Motography (Apr-Jun 1916)

May 6, 1916. MOTOGRAPHY 1027 PAUL H. WOODRUFF, Editor NEW YORK OFFICE. 1022 LONCACRE BUILDING Forty-second Street and Broadway Telephone Bryant 7030 CHARLES R. CONDON. Eastern Representative This publication is free and independent of all business or house connections or control. No manufacturer or supply dealer, or their stockholders or representatives, have any financial interest in Motography ur any voice in its management or policy. L Entered at Chicago Post Office as Second Class Mail Matter FTR THE MOTION PICTURE TRADE JOURNAL PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY ELECTRICITY MAGAZINE CORPORATION ED J. MOCK, President and Treasurer MONADNOCK BUILDING CHICAGO, ILL. Telephone: Harrison 301'! — All Departments NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS Changes of advertising copy should reach the office of publication not less than fifteen days in advance of date <>f issue. Regular date of issue every Saturday. New advertisements will he accepted up to within ten days of date of issue, but proof of such advertisements can nor tie shown in advance of publication. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE Per year $3.00 Canada Per year $4.00 Foreign Per year 5.00 Single copy .15 FOR SALE AT ALL NEWS STANDS NOTICE TO SUBSCE1JJEES Remittances— Remittances should be made by check, New York draft or money order, in favor of Motogkaphy. Foreign subscriptions may be remitted direct by International Postal Money Order. Change of Address— The old address should lie given as well as the new, and notice should he received two weeks in advance of the desired change. If your News Dealer Will Not Supply You — Please Notify Us Volume XV CHICAGO, MAY 6, 1916 Number 19 The Expositions Promise to Co-operate WE NOTE with considerable pleasure that harmony has come suddenly out of discord in the exposition situation. A few words from man to man, and competition has been changed to co-operation. It would be easy, and almost excusable, to point a moral here that would apply to the improvement of humanity in general. We are content, however, to confine our sense of satisfaction to the immediate event. We said last week we were glad there are to be two expositions. There seems to be no reason for changing that attitude. All the reasons we gave then for the advantage of a double-header exposition are strengthened now by the fact that the big shows will help, and not hinder, each other. The amicable correspondence exchanged by leaders in the two exposition movements pertains solely to those passing events. We have no doubt, however, that its spirit will continue to rule the relations of the organizations, and that so long as all branches of our industry may not be wholly and sufficiently embraced in one association, the divisions may be merely technical, and not temperamental. The functions of an exhibitors' organization cannot be successfully undertaken by an association of manufacturers or distributors, nor can the exhibitors hope to make their associations broad enough to serve the producing end of the trade as it demands. Therefore there must be different societies for the different parts of the industry, and since they are different, in membership, function and operation, there is no reason why they should interfere. Each has its own work, yet each can benefit by the co-operation and advice of the other. Each is entitled to the other's respect, confidence and help. That such an ideal condition will follow the mutual interchanges of the double exposition in New York next week is our hope and belief. The Distributor and the Complete Show SO LONG as there shall be competition in the making of motion picture programs — and we hope that will be always — that program which is most complete, which supplies all the elements of a well-balanced show all the time, will be the surest of survival. The film distributing house is a dangerous place to encourage specialization. It might be reasoned that the people love comedy, and hence a distributor of comedies exclusively would always be assured of a place in the sun. But the people do not want comedy exclusively. They want it with their drama. They want a certain percentage of their sum total of entertainment to be comic, and no more. It would be entirely possible for one distributing company to supply all the comedy, and another all the drama, and so on. This is a free country, at least for the last few years, and the exhibitor who thinks his service is deficient in comedy can split the service between two or more distributors. For instance, he can, and does, take a dramatic feature from one house and a comic single reel "filler" from another. That is his privilege; but it is bad for both the feature distributor, who cannot supply the "filler," and for