Moving Picture World (Jul-Sep 1911)

622 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD ator only works a little while in the evening. He is not purchasing manual labor, but skill. I had a doctor at my house a while back. He stayed just five minutes by the watch, but it cost me three dollars, coin of the realm. According to the He-only-works-a-little-while-in-the-evening argument I ought to have paid that M. D. about three cents, and should have made him carry in some coal besides. Then if I could have furnished him with a sandwich and charged five cents for it I would have been ahead of the game. It is not my desire to stir up wage disputes between operators and managers, but such cases as this are altogether too flagrant to pass without notice. This young man writes a good, sensible letter and I would like to see some real manager give him a chance. He is young, but I believe him to be an observing and painstaking mechanic, who will deliver the goods. Will send his address to any one wishing to try him out. If he is putting on a good show under the conditions described he ought to perform wonders with steady "juice." The price of the Handbook is $1.50. Water Glass Ash. — Burlington, Iowa, writes: "Will you kindly tell me what becomes of the carbons and what the white substance is which gathers on inside walls of lamphouse? Aside from a little dirt in bottom of lamphouse there is nothing left after burning many carbons. Where do they go to anyhow?" The carbons are votalized; that is to say, they are, by the tremendous heat of the arc, changed into the form of gas, the gas itself being for the most part consumed in the heat of the arc. The white substance to which you refer is the residue of water-glass, which forms the binder for the core of cored carbons. The only portion of the carbon itself remaining is in the form of small pieces broken off from the crater, graphite caps which sometimes form on the lower carbon-tip when using D. C, and fine carbon dust, the latter being carbon which has been released through the binder being consumed before the carbon itself, thus releasing the carbon and letting it fall away. Gelatine Slides. — -St. Louis, Mo., writes: "We recently purchased a set of the Make 'Em Yourself Slides advertised in your paper and they are all right. We use them to advertise next day's programme and things like that and they certainly are a very useful article. Will you please tell us whether the new Romeo and Juliet film, by the Thanhouser Company, is really good or not. We have had several demands for a Romeo and Juliet film from our patrons, but don't want to spring a frost on them. Our operator has considerable trouble with his light at times. He claims it is due to a lowering of the voltage. We take from the street mains and claim this cannot be so. Who is right and how can we test the matter?" The slides you mention have been reported on favorably by many. For the purpose for which they are intended they are undoubtedly excellent. Yes, the Thanhouser "Romeo and Juliet" is a very excellent piece of work, both from the standpoint of good acting and photography. It is anything but a "frost." As to the voltage, it is possible that the street mains are overloaded at times, thus causing a voltage drop. This is possible, mind you, not probable. If there really is a voltage drop of any amount you should notice a slight dimming of the incandescent globes at the time it takes place. The only really satisfying test, however, is a reliable voltmeter. Absurd Situation. — Buffalo has a mess on its hands. The new law (p. 457, August 19 issue) uncompromisingly says that all operators of motion picture machines must be licensed. It also says that those not at present licensed must have served a six months' apprenticeship under a licensed operator, utterly regardless of previous experience or anything else. Buffalo has never had a license law, therefore Buffalo operators have never been licensed. It follows that Buffalo men have not served the required six months under a licensed operator. They could not possibly have done so except they went to some other city where operators are licensed. Really it makes one laugh! Such brilliant examples of law-making should be carefully preserved in a museum. Mr. Walker, who stood sponsor for the bill, and whose name it bears, is innocent enough of intentional wrongdoing. He fathered the bill at the urgent request of Wm. Lang, then business agent for L. U. No. 35, I. A. T. S. E., New York City. The New York Operators' Auxiliary indorsed the proposed law enthusiastically, accepting Lang's statement that it was exactly what it purported to be. The real desire for the law was to shut out >tudents fresh from school, compelling them to serve actual apprenticeship before blosoming out as full-fledged operators. The union members had no idea what a monumental fiasco they were endorsing. The editor feels somewhat culpable himself for not procuring a copy of the proposed law and examining it. But in the press of work it was not done by him, nor, it seems, by anyone else. We would suggest that future proposed laws affecting operators, or theaters, in any way be sent to the editor of the Projection Department, who will have them examined carefully and report exactly what their actual purport is. In this way such farcial blunders might be avoided. Buffalo will probably be compelled to waive the apprenticeship clause, so far as its present operators are concerned. But this will be absolutely illegal, nevertheless, the wording of the statute being too plain to be gotten around except by totally ignoring its six months' apprenticeship section. Properly applied the six months' law is excellent in every way. Cosy Theater— Pendleton, Ore. C. P. Bruce, Manager. An Omission.— In August 19th issue we intended publishing a picture of the Cosy Theater, in connection with the article "Wild and Wooly West." It was in some manner overlooked at the time. Here it is. Rectifier.— Ely, Nevada, writes: "I don't suppose you hear very often from a place like this: 1,200 population, away out in the desert 140 miles from the mainline. However, we are constant readers of The World and now trouble you for the first time. We have two machines, one a Pathe professional and one a Powers Six. The power plant in this burg is pretty poor, A. C. 60 cycle and i'io volts— sometimes. Do yon know of any transforming device other than the Hewitt Rectifier? I would like to hear from you soon, as the people in our little city are pretty well educated in the matter of good projection. We are running with a General Electric transformer with pretty fair results, still we would like to better our projection." Yes, Ely, the General Electric puts out a most excellent device, called the "Mercury Arc Rectifier." This rectifier is in quite general use and is giving excellent satisfaction. I don't know how it would work on variable voltage, however. I will send your letter at once to the General Electric Company with the request that they mail you full particulars. You might, in lieu of a rectifier, install a motor-generator set — an A. C. motor pulling a D. C. generator. And now I want to ask you to do me a favor: I don't know whether or not you have them around Ely, but if you do I want you to get me three or four cholla burs (ripe ones) and two or three good clumps of Nail Keg cactus thorns and mail them to me Don't go to much bother, but if they are easily had I would like them very much. Choke Coil, Etc.— New York City writes: "(1) Is a choke coil a current saver? (2) Is a Miles Brothers rheostat considered to be a choke coil and is it like an economizer? It has grid plates with insulated wire around them. (3) Is it advisable to hook up two lamps on one rheostat? (4) Would you connect the second lamp from the mains or from the switch of the first one?" (1) Yes, but a very poor form of current saver. (2) They are a choke coil, but a choke coil bears but slight resemblance, or none at all, to an economizer in electric action. (3) If it is a large rheostat, not working nearly up to its capacity, it is all right. If it is working to its capacity, I would not advise it, since it would then be in use constantly and you would find that under those conditions two rheostats, one on each lamp, would outlast three or maybe four used the other way. I would connect through a double pole, double throw switch. It would be very bad practice to hook up the second lamp from the switch of the first. Both lamps would be charged all the time that way, so long as either was burning. In using one rheostat for both lamps hitch your feed wires to the center poles of a double pole, double throw switch and hook one lamp to each end of the switch, placing your rheostat ahead of the switch.