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ARBITRATION IN MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY 645
itor was addicted to "questionable" business practice, all the members of the local F. I. L. M. Club refused to transact business with him. In some cities these clubs requested exhibitors to appear before a board of three of their members to defend themselves.
In the spring of 1922, the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, Incorporated, met with various representatives of exhibitor associations and adopted a Uniform Contract which became effective in April, 19 23.* In this contract was a clause which required that, in the event of a dispute, both parties to the agreement, before resorting to a court to determine their rights thereunder, submit such controversy to a Board of Abritration and that they comply with the decision of that board. The clause provided further that such decision should be enforceable in any court of competent jurisdiction; that the right of trial by jury be waived in any issue arising under the contract; and that the findings of the board be accepted as conclusive by both parties to the contract.
It therefore became incumbent upon each exhibitor when he signed the Uniform Contract to agree at the same time to the form of arbitration specified therein.
Experience in the use of the Uniform Contract indicated that there was need for certain changes in it. Accordingly, in 1925 and early in 1926, conferences were held between distributors and exhibitors for the purpose of improving it. On February 6, 1926, the Standard Exhibition Contract was agreed upon, together with the rules and regulations relative to arbitration. It became effective on March 1, 1926, and became the commonly accepted form of contract. At the conclusion of the conference in February, an Advisory Committee was appointed to complete the work that had been undertaken. This committee consisted of the president of the Motion Picture Theater Owners of America, the president of the Theater Owners' Chamber of Commerce, the president of of the Motion Picture Theater Owners of the Northwest, and Mr. E. V. Richards, an exhibitor operating a large number of theaters in the South and not a member of any association. As a result of the work of this committee, the distributors withdrew certain conflicting clauses from the contract and in December,
4 See Yearbook of Arbitration, 1927, p. 605.