen who are church at Detroit did an important thing when it declared itself in favor of the federal regulation of motion pictures and authorized a petition to Congress for such a law. The following resolution on federal regulation of motion [ictures was passed by both houses: H 1 J 1 J ■ J • • using films successfully in connection with church )Uld not be admittea into CirCU- work. Lately he has been running some Lincoln pic- tures in the chapel, as part of the Americanization ion. plans of the churches. During the war neither the gov- iment nor the Y. M. C. A. dared allow the army and navy boys to see the movies as they e shown in America to the children and adults in licensed iarfi of amusement. They had to have them supervised jd the best one selected and the evil one rejected. 1«- it not more important today to protect our children loni the movie incitement to vice and crime, than it was 1 protect our boys, while they were under military dis- ijline fighting the Germans? A second advantage would be that in such film deposi- In- there would be a vast number of films of educa- ti:ial value such as are never shown in licensed places < amusement. There would be scientific pictures mak- ir jilain truths of natural history, mechanics, physiology, tojiaphy, botany, zoology, geology, astronomy, chemis- t'. literature and history. .K third advantage would be that the possibility of get- t p: a free use of films of the higher class would enable t' -rhools, churches, social settlements, clubs and philan- topic societies to give exhibitions of superior merit to t)se which are given in the licensed places of public «iusement. "W hereas, the Committee on Education of the House of Representatives, in the last two Congresses, has favorably reported a bill for the federal regulation (not censorship) of motion pictures in inler-state commerce. "Therefore, be it resolved that this convention, the House of Deputies concurring, favor the federal regulation of mo- tion pictures as being a national business which can only be effectively controlled by federal power, and thereby authorizes the Joint Commission on Social Service to petition Congress for the enactment of such a federal law as the Joint Com- mission on Social Service shall deem wise." The Randall bill for the federal regulation of the morality of all motion pictures in interstate commerce, when it is enacted by Congress, will doubtless raise the standard to which all motion pictures in the future must conform. But nevertheless, the motive to make films to be shown in the theaters of our land cannot be expected to inspire the production of the very highest type of pictures. It is here where the free film libraries would be of inestimable benefit, for they would furnish a new demand {Continued on page 26)