The Moving picture world (November 1925-December 1925)

3>Jovember 28, 1925 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 319 Strict business Devoid of Politics Seider^s Plan; Talks to A. M. P. A, A rbitration Question Now N earing Adjustment, He Declares — Woodhull and Cohen Both Are Loud in Praise of Him STRICT business devoid of politics is the policy which will guide Joseph M. Seider as business manager of the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of America. Members of the Associated Motion Picture Advertisers were the first in the industry to hear from Mr. Seider since he became the exhibitor general. At their meeting at the New Hofbrau on Thursday afternoon of last week exhibitor chieftains were the honor guests. Insights into the industry were also disclosed by the constructive talks of R. F. Woodhull, president of the M. P. T. O. A., and Sydney S. Cohen, chairman of the national directors and former president. I Omaha Statistics | i '-|-»HERE are 210,000 people in Omaha g g J. at the outside and 35,195 of them g attend the theatres daily, according to g g a recent check of attendance here. The I g thirty-six theatres in the city seat 28, § 1 247. I 1 Nearly $5,500,000 is invested in the | g atres at the present time. There are g g three million-dollar theatre projects 1 H either under way or practicidly ready 1 g for the breaking of ground. 1 g There are 547 employes of the the 1 g atres and the payroll is nearly $l,0iM), g 1 000 annually. | ffiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiini!iiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ Wabash Ministers Have Dicksons Fined For Sunday Opening WH. AND P. H. DICKSON, brothers, • owners of the Eagles' theatre at "Wabash, Ind., were arrested last week for operating their theatre on Sunday and a few •days later were convicted and fined. Last Sunday Wabash had Sunday shows for the first time since three years ago, when an attempt was made to open the theatres and several ministers and their followers had the theatre owners arrested and stopped the show. The show last Sunday went off quietly and large crowds attended every performance. A few days later the ministers filed an affidavit and the Dicksons and their organist ■were arrested and fined $10 and costs each, making the total fine $45. The Dicksons say they intend to continue to operate on Sundays because the crowds that attended was evidence enough that most people favor Sunday shows. HEALTH BAN LIFTED Following a meeting of the Louisville, Ky., City Health Authorities it was announced that because no further cases of infantile paralysis have developed it has been decided to lift all bans regarding activities of children in visiting theatres, amusements, Sunday schools, etc. The city schools re-opened on November 9. The ban was lifted at theatres, etc., on November 7. A total of fortysix casse and four deaths is the record established by the epidemic. HOFFMAN RECOVERING M. H. Hoffman, vice-president and general manager of the Tiffany Productions, Inc., Truart Film Corporation and Renown Pictures, Inc., has so far recovered from his recent' Illness as to enable him to again assume his duties as general manager of the various companies. In his address, which is the first official announcement by Mr. Seider in his capacity as business manager, he stated : "As business manager it will be our policy to conduct the affairs of the organization along strictly business lines. The important subject of the moment, contract and arbitration, is nearing adjustment. Legislative problems will be worked out and the mass of detail necessary will be properly handled. "And although there naturally must result from this undertaking a certain measure of hope and confidence to the theatre owner, yet he wants to know that he will be permitted to remain in business and enjoy the opportunity to carry on in his chosen field of endeavor. He wants to be sure of his future in this industry. "It is argued that the building of theatres cannot be stopped because the 'wheels of progress cannot be blocked.' "Is it progress to overbuild and over seat? Especially where the purpose is to eliminate the smaller competitor by the weight of larger financial resources? Is it progress to threaten a small operator with opposition unless he purchases a certain product? "Shall it continue impossible for a small operator to purchase quality-product when he has for a competitor a large influential purchaser? Should a theatre owner who has purchased for a number of years the product of a particular distributor lose that particular product without opportunity with the arrival of a more influential purchaser? Or will the product be allocated so that he with 'clean hands' may live ? "These are the problems confronting and disheartening the theatre owner and these are the problems we have presented to Mr. Hays, and these are the problems received most sympathetically by Mr. Hays." President Woodhull and Sydney S. Cohen, who acted as toastmaster, prefaced their remarks with laudations for Mr. Seider. "Joe Seider is more than an exhibitor, the president of the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of New Jersey, a director in the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of America and now the business manager of that organization," President Woodhull declared. He emphasized : "Nothing has given me greater pleasure or confidence since my induction in the office of president of the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of America than the appointment of Joseph M. Seider as business manager. Joe took hold of the New Jersey organization and through his tireless efTort has made it the most efficient of its kind in the country. Now I am glad that he will have a latitude which includes the entire United States and it was no easy job to get him to accept the post." Mr. Cohen paid the following tribute to Seider: "Joseph M. Seider knows practical service and public service. He has the most complete knowledge of the complex contractual relations between the exhibitors and the distributors of any man in this country. In my opinion, and I know that it is the opinion of my associates as well, Joseph M. Seider has made more progress during the past year than any other man in the field. The national organization has been fortunate in prevailing upon Mr. Seider to accept this very distinguished post of business manager." Both Mr. Cohen and Mr. Woodhull urged members of the A. M. P. A. to cooperate with the business manager in the efforts that are being made to bring about a perfect mutuality in the entire industry. In his speech, which was interspersed with bits of clever humor, President Woodhull took issue with an observation made by Adolph Zukor at a previous meeting of the A. M. P. A. "I think perhaps it is right to say that Zukor is the outstanding figure in the progress of the film industry," Mr. Woodhull said, "but I cannot agree with him in saying to you that the success of the film industry is prcatically a fifty-fifty proposition — the producers and the exploiteers. In fact I think it might be made a trio when you consider that the pictures have to be projected and that the exhibitor is the man who does that. But — when you come right down to it there is the public carrying the air, so after all a quartette describes, or apportions, it better to my way of thinking. "You advertisers and exploiteers are the lifting and driving power of the motion picture industry. You have all seen poor pictures that you fellows have absolutely put over. But you get your material from (Continued on next page)