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)

182 MOTION PICTURE COMMISSION. or six copies? This enables the expense to be put on the large manu- facturer; that is, a little more of the expense, perhaps, than upon the man who simply produces to a small extent. Then notice also in this connection that in section 10 it says: That no person, firm, or corpoi-.-ition sb.-ill carry or transport any film from one Stiite into another State of the United States, or from any foreign conntry into any State of the United States, unless such film has been licensed by the commission and a true copy of the certificate accompanies it. Now, that might be read in such a way a.? to allow the exhibitor to make his own true copy, and that is a thing which the committee ought to consider. I have only one other thing that I want to call to the attention of the committee. In the Moving Picture World of May 2. 1914, in the column contributed b> Mr. McQuade as the Chicago letter, he says that the following is the opinion of the motion-picture trade: In the case of moving pictures most of tlie best mintls in the manufacturing end are agreed tliat wise censorship for minors is llec^^ss;!ry in the best inter- ests of the business itself. Even at this stage of moving pictures, when there is a strenuous, healthy comiietition among manufactiu-ers to excel, were the ban of censorship removed a liorde of irresponsible freebooters, caring nothing for morals or social uplift and all for tlie dollar, would flood the country with sub- jects that would speedily ruin the industry. That is the opinicm of a writer in the Mcning Picture World; he is located in Chicago, and he is in the midst of this discussion at the present moment, and it is his testimony as to the opinion of the trade. ]SIr. ScHECHTER. Mv. Chaiimau, I understood that the committee was to sit until 12 o'clock to-day. Now. Dr. Chase and the other gentlemen who are the movers of this bill have given me sufficient material to talk an hour and a half, which you gentlemen Avere to give me. I do not want to start now and talk for a half hour and be compelled to come back to-day, and if I can not finish to-day I would like to put it ovei' until I can finish my argument. If it is the opinion of the committee that it will not sit more than a half hour longer. I will give way to some other gentleman and will come back and take my hour and a half or two hours, which I will re- quire to present my argument. The Chair:man. We are anxious to become thoroughly informed and enlightened upon this subject, but at the same time these hear- ings must come to a close at some time. Mr. SciiECirrEH. I ai)pieciate that. However, the cliairnKin kn()ws that I was to have an hour and a half this morning. Mr. Abercrombie. We did not ])romise you an hour and a half. Mr. SciiECHTKR. Mr. Bryhnvs.ki .stated tliat he would take a half hour or Ihree-cjuarters of an hour, antl I understood that the re- mainder of the time was to be given to me. The Chairman. Yes; I think that was the understanding yester- day. yiv. SciiECiiTER. liut you see it is noAv 25 minutes to 12: ]Mi'. Brylawski took nearly an hour, or consideral>l\ over. Dr. CiiASE. I had eight minutes. The CirATR:\r\x. T wish to slate that the committee has decided to give another hearing on next Tuesday: we will beiriii at 10 o'clock and close at 12: that will be two hours. Now. we will clo.se the hear-