Moving Picture World (Jan-Feb 1925)

January 31, 1925 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 509 The Fight Is Won At last I feel able to say, with every confidence, that the fight for the adoption of the term “Motion Picture Projectionist,” and the discarding of the “Moving Picture Machine Operator,” is definitely won. All over this country and Canada progressive local unions, city, state and provincial governments are adopting the term “Projectionist” officially. Just now a ticket and an invitation arrived from Manchester, N. H., accompanied by a letter from Brother S. F. Cooley, Projectionist Lyric Theatre, Manchester, N. H. The ticket reads “Second Annual Grand Concert and Ball, Under the Auspices of Theatrical Stage Employes and Motion Picture Projectionists, Local Union 195, I. A. T. S. E. & M. P. M. O., and A. F. of Musicians, L. U. No. 349.” The affair will be given February third. Ha! Ha! Ha! Recently I was given a hearty laugh while attending the testimonial dinner given to Mike Campbell, Supervisor of Projection for Loew. The menus bore the title “Projectionists,” and when Campbell arose to speak he said : “Mr. Richardson has given us the title Projectionist. We deserve it, and I want all you Loew operators to” — and right there he was interrupted by a gale of laughter, and paused in some confusion to explain how habit is so strong that we just follow old usage automatically. Toward the end of the one-page letter accompanying the ticket, brother Cooley says : “I’d better stop or the bunch will think I’m trying to play ‘hero’.” I don’t really believe there was any danger of that, friend Cooley, but the remark reminds me of what a wonderful lot more help this department might be, were not there so many men deterred from writing and assisting in its work by some such feeling as this. They fear criticism or ridicule if they try to help, hence we are all deprived of much which would be of real value. I know exactly how they feel, and it is too darned bad. They think those who either can’t or WON’T write, will sneer at them because they do, and the pitiful part of it is that it is evenly and exactly true. Oh well, anyhow it also is true that not one single, solitary time since the inception of this department, February 19, 1910, there has ever been a time, even for one issue, when there was not more than ample material on hand to fill its columns. Why More? Why do I want more, then? A fair question. It is because of the fact that many of those thousands of projectionists who do not write, unquestionably have ideas and various “slants” on projection problems which would be of great value, were they laid before our readers. But the prize comic is the not unnumerous ones who don’t write this department for the utterly silly reason that they hurt me personally by withholding some bit of information, or projection lore, in their possession. Sounds idiotic, doesn’t it? But there are lots who, consciously or unconsciously, have that idea in the back of their minds. Such utterly foolish procedure hurts no one in any degree whatsoever, but it does do this : it withholds information which very often would help a brother projectionist, AND it operates in some degree to hold back progress in projection. There, men of Manchester, see what a sermon your kindly invitation led to. I’m really sorry that I don’t feel able to pungle up ten or twelve dollars for railway fare for a single night of enjoyment, even though it gave me the privilege of meeting yourself and the men of Manchester, but — there you are. Strong For It William Burnette, who has been playing hookey from the Bluebook school, sends a mess of answers, his picture, and says : Well, here I go again. I just needed a rest — or my nerves did. Promise it won’t happen again, and now that I’m out of the deep, dar-uck hole, maybe we should investigate and find out just why Dobson, Bennowitz, Oldham and Hobdell are still absent from classes. The Bluebook School is THE thing, and I’m strong for it. I certainly am learning a few things alrighty right — about some things I did not even know existed before, and much more about things I already knew something of. Thought sure you would include Centerville, your birth place, on your trip west, and had hopes you might get up this way. If ever you come this way I’m going -to hunt you down, and that’s that. Glad you’re back on the job again, and are going to stick. I did want to visit Centerville awfully, but it couldn’t be done. Hope we’ll meet up some day. Most likely we will. Meanwhile be good, treat the wife well — oh well, fairly well anyhow, wash behind your ears every morning and DON’T play hookey any more. As to those others — well, I guess they must be getting old ’n lazy. 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