Moving Picture World (May - Jun 1918)

rune 8, 1918 THE MOVING P1CTUKK WORLD 1405 surer. In view of the extraordinary importance of this 's convention, he urged that ever} effort be made to re the attendance of full quotas of delegates and altei nates. Mr. Ochs also called a meeting of the national executive committee of the league to be held at the Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston throe days prior to the opening of the con on, in accordance with the by-laws of the league. Reports from the various committees in charge of the preparations for the Exposition of the Motion Picture Industry indicate that they are receiving universal support in their efforts to make the Exposition bigger and greater than anv that has been held hitherto. Hinz Protests Minneapolis Election Exhibitor Claims Recent Choice of President Is Illegal on Account of No Quorum. EDWARD F. HINZ, owner of the Cozy and Alhambra theaters in Minneapolis, has served an injunction on the Motion Picture Exhibitors' Corporation of the Invest claiming that the election of the board of directors at the recent convention is illegal due to the failure of a quorum to be present at election time. Mr. Hinz maintains that a majority of the 257 stockholders were not represented at election time. Convention minutes show that tockholders out of 173 in good standing at convention time voted. Exhibitors' opinions vary as to the advisability of carrying such a point into court. EXPOSITION MANAGER GRANT VISITS NEW YORK. The preparations for the National Convention that is to be held in Boston July 13 to 20 are going ahead full speed with the hearty support of all the Boston newspapers. Manager Samuel Grant, of the Exposition, stated in an interview that the large amount of space that was given to his get-together dinner by both the newspapers and trade journals was greatly beyond his expectation. Mr. Grant has been in New York conferring with the New York manager, Frederick H. Elliott, after which he will proceed to Washington to take part in an international conference with the object of gaining the attendance of President Wilson for at least one day at the Boston exposition. VIRGINIA EXHIBITORS' CONVENTION. There will be a convention of Virginia exhibitors at Gray's Armory, Richmond, Ya., on June 13 to 15. On the night of Saturday, June 15, there \vill be a movie star ball. Henry Bernstein, chairman, has charge of the arrangements. It is expected that there will be a large turnout of exhibitors from all parts of the state. Plans for the movie star ball are said to be elaborate and a big attendance is promised. Millions in Tax Paid by Theaters Treasury Department's Figures Show License Fees and Admission and Footage Tax Amounts Will Be Larger Part of $60,000,000. THE motion picture and other theaters of the country are going to pour a lot of money into the United States treasury during the next few months as a contribution to our war needs under the provisions of the several internal revenue laws. The Senate, curious to know where all the money needed to run the war was coming from, and probably with a view to developing additional sources of income, called upon the Secretary of the Treasury for information as to how much had been collected and how much would be paid by the various industries and on the various matters covered in the several laws. It is not the practice at the Treasury Department to separate the various classes of taxes coming under one particular head. For instance, there is grouped under "special taxes, miscellaneous," brokers, theaters, bowling alleys, pool and billiard tables. The theaters would, of course, be the heaviest contributors under this and there has been collected under this title between July 1, 1917, and March 31, 1918, $1,417,000. Secretary McAdoo expects a total of $3,237,000 for twelve months, and so it is estimated there will be collected between March 31 and June 30, 1918, $1,820,000. "Admissions and dues" include the penny tax assessed against seats in theaters, concert halls and other places of amusement of this type, and the assessment levied on club dues. The theaters here also are the heaviest contributors, and were it possible to dissect the figures given it would be found that they paid by far the heaviest part of the $14,798,000 collected between October 3, 1917, and March 31, 1918, and will pay a correspondingly large part of the $16,000,000 additional to be collected between the lattei date and rune ■;". tO make the estmial. 1,000 to | • from that vim I The footage taxes are buried in the group covering automobiles, jewelry, piano players, sporting ■. proprietary medicines, chewing gum, cameras, boats and yachts. From this source there was collected betv tol.er 3, 1917, and March 31, 1918, $19,573,000, and then expected to come in between the latter date and June 30, next, another • Ic.miii.i mil The moving picture trades will also pay heavily under the income tax and excess profits tax provisions. It also contributes through the purchase of transportation for its people and for its property and on long distance telephone and telegraph messages. Truly, one can but say that the motion picture industry is paying its share. LINZ. Universal's Footage Tax Runs High Less Than Tenth of Year and Reckoned on Quiet Period Yields $45,600. THE Universal Film Manufacturing Company on Wednesday, May 21, sent a check calling for the payment of $45,600 to the United States Government as its initial remittance for film tax footage made mandatory in the war revenue measure last fall. The $45,600 is the amount of tax due for a period of ten weeks ending December 12. That this figure does not in any way represent collections for the future is demonstrated by the statement made at the offices of the Universal Company that the production at Universal City during the ten weeks represented by the payment was the smallest in footage for a long period For a time during the ten weeks' prior to December 12 the big producing center on the West Coast — Universal City — was being used by but three and four companies as against sixteen and seventeen when production is proceeding at the usual rate. The records of the Universal show that the fifteen cents a reel tax required from the exhibitors does not take care of the footage tax demanded by the Government. Notwithstanding this the Universal Company announces that it purposes to stand on the original figure and will not request the exhibitors to pay more unless the difference between the payment by the exhibitors and the sum demanded by the Government is so great as to make an increase in the reel tax absolutely necessary. THEATER BREAKS RECORD WITH GERARD FILM. The first motion picture theaters in Pennsylvania to show "My Four Years in Germany" are Charles F. Oldt's Third Street theater of Easton, and L. F. Heilberger's Lorenz theater of Bethlehem and Lehigh Orpheum of South Bethlehem. Mr. Oldt has run the Gerard picture for a full week, beginning May 20, to big business, this being the first time in the history of his house that he has played one attraction for that length of time. "My Four Years in Germany" will begin its run at the Heilberger theaters on June 6, and will continue until the 12th. In Louisville the picture met with such a reception during its first week at the Mary Anderson theater that manager Lee Goldberg was obliged to hold it over for a second week. According to reviews in the Louisville newspapers. Ambassador Gerard's revelations have aroused more discussion than any motion picture material that has been shown in the Kentucky city in many years. BOWMAN TO ASSIST DIRECTOR BALSHOFER. In the making of Metro's screen version of Henry Kitchell Webster's novel, "A King in Khaki," which has been selected for immediate production as a starring vehicle for Harold Lockwood, Director Fred J. Balshofer will have the assistance of William J. Bowman, who has just been added to the personnel of the MetroYorke forces. Bowman's experience has been gained both on the stage and in the studio. When he joined Thanhouser in 1912 he played leads, but after that engagement he joined the American Film Company in Chicago as a director, later going to that firm's studios in Santa Barbara. Successively he was directing with the New York Motion Picture Company, Quality Pictures Corporation and Yitagraph, where he remained for three years. Another addition to the forces of the Lockwood company is Edward J. Hass. who has been engaged as technical drector.