Variety (December 1925)

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VARIETY LEGISLATIVE Wednesday, December 23, 1935 "?!] SWOOPE ALLEGES niM ATORNEYS APPROVED OF FEDERAL CENSORSHIP Mentions Committee Repbrt of 1916 with Names of Lawyers and Statement Made—Condition Un- changed Now—Congressman from Pa. Intends Pushing Measure—Hays All Right but SUtus Unofficial, He Claims—Other Arguments • • Variety Bureau, Washington, Dec. 22. Taking advantage of the lull In the House follt.wiiiff the passa{;c of' the Uevenuo 1*111. Wiliiam I. Swoapc (H.) of r<'nns>lvania brotiRht his proposoa oons;orship commission bc- toTn till- lower losia'.atlvc body. Mr Swoopo etruck rather rough goins In his attempt to deliver a proiinreJ speeeh which finally found him entirely abandonins the at- tempt. He submitted It for print- ing in the Record under the ex- ten.sion of remarks rule. The opposition came principally from Florello II. LaGuardia, of New York, who ebaracterized the Swoope' proposal a.B the opening wed.tre to not only censor o< the movies, but, fhe theatre, tlie press and the right' of free speech, as well. LaGuardia' likened the proposed Federal Mo- tion Picture Commission as an- other attempt to create more Jobs on the government payroll comparing- the Idea with the New York censor- ing board, "which was created •okly to supply a few soft Jobs." Mr. Swoope depended upon the previous favoralJe report on a like bill introduced In 1916 by the then Conjjressnian Hughes. He . also dwelt upon the play Jury In New Tork last season because of the "12 play3 that mot with condemnation because of their treatment of the Bex question," thcrel.y fulfllUng the prediction of Mr. l.iiGuardia that the Idea" was not only aimed for the motion pictures. All Countries It was pointed out by Mr. Swoopo that every country in the world, in- cluding Rut-Kia and Japan, had some sort of a censoring committee, add- ing that a Federal board would do av.iiy with .the i)resent confusiort In the several slates with their owri cei^sorship comtnlltees. AVallace K. Denlson (R.>, of Illinois, asked If there was any guarantee that the Federal rulings Would be accepted by the states to which Swoope answered th.nt that Would have to be settled by the ■ta'.es themselves. The established policy of leaving It to the .producor.s, the press and th;' speakers as to what thfy will prc.'^i.nt or speak had worltcd ou^ Very well, tstatod Mr. I..a('luardiii, •who added that the New York state hoard had "absolutely failed, It hav- ing done nothing of any good that t can see." t^pectalcirs were Impressed by the Opi iisition expro.-i.sod by the several Itflitibllean memU rs throughout the debate. The bill has created eon* ■Ulerable Interest, even prior to th« Swoope appearance on the floor, teing frciely dlsi'ussed In both the Republican ahd Democratic cloak rooms. Tlie Congressman, while diseu.sst Ing his'fclll with a Variety reporter. Stated ho Is prepared to show Con- gr, ss that the commt.ssion he Is now proposing has not only been previ- ously a!)proved by a former com- mittee, but also by attorneys then representing the motion picture In- dustry. Mr. Swoope is to i)reaent Commit- tee Report No. 6117 on the Hughes bill. H. R. 15,162 of Uie 64tli (.on- gress, Fir.st Session, which w.ts coin- mlted to the Committee of the whole House on May 17, I'JlO. ti> which is ai>ptn !ed a statement from Meyers and Clark, ftttnrneys for Paramount rictiirc Corporation; E. J. Ludvlgh and R.^Iph A. Kolm for Famous Pl.Tyors F'ilm Co.; Ar -■ thur S. Friend for the Jesse L. Las ky Feature Play Co., Inc., and Morltz Uobcathal for the World Film Cor- [loration and the Eriuitable Motion Picture Corporation. It Is set fortli In this statement that "A Federal regulatory commis- sion should prove a fearless sur- geon and we therefore favor such a commission." That conditions in 1916 are applic- able today claims Mr. Swoopo who dwelt further upon this statement from representatives from the pic- ture Industry drawing attention to the following from his brief: "The vicious picture brings the larger return to e-xhibitor and pro- ducer, because It gets the money of the regular customer and the sen- sation seeker also- This state of affairs constitutes a temptation hard to resist, and, in fact, Uie production of vicious? pictures Is constantly In- creasing Just because they are more profitable. If the industry Is to en- dure, if decent people are to stay In the business, this cancer must be cut out." Swoope on Hays Though praising the efforts of Will H. Hays, Mr. Swoope stated that the committee report on the unoffi- cial status of the National Board of Review as set down close to nine yeiirs ago defines Mr. Hay-'s status today. "There is nothing oftlclal about Mr. Hays' rulings and hence no guarantee that at some time one or several of the producers will not abide by the o;)inlon of Mr. Hays," said Mr. Swoope^ J^ot only Is this report, to which a dj*j>entlng one was filed by Fred- erick W. llrl..nger, the then Repub- lican Kei)resentative from Massa- chusetts, being relied upon by Mr- Swoope, but he adds that he has one more argument to put before the lower legl.slative body—that his bin Is patterned after the same Hughes measure that the previous (.ommitteq approved; "But in spite of all these attempts the Commis.slon is not yet created," stiUes Mr. Swoope, who added, "I have examined all these bills and carefully compared thorn, and also the State laws relating to motion pictures of New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, Maryland, Ohio and Vir- ginia." Swoope Informed Mr. Swoope thoroughly knows his subject, ho is a Republican of the majority and states he la going to concentrate the major portion of his time In getting this bill through.. Bill Amending Copyright; XumbersoDie/ Say Experts Washington, Dec. S2. The first bill proposing to amend the copyright act reached the House with the Introduction of H. R. 5245, providing for the substitution of the right of appeal as Incorporated In the patei>t laws, section 4909, fur the petition foe » writ of manda- mus as now necessary In the copy- right act. The proposed amendment. Intro- duced by H. W. Taylor (R.) of New Jersey would add the following after section 24: "And provided further, That if any author or proprietor of • work claimed by him to b« the subj'ect oiF copyriight under this law ahall be dissatisfied with the action or ruling of the register of copyrights or the assistant register of copyrights, he shall hava the right to appeal to the Court of Appeals of the Supreme All Tax Off Wa.shlngton, Dec. 22, It's believed that before the Senate Is through with the amended tax bill, all admission taxes will be declared out of It. Court of the United States upon fil- ing therefrom in the same manner and to the same effect that appli- cants for letters patent now have to appeal from the decision of the commissioner of patents on payment of the fees providtfll for such appeal in the patent office." One other proposal is made by Mr. Taylor wherein he would add to section 19, which covers the publi- cation Of notice of copyright, the fol- lowing; "in cases where an artistic ■work embodies a connected repeti- tion of a design on one substance, one notice placed on such substance, or attached to it shall be sufficient" Copyright experts questioned as to the value of the Ttiylor proposal stated that same woijld bo "but the adding of cumbersome' machinery into the copyright act that dotesn't belong there." Thorvald Solberg, register of copyrights, would not discuss the congressman's bill, but did state that the present law so clearly define.*? what Is copyrightable end who Is entitled to same that little question was left for discussion. Mr. Solbcrg stated that but six times in the last 12 years had there been a com- plaint. SPOKEN DRAMA 10% mWUm IN TAK BILL-BEFORE SENATE Author Bill Reintroduced Washington. Dec. 22. The Authors' bill, providing for practically an entire revision of the prestint Copyright Act, has again been Introduced In the same form as presented last year by Randolph Perkins (R.) of New Jers<-y. It l« now known as H, R. 6S41. Mr. Perkins says he has taken the action In order to bring about ari early hearing of the subject of copy- right In the hope of securing the much sought after "universally np- provcd bin," as requested by him at the close of the last Congress. Congressman Bloom's Brother Dies Washington. Uec. 22. Congressman Sol Uloom. of New York, left today (Tuesday) for Chi- cago following the sudden death of his brother, H. T. P.loom. In that city. The CoriKressman's brother wa* In the manufacturing business. Htfi death, coming une pectedly. follow ed an operation for appendicitis 4»4»ff»> ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ ♦♦♦♦■»♦ ♦♦♦4 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦^♦-♦♦■♦-♦♦♦♦♦4-»-»-»-»-»; There's Welcome on the Mat at THE PICCADILLY '■ FOR THEATRICAL FOLK CABLE FOR A ROOM ^♦.iiJ*i CabU Addrett: PIQUDILLO, LONDON ri l MtlM l Mrttftt * *»tt>*44*44e4 Washington, Dec, 21. As anticipated the House, sitting as a committee of the whole, passed the amendment exempting the le- gitimate spoken drama from the collections of the 10 per cent, tax upon admissions. This was not ac- complished without connlderable controversy In which the managers were accused of making false re- turfts on this tax and the govern- ment of collecting a tax on the sale of tickets above the 60 cent advance In New Tork city which wa«» unlaw-ful. The first charge was made by Anthony J. Grlffln (D) of New Yorjc. who when offering an amendment to the committee's amendment pro- viding for the entire elimination of the i^dml^Plon tax stated that the government was dependent upon the sworn statements of the parties turning over the tax, and "I know there Is no way of guarding against delUiornto frauds in making such returns. In other words, to beat the government out of the tax, false reresentntloh as to the attendance Is frequently made." Thfs had Sol Ploom, also a Demo- cratic conirres.Hman from New York, on his feet demanding to know who made these false returns and in- oulring If Mr. OrlfTln wanted the Hoime to believe the theatre man- agers were making the fraudulent statements to the government. This cniwed Mr. Orlffln to modify Ms statement to the extent that In the specific case he had In mind it was a ticket agent and he expressed the fear that where it happened In one case It might happen again. At the same time h« thanked Mr* nioom for giving him the oppor- tunity to correct a wrong Impres- sion, closing his remarks with the statement he was a.sklng for the repeal of the tax. Gov't Splitting Illicit Profit Mr Griffin had offered a second amendment which did away with the t.ax on tickets sold other than at the box ofllce. This brought the charge from Mr. Bloom that the government was collecting a 50 per cent, tax on what constituted a crime in the state of New York. "If anybody charges EO cents extra," said Mr. Bloom, "for the price of a ticket, it is a crime in the state of New York; but ff the man ran get aw.ay with that extra money the govcr»vment gets SO per cent, of the spoils." Henry R Ralney (D) of Illinois, who with Ogden Mills (R) of New York framed the present exemption as Incorporated in the bill, stated that he knew the amendments offor- jcd would not l>e carried, but wished I to reiterate his position that the tax I was economically wrong. UPSTATE FOR SUNDAY SHOWS Campaigns to Start- Clergy Opposed ■.) Syracuse. N. Y., Dec, 22. The up-state will see a series ot Sunday movie battles early in tha New Year In some cities upstate la New York. Illon, Plnghamton and Elmlra have Sunday movie cam*- mlgns in prospect or underway. la Elmlra, the Elmlra Ministerial As. soclatlon has appealed to the Com- mon Council to withhold action nti^ til after a public hearing. Th» clergy ralsS the unusual point tiiot to peprfiit the pictures houses to op« 1 erate would "be an unf.iir and un. just discrimination In their favor. M .against the owners or opc'rators eC other lines of business and indus> ' try." In Blnghamton the proponents ot - Sunday movies claim the Johnson City and Endlcott theatres and res- t.aurants are reaping a harvest from*, Sunday movie fans who each Sun- ' day night go there for entertain- ment that they cannot find In the Parlor City. Johnson City and Eni dieott are under the sway of GcorM : F.. Johnson, multi-millionaire shoa manufacturer, who Is a liberal In- sofar as Sunday amusements ara concerned. If tho Blngh.annton campaign !• successful, Sunday Alms will be per* ' mitted after 2 p. m. The alderme4t are expected to act early In the new year. SOL BLOOM'S NEW MAP R. Walton Moore (D) of Virginia, svggcsted the repeal pf the entire tax, stating that It waa a matter that could be handled by tho states. This caused a manifestation of con- siderable interest particularly when Mr. Moore stated that "we otight not to retain taxes of this charac- ter. Imposed simply for war pur- poses, at a time when so many of tho states are Involved in a struggle in order to raise revenue they so sorely need." Mr. Moore's state- ment was greeted with applause. Prior to the closing of the debate on the section Mr. Bloom again addres.sed the committee on the "tax upon education" as brought out by Mr. Ralney, this brintrjng from William R. Green (R) of Iowa, chairman of the ways and means committee, tho question as to. If Mr. Bloom considered prize fights edu- cational. Bloom's Explanation Mr. Bloom informed the chairman that prize fights not only failed to qualify as a means of education but that they were llleral. Mr. Orcen thereupon let Mr. Bloom continue. The speaker said: "T..et me say that this is a mat- ter that does not concern the the- atre manager as much as you gen- tlemen think; it concerns the pub- lic; the public is paying the tax and tho theatre t)nslnesa is being ruined. But do not think we are worrying in New York city, we are paving the bill but you of the Ignited States are not getting the dramas, the pictures, the vaudeville and Operas yo\i are supposed to get." The Orinin amendment for the entire repeal of the section was lost, on the only record vote, by 106 to 42. It gave Mr. Bloom the oppor- tunity to present an amendment providing for the exemption of con- certs and lectures, which tax it was claimed Is now being entirely evaded by tho big stars who are always appearing as a "benefit" with high admission prices, while tho new- comers endeavoring to establish themselves In this field were charg- Ine a low admission and forced to collect tho tax. Mr. Oreen characterised the Bloom amendment as an easy man- ner in which to avoid the law which would ultimately cost the crovernment approximately |12,- 000.000. Before the Bloom amendment was voted down, the Democratic congressman got into the record an Interpretation of the present ex- emption from Mr. Mills to the effect that grand operiv Is Included in the exemption as It Is "a spoken drama, set to music." The tax bill as am«»nded will now go before the Senate, where the picture pM>ple are expected to stage their battle against it. Washington, Dec. 32. Sol Bloom, Democratic Congress^ man from New York, has relntro-- duced his bill providing for tha' changing of tho map of Washlngi ton. The Congressman proposes t» demolish the present Patent OfRov building wlilch stands dlrectjy across "F" street, one of the town'a main stems. Mr. Bloom believes that In thf sale of the present property the Government would realize enough money to purchase another site and erect a new building in a location where it won't be cluttering up th« t>usines3 section. "The Theatre's Congressman," ai Mr. Bloom is known hereabouts, had an experience in the local courts, the aftermath of which has caused considerabio merriment among the other members of tbe House. Residing at the Mayflower Hotel, the Congre.ssm.an's apartment was being constantly filled with smoke from a low chimney on a private dwelling adjoining the hoteU Re- i)eated requests for the doing away with the nuisance brought no re- sponse, which found Mr. Bloom re- questing and receiving from the local courts an Injunction against the propt.'iiy owner. Tho gentleman from New York was all smiles—the next day he got a bill from the local attorn / handling the case for $400. _ ON CHILD LABOR Washington, Dec. 22. The Child Labor amendment tO the constitution, whlcli has met with considerable discussion and op- position from all phases of amend- ments during last spring, has been again forced Into the limelight by the recommendation of Secretary of Labor Davis for a model law for the District which could be followed by the other states of the Union. A resolution was presented In the Senate during the past week re- questing the Department of Labor for a full report as to the varlouf states' action on the proposed Fed- eral control. Est 189a WILLIAM MORRIS AOKNClf. Inc. im. M0RKI8 WM. UOKBI8. 9*- 1660 Broadway. N ew York THE mUrscHobis' OF DANCING 143 Charing Cross Road LONDON I Director, JOHN TILLER