Moving Picture World (Jan-Mar 1918)

1201 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD March 2, 1918 Business Deductions a ® is ® jg Zty Sam Spedon THERE is a whole lot of quiet work being done by those who are not shouting about it. The Sunday opening question which is of so much concern to many exhibitors throughout the country is being looked after wisely and carefully. There are two cases on the calendar to be brought up before the Court of Appeals in New York State this spring, which are being looked after and given the proper attention. When these are disposed of, then other steps will be taken to provide for the question of Sunday opening. Don't think for a moment that censorship and possible additional taxes on the industry are forgotten by the National Association. Its officers have their ears to the ground, listening for their coming and making preparations for their reception. The same can be said of many exhibitor organizations in all parts of the country. Too Many Cooks. The trouble in the past has been there were too many cooks spoiling the broth. Too many champions anxious to rush into the limelight and shout from the house what they and the industry were going to do to defeat and slay the hydra headed monsters that threatened to destroy the industry so they spilled the whole kettle of beans and made a mess of it and others had to clean it up. Too many prolific letter writers who were eager to rush into print and see their names emblazoned in the pages of the press, ambitious to lead the procession, they walked right into the hands of the enemy and put everybody in dutch. Hasten Slowly. There is an old Latin proverb, "festina lente," "hasten slowly." It is better to be once sure than twice sorry. All branches of the industry are realizing that they have been going too fast, haphazard like. The present crisis and lull' have made everybody more thoughtful, given them time' to think, brought them to their senses. The whole industry is proceeding more cautiously and rationally; a sign of improvement and greater stability. More Human Like. We notice a better spirit shown between exhibitors and producers. The exhibitors are getting the idea of persecution and oppression out of their minds. They are finding out they are big enough to take care of their own interests, and by doing so they are commanding the respect of the manufacturers, receiving better treatment and getting more attention. They are burying the hammer and hatchet and getting more human and businesslike. Good and Better in Store. At a large meeting of metropolitan exhibitors last week all of them, with no exception, were enthusiastic over their previous heatless Monday's box office receipts. "Turned them away," was the general answer to the question : "How did you do yesterday?" Many said business was better now than it had been in many months. We mention metropolitan because without doing so, we would make it appear that this kind of business prevailed throughout the entire country. We have reports from salesmen in rural districts where conditions were not so good, but this was caused by cold weather and coal shortage and not by any indisposition on the part of the people to attend the theaters if these deficiencies did not exist. To convince you, we quote a report from Madison, Wis consin: "Business is some better and think things will soon be normal. Janesville theaters are closed on account of smallpox. Beloit and Evansville, no coal." How's Business? A great many "readers" of a trade paper give the advertising pages the "once over" and let it go at that. This may be done for business reasons or through mere curiosity. In either case they are judging the book by the cover and lose the story. If those who are sufficiently interested in the industry would take time to read their trade paper they would not have to ask the question : "How's business?" If they would read our contents page first they can always turn to the subject or subjects that most concern them. For instance, on the contents page we will find "Picture Theaters Projected." From these columns we get an idea of the activities, new theaters being built, and the alterations and enlargements being made in others. It is a simple mental process to deduct from these reports what the future of the business will be and present activities of it. So on, all the way through. If people would read their trade paper carefully and thoroughly they could draw their own conclusions. They would not have to ask, "How's business?" A great many people are like the ostrich, they bury their heads in the sand and shout: "There ain't no industry. Everything is going to the bad." Vaudeville Only in Spots. We have recently been asked : "Do you think motion pictures are becoming secondary to vaudeville?" Most emphatically, "No !" We have looked into this subject and find by actual observations that only in certain spots or localities is vaudeville being used in connection with pictures. These localities arc small manufacturing communities or cities where they have no vaudeville houses and in such places they only have two or three combined shows a week. In purely residential communities vaudeville is not welcomed in conjunction with pictures. As an evidence of this, take Washington, D. C, and many other cities of like character. Motion pictures are an aid to vaudeville, but will never be secondary. The standard and quality of motion pictures today are sufficient in themselves to attract and entertain any audience, particularly where there is a choice. Exit Heatless Monday HEATLESS Monday has been chucked in the discard by the Fuel Administrator. We can now go back to our usual schedule — a picture show every day. While it has been admitted by the Fuel Man that the "chilly Monday" was a failure as a coal saver it has served to press upon our minds that there is a war in progress in which we are interested and that it is up to all of us to make an effort to save something. Reports from many exhibitors are to the effect that the coal saving campaign has had but little effect upon the gross receipts ; that is something to be thankful for. It should not be forgotten that the Fuel Administrator reserves the right to make such further orders for coal saving in future as the circumstances demand. Heat is not the only thing that eats up coal. Light and even ice in summer represent used and possibly a waste of fuel. Economies are necessary to victory, national victory first, and, second, victory for the right side of our bank account.