The Moving picture world (May 1922)

May 20, 1922 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 263 New York Charges Election Was Illegal * 'Proceedings Improperly Conducted Under Alleged Constitution Never Submitted" CHARGING that the election of Sydney S. Cohen and other national officers of the M. P. T. 0. A. was illegal, the New York State Motion Picture Theatre Owners, through Charles L. O'Reilly, president, and Sam L. Moross, secretary, issued a statement late Wednesday night bitterly attacking the steamroller tactics and "gag rule" practiced on the delegation during the session of that afternoon. The New York delegation, which had backed Senator James J. Walker in the controversy with Cohen, entered protest during the elections and refused to vote on any officers for the organization with the exceptio n of recording by a vote of 39 to 4 the fact that the state organization was particularly opposed to the election of Cohen. The statement follows: "The New York delegation by a vote of 40 to 3 protests against the proceedings of the convention today and the election of officers for the national body of the M. P. T. 0. A. because the proceedings were improperly conducted under an alleged constitution which was never submitted to the delegates to the convention. ; 'The constitution under which the proceedings were held was jammed through in a committee meeting by nineteen men out of a board of forty-eight, without even the benefit of a discussion by those men. "The constitution of any unincorporated organization places certain obligations on every member of the organization to the extent of even making him responsible for any debts or contractual obligations incurred by the organization. It is our opinion that no one can afford to subscribe to a document that places such obligations on him without knowing fully and in detail what such document contains. "It is the contention of the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of New York State that if this alleged constitution had been submitted to the delegations it would have caused a riot of protest against the men who proposed to jam through this iniquitous and intolerable document as the fundamental law under which the organization of the M. P. T. 0. A. is to operate and be conducted in future. "New York State Theatre Owners feel that they cannot subscribe to this illegitimate and illbegotten document and that some day the motion picture exhibitors of the entire country will thank them for the protestations which they voiced in open convention on this occasion. "We maintain that this alleged constitution is full of contradictions and inconsistencies, unworkable and in fact ridiculous and was evidently promulgated by its sponsors at this time to tie the hands of the delegates to this convention and rob it of its force as a deliberative body. For instance, it provides that three months' notice must be given of any proposed amendment, this obviously makes it impossible for this convention to make any amendment. "Again it provides that delegates must be elected by the state units thirty days prior to the convention itself. No state complied with this provision and therefore if this alleged constitution is now in effect, and it was under its terms that today's proceedings were conducted, it is obvious on the face of things that it is not a legally constituted convention. "We did not propose a condidate in today's convention session because we could not give even such a mark of approval to the improper and illegal proceedings and the intolerable steam roller tactics that were employed by those in control of the convention machinery."