The Film Renter and Moving Picture News (May-Jun 1923)

Juné 2, 1923. THE FILM RENTER & MOVING PICTURE NEWS. WW Edison on Value of the Screen. Great Inventor Gives Evidence at Famous Players Hearing. 66 ~Hi future of the modern picture lies in education. Within twenty years children will not have to be made to go to school; they will be anxious to go, because teaching will be done mainly through pictures.’’ These striking utterances were made by Thomas A. Edison, who appeared as an expert witness for the Government this week at the hearing on the Federal Trade Commission charges against the Famous Players-Lasky group. Mr. Edison, whose testimony was evidently designed to show the power that would come to any agency which dominated or monopolised the screen, sketched briefly his first experiments with the motion picture in 1887, when he patented the Kinetogtaph, showing forty pictures a second on ‘‘ an endless tape.” In all, he said he had taken out about forty patents relating to motion pictures, the last having been granted about ten years ago, when he “ got out of the business.’’ ‘‘ The show business was out of my line,’’ he added. Discussing the value of the different senses in obtaining ideas, the great inventor declared that ‘‘ we get 85 per cent. to 90 per cent. of all information through the eye.” ‘TI once had a visionary scheme for revolutionsing teaching through the use of the motion picture,’’ he went on. ‘‘ I made some simple pictures on complex subjects, like physics and chemistry, and got twelve children to look at the films—sort of ‘ trying it on the dog.” To my surprise, the children understood nearly all of it, and I became convinced that the motion picture was' the greatest of all educational agencies. _'* The New York Board of Education looked at the pictures and were delighted with them,’’ he added, ‘‘ but they never went through with the project to use them widely at that time. ‘*T finally gave up my plan to put pictures into the schools ou a big scale,’’ he explained, ‘* because I found I would be up against the opposition of the school-book publishers. I saw I would be defeated.”’ Mr. Edison’s testimony bristled with these epigrams : ‘‘The motion picture is 100 per cent. perfect for teaching anything. “« Its influence on our people is so great that it can improve morals or do the opposite. ‘Tf Darwin was right, we are all merely imitative. People carry out in their lives what they absorb through the motion, picture. ““In twenty years children will ajl want to go to school, because they will be taught mainly by motion pictures, We'll have plenty of highbrows then. “* Radio will not supplant the motion picture.” Mr. Edison’s testimony was followed by that of Dr. John J. Tigert, U.S. Commissioner of Education, who declared that the total effect of the motion picture on the nation’s thought was far greater than that of the schools. “* The great future development of the motion picture will be in the educational field,” he added. ‘‘ The commercial or entertainment side has already been highly developed, and is now a great deal further advanced than the educational side. Ultimately, the motion picture’s educational development will forge ahead of its commercial uses.’ Pointing out that there are 15,000 picture theatres and 276,000 schools in the State, Dr. Tigert showed that, considering education in its broadest sense, the theatre at present wielded a much greater influence on manners and customs than the schools, despite the disparity in numbers. “* The average daily attendance in the schools is 16,000,000,”’ he declared; ‘‘ but if I am correctly informed, the average daily attendance at the picture theatres is eighteen to twenty millions. When you consider that this latter figure includes a large number of adults who, of course, are not in the school population, you will see that the screen is a much greater educational influence even to-day than the schools.”’ He agreed with Mr. Edison that the average individual receives far more information through the eye than through all the other senses combined. Turning to the problem of Americanisation, Dr. Tigert declared tbat it was possible to show the immigrant all of America through the motion picture and thus impress upon him its institutions and ideals. “* Tt would be an impossibility to take the immigrant all over the country and show him what America is, but you can do it through the motion picture,”” he continued. THE MARGATE CONFERENCE—Continued. Those who have the time at their disposal may prefer to do the journey from London to Margate by one of the steamers which leave London Bridge and Greenwich daily during the season. The trip in fine weather takes five hours. Visitors travelling from the Midlands and the North who prefer the direct train route will avail themselves of through trains from Liverpool, Crewe, Manchester, Holyhead, Birmingham, Shrewsbury, Coventry, Northampton, Jeamington, and other principal centres; while the South has direct service from Weymouth, Swanage, Bournemouth, Reading, Guildford, Haslemere, and other towns. For the convenience of those who propose to travel to Margate direct from the North, the times of a suitable through train are here given: Liverpool, 10-35 a.m.; Mancliester, 10-40 a.m. ; Southport, 10-50 a.m.; Crewe, 11-46 a.m.; Nuneaton, 1-7 p.m.; Birmingham, 12-30 p.m.; Coventry, 12-58 p.m.; Rugby, 1-18 p-m.; Northampton, 2 p.m.; Willesden, 3-11 p.m.; Kensington, 3-80 p.m.; Chatham, 4-29 p.m.; Margate, arrive 5-38 p.m. C.E.A. Guides. In providing for the comfort and convenience of members and visitors nothing is being left to chance. Every train arriving at Margate during the four days of the Conference will be met by the C.E.A. guides—you will know them by their big badges—who will put you right for the Conference headquarters, the St. George’s Hotel, and give any information necessary. At the hotel a number of stewards will extend the hand of welcome ‘and make any introductions desired. The Button-badge. Every member or visitor will receive, with his book of tickets, a neat little button-badge, which he or she is asked to wear on all occasions during the Conference. Not only is this badge intended to facilitate entrance to the many free entertainments provided, but it has its part in maintaining esprit de corpse. Fi