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PATHE EXCHANGE, INCORPORATED 365
to persuade exhibitors to contract for the entire number in the group. The company never refused to sell an exhibitor less than an entire group of films; it did not permit an exhibitor, however, to make his choice of one or more of the pictures offered in a group at a group average price. The product of one outside producer was not commingled with that of another outside producer or with that of Pathe Exchange, Incorporated, but was sold independently as individual pictures or as groups of a given series. In the case of Pathe News, 104 issues, divided into 2 series, comprised the output for a year.
The price at which such pictures, except certain short subjects, were offered was established by the adoption of a national quota for each picture, which was in turn broken up into percentages assigned to each branch exchange, and further broken up into percentages thereof assigned to each sales district within the territory covered by a branch exchange. From the quota figures, and the sales manager's, the branch manager's, and the salesman's knowledge of prices which had been paid and had thereby become more or less established for given theaters for the different classes of product, the rentals to be derived from the several theaters in a territory and zone were determined. Such prices necessarily remained flexible because, in the final analysis, the price at which a group of pictures was sold was determined as a result of negotiations between the salesman and the exhibitor in arriving at an average price acceptable for the entire number of pictures taken. Large first-run theaters did not, generally speaking, take pictures in groups. It was the salesman's responsibility to sell as much of the company's product to as many exhibitors as possible at the best prices he could obtain. The company's records showed a great variance between the number of contracts taken on the various pictures comprising a group. For example, a popular picture in one group had received approximately 10,000 contracts, whereas a less popular picture had netted only 3,000 contracts.
Pathe Exchange, Incorporated, maintained a force of about 130 salesmen during the selling season, the number of salesmen decreasing somewhat during the year. Each salesman, except those selling nontheatrical pictures, sold the entire line of product in the block assigned to him in a branch territory on a straight salary and expense basis. Previous to 1928, salesmen had specialized in the sale of features and in the sale of short subjects,