Harrison's Reports (1950)

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Entered as second-class matter January 4, 1921, at the post office at New York, New York, under the act of March 3, 1879. Harrison's Reports Yearly Subscription Rates: 1270 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS Published Weekly by United States $15.00 (Formerly Sixth Avenue) Harrison's Reports, Inc., U. S. Insular Possessions. 16.50 v , M v Publisher Canada 16.50 Wew York zu' P. S. HARRISON, Editor Mexico, Cuba, Spain 16.50 A Motion Picture Reviewing Service Great Britain 17.50 Devoted Chiefly to the Interests of the Exhibitors Established July 1, 1919 Australia, New Zealand, India. Europe, Asia .... 17.50 Ug Editorial Poiicy: No Problem Too Big for Its Editorial Circle 7-4622 35c a Copy Columns, if It is to Benefit the Exhibitor. A REVIEWING SERVICE FREE FROM THE INFLUENCE OF FILM ADVERTISING Vol. XXXII SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1950 No. 5 PUBLIC SUPPORT IN TAX FIGHT HEARTENING Reports from different parts of the country indicate that the industry is doing a bang-up job of winning public support in the battle for repeal of the Federal twenty per cent admission tax. The response of the public has been most hearten' ing, with many exhibitors reporting that an average of seven out of ten patrons are signing individual pe' titions and protest cards to be sent to Congressional representatives. These petitions and cards are made available to the movie-goers in the lobbies of the theatres. The COMPO tax committee, through National Screen Service, has distributed twenty million of these petitions to the nation's theatres, but public response has been so overwhelming that ten million more peti' tions have been ordered to meet the demand. Heartening also is the splendid support that the in' dustry is receiving from civic leaders, local and state officials, labor unions, radio broadcasters, newspapers, magazines and numerous local and national organizations. But most important is the response of the pub' lie, for when either a Congressman or a Senator is deluged with petitions and protest cards from agitated constituents it is only natural that he will be influenced and will take a deeper and more active interest in helping to eliminate the tax. The exhibitors should, therefore, concentrate their appeal directly to the movie patrons, who must pay this nuisance tax, and get them to sign the petitions. As to the best way to handle the signed petitions and cards on which the movie-goers are registering their protests, the COMPO tax committee is recommending the following procedure, according to Oscar A. Doob, an executive of Loew's and a member of the Committee: Whenever each theatre has two or three hundred signed blanks, they should be wrapped and mailed parcel post directly to the Congressman representing the district in which the theatre is located. Petitions to Congressmen should be sent care of House Office Building, Washington, D. C. Signed protests to Senators should be sent care of Senate Office Building, Washington, D. C. Repeat this procedure each time a few hundred petitions accumulate so that there will be a steady stream of thousands of cards going to every lawmaker. Keeping these petitions flowing into Washington will be much more effective than big shipments one at a time, according to the Committee. A question that needs to be touched upon, for it is most important to the basic strategy of the drive, is that of passing on to the movie patrons any reduction in the admission tax. A number of the large circuits and many hundreds of independent exhibitors, through their organizations, have taken a formal stand on this matter, pledging to cut back their admission prices to the extent of the tax reduction. Although the feeling prevails that all exhibitors would follow through on such a policy as a matter of course, a defi' nite pledge to that effect is needed to remove any doubt that may exist. Besides, such a pledge should result in many more millions of petitions being signed by the public. To be considered also is the fact that members of the House Ways and Means Committee, at hearings that probably will be held some time this month, un' doubtedly will ask industry spokesmen who testify whether the theatres would be willing to pass on any tax-saving to the public. It cannot be expected that this powerful Committee will look with favor on the abolishment of the tax unless the industry spokesmen can offer assurances that an overwhelming majority of the country's exhibitors have agreed to reflect any tax cut with a corresponding cut in admission prices. A GOAL THAT MUST BE ATTAINED Beginning this week, the campaign leading up to the observance of Brotherhood Week during the week of February 19-26 gets underway. In past years the motion picture industry has done much to make Brotherhood Week an assured success from an educational and informational point of view. It has not done too well, however, in the matter of raising the funds needed to carry on this inspiring work. The record shows that the industry has raised no more than $88,000 in previous Brotherhood drives, a sum that is far below what we, as an industry, ought to be able to raise. One of the industry's objectives in this year's campaign is to have every theatre in the country obtain a minimum of ten memberships in the National Conference of Christians and Jews, sponsors of Brotherhood Week, at one dollar per membership. Such a quota is indeed low, and no exhibitor, no matter how small his operation, should find it difficult to achieve and even exceed this quota. Even if a minimum of ten dollars per theatre is raised, the total amount will set a new record. Harrison's Reports again urges every exhibitor to give his fullest cooperation to this worthy fight against the forces of bigotry and intolerance.