Educational film magazine; (19-)

I, 'LINKING THE THREE AMERICAS' AN interesting feature of the lecture given by Dr. A. N. Goldsmith of tlie College of the City of New York before the American Institute of Electrical Engineers on Novem- ber 17 was the first showing of a new one-reel informational motion picture, Linking the Three Americas, made for All ; America Cables Inc., by Frederic M. Dowd Productions. The picture covers the entire story of the operations and ser- \uc of the All America over its 25,000 miles of submarine lines I between the United States and the countries of Central and South America and the West Indies. The familiar red, white and blue insignia of "All America Cables" reproduced in colors leads up to a contrast between the old Indian signal fires and the modern system of cable transmis- sion. The scope of the All America system is developed through an animated map showing the extent of the lines and the points at which the landings are made. This is followed by scenes of cable laying, both deep sea and inshore, including a technical animated visualization of the construction of deep sea and inshore cable. Then tlie proper way of preparing a cable code message is shown by contrasting pictures, preceding a complete demonstra- tion, by picture and animation, of the modern automatic method of cable transmission. The sending operator places the message in the rack over his typewriter-like machine and strikes the cor- responding letters on the key-board. Each letter struck produces a series of perforations in the narrow paper strip passing through tthe head of his machine. This strip immediately enters the "transmitting machine where the perforations are transformed into 'electric impulses that are placed on the cable and the message is on its way. As a precaution against errors in transmission the strip then runs through a "baby" recording machine enabling the sending operator to at once see the message as it will reach destination and detect any mistake, though mistakes are rare. Another animated may shows the message actually traveling from New York to Rio de Janeiro, impressing the observer with the speed attainable by the cable method of international com- munication, bringing points at five and six thousand miles dis- tance within thirty or forty minutes of New York. The value of this dispatch in commercial and diplomatic transactions is in- ealculable. At destination electric impulses pass from the cable into the recorder and register on another narrow paper strip a wavy ink line, the so-called "cable language," that the receiving operator translates into the original code words. Throughout the transmission demonstration close-up photo- graphs disclose the technical operation of the automatic instru- ments, making cable-sending perfectly clear to the student or layman. The detection of breaks in the line and the method of repairing or splicing broken cable is covered at length in anima- tion and diagrams. The picture closes with a score of scenes in the large cities of South America served by this American-owned and American- (firected company. The educational value of Linking the Three Americas is evi- i& -drait and the picture seems eminently suitable for class and school oil use as well as for exhibition before trade and export associations, manufacturers, and other business bodies for which purpose it was primarily intended. Distributed by the All America Cables, Inc., 88 Broad St., New York Oty. Urns illustrating the use of the asphalt retreader and asphalt mixer nufacturea by the Asphalt Retreading Company, Chicago, are being C SAN JOSE FILM IN GREAT DEMAND TN October, 1920, the San Jose, Cal., Chamber of Commerce, through its manager, Roscoe D. Wyatt, made a striking in- novation in chamber of commerce procedure by presenting the annual report of that organization in film form. The members and others of the community who saw the work and the achieve- ments of the chamber during the year, as visualized on the screen, including the personalities and the activities of the com- mittees, were greatly pleased with this style of report, and soon applications for the use of the film were coming in from all parts of the country. It was necessary to make extra prints to fill the demand. One has been going the rounds of the cities and towns in California ever since; one is being circulated by the University of Illinois throughout that state; another by the University of Wisconsin; another is at the University of Cali- fornia; and another has been shown daily at the California State Exposition Park, at Los Angeles. Manager Wyatt recently completed a 2,000-foot film covering the scenic, horticultural, educational, industrial, and other fea- tures of Santa Clara valley, in which San Jose is located, and six prints of this new film have been ordered from various sections of the country. Unlimited opportunity for utilizing this film is reported through the Bureau of Commercial Economics, Wash- ington, D. C.; the International Committee of Young Men's Chris- tian Association, New York, and possibly the Department of Pho- tography of the Ford Motor Company, Detroit, which has re- quested a print for inspection; and other agencies. A TEXAS SHOE-MAKING FILM "TVEPICTING the making of a pair of shoes from sheet leather "^ to the tissue-lined box, the Daniel Williams Shoe Company, Waco, Texas, has recently completed a film showirig all these operations, and plans are being made to have it shown all over the state in the larger towns and cities. Headed by the caption, "Texas' First Shoe Factory," the film shows the manufacturing process of a pair of shoes: the selection of the leather, cutting of the pattern, sewing the uppers, attaching the soles, the heels, the trimming, the finishing, and each step in the making of shoes. FILMS AT MARINE SHOW THE films exhibited at the Marine Exposition in New York City, November 14 to November 19, were: The Story of Asbestos, i reels, courtesy of Johns-Manville, Inc.; Horn Movies Are Made, 4 reels, Harry Levey Studios; More Power for the World and Modern Ships, 2 reels, Westinghouse Electric and Manu- facturing Co.; Repair of S.S. Lord Dufferin, Todd Shipyards Corp.; Launching the Omaha and Milwaukee at Tacoma, Todd Shipyards Corp.; and the following pictures loaned by the United States Navy and United States Shipping Board: Our Navy in Action, 2 reels; Great Ouns on the Western Front, 1 reel; Destroyers in the War, I reel; Atlantic Fleet in the West Indies, 1 reel; Life on the Battleship New York, 1 reel; Seaplane Trip from San Diego to San Francisco, 1 reel; The Panama Canal from a Nary Seaplane; 1 reel; The Navy of Two Seas, 1 reel; Rio Janeiro the Beautiful, 1 reel; U. S. Transports in the War, 1 reel; Cruis- ing Around the World with Uncle Sam. . bwn to citv officials and business men interested in road building. HAVE YOU A FILM LIBRARY? You can have immediate shipment on hundreds of single reel subjects. A splendid motion picture film library for you at minimum cost History Science Agriculture Geography Industrials Scenics Perfect condition guaranteed. 115.00 per subject. Write for catalogue and full particulars FITZPATRICK & McELROY 202 So. State St. Chicago, Illinoia. 19