Motion Picture Commission : hearings before the Committee on Education, House of Representatives, Sixty-third Congress, second session, on bills to establish a Federal Motion Picture Commission (1978)

MOTION PICTURE COMMISSION. 7 Mr. Crafts, No. The national supervision will leave everything to the States that they choose to take. For instance, the State ana local boards would have entire control of how the building should be erected, all about the fire escapes, healthfulness of the building, seating, and so on, and they would still have the right, if they choose, and the national board did not make it unnecessary, to have State censorships. While the duties of boards of censorship would be light, on account of the work done by this board, they would still have the right in any State to have a censorship board. The Chairman. In other words, this would not infringe in any way upon the prerogatives of the States ? Mr. Crafts. Not in the least, because it relates entirely to inter* state business, and because it still leases the States entirely free to do Avhat they please with pictures that they find are not sufficiently provided for in this way. If this proved satisfactorj?^, and the States choose to accept its Avork. those having boards would be likely to economize if they found this would do the work. An enormous amount of time and money would be saved by having it done once. I might use this illustration, that the moving-picture men are very much in the position of traders on th- "^hine in the days of the robber barons, when they were liable to be stopped in front of any castle and taxed for permission to pass. Without national supervision every State must protect itself, and every town must protect itself if the State is not doing it, so that there is a great multiplicity of effort and of expense. All of these matters will be brought out more fully by those to follow me. While the fee of $1 is much lower than was named by these men, it is deemed that a fee of $1 would be sufficient, and that the amendment which Mr. Chase will suggest might be made, and that the fee should be lowered after three months, if it be found possible to get a revenue of $25,000 without charging that much. The only amendment I wish to suggest is at the end of section 3, where provision is made for inspectors without liinit at $5 a day. 1 am sure Congress would not allow it to remain in that way, and I would suggest an amendment as follows: And other expenses not exceeding a total of $25,000, inclu'Jinj: saljiries. The Chairman, Where does that appear? Mr, Crafts, At the end of section 3. The Chairman, In line 14, after the word "commission"? Mr, Crafts. Yes. You will at once see that that limits the dis- cretion as to inspectors. They are allowed to appoint as many in- spectors as they can within that limit and to divide the expenditures, as I think that ought to be, betvreen clerical and other parts of the work with reference to efficiency. In a new business like this they must have some liberty, and then after a year's work different provi- sions might be made if Congress found them to be necessary, I want to have inserted in the record, which I Avill not take time to read in full, perhaps, a very elaborate examination of 21 moving pic- ture places in Schenectady, N. Y., by the Journal Cliib—21 different moving picture places in the city of Schenectady. This Journal Club went into it more thoroughly than I have ever known anybody to do it. That club is made up of principals and teachers of the public schools, a committf^c bpjng appointed to investigate.