International photographer (Jan-Dec 1934)

EDITORIAL I This editorial is written by request. It is made up of excerpts from an article written by Mr. Pysioc and published in the official publication of the Cinema Camera Club of New York, in 1913. This ivas the first organization of cameramen in America, if not in the ivorld. It was brought about through the efforts of Mr. Physioc, and almost all the surviving members of the old Cinema Camera Club hold cards in the International Photographers. The Cinema Camera Club held its first meeting at Henebund Hall, 267 West 34th Street, in New York City, April 6, 1913. Thirteen cameramen were present. — Editor's Note.) HANGING TOGETHER By Lewis W. Physioc 'OME idealists have said: "The depression has brought men closer together." It has. It has brought men together in a vicious grapple for existence. Hungry dogs fighting for a bone; wild carnivora clawing and gnashing at the carcass between them until the stronger tears it away and secures it with its heavy weight, snarling and pawing at all the hunger pack that approach. That is not a pretty picture when we use it to associate man (God's noblest creation) with nature's law, "the survival of the fittest." It is not a very prideful picture, but it is true. The question arises: What has man gained from thousands of years of cultural development and intellectual exaltation if, in one of his greatest emergencies, he can solve the problems of the day only by suddenly invoking the crudest law of nature, — the survival of the fittest? Clearly then, our hope lies in the more magnanimous philosophy of the incident if civilization shall survive the purely animal tendencies of man; and this can be accomplished only by social unity — the strong pledging support of the weak. Shopenhauer says: "No man is so formed that he can be left entirely to himself to go his own ways; and if you desire to get on in the world, friends and acquaintances are by far the surest passport to fortune." Of course, we admit the intellectual recluse has his arguments and it is difficult to approach him with an idea so broad and democratic as a society pledged to mutual aid and co-operation. It must also be conceded that the greater the ability and the more profound the intellect of men, the more remote and isolated from their fellows they become and the more justified they may appear in assuming themselves more deserving of the fruits of their endeavors ; claiming this right in a world of equal opportunity. But let us not overlook the fact that it is the abuse of this principle that has brought us to our present pass. No matter how justifiable this may appear, it furnishes an element of selfishness in structure of society and is the great deterrent in the progress of civilization. Many of their fellows may be benefited by their society without loss of prestige to that more favored class. A great mind is like the magnet that has the power of radiating energy without itself being weakened. Furthermore, we can never accurately measure our power to do or think until we have mingled with the masses, and we cannot keep a just record of our own progress save by comparison with the activities of others. If our philsophy is to be proved, it must be tried by an intimate association with men. History has given us a picture of old "Socrates wandering the streets of Athens, in all weathers, at all hours in the crowded market places and in the work shops, wherever men were gathered together; incessantly asking and answering questions," developing an intellect that won him many disciples, among his inferiors, and the respect and friendship of men like Alcibiades, Euripides, Aristophanes and others — his supposed superiors. But old Diogenes, on the other hand, would not forsake his tub for the friendship of Alexander and was ever jealous of the shadow of a great man. What a privilege, too, it must have been to frequent the old coffee house, where gathered together such men as Goldsmith, Burke, Fox, Garrick, Reynolds and Gibbons and where Dr. Johnson condescended his presence, "and even the pestiferous Boswell was tolerated." How freely those men swapped ideas, aided and encouraged each other. There was no need, in that assembly, of suspicious copyrights and other protective measures — they gave freely and received much. Coming to more modern times, we may consider the effect of The Royal Academy, for example, has had on English painting, or the National Academy and other artistic circles, on American art. The many literary, musical and scientific circles had aided wonderfully in maintaining that line between cultured man and the brute. The history of the American Stage is well nigh inseparable from those of such clubs as The Players, Friars, Lambs, Green Room and others. And here in our fair field of Motion Pictures we have The Producers Association, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Electricians, Sound Men, other various crafts, and Cameramen. But consider this earnestly: If these societies are organized and operated merely to secure to the favored the benefits of their positions, to the exclusion of the less fortunate, then they are failures and encourage a reversion to the more material and ignoble idea of the survival of the fittest; but if they are devoted to the advancement of the art and the mutual welfare of all concerned, then we need have little to fear from such transient things as depressions and local business slumps.