We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.
Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.
Protection <^<^^>^><^^>^><^ 221
any other city is entitled per se to picture patronage from surrounding towns, which are separate economic entities. Part of that patronage comes to the big city anyway ; but certainly that condition should not be aggravated by artificial barriers of protection. It is an injustice to the exhibitors and an injustice to the public. The entire industry has been built up on the basis of simultaneous showing of pictures on "Main Street" and "Broadway", and the exhibitor has invested his money with the understanding that his was a "first run" theater. To put him back arbitrarily into second run position with no real reason or excuse for such action would be indefensible.
In our opinion it would be the height of folly for any exhibitor to agree to this step. Twenty-five miles and prior dating privileges today would undoubtedly become 50 and 60-day protection tomorrow. The avarice of human nature, and more especially the inhuman rapacity of corporations, would ensure a cancerous growth of this practice, which would be bound eventually to kill the small exhibitor.
It is pitiful and to an outsider probably a humorous picture that we have before us : the million dollar Palace Theater at Dallas, with its uniformed ushers, stage presentations, etc., cringing and asking for "protection" against little "movies" at Garland, Mesquite, Forney, Grand Prairie, Arlington, and what-have-you. David and Goliath had nothing on this pitiful spectacle, and our hats are off to the exhibitors in these communities who surely must have the people of Dallas flocking to their towns to see big features while they are new.
In September, 1930, the protection committee of the Allied Theater Owners of Iowa notified the Film Board of Trade of Des Moines that it was "opposed to protection between towns as drafted and submitted for consideration, and hereby rejects the same". On the day of delivery of this notice the Film Board of Trade sent the committee a copy of the following wire received from C. C. Pettijohn, vice president of the Hays Organization:
Acknowledging telegram. If exhibitors in Des Moines zone refused to participate in conferences to agree upon fair and workable zoning and protection schedules in Des Moines zone, then there is nothing left for the distributors to do but to also withdraw from such conferences and let the circuit and affiliated theaters negotiate with each distributor here in New York on the subject of protection and run. This will probably not result in as fair a schedule as members of your board and unaffiliated exhibitors could agree upon with circuit and affiliated representatives in your territory, but if you distributors