■'■;.■"'■•■'',■'
*afL
mB
tea»
■-.-'■'■•
.■'■•■"■
Mtn
«T
*■ ' ;
31
3S&1
B*r4
>r££
* SkXXtnd
-fH
mm
' 4 ■
flPSHf
^
*&'$sj5
Eg 3
'•'.:■"■•■■■
■
IzftfflS
wBSsL
tubs *
KBIT'
•'"■•■<■
?«7*7J03
'V%
v
O0V
<•>,»'•■■■
•j. / -*
V
>0°*. :f
AV %
■
w
^ ■'«.
V-
%^
£%.
v ■ ■" ■
AN
X t>"\
a.
-A
i
/ '"
<-,
■>* v
<,.^'
^
./• ,\\
>%\
,-v
l>*
0
^ ^
C ^>
I ' 8
.^
iV
* , <£,
s.0 c-_
.0 n
Scanned from the collections of
The Library of Congress
AUDIO-VISUAL CONSERVATION
at The LIBRARY of CONGRESS
Packard Campus
for Audio Visual Conservation
www.loc.gov/avconservation
Motion Picture and Television Reading Room
www.loc.gov/rr/mopic
Recorded Sound Reference Center
www.loc.gov/rr/record
>$•'
% ^
:
- ■*>
•s*.
V*'
I
y_
EDUCATIONAL
FILM
MAGAZINE .
The National Authority
Interview with Thomas A. Edison
"ONE OF THE GREATEST THINGS IN THE WOKLD"
Picture-Making and Teaching Arts
By DR. LAWKENCE A. AVERILL
Head of Child Psychology Department, Mass. State Normal School
The Church and The Cinema
By REV. DR. CHESTEK C. MARSHALL
Pastor of St. James' Methodist Episcopal Church, New York City
Speeding Military Training with Films
By CHARLES FREDERICK CARTER
Motion Pictures; in Agriculture
By DON CARLOS ELLIS
In Charge Motion Picture Activities, U. S. Department of Agriculture
Synchronizing Films with Textbooks
By HENRY MACMAHON
Filming the South Sea Isles
^. By MARTIN JOHNSON
Chum of Jack London and Co-builder of the Famous "Snark"
£S5R£.'- :MM
25 cents a copy
^ANUARf, 1919
$3 a year
THE NEW
PREMIER PATHESCOPE
BECAUSE OF ITS SPECIAL, NARROW WIDTH
SLOW BURNING FILM
Is Approved by
Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc.
FOR UNRESTRICTED USE ANYWHERE
and Bears Their Official Label
"Enclosing Booth Not Required"
The New Premier Pathescope will run the narrow-width,
slow-burning film recently adopted by the Society of Motion
Picture Engineers, as the new "Safety Standard" for all port-
able projectors.
Adopted by Every School Board That
Investigates the Merits of Portable Projectors
There are more Pathescopes in schools today than all other portable projectors combined, because they are
designed particularly for SCHOOL USE, and embody seven years of successful experience gained in the world-
wide sale and use of over ten thousand former models in Schools, Churches, Institutions, Commercial
Establishments, etc.
There are about one hundred "Pop-
ular" Model Pathescopes in the
Public Schools of New York City,
and the Board of Education has re-
cently ordered a number of NEW
PREMIER PATHESCOPES after
a careful investigation of the merits
of other portable projectors.
The Pathescope Film Library now
contains nearly 1,500 reels and is growing
rapidly.
All on Underwriters' Approved and La-
bel-Inspected Slow-Burning film stock.
The largest assortment of AVAIL-
ABLE EDUCATIONAL and enter-
tainment films ever offered for uni-
versal public use.
For the third consecutive year we have been awarded the con-
tract for furnishing Pathescope Educational Film Service
to the New York Public Schools, on the recommendation of
their Investigating Committee.
If you really wish the BEST you will eventuilly use the
Pathescope; in the meantime
Write for booklets:
"Education by Visualization" (5th Edition, 100,000).
"Educational Films for the Pathescope."
"Endorsements of Educational Efficiency, Etc."
For Industrial Users
We number among our clients the most prominent manufac-
turers using motion pictures as an aid to salesmanship.
Many of them adopted the Pathescope after unsatisfactory
and expensive efforts to use unapproved projectors. You
cannot afford to take the chance of having a serious accident.
Pathescope Agencies and Service Stations are established
not only in the U. S. A., but all over the world — Moscow,
Madrid, Melbourne — from Omsk in Siberia to Buenos Aires
in South America — not to mention main offices in Toronto,
London and Paris.
THE PATHESCOPE CO. OF AMERICA, INC.
SUITE 1876, AEOLIAN HALL, NEW YORK
OR TO
Pathescope Co. of New England, Boston.
United Projector and Film Co., Buffalo,
Pittsburg and Harrisburg.
Pathescope Co., Chicago.
Pathescope Exchange, Philadelphia.
Pathescope Co. of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Pathescope Co. of Utah and Idaho, Salt Lake
City.
Growing by motion pictures?
STIMULUS — that's what all our minds want in order to grow.
A touch of excitement in a subject makes the whole world
kin in its eagerness to learn it.
Are you aware of the latest developments in motion pictures ?
Do you know to what a high plane of entertainment and in-
struction the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation with its two
brands of pictures, Paramount and Artcraft, has lifted the screen ?
Have you seen the latest
Paramount - Bray Pictographs
Wonderful stuff they are. Banish a dull mood in a trice and let in a
flood of light on a useful topic that you thought was as dull as ditch - water !
See the latest Paramount-Bray Pictographs —
"Training War Birds." "A Trip to the Leeward Islands."
"Sugar Growing in the West Indies." "Individual Oil Wells'."
"Perilous Occupations." "Travels in the West Indies."
"The Passing of the Cannibal." "Training Women for Canteen Work."
* * *
And there are hundreds more. A Paramount-Bray Pictograph never grows old.
Tell your film requirements to the nearest Famous Players-Lasky Exchange.
Famous Players-Lasky Corporation
BOSTON, MASS., 8 Shawmut Street
PORTLAND, ME., 85 Market Street
NEW HAVEN, CONN., 132 Meadow Street
NEW YORK CITY, 729 Seventh Avenue
BUFFALO, N. Y., 145 Franklin
PHILADELPHIA, PA., 1219 Vine Street
WASHINGTON, D. C, 421 Tenth Street, N. W.
PITTSBURGH, PA., 12th Street and Penn Avenue
CINCINNATI, 0., 107 W. 3rd Street
DETROIT, MICH., 6 Elizabeth Street
CLEVELAND, 0., 811 Prospect Avenue
CHICAGO, ILL., 845 So. Wabash Avenue
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN., Produce Exchange Bldg.
MILWAUKEE, WIS., 504 Toy Building
KANSAS CITY, MO., 2024 Broadway
ST. LOUIS, MO., 3929 Olive Street
DES MOINES, IOWA, 415 W. 8th Street
OMAHA, NEB., 208 So. 13th Street
S. A. Lynch Enterprises, Inc.
ATLANTA, GA., 51 Luckie Street
NEW ORLEANS, LA., 814 Perdido Street
DALLAS, TEX., 1902 Commerce Street
Famous Players-Lasky Corporation
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, 133 E. 2nd So. Street
DENVER, COLO., 1747 Welton Street
SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., 645 Pacific Building
LOS ANGELES, CAL., Marsh-Strong Building
SEATTLE, WASH., 2017 Third Avenue
PORTLAND, ORE., 9th and Burnside Street
FAMOUS PLAYERS-LASKY CORPORATION
ADOLPH ZUKOR Pres: JESSE L.LASKY Vice Pres. CECIL B.DE MILLE Director General
■ •'"NEW YORKv - J
Audaciously Original
Unconventional
Startling pictures
of lavages,
Naked , Treacherous
Man-killing and
frequently
Man- eating
A feature attraction
ROBERBON-COLE COMMf
Corttrollinq worlds riqhts.
REOEASEB BT
exhihiors rwniM. DKnninM cramnnrt
r-
Published Monthly at 33 West 42d Street (Aeolian Hall) , New York City. DOLPH EASTMAN, Editor.
Subscription: United States, $3 a year; other countries, $4 a year; single copies, 25 cents.
Advertising rates on application. Copyright, 1919, by City News Publishing Company.
Vol. I
JANUARY, 1919
No. 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Index to Articles
EDITORIAL 5
Educational Film Magazine — Plan, Purpose and Policy
"ONE OF THE GREATEST THINGS IN THE WORLD".... 7
Interview with Thomas A. Edison — Illustrated
ART OF PICTURE MAKING AND OF TEACHING 9
By Lawrence Augustus Averill, M.A., Ph.D. — Illustrated
FILMS AS LEGAL EVIDENCE 10
SIX U. S. A. WAR FILMS 10
SYNCHRONIZING FILMS WITH TEXTBOOKS 11
By Henry Macmahon
THE CHURCH AND THE CINEMA 12
By Rev. Dr. Chester C. Marshall — Illustrated
SPEEDING MILITARY TRAINING WITH FILMS 14
By Charles Frederick Carter — Illustrated
FILMING THE SOUTH SEA ISLES 16
By Martin Johnson — Illustrated
FIGHTING VENEREAL DISEASE WITH FILMS 18
Illustrated
TEACHING PLANT GROWTH WITH FILMS 18
By C. Francis Jenkins
MOTION PICTURES IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.... 19
By Don Carlos Ellis — Illustrated
"THE BLUE BIRD" A WORK OF ART 20
By Charles Kenmore Ulrich — Illustrated
DO TOPICAL REVIEWS COVER THE FIELD? 21
By James O. Spearing
OPERATION OF A MODEL SLIDE BUREAU 22
By Alfred W. Abrams
VAST FILM PLANT PLANNED 23
SLIDE NOTES AND COMMENT 23
ENGINEERS RETAIN "SAFETY STANDARD" FILM 24
Illustrated
WILL RENT PROJECTOR TO SCHOOLS 24
FLASHES ON THE WORLD'S SCREEN 25
THE EDUCATIONAL PICTURE 26
By Samuel L. Rothapfel
HOW MOTION PICTURES ARE MADE 27
FILMS FOR Y. W. C. A.'s 28
THE PIONEER INDUSTRIAL FILM MAN 30
Illustrated
THE NEWEST FORM OF A NEW ART 31
By Harry Levey — Illustrated
Index to Advertisements
Pathescope Co. of America Inside front cover
Famous Players-Lasky Corporation 1
Robertson-Cole Company 2
Graphoscope Company 4
Excelsior Illustrating Company 23
Educator's Cinematograph Company 24
Exhibitors' Booking Agency 27
Victor Animatograph Company 27
Rivoli and Rialto Theatres 28
Leggett-Gruen Corporation 29
Attractograph Company 31
Nicholas Power Company 32
Educational Films Corporation Inside back cover
Community Motion Picture Bureau Back cover
t»
Introductory Subscription Offers
EDUCATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION, $3
Trial Subscription for 4 Months, $1
Pin a Dollar Bill to Coupon Below and Mail to Us
Yearly Subscriptions in Clubs of 3 or more, $2.50 each
2- Year Subscriptions, $5.00 3- Year Subscriptions, $6.00
These Special Offers May Not Appear Again
The Editorial Announcement on pages 5 and 6 of this issue
outlines the big things planned for the magazine in 1919 and
beyond. As THE NATIONAL AUTHORITY on educational,
industrial and allied motion pictures, the best thought and
most helpful ideas and suggestions will be found in EVERY
issue of this publication. Beginning with the February num-
ber all worth-while educational, scientific, agricultural, literary,
historical, governmental, religious, travel, social welfare, top-
ical, and industrial films will be classified, listed, and de-
scribed. Take advantage of these Special Introductory Offers
TO-DAY. Fill out the Coupon and mail to us NOW, with
check, money order, registered letter, or Dollar Bill.
CUT OUT, SIGN, AND MAIL NOW WITH REMITTANCE
Educational Film Magazine, 33 West 42nd St., New York
Enclosed find $ for which enter rvjm subscrip-
tion to your magazine for
NAME
STREET NO
CITY & STATE P. O.
MONTHS
• YEARS
My^//ww^^^^^^^
T\esigned especially for Educational
and Industrial Service.
The Crowning Achievement of the
Inventor of the First Motion Picture *
Projector.
Remarkable for its Simplicity, Beauty
of Screen Picture, and Positive Safety.
Projection up to One Hundred Feet.
Weight Ninety-eight Pounds.
Price Three Hundred and Fifty Dollars
You are invited to call or send for illustrated booklet
GRAPHOSCOPE
SO East 42nd Street : : New York
1
The National Authority
Covering Educational, Scientific, Agricultural, Literary, Historical, Governmental, Religious, Travel, Social Welfare,
Industrial and News Motion Pictures
Published Monthly by the City News Publishing Co., .33 West 42nd Street (Aeolian Hall), New York City
DOLPH EASTMAN, Editor
Vol. I
JANUARY, 1919
No. 1
EDUCATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE
Plan, Purpose and Policy
ANNOUNCING the founding of the
I^L Educational Film Magazine, of which
aLJa this is the initial issue, it seems fitting that
-X ^L.the founder, who is also the editor, should
say a word concerning his personal history, so that
the events leading up to the establishment of a jour-
nalistic enterprise which may mark an epoch in the
evolution of modern educational and industrial
methods may be made clear, and in order that this
periodical may not be grouped in the minds of read-
ers under any existing classification in the motion
picture field.
It was more than ten years ago (to be exact, the
winter of 1907-1908) that the germ of the idea
which led to the founding of this publication entered
the mind of the present writer. He was engaged at
the time in a branch of journalism which carried him
into every section of the United States and a portion
of Mexico, and later Canada was covered. He had
occasion to visit schools and churches and interview
teachers and ministers, and many evenings were
passed in motion picture theatres. The odd circum-
stance occasioned by coming into daily contact with
both educational and entertainment socialization
processes very probably inspired the germinal idea,
and since then it has not ceased to grow.
Business conditions within and without the film
industry, however, prior to the great war and for
several years after its commencement, did not jus-
tify the investment of capital, of mental and physical
energy, and the persistent fight against obstacles
which would have been necessary. But the war has
brought about radical changes for the better in the
fields of education and industry, as it has in national
and international diplomacy and statecraft and a
thousand other fields of human activity. The motion
picture, among the first of modern inventions to
react to the longings which evolved and ideals which
evaluated out of the world conflict, was in turn acted
upon by the irresistible events and effects of the
heroic struggle of the nations, coming out of the
process more powerful as an entertaining friend, an
unforgettable teacher, a true prophet, a wise philo-
sopher, a moulder of public opinion equal to the
press, an interpreter of all contemporary thought and
action, and a mirror of the world's future progress.
TIN. 71V
Nearly four years ago the following editorial by
the present writer appeared in The Photoplay Weekly
which he was then editing:
Recent critical observation of many photoplays
in the better-class theatres of New York shows that
nearly all of them consist merely of plot and lack
an ethical plan or an educational purpose. . . .
What the intelligent public wants is genuine
human beings on the screen; people who think as
well as feel and who look upward and onward —
not downward and backward. The limitless
ethical and educational possibilities of the photo-
drama should inspire the producers to distribute
more, greater and finer "uplift" pictures. There
is no more powerful moulder of public opinion
today than the motion picture.
These, then, were mental forerunners of the idea
which ultimately brought forth this Educational
Film Magazine. It springs full-armed, like Minerva
from the head of Jove, newly born but mature of
mind and strong of body, "master of its fate and
captain of its soul."
At the outset it should be emphasized that this is
not to be a trade journal in the sense that it is but
another organ of the motion picture and lantern slide
"trade." It is to appeal to the theatre exhibitor only
insofar as he recognizes in the work we shall do a
co-operative and not a competitive factor. It is to
be a class magazine of a character which, (we hope,
will justify the assumption of the sub-title, "The
National Authority" and which, we trust, will com-
mand entire respect, confidence and commendation
from its ever-growing clientele. As it will not be a
trade paper, there will be no trade "puffs" or "write-
ups," but each article will be published as a matter
of news, or as a magazine feature of timely and
telling value, or to serve our readers in some useful
way, or to promote the acceptance and practical daily
employment of what Mr. Edison calls, in this issue,
"one of the greatest things in the world."
9 9
THE PLAN. Original, exclusive and contributed
articles of both a general and a specific, practical
nature, by foremost educators and authorities, deal-
ing with the employment of motion pictures as a
means of visual instruction. Contributions from
authoritative sources bearing upon scientific films of
all kinds and showing how they may be efficiently
employed. Original articles by agricultural and
horticultural specialists, practical and technical,
showing how films are valuable in farm, orchard and
greenhouse production. Papers by authors, his-
torians, critics, professors and others treating of
literary and historical motion pictures in an enlight-
ening inspirational way. Articles from leading
clergymen and laymen treating of films as a religious
force and showing how the screen may be made a
powerful ethical and spiritual factor in every church.
Accounts of film and slide activities of city, state and
national governments throughout the world.
Social welfare will be covered by articles from
prominent sociologists, philanthropists and social
workers. News and current event films will be ade-
quately and authoritatively handled. On the indus-
trial side there will be original, exclusive and
adapted articles from the chief sources of informa-
tion, from executives and department heads of
manufacturing concerns, from advertising and sales
managers, and from industrial film interests in
general. The projection, equipment and accessory
sections of the magazine will each be in the hands
of specialists. The lantern slide section will be
handled by the same thorough, accurate and author-
itative method as all of the other divisions. There
will be a forum for public discussion, introducing
ideas and suggestions of a helpful nature. The in-
formation bureau will include a special service de-
partment for the free use of readers and advertisers.
It is also planned to publish news and reviews of
all film and slide activities in these fields. A vital
feature of the work, beginning with the February
issue, will be the classifying, describing and listing
of all films and slides available in such divisions.
This is a mammoth undertaking, demanding pains-
taking research, intimate knowledge, practical ex-
perience with films and slides, and sound judgment
of educational and industrial values; but it is one of
the ambitious things we expect to accomplish.
THE PURPOSE. The program outlined implies
a big purpose behind it. Big things are not done
by men of small vision. Our purpose is nothing less
than to lead the way to visualizing every phase of
life on this planet for "the child in the slums" and
"the man in the street." It is all-embracing. The
motion picture is believed by many to be a more far-
reaching invention than the printing press. If that
is admitted, the evolution of its application to all
mundane activities is obvious and must, logically,
work out on a wider and grander scale than the use
of printing, which of course is well-nigh universal.
Following this line of thought, it is not at all im-
probable that within a comparatively few years, as
time is computed, not thousands but millions of
schools, colleges, churches, associations, community
centers, clubs, asylums, prisons, hospitals, industrial
organizations, and even homes, will have their
"movies"; but they will not be the "movies" as we
know them now. Then films in all of the color gra-
dations of nature, films in which every object, ani-
mate and inanimate, stands forth boldly in nature's
bas-relief, will be everyday matters of fact.
In gradually attaining this goal we shall be build-
ing up a market infinitely greater in extent and in
possibilities for industrial exploitation than any ex-
isting market for motion pictures. Long before this
goal will have been reached the present theatrical
market will have been relegated to second place.
And although it is conceivable that government may
participate in this renascence of learning, of the arts
and sciences, of religion, of the humanities, of a
new civilization, in fact, the commercial potentialities
of such a world-wide market are colossal and stretch
beyond our present vision.
THE POLICY. The editorial policy of this
magazine will be in complete harmony with the plan
and the purpose — not small-minded. It will not
be "trade-paperish." It will not provoke and pro-
mote controversy. It will give the news and tell the
truth. It will lead all great movements tending
toward the accomplishment of our purpose. It will
be constructive, not destructive. It will have ideals
and adhere to those ideals. It will have principles,
and never swerve from those principles. And the
pages of the Educational Film Magazine will
always be open to those who have an idea to suggest,
a plan to propose, a truth to impart, a wrong to
right. Its message and its mission are plain, and
are fraught with profound significance to mankind.
We shall endeavor to deliver this message and to
realize this mission; but to do this we must have the
unstinted co-operation and support of a wide circle
of subscribers and advertisers who think as we think,
feel as we feel, see as we see.
ONE OF THE GREATEST THINGS IN THE WORLD'
The view of educational motion pictures expressed in an exclusive
interview with the Editor of the Educational Film Magazine
by the greatest inventor in the world
Thomas a. Edison
YOU may consider your
magazine highly honored,"
said William H. Meadow-
croft on greeting me. "This
will be the first interview Mr.
Edison has granted any publication
in twenty-three months."
I sat down beside an enormous
roll-top desk and long, broad table
on which were piled numerous pon-
derous volumes with scores of slips
of paper marking the pages for
ready reference. They were annual
reports of the United States Geo-
logic Survey for I don't know how
many years back, showing how
minutely the great inventor and
scientist delves into a subject which
engrosses him. A tall brass electric
light fixture swung by the side of
the desk, the tallest and oddest desk
lamp I have ever seen. On the
nearby wall hung two recent photo-
graphs of Mr. Edison's friends,
Henry Ford and the late E. Jonas
Aylesworth, both inventors and
engineers like himself. Mr. Edison
loves his friends, and his friends
love him in return. I do not doubt
that Edison's picture hangs in an
equally conspicuous place in their
offices.
While I waited for the famous
man to keep his appointment I
thought of how for the past two
years Thomas Alva Edison had
dropped everything else and
plunged heart and soul into war
work for his country. All of his
inventive genius, technical knowledge and dynamic energy
had been given freely without stint or cost. Despite his
almost seventy-two years this wizard of light, sound, motion,
heat and power became one of the army of dollar-a-year
men in order to help the United States and its associates
achieve victory over the forces of evil — "the atrocious
Huns" Mr. Edison calls them. And now he is back once
more at his Llewellyn Park laboratories.
"There's the Old Man Now!"
"There's the old man now!" affectionately exclaimed one
of the clerks in the private offices as a limousine drew up
within the high iron gates which bar the road and a tall,
thickly built, big-headed, white-haired man nimbly hopped
from the car and dashed into the office with the air and
spirit of youth. Without removing hat or coat, for precious
minutes were flying by and he had no time for formalities,
JN the booklet, "Edison's Life," issued by Thomas
A. Edison, Inc., Orange, N. J., appears this
paragraph under the subhead, "Birth of the Movies in
1891": "The year 1891 witnessed the bringing out of
an invention whose influence has been profound and
world-wide. We refer to Edison's basic patent cov-
ering apparatus for the taking of motion pictures.
This invention has been adjudged to be fundamental
in the art, and its principles are now in extended use
all over the world in the production of motion
pictures."
Two years later, Edison's kinetoscope was exhibited
as a curiosity at the Chicago World's Fair. Hardly
anyone dreamed that the industry which would arise
from this "peep-hole machine" would belt the globe.
Edison, in a recent letter to this magazine, says that
"he himself was the first to try projection on a screen
here at Orange." C. Francis Jenkins, however, was
the first to bring motion picture projection to its
present state of practicability.
Edison's father was of sturdy Dutch stock, and his
mother was Scotch. Perchance it is this blending of
Hollander and Highlander which has given us the
most prolific inventive genius the world has known.
the inventor plumped himself down
into a capacious revolving chair
before his elephantine desk, put his
hand to his ear, trumpet-shaped,
and awaited my questions. I
literally fired them at him.
"In your judgment, what is the
best way to go about placing edu-
cational films in the schools and
colleges?" was one of my first shots.
This was somewhat of a hot bullet
to catch before he had really caught
his breath. Mr. Edison thought for
a moment. Then came forth hur-
ried utterances like shells from
batteries of 75s, covering the entire
subject with a barrage of ideas and
suggestions from the thinker's fer-
tile brain.
"That is a difficult question to
answer off-hand and in detail," he
said. "If some company, with
large capital, able business man-
agement and expert scientific guid-
ance, would manufacture films for
distribution in schools and colleges
for a true educational system, so
that a rental arrangement covering
the country would diminish the cost
to a small sum for each institution,
I think such an enterprise would be
welcomed with open arms. But, in
my opinion, unless it is done in just
this big way, by big educators and
scientists, with big brains and big
capital, it will never be done un-
less the Government itself under-
takes it. Then it will be done, and
done right. The amusement
branch of the business will not undertake this matter seri-
ously. They lack interest, and they always will, in the edu-
cational and religious branch.
Advocates Government Films
"My impression is that the Government ought to help in
this work, for it is one of the greatest things in the world,
and perhaps the Government should establish a plant for
the production of films of this character. It should be a
fireproof building of concrete where the films could be
made and kept in safety and at the right temperature, and
there should be vast fireproof vaults where all valuable and
irreplaceable reels might be stored. A great film library of
educational and industrial subjects should be built up in
Washington. Then these films could be issued on the rental
system to all institutions in the United States, even to the
most remote rural schoolhouses, and the system could be so
operated that it would pay its own way, would be on a self-
supporting basis like the Pension Office or Post Office.
Free Field for All
"Now I do not mean by this that the making of educa-
tional motion pictures should be a Government monopoly.
Not at all. The Government builds its own warships and
airplanes, but those industries are not Government monopo-
lies. Private enterprise in this direction should be en-
couraged if it will go about it seriously and efficiently. The
Government rentals should not be so low as to bar the com-
petition of private manufacturers and the educational field
should be free for those who are actually competent."
I paused to give Mr. Edison time to catch his breath.
"What should be taught in the school and college films?"
was my next poser.
"Anything which can be taught to the ear can be taught
better to the eye," flashed back Mr. Edison with his well-
known penchant for aphorisms. "I know of nothing, ab-
solutely nothing, which the film is not capable of imparting
to eyes old and young, from eight to eighty. It is said
'the eye is" the shortest distance to the brain,' and that is
true. The moving object on the screen, the closest possible
approximation to reality, is almost the same as bringing
that object itself before the child or taking the child to
that object."
A few years ago I had read a statement attributed to Edi-
son that "movies would take the place of textbooks" and I
asked him if he still believed it.
Textbooks Only for Teachers
"Yes," he replied, without hesitation. "Film teaching
will be done without any books whatsoever. The only text-
books needed will be for the teacher's own use. The films
will serve as guideposts to these teacher instruction books,
not the books as guides to the films. The pupils will learn
everything there is to learn, in every grade from the lowest
to the highest. The long years now spent in cramming in-
digestible knowledge down unwilling young throats and in
examining young minds on subjects which they can never
learn under the present system, will be cut down mar-
velously, waste will be eliminated, and the youth of every
land will at last become actually educated.
"If the Government should establish a film factory, with
a special department for distribution on a small rental
basis, and introduce such an educational system so as to
pay running expenses, I venture to predict that it would
bring about a revolutionary change for the better in our
entire school organization."
I then inquired of the man who twenty-eight years ago
made the taking of motion pictures possible what he thought
of the idea of forming a national association of all the
visual education interests in the United States, with a view
toward standardizing and systematizing the business of
manufacturing, distributing and exhibiting educational and
allied films.
Action, Not Talk, Needed
"Educators talk but don't act," was his frank reply. "You
may get them together and they will talk a lot of learned
nonsense, but they won't do anything. Get the Govern-
ment to appropriate funds, put up works, issue film text-
books for teachers and distribute films on every subject to
be shown all over the country, and you won't need any
talk. You'll have action and plenty of it.
"The trouble now is that school is too dull; it holds no
interest for the average boy or girl. It was so in my school-
days and it has changed but little. But make every class-
room and every assembly hall a movie show, a show where
the child learns every moment while his eyes are glued to
the screen, and you'll have one hundred per cent, attendance.
Why, you won't be able to keep boys and girls away from
school then. They'll get there ahead of time and scramble
for good seats, and they'll stay late begging to see some of
the films over again. I'd like to be a boy again when film
teaching becomes universal.
Films Teach 1,000 Times Better
"Films, of course, should be elaborate explanations of
textbooks as they exist today. In many respects they will
go far beyond the scope of the printed page; they will be
able to make many things alive and real which now are
dead and meaningless to the child. Today the teacher ex-
plains on the blackboard. In the school of tomorrow all
explanations will be made on the motion picture screen.
Many colleges and high schools will make their own films,
as a few do now. Pictures are inevitable as practically the
sole teaching method, because words do not interest young
minds. It is only the few who can concentrate on abstract
things, and it must always be remembered that education
is for the many, not for the few. Films will teach one thou-
sand times better and more quickly than the present
system."
"Would you retain the present standard nitro-cellulose
film?"
"Yes. With the proper precautions the schools will have
no trouble. How many film fires have there been in schools
and churches? Virtually none. If the film is kept wound
on iron reels and enclosed in steel cases which are fireproof,
then rewound in the same manner, I do not see how danger
can arise. The substitution of protected glass enclosed
lamps for the open arc will remove the last possible source
of fire risk. The Underwriters should be cautious, of course,
but school and church officials are persons of intelligence
and they take no chances."
Pupils' Judgment Best
"Who should edit and pass judgment on educational
films?"
Mr. Edison's answer surprised me. "The pupils them-
selves," he said. "Educators, scientists and technical ex-
perts should make the films, but show your film in the class-
room or school auditorium before a jury of students and
you'll get your verdict quickly and frankly, and it will be
a just verdict. If that film appeals to them, if they under-
stand and appreciate it, you'll know it soon enough. If it
does not appeal, make it over and over and over until the
pupils do understand it — until there is not the slightest
doubt in the mind of the dullest boy or girl. Films made
by 'high brows' should not be tried on 'high brows' but on
children, and if the children say it is right, then it will be
right, you can depend on it.
"The most technical, the most complex themes, theories
and concepts can be taught understandingly on the motion
picture screen. Color is not needed except where color
contrasts and color values form an essential feature of the
study. Stereoscopic effect is not needed except where it is
important to study the object in all three dimensions. It
would be hard to improve on the present methods of taking
and projecting motion pictures. Cameras, projectors and
screens are about as good as they can be made." And
Edison ought to know, for his was the brain that helped
make commercially practicable the art and industry of
cinematography as we have it today.
(Continued on page 26)
ART OF PICTURE MAKING AND OF TEACHING
Educational Films from the Viewpoint of the Child Psychologist
By Lawrence Augustus Averill, M.A., Ph.D.
Head of the Department of Child Psychology in the Massachusetts State Normal School, at Worcester,
Massachusetts, and Editor of The American Journal of School Hygiene
*
OUR primitive forefathers,
without means of photog-
raphy or other form of
visual projection and re-
production, were compelled to rely
largely upon audition as an avenue
through which to become ac-
quainted not only with the past,
but largely also with the present.
True, their lives were nomadic, and
their store of information was in-
creased by the perennial wander-
ings which brought them into
actual contact with the things of the
present. These "wander years" in
the human race were at once years
of racial growth and of slow ac-
cretions to the evolution of mind.
But the lore of the past, the story
of the race's childhood, could not
be learned by peregrinations nor
tribal expeditions into ever new
scenes. There were no emblazoned
sarcophagi, no memorial temples,
no commemorative obelisks to re-
call to them as they journeyed past
that here a great chieftain con-
quered a hostile tribe, or that there
lay buried the remains of a mighty
king. Thus it was that there grew
up among all primitive peoples the
fine art of story-telling. This
marks the second oldest method of
handing down through the genera-
tions the lore and history of the
past and the present. The oldest
method of all, perhaps, was the cus-
tom of erecting commemorative
piles of stones upon spots made
hallow by big events in the simple though ofttimes bloody
lives of early men. Our modern custom of building monu-
ments and other memorial emblems had its rude begin-
nings here. Inasmuch, however, as this laborious method
was extremely limited in the possibilities of its develop-
ment, the art of the story-teller flourished generally among
our semi-civilized ancestors almost from the very begin-
nings of their tribal organization. In man's early history
the art of the story-teller was one with the art of the teacher.
Variations in Lore and Legend
The story-telling art of the primitive was almost invari-
ably employed to commemorate either actual deeds of
prowess and valor accomplished by earlier tribesmen or
else more or less mythical happenings, exact memory of
which had become so faint as to be no longer distinguish-
able. It was such tales as these that formed the basis of
JjR. LAWRENCE AUGUSTUS AVERILL is one
of the youngest men who have occupied such
an important chair as that of Professor of Psychology.
On the first of May he will be 28 years old. When
his alma mater was known as Clark College he was
instructor in modern languages there from 1912 to
1914. In 1913 he was a traveling student in Europe.
Two years later he received from Clark University
both the M.A. and the Ph.D. degrees, a striking
testimonial to his scholarship. Since 1915 Dr. Averill
has been the head of the Department of School
Hygiene and Educational and Child Psychology at
the Massachusetts State Normal School, Worcester,
Mass.
He is the founder and editor of The American
Journal of School Hygiene and an authoritative writer
on various phases of educational and child psychology
and educational hygiene. Among his other activities
he is chairman of the Committee on Physical Train-
ing, Worcester Public Education Association ; member
of the Executive Committee, Worcester Board of
Motion Picture Review; the Worcester County Super-
intendents' Club, the Massachusetts Normal School
Teachers' Association, the American School Hygiene
Association, and other organizations.
the early teaching art. Obviously,
with the unlimited possibilities of
such a method of keeping the his-
tory of the past alive in the present,
and making due allowance for the
elaborative aspect of the mind of
the tellers, the stories became in the
course of generations more or less
indistinct and mythical. A study of
the folk lore of most uncivilized
races of the present, for example,
furnishes innumerable illustrations
of the variations and mutations
which the evolution of the historical
art as depicted in the story-telling
method has undergone among dif-
ferent peoples. Memory of cere-
monies and events which undoubt-
edly were at one time commonly
familiar among different tribes is
now found to have undergone
marked modification ; and investiga-
tions into the similarities and dis-
similarities of these tales offer a
most fascinating field to the
anthropologist and the geneticist.
The well-known Copley print
represents a happy portrayal of the
primitive story-teller with his group
of awed listeners huddled about
him. He was the most revered and
respected of all his contemporaries.
He it was who kept alive through
eons of dark ages the myth and the
lore and the history of the world.
From his impassioned lips fell
glowing accounts of the half-for-
gotten past. Always a welcome so-
journer in any tribe, he journeyed
from totem-pole to totem-pole and from village to village
carrying with him the wondrous stories of yesterdays. The
primitive story-teller represents the earliest secular teacher
in racial history. His method was simple — the spoken
language — but language so replete with feeling and so
winged with strong emotion that, at its best, it remains to-
day one of the greatest supplementary aids to the teaching
art.
The Eye Keenest of the Senses
But the ear has always failed man in presenting to him
the greatest beauties as well as the simplest commonplaces
of his environment. It is the eye upon which he needs most
to rely. Audition yields first place to vision in his social
existence, and those human arts which represent the widest
range of appeal to man are such arts as appeal to his eye.
In primitive society there came a day when some tribesman
chanced to scratch upon a hard surface with a sharp stick.
and the fine art of drawing was begun. That inspired tribes-
man was the first true artist.
Primitive art was, however, necessarily very limited in its
scope. At most it embraced the chiselling of important
events in the lives of the people upon stony ledges or within
stony caverns. The story of great battles or of unusually
successful game expeditions or the chronological panorama
of a chieftain's deeds of prowess were spread over the
eternal rock, where excavators find them today, an indelible
record of a mode of living and a stage of evolution now
long buried in the ashes of antiquity. From their very na-
ture, the crude drawings of savagery and early civilization
were of only nominal educational significance. The artist,
just as the story-teller, was doubtless admired for the fruits
of his genius, and pilgrims came from afar to view his
handiwork. Kings and chieftains patronized his art and
surrounded him with munificence. But for all this there
was little vivifying and universal impetus given by him to
the art of teaching. It is difficult to imagine the teacher-
priest bringing to the enchiselled hillsides the youth of the
tribe there to behold the records of the glory that was past.
And if he did, it was rather his art of story-telling that
aroused the dormant emotions of his pupils than the cold,
crude hieroglyphics before them.
Writing Art Created New Epoch
To the primitive art of the story-teller and that of the
chiseller was added in due course of progress the art of
"writing. At first on skins, later on slabs, and finally upon
papyrus the written word came to be man's highest means
of expression. More plastic, more capable of wide dis-
persion, more compact, possessing greater range of expres-
sion, the art of writing forms a distinct round in the ladder
of human evolution and progress. It marks at once the end
of barbarism and • the beginning of culture. That en-
lightened being far back in the dawn of civilization who
drew his stylus thoughtfully across the dried skin of a wild
animal was perhaps the world's greatest inventor. His art
was fundamental to further mental conquest.
The contribution of the art of writing to the art of teach-
ing was a positive and epochal one. Henceforth the range
of instruction is unlimited. The traveler may record his
experiences and impressions for the eyes of his fellows;
the historian may cease his chiselling and his story-telling
and make a more indelible and plastic record upon the
scroll. The teacher-priest may drink of a surer fount and
so bring to his children a deeper understanding and a fuller
wisdom. From entire dependence upon audition as a source
of higher knowledge, the youth may now learn through his
eyes also. Not the voice of the present story-teller but the
voice of the absent world can be heard. Not the fragments
of history revealed by the chiseller but the whole of history
is now unrolled.
The printing art represents merely the mechanization of
the writing art. It is the art which takes the tracings of the
stylus and multiplies them among mankind. It is the art
which fortifies the power of the story-teller until it makes
his voice to be heard to the uttermost parts of the earth.
To the teaching art it contributes versatility, richness,
volume.
Picture-Making Revolutionized Teaching
The art of picture-making marks the next great presentive
addition to the art of teaching. This is relatively a new
art, and yet it is as old as civilization. From the first crude
draftings of antiquity through the clever but laborious
science of the alchemists to the modern ramifications of the
photographic art is a far cry; yet through the whole has
run the same passionate desire to reproduce presentively the
images of objects. True photography, however, resting
upon the discovery that silver nitrate and certain other
chemicals are decomposed by solar rays, has developed
only since the time of the alchemists, who made the dis-
covery that silver chlorid becomes black when exposed to
the sun's rays. Mepce, a Frenchman, who had succeeded
about 1814 in producing pictures on plates of copper or
pewter and of rendering them permanent, and Daguerre,
who in 1838 made the first daguerreotype, were the founders
of modern photography. However, the extensive develop-
ment and popularization of the art, including the elabora-
tion of the use of sensitized paper and the evolution of in-
stantaneous photography, belong to the more recent past.
(To be concluded in February issue)
FILMS AS LEGAL EVIDENCE
Paper Makers Try to Prove Their Case Before Federal Judges with
Motion Pictures
For the first time in a Federal Court motion pictures
were presented in evidence a few weeks ago. The process
of papermaking, from the cutting of the wood to the deliv-
ery of the finished product, was shown on the screen before
Judges Hough, Ward, Rogers, and Manton in Room E of
the Hotel McAlpin, New York City, as final evidence in the
appeal of the paper manufacturers from the decision of
the Federal Trade Commission fixing the price of paper at
$62 a ton.
The manufacturers assert that since the price was fixed,
Government awards have raised the cost of paper $3.50 a
ton in wages and from $3 to $4 a ton in freight charges.
They also say that for every ton of paper leaving their
mills four tons of material is brought in, thus increasing
the cost until it is necessary to charge $80 a ton. It was
to show the judges the actual operations contributing to the
cost of the paper that the film was exhibited.
The picture begins among the snows of the Maine
woods, where trees are cut and hauled to the head of a
stream, sawed into four-foot lengths, floated to the nearest
railroad station, and shipped to the mill. The mill pic-
ture shown was the Hudson River plant of the Interna-
tional Paper Company, at Palmer, N. Y., one of twenty-
eight mills owned by the International Paper Company,
which was agreed upon by both the Federal Trade Com-
mission and the paper manufacturers as a typical mill.
This interesting incident shows the possibilities in the
use of films as direct evidence in legal cases. "Seeing is
believing" and the judges want to "see" the facts before
reaching a decision. This case marks the first milestone
in the practical use of an industrial film to decide a legal
action involving many thousands of dollars.
SIX U. S. A. WAR FILMS
Under the general title of "U. S. A. Series" the Division
of Films is releasing through the World Film Corporation
six war films the negatives of which are being preserved in
vaults in Washington. The first "If Your Soldier's Hit"*
is a revelation of the care given the soldier boys overseas. |
"Wings of Victory" tells of the United States' achievements
in building airplanes and training aviators. "Making a
Nation Fit" shows how America rendered men of sedentary
occupations into physical fitness for war. The fourth
"Horses of War" tells the vivid story of the cavalry and
artillery. "The Bath of Bullets" is a close-up of the deadly
work of the machine gun. The final picture "The Storm
of Steel" deals with the making and the use of the mightier
guns — the marvelous tale of the ordnance department.
10
SYNCHRONIZING FILMS WITH TEXTBOOKS
Pioneer Educational Film Manufacturer
Outlines Definite Classroom Plans
By Henry Macmahon
T:
^HE problem of adapting motion picture instruction
to school and college curricula is being worked
out by George A. Skinner, president of the Educa-
tional Films Corporation of America. The obvi-
ous difficulties are, first, lack of projection machines and
operators in the schoolrooms; second, the general as op-
posed to the pedagogical character of the films; third, the
natural reluctance of school authorities to spend money
for equipment, together with discouragements offered to
the new endeavor by hidebound and conservative elements.
Educational Film Idea Spreading
Mr. Skinner, however, believes that he has solved the
problem. "I am confident," he said recently, "that the in-
duction of film apparatus into public school rooms and
assembly halls cannot be much longer delayed. In fact,
I have information that such installation is being achieved
in some sections of the country at a rapid rate. In Ohio,
I am informed that no less than 200 machines suitable for
school purposes are being sold monthly to schools, churches,
colleges and lyceums. Motion picture instruction has also
been directly encouraged by the Federal Government, so
that those institutions which were taken over for military
education will in all likelihood be provided with motion
picture machines and operators. While the elementary
school system of the country will not be completely
equipped for the new teaching immediately, the movement
is growing so rapidly that it is impossible to stop it.
"It is up to us," continued Mr. Skinner, "to provide the
kind of instruction that is required. The Educational Films
Corporation has been the only pioneer in this field to stick
to a definite plan of action. While our educationals have
been first presented through the theatres, nevertheless we
have kept in mind our goal, which is to give the maximum
of instruction at the minimum of expense to Young
America."
To Film the Great Sciences
Mr. Skinner's plan is primarily to provide short or split
reels illustrating the salient points of the great sciences.
The leased or rented film, in his opinion, is of little value
to the educator. The latter wants to present the pictorial
facts to his pupils persistently. On the other hand, the
educator does not want great lengths of film that try to
combine verbal with pictorial instruction. His wish is to
illustrate, that is, to make clear the subject by means of
pictures of the difficult points.
From the treasury of Educational's negatives Mr. Skin-
ner plans to prepare a catalog of pertinent motion picture
instruction in three sciences: natural history, microscopy
and chemistry. The film lengths will run from a few
score to a few hundred feet. They will teach individual
lessons — such lessons as could not be presented in labo-
ratory experimental form, without the aid of most expen-
sive apparatus and hours of verbal instruction. For
example, the combinations, reactions and uses of carbon
are to be picturized in one short reel. It would take a
scientist of the Huxley or Tyndall type to carry out the
experiments interestingly and it would occupy nearly a
week. But everything important and significant about
carbon is revealed in those ten minutes of film. Similarly,
the evolution of the lower forms of aqueous life is clearly
exhibited in one of the natural history reels. Only a col-
lege or a university could afford to pay for the living
illustrations and for the experiments with the animals
therein presented. Veritable pictures of the growth of plant
life are likewise shown. The different parts of the plant
are named and their relation to each other is fully set forth.
The whole is a living lesson in botany that would require
at least two months of textbook conning to impart by the
old method.
Making the "Flash" Permanent
The object is to offer these small units of scientific illus-
tration in such form that they can be repeated as often as
necessary for the benefit of the pupils. A minor pedagogi-
cal difficulty of the motion picture has always lain in the
fact that it is a "flash," although some portable projectors
have an arrangement whereby the film may be safely
stopped and any frame shown as a still picture or slide.
Suppose the written textbook could be conned by the pupil
only once. What would he get out of his arithmetic, or
algebra, or geography, or grammar? Very little. The
film story needs to be told, and twice told, and retold many
times over, always accompanied by the explanations of the
instructor. One reel of these new units will carry the same
story repeated three or four or five times if necessary.
A word to the layman about the difference between the
so-called "commercial educationals" and those for school
use. At the outset there were naturally no school educa-
tionals, any more than there were any printed textbooks
when Gutenberg and Caxton started to print. The first
film product, like the first printed book, was in the class of
"general literature." As the film product, just like the
earlier book product, accumulated, it was seen that much
of it was educationally valuable. Certain firms made a
specialty of sorting out these valuable films and offering
them to educational institutions.
The Educational Films Corporation of America was
organized by George A. Skinner and E. W. Hammons under
the plan of making interesting informational pictures
which would ultimately be of distinct value to educators.
In the Robert C. Bruce scenic series of the Rocky Moun-
tains and the Great Northwest, the Raymond L. Ditmars
"Living Book of Nature," the E. M. Newman and Dwight
L. Elmendorf travels, George D. Wright's "Mexico Today"
and other series, the Educational has followed this plan
consistently and is now in a position to offer worth-while
material to educators. President Skinner has recently con-
tracted with scientist photographers in chemistry, zoology
and microscopy for the making of films specially for school
use, and Carl H. Carson, formerly instructor in history at
Pasadena High School, Pasadena, Cal., is now engaged in
classifying, editing, amplifying and titling pictures of this
character. The year 1919 will probably witness some sur-
prising developments in the application of the motion pic-
ture to better and quicker teaching in the schoolroom.
11
RELIGIOUS
THE CHURCH AND THE CINEMA
Motion Picture Activities in Two Metropolitan Churches which Resulted
in Great Ethical and Spiritual Good — Helpful Suggestions to Churchmen
and Film Manufacturers
By Rev. Dr. Chester C. Marshall
Pastor of St. James' Methodist Episcopal Church, New York City
MORE than two years ago.
at the twelfth annual
convention of the Asso-
ciated Advertising Clubs
of the World, held in Philadelphia,
I told the delegates that in all my
experience as a minister motion pic-
tures, from personal knowledge,
had proved to be the most resultful
form of church advertising. From a
clergyman's point of view, the first
essential is to get as many people
into the church as possible. We
must get people into the church be-
fore we can preach to them. Preach-
ing to empty pews will never
evangelize the world. The church
is God's house and we are all God's
children. What I said in 1916 is
just as pertinent and timely now
and will bear emphasis by repeti-
tion:
"Motion pictures as an innovation
in church services will for a time
meet with opposition. Printing the
Bible was first criticized as a sacri-
lege. When organs were introduced
into some churches it resulted in
'church splits.' Within our own
memory a violin in a church was
regarded as an inspiration from
Satan. Opposition to the use of
motion pictures will vanish, as op-
position to these other useful ad-
juncts of service vanished, in the
course of time.
"We are told that we receive nine-
tenths of our impressions and in-
formation through the eye. If so.
why insist on overburdening the ear to impart all our re-
ligious impressions and information? If we desire efficiency
we should be ready to use every legitimate device that most
readily accomplishes our ends. The Church cannot disre-
gard this means of reaching the unchurched and of impart-
ing an education to religious people.
Films Bring Crowds to Church
"The use of motion pictures will in many instances at-
tract multitudes of people who otherwise will not go to
church. How can we evangelize them unless we first bring
them in? However, I regard the motion pictures as serving
other functions quite as important as that of attracting peo-
ple. On week nights the church in many communities could
DEVEREND CHESTER C. MARSHALL, D.D.,
one of the leading lights of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church, was born in Shelbyville, Indiana, on
October 31, 1883. Graduating from Converse, In-
diana High School at the age of eighteen, he studied
chemistry by correspondence and was appointed
chemist by the Duquesne Steel Foundry Company, of
Pittsburg. In 1907 he received the B.S. degree
from Columbia University, New York City, and three
years later the B.D. diploma from Drew Theological
Seminary. The winter of 1909-1910 was passed in
study at Edinburgh University and at the United
Free Church College in the same city, and he preached
in Scotland under the auspices of this church. Re-
turning to this country, he served successively in
pastorates at Tuxedo and Stamford, N. Y. ; Trinity
Methodist Church, Kingston, N. Y. ; the Metropolitan
Temple, New York City, from April, 1915; and St.
James' Methodist Episcopal Church, New York City,
from January, 1917, to the present time. Last year
Syracuse University conferred upon him the degree
of Doctor of Divinity. Dr. Marshall is married and
has two children. Mrs. Marshall is organist and
part-time director of the
James.
utilize them to give the people
the best and most wholesome
recreation and entertainment they
ever secured. For Sunday ser-
vices a picture wisely chosen
may create just the atmosphere
needed to make the message of the
hour most pointed. For a sermon
on reform, or along the lines of
social service, there is no more
powerful adjunct than an appro-
priate picture. Very frequently a
picture can be used as the exposi-
tion of a text. When it can be so
used a congregation never forgets
the truth enforced. In short, the
possibilities and applications are
limitless in proportion as the mo-
tion picture industry develops the
religious film.
"To give a few examples of the
use of pictures, a sermon on prison
reform or temperance can be made
ten-fold more impressive by using
the visual method as well as de-
pending upon the ears of the cort*
gregation. A sermon on the cer-
tainty of retribution will be far
more effective if people have just
witnessed the Biblical picture
'Belshazzar's Feast.'
"The effectiveness of all pictures
is greatly enhanced by the use of
appropriate musical accompani-
ment."
I am an ardent friend of motion
pictures of the right sort. I be-
lieve they have done a great deal of
good along educational lines, par-
ticularly in sociology, the prevention of disease, vice, etc.
I have found motion pictures a great help in church work,
and feel they could play a much larger part if some strong
company would produce pictures especially adapted for the
educational and religious work of the church. Most churches
that try to use motion pictures are quickly discouraged be-
cause of the difficulty in finding what they want in the way
of suitable films. If the supply were adequate perhaps the
hundreds of thousands of churches would gradually adopt
this most effective visual method of inculcating truth.
We cannot afford not to appeal to the eye as well as to
the ear, and when nearly 20,000,000 people pay daily to
see the movies, surely it is a medium of teaching well worth
considering. But if film companies want to develop a profit-
large chorus choir at St.
12
able business along these lines, they must greatly increase
their output of the right kind of pictures.
Sunday Pictures Demanded
With a very high standard rigidly demanded and en-
forced, I believe there is a place for pictures in the church.
There is nobody but who would be benefited by attending
church on Sunday. The church does not endeavor to com-
pete with the motion picture theatres or other places of en-
tertainment as such. One does not have to look far until
he finds some church where he can hear virile, frank discus-
sions of vital, moral themes pertinent to human life.
In the city the Sabbath and the church must have a very
[ large place. There is a place with these for Sunday pic-
tures, but only of the most superior sort, under the proper
auspices, with the right motives, and in a spirit of co-opera-
tion with the church. The adjustment is perfectly possible
if all parties are actuated by the right spirit.
The most pressing need just now is for producing com-
panies, with ample capital, capable direction and broad
vision, who will undertake to supply the churches of Amer-
ica with films of a character and purpose which will meet
the demand. The church will be ready to take this class of
pictures as soon as the manufacturers are ready to make
them. But these producers must be broad-gauged men who
are willing to forego large immediate profits and build
solidly and securely for the future. Some day — in my
judgment, not a very distant day — hundreds of thousands
of churches and affiliated organizations will be regular users
of films both on Sundays and weekdays, and the films will
be recognized as so necessary in the evangelizing and so-
cializing work of the church that sufficient funds will be in
hand to make a profitable market for the manufacturers.
If there were an adequate supply of proper subjects today,
they would be in continuous use by many churches.
Films Treble Attendance
Good motion pictures with the right ethical and spiritual
appeal will treble the attendance of many congregations. I
make this statement advisedly, for that has been my experi-
ence in two churches in New York City in the heart of
thickly populated districts. A good slogan for the church
would be "Pictures in the Pulpit Mean More People in the
Pews."
At St. James' Methodist Episcopal Church, Madison ave-
nue and 126th street, New York City, we have a Power's
projector, a Beseler dissolving stereopticon and a fireproof
booth. Our licensed operator is a member of the church.
During the war we have exhibited many patriotic films and
slides, and we aim to show motion pictures as frequently as
we can get them to fit the theme of the sermon and illustrate
and vivify the points brought out by the pastor. It requires
speakers of national reputation to draw the congregation
which a good motion picture brings us. We have had many
big men speaking here but they draw no larger crowds than
pictures like "Civilization" and "Joan the Woman."
Complete Programs on Thursdays
In my former pastorate at the Metropolitan Temple, Sev-
enth avenue and 14th street, New York City, we had a com-
plete motion picture program every Thursday night during
1915 and 1916. Admission was free and the free-will col-
lections covered the cost of operation. Perhaps the most
ambitious, elaborate and successful attempt to serve the
people of the church and of the neighborhood was our run-
ning the Kalem picture "From the Manger to the Cross" as
a serial, one reel each Sunday night for five consecutive Sun-
days, my five sermons being preached in this order: 1, "Fol-
lowing the Christ Star"; 2, "My Father's Business"; 3,
"Follow Me"; 4, "The Alabaster Box"; 5, "Behold the
Man." A fine quartette sang each Sunday evening appro-
priate selections from the great oratorios and cantatas while
the pictures were being shown. In this case the sermons
followed the exhibition of the films.
This sermon series was greatly intensified and vitalized
and spiritualized by the films projected in conjunction with
them. In each instance the picture was an exposition of the
sermon and treated the subject with natural reverence.
Noted Men Talk While Film Runs
Another interesting serial at the Temple was "Pilgrim's
Progress," one reel each Sunday for three successive Sun-
days. Suitable sermons and music accompanied these pic-
tures. Other instructive uplift films shown were such
sociological themes as reform and social betterment; proper
housing and sanitation; the sweat shop curse; child labor;
a health film made by the New York Street Cleaning De"'
partment, when we had the street cleaning department
band and Commissioner Featherston gave us a talk; and
helpful, timely topics of this nature. The church needs a
great many more pictures like this, with Biblical, sociology
cal and religious themes; they are extremely valuable in
all phases of church activity.
Thomas Mott Osborne, then warden of Sing Sing Prison,
author of "Within Prison Walls" and a noted social worker
and prison reformer, addressed our congregation and fol-
lowed his talk with three reels of motion pictures which were
a dramatization of his book. While the films were being
run off he explained and described them in detail. This
feature was so attractive that we were compelled to hold
two meetings to accommodate the crowds.
Another valuable contribution was a lecture by G. Doug-
las Wardrop, author of "War in the Air," describing the
battles in the skies in the European War and illustrating
them with motion pictures. My sermon to accompany this
feature of the service was "Flying, Running and Walking."
Here at St. James' Church I have continued a well-defined
plan, policy and purpose of making the church useful and
helpful to the greatest number we can accommodate. The
church is a living social agency, not a cold and empty duty-
place for the faithful alone. Motion pictures being also a
living force for good, it naturally follows that the church
must utilize this force. It is inevitable.
Big Pictures Shown in St. James'
One of the first pulpit attractions we had at St. James'
was a motion picture lecture by Gilbert McClurg, "To the
Shining Mountains and the Sunset Sea," some of the most
exquisite scenic films ever shown. This was in April, 1917.
My sermon was on "High Living." During the year we had
many interesting picturized sermons, especially those on
Christian biography. That on Livingstone was made real
with the film "With David Livingstone through Darkest
Africa" and with lantern slides.
In April of last year we had with us Major Owen S.
Wightman, Deputy Commissioner of the American Red
Cross, lecturing on "Russia and Roumania in the War" illus-
trated with his own motion pictures taken officially for our
Government. The following month Stephane Lauzanne, edi-
tor of he Matin, Paris, exhibited in the church the official
films of the French government and talked on "Why and
How France is Fighting." In June P. Whitwell Wilson,
M. P., of the London Daily News and well-known author,
spoke to us on "The Comradeship of Nations" and followed
his interesting address with war films loaned by the British
Pictorial Service, while the British national anthem was
sung by a large vested chorus choir.
Recently we have had some big pictures which fitted in
(Continued on page 27)
13
GOVERNMENTAL
SPEEDING MILITARY TRAINING WITH FILMS
John Randolph Bray, Inventor of Animated Cartoon Films, Showed the
United States Army How to Cut Down the Training Period and Was a
Big Factor in Helping Them Win the War
By Charles Frederick Carter
NOW that the fighting is
over, there can be no
harm in saying it is prob-
able that but for the as-
sistance rendered by pictographs a
lot of kings and lesser sovereigns
would not have lost their thrones just
as winter was coming on and the cost
of living soared ; no armistice would
have been signed and the disciples
of kultur would have been burning,
stealing, and slaying with all of
their wonted ardor.
Pictographs consist of an idea
diffused in India ink and the idea
turns out to be John Randolph
Bray, of New York City, the origi-
nator of animated drawings and
holder of the basic patents which
make the product commercially
practicable. Through the instru-
mentality of Paramount pictures
these animated drawings have been
widely distributed. Their educa-
tional possibilities were understood
and appreciated by the War De-
partment and pictographs inspired
a plan which trained American
troops in double-quick time and
thus gave the final quietus to the
Kaiser's dream of world domina-
tion.
Army Saw Possibilities
When war was declared The Bray
Studios, Inc., producers of picto-
graphs, offered the facilities of its organization to the
Government. J. F. Leventhal, one of the officers of the
studio corporation, was commissioned a lieutenant in the
army and started for Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Here he was
joined by Max Fleisher, another officer of the corporation.
President Bray remained in New York to handle another
end of the plan which was to solve one of the biggest prob-
lems that ever confronted the United States Government.
This problem was to train the vast army of raw levies in
time to make them of service in bringing the war to its
right conclusion. Old methods were altogether too slow.
The crisis of the world's struggle was on hand; any delay
might prove fatal. Educational films, which would boil
down io hours months of hard drill and harder study, of-
fered the only possible means of responding to civilization's
hurry-call.
Bray Blazed a New Trail
Previous to Lieutenant Leventhal's and Mr. Fleisher's
JOHN RANDOLPH BRAY, who by his discovery
J of pictographs, made possible on a large scale
animated drawings on motion picture films, rose from
obscurity as a newspaper illustrator to become a car-
toonist of originality and clever draftsmanship, and
later, to international fame as a daring innovator in
the motion picture field.
Now he has risen to new heights by showing the
United States army how to expedite the training of
men in all branches of the service by visualizing de-
tailed methods — a service rendered his country in
time of need, which proved of incalculable value.
"Gentlemen, you almost missed your train," said
Marshal Foch to the first Americans to arrive in
France. Bray, perhaps more than any other one
man, prevented what might have proved a fatal delay.
This is, so far as known, the first detailed account
of the ways in which motion pictures made the Ameri-
can boys fit to fight and actually made it possible
to win the war.
trip to Fort Sill, Mr. Bray had
taken at West Point a series of mo-
tion pictures as substitutes for text-
books for the school of the soldier,
the school of the squad and the
school of the company, the latter as
large an assemblage as could be
satisfactorily handled for educa-
tional purposes. It seemed a simple
thing to put a soldier through the
manual of arms or a squad through
the evolutions of the organization,
on the screen, but it was not. Of-
ficers assigned to supervise the pro-
duction soon found that mere pho-
tography would not suffice. Bray
had to insert in the very heart of
the more intricate evolutions a
series of animated diagrams to
elucidate the schemes. The military
experts themselves could not do
this, for it required a special branch
of expert knowledge possessed only
by the Bray organization.
On the surface this series of
educational films seemed to be of
paramount importance for quick
training but events proved other-
wise. At Fort Sill the really vital
things in military science were re-
duced to animated drawings com-
bined with some photographs of liv-
ing models in a way to make plain
points that were obscure. But why,
it may be asked, if only technical
engineering diagrams were required,
could not military engineers do the work better than mere
amateurs? Why call in the Bray Studios at all?
Military engineers had been drawing diagrams which had
been printed in textbooks' for generations; but such dia-
grams have not been one hundred per cent, effective. Stu-
dents have puzzled over these highly technical textbooks,
so dull and so complicated that the compiler could scarcely
understand them, and then have "flunked" on their examina-
tions. But an animated drawing on the screen represents a
vast advance over still dead diagrams, for it is a shrewd
application of psychology developed in the half dozen years
pictographs have been undergoing evolution. The making
of animated drawings for educational purposes is as distinct
and highly developed an art as modern military engineering
is a science.
Making Map Reading Easy
Take so simple a thing as map reading. Under military
sharps, long on science but short on psychology, map read-
ing is far from simple. The great majority of recruits,
14-
suddenly transplanted from civil life, spent many hours in
the class room trying to learn map reading and emerged
at last with ideas more or less nebulous. Some cannot read
maps at all. But every man taught map reading by the
pictograph method mastered the subject thoroughly in a
few minutes — mastered it so thoroughly that he could go
right out in the field and apply his knowledge in actual
practice. Results in the army were so extraordinarily suc-
cessful that the new method was demonstrated upon stu-
dents at Columbia University in the presence of a number
of prominent educators; and it worked as perfectly as it
had in the army. The students grasped the subject fully
and at once.
Contour Lines Visualized
Here is the way it was done. To teach the reading of
contour lines, the hardest lesson of all for the average man,
Mr. Fleisher, with the aid of a sculptor, built a miniature
clay mountain seven inches high, around which cords were
laid to represent contour lines ten feet apart. A vertical
semi-circular arch on which a camera was mounted spanned
the mountain. The first picture showed the mountain as
seen from its base level, making clear the fact that the
contour lines were parallel and equidistant, vertically. Then
the camera slowly traversed the arch showing the progres-
sive changes in the appearance of the contour lines until it
was vertical, looking straight down on the top of the moun-
pARL HARD, inven-
tor of one of the
four patents owned by
the Bray-Hard Process
Company. He origi-
nated the "Bobby
Bumps" animated car-
toons, and draws ex-
clusively for Bray Stu-
dios.
T IEUTENANT J. F.
-^ LEVENTHAL, one
of the Bray employees,
who was given a com-
mission that he might
instruct recruits in va-
rious branches by
means of army train-
ing films.
A/TAX FLEISHER,
■'•*■*■ another Bray man,
who was sent to the
different army camps
to assist Lieutenant
Leventhal and other of-
ficers in the work of
training the American
Army with motion pic-
tures.
tain, which showed the contour lines as the eye sees them
on the map. By the time the camera had completed its
journey the students had learned that contour lines were
far apart when the slope was gradual and close together
where it was steep. No one who saw that animated diagram
ever had any difficulties with contour lines thereafter.
Army Ordered Eighty-four Prints
Another lesson in map reading was prepared by sending
up two aeroplanes to photograph railroads, houses, streams,
dams, highways, orchards and everything that is shown on
maps as seen from above. When the photographs of a rail-
road were projected on the screen the pictures would be held
while a diagram was inserted giving the topographical sign,
properly labeled, for a railroad. Photographs of horses,
wagons and men struggling through the mud would be
thrown on the screen, then broken to show the topographical
sign for an unimproved highway, and so on through the list.
Two thousand feet of film, requiring half an hour's time to
show, completed the course in map reading and the subject
was taught far more thoroughly and effectively than it was
ever taught before. Indeed, the plan was such a conspicuous
success that after the armistice was signed the Government
ordered eighty-four prints of the map-reading films.
Stokes Mortar Operation Analyzed
The operation of the Stokes mortar was explained in eight
hundred feet of film. First, a photograph of the mortar was
shown in position for business. Then a man loaded it.
Next, a cross section of the mortar and then of its bomb
was shown, with the movable parts in very slow motion
while a pointer called attention to them one at a time with
explanatory captions of two to five words. Then the cross
section of the mortar was loaded with the cross section of
the bomb. The mortar was fired and the bomb started on
its murderous mission at the gait of a small boy on his way
to school, affording ample time to see each step in the
process as the firing charge ignited and the expanding pow-
der gases pushed the bomb out of the barrel.
As the bomb left the muzzle of the mortar a pin flew, if
such deliberate movement could be called flying, out of
the head and dropped to the ground. This released the
firing pin, and the detonating charge ignited and wended
its leisurely way toward the main charge as the bomb
traveled through the air, landed, lay down on its side, like
a weary cow, and ultimately exploded so deliberately that
the expanding ring of fragments could be seen proceeding
in their search for Huns. Having once seen that film the
raw "rookie" knew all there was to know about the Stokes
mortar. All that remained to be acquired was manual
dexterity in handling the weapon.
Solving Machine Gun Mysteries
Another eight hundred feet of film explained in a similar
way the principle and method of operation of the rifle
grenade. The Lewis gun called for more than a thousand
feet of film; the light and heavy Browning guns, each one
thousand feet; the fuse head of the three-inch shrapnel,
fourteen hundred feet; the new service rifle firing mechan-
ism, three hundred feet; range finding, one thousand feet.
Other subjects taught included such things as the proper
method of harnessing artillery horses to enable them to do
the most effective pulling, carrying the soldier's pack with
a minimum of effort and discomfort, indirect fire, in short,
every detail of the several million items a soldier has to
know in these days of scientific warfare.
The facts that these methods of teaching were adopted,
that the men trained with their aid were placed on the firing
line in incredibly quick time, where they measured fully up
to the loftiest anticipations with a generous surplus of
achievement left over, shuts off all arguments regarding
both relative and absolute merits of the motion picture
method of teaching. It works; it gets results; that's all.
Film Cartoons as Propaganda
Applications of Bray's invention seem endless. Patrons
of motion picture theatres are familiar with his animated
cartoons, but probably they do not realize how big a part
these same cartoons played in building up sentiment in
support of the Government, not only in this country, but in
foreign lands as well. Latin America takes these cartoons
freely and profits by the lessons they teach.
In a recent theatrical production in New York City picto-
graphs were synchronized with living tableaux, thus lend-
ing an effectiveness not otherwise attainable. They are also
being used to add interest to vaudeville acts. At a recent
salesmen's convention the operation of a complicated add-
ing device was explained inr animated diagrams. Men who
had sold or worked around these machines for fifteen years
declared after seeing that film that for the first time they
understood its operation.
15
TRAVEL-SCENIC
FILMING THE SOUTH SEA ISLES
Ethnic, Sociologic and Topographic Motion Picture Studies
among the Polynesians and Melanasians of the South Pacific
By Martin Johnson
Author of "Through the South Seas with Jack London"
FROM boyhood to manhood
adventure and the love of
excitement and the long-
ing to see strange faces
and hear strange voices and rove
through strange lands was the rul-
ing spirit of me. It was in my
blood. It was like the lure of the
Lorelei, the hypnotic chant and
the jungle. In my book
call of
I wrote
"In my native Independence,
Kansas, I sat long hours in my
father's jewelry store, and dreamed
as I worked. I ranged in vision
over all the broad spaces of a
world-chart. . . . One evening,
during the fall of 1906, while pass-
ing away an hour with my favorite
magazine, my attention was at-
tracted to an article describing a
proposed trip round the world on a
little forty-five-foot boat, by Jack
London and a party of five. In-
stantly, I was all aglow with en-
thusiasm, and before I had finished
the article I had mapped out a
plan of action. If that boat made a
trip such as described, I was going
to be on the boat. It is needless to
say that the letter I immediately
wrote to Mr. Jack London was as
strong as I could make it. . . .
Four days later, when hope had
about dwindled away, the impos-
sible happened. I was standing in
my father's jewelry store after sup-
per on the evening of Monday, No-
vember 12, 1906, when a messenger
boy came in and handed me a tele-
gram. The instant I saw the little
yellow envelope, something told me
that this was the turning-point in
my life. With trembling hands I
tore it open, my heart beating
/-^
Ms.
7V/TARTIN JOHNSON, shown in the small oval, was
the companion of Jack London, author of "The
Sea Wolf" and of "Martin Eden," which was named
for his chum. Mr. Johnson is an authority on the South
Seas, an expert motion picture photographer, an intrepid
explorer, and an ethnologist. Born in Independence,
Kansas, in 1884, he has passed most of the last twelve
years on motion picture expeditions throughout America,
Europe, Asia and Oceanica. A Pathe camera man at
twenty-five on the Solomon Islands, he returned with
that expedition through Asia and Europe to Paris where
he worked in the Pathe laboratories.
In 1910 he was back in New York and later returned
to his Kansas home. Johnson became interested in edu-
cational pictures and traveled throughout the United
States and Canada making scenic and industrial films.
Then he and Mrs. Johnson, shown above with her captor,
Chief Nagapate, who is also skilled with the camera,
traveled through England, France, Italy and Switzerland,
taking scenes, exhibiting films and lecturing. The South
Seas again called to him in 1917; and he and his wife,
his sole white companion, made the journey which John-
son himself describes in this article.
build the Snark, a craft which has
become celebrated in literary an-
nals. We sailed from San Fran-
cisco on the 23rd of April, 1907,
and the journey lasted two years
and three months. On this trip we
visited twenty different groups of
South Sea Islands. At that time I
knew scarcely anything about tak-
ing motion pictures; my work had
been with the still camera. Father
kept quite a stock of cameras in his
store in Independence and I was al-
ways "trying them out." In time 1
became a regular "camera fiend."
As luck would have it, in the
Solomon Islands I ran across a
Pathe expedition which had been
sent there to take movies. That was
my first acquaintance with the
mysteries of cinematography. We
brought the Snark to Australia and
I lived in Sydney with the Pathe
party. All this time I was trying
to master the art of motion picture
photography and I succeeded so
well that I was ^appointed camera
man with the Pathe expedition and
returned with them to the Solomon
Islands. Judge my chagrin when I
discovered that out of 20,000 feet of
film taken on the islands only 900
feet were good enough to be shown.
wildly with excitement. It was Jack
London's reply, the fateful slip of paper that was to dictate my
acts for several years to come. 'Can you cook?' it asked. Could
I cook? 'Sure. Try me,' I replied, with the bold audacity of
youth. I spent the interval of waiting in learning how to cook.
On Friday, the 23d, the first letter came from Jack London. . .
It spoke of the ship, of the crew, of the plans — to use Mr. Lon-
don's own words, it let me know just what I was in for."
This was the beginning of my adventures, my studies, my
work with the motion picture camera among the South Sea
Isles. From that November day more than twelve years ago,
when I left the little Kansas town with only a small satchel
and a camera, bound for the elusive lands of my dreams,
until the present hour my spirit has been with those other
bold souls of romance, London and Stevenson and Conrad
and White and Beach, and all other adventurers who
hearken to "the call of the wild."
London's Cook and Chum
For six months I cooked for the outfit and helped London
Tropical Photography Different
One of the things I learned early
in my life in the South Seas was
that tropical photography is of an entirely different char-
acter from picture-taking in the temperate zones. The
climatic conditions are so utterly unlike those found north
of the twentieth parallel of north latitude. The heat, the
humidity, the glare and glisten of the sun require study and
familiarity before the camera man can secure satisfactory
results. I was experimenting all of the time. I made three
long trips to the South Pacific and on each journey I was
testing and trying various effects with the camera. Now I
feel that my work is pretty well perfected, as the 9,200 feet
of film entitled "Cannibals of the South Seas," shown re-
cently at the Rivoli Theatre, New York, bear evidence.
Although I had passed five years of my life traveling,
photographing, investigating and studying among the South
Sea Islands, of which there are some 400,000 inhabited by
100,000,000 people, representing 400 distinct ethnic groups,
I had not had enough. I had a longing to go back. The
16
spell of adventure and romance had not left me. At the
same time I was beginning to look at the matter in a more
serious light. I felt that the people of other climes and
countries had little or no knowledge of the people in the
South Seas. I wanted to make an intimate racial, sociologi-
cal and geographic study of the various savage and partly
civilized tribes and visualize such study on the film. If the
flattering comment of film producers, exhibitors, educators,
missionaries and the intelligent public in general is a
criterion of the worth of the films I brought back and de-
veloped on my last trip, I may feel that my life work thus
far has not been without reward.
31,000 Miles in Eleven Months
On my last journey to the South Seas Mrs. Johnson was
my constant companion. She shared all of its hardships
and perils. We left San Francisco on May 23, 1917, and
the trip occupied fourteen months. We covered 31,000
miles within a period of eleven months, 18,000 miles cf
which carried us among the different groups of islands.
Our first filming was done on the principal islands of the
Hawaiian group. The Hawaiians and the Samoans are ad-
vanced members of the Polynesian race and so are the in-
habitants of the Leuneuwa Lagoon, although the latter is in
the Melanasian group of islands. Here is a peculiar racial
differentiation brought about by environment and the law
of necessity. At some early period the crude canoes of that
day, bearing fishermen and fisherwomen, must have drifted
across the lagoon among the 100 small islands and many of
these Polynesians remained. Their descendants have no
resemblance to the Melanasians although living in the heart
of the Melanasian group for generations.
On this last motion picture expedition in addition to
Hawaii we visited and filmed the chief islands of the
Solomon, New Hebrides, New Caledonian, Loyalty and
Leuneuwa groups, Samoa, Cook Islands (Raratonga), So-
ciety Islands (Tahiti) and New Zealand. We had no op-
portunity to study the Malaynasians and Micronasians, who
are comparatively few in number and live on the northern
islands which are separated from one another by hundreds
of miles of open sea. I hope that on my next exploring
trip to the Pacific, on which I plan to start in the spring of
this year, it may be arranged to record on the films the life,
habits and customs of these other two interesting racial
groups.
Creatures of Environment
My object in making motion picture studies of the peoples
and terrain of the South Seas has been largely an educa-
tional one. I wish to show to the world that there are 400
distinct racial types among these millions living on no less
than 400,000 islands, large and small, in Oceanica. The
films bear mute but eloquent testimony to the Mendelian
doctrine that heredity is a persistent force among these
peoples, and the pictures further show that the Darwinian
(Continued on page 28)
1 — Typical four-foot pygmy of the 2 — Artificial island, entirely man- 5 — Cannibal of the Big Numbers 6 — Male natives of Leuneuwa investi-
Solomon Islands made, in the Solomon group tribe, New Hebrides group gating Johnson's motion picture camera
3— Mourners of the Southwest Bay
tribe, Malekula Island, New Hebrides
4 — Three of "The Boys," Vao
Island, New Hebrides group
-Cannibal of Owa Raha tribe, 9 — Chief of Malekula tribe, New
Eastern Solomon Islands Hebrides group. A fine specimen
7 — Mourners remain over the graves of relatives from six months to
ten years. Food is brought to them. Leuneuwa Lagoon
17
SCIENTIFIC
FIGHTING VENEREAL DISEASE WITH FILMS
The Public Health Service is showing George E. Stone's "How Life
Begins" to thousands of boys, girls, adults, and industrial workers —
"Of tremendous value in fighting the danger" says Surgeon General
THE well-known microscopic and biologic motion
picture in four parts, entitled "How Life Begins,"
the result of many months' work by George E.
Stone, of Berkeley, California, in collaboration
with Dr. J. A. Long, of the University of California, has
been furnished to the Public Health Service of the United
States Treasury Department for its nation-wide campaign
against the menace of
venereal disease. In sup-
plying these films to the
various government depart-
ments to help in the fight
against one of the real
dangers to society and hu-
manity, at nominal cost,
Mrs. Katherine F. Carter
has done a fine thing and
deserves the lasting grati-
tude of the government and
of the American people.
The Surgeon General
says that his pictorial ex-
hibits, of which this film
will form the most im-
portant and valuable unit,
"will be of tremendous
value in fighting the vene-
real disease danger." Sev-
eral card exhibits are being
prepared to be used in an
educational way with var-
ious groups of people
throughout the country —
boys, girls, young women,
adults, industrial workers.
and other classes. There
are forty-nine cards and each bears some picture telling as
plainly as possible the truth it is desired to teach. The
wording is as simple and understandable as it can be made.
These exhibits will travel throughout the country and will
be seen by hundreds of thousands of people.
"Owing to the large percentage of illiteracy in many
states," said Dr. C. C. Pierce, assistant surgeon general, "it
is desired that the pictures tell the story as fully as pos-
sible and with little help from the wording. In the exhibit
for adults it is desired to teach them how to instruct their
children in the facts of sex, and three cards illustrating the
process of reproduction of plants, animals, and human
beings are included. For this purpose enlargements from
the film cut-outs are to be used. On the screen we intend
to give full credit to the producers and distributors of the
film."
"How Life Begins" Described
Mr. Stone thus describes the salient points in "How Life
Begins":
"A drop of water is placed on a slide and examined through
a microscope. At once is seen a swarming mass of life. These
pEORGE E. STONE, of Berkeley,
*-*" Cal., official United States Gov-
ernment photographer in France with
the American Expeditionary Forces
during the war just ended, startled
the film world a year or so since
by showing the possibilities in filming
various forms of life, from protozoa,
amoeba and spermatozoa up to the
highest of human forms. His work
as a cinematographic microscopist has
been recognized as meritorious and he
is destined to achieve bigger things
with scientific films. In the photo-
graph he is shown using his telescopic
camera in conjunction with a sun-
ray reflector.
are protozoans, the simplest of all animals. With a higher
magnification one protozoan is observed to constrict in the
middle and divide into two halves, each of which at once
becomes a new protozoan.
"Next is shown a microscopic plant, and here the common
yeast, used in bread-making is chosen. This organism is one
of the protophyta, or one-celled plants, and reproduces by a
process of budding which closely resembles the division already
seen in a protozoan.
"After emphasizing the simplicity of reproduction character-
istic of these low forms, it is shown that higher and more
familiar plants reproduce others like themselves, either from
cuttings or seeds. Accordingly the growth of the geranium
from a slip is shown, and the growth of a pea vine from the
seed. The details by which seeds are formed in the pea blos-
som are made clear by means of animated diagrams and actual
photographs.
"The part that insects play in carrying the pollen from flower
to flower is interestingly illustrated. For a touch of beauty a
California orchard in full blossom is included with views of
the opening of the dainty blossoms.
"With the same detail which characterizes their treatment of
the plant, the authors now proceed to show the methods by
which all the higher animals develop. First is considered the
sea urchin, close relative to the star fish, and here we see the
interesting process by which the eggs are fertilized in sea water
as a preliminary to development. The fact that this fertiliza-
tion in an animal is fundamentally the same process already
seen in a plant helps to demonstrate the essential similarity of
the animal and plant kingdoms.
"Then follows the life history of the beautiful swallow-tail
butterfly, from the laying of the eggs to the emerging of the
new butterfly from the chrysalis.
"Next is treated in detail the life of the frog from egg to
ad'ilt.
"Equally complete is the story chick from the time the eggs
are placed in the nest until the chick picks its way out of the
shell.
"The rat is shown as being typical of all mammals, and it
is made clear that just as the fertilized egg develops within the
mother rat, so it is by a similar process of growth and develop-
ment that the human being comes into life."
TEACHING PLANT GROWTH WITH FILMS
Many phenomena of plant growth go generally unob-
served because of the slow process of development, but by
the use of slow photography and fast reproduction a
picture of startling realism is produced. In this way the
tender plant is seen to break its way through the hard
ground, to put forth leaves, flowers and fruit, and all in
six minutes, a development which nature took six weeks to
complete. By the same process we learn that some plants
grow in the day and sleep at night, that some grow at night
and sleep in the day, while others grow uniformly day and
night.
It is really wonderful what the motion picture can do
teaching form, color, habit and meaning in plant growtl
in disclosing the life history of a majestic oak from tl
time it sprouted as an acorn seedling until it became
beautifully polished table in the great man's den; or tr
story of a loaf of bread from the breaking of the prairi
sod and the planting of the wheat to the delivery of th
hot loaf at our door. — C. Francis Jenkins.
18,
AGRICULTURAL
MOTION PICTURES IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
The Agricultural Department at Washington a
Pathfinder for other Departments and Bureaus
By Don Carlos Ellis
In Charge, Motion Picture Activities, U. S. Department of Agriculture
OUR country is just entering
upon the era of education
through its most popular
present form of entertain-
ment, motion pictures. Cinema films,
as a form of diversion, have taken
hold of our populace as no other
commercially organized amusement
has ever before possessed a people.
As an educational factor, however,
the screen is only now gaining a
substantial foothold. That it has
not done so earlier is owing to three
causes: first, the extreme newness
of cinematography and the conser-
vatism of the educational world;
second, the fact that the genius of
aiotion picture production has been
devoted almost exclusively to the
drama, and that educational films
have not for the most part been of
high standard, either as pictures or
as means of instruction; and third,
because of the high cost of satis-
factory equipment and film.
Time is already beginning to cor-
rect the first cause; educational
film of greater merit is gradually
accumulating to supply the second
deficiency; and the increasing ex-
cellence of school and other educational equipment, the
growing use of film in instructional public lectures, and the
establishment of agencies for the production of instructional
film are overcoming the third condition. Withal, educators
are coming more and more to realize the educational power
of film. During the past quarter of a century in which see-
ing and doing have figured prominently in instruction, il-
lustrations, lantern slides and exhibits have been popular.
Today it is being recognized that motion pictures combine
most of the advantages of these other forms of visual in-
struction, with several added assets. When a person is com-
fortably seated in a darkened room facing a screen on which
brightly illuminated moving objects are projected, he
normally has no other inclination than to concentrate his at-
tention on the pictures, and the constant motion and change
keep attention from wandering and create an impression
too vivid to be soon forgotten.
Department Proved Films' Value
The government has been slow in taking advantage of the
opportunity of education through motion pictures. The use
which the government has made of films during the war.
however, has given the screen a new meaning as a means of
disseminating information. It is generally accepted that
through the effect of film exhibitions in this country and
in showing America's preparation abroad films were a mate-
HPHE man whom Secretary of Agriculture Houston
selected to take charge of motion picture activi-
ties of the department is one of the youngest and
ablest government officials at the National Capital.
As this article written by him shows, he has adopted
a serious and even scientific attitude towards the
film work of the Department of Agriculture and he
proposes to make this work of ever-broadening
efficiency and practical helpfulness to farmers and
agricultural interests in the United States.
rial factor in shortening the war.
Prominent among the depart-
ments of the government which em-
ployed the screen for publicity dur-
ing the war was the Department of
Agriculture. Even before the war
began this department had entered
the motion picture field. Recogniz-
ing the educational value of films
and in response to a strong demand
from its extension forces, it under-
took experimentally several years
ago the project of producing film.
When sufficient film of satisfactory
quality had been produced for the
purpose, extensive trials of the use
of the films were made and their
effectiveness as means of education
was carefully observed. The con-
clusions reached were that the films
were especially effective in awaken-
ing interest through the reading of
publications and in other ways,
which led to further investigations
of the subjects treated. It was also
found that certain types of films
were effective in teaching processes
and methods, but that such films
should be constructed with the idea
that they are merely to supplement
and illustrate other methods of instruction and cannot be
expected as a general rule to teach through titles substan-
tially more than the pictures themselves illustrate. These
principles have since been followed by the Department of
Agriculture in the preparation of its film, with the result
that the reels now available and being produced fall within
two classes, i. e., inspirational and instructive. Many films,
of course, occupy both fields.
A few reels, such as that on grain dust explosions, are
highly technical, but most are popular in both subject and
form. They naturally illustrate only the broadest and most
important aspects of the department's work, though to ac-
cumulate film which will adequately represent even the
larger phase of this work will require several years. While
most are of primary interest to the farmer and the agricul-
tural student, most are sufficiently general to be of popular
interest also to city dwellers. Besides, many reels are
primarily appealing to the latter class, as, for example, the
home economics films, which apply to the housewife
whether in city or country, and those dealing with recrea-
tion, forest fire protection, and methods of logging on the
national forests, the wild game on our national game
refuges, highway development and the broad aspects of our
food supply.
(To be concluded in February issue)
W
LITERARY-HISTORICAL
"THE BLUE BIRD" A WORK OF ART
Maurice Maeterlinck's Exquisite Allegory, the Sequel to Which, "The Betrothal,"
Is Current on the Stage, Sympathetically Filmed by Maigne and Tourneur
By Charles Kenmore Ulrich
WHEN Maurice Maeterlinck presented his "Blue
Bird" to the world, less than a decade ago, it
was acclaimed as one of the gems of literature
and conceded to be the masterpiece of the great
Belgian author, dramatist and poet. The play was orig-
inally produced at the Boudoir Theatre, London, and later
presented at the New Theatre, New York, in twelve scenes,
which occupied four hours. The story is a philosophical
dissertation upon life, endowing all things with life and
speech and giving a glimpse into the hereafter. The dead
awaken with messages for the living, and the unborn are
shown impatiently awaiting their advent upon earth.
The sequel to "The Blue Bird," called "The Betrothal,"
is now being presented as a stage spectacle and it will
undoubtedly be adapted to the screen. The two dramatic
allegories, with their fantastic poetic symbolisms, lose
none of their literary charm and artistic beauty by being
translated into animated permanence. This, indeed, is one
of the greatest contributions of the motion picture to litera-
ture, history, science, and art. The printing press records
in cold, lifeless type; the film visualizes for all time the
ANOTHER view of Tyltyl and Mytyl who, having found joy
■^ in doing good to others, have finally found the elusive
"Blue Bird," the symbol of unselfish love, signifying happiness.
actual lives, loves, hates, romances, adventures, manners,
habits, customs, ideals, and aspirations of humanity.
Done in the Maeterlinck Manner
Maurice Tourneur, who staged and directed the film
production for Artcraft, has, it is said, carried out Maeter-
linck's idea in avoiding preachments and instilling vivacity
and virility into the theme and making it understandable.
The highest technique of cinematographic art, with multiple
film exposures requiring infinite patience and precision, is
embodied in "The Blue Bird." There are huge settings,
and ensembles in which several hundred people are said
to have participated.
The screen scenario was arranged by Charles Maigne.
Tula Belle, eight years old, is Mytyl in the picture and
Robin Macdougall, aged ten, is Tyltyl.
CCENE taken from the film version of Maeterlinck's "Blue
^ Bird," showing the two little searchers, Tyltyl and Mytyl,
rather despondent at the failure of their mission.
Synopsis of the Film
The day before Christmas a little boy named Tyltyl and his sister
Mytyl, the children of Daddy Tyl and Mummy Tyl, peasants, were
envious of the prosperity of the rich children who lived nearby.
Madam Berlingot, their neighbor, had a little daughter who was ill,
and she asked Tyltyl and Mytyl to let her little girl have their pet
dove, which she craved; but the children selfishly declined. After
they are put to bed the Fairy Berylune appears and by means of a
magic diamond shows them the souls of all things, which come to
life in the shape of symbolical figures. Even the cat and the dog
are given the power of speech. The fairy then takes the children
in search of the Blue Bird, and they visit the Palace of Night, where
they meet Sleep and Death, and the various sicknesses, the terrible
Wars, the Stars and the Dew.
The quest continues to the graveyard, which they reach at mid-
night. The graves open and the dead come to life, and the cemetery
is transformed into a flowery bower. The children again meet theii
grandparents, long since departed, who express their joy that they
have not been forgotten. Here they also find their brothers and sisters
who have died, and a glad reunion takes place in Memoryland.
These scenes are obliterated by the Fog of Forgetfulness, and in
the Palace of Luxuries a sumptuous banquet is in progress, the
Luxuries gorging themselves with the plentiful food. Seated around
the table are the Luxuries of Being Rich, Landowner, Satisfied Vanity,
Drinking When Not Thirsty, Eating When Not Hungry, Knowing
Nothing, Sleeping More Than Necessary, and Fat Laughter, all of
symbolical types. The bestial gluttons invite the children to join
them, but Light sheds her radiance and the banqueters, unable to
withstand the pitiless glare, take refuge in the cavern of Miseries.
In the Cathedral of Happiness the children meet the Joys, includ-
ing Children's Happiness, Being Well, Loving One's Parents, Pure
Air, Blue Sky, The Forest, Sunny Hours, Spring, Rain and Innocent
Thoughts. The Great Joys then appear, including Being Just, Being
Good, Fame, Thinking, and the Peerless Joy of Maternal Love,
which is symbolized by the mother of Tyltyl and Mytyl, and is seen
glorified by mother love.
In the Azure Palace countless Unborn Children await their advent
upon earth, and at the doors are the mothers. These children repre-
sent all classes, from the humblest worker to the rulers of the earth.
Time opens the gate for the children born that day, and they depart.
The children are taken home by the Fairy, their hunt for the Blue
Bird having been fruitless. Many birds have been pursued and
caught, but they die immediately and change colors, so that the real
Blue Bird has not been captured. In the morning the children
awaken with different conceptions of life. They greet their parents
with affectionate embraces, and everything seems cheerier and
brighter to them. Thoughts of the little girl begging for the dove
in her semi-delirium induce them to give her the bird, and lo! it
turns to a Blue Bird. They have found the Blue Bird of Happiness
in making others happy.
20
DO TOPICAL REVIEWS COVER THE FIELD?
The broad viewpoint of a sound-minded newspaper man — Many men
and movements of vital significance ignored by the news weeklies
By James O. Spearing
Motion Picture Editor of the New York Times
THERE is no more important branch of screen enter-
tainment than that of the "Topical Review," or
"Animated Pictorial." Many people who receive
slight impression of actual life from the reading of
newspapers are vividly impressed by news pictures. The
pictures bring them and the individuals and incidents pic-
tured into the same world. They stimulate the popular
mind to make its own vivid pictures of the people and
incidents reported in the press. A man notices in a news-
paper one day that Clemenceau has made a speech, or that
a number of ships have been launched, but the chances are
that, if he reads either item at all, it will be excluded from
his imagination by that same detachment of mind that
excluded Burke's orations and Caesar's Commentaries when
he was a boy in school. He goes to a motion picture
theatre later, however, and sees an animated representation
of Clemenceau and the picture of a ship sliding down the
ways. He responds with the feeling that he is seeing Cle-
menceau and is one of the cheering spectators at the launch-
ing. As a result, the next time he reads that Clemenceau
has said or done something, or that a vessel has been
launched, the fact penetrates his imagination. His mind
images Clemenceau as he peruses what the Premier said,
it makes a picture of the ship taking the water, he really
takes in what his eyes see in print, he receives the informa-
tion with more or less intelligent comprehension. And so
it goes. The pictorials or topicals are constantly vivifying
the news.
Topicals Supplement Newspapers
Some persons profess to believe that the topicals tend
to supplant the newspapers, but this conclusion would seem
to be contrary to reasonable deduction, for what the topicals
do more than anything else is arouse interest in people and
happenings, and what is more natural than that this aroused
interest should seek the satisfaction of enlightenment and
information that cannot be supplied on the screen, which,
at best, offers but glimpses and snatches of what is going
on? Which of two men, all other things being equal, is
the more likely to read a speech by Lloyd George, one who
has never seen the Prime Minister on the screen or one who
has seen him so closely that he would recognize him on the
street? The topicals supplement the newspapers; they do
not displace them.
The animated review of news, therefore, has an import-
ant place to fill in the educational entertainment of the
public. Of this there can be no question. But at this point
a question arises. How adequately does the review fill its
place? For practical purposes, its function may be
described as being to supplement the newspapers in dis-
seminating information — all of them, not any group or
class of them. Those who select its topics are under no
physical or moral obligation to be guided in their selection
and emphasis of pictures by what they see featured in par-
*Pu1ilished by courtesy of the New York Times.
ticular newspapers. From daily, weekly, and monthly
publications representing all shades of political opinion
and different points of view they can obtain a fairly com-
prehensive survey of the world's activities, and, if their
minds have the breadth of education and understanding,
they can select and emphasize pictures with a reasonable
faithfulness to real values, for humanity as a whole. They
can perform an inestimable service of public education.
They can make up for the deficiencies of the particular
newspapers that reach different groups of people. Have
they done this? Have they risen to their opportunities?
One must admit that they have not.
All Activities Should Be on Film
Consider the matter in the political field only. Lloyd
George, King George, Clemenceau, Poincare, President Wil-
son, General Pershing, Marshal Foch, Colonel Roosevelt,
and many other celebrated persons and the events in which
they have participated have been pictured time and time
again, and this is as it should have been. Except in so far
as they have excluded others essential to complete the
whole, the pictures shown should not have been omitted.
But there should have been other and different pictures.
How many times have pictures^ been shown representing
Albert Thomas, Arthur Henderson, Ramsay MacDonald,
Eugene V. Debs, and the movements with which these and
many others are identified? What representation of the
activities of the Italian Socialists or the Non-Partisan
League has been made? Yet these men and movements
are a vital part of life today; their effect upon the world
as it is and will be is important; they cannot be overlooked
by any agency assuming to report the news of the day
regardless of partisan affiliations. Whether one likes radi-
cals, liberals, progressives, conservatives, or reactionaries,
he should want to know enough about each group to enable
him to form an intelligent opinion of its purposes and rela-
tive importance, and every channel of information that is
not admittedly a controlled current of propaganda should
be open to the essential facts concerning every activity.
Bolsheviki and Bourbons, those in the middle ground and
on both sides of it, should all receive fair representation in
the topical reviews.
Educational Topics Neglected
And this is only touching upon the political field; it is
meant merely to be suggestive. There are always import-
ant movements and happenings that may be classed gen-
erally as scientific, industrial, social, economic, and
religious that should be illustrated in motion pictures, but,
as a rule, are neglected.
The sum of the whole matter is simply that the topical
does certain things well, but does not do nearly enough,
and, by the limits imposed upon it, is made to serve cer-
tain prejudices and particular interests rather than the
great cause of public education.
21
LANTERN SLIDES
OPERATION OF A MODEL SLIDE BUREAU*
Unique and Valuable Service Rendered New York State Institu-
tions by the Large and Varied Collection at Albany — Helpful
Hints to Other State Bureaus and Organizations
By Alfred W. Abrams
Chief, Visual Instruction Division, State Education Department, Albany, N. Y.
A STATE bureau of visual instruction in the prep-
aration of a loan collection may properly have
in mind the two general purposes of pictures,
namely, entertainment and serious instruction.
The latter purpose, however, should unquestionably have
first consideration. Other agencies can be counted upon
to provide entertainment rather abundantly.
It does not fall within the scope of my subject to dis-
cuss the pedagogical principles underlying visual instruc-
tion, though I must necessarily imply some of them in con-
sidering the selection, organization, and circulation of a
State collection.
Visual Instruction An Old Process
The acquisition of knowledge through the eye is not a
new method. Visual instruction is essentially a very old
process. What we do have new in this line today is the
greatly increased means of bringing the world to the
learner through pictorial representations. We are indeed
highly favored in this respect. Advantage should surely be
taken of the means offered ; on the other hand, the laws gov-
erning the principles of observation, which is the kernel of
visual instruction, have in no way been modified; and any
use of pictures that fails to recognize the necessity of volun-
tary attention and genuine mental reaction must be devoid
of true educational results. It would be unfortunate
indeed if the general introduction of visual instruction
should become an end in itself, and should increase the
number of exercises in an already overcrowded educational
program. The use of pictures should be treated rather as
the substitution of a more direct and effective means of
instruction for a too-exclusive dependence upon words,
which are merely symbols of ideas.
Inductive Method of Teaching
In preparing a loan collection of pictures, a State bureau
may well be expected to maintain a high standard and to
consider relative values. First of all, a picture should be
authentic; it should stand for something definite and spe-
cific. Visual instruction is chiefly an inductive method of
study, and the right attitude of approach should be early
acquired. "What?" "When?" and "Where?" are essen-
tial questions for consideration in an inductive study that
is scientific and orderly.
Attractiveness is a desirable quality in a picture, but a
picture should rarely be selected merely because of its
striking effects. There are abundant opportunities to
secure the beautiful in combination with the important.
In selecting pictures, the aim should be to secure the best
representation of types, characteristic views, and essential
steps in processes, to the exclusion of pictures of what
* Taper read before the Visual Instruction Section of the National
Education Association convention in New York City, 1916. Published
by permission.
are merely incidental, occasional, or unimportant features,
and hence tend to confuse and obscure larger values.
The quality of pictures provided by a State bureau
should unquestionably be of the highest order. The in-
creased cost of making slides and prints of higher excel-
lence is little more in the long run than that of inferior
ones.
Shall pictures, specifically lantern slides and prints of
various kinds, be filed and circulated in fixed sets, or shall
they be filed according to a scientific system of classifica-
tion? It should not be necessary to offer arguments for
the use of a scientific basis of classification of a State col-
lection of pictures intended for general use.
Classify Slides Scientifically
If a State bureau aims to do anything better than to pro-
vide for general purpose entertainments that have no
special relation to each other and no serious educational
ends, it must classify its material on a scientific basis.
Under such a classification the popular illustrated lecture
is entirely possible for those who want it, but under a
grouping of material by fixed sets, a scholarly use of the
collection is altogether impossible.
Shall prepared lectures be furnished with lantern slides?
My answer is involved in what I have already said. If
a bureau is to furnish lecture sets of slides, it is but logical
that it should provide the lectures; but there is really no
place in a sound system of visual instruction for "canned"
lectures, written by one person to be read or recited by
another.
The method of circulation is naturally determined quite
largely by the character of the collection and by the pri-
mary purposes for which the collection is maintained. In
the case of the New York State collection, as time has gone
on the character of the material and the purposes of its
use have gradually changed.
How the Albany Bureau Works
Any institution that desires to take advantage of the
State collection for its own use or for the use of its patrons
is furnished with catalogs of all available material and
with official application blanks. The pictures wanted must
be separately listed by call number. The burden of selec-
tion rests with the borrower. In principle this practice is
regarded as sound, though in the case of small organiza-
tions just beginning to use the collection some unusual aid
may be given.
When an individual or an organization, not entitled to
borrow directly from the bureau, asks for pictures, a hand-
book of information is sent and the party is referred to his
local library or school.. As time goes on each city or vil-
lage comes to have its local institution through which full
service can be received. The local school or library is not
22
compelled to co-operate with the State bureau. It is, how-
ever, supported by the local community and has an obliga-
tion, usually recognized, to the public from which support
comes. The local school or library is regarded, not as
doing the work of the State bureau, but rather as receiving
from the State an important aid in carrying out its own
efforts to render the community larger service.
A plan that is carried out in some States is to route pic-
tures, usually films or lantern slides, in fixed sets. Such
a plan is inconsistent with the fundamental conceptions now
underlying the preparation and circulation of the New York
State collection.
School Boards Should Buy Projectors
It would seem to fall properly within the functions of a
State bureau to determine the relative adaptibility of var-
ious types of projection apparatus for the purposes it re-
gards as most important to subserve. The bureau should
possess the facilities and trained employes to make such a
determination of the most suitable types of apparatus and
to aid the establishment of proper standards. The appa-
ratus feature of visual instruction will be satisfactory only
when projection apparatus is purchased by the Board of
Education the same as other equipment intended for the
serious work of the institution. To proceed in any other
way is to admit at the outset that visual instruction is with-
out official recognition.
Potentially, pictures are a very important educational
agency. They may be made a remarkably interesting, ac-
curate, and effective means of expressing ideas and material
facts. Much needs yet to be done to develop judgment in
selecting them and to establish a pedagogical method for
their use.
VAST FILM PLANT PLANNED
Old Hickory Powder Works, Hadley's Bend, Term., Costing More
Than $75,000,000, to Manufacture Standard
and Non-inflammable Stock
The Old Hickory powder works at Hadley's Bend, Tenn.,
will be converted into a plant for the manufacture of mo-
tion picture films and other celluloid products, according
to the Nashville Banner. It is claimed that the machinery
for the making of powder can be more readily converted
to this use than to any other, and that film-making is the
logical and probable solution of the problem which arose
when the sudden end of the war obviated the necessity for
running the plant at full capacity in the manufacture of
powder.
It is stated that the present owners see tremendous pos-
sibilities in the more general use of film, for educational and
industrial purposes, and they believe there will be an im-
mediate market for the new product. It is the intention to
manufacture both standard nitro-cellulose film and non-
inflammable or slow-burning film, and the company may
develop an improvement over the present non-inflammable
stock. Both negative and positive film will be produced at
the Old Hickory plant.
This great plant, costing from $75,000,000 to
$100,000,000, with its vast amount of valuable machinery,
its many industrial, residential, social, educational and re-
ligious buildings, its miles of paved streets, its railways and
great terminal, and its bridges spanning the Cumberland
river will not be allowed to rust from inactivity.
SLIDE NOTES AND COMMENT
The American Red Cross Mission to Palestine, headed by Dr.
John H. Finley, New York State Commissioner of Education, recently
brought back a large and valuable collection of photographs of
people and places in the Holy Land, and these are being made into
lantern slides by the Bureau of Visual Instruction at Albany.
9 9
Rev. L. O. Williams, pastor of the Church of the Messiah, North
and Mariner Streets, Buffalo, is giving an interesting and instruc-
tive series of illustrated lectures on Sunday evenings on the part
played by each of the Allies in the war just ended. A recent topic
was "Australia and What She has Done."
9 9
Rev. Daniel Kliest, pastor of the Lutheran Church, La Salle, N. Y.,
gave two stereopticon lectures recently in Buffalo, one at St. Paul's
Lutheran Church and the other at Salem Lutheran Church. He
told of his experiences while doing welfare work among the lads
of the army and navy, and the slides shown were illustrative.
9 9
The Twentieth Century Club of Buffalo, under the auspices of
the National League for Woman's Service, had as their guest on
December 10 Arthur Stanley Riggs who gave an illustrated talk on
"Devastated France."
Recent lectures in New York City institutions illustrated with
lantern slides, many of them colored, were: "Structural and
Chromatic Forms of Development of Fish, Insects and Cephalopods,"
Frederick S. Webster, Public School 46; "The Temples and Reli-
gious Art of Japan," Sidney Nelville Usher, Public School 165; "The
South of England and the Land of Lorna Doone," Colonel E. H.
Havers, Public School 159; "The Airplane and Its Development,"
E. Adrian Van Muffling, Y. M. C. A., Broooklyn; "Art and
Democracy," Louis Weinberg, Hamilton Grange; "Our New Pos-
sessions in the West Indies," Roy Waldo Miner, Seamen's Church
Institute; "My Cruise on the Pacific," Annette Ewart, Bryant High
School, Long Island City; "The Catskill Aqueduct," Sara J. Phillips,
Public School 37; "Songs that Never Die," Frank T. Molony, Pub-
lic School 43; "The Land of Evangeline," Edward P. Crowell, Public
School 47.
GREATEST FILM CATALOG IN THE WORLD
Starting with February issue. Educational Film Magazine will
classify, describe and list monthly all films 'in its field. Four Months'
Trial, $1. Yearly, $3. Clubs of three or more, $2.50 each. Two
Years, $5. Subscribe NOW!
"All that the Name Implies"
EXCELSIOR
Highest Quality Possible in
Lantern Slides
Clear, Brilliant, Photographically Perfect
Lecture Slides Made to Order
Singly or in Sets
We have exceptional facilities for producing special
slides from your photographs, drawings, maps, charts,
diagrams or other copy, in black and white or any num-
ber of colors desired. Particular attention to the needs
of schools, colleges, churches, clubs and similar insti-
tutions.
// you are looking for the best,
not for the cheapest, in Lecture
Slides, write TODAY to
SPECIAL SERVICE DEP'T.
EXCELSIOR ILLUSTRATING CO.
219 Sixth Ave. New York City
23
PROJECTION-EQUIPMENT
ENGINEERS RETAIN "SAFETY STANDARD" FILM
Officially adopted last April, the new 1.094 width on non-inflammable stock
remains the society's recommendation — All portable projector manu-
facturers, it is expected, will adopt the Victor specifications
ALTHOUGH the Society of Motion Picture Engineers at its
meeting in Rochester, N. Y., on April 8 and 9, 1918, offi-
cially adopted a new narrow width non-inflammable film for
small projectors, diagram of which in approximately exact
size is reproduced herewith, the discussion of this matter was
renewed with even greater intensity at the society's meeting in
Cleveland on November 18, 19
.*fc'7—i
\X7ITHIN a tiny fraction of
v * an inch the above is an
exact reproduction of the "safety
standard" film adopted by the
Society of Motion Picture En-
gineers. _ The actual film laid
over this diagram should just
cover it, or very closely. The
drawing and the figures are the
same as submitted to the society
by Alexander F. Victor and of-
ficially approved.
_.«#- and 20 last. At the spring gathering
Alexander F. Victor, president of
the Victor Animatograph Company,
Davenport, Iowa, had read a paper
on "The Portable Projector, Its
Present Status and Needs," which
had started the original discussion
and had led to the adoption of
Mr. Victor's suggestion.
At the November meeting Wil-
lard B. Cook, of the Pathescope
Company of America, New York,
aroused the members by an address
on 'Advantages in the Use of the
New Standard, Narrow Width,
Slow-Burning Film for Portable
Projectors." An animated discussion
pro and con followed the reading
of Mr. Cook's paper, C. Francis
Jenkins, president of the Grapho-
scope Company, Washington, D. C,
leading the opposition. Representa-
tives of the De Vry Corporation,
Chicago, also joined in opposing
the narrow width film for portable
machines. The society, however,
took no further action and the 1.094 width endorsed last April now
stands as the official recommendation of the engineers.
"Safety Standard" Favored
The society adopted this policy in order to standardize film for
the small projectors, on the same principle as the wider film has
been standardized for the large machines. The majority of the motion
picture engineers favor having the two standards, the narrower to
be on non-inflammable stock. It is expected that in course of time
all equipment manufacturers will adopt the society's standard. At
present this new "safety standard" can be run successfully on the
Pathescope and the Victor Safety Cinema, and it is reported that
several other safety portable projectors will soon be placed on the
market to take the slow-burning film. Pathescope films, of which
there are available 1,500 reels, which can be obtained at Pathescope
exchanges in principal cities all over the world, will run on all
other properly constructed "safety standard" portable projectors,
among which is the Victor Safety Cinema. Portable projectors''
primarily designed to use the standard width celluloid film can
readily be changed to take the "safety standard," according to
motion picture engineers, without much expense.
"This new standard, which is for school and home use," said
E. Kendall Gillett, secretary of the society, "means a broader use
of motion pictures and the adoption of this standard will tend to
lessen any competition which might occur between the church, home
or school and the motion picture theatre."
Large Economies Claimed
Mr. Cook brought out some important facts in his recent address
before the society. "In these days of increasing cost of materials,"
he said, "the item of economy is certainly one to be seriously con-
sidered. The Eastman Company have been furnishing the new
standard narrow-width film at 80 per cent of the cost per foot for
ordinary width. Furthermore, the new standard narrow-width film
will contain twenty pictures per foot instead of the sixteen of the
present celluloid film. These two factors result in a combined
economy or saving of 36 per cent in the cost of stock for any given
production. There is also, of course, a very considerable saving in
the use of chemicals for developing, and also in the general han-
dling and transportation of the narrow-width film, of which 800 feet
in length is equivalent to the ordinary 1,000 foot celluloid reel."
H. A. Campe, of the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing
Company, Pittsburg, is the new president of the society. The next
meeting will take place in Philadelphia in April, 1919.
WILL RENT PROJECTOR TO SCHOOLS
Makers of Automatic Daylight Machine Offer Opportunity to Class-
room Instructors
What seems to be an unusual opportunity for instructors and
lecturers in the classroom is offered by the Attractograph Company,
Inc., 220 West 42nd Street, New York City, manufacturers of what
is said to be the only automatic daylight motion picture machine.
For a few dollars weekly, on a yearly contract, they will send to any
professor or teacher one of their attractographs and, if desired, will
arrange to provide films for its regular use. The apparatus projects
from standard non-inflammable film only and has a capacity of 500
feet. It bears the official label of the National Board of Fire Under-
writers and is safe to use anywhere under all conditions.
These are some of the features of the machine which will appeal
to educators: It is absolutely automatic. It projects continuously,
without operator and without attention. No booth and no screen
are needed. It rewinds itself. It connects to any ordinary lamp
socket, and runs on either direct or alternating current. It shows
a clear, sharp picture in daylight in its own miniature theatre, or
will project a large picture on the wall. An automatic switch cuts
off the current and stops the machine instantly, should a film break
or come apart. The device weighs less than 75 pounds, and can be
set up or removed in a few minutes' time.
The attractograph is described in detail as follows:
There are two separate parts, the moving picture machine
and the miniature theatre in which the pictures are displayed.
The projector is also supplied without the theatre. The machine
is operated by a standard type universal Westinghouse motor,
on either direct or alternating current. Two horizontal discs
carry the film which passes in one direction for projection and
in the opposite direction for rewinding.
A 250 or 400-watt Mazda stereopticon lamp, with concen-
trated filament, furnishes the light, automatically extinguished
when the machine stops and during the process of rewinding.
The machine is equipped with two automatic safety switches.
In case the film breaks, the machine stops and the light goes
out, if this occurs while projecting. If the break happens while
rewinding, the machine simply stops, the light being out.
All parts of the machine are made from an aluminum com-
position, so that it weighs but thirty-five pounds. There is a
dustproof and soundproof cover which acts as a carrier for the
machine, as well as a cover.
The moving picture projector is placed about a foot from
the miniature theatre, so that the light enters an aperture in
the base. Here it strikes a mirror set at an angle of 45 degrees,
and is reflected upwards onto a screen, set on what would be
termed a stage. Another 45-degree mirror reflects an image on
the screen, making the picture appear to the spectators to come
from a screen on the rear wall of the theatre.
/3^7t?^^^
NEW YORK
24
FLASHES ON THE WORLD'S SCREEN
News notes and comment on educational and allied films
from institutions, organizations, producers, and individuals
in the United States and Canada and overseas '
THE Duponts, of Wilmington, Del.,
according to persistent rumors, are
interested in the development and ex-
ploitation of a new non-inflammable film for
motion picture purposes. The film which
their chemists are said to have perfected is
considered a marked improvement over slow-
burning stock now on the market. In fact,
it is reported to be non-burnable, tough and
durable, and to permit the projection of
clear, sharp screen images.
Henry Ford, another millionaire to enter
the film industry, is reported actively en-
gaged on plans for the manufacture and dis-
tribution of educational motion pictures on
an extensive scale. The Ford Educational
Weekly is now being released by Goldwyn
Distributing Corporation, 16 East 42nd
Street, New York, and its various exchanges
throughout the country.
Speaking of millionaires, it is interesting
to learn that three in the '"multi" class are
devotees of the films in their higher signif-
cance and are personal users of motion pic-
ture cameras. Rodman Wanamaker, son of
John Wanamaker, whose home is in Phila-
delphia, owns one of the finest cameras ob-
tainable and has made what is said to be a
remarkable series of films of American In-
dians. George Pratt, former state game con-
servation commissioner at Albany, N. Y.,
and a director of the Standard Oil Company,
is another motion picture camera "fiend" and
has made some pictures of merit, partic-
ularly of game and animal life. Alessandre
Fabbri, the Italian banker, who lives at the
Metropolitan Club, New York City, also has
a film camera and is credited with securing
some worth-while subjects.
Albert E. Smith, president of Vitagraph,
will make a motion picture record of the
habits, environment, dances, games, and
sports of American Indians this spring.
After they have been exhibited throughout
the country the films will be placed in a
museum of natural history or other appro-
priate place for the use of students.
Frederick L. Collins, president of Mc-
Clure Productions, Inc., who is releasing a
film treating of the life of the late Theodore
Roosevelt, in which the former President is
an active participant, announces that Samuel
Gompers, president of the American Fed-
eration of Labor, will appear personally in
a motion picture based on his career and
on the helpfulness of American labor dur-
ing the war. Mr. Collins wrote the titles
for the Roosevelt picture. William Nigh,
who directed "My Four Years in Germany,"
staged the T. R. film. Former Ambassador
Gerard has given Mr. Nigh another scenario
for production.
Carl H. Carson, school department man-
ager of the Educational Films Corporation,
predicts that instruction by motion pictures
will largely replace text-book teaching in
the new era following the declaration of
peace. The first subject to be picturized
for the schools is geography, in which fas-
cinating motion picture travels will replace
the old stereotyped forms of instruction.
At Morsemere Methodist Episcopal
Church, Yonkers, N. Y., a full motion pic-
ture program was given in the social hall
on Friday evening, November 29, last.
"The Wizard of Oz," a five-reel picturiza-
tion of the play in which Fred Stone be-
came famous as the Scarecrow, featuring
Mildred Harris, now Mrs. Charles Chaplin,
and a two-reel William S. Hart picture
made up the program. Special music was
provided. There was a large attendance
and the church benefited greatly by the
entertainment. If the hundreds of thou-
sands of churches in this country followed
this example, the church would become a
live force in each community.
Under the auspices of the South Park
student branch of the Young Women's
Christian Association, a motion picture ex-
hibition was given in Buffalo, N. Y., at
Public School 29, South Park Avenue and
Manila Street, the evening of December 13.
"The Honor System," a William Fox
picture dealing with prison reform, was re-
cently seen by the king of Norway, the
crown prince and other Norwegian notables,
in the Circus Werdensteater, one of the
principal playhouses in Christiania. Nor-
wegian newspapers just received tell of the
incident. The film was used as a text upon
which Mr. Morgenstierne, secretary of the
Norwegian Department of Prisons, delivered
an address urging reform of Norwegian
penal institutions.
"The Brave Knight Without Fear and
Without Reproach" was the topic of Anna
Curtis Chandler's lecture for children on a
recent afternoon at the Metropolitan Mu-
seum of Art, New York City. The lectures
are free and are for the most part illus-
trated by stereopticon views or by motion
pictures. These talks have become so popu-
lar that hundreds of children attend them
regularly. ^
A lecture on aeronautic construction was
delivered to the members of Carroll Coun-
cil 1378, Knights of Columbus, at Colum-
bian Club, West Hoboken, New Jersey,
December 4, by Al. Bourgeois, an expert
on aero engine construction. The lecture
was illustrated by a film showing the vari-
ous processes of construction. The picture
was loaned by the government's Division of
Films.
Official motion pictures of the ordnance
department of the United States army, taken
at the front by signal corps camera men,
were shown December 4 at the Young
Women's Christian Association parlors, 619
Fourteenth Street, Washington, D. C, under
the auspices of Dr. Christine Mann, head
of the civilian personnel.
Mb
"Our Colored Fighters," released by the
Division of Films, was shown early in De-
cember at the Manhattan Casino, New York
City. It is one of the few films telling of
the work of negro citizens in helping to win
the war.
9
China is looming up in the educational
film field. The Community Motion Picture
Bureau has effected an exchange arrange-
ment with Chinese educational and religious
institutions whereby American educational
and industrial films will be exhibited
throughout the Flowery Republic and films
made in China will be shown in this coun-
try. Y. H. Ou (pronounced 0), a student
at Columbia University, New York City, is
editing and titling films at the Bureau for
exhibition in China. The titles are in Chi-
nese characters, with English underneath.
A Red Cross war film in three reels was
shown in the Armory, Schenectady, N. Y.,
on December 11, under the auspices of
Companies E and F. Lieutenant Colonel
Cecil G. Williams, of the Canadian army,
who was at the front in France, spoke of
the wonderful work of the Red Cross or-
ganization in the battle zones.
Recent lectures illustrated by motion pic-
tures were given at the following New York
City public schools: "Tin Deposits of
America," Emma R. Steiner, Public School
95; "Our New Rocky Mountain Park," Dr.
Henry R. Rose, Public School 53; "Mari-
time Independence of the United States,"
Clayton S. Cooper, Public School 13.
Under the auspices of the board of trus-
tees and officers of the Homeopathic Hos-
pital, Albany, N. Y., Ralph S. Paine, writer
and lecturer, spoke on Friday evening, De-
cember 20, on "The Fighting Fleets," at
Chancellors Hall, his talk being illustrated
by official government films showing British,
French and American warships in action in
European waters.
Dr. B. Liber is giving on Thursday eve-
nings a course of lectures on health, illus-
trated with lantern slides and films, under
the direction of the Joint Board of Sani-
tary Control of the International Ladies'
Garment Workers' Union, at Public School
63, First Avenue and Fourth Street, New
York City.
25
THE EDUCATIONAL PICTURE
Its function in the motion picture theatre
BY SAMUEL L. ROTHAPFEL
Former Managing Director, Rialto and Bivoli Theatres, New York City
IN view of the rapidly widening recogni-
tion in authoritative quarters of the
educational motion picture, I am happy
indeed to look back upon some of my
earlier efforts to encourage improved pro-
duction of films of this character. The
greatest recognition and use of motion pic-
tures devoted to the exposition of the world
of interesting things are yet to come. The
motion picture textbook in the schools is
but a little way off and there are scores of
other applications of the film as a medium
of thought expression still to be made.
An Inexhaustible Field
In the motion picture theatre the educa-
tional film is necessarily restricted to topics
of wide and non-technical public interest.
The field of material and subjects is an in-
exhaustible one and the elasticity of the
medium is such that the varieties of ef-
fectual treatment on the screen are without
limitation. Pictures of the sort indicated
are limited in their theatre possibilities only
by the capability and originality of their
producers.
Too much of the "educational" film ma-
terial offered to the motion picture theatre
today is inexpertly made and without suffi-
cient preparation and thought behind it.
The public now asks not only that the sub-
ject presented be interesting and well pho-
tographed but that it be done with a touch
of cleverness. Recently one producer of
travel pictures happened upon a title writer
with a very cheery, felicitous style. Now
half a score of imitators who are merely
"smart alecks" are spoiling some otherwise
excellent film. Taste and a wide range of
scientific and genuinely human information
are essential qualities for a film title writer.
The best film in the world is a loss without
adequate title treatment.
In the selection of the travel, scenic, edu-
cational and topical pictures for showing at
the Rivoli and the Rialto theatres I screen
several thousands of feet of the current is-
sues of "educational" film. A small per-
centage is found ultimately fit.
Educationals Essential in Theatre
I have often been asked to express from
the managerial standpoint an opinion as to
the relative merits to the theatre of topical
and dramatic pictures. Both are unques-
tionably essential to the preservation of
balance in any program which is to ap-
peal to the wide range of tastes necessary
to reach in theatre operation. But I am
very sure that our theatres have many pa-
trons who really come to see the educational
portions of the presentation. Educational
pictures, good pictures, the best that are
made, are decidedly essential in the theatre
program. A failure to recognize this means
a waste of one of the biggest assets of the
picture art.
To the readers of this magazine I can
convey no more important thought, in behalf
oAMUEL L. ROTHAPFEL, managing di-
^ rector of the Rialto and the Rivoli,
New York's premier motion picture thea-
tres. Now but 36 years old, he is perhaps
the first motion picture exhibitor to recog-
nize the value of the film as a form of
expression, as a means of conveying an
idea. Mr. Rothapfel is a native of Still-
water, Minnesota. His first show was in
a loft over a country tavern. From this
humble start he has been pointing the op-
portunity for better pictures, steadily keep-
ing his presentation of films at least one
step in advance of the best production.
The educational picture is a vital com-
ponent of every Rothapfel program.
of the educational motion picture, than to
ask you to let the man who runs your the-
atres know what you like, and how you
like it, and why. Nothing else can so ma-
terially aid the theatre in serving you. If
you like educational pictures ask for them.
Get into the habit of writing letters to the
theatre manager in just the same spirit that
you would write to the editor of your fa-
vorite newspaper. Your opinion is valu-
able.
INTERVIEW WITH EDISON
(Continued from page 8)
How Films Helped Win the War
"In your opinion, did motion pictures
help to shorten and win the war?"
"No doubt about that whatsoever," the
great man answered. "They were a won-
derful help in the war and the entire in-
dustry deserves high praise for the assistance
it rendered. The films helped to show the
atrocious Hun method of doing business.
They helped to keep our soldiers and sailors
healthy and happy, they kept up the fine
spirit of our civilians, and they helped sus-
tain the moral and financial support of
our people at home. Besides this, motion
pictures were used in the training of our
fighters in various branches of the army
and navy and were exceedingly valuable for
that purpose.
"I saw what the films did both in this
country and in Europe, and the Allied and
American statesmen as well as officers of
their armies and navies do not hesitate to
26
acknowledge their indebtedness to motion
pictures in helping to achieve victory.
Motion Pictures and Bolshevism
"What we need to prevent wars, haul down
red flags and stamp out Bolshevism is not
peace leagues or force leagues, but more
schoolhouses — motion picture schoolhouses.
If we can get more and better schools and
better-paid teachers, teachers who will teach
seriously and efficiently, the whole world
will be better off and with universally edu-
cated nations war will end forevermore.
Educated individuals do not fight; their
differences are arbitrated in courts. It will
be the same with educated nations.
"The best schoolhouse is the screen; the
best teacher is the film. Human teachers
will be needed only to help guide and direct
the minds of the pupils, but the pictures
will do the instructing. One of the most
valuable educational features of the film is
that it actually shows the moral reward to
scholars; it shows them the effect of doing
wrong and of doing right. It inculcates in
them not false kultur, but true culture
which is now absent east of the Rhine."
Sending Films by Wireless
"What of the film daily in place of the
daily newspaper?"
"Some day we shall have daily newsfilms
just as we have our daily newspapers. We
shall be able to walk into a theatre or
schoolhouse or library and see as well as
read the news of yesterday in motion pic-
tures. When sending films by telegraph,
cable or wireless becomes commercially
practicable (and the demand will be met if
it persists), it will be possible to sit in an
auditorium or visitorium in New York or
San Francisco, in London or Calcutta, and
see on the screen the actual happenings of
the day before on the other side of the
earth.
The Press and the Screen
"But the daily newsfilm will never, in my
opinion, supplant the daily newspaper, at
least in America. This is the land of the
newspaper; we are a nation of newspaper
readers. The newspaper is the university
of the masses. The film, however, will be-
come the most important and valuable pic-
torial supplement to the newspaper. The
press and the screen together are making
America great and powerful, and they will
continue to make her even greater and more
powerful as they remove the curse of illit- 1
eracy and class warfare and national vices
and bestow upon her people the blessings
of a liberal education."
Before bidding me good-bye Mr. Edison
stated quite positively that he had neither
desire nor intention to re-enter the motion
picture business. He was too much en-
grossed in other enterprises, and "besides,"
he added, with a twinkle, "I like to try new
things." The world is grateful to Edison
for "trying new things."
CHURCH AND CINEMA
(Continued from page 13)
rith our plan admirably. On Novem-
ber 17 last we showed three reels
of the Famous Players-Lasky film "Joan
the Woman" in which Geraldine Far-
rar enacted the title role. The sermon was
'"Joan of Arc — Saint and Warrior" and a
vested chorus choir rendered suitable music.
The Thomas H. Ince production "Civiliza-
tion" was represented by three reels on De-
cember 1, and my sermon was entitled "God
of War or Prince of Peace" — a timely and
appropriate church theme following the sign-
ing of the armistice. Special music accom-
panied the picture. At all of these showings
we had splendid congregations. That they
do not come to see the pictures alone is
proved by the fact that when we show the
films first and have the service and the ser-
mon afterward not a person leaves the
church after the picture has been run off.
Pictures Wouldn't Let Him Forget
Before concluding this article I would like
to put on record the story of a little incident
which took place during a former pastorate
up State. I was using the stereopticon to
illustrate my series on Christian biography
and one night I gave an illustrated sermon
on David Livingstone. Two years later
(mark the lapse of time) a prominent lawyer
of the city was walking down the street
when a street cleaner, a "white wing" we
used to call them, a feeble old Irishman,
looked up into the attorney's face and said,
"Say, that man Livingstone was a wonderful
fellow, wasn't he?" The lawyer, surprised,
questioned him as to how he knew about
David Livingstone, and the street cleaner
replied that "a couple of years ago I was
at Mr. Marshall's church and saw those
pictures." Fancy, he had not forgotten any
detail of the biography, but had he heard
an ordinary sermon on Livingstone, the de-
tails would probably have been out of his
head in a week's time. And there he was
sweeping the street and still seeing Living-
stone in darkest Africa. If this illiterate
old Irishman, by means of still slides, had
this subject indelibly impressed upon his
memory, what a big and boundless force
for education, for civic righteousness, for
moral and spiritual and social betterment
we have in the motion picture!
HOW MOTION PICTURES ARE MADE
THE 365-page book by Homer Croy,
recently published by Harper &
Brothers, New York, entitled '"How
Motion Pictures Are Made," is compre-
hensive. The seventeen chapter headings
show how thoroughly the author has covered
his subject, and he has been singularly suc-
cessful. There are one hundred interesting
illustrations in the book.
If the claim put forth by Thomas A. Edi-
son in a recent letter to this magazine is
correct, some statements in the chapter
"How the First Motion Picture Was Pro-
jected" would appear misleading. After
crediting Edison with discovery of the prin-
ciple that the pictures must be taken through
a single lens on a continuous flexible film
negative instead of on separate glass plates
as Marey and Muybridge had done before
him, Croy adds:
"The idea of throwing pictures on a screen
by means of an intermittently moving film
had not yet been hit on. By some play of
fate he (Edison) worked on the wrong prin-
ciple. He stepped off on the wrong foot. In-
stead of trying to perfect a method of showing
the pictures on a screen where they might be
viewed by an audience, he bent his energies
to perfecting a device where only an audience
of one could see the new photographic won-
ders. If it had occurred to him to exhibit the
pictures on the wall where they might be
viewed by many instead of one, and had he
given himself to the working out of this prin-
ciple, he would have been the inventor of
motion pictures, but instead of that, the honor
was to go to another."
The letter from Edison's assistant, Mr.
Meadowcroft, dated December 13, 1918,
reads: "He (Edison) says that he himself
was the first to try projection on a screen
here at Orange, but his first trials were not
as satisfactory as he wished. The next one
who tried the projection on the screen was
Armat of Washington, and Jenkins tried it
later on." Croy apparently ignores this
claim, for he writes:
"To C. Francis Jenkins we owe the motion
picture. Muybridge was the father of motion
pictures, but his career was ended before they
were really an established fact. Muybridge
was the father, but it was C. Francis Jenkins
who brought up the child."
That Jenkins was the first to make prac-
ticable the motion picture projector as we
have it today, there is no doubt whatsoever.
The author has created a distinctly worth-
while book which should have a place in
the library. It is entertaining and well
written, takes a broad view of the subject
in its various phases as an art, a science and
an industry, and the final chapter becomes
glowing with enthusiasm when prophesying
future developments.
Greatest Film Catalog in the World
Starts in February issue of Educational Film
Magazine. Four Months' Trial Subscription. $1.
Yearly, $3. Two Years, $5. Subscribe NOW!
"HOW LIFE BEGINS"— 4 Parts
A wonderful screen version, giving a clearer
understanding of life itself
Now being used by the United States Government in
Camp and Civilian Communities.
Of inestimable value in the class room, welfare and social center.
Living embryo of chick 52 hours old. From "How Life Begins.
For rental and purchase prices address
Exhibitors Booking Agency, 220 W. 42nd St., N. Y.
KATHERINE F. CARTER, Mgr.
Our experts review every picture that is produced. Let us plan your educational
and entertainment programs for the year.
Write for Catalog of Educational and Entertainment Films.
We are in the market for negatives of Educational subjects.
MORE LIGHT
with incandescent lamps in the
VICTOR AN1MATOGRAPH
Than in Any Other Motion Picture Projector.
Designed with,
not merely adapted
to, the new high
power Mazda pro-
jector lamps.
Guaranteed — a
motion picture
image of standard
illumination, clear-
ness, sharpness and
steadiness — entirely
free from eyestrain.
There are other
features that make
the Animatograph
the superior pro-
jector ■ — ■ simplicity,
economy, portabil-
■ ity, lasting quality.
It's all explained
l and illustrated in a
•— --■ new catalog.
Write for information and terms.
VICTOR ANIMATOGRAPH COMPANY
122 Victor Building DAVENPORT, IOWA, U. S. A.
27
FILMING SOUTH SEA ISLES
(Continued from page 17)
law of environment is operative among them
even at this hour. In truth, the influence of
environment, terrestial and meteorological
conditions, in my estimation, has been more
potent than that of hereditary persistence.
For centuries natives of South America, Cen-
tral America, Australia, New Zealand, the
Philippines, China and Japan have been
drifting across this broad expanse of waters,
blending with the indigenous racial groups
here and there, dominating in places, sub-
merged in others, starting new racial forms
in still other places. Occasionally on a sin-
gle island two decidedly different types of
inhabitants are found.
To illustrate the radical differences en-
countered, let us make comparisons. On the
Malaita Islands of the Solomon group there
are 85,000 natives. These people are not
cannibals, but they are very primitive. Men,
women and children of the tribes walk about
entirely nude. To obtain fire they rub sticks
together. They are a fierce and warlike
race. Malaita is a large natural volcanic
island, but the surrounding islands are en-
tirely man-made. Here again environment
plays its part to such an extent that wars
among the tribes compel them to carry stones,
dirt, trees and other material away to some
hidden shoal or reef and construct artificial
islands where they may live in peace.
The inhabitants of Malekula Island, in the
New Hebrides group, on the other hand, are
eaters of human flesh and are cannibals be-
cause they prefer its flavor to that of any
other meat. They are tall, magnificent phys-
ical specimens and very fierce looking.
They have the cunning of a wild animal and
are not to be trusted. It was among the
Big Numbers tribe on Malekula that Mrs.
Johnson and I were captured by Chief Naga-
pate and taken back into the interior. Naga-
pate was the biggest, most savage, handsom-
est and finest type of savage I have ever seen.
He was over six feet tall, a mass of round
symmetrical muscles, his body was glossy
black, there was not a blemish on it, and
when he walked down the path towards me
he seemed to move every muscle in his huge
frame. Osa (Mrs. Johnson) says he was
the most graceful creature (or animal) she
ever saw.
Real Life Beats Reel Life
Our escape from these savages was mirac-
ulous. It was a surprise far more melodra-
matic than in any stage or screen play. At
the moment when the Chief, despite his sixty
wives, had his eyes glued in fascination on
poor Osa, whom he no doubt fancied would
make a wonderful white queen for him, and
when I was wondering whether I was to be
broiled, fried or stewed, a marvelous thing
happened. A British patrol ship rounded
Espiegle Point and one of the native guides
shouted in pidgin English, "Man o' War!" I
gave the Chief and his savages to understand
by signs that the warship was coming to get
us, and to our amazement he let us go. We
managed to run through the tall grass until
we got within a mile of the beach when, to
our consternation, we saw the vessel steam
out of the bay. The savages on the hill-
top had also noted the ship's departure and
came down after us with shrill yells. For-
tunately, we lost our way and came out on
the beach some distance away from the
place where our small boat had been an-
chored. The crew, seeing savages on the
beach, had moved her about opposite the
spot where we emerged from the grass. We
waded out into the water and, by a stroke
of good luck, the men on the boat caught
sight of us and poled the craft toward us.
By this time the cannibals, acting no doubt
under the orders of their Chief, who was
determined to have Osa, waded out after us.
We reached the boat in time, however, and
a few shots from our rifles together with the
speed with which we put distance behind us
discouraged the Big Numbers savages and
we made our escape.
FILMS FOR Y. W. C. A.
Motion pictures have been approved by
Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and the Hous-
ing Committee of the Young Women's Chris-
tian Association for the new recreation
houses to be built in several cities. Films
will be shown probably one evening a week.
They will be designed to meet the pleasure
and educational needs of the young women
who will make the Y. W. C. A. houses their
homes and of their young men friends.
"I desire that the pictures shown shall not
only be of a high moral standard," said Mrs.
Rockefeller recently, "but I should like as
well to have them of educational and dra-
matic value."
GREATEST FILM CATALOG
IN THE WORLD
Starting with February issue, Educational
Film Magazine will classify, describe and
list monthly all films in its field. Four
Months' Trial, $1. Yearly, $3. Clubs of
three or more, $2.50 each. Two Years, $5.
Subscribe NOW1
THE HIGHEST ATTAINMENTS
of the motion picture get their premier
presentations at The Rialto and The Rivoli
theatres on Broadway in New York. Here
consistently week after week the best dra^
matic, scenic, topical and educational pictures
are shown with an inspiring incidental pn>
gram.
Both theatres maintain orchestras of half a
hundred pieces and without rival among
American theatres.
RIVOLI
Broadway at 49th Street
RIALTO
Broadway at 42nd Street
NEW YORK CITY
Both theatres are under the personal supervi'
sion of Samuel L. Rothapfel. They are twin
shrines of the motion picture and allied arts.
28
INDUSTRIAL .SECTION
THE NATIONAL AUTHORITY
Devoted to the Interests of Executives ■, Department Heads, Advertising
Managers, and Sales Managers of Industrial Concerns
Vol. I
JANUARY, 1919
No. 1
THE ADVERTISING FILM
is the last word in
MODERN MARKETING.
It visualizes your plant and your product. It ties
up with your sales campaign to both distributor
and consumer. Built to PATHE Standards we
GUARANTEE showings in a specified number of
theatres in any territory desired.
THE EXPORT FILM
overcomes your language
difficulties.
It affords you the opportunity to sell your entire
organization and familiarize your foreign cus-
tomers with your facilities, product and personnel.
THE EDUCATIONAL FILM
moulds opinion.
Whether your propaganda is for the promulgation
of ideas or for Sales promotion, — the Educational
Film carries your message in less time than any
other medium.
THE ENGINEERING FILM
talks as no set of blue-prints
ever did.
It picturizes the progressive operations of construc-
tion work of similar character. It sells to Govern-
ment Committees, Boards of Trade, and Chambers
of Commerce as no abstract proposition can.
THE INDUSTRIAL FILM
in its broadest sense creates
esprit de corps.
Your labor turnover will be reduced to a minimum.
Each operation will mean something in addition
to wages, to every member of your staff.
PLANNING and BUILDING
Industrial Films is Our Special
Work.
We have built Industrial films for over 10 years
for representative business organizations. We can
build an Industrial Film for YOU that will produce
the desired results. IF YOU ALREADY HAVE A
FILM — we will arrange for distribution,-
building to Pathe' Standards if necessary.
-re-
Send for our interesting FREE Booklet
"THE MOTION PICTURE IN ADVERTISING"
It will give you full data on our
GUARANTEED DISTRIBUTION
We are in a position to help you solve
YOUR INDIVIDUAL DISTRIBUTION PROBLEM
LEGGETT-GRUEN CORPORATION
Distributed by
PATHE
Educational — Industrial Films
220 West 42nd Street
NEW YORK
29
THE PIONEER INDUSTRIAL FILM MAN
J. Alexander Leggett First Producer to Sense the
Possibilities of Publicity Pictures — Exhibited Ad-
vertising Films in Theatres Eleven Years Ago
THE story of how a 30-year-old fire
insurance solicitor originated and
developed the industrial motion pic-
ture, which to-day ranks artistically with
the costly photoplay and, educationally, on
a higher level, is probably unfamiliar to
the majority of executives, advertising
managers and sales managers of industrial
concerns. It is the narrative of a man with
vision and courage, one who, years before
his contemporaries, sensed the full signifi-
cance and value of motion picture adver-
tising. It forms a most interesting, instruc-
tive and inspiring chapter in the forward
march of cinematography, which Homer
Croy might well have included, but did not,
in his recent book "How Motion Pictures
Are Made." For the history of the indus-
trial film is the personal history of J. Alex-
ander Leggett. In the actual manufacture
and exhibition of industrial motion pictures
he preceded Watterson R. Rothacker, of
Chicago, by about three years, although Mr.
Rothacker was the first man to organize a
company and operate a studio exclusively
for this purpose.
A New Yorker by birth, Mr. Leggett is
forty-one years old. To-day he is in the
prime of his powers as a director and pro-
ducer of industrial motion pictures. He
was educated in the New York City public
schools and graduated from high school.
His father thought he might make an engi-
neer of the youth and sent him to Pratt
Institute to study mechanical engineering,
and young Leggett even went to work for
an engineering concern. But he had no
real liking for it, and shifted to a fire in-
surance company in which he worked up to
a branch managership. Then came the lure
of the "movies" which at that time was at-
tracting men more or less successful in
other pursuits to "the film game."
From Insurance to the "Movies"
He applied to the Vitagraph Company
and got a job as a salesman, dignified by
the title of "special representative" which
he proudly printed on his cards. After
leaving Vitagraph, with which he was
financially successful, he went into the pro-
ducing end of the business for himself in
association with a number of other inde-
pendents, and lost practically all of his
savings. It was at this critical stage of
his career that J. A. Berst, then vice presi-
dent and general manager of Pathe, ap-
pointed Mr. Leggett exclusive industrial
agent for the great French film manufac-
turer, and from this time on the progress
and success of the man who "showed others
how to do it" have been like a triumphal
procession. Three years ago, on January 1,
1916, he and T. Gruen formed the Leggett-
Gruen Corporation which took over Mr.
Leggett's contract with Pathe and continued
the exclusive industrial agency. The cor-
poration has made and exhibited some of
the most intrinsically valuable industrial
motion pictures produced up to the present
- — valuable not only as publicity and propa-
QNE of the 200 packing houses of the Cali-
fornia Fruit Growers Exchange, Los An-
geles County, Cal. The scene is from the Leg-
gett-Gruen film, "The Story of the Orange."
Every detail in the career of the golden fruit
from tree to table is told entertainingly on the
ganda but for their educational worth. In
fact, it is the latter quality which gives
them permanency and makes the films
profitable to all concerned — advertiser, pro-
ducer, exhibitor, and the general public.
"Adventures of Billiken"
The first industrial motion picture ever
made consisted of 500 feet and was titled
"Adventures of Billiken." Many readers
will recall this grinning imp sitting on a
high-backed Gothic chair, who was a na-
tional idol more than a decade back. After
Mr. Leggett had about exhausted his powers
of persuasion on Mr. Monash, head of the
Monash Sales Company, Centre Street, New
York, he secured an order for the munifi-
cent sum of $250. Since that day as high
as $25,000 has been paid for a one-reel in-
dustrial film. To the surprise of the Vita-
graph Company, which regarded the venture
as a dubious experiment, many theatres,
despite the frank advertising on the film,
paid rental for it and ran it as part of their
programs. The Billiken business doubled
overnight. Mr. Leggett woke up to find
himself with a vast new business on his
hands. And he was the daddy of it.
Before finally getting an actual order
from Monash, the intrepid young Vitagraph
salesman had boldly entered the advertising
offices of the American Tobacco Company
and patiently waited three hours to inter-
view the advertising manager. At last an
assistant came out and when he learned that
Leggett wanted to "take pictures of work-
men in the plant making Hassan cigarettes"
he told the latter that he would have to
get permission from the president of the
company, and turned on his heel and left
the salesman staring stupidly after him.
The success of the Billiken film, however,
paved the way later to the president's office
and Leggett obtained an order for a film
to cost $2,500 and to be distributed by
Vitagraph. It was 1,000 feet and called
'How Hassan Cigarettes Are Made."
35 Different Films for One Concern
After this it became less difficult to get a
hearing and walk off with an order, and
the market price of a good industrial rose
to $10,000. The advertising possibilities of
the screen appealed to the L. E. Waterman
Company, makers of the famous fountain
pen, and Leggett's first picture for them
30
he styled "Birth and Adventures of a
Fountain Pen." Since then he has made
seven different films for this concern, while
during the last ten years he has produced j
no less than thirty-five separate motion pic-
tures for one large national advertiser, a
great public utility corporation. Many of
these films have been shown in theatres
booked by Vitagraph and Pathe. Only
recently there came to the Waterman Com-
pany a letter from Australia, five years
after the release of one of their films, say-
ing that this same picture was being run
in a motion picture theatre there. Colonel
E. A. Havers is now arranging to show a
30-minute film on the Waterman pen be-
fore the Rotary Clubs of this country and
give talks on the subject. Two reels of
1,500 feet are being sent by this company
to be exhibited in Russia.
Shown at Strand and Rialto
A tribute to Mr. Leggett's fine artistic
perception and to the producing facilities
of his company was the exhibition at the
Rialto Theatre, New York City, Christmas
week in 1916 of "The Silk Industry." The
following year the Rialto showed "The
Triumph of Transportation." Last April
"The Whispering Wires of War," another
Leggett-Gruen production, was shown at the
Strand, New York City. All of these films
have since been thrown on the screen in
thousands of motion picture theatres and
educational institutions.
Romance of the Industrial Film
The industrial film field has its romances
no less than in other motion picture realms,
despite the fact that it deals with the cold,
hard, everyday problems of business. Take
the case of a great international bank note
concern, famous throughout the world. In
order to prove to the financial representa-
tives of foreign governments that engraved
plates from which bank notes are printed
are safeguarded in every possible way, this
company had three reels of pictures made
by Leggett-Gruen showing in detail the ex-
treme care taken in every process of pro-
ducing government money. For instance,
in one part of the film it was brought out
that in order to secure possession of the
engraved plates belonging to some govern-
ment it would be necessary for twelve offi-
cials of the bank note concern, each with a
different key, to unlock the doors to the
storage vaults at the same time.
Twenty outfits, each equipped with a
Pathescope portable projector and the three
reel picture, were sent out to all parts of^
the world by the bank note company. All
returned safely except the one which ven-
tured into Russia where the revolutionists,
flushed with victory, fancied that the pro-
jector was an infernal machine and that
the reels were some new-fangled bombs.
The representative escaped with his life,
but he left behind one perfectly good Pathe-
scope and three thousand feet of perfectly
good bank note propaganda.
(Continued on page 31)
THE NEWEST FORM OF A NEW ART
By Harry Levey
Manager, Industrial Department, Universal Film Manufacturing Company
I HAVE just headed a motion picture ex-
pedition into the Kentucky mountains
to make pictures of the strangest pure-
blooded Americans in the United States.
It is not merely to depict their almost
unbelievable ignorance of civilization's ways
but the manner in which they are being re-
born physically, mentally and spiritually
through the efforts of a humanitarian,
Alice Spencer Geddens Lloyd, who has
built up a community center which radiates
practical help as well as those things that
are of the spirit. It is at Caney Creek, in
Knott county, and the surrounding moun-
taineers live in windowless cabins. Accord-
ing to Miss Lloyd, the greatest agency in
spreading her gospel of right living has
been a multigraph machine. On it she
prints a little paper that has built up the
community spirit; on it she types appeals
for assistance to the outside world. The
Multigraph Company sent me there to make
a picture — a regular photoplay with deep
dramatic appeal. Their machine is shown
only incidentally. Yet not a patron of a
moving picture theatre will leave without
remembering the part a multigraph played
in the photoplay. It will be enshrined in
their memory, far more so than if the pic-
ture consisted only of scenes in the com-
pany's plant.
The Value of Suggestion
Pictures do not take an intellectual
bludgeon; they are more subtle. Humanity
has an inherent tendency to resent what is
forced upon it. A suggestion will often
sink deeper into human consciousness than
any amount of pleading or hammering.
For example, a drama may be built on
which the future of two lives is in the bal-
ance. It is almost a matter of life and
death. There is tense suspense and moving
dramatic conflict. The emotions of the
spectator are at a high pitch. But there
is a key to the solution of this human prob-
lem— some simple thing. Let us say that
it is a special kind of soap. The mention
of that soap might come first in the last
few feet of film and it might seem entirely
casual. But the whole story has hung upon
it and so it has the emphasis of every bit
of emotion that has been developed in the
progress of the drama. The casually men-
tioned cake of soap "goes over with a
punch." And it will not be forgotten.
That is the indirect appeal and it is an
extraordinarily effective one when skilfully
used, either in writing or in pictures.
How a Film Sold Tires
But this picture also shows the part that
automobiles are playing in the use of roads
for military purposes and it follows the
travels of a test fleet of automobiles through
the Eastern States. The trip itself covered
historic ground and is intrinsically interest-
ing but it has a secondary value. The test
was not of cars but of tires and the film
showed that with better treatment rubber
tires will last much longer than they do
ordinarily, thereby saving rubber for war
purposes.
T^ NOWN among his admirers as "The
Griffith of the Industrial Picture," Harry-
Levey has made himself a factor of impor-
tance in the industrial film field. Taking hold
of the Industrial Department of the Uni-
versal Film Manufacturing Company little
more than a year ago, he has "done things,"
as other officials of the company and many
large national advertisers will testify.
These facts having engaged our attention,
we are interested to discover that the tires
are Firestones and that it is part of Fire-
stone policy to advocate the conservation of
rubber, not for its own pocket but for the
benefit of the nation and our allies. Thus
Firestone is insinuated into our conscious-
ness unforgettably.
The advertiser who has something engag-
ing to say that is worth saying and the in-
dustrial producer who is resourceful and
conservative have a long and most effective
career together ahead of them. The field
is almost untouched. When one advertiser
orders three pictures in one year, each pic-
ture running into many thousands of dol-
lars to make and present, it is an augury
of the wonderful new era of screen adver-
tising upon which we are entering.
PIONEER INDUSTRIAL FILM MAN
(Continued from page 30)
Educating Chinese Silk Workers
Another interesting problem which Mr.
Leggett's company had solved so satisfac-
torily that the films are said to have in-
creased sales $5,000,000 was that presented
by the United States Conditioning and Test-
ing Company, of New York City. This
company's business is to remove impurities
from silk and to get the raw silk into
proper condition to be used for looms.
The Japanese send over their raw silk in
excellent condition, and the company de-
cided that it would be a wise move to show
the Chinese how to do the work as well as
their neighbors. It was clearly a case of
educating millions of illiterate Chinamen
to adopt improved methods, and the mo-
tion picture screen was eagerly seized upon
as the most direct and effective teaching
means. Three reels were made showing
the correct methods of preparing raw silk
for the American market and the titles were
in Chinese characters. The company sent a
representative to China, equipped with a
Pathescope portable outfit and these films,
and he exhibited the pictures and lectured
on them in all the silk sections of China.
The result was that the importations of
Chinese raw silk became so much better in
quality and preparation for the loom that
the business expanded by several millions
of dollars.
ATTRACTOGRAPH
Tells your motion picture story
That creates lasting impression
Reels that attract and hold
Attention of every race, color, creed
Can be operated wherever desired
Theatres, schools, show-windows, etc.
Operates automatically
G oes on day and night without stopping
Requires no operator, no booth, no work
Automatically winds and rewinds
P rojects perfectly in daylight
Has Underwriters' label — safe anywhere.
SPECIAL RENTAL OFFER— For $10 weekly we will
rent you an Attractograph on contract for your indi-
vidual use, for educational and industrial purposes.
High Class Representatives Wanted
throughout the world, able to invest capital in purchasing Attracto-
graphs, for exclusive territories outside of Greater New York district.
ATTRACTOGRAPH CO., Inc. 220 West 42nd St., N. Y.
31
What Is Seen Is Best
Remembered
It is because of this undeniable fact that
Motion Pictures Are a Great Educator
Also it is without question that the subject matter must be so perfectly
projected that all details are brought out in bold relief.
One projector that has held a secure reputation throughout the life of this
industry for the absolute perfection of its work, is
POWER'S CAMERAGRAPH
Everything that is on the film it projects with absolute fidelity and with
such clearness that nothing is left to the imagination. This is why it is
in such general use in Educational Institutions, Churches, Hospitals,
Camps, Theatres, etc., throughout the world.
Motion Pictures T each Conclusively
Power's Cameragraph Depicts Properly
Catalogue or demonstration will give further details
Nicholas Power Company
INCORPORATED
Pioneers of Projection 90 GOLD ST., NEW YORK, N. Y.
BROOKLYN EAGLE PRESS
Travel
History : Patriotic Themes
Modern Industry
Comedy : Scenics : Juveniles
OUR FILM LIBRARY
OF THESE ESSENTIAL SUBJECTS IS PERHAPS
THE MOST EXTENSIVE IN THE WORLD, AND
WE ARE READY TO SERVE YOU FROM 16
BRANCH CENTERS, COVERING THE WHOLE
UNITED STATES
Write us for Catalogs and Complete Information about
Our Methods of Distribution
The Pioneers of Motion Picture Education/'
UCKnONJAL FILMS CORPORATIOl
p^5*/,
729 TUVENIJE
NEWTORK,
NX
QooooaxDa
J
year
We Know the Records
•I No other organization in the world has had the
good fortune to review in^so thorough a manner
the resources of motion picture projection since
its beginning. The critical judgment of \his
material is available for the use of every group
in the community.
flWe combine this material in suitable programs
for every purpose. We render this service scien-
tifically; the best expert assistance is at our dis-
posal. We can strike the mark you are aiming
at. We can make the eyes of the world turn to
the solution of your problem. Nothing which
exists, moves or has being is beyond our reach
for visual illustration and education from actual
presentation.. Seeing is believing; believing is
the beginning of doing.
Community Motion Picture Bureau
46 West Twenty- fourth Street^ New York City
1/
EDUCATIONAL
FILM
MAGAZINE
The National Authority
□
Motion Pictures to Revitalize Europe
By MYRA KINGMAN MILLEK
Chairman. Foreign Film Unit, National Council cf Women
Comparative Study of Visual Instruction
By DR. DAVID R. SUMSTINE
Principal Peabody High School, Pittsburgh
A National Visual Instruction Bureau
By CHARLES ROACH
Director, Visual Instruction Service, Iowa State College
Picture-Making and Teaching Arts
By DR. LAWRENCE A. AVERILL
Head of Child Psychology Department, Mass. State Normal School
A Great Film Campaign for Safety
THE MOTION PICTURE WORK OF THE U. S. STEEL CORPORATION
Danger Films!
By FREDERICK BURLINGHAM
Importance of the Industrial Film
By C. H. MOORE
In Charge of Film Production, U S. Division of Educational Extention
5l9i9
r'Cu
■;<ssaiv*a> rMSSrSisSi
25 cents a copy
FF WUARY, 1919
$3 a year
THE NEW
PREMIER PATHESCOPE
BECAUSE OF ITS SPECIAL, NARROW WIDTH
SLOW BURNING FILM
Is Approved by
Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc.
FOR UNRESTRICTED USE ANYWHERE
and Bears Their Official Label
"Enclosing Booth Not Required"
The New Premier Pathescope will run the narrow-width,
slow-burning film recently adopted by the Society of Motion
Picture Engineers, as the new "Safety Standard" for all port-
able projectors.
Adopted by Every School Board That
Investigates the Merits of Portable Projectors
There are more Pathescopes in schools today than all other portable projectors combined, because they are
designed particularly for SCHOOL USE, and embody seven years of successful experience gained in the world-
wide sale and use of over ten thousand former models in Schools, Churches. Institutions. Commercial
Establishments, etc.
There are about one hundred "Pop-
ular" Model Pathescopes in the
Public Schools of New York City,
and the Board of Education has re-
cently ordered a number of NEW
PREMIER PATHESCOPES after
a careful investigation of the merits
of other portable projectors.
The Pathescope Film Library now
contains nearly 1,500 reels and is growing
rapidly.
All on Underwriters' Approved and La-
bel-Inspected Slow-Burning film stock.
The largest assortment of AVAIL-
ABLE EDUCATIONAL and enter-
tainment films ever offered for uni-
versal public use.
For the third consecutive year we have been awarded the con-
tract for furnishing Pathescope Educational Film Service
to the New York Public Schools, on the recommendation of
their Investigating Committee.
If you really wish the BEST you will eventually use the
Pathescope; in the meantime
Write for booklets:
"Education by Visualization" (5th Edition, 100,000).
"Educational Films for the Pathescope."
"Endorsements of Educational Efficiency, Etc."
For Industrial Users
We number among our clients the most prominent manufac-
turers using motion pictures as an aid to salesmanship.
Many of them adopted the Pathescope after unsatisfactory
and expensive efforts to use unapproved projectors. You
cannot afford to take the chance of having a serious accident.
Pathescope Agencies and Service Stations are established
not only in the U. S. A., but all over the world — Moscow,
Madrid, Melbourne — from Omsk in Siberia to Buenos Aires
in South America — not to mention main offices in Toronto,
London and Paris.
THE PATHESCOPE CO. OF AMERICA, INC.
SUITE 1876, AEOLIAN HALL, NEW YORK
Pathescope Co. of New England, Boston.
United Projector and Film Co., Buffalo,
Pittsburg and Harrisburg.
Pathescope Co., Chicago.
OR TO
Pathescope Exchange, Philadelphia.
Pathescope Co. of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Pathescope Co. of Utah and Idaho, Salt Lake
City.
Paramount - Bray Pictographs
"The Magazine on the Screen"
are all readily available to schools, colleges, churches, institutions
and organizations AT NOMINAL COST everywhere through the
27 Famous Players-Lasky Exchanges.
#] There are hundreds of short length Educational Subjects on art,
science, invention, travel and industry.
Paramount - Bray Pictographs
a
The Magazine on the Screen^
is a single reel, released each week.
C First release of its kind — and still the best.
C An internationally famous Bray Cartoon Comedy is a part of each reel.
C Animated technical drawings by which the heretofore unphotographable is
translated to the screen, appear only in Paramount-Bray Pictographs.
d, A few of the most recent releases are :
"The Astronomer's Workshop." "The Torpedo, the Hornet of the Sea."
"Humpback Whaling in the Pacific." "Microscopic Revelations."
"Uncle Sam's Hints to Housewives." "Ingenious Insects."
"Destructive Power of T.N.T." "Charting the Skies."
CL Educational organizations are invited to investigate how any course or subject
may be made far more interesting by Paramount-Bray Pictographs.
C The complete Paramount-Bray facilities for both filming and distributing are
available to industries desiring to SHOW the public how their products are made or
are to be used.
THE BRAY STUDIOS, INC
23 EAST 26th STREET, NEW YORK CITY
FAMOUS PLAYERS-LASKY CORPORATION
ADOLPH ZUKORPres JESSE L.1ASKY Vice Pres CECIL B.DE MI1XE DmclorCenswl
- '"NEW TORIO • J
Community Motion Picture Bureau
^HE Community Motion Picture
Bureau was organized and devel-
oped to its present important posi-
tion in an endeavor to make the
Motion Picture a social asset.
Purpose
The Bureau exists in order to supply whole-
some recreation and education in its most
gripping form to every community institu-
tion. Back of every worth-while organization
the Bureau is able to place the drawing
power and instructional efficiency of the mo-
tion picture. It aims to be a universally ac-
cessible agency, at the service of everybody,
reaching the people for the people's good.
The motion picture knows no barrier of
language; it is the most efficient method for
reaching the human mind. The Bureau
intends to continue to use this great agency
to bring to the whole world common under-
standing, common ideas and common ideals.
The Bureau feels it has in its grasp the
humble but powerful force that is potentially
among the greatest stabilizing factors in the
world, because it makes for a world mind.
Eight years ago, October 26, 1911, the Bureau
was conceived in all seriousness of purpose;
the same seriousness of purpose will continue
to dominate the organization.
Field
At every gathering place in the world,
where folks come together for the good of the
community, there is opportunity for the Bu-
reau's service. Its work should be a part of
all institutions interested in the welfare of
the people. School, church, women's club,
lodge, every public and voluntary institution
is a possible subscriber to the Bureau's ser-
vice. In industry the Bureau hopes and ex-
pects to perform a task larger in extent and
in significance than that which it has to its
credit for the American Army. The Bureau
is the only existing agency which can bring
organized recreation and compelling educa-
tion to the open country, which must be re-
generated if the nation is to endure.
No less important is the service the Bureau
can render in interpreting to the foreign born
in America the spirit of America in prepara-
tion for fuller citizenship. The universal
language spoken by the Bureau's films is
equally valuable in translating into a common
understanding the need and results of mis-
sionary efforts — the spiritualization of the
world mind. To both of these tasks the
Bureau is committed.
Tell Us Your Needs — We will give you a Plan
Community Motion Picture Bureau
46 West Twenty-fourth Street :: :: New York City
Published Monthly at 33 West 42d Street (Aeolian Hall), New York City. DOLPH EASTMAN Editor
Subscription: United States, $3 a year; other countries, $4 a year; single copies 25 cents
Advertising rates on application. Copyright, 1919, by City News Publishing Company
Vol. I
FEBRUARY, 1919
No. 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Index to Articles
EDITORIAL 5
Reception and Reaction — Commercialism and Vision
Pedagogical Fallacies — Bravo! American Women
MOTION PICTURES TO REVITALIZE EUROPE 7
By Myra Kingman Miller — Illustrated
UNIVERSITY EXTENSION MEN MEET 8
THE "MOVIES" AND UNIVERSAL PEACE 8
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF VISUAL INSTRUCTION 9
By Dr. David R. Sumstine — Illustrated
A NATIONAL DIVISION OF VISUAL INSTRUCTION 11
By Charles Roach — Illustrated
THE ARTS OF PICTURE MAKING AND OF TEACHING. ... 12
By Dr. Lawrence Augustus Averill.
MOTION PICTURES IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.... 13
By Don Carlos Ellis — Illustrated
MOTION PICTURES OF METAL STRESSES 14
By Edwin F. Cone, M.E. — Illustrated
MOTION PICTURES AID CLINIC 15
"FIT TO FIGHT" FILM IN MONTREAL 15
NEW TECHNICAL SCHOOLS IN ALASKA 15
A GREAT FILM CAMPAIGN FOR SAFETY AND EFFI-
CIENCY 16
Illustrated
"A HOOSIER ROMANCE" ON THE SCREEN 18
Illustrated
"NELSON," HISTORICAL FILM, SHOWN IN LONDON 18
DANGER FILMS! 19
By Frederick Burlingham — Illustrated
THE EDUCATIONAL LANTERN SLIDE 20
From "The World Visualized"
Edited by DR. FRANK M. McMURRY
SLIDE NOTES AND COMMENT 21
FLASHES ON THE WORLD'S SCREEN 23
CATALOG OF FILMS 24
Agriculture — American Scenics— Chemistry — Classical —
History — Juvenile — Medical and Surgical — Pictographs —
Miscellaneous — Religious — Zoology
THE FORUM 26
Letters to the Editor
DIVISION OF FILMS TO CLOSE 27
"UNDER FOUR FLAGS" IN SCHOOLS 27
IMPORTANCE OF THE FILM IN INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION 29
By C. H. Moore— Illustrated
BIG BUSINESS AIDS FILM INDUSTRY 31
SHOW INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS WITH FILMS... 31
INDUSTRIAL FILM NOTES ' 31
5,000 SEE WELFARE FILM IN THEATRE 31
INDUSTRIAL FILMS IN DENMARK 31
Index to Advertisements
Pathescope Co. . . .Inside front cover
The Bray Studios, Inc 1
Community Motion Picture Bu-
reau 2
Graphoscope Co 4
Educator's Cinematograph Co... 21
Scott & Van Altena, Inc 21
Underwood & Underwood 22
Eastman Kodak Co 22
Exhibitors Booking Agency 22
Victor Animatograph Co 27
Nicholas Power Co 32
Educational Films Corp.,
Inside back cover
Excelsior Illustrating Co 21 Precision Machine Co. . . .Back
Introductory Subscription Offers
EDUCATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION, $3
Trial Subscription for 4 Months, $1
Pin a Dollar Bill to Coupon Below and Mail to Us
Yearly Subscriptions in Clubs of 3 or more, $2 each
2-Year Subscriptions, $4 3-Year Subscriptions, $5
As THE NATIONAL AUTHORITY on educational, industrial and allied
motion pictures, the best thought and most helpful ideas and suggestions
will be found in EVERY issue of this publication.
Beginning with this number all worth-while educa-
tional, scientific, agricultural, literary, historical, gov-
ernmental, religious, travel, social welfare, topical,
and industrial films will be classified, listed, and de-
scribed. Many valuable features will be added from
time to time. If you wish to keep in touch with all
developments in Visual Education, take advantage of
these Special Introductory Offers TO-DAY. Fill out
the Coupon and mail to us NOW, with check, money
order, registered letter, or Dollar Bill.
CUT OUT, SIGN, AND MAIL NOW WITH REMITTANCE
Educational Film Magazine, 33 West 42nd St., New York
Enclosed find $ for which enter /-jtid subscrip-
tion to your magazine for
NAME
STREET NO
CITY & STATE
MONTHS
• YEARS
wrssss>yr/7/ssss/ssssss/7SM^^
^T he Crowning Achievement of the
Inventor of the First Motion Pictuf e
Projector.
Designed especially for Educational
and Industrial Service.
Remarkable for its Simplicity, Beauty
of Screen Picture, and Positive Safety.
Projection up to One Hundred Feet.
Weight Ninety-eight Pounds.
Price Three Hundred and Fifty Dollars
You are invited to call or send for illustrated booklet
GRAPHOSCOPE
SO East 42nd Street : : New York
The National Authority
Covering Educational, Scientific, Agricultural, Literary, Historical, Governmental, Religious, Travel, Social Welfare,
Industrial and News Motion Pictures
Published Monthly by the City News Publishing Co., 33 West 4>2nd Street (Aeolian Hall), New York City
DOLPH EASTMAN, Editor
Vol. I
FEBRUARY, 1919
No. 2
RECEPTION AND REACTION
THE January, 1919, number, the initial issue
of the Educational Film Magazine, was
placed in the hands of several thousand
readers in every section of the United States
and Canada. Many letters have been received, which
for sincere appreciation, whole-hearted encourage-
ment, and limitless enthusiasm can scarcely be ex-
celled. To our regret we have space to publish only
a few of the more significant of these letters in "The
Forum" department of the magazine. The editor de-
sires, however, to thank all of these correspondents,
individually and collectively, for their congratula-
tions and expressions of good will. It is to be hoped
that their earnest words will crystallize into deeds
and that each reader, who is now a subscriber or in-
tends to become one, will constitute himself or herself
a Committee of One, a Crusader in the Great Cause
of Motion Picture Education, and will draw to the
magazine new subscribers, so that this vital movement
for visual instruction may spread and flourish and
succeed beyond our most roseate dreams.
May we not again emphasize the point that this
publication stands for disinterested service to the edu-
cator, the churchman, the social worker, the govern-
ment, the national organization, the industrial em-
ployer and employee, and the individual leader or
group of leaders seeking the light of a newer and bet-
ter day! May we not urge that we do not stand for
any interest or policy which would exploit the school,
the church, the institution or the organization for
narrow or selfish ends or which would foist insidious
propaganda upon the institutional screen? The sub-
scriber, therefore, who heeds the call of the crusader
in this great Cause, the most important movement in
pedagogy since the days of Comenius and Pestalozzi,
can best serve this Cause by enlarging the circle of
our "constant readers." If, as Mr. Hays, director
of extension work for the Chicago Board of Educa-
tion, suggests in his letter published in this issue,
this magazine is to prove a powerful force toward
the general acceptance of visual methods in Ameri-
can schools and colleges, we must look to our friends
for practical support, so that we may extend our
sphere of influence and become not only "The
National Authority" but an educational agency of
international usefulness.
COMMERCIALISM AND VISION
Big men who have made Big Business what it is
in this country have, without exception, been men of
vision. Was it not this far-seeing ability, this ability
to sense the commercial values of a product or a
service years ahead of other men, which laid the
foundations of gigantic enterprises and led to rich
realities that began with dreams? The man who can
visualize an economic or civic or social need and
who can by the exercise of exceptional skill, talent,
mentality, or energy realize his vision is our modern
"captain of industry" and as great a>man in his way
as Hannibal or Alexander or Caesar of old.
Unfortunately, few of the manufacturers of motion
pictures have been or are men of vision. Those who
have had the long look ahead, those who have had
the patience and the persistence to fight against all
kinds of obstacles and to overcome all kinds of
prejudices, have ultimately won and are to-day the
leaders of the film industry. Those who had not this
foresight, this intuitive second sense, have been
wrecked on the rocks of mediocrity and have sunk
deep into the sea of oblivion.
In the present transition period of the industry
vision is vital. Everyone connected with it, even the
munificently paid screen star, must have it or eventu-
ally be swept aside in the tidal wave of evolution.
Herbert Spencer showed us years ago that the laws
of evolution and dissolution are as fixed as Polaris
in the northern sky, and the motion picture inevitably
must react to the operation of natural forces. The
cycle is already whirling, slowly but surely; the
pendulum is beginning, gradually, to swing back on
its chord from the amusement end toward the educa-
tional, ethical, civic, social and industrial end. And
we believe it will never swing so far again to the
purely theatrical, the entirely entertaining. Hence-
forth the instructional, the informational, the uplift-
ing, and the humanly helpful will become more and
more factors in the situation, as they should have been
from the incipiency of the cinematograph and as they
should be at this moment.
"The amusement branch of the business will not
undertake this matter seriously," said Thomas A. Edi-
son in the interview published in our January issue.
"They lack interest, and they always will, in the educa-
tional and religious branch." But do they? Will
they awake to the commercial possibilities of educa-
tional and religious pictures before or after others
with more vision have seized upon the world-wide
market, with its vast profits, which is certain to be
opened before long? Here and there a few leaders
have seen and have read aright the handwriting on the
wall. With courage, capital and conscience — three
essential C's — these men and women, blazing a trail
through the burned-out forest of theatricals and profi-
teering, are destined to become the real leaders of the
motion-picture industry a few years hence.
PEDAGOGICAL FALLACIES
"I have listened to some discussion on this whole
general subject (of visual education)," said Dr. Ira
N. Hollis, president of Worcester Polytechnic Insti-
tute, Worcester, Massachusetts, nearly three years ago,
"and personally I believe that the tendency of the
present age is to make school work too easy. It is
more or less a continuance of the entertainment sys-
tem to be found in the kindergartens.
"Whether the growing lack of power to work and
to concentrate the mind on studies is evidence of a
weakening in our educational system I am not able to
say, but in the twenty-five years that I have taught I
have observed that phenomenon very markedly. I
cannot say that the extension of the moving picture
and the stereopticon method would weaken education.
On the other hand, I fear it."
Is not Dr. Hollis putting the cart before the horse;
is he not urging from effects and not from causes?
Why do students lack power to work and power to con-
centrate the mind? Is not the present educational sys-
tem which is at fault and not the raw material fed
into that system? Human raw material is much the
same the world over, at each respective age and in
each respective environment. Therefore, it cannot be
the material from which the finished product is made
that is wrong. It must be the system, the machinery
of education clogged up with the dust of tradition and
prejudice and ultra-conservation, that is wrong.
This worthy educator deplores the tendency to make
school work too easy. He would go back, perhaps, to
the days when school work was so hard that the
majority of boys and girls preferred to do chores on
the farm and manual labor in shops and mills. In
early times only the monks were learned, and all
others were as suckling babes. In the seclusion of
their cloisters, bent over their missals, with the faint
light o fa single taper flickering in the medieval gloom,
the holy men labored year after year to master what
is now child's play to a high school student. Would
the president of Worcester Polytechnic and other edu-
cators who reason as he does go back to pioneer Colo-
nial days when school work was actually work of the
hardest mental and physical kind, when the painful
process of education was accompanied by cuffs on the
ear and humiliating dunce caps and the eternal dis-
grace of being "kept back" in last year's class?
At about the same time as Dr. Hollis gave expres-
sion to his reactionary views Professor J. Will Parry,
secretary of the Department of Engineering Exten-
sion, Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa, wrote: "For-
meerly I held the impression that motion pictures
should be made to parallel the courses of study. I
am rapidly coming to feel, with notable exceptions,
motion pictures should not be made to parallel the
curriculum, but rather the courses of study should
expand to utilize the motion picture."
BRAVO! AMERICAN WOMEN
One of the most cheering and inspiring stories we
have read in these post-war days is that written by
Mrs Myra Kingman Miller for this issue, "Motion
Pictures to Revitalize Europe." Besides scoring a
news "beat," this magazine enjoys the good fortune
of having the chairman of the American Women's
Foreign Film Unit, herself, the woman who has been
the most active and influential in civic, social, and
child welfare work with motion pictures, stand
sponsor for the article and vouch for its accuracy.
We do not know whether it was Mrs. Miller who
conceived this unique humanitarian idea and planned
this philanthropic tour of "reciprocity" films through
the war-ravaged districts of Europe, but there can be
no doubt of its beneficent results in many directions.
After all, it is the woman and the children who suffer
most from war's mad revels, and it is the women and
the children who most need our help in these hours
of rebuilding for the future. What more natural
than that the nobility of American women should rise
to the need, and what agency more powerful than the
motion picture?
Our readers and all who are identified with the
growing Better Films Movement will be interested in
the announcement that Mrs. Miller is to conduct a
Better Films Department in this magazine, and we
hope to begin this feature in the March number.
MOTION PICTURES TO REVITALIZE EUROPE
Foreign Film Unit, Representing 10,000,000 Organized American
Women, Will Assist Their Stricken Sisters of France, Italy, Russia,
and Other Countries with Reconstruction and Reciprocity Films —
Great Work Starts in June and Has the Support of Prominent
Civic, Social, Religious and Educational Leaders
By Myra Kingman Miller
Chairman, Better Film Committee, National Council of Women, and Chairman, Foreign Film Unit
THROUGH the medium of
the motion picture, 10,000,-
000 American women, rep-
resented by the Better Film
Committee of the National Council
of Women, will assist millions of
European women in reconstructing
their homes and revitalizing their
lives, both now wrecked by war's
devastation.
A Foreign Film Unit selected
from the committee and represent-
ing four large national organiza-
zations — General Federation of
Women's Clubs, National Federa-
tion of College Women, Associa-
tion of Collegiate Alumnae, and
Women's Bar Association — will
leave New York for France about
June 1, bearing their cheering
screen message to their stricken sis-
ters of the heroic republic, later to
the grief -laden women of Italy and
those in darkest Russia, and prob-
ably other countries.
Reciprocity the Theme
be
of
be
The theme of reciprocity will
present at all times. The work
the women of America will
shown, demonstrating how prob-
lems of sanitation, hygiene, home
building and civic beautifying are
handled in this country, as well as
the problem of the working girl, the clerical girl, the
neighborhood house, the community house, and the public
playgrounds, as well as various other social welfare activi-
ties. In return, the unit hopes to bring from France, Italy
and other countries the best that these respective countries
have to offer their co-workers on this side of the water.
The American women feel that this will bring the women
of all nations closer together; will give them a better
understanding of one another's problems; will assist each
national group to solve their own, and will be of inesti-
mable value in their civic, philanthropic and social welfare
work. It will cement friendships, enhance understandings,
and weld the nations together in a spirit of service.
Film Tour to End in Norway
The Foreign Film Unit expects to carry its screen
stories into every part of France, Italy, Russia and prob-
ably one or two other countries, the itinerary ending at
Christiania, Norway, in October of this year, where there
is to be a great International Conference of Women's
Organizations from all over the world, to be presided
over by Lady Aberdeen.
A/TRS. MYRA KINGMAN MILLER, of New York
City, formerly of Long Beach, California, chair-
man of the Foreign Film Unit and Better Film Com-
mittee of the National Council of Women, and presi-
dent of the National Federation of College Women, is
one of the pioneers in the Better Film Movement.
For eight years she has been actively engaged in rais-
ing the standard of motion pictures and seeing that
they fulfilled their greatest usefulness.
She organized, equipped and managed the first mo-
tion picture theatre exclusively to exhibit selected
films for children, under the auspices of the Federa-
tion of Parent Teachers' Association of Long Beach,
California. She is known as a lecturer and writer of
national reputation, and is the author of the statement
now universally quoted: "The motion picture is the
greatest factor in the education of the masses to-day
and as such demands our attention and influence."
The writer is chairman of the
committee and of the unit which is
to direct this important work in
Europe. Mrs. Harriet H. Barry, of
Monrovia, California, member of
the Woman's City Club of Los
Angeles, and for years national
chairman of Better Films in the
Federation of College Women, is
secretary of the committee, and will
have charge of the financing. It is
estimated that $30,000 will be re-
quired and will be raised, a portion
of which is now in hand. Mrs.
Flora Warren Seymour, of Chicago,
a prominent lawyer, is treasurer of
the committee.
Miss Dorothy Egbert, of Stan-
ford University, who is now taking
a special course of preparatory
study in New York City, will ac-
company the unit as a member who
will oversee the mechanical work.
The steps leading to their ulti-
mate achievement have been most
interesting but, as Rudyard Kipling
says, "That's another story."
Mrs. Edith Foster, Advisor
Mrs. Edith Foster, editor of the
Community Motion Picture Bureau,
which has had charge of the greater
part of the overseas motion picture
distribution, who has done more
practical work towards raising the standard of motion
pictures than any other one woman in the United
States, has consented to act with the unit in an advisory
capacity and the committee is fortunate in securing her
co-operation. Among the advisory patrons are men and
women of national prominence in educational, civic, and
religious circles.
All Picture Shows to Be Free
The films are to be shown absolutely free, all titles and
sub-titles to be in the language that the audience best
understands, a lecturer simultaneously explaining in the
same tongue.
A machine will be carried with which to take pictures of
activities and conditions in the countries visited, of old
world architecture and beautifications, and these will be
brought back and shown in the United States, so that the
messages of the women of each nation may be given to
those of the others in that universal language — the motion
picture. The work will be official, each step being approved
first by the executive committee of the National Councils
of Women, before it is made.
Free Movies for French Orphans
A special feature of the work will be the free showing
of child classics to the children of the various orphanages
and to the fatherless children of France, shedding all joy
and pleasure possible among those who have been denied it
during the years when it should have been a large factor
in their lives. It is to be hoped some of the natural sun-
shine may be restored through this medium.
The itinerary will be taken charge of by the National
Councils of Women and their sub-committees in the various
countries visited. Madame Saint Croix, executive secre-
tary of the French Council, held an extended conference
with the chairman during the former's short visit to this
country this winter.
Miss Anne Morgan Consulted
Conferences have also been held with Hon. Brown Lan-
done, secretary of the Societe L'educational et Civique;
Italian consuls; ambassadors; returned workers from all
the countries, especially Russia, and Miss Anne Morgan, of
the Committee for Devastated France, all of whom have
brought to the attention of the committee that these poor
people who have been without homes, without means, many
times without food, without pleasures, without ambition,
but always with indomitable will and never without hope,
have had so little comfort, so little joy, that they will wel-
come this free entertainment with its interesting themes so
picturesquely presented.
This great work the women have undertaken stands out
like a cameo, striking in its simplicity, clear and definite
in its outline, purposeful in its theme, enduring, and to be
admired.
To Rebuild on Solid Rock
With the outlook for peace following the armistice all
attention was turned towards reconstruction which must
follow. The question of correct foundation is as essential
today as it was centuries ago when the man of Biblical
days was told to build his house on rock instead of sand
if he wished it to be permanent. No reconstruction will be
enduring or worthy of effort if not placed on a secure foun-
dation, both theoretically and concretely.
Thought is the mother of action, hence the basis of foun-
dation. To direct thought is the primal step in reconstruc-
tion of any kind. Reconstructed thought is vital to suc-
cess in the lives of those who have suffered and sorrowed
for years. Thoughts new or varied are awakened by that
which comes to the individual through the five senses, indi-
vidually or collectively. Scientists all agree that the sense
of sight is the one of greatest value as a medium. The
motion picture presents vizualized thought to the eye, and,
now that music is so correlated to the pictures, it might be
said, also, to the ear.
America's "Message of Service"
"The motion picture is the greatest factor in the educa-
tion of the masses today, and as such demands our atten-
tion and influence." Heeding this fact, the committee has
utilized this greatest factor to carry the message of service
to their sisters across the seas, having ever in mind the twen-
tieth century's three Rs — Reciprocity, Reconstruction, and
Revitalization.
CANADIAN SCENICS AND INDUSTRIALS
The Canadian Department of Trade and Commerce at Ottawa
has prepared a series of films describing various Canadian industries
and Canadian scenery. These are being exhibited in Canada, and
later will be shown overseas through Canadian trade commissioners
and British consuls.
UNIVERSITY EXTENSION MEN MEET
Experiences Exchanged on Visual Instruction Methods — New Plan
for Preserving Govenment's Educational War Material and for
"Package Libraries"— N. E. A. Department of Superintend-
ence to Meet in Chicago Week of February 24.
Chicago, January 17, 1919.
There were about twenty-five extension men from all sec-
tions at an Executive Committee meeting in this city a few
days ago. Prof. W. H. Dudley, of the Extension Division,
University of Wisconsin, Madison, was the chairman of
the visual instruction committee. There was an informal
meeting January 11 in the La Salle Hotel, but no prepared
papers were presented. Various items of general interest
were discussed and an exchange of experiences was made.
There seemed to be quite a vital interest on the part of
many state institutions.
Miss Amele Scott, of Wisconsin University, outlined a
proposed plan for preserving educational material produced
by the Committee on Public Information and other Govern-
ment war agencies and for "package libraries." Other ad-
vocates of the plan are Miss Harriet Birchalt, of the Uni-
versity of Indiana; Dr. J. H. Hanford, of the University of
California; and Miss Edith Gierriere, of the Division of
Educational Extension, Department of the Interior.
$10,000,000 Worth of War Films
More than $10,000,000 worth of films of an educational
nature was produced by public and private war agencies
in the last two years, said Miss Scott. The committee will
ask congressional appropriations for preservation and dis-
tribution of news clippings, magazine articles, films, scien-
tific data and illustrative material now on file in war
bureaus and in the extension departments of colleges.
The whole matter of Federal aid, as far as visual instruc-
tion work is concerned, will have to come before Congress.
At present there is an appropriation of $150,000 which will
carry the work up to June 1. After that date the business
will have to be financed by Federal appropriations. There
seems to be a feeling on the part of some of the extension
people that if the visual instruction work finally does pass
through the hands of Congress, and is acted upon favorably,
it must be incorporated as a rider to some bills other than
those up for present discussion. Retrenchment, reform
and economy will probably be the watchwords of the pres-
ent Congress, ii-v.
Important N. E. A. Superintendents' Meeting
The Department of Superintendence of the National Edu-
cation Association will hold its annual meeting here dur-
ing the week of February 24, the sessions continuing until
March 1. It is understood that there will be a good deal
of discussion of visual instruction ways and means and
that the whole question of motion pictures in the school
will be taken up and threshed out to some definite end.
H» ■»
71V 7IV
THE "MOVIES" AND UNIVERSAL PEACE
At one of the local motion picture houses the other day was shown,
in a travel series, pictures of Japanese children — wee babies being
carried by their mothers, little tots barely able to toddle and others
of kindergarten age, practicing intricate dances and lined up, solemn-
faced but with very eager eyes, waiting for a distribution of what
corresponds in Japan to our chocolate sundaes. A world league of
nations will do much to obviate the possibility of war in the future;
the exchange of motion pictures among the nations of the world
showing the children of each nation as they appear at play and
in their homes and schools would just about clinch that measure of
prevention. War against nations as personified by strong, hard-faced
rulers or executives is thinkable; against the same countries repre-
sented by innocent, trustful, laughing children, it is a monstrous
impossibility. That is why the nations, through the agency of the
movies, should get acquainted. — Syracuse (N. Y.) Herald.
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF VISUAL INSTRUCTION IN THE HIGH SCHOOL*
Employing Film Alone, Lecture Alone, and Film and Lecture Together, It Was Found that
Memory Tests at the Expiration o£ 24 hours, 10 Days, and 3 Months Favored the Film —
"Mental Images Received through the Eye Remembered Better"
BY David R. Sumstine, A.B., M.S., Sc.D.
Principal of Peabody High School, Pittsburgh, Pa.
IT has been asserted by some intelligent people that a
person should check his brains at the entrance to a
motion picture theatre because brains are not needed
at such a place. This assertion, no doubt, is open to
discussion. It is not probable that such a statement would
receive a unanimous indorsement if it were submitted to a
vote of the people. The millions of dollars invested and
the millions of people attending motion pictures call, at
least, for an investigation before final judgment is passed.
Motion pictures are not only furnishing amusement and
diversion for more people in America than all other agencies
combined, but they have invaded the sacred precincts of
the public school as a form of instruction. The following
news item appeared last year in the Chicago Post:
Wisconsin schools are going into the motion picture
business not for profit, but as an aid to education. When
the teachers in 78 schools in the state say, '"First class in his-
tory," the studious ones don't grab for their books. The
teacher pulls down the blinds and starts the movie machine.
Has the Motion Picture Pedagogic Value?
What is true in Wisconsin is also true in many towns
and cities throughout the country. A picture machine seems
to be a necessary adjunct to an up-to-date school of "today."
The question, however, arises: Is the value of the motion
picture in the school real or imaginary? Will it be found in
the school of "tomorrow?" Proper
scientific investigation should de-
termine the value of the motion pic-
ture as a form of instruction, and
as a very small contribution toward
this end the following study has
been made.
The Problem
This study concerns itself with a
memory test containing three fac-
tors: visual, visual and auditory,
and auditory. Does a high-school
pupil grasp and hold a subject bet-
ter through the eye alone, or
through the eye and ear combined,
or through the ear alone?
Many memory tests have been
made by different investigators.
These tests have been based upon
words, nonsense syllables, numbers,
pictures, once familiar facts. The
present study deals with the devel-
opment of a theme or connected
discourse as presented in a reel of
motion pictures and in a lecture.
There is a reproduction not of
names or words but of ideas. The
words and pictures used served as
stimuli to arouse a mental repro-
duction of the meanings associated
with them.
* Courtesy of School and Society.
ALTHOUGH Dr. Sumstine modestly terms these
■^ memory tests "a very small contribution" toward
the scientific investigation of the results of visual
instruction, he is one of the few educators who have
made such a contribution. The war prevented a fur-
ther pursuit of this interesting study of comparative
values, but he hopes to continue the work soon. Dr.
Sumstine is a member of the National Educational
Association, Academy of Science and Art of Pitts-
burgh, (President Pedagogical Section 1914-15), Penn-
sylvania State Educational Association (President High
School Department 1918-19), Association of Secondary
Schools in the Upper Ohio Valley (President 1914),
'Pittsburgh Authors' Club, Torrey Botanical Society of
New York, Fellow of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science, and active in other
organizations.
The Method
The Bureau of Commercial Economics, Washington,
D. C, furnished a film, a lecture and some questions on
the subject, "Farming with Du Pont Dynamite." The film
presented pictures and appropriate descriptions of the fol-
lowing subjects: composition of dynamite, blasting cap,
cap primer, electric blasting cap, making the primer, blast-
ing stumps, benefits derived from blasting stumps, blasting
down trees, ditching with dynamite, blasting boulders, tree
planting with dynamite, subsoiling. The lecture gave de-
tailed information about these same subjects.
Three groups of pupils were selected for the test. Each
group was composed of pupils from the first, second, third
and fourth school years. No selection of special pupils
was made, but whole sections of pupils as they were found
in the school were taken.
The film was shown to one group. To another group, the
film was shown and the accompanying lecture read. The
teachers read the lecture to the third group. The pupils were
asked to give their attention to an interesting story. Noth-
ing was said about tests or the purpose of the story. Ex-
aminations were given at three different times, at the end
of twenty-four hours, ten days, and three months. The
pupils were permitted to answer the questions as quickly
as possible, but no one was allowed
to exceed the time limit of one hour.
There were about 120 pupils in
each original group, but all were
not present at the various tests.
All the papers of pupils not present
at all tests were eliminated in mak-
ing the averages. In making com-
parisons, the same pupils are con-
sidered.
To insure uniformity in grading,
the writer did all the grading.
Each of the three questions was
weighted 33^ per cent. The cor-
rectness of the answer only was
considered. No attention was paid
to spelling or grammatical errors.
The writer is fully aware of the
weakness of the percentile system
of grading and also of the weak-
ness of the human judgment in
determining the value of an exami-
nation paper, but no other method
seemed practical. Total averages
were all made from the original
numbers.
The Results
The results obtained are shown in
seven tables. The results for boys
and girls and for the different
school years are given.
TABLE I.
Film. Alone. The Percentages made by the Boys and the Girls at
the Three Test Periods. There were 31 Boys and 45 Girls.
Periods Boys Girls Total
24 hours 75.5 72.9 73.9
10 days 65.5 56.6 60.2
3 months 75 71.3 72.8
TABLE II.
A Summary by Classes. The Same Pupils as in I.
Periods First Year Second Year Third Year Fourth Year
24 hours 71 74.8 72.2 79.5
10 days 47 62.2 58.4 75
3 months 64.5 75.1 73.1 75.7
TABLE III.
Film and Lecture. The Percentages made at the Three Test Periods.
There ivere 45 Boys and 52 Girls.
Periods Boys Girls Total
24 hours 72.5 69.2 70.8
10 days 62 51.8 56.5
3 months 63.6 57.5 60.2
TABLE IV.
A Summary by Classes. The Same Pupils as in HI.
Periods First Year Second Year Third Year Fourth Year
24 hours 64 64.5 77.1 73.9
10 days 46.5 50 58.8 71.5
3 months 51.2 51.5 65.2 68.1
TABLE V.
Lecture Alone. The Percentages made at Three Test Periods.
There ivere 44 Boys and 28 Girls.
Periods Boys Girls Total
24 hours 70 64.5 67.8
10 days 52.4 50.2 51.5
3 months 63.9 56.6 61.1
TABLE VI.
A Summary by Classes. The Same Pupils as in V.
Periods First Year Second Year Third Year Fourth Year
24 hours 59.8 72.3 60.5 76.1
10 days 48.7 40.3 45.5 65.9
3 months 58.2 64.7 42.5 69.8
TABLE VII.
A Summary of the Totals of All Pupils for Each Group at the
Three Test Periods.
Periods Film Film and Lecture Lecture
24 hours 73.9 70.8 67.8
10 days 60.2 56.5 51.5
3 months 72.8 60.2 61.1
The uniformly low marks in the second test, as shown in
all the tables, are due to one question in that test. The
question was not clearly answered either in the film or in
the lecture.
In Tables I, III and V it is seen that the boys remem-
bered better than the girls. The subject, "Dynamite," may
have appealed more to the interest of the boys than girls.
This opens an interesting question for investigation, the
relation of interest to memory. With few exceptions, there
is an increase in the percentages from the first to the fourth-
year pupils at all test periods. (See Tables II, IV, VI).
Discussion
It is unwise to draw conclusions from a few statistics.
The number of pupils examined is too small for generaliza-
tion. It may be safer to say that any conclusions drawn
from the facts learned in this study are applicable only to
the pupils concerned and may show a tendency.
Mental images received through the eye seem to be re-
membered better than images through the eye and ear or
through the ear. This is true for the first two test periods.
(See Table VII.) The average for the lecture alone
exceeds that of the film and lecture by .9 per cent. This
small difference is insignificant.
Other investigators confirm this conclusion. Kirkpatrick1
arranged 30 names of common objects in three columns of
ten words each. The names in the first column were pro-
nounced to pupils; the names in the second column were
written on the blackboard, uncovered one at a time and
then erased; the objects were shown for the names in the
third column. The averages for recalling the names were
as follows:
Males Females
First group 6.94 7.29
Second group 7.26 7.09
Third group 8.83 8.38
The test was repeated in three days with the following
results :
Males Females
First group 97 1 . 23
Second group 1.53 2.51
Third group 6.29 6.67
In a general way, these results agree fairly well with the
averages in Table VII.
The combination of the film and the lecture gave a dis-
appointing result. It agrees, however, with Miinsterberg's2
investigation. He concludes:
With all the subjects the visual memory excels strongly
the aural when they act independently . . . When the two
senses act together in recollection they hinder each other.
Several years ago it was customary to have lecturers de-
scribe the motion pictures in the theatres, but at present
they have been discontinued3. Several managers of motion-
picture theatres were asked for the reasons for such discon-
tinuance. Each one gave the same answer. The patrons
objected to the combination, saying that they could not
look and listen at the same time. Some of the pupils in
their test papers attributed their lack of memory to the con-
fusion in trying to see and hear at the same time.
The lecture or reading shows the poorest results. This
was, possibly, to be expected. It agrees with Miinsterberg's
statement which has already been quoted. The manner of
reading will largely determine the result in this test. The
reading must be slow enough to permit the visualizer to
transform the auditory images into visual images, otherwise
he will receive very weak memory impressions.
Film Easier to Interpret
Pictures can be more easily interpreted than words. A
person constructs a connected story from the pictures. He
is not hampered by words unintelligible to him. He uses a
vocabulary with which he is familiar. The stories will
vary with different persons but each person will have a
story. The story may not always be the correct one but it
will satisfy the intelligence of the spectator. If Julius
Caesar were presented on the screen, a student of Shakes-
peare would recall with all their pathetic meaning the
words, "Et tu, Brute" as the conspirator stabs Caesar. But
an untutored person sitting in the next seat might interpret
the act quite differently. His interpretation might be, "The
old bloke got what's coming to him."
Film Helps Pupils Retain Facts Longer
If Cober4 is correct in his conclusion that high-school
pupils are unable to retain and recall readily facts most
thoroughly memorized in the grammar school course by the
usual method of instruction without frequent reviews, then,
visual instrutcion by means of the film seems far superior
to the former method. In Table VII it appears that the per-
centage of facts retained at the three months' period is only
slightly less than at the first period.
1 Kirkpatrick, E. A., "An Experimental Study of Memory," Psycho-
logical Review," 1. 1894.
2 Miinsterberg, Hupro, "Memory," Psychological Review, 1, 1894.
8 Recently, however, Martin Johnson has lectured in motion picture
theatres before and during the showing of his South Sea Islands film, but
here the personal factor. was a consideration. The element of personality
also accounts, perhaps, for the success of the Burton Holmes, Newman,
Elmendorf, Burlingham, Rockwood and other film-and-lecture combina-
tions.— Editor.
4 Cober, E. W., A Study of High School Pupils.
10
A NATIONAL DIVISION OF VISUAL INSTRUCTION
Affiliated with the Federal Bureau of Education or The National Education
Association, and Co-operating with the States, Such a Division May Succeed
in Solving All Educational Film Problems
By Charles Roach
Director, Visual Instruction Service, Iowa State Agricultural College, Ames, Iowa
"Within the next decade the moving picture will be the
indispensable adjunct of every teacher and educational
lecturer. On the public platform the cinematograph will
inevitably have its recognized place, and it may even invade
the pulpit. As the attention and interest of educators are
more and more drawn to its merits, the future usefulness of
the cinematograph bids fair to surpass the predictions of its
most sanguine advocates."
— From report of the United States Bureau of Education.
UNTIL recently the Federal Bureau of Education
gave but little other than its approval to the use
of the cinema in the schools, but with the recent
creation of the Division of Educational Exten-
sion, which is subsidiary to the bureau, we may look for
some material assistance. If the board will now bring to
pass some nation-wide plan and
organize a National Division of
Visual Instruction, considerable
impetus will have been given to the
general adoption of film work in
public schools.
A perusal of motion-picture
periodicals gives sufficient informa-
tion to convince us that material is
abundant and the passing of preju-
dice assures us that motion pic-
tures will ever be a part of our
social scheme.
The purpose of this article is to
call attention to the possibilities,
view the present situation, and offer
a suggestive plan for the creation
of a national bureau of visual in-
struction as a part of our education-
al system. At the close a resume is
given of the work as conducted by
a state where films have been given
a trial.
Any man familiar with educa-
tional problems is cognizant of the
possibilities found in motion pic-
tures. Few ever realize the magni-
tude of these possibilities either on
account of a lack of information
or of thought upon the subject, or
because of a general sceptical atti-
tude assumed by many school men
toward any departure from the con-
ventionalities of the staid old cur-
riculum.
ry HE man who has done more, perhaps, than any
other man or woman in Iowa to advance the cause
of visual education, is the author of this article. In
a letter to the editor he describes himself as "a musi-
cian by inclination, a printer by trade, a teacher by
accident, an educational motion picture enthusiast by
conversion." He was born in Lisbon, Iowa, July 9,
1889, graduated from high school in 1907 and from
Cornell College in 1911. He was a graduate student
at the State University of Iowa 1913 and 1915. He
taught in Ames High School from 1911 to 1913. At
Centerville, Iowa, High School, where he was princi-
pal, he began his visual instruction work in 1913 and
continued until 1917. He took charge of the Visual
Instruction Service at Iowa State College at Ames in
1917 and is still its director.
Subconsciously Schoolroom Reflects the Screen
Motion pictures are here to stay. It isn't likely that the
fifth greatest industry of the United States will soon pass
into oblivion. The devotees of the screen include the
nations. The best people enjoy the silent drama. With
it the tired business man finds a means whereby he can lose
his troubles for an hour, the weary housewife finds a rest
for her breaking nerves and professional men seek it as a
refuge from their insisting clients. Almost without our
realizing it, the schoolroom reflects the effects of the
screen. English teachers are reading themes flavored with
celluloid. The motion-picture magazine is a part of the read-
ing material of the high-school boy and girl. Backed by
millions of dollars, encouraged by the ever-enthusiastic pub-
lic, entrenched in the good wishes of the population, motion
pictures have come and are here to stay.
Opportunity Knocks at the Schoolhouse Door
It would be foolish for the teacher to regard motion pic-
tures with indifference when it is actually influencing the
pupils in spite of his indifference. The business of the
schoolmaster is to utilize the good found in the film, nor
should he delay the initiation too long. The opportunity is
at hand. What is he going to do
about it? The film producer made
a start more than ten years ago. He
has gone to every extreme, but today
the motion picture is on a par with
most any other form of amusement
or entertainment; if not much bet-
ter it is not any worse. If there
is but little educational merit in the
motion picture, it may not be the
fault of the educator, but for any
good therein the American teacher
may claim very little of the credit.
10,000 Reels of "Educationals"
The producer long ago created a
type of educational picture. He did
this in anticipation of a demand
which should come from the edu-
cators and was chagrined at the
failure and non-appearance of the
demand. Today there are more
educational pictures in the vaults of
the producers than any one school
could use in many years. A few
months ago the number was placed
at 10,000 reels. The pedagog may
question the value of this educa-
tional film, but he ought not com-
plain, because he has given the
producer little if any support, either
moral or financial.
School men alone are not wholly
to blame. Producers, too, have
been slow to see the possibilities. Thousands of feet
of film have been produced without any consideration
for school needs. The teacher has reasons to look upon
this film as theatrical rather than pedagogical and there-
fore leave it alone. The producers have since observed
the teachers' reaction and have discovered that thrillers
are more profitable than educationals.
(Continued on page 27)
11
THE ARTS OF PICTURE MAKING AND OF TEACHING
Educational Films from the Viewpoint of the Child Psychologist
By Lawrence Augustus Averill, M.A., ph.D.
Head of the Department of Child Psychology in the Massachusetts State Normal School, at Worcester,
Massachusetts, and Editor of The American Journal of School Hygiene
(Part II. Conclusion)
THE art of the picture-maker has well nigh revo-
lutionized the teaching art. The old mediaeval
teaching methods, still in vogue in many back-
ward countries of the earth today, consisted
largely in verbal instruction on the part of the master,
supplemented increasingly, as the multiplication of
books made it possible, by the constant use of a text-book
as the only available source of information. In the earlier
days, too, these texts were made up of absolutely solid
print-pages, unbroken by the cuts and the illustrations
which add intrinsically to the attractiveness and therefore
to the psychological value of the modern text-book. The
famed Orbis Pictus of Comenius (published in 1657) was
the first strictly modern text-book in this sense. Its pages
were adorned with pictures, reproduced from copper and
wood, which illustrated the various places and things dis-
cussed. In this innovation the Orbis Pictus differed from
all previous text-books, and mothers were enabled to com-
pensate in considerable measure for the educational depres-
sion and the general closure of schools following the Thirty
Years' War by instructing their children themselves from
the attractive pages of Comenius' great book.
From its spectacular beginnings in the Orbis Pictus the
use of pictures in the schoolroom has grown apace. Mag-
azines and newspapers, advertising placards, photographs,
lantern slides, stereoscopic views, post-cards and elaborately
comprehensive picture sets, such as the Perry and the Brown,
have been pressed into service by progressive teachers as
some of the most easily available as well as satisfactory
illustrative materials suited for vivifying the lessons in
literature, in history, in geography. The camera and the
printing press have brought the world to the classroom.
Universality of the Film
The highest potentialities of the photographic art are
beginning to be realized with the modern development of
the cinematograph, and its possibilities as an educational
adjunct are exceedingly great. The cold, lifeless picture
becomes suddenly, in the modern motion picture projector,
thrilling and vibrating with life. There can be no com-
parison of the juvenile mental reactions to the two types of
device as stimulants of fancy and understanding. The lim-
itations of the photograph are obliterated in the film. The
former can at best be but a representation of an interesting
or significant scene from history, geography, literature or
science; the latter is affected neither by time nor place.
The totality of any scene, its context, prelude and postlude,
may be represented. Beproductions of things, people or
places past or present are limitless in their scope, dependent
merely upon the skill of the manipulators.
It is this realness of life, this verisimilitude, this living,
breathing actuality that fills up the public moving picture
theatres on a children's performance afternoon and empties
the picture and art galleries, and this, too, in spite of the
cost of admission to the former. We are not denying here
the tremendous danger from the moving picture in deprav-
ing the tastes and instincts of children if improperly cen-
* The Educational Review, May, 1915, and June, 1917.
sored and adapted to their age and enlightenment. Of this
unfortunate tendency in the promiscuous motion picture we
have written elsewhere.* We are merely making mention
of a fundamental truism in explaining the attraction of the
moving picture to the child; namely, that the more realistic
and varied a situation is, the more it compels the interest
of all, old and young alike. Art, represented by still pic-
tures is grand, awe-inspiring, reposeful, ennobling; films
are natural, ever-changing, varied, living. With both ten-
dencies in human nature we must deal.
The Sum Total of All Arts
The possibilities of the moving picture in the school-
room are limitless. The educational film represents the
sum total of the arts of the chiseller, the story-teller, the
writer, and the picture-maker. Whatever aid to teaching
these artists each and severally have been, the cinemato-
graph at its best combines them all. There is no subject of
study, apparently, which may not be presented upon the
screen, and presented graphically and attractively. The
advent of the moving picture among our stock of amuse-
ments seems by its very novelty to have struck a responsive
and sympathetic note in the soul of the juvenile, if we
may judge from the volume of child patronage which mov-
ing-picture houses universally enjoy. A psychological atti-
tude seems to have been created which augurs well for the
strictly educational motion picture shown in the school-
room. It is this all-compellingness of the motion picture
which affords its peculiar power and effectiveness in the
art of teaching.
Motion Picture Method Eminently Sound
It is not within the plan of this brief paper to attempt
to discuss the difficulties of actually installing and main-
taining moving picture outfits in our public schools. While
appreciating keenly the expense of upkeep; the dangers
from fire (in the case of the machines using inflammable
film were not properly safeguarded) ; the problem of
licensing operators; the possible injury to the eyes of chil-
dren from viewing old and "rainy" films; the limited
number of strictly educational films available; the problem
of distribution; the aloofness of producers to release high-
class educational film due to the present lack of an active
demand for it; the need of psychological and child experts
to supervise the production of every educational film; the
almost instinctive opposition to be met with among school
boards, and other equally serious practical objections, the
writer's point of view in this article is merely that of the
child psychologist. Psychologically and pedagogically, the
motion picture method of instruction, properly conditioned,
is eminently sound, and furnishes in addition an attractive
supplementary aid to the art of teaching.
Educational motion pictures for aliens have been so successful that
the Federal Bureau of Naturalization is presenting two series of his-
torical and industrial films. The first shows the development of
the nation and of its industries; the second, how naturalized citizens
have succeeded in different lines of industry. These films will be
shown to nearly 2,000 classes of aliens in all parts of the country,
teachers being in attendance to explain them.
12
'J&.'
AGRICULTURAL
MOTION PICTURES IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
The Agricultural Department at Washington a
Pathfinder for other Departments and Bureaus
BY DON CARLOS ELLIS
Id Charge, Motion Picture Activities, U. S. Department of Agriculture
(Part II. Conclusion)
BY the time of the country's entrance into the war
with the Central Empires the department had de-
veloped a motion picture laboratory and a collec-
tion of film sufficient to form a nucleus and ground-
work for the development which has taken place during
the past year in effectively helping to meet the agricultural
situation incident to the world cataclysm. Preparation to
meet the continued needs of war left the motion picture
activities of the Department peculiarly fitted to help in the
even greater task of feeding the world during the period
of reconstruction after war.
The department has now on hand finished negative of
about fifty reels on the subjects of animal and plant pro-
duction, marketing, forestry, roads, and insect control. The
past summer and fall were spent in accumulating addi-
tional negative for next spring's campaigns. Since the first
of November the laboratory has been completing these new
subjects at the rate of about one thousand feet a week.
During the past two months it has completed films entitled
"Milk and Honey," a two reel romance of clean milk pro-
duction; three reels on "The Wichita National Forest and
Game Preserve;" one reel each on "The Agricultural and
Forest Resources of the United States" and "Feeding a
Hungry World," and two reels each on the control of hog
cholera and of poultry pests. Other subjects in preparation,
of which the film has already been exposed, and which are
to be finished during the winter, will include meeting farm
labor problems; the control of cattle parasites; the story
of wheat, filmed in the great fields of the Pacific Northwest;
exterminating the prairie dog in Arizona; harvesting and
marketing California cantaloupes and potatoes; citrus fruit
fumigation; the Red Cross pig club; national forests as
the Nation's play grounds; control and prevention of dust
explosions caused by smut in wheat; logging timber for
wooden ships and their construction ; and prize dairy cattle.
A list of film already produced appears at the end of this
article.
New Plan for State Distribution
The demand for the department's films is constantly
greater than the supply. The laboratory of the department
is primarily designed for the production of negative. Its
resources are not sufficient for supplying large numbers of
prints. In the system of distribution it has, therefore, been
necessary, in the effort to reach the greatest number of peo-
ple and those who will secure the greatest benefit from the
pictures, to limit loans of films to the extension workers of
the department and of the state agricultural colleges. In
order to increase the number of available prints there is
being planned an extension of the system of distribution
whereby copies of films are to be made commercially and
sold at the cost of manufacture to the extension depart-
ments of state agricultural colleges and distributed by them
through their respective states, the United States Depart-
ment of Agriculture at Washington acting as a source of
supply, a clearing house, and a medium of exchange of
reels between states. Under this plan all educational
agencies of a state will be able to secure these films
through their state agricultural college. This plan will pro-
vide a much wider and more intensive distribution and
simplify transportation problems. The distribution of
abridgments of the department's films by commercial dis-
tributors, whereby they have secured exhibition in motion-
picture theatres during the past year, will be continued.
If the status which the war has given to the motion-
picture activities of the Department of Agriculture is to
persist, agricultural education will be immeasurably bene-
fited and the disseminating of information from the depart-
ment will enjoy a new significance.
CCENE taken from a recent United States Department of Agri-
^ culture film entitled "Milk and Honey," a two-reel romance
concerning clean milk production. This shows under what ideal
conditions cows may be maintained to improve the quality and
quantity of milk.
Agricultural Films Available
Grazing Industry on the National Forests; Lumbering Yellow Pine
in the Southwest; Lumbering Lodgepole Pine; Lodgepole Pine for
Railroad Ties; National Forests as Recreation Grounds and "Bull
Run" — Portland's Water Supply; The Work of a Forest Ranger;
Tree Planting on the National Forests; What a Careless Hunter in
the Woods Can Do; Work of the Forest Products Laboratory; Con-
struction of a Concrete Silo; Construction of a Wooden Hoop Silo;
Co-operative Cow-Testing in Vermont; Lambs from Range to Market;
From Wool to Cloth; Government Poultry Farm, Beltsville, Mary-
land; Types of Horses at the Washington Horse Show; Uncle Sam's
Pig Club Work; Why Eat Cottage Cheese? Co-operative Berry Grow-
ing in Pacific Northwest; Cotton; Bituminous Macadam Road Con-
struction; Cement and Concrete Tests; Concrete Road Construction;
Gravel Road Construction; Macadam Road Construction; Road
Construction and Maintenance and Road Tests with Traction
Dynamometer; Testing Rock to Determine Its Value for Road Build-
ing; Congressional Seed Distribution; Control of Pink Bollworm of
Cotton; Dust Explosions; Helping the Farmers of Tomorrow; Pre-
venting Spread of the Gipsy and Brown-tail Moths; Strawberry In-
dustry in Kentucky and Bridge Grafting to Save Trees; Milk and
Honey; Wichita National Forest and Game Preserve; Agricultural
and Forest Resources of the U. S. ; Feeding the Hungry World;
Control of Hog Cholera; Poultry Pests and Their Control; Drying
Fruits and Vegetables in the Home.
13
SCIENTIFIC
MOTION PICTURES OF METAL STRESSES*
University of Illinois Professor Obtains |Remarkable
Microscopic Films of Minute Changes in Wrought
Iron Crystals
By Edwin F. Cone, M.E.
Associated Editor, The Iron Age
T
HE moving picture has entered a new field. When
it was first introduced few, if any, would have
imagined that it would ever be applied micro-
scopically— that is, that moving microscopic images
The motion picture camera (right), the microscope (center background)
and the nitrogen illuminator (left)
would be taken or the revelation appear on the screen of
what takes place under a microscope.' What probably is
the first instance of this kind was exhibited at a recent con-
vention of testing engineers at Atlantic City, N. J.
Wrought iron was used to try out the
idea. It is known, that, when a metal
like wrought iron or steel is subjected
to alternate stresses or shocks brought
about by repeated bendings or blows,
the metal gradually deteriorates or
weakens, and finally breaks, sometimes
with serious consequences. It is also
known that all such metal is made up of
closely lying crystals and that such
bending or blows distort those crystals,
causing the ultimate weakness.
Progress of Cracking Visualized
A moving reproduction has been
taken and vividly projected on the
screen of the successive changes which
take place in the structure of crystals
of such iron when subjected to alternate
bends or blows. The piece of iron was
placed in a bending machine. The
microscope was attached to just over
the place or point where the iron was most affected and a
moving camera was attached to the microscope. As the
piece of iron was bent back and forth the effect in the
breaking point was recorded through the microscope and
in the camera. About one three-hun-
dredths of a square inch of area of this
iron was thus reproduced. The effect
was remarkable, each minute change in
the structure and crystals being accu-
rately reproduced until the piece broke.
The gradual progression or formation
of the cracks or weakening lines was
distinctly visible.
Credit for this really wonderful ac-
complishment is due to Prof. H. F.
Moore, of the University of Illinois. He
has probably rendered a distinct service
and may have opened up a broader field
than he now realizes. He has probably
introduced a method of investigation of
far-reaching importance, both tech-
nically and practically. It is believed
that the new idea will be successfully
applied to steel, non-ferrous or copper
metals and other alloys in the near fu-
ture. Besides explaining many interest-
ing phenomena not now fully under-
stood it may settle some controversies
which otherwise would remain open much longer. It may
determine just how steel as well as iron really deteriorates
or weakens under stress, whether through the crystal or in
some other way. Such an investigation might lead to a heat
Courtesy of the Scientific American.
The apparatus for motion picture tests of metal stresses. The same set-up as that shown
above, but seen from the other side.
14
treatment prolonging the life of
certain steels and making them
less liable to fatigue, as it is
called, or to gradual or sudden
deterioration. The conclusion
is evident that such an accom-
plishment migh assist in pro-
longing the life of important
members, cables and ropes for
elevators, etc., conserving life
and material as well.
Important in Durability
Tests
By its application it may ulti-
mately be possible to tell, for
example, by the appearance of
the surface under a microscope,
whether a material has passed 30
or 90 per cent thereof. If the ch
pronounced, which experience
alone can tell, then it will be
possible to polish a section of
a cable in use and examine it
with a microscope from time
to time and thus determine
whether that section at least is
nearly ready to fail or whether
it shows no indication of
failure.
Failure Takes Place
Gradually
These observations would
be based on previous moving
pictures of the same material.
The keynote of the idea is that
failure takes place gradually,
per cent of its effective life beginning the moment a piece of metal is first put into use,
aracteristics are sufficiently and ending only when that piece gives way entirely.
The test piece in the bending machine. At left of wheel and
in front of metal sheet is seen the counter which records
the number of stresses delivered
A motion picture view of an unstressed sheet of metal
An exposure showing the fissures that existed after 424 flexures
MOTION PICTURES AID CLINIC
PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 9 — Teaching of surgery and med-
icine with the aid of motion pictures was demonstrated to
the County Medical Society in Scottish Rite Hall, Broad
and Race Streets, last night by Colonel W. 0. Owen, cu-
rator of the Army Medical Museum, Washington, D. C,
who showed several of his "animated charts'" to the Phil-
adelphia physicians. Colonel Owen said that in the use of
the motion picture the student first reads the text; then sees
the "animated chart"; then sees a motion picture of an
actual operation, and finally goes to the clinic to see the
operation again. He said the student thus learns in a few
minutes in a practical way what it formerly took days to
acquire through study of books.
9 9
The American consul at Dakar, Senegal, reports that the French
authorities have established at that place a medical school and a
school of agriculture, both for the education of natives. The imme-
diate occasion of this step is the return from the front of thousands
of natives, wounded or in poor health, who require more adequate
facilities for medical treatment than are now available, and the ex-
pectation of economic expansion following the war.
"FIT TO FIGHT" FILM IN MONTREAL
MONTREAL, Can. — The Committee of Sixteen, which is
leading a crusade against commercialized vice in this city,
has a print of the "Fit-to-Fight" film which has been shown
at army camps throughout the United States. Announce-
ment is made that the Montreal Y. M. C. A. has arranged for
the showing of the picture to soldiers at the Red Triangle
Hut, Dominion Square, at regular intervals. The committee
also arranged for a private presentation. Invitations were
extended to 500 citizens here and the latter were required
to make written application for admission tickets for the
performance. Only men were admitted.
9. 9
NEW TECHNICAL SCHOOLS IN ALASKA
The new Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines, at
Fairbanks, Alaska, about one hundred miles from the Arctic Circle,
is believed to be farther north than any other institution of higher
learning in the world. It will train its graduates to help develop
Alaska in agriculture and mining. Authorities assert this northern
soil holds big things in both food and metals. Both United States
Government and Alaska Territorial funds are being used by the
college.
15
SOCIAL WELFARE
A GREAT FILM CAMPAIGN FOR SAFETY AND EFFICIENCY
How the United States Steel Corporation, with Its Army of 270,000 Employees,
Is Using the Motion Picture to Safeguard Life and Limb and Better Working
and Living Conditions
MORE and more large industrial organizations
are coming to recognize the importance of keep-
in closer touch with the work, the home and
social life, and the activities in general of their
employees. Considerations of safety, efficiency, social wel-
fare and the higher humanitarian sympathies are entering
into these problems increasingly as each day passes. The
war has emphasized the need of lending a helping hand
to the toiler in mill and shop, in field and forest, in the
depths of the earth. Today there is a feeling on the part
of employers that labor is quite as important, quite as
vital a factor in industry, as capital; that the working
masses and their representatives are entitled to the most
liberal treatment possible; and that liberty and democracy,
two ideals kept steadily in view by leaders of American
progress, must be realized and practically applied by the
great industrial concerns of this country.
Seven years ago the United States Steel Corporation,
investigating ways and means of inaugurating practical
rITH an address tag in his buttonhole, the alien arrives at
Ellis Island, New York harbor, visions of gold-paved streets
floating before his childlike eyes. From the film, "An American
in the Making."
social welfare work among the 270,000 men and women
employed by its various subsidiary companies, decided to
utilize the manifold advantages offered by motion pictures.
Early in the work of accident prevention the Safety Com-
mittee of the Corporation realized that a very large per-
centage of accidents was due to carelessness or thought-
lessness on the part of the workman himself, with the result
that an active campaign was begun to educate the workmen
in safe methods of doing their work. These activities ex-
tended in many directions, including the taking and show-
ing of motion pictures, in order that they might visualize
to the workmen safe and unsafe practices.
"An American in the Making"
The first film was made in 1912, and is entitled "An
American in the Making." Besides showing many safety
This article is based upon material in Bulletin No. 7 of the Bureau of
Safety, Sanitation and Welfare, United States Steel Corporation. Pub-
lished by permission.
devices, it illustrates to the foreigner the opportunities
afforded him for the betterment of his condition. Every
European liner that steams into New York harbor brings
in its steerage Americans in the making. Of the hosts of
aliens who are annually filtered into this country through
the pathway of Ellis Island, some are dire failures, some
VyHO would not go to school with a pretty schoolmarm like this ■
to teach one English? This scene shows one of the most
important phases of social welfare work — the educational.
achieve vast wealth ; but to one and all there are possibili-
ties of comfort and happiness if they have the ability and
the energy to utilize them.
This picture is the story of an ignorant Hungarian peas-
ant who, if he had remained in his native land, never would
have risen above the dull, worthless level of his surround-
ings. His brother had preceded him to America and from
his earnings had saved enough to bring him over. In
^N automobile mirror gives the operator of a Bessemer con-
verter an idea. He sees a workman walking the tracks and
blows the danger whistle. From the "Why" film, Reel 2.
course of time the alien joined his brother at the steel plant
at Gary, Indiana, ready to work at anything which came
to his hand.
A Big Corporation With a Soui
He was stupid and uneducated and at first was put to
the only task for which he was fitted — the rudest kind of
Id
manual labor. When he became accustomed to his sur-
roundings, however, he found that there were chances for
advancement if he cared to take advantage of them. His
employers furnished schools where he could learn English,
/"\NE of the foremen explaining to two apprentice steel workers
^-* the operation of a safety device. Scene from the newest U. S.
Steel Corporation picture, "Why."
and technical schools where such workmen as desired could
fit themselves for better positions. There were innocent
amusements in plenty at the clubhouse or the Y. M. C. A.
building, which protected him from wasting his wages and
wrecking himself physically in the saloons. There were
doctors and trained nurses to care for him when he was
hurt; and to his astonishment he found that numerous safety
appliances were installed to make his work as free from
danger as possible.
/"* OGGLES save your eyes." That is one of the most important
^^ signs staring workers in the face all over the various steel
plants. This shows a close-up from the film.
In this film there is not the story of a comet-like rise to
riches. When the peasant landed he expected to find the
streets paved with gold, free for the picking up. In this
he was disappointed. But he did discover that an indus
trious workingman who was anxious to get ahead would be
encouraged and advanced as far and as fast as his ability
would permit. He took advantage of his opportunities, and
today he is an intelligent and industrious worker, a happy
husband and father, and although he never expects to be-
come a millionaire, he has money in the bank and no
apprehensions regarding his future.
"The Reason Why"
The second picture, "The Reason Why," was taken in
1917. It consists of two reels of 1,000 feet each, and also
illustrates safe and unsafe methods of doing work. This
film was produced especially for the further education of
the employees in safety. A detailed description of the film
follows, the letters P. T. standing for principal title, D. T.
for division title, and S. T. for sub-title:
(P. T.) "THE REASON WHY."
(S. T.) THOUGHTLESSNESS.
(S. T.) CARELESSNESS.
(S. T.) Accidents do not HAPPEN.
They are CAUSED.
Some one did not THINK.
(D. T.)— I CAUSE— A SPLASH OF HOT METAL.
(S. T.) RESULT.
(S. T.) GOGGLES SAVE EYES.
(S. T.) THESE ACTUALLY DID.
(Scene) — I Shows hot metal being poured and a workman lost an eye as
a result of failure to wear goggles.
(D. T.)— II SO FAR SO GOOD, BUT
(S. T.) GOGGLES AND TOEBOARD— MISSING.
(S. T.) EVEN A SAFETY SIGN IMPROPERLY HUNG IS A SOURCE
OF DANGER.
(S. T.) SOME MEN HEED A WARNING.
(S. T.) OTHERS DO NOT.
\X70RKMAN operating circular saw after putting safety guard
in place. The picture first shows the saw whirling without the
protective device. From "The Reason Why."
(Scene) — II Two men are working on an overhead platform. They lower
a danger sign to warn other workmen from passing under them, but the
sign is swinging and hung so low that workmen are liable, to be struck
by it. The platform lacks toeboards and the men' are not' wearing
goggles. This picture illustrates an attempt at safety, but shows that
very important things are missing.
(D. T.)— Ill A CAREFUL FOREMAN.
A THOUGHTLESS MAN.
(S. T.) "WHERE ARE YOUR GOGGLES, GLOVES AND LEGGINS?"
HPHIS workman lifts his tools up to him by a bucket and line —
the right way. Before this scene is shown the wrong way —
a workman dropping a wrench which strikes his helper on the head.
(S. T.) "TIM WAS CARELESS, JUST LIKE YOU, AND HE LOST
HIS LEG."
(Scene) — III A hot metal scene showing a workman who is about to per-
form his task without having his goggles, gloves and leggins on, is
halted by his foreman, who goes to a locker and produces the pro-
tectors he should have gotten himself. A picture of a man who lost
his leg through such carelessness.
(D. T.)— IV THE CAREFUL WAY IS JUST AS EASY AS THE
OTHER.
(Continued on page 28)
17
LITERARY-HISTORICA L
fA HOOSIER ROMANCE" ON THE SCREEN
Film Version of the Late James Whitcomb Riley's
Poetic Classic Faithfully Done by Colonel William N.
Selig and Colin Campbell
o
""P HE late James
L Whitcomb Riley,
beloved "Hoosier
Poet," whose verses
are household words
in millions of Amer-
ican homes and whose
human and humorous
qualities will endure
in our literature.
NE must be a lover of Riley
and of real Indiana folk to
appreciate the poet's human-
ness and singularly sym-
pathetic charm. James Whitcomb Riley
is a cult, like the vers librists who wor-
ship at the shrines of Amy Lowell and
Edgar Lee Masters. So, to enjoy the
visualization of Riley's "Hoosier Ro-
mance," one should close one's eyes,
before the film begins to flicker, and
transport oneself, mentally and spirit-
ually, to Greenfield, Indiana, some
forty-odd years ago, when this budding
poetic genius was "leading man" for the
local dramatic club, painting signs for
the town merchants, scribbling bits of
verse on wrapping sheets for the local newspapers, and
making himself generally useless.
Those who know and love their Riley will at once recog-
nize in this five-reel picture that Colonel William N. Selig,
who dramatized and produced it, and Colin Campbell, who
directed it, have been
faithful to the spirit and
the substance of the
poem which many con-
sider the masterpiece of
this man who sang of.
to and for his fellow-
men. Light, even slight,
in story, as most of the
Hoosier Poet's verses are,
it is full of tender sym-
pathy for love's young
dream; it portrays the
meanness and mercenari-
ness of Jeff Thompson
with unexaggerated fidel-
ity, contrasting these with
the whole - heartedness
and generosity of the
squire and his wife. Lo-
cal color and atmosphere,
so eagerly sought by art-
ist and author, have been
in the main preserved
throughout the series of
scenes.
The use of lines from the poem as sub-titles is not a new
device, to be sure, but it is refreshing to observe that there
is not a superfluous word on the film ; that all of the excerpts
from "A Hoosier Romance" are appropriate, and that, for
the most part, the story is told by the pictures and not by the
titles. The staging and setting, the costuming, the lighting
and rainstorm effects, the photography and the acting are
PATIENCE and the ever-faithfu.
John "the Hand" at the old
stile where most of their courting
was done. This simple "Hoosier
Romance" has all the tenderness and
some of the tragic qualities of a
love epic.
above the average — especially the acting. Thomas Jeffer-
son, son of the famous Jefferson, who immortalized Irving's
"Rip Van Winkle," is Jeff Thompson to the life. Colleen
Moore, who is said to have been studying at Lakeview High
School, Chicago, when Mr. Campbell "discovered" her, is
a pretty, winsome, and wholly captivating Patience.
p ATIENCE, ever loyal to her humble John, refuses to marry the
widower "with a farm or two." Old Jeff Thompson, her mercenary
father, declares his will is law and demands she shall wed the man of
his choice.
The Film Narrative
Patience Thompson, around whom the action of the photoplay
revolves, is a little rustic beauty whose heart yearns to sing, but
whose blithesome nature is suppressed by her grasping, crusty old
misanthropic father, Jeff Thompson, who domineers her every action,
and is determined that Patience shall marry a "widower with a farm
or two" and scads of money in bank. But Patience loved John "the
Hand" — slow-witted, easy-going, hard-working John, the hired man.
Patience is compelled to accept the widower, and great preparations
are made for the wedding. The wedding-night is stormy and rain
is falling in torrents when the guests assemble for the occasion.
The wife of the good squire, however, has given Patience a tip;
and just as the ceremony is about to begin Patience rushes from the
room, runs to the barn and turns loose her horse, who goes galloping
riderless through the night. The father and the would-be groom
pursue the nag, while the Squire changes the groom's name on the
license and marries Patience to John "the Hand." Old Thompson
could only rave and tear his chin whiskers when he returned from
his fruitless chase and found the guests congratulating the happy
young couple and making merry until the dawn.
"NELSON," HISTORICAL FILM, SHOWN IN LONDON
Prince Albert and other notables were present at the recent show-
ing of Maurice Elvey's "Nelson" at the Alhambra, London. The
British Admiralty assisted in making the film, and Admiral Free-
mantle appears describing its features to a small boy ambitious to
enter the British navy. The boy learns that the fleet strives for
world peace and to uphold justice, democracy and commerce. The
admiral advises him to study Nelson's life.
On the screen flit the shadowy figures of Drake and the Spanish
Armada, Nelson and Napoleon, Jellicoe and Tirpitz, the ex-Kaiser
and the French goddess of liberty and fraternity. The film picturizes
the British navy's motto, "Defence, Not Defiance." Apex Film Com-
pany purchased the world rights (exclusive of America and Canada)
for $75,000.
18
TRAVEL-SCENIC
DANGER FILMS!
Thrills with the "Movie" Camera in
the Swiss, Austrian and Italian Alps
By Frederick Burlingham
DANGER films! Well, yes, there is a considerable
peril in trying to record in motion pictures per-
pendicular ascents in the Alps, where not one
person in a million will ever go, or inside vol-
canoes, where one is constantly threatened by hydrochloric
acid gas which corrodes the tissues of the lungs. But
then there is a peculiar satisfaction in exploring these
almost unfrequented places with a "movie" camera. The
unknown always has an appeal to active minds, and nature
contains illimitable wonders revealed only to those willing
to take chances and pay the price.
Did you ever think what it looks like on the terrific ice
slopes just underneath the summit of the Matterhorn ?
This mountain is one of the most famous in the world,
rising like a giant obelisk 14,705 feet above the sea in a
series of sheer precipices. It seems impossible, gigantic,
confounding. I shall never forget my first impressions
Filming the Matterhorn
Yet I have been destined twice to pass this spot, ascend-
ing with heavy motion-picture apparatus, and have actually
set up a tripod and cinematographed on steep ice the scene
of the accident.
This ascent of the Matterhorn is my next release in
America. To obtain this film we began climbing with lan-
terns up the crags at two o'clock in the morning in order
to get high up on the mountain before daylight. Think of
crossing very steep ice at night with the wind moaning
in the crags and with thousands of feet of void beneath
one's feet.
In climbing mountains, however, my aim is accomplish-
ment; therefore, I make a dash for the summit, cinemato-
graph the actual arrival there, this being proof of success,
and then begin working backwards, filling in where pos-
FREDERICK BURLINGHAM, American explorer and author,
achieved fame by his perilous descent of 1,200 feet inside the crater
of Mount Vesuvius while the volcano was in eruption and by his
daring cinematograph records of the ascent of the Matterhorn, Mont
Blanc and the Jungfrau. Mr. Burlingham is an active member of
the Swiss Alpine Club. He published "How to Become an Alpinist,'
and is now writing of his adventures inside Vesuvius.
of its abysmal slopes and hanging glaciers. My room
in the Mount Cervin Hotel at Zermatt looked out on
the mountain. While I was dressing for dinner a cloud
appeared, clinging to the southwestern face several hundred
feet below the summit, and as the sun set, casting a gloom
over the valley, this cloud turned pink and the mountain
purple. Even after dinner there was still a glow above
the shoulder, but as the stars came out the summit turned
death-white, frigid and desolate. It seemed higher than
Olympus and certainly too cold for the gods.
Those who dared first scale this ice-coated peak paid
for their temerity, for near the summit an accident occurred,
leaving Whymper, the great English Alpinist, and two
guides clinging for dear life to the crags while, at the
other end of the broken rope, Lord Francis Douglas and
three others began bounding from crag to crag, to fall
finally 5,000 feet to eternity.
sible. To get to the top of the Matterhorn on the second
day's climbing took up nineteen hours virtually without
stopping even to eat. Of course the effort is so violent that
no one cares to eat much.
The Matterhorn can be climbed with the leg of one
chicken and a few dried prunes, taken often to keep the
mouth moist. The cold naturally is intense, and a pro-
longed halt, owing to the fatigue, might easily end in
death, which happens quite frequently in the Alps, espe-
cially to those not in training.
Near Death on the Jungfrau
My most narrow escape, however, occurred on the
Jungfrau. On a steep slope I was forced to unrope to
allow my guides to reconnoitre for the camera. In
slightly changing my position my foot, the one on the
(Continued on page 27)
19
THE EDUCATIONAL LANTERN SLIDE
"The World Visualized for the Classroom"* an Orga-
nization of Visual Material on a New Cross-Ref erence
System Especially Arranged for Classroom Instruction
By Prof. Frank M. MCMurry, Ph.D.
Editor-in-Chief
Professor of Elementary Education, Teachers' College, Columbia University, New York
ONE of the impressive factors of the present move-
ment toward more direct and concrete methods
in teaching is the rapidly growing use of the
projecting lantern in schools and colleges. Ap-
preciation of the immense capabilities of the lantern as a
teaching medium has extended so rapidly that in some
cities every school, or nearly every one, can boast of a
projecting lantern and a collection of slides bearing more
or less directly on the required work of the school.
The Projecting Lantern in the School
As a means of entertainment, and for illustrated lec-
tures on special occasions, the lantern has long been in
use; but its value as a means of systematic instruction has
been limited by the complicated mechanism of the earlier
lanterns, which required special, experienced operators,
and the fact that lantern slides arranged according to
carefully considered courses of instruction were not avail-
able. Much mystery has surrounded the lantern in the
past, probably due to the skill required satisfactorily to
operate the earlier and more complex models. Today,
however, lanterns are simple, inexpensive and efficient and
can be easily managed by any teacher.
Visual instruction and showing pictures are not at all
the same thing. This is an age of organization, and infor-
mation to be effective must be organized and classified.
The greatest difficulty in the way of a wide and general
use of the lantern in the classroom, has been the lack of
the right kind of lantern slides.
The system of teaching with stereopticon lantern slides
comprised in The World Visualized furnishes just the right
kind of lantern slides, conveniently classified, systemati-
cally indexed and filed, and with complete explanatory
notes, the whole forming a practical teaching plan of ines-
timable educational value. Moreover, the fact that the
attention of every member of the class can be focused upon
the same thing at the same time is of the greatest importance
in the modern schoolroom when so much instruction must
be given in classes.
Guiding Principles
In the preparation of this work the editors have been
guided by certain controlling ideas as to the selection of
subjects and their utilization, which seemed to them funda-
mental. First, the endeavor has been to illustrate as many
as possible of the fundamental ideas in the different school
studies. This has been accomplished by a careful selection
according to type. There have been included, for instance,
in this series, such basic types of physiography as moun-
tains, valleys, rivers, plains (coastal and flooded), etc., of
which a rational treatment of the older locational geog-
raphy presupposed some knowledge, and a thorough
*Published by Underwood & Underwood, New York.
knowledge of which the so-called "new geography" con-
siders fundamental.
Moreover, since industry, agriculture and commerce are
at the base of all civilization, type studies in lumbering,
mining, fishing, manufacture, modes of transportation, etc.,
have been included. Selections were made showing race
types and phases of civilization most characteristic of such
races, whether in homes, costumes, religion, recreation,
architecture or related values, literary or historical.
Second, the endeavor has been to select such subjects
that would illustrate in the same scene two or more types
of the same or different studies, in order to reduce the size
of the series and thus reduce the cost to a minimum with-
out lessening its teaching value.
Third, the endeavor has been to classify thoroughly the
material for every school subject to which it would apply,
to correlate it with the regular text, to provide helps in
notes, outlines, etc., and to prepare a guide for the teachers
in the use of the material that would be authoritative, yet
simple and easy to follow.
Fourth, the endeavor has been to arrange the material on
a plan convenient for reference for any study and for all
the ideas represented by it.
The Cross Reference System
Not only was the attempt made to select slides of the
greatest intrinsic value, but to insure the widest possible
use of them, a simple cross index device was adopted to
enable a teacher to quickly refer to any particular slide for
any number of school subjects to which it might apply.
After the selection of the subjects had been decided upon
with the greatest care and the special negatives of them
obtained as directed by the editors or selected from those
already on hand, each editor took the material and classi-
fied it for the particular department of the work which had
been assigned to him, such as "History," "Products and
Industries," "Physical Geography," — selecting from the
one thousand, in each instance, the slides which would be
most useful in illustrating that particular study. Each
editor then made a thorough classification of his material,
arranging it in the manner most convenient and useful for
classroom work on his particular subject, and prepared
helpful notes, practical suggestions to teachers, black-
board outlines, etc.
The first classification was a geographical arrangement
of the slides by W. E. Grady, assistant general editor.
Numbers were then assigned to each slide in serial order
according to this arrangement. This classification consti-
tutes the "Directory of Places" or title list of the whole
1,000 series.
In all the successive classifications of the material, made
by the different editors for the different departments of
school work, the slides are referred to by the serial num-
20
bers of this first classification. By this simple cross refer-
ence system, any slide of this series so rich in pedagogical
value is made instantly and fully available to the teacher
of any of the twenty-five subjects for which the series is
classified and in which the particular slide is included.
Comprehensiveness With Economy
In selecting the slides for use in this equipment, prefer-
ence has been given, therefore, to those that show excellent
example of subject types under two or more main classifi-
cations. If, for example, of three particular illustrations
of an industry, one would show the industry only; another
would show the industry and an important physiographic
feature of the country; while a third would show those two
features and also another feature — as a good race type, or
type of child life or home life — the latter is the one that
would be chosen and would, in practical service, be equal
to three illustrations showing only one feature or type. In
this present series almost all the slides are useful in from
two to six — and many of them in eight, ten or more differ-
ent departments of school work, thus giving a much wider
possibility of use to the various teachers in any school than
any series of illustrations of equal number ever hitherto
provided. Indeed, in actual utility, this series is equal to
over 12,000 different slides selected on the expensive
and cumbersome plan on which illustrative material
has hitherto been purchased. In other words, the ground
covered by this series would have required, to cover it on
the usual basis, some 12,000 slides. There are actually over
19,000 reference uses made by the editors to the subjects
in this set of only 1,000. Without losing in comprehensive-
ness, the utmost economy was obtained and the first aim
realized. m, m,
SLIDE NOTES AND COMMENT
A series of lectures illustrated with slides on the various war
activities of the United States has been prepared by George F. Zook,
professor of modern European history, Pennsylvania State College.
The cantonments, airplanes, the navy, shipbuilding, the trenches,
and many other features of the war are described in an interesting
and instructive way. The lectures will be especially useful for
the work of teachers, Y. M. C. A. secretaries and club officials.
Each lecture is accompanied by from 45 to 65 slides which are
being sold at the nominal price of 15 cents each.
The Public Health Service of the United States Treasury Depart-
ment, Washington, D. C, is sending out lantern slides of an educa-
tional character to aid in the nation-wide campaign against the
social menace and the dangers of venereal disease. These slides
are to be used in conjunction with illustrated cards and charts.
There are about fifty exhibits in all. Norfolk, Va., will be one of
the first cities to be visited by the Surgeon General's exhibits.
According to the latest available data, the Bureau of Visual
Instruction, Extension Division, University of Wisconsin, at Madison,
Wis., has more than 350 sets of lantern slides in sets, comprising
fully 50,000 separate slides. Among the subjects covered in many
of their phases are agriculture, art, biography, geography, history,
home economics, juvenile, literature, sacred, science and nature
study, travel, welfare and sociological, and University of Wisconsin
views.
At the annual conference of state and local health authorities, held
at the New Jersey State House at Trenton on January 23 and 24,
Dr. Charles R. North, of New York, illustrated his paper on "Safe
Milk" with lantern slides.
Dr. W. O. Owen, curator of the Army Medical Museum, Washing-
ton, D. C, showed a number of slides illustrating the progress of
medical and surgical discovery at the meeting of the County Medical
Society in Philadelphia on January 8.
^^h^^-^upu^p
JJi&&ducafa&tM7i£ff^
70 FIFTH AVENUE
NEW YORK
Slide Colorists to the N. Y. State Educational Department
LECTURERS
EDUCATIONAL
COMMERCIAL
ADVERTISERS
SLIDES
Scott & Van Altena, Inc.
6 EAST 39th STREET NEW YORK
"All that the Name Implies"
EXCELSIOR
Highest Quality Possible in
Lantern Slides
Clear, Brilliant, Photographically Perfect
Lecture Slides Made to Order
Singly or in Sets
We have exceptional facilities for producing special
slides from your photographs, drawings, maps, charts,
diagrams or other copy, in black and white or any num-
ber of colors desired. Particular attention to the needs
of schools, colleges, churches, clubs and similar insti-
tutions.
// you are looking for the best,
not for the cheapest, in Lecture
Slides, write TODAY to
SPECIAL SERVICE DEP'T.
EXCELSIOR ILLUSTRATING CO.
219 Sixth Ave. New York City
21
SLIDE NOTES AND COMMENT
The workings of the United States Secret Service during the late
war were shown in an illustrated lecture by H. Barret Learned in the
auditorium of Washington University Medical School, St. Louis, Mo.,
on January 14. Later he projected views of North Carolina and
Georgia military camps.
An illustrated lecture on "The Work of the United States Life-
Saving Stations" was given January 16 in the Sixth Presbyterian
Church, Newark, N. J., by Dr. Frederick S. Crum, assistant statis-
tician of the Prudential Insurance Company.
Dr. C. K. Edmunds, president of Canton Christian College, and
observer in charge of the magnetic survey of China, conducted by the
Carnegie Institution of Washington, showed in the Palace Hotel,
San Francisco, recently, a series of lantern slides on China, from
Mongolia to Yunnan, and from the coast to the western border of
Tibet, illustrating the characteristics of land and people.
Professor Theodore Reinach, editor of the Gazette des Beaux Arts,
Paris, France, illustrated his recent lecture in Manning Hall, Provi-
dence, R. I., on "The Part of France in the Revival of Ancient Greek
Art," with 50 lantern slides.
Colored lantern slides of Lithuania and the United States were
used with the lecture, "America and the Opportunities She Offers,"
at Lithuania Hall, Newark, N. J., on January 24. This is part of
the anti-Bolshevik propaganda of Edward B. Jacobson, executive
secretary of the Ironbound Community and Industrial Service of the
Y. M. C. A.
Dr. Edgar Banks gave an illustrated talk on archaeological excava-
tions in the Near East at Milwaukee-Downer, Wisconsin, on
February 2.
"Memorials of Historic Times" was the subject of a lantern slide
lecture by Professor William F. Gray, president of the Philadelphia
Art Teachers' Association, in Central High School, Philadelphia, on
January 23. Monuments in all parts of the world were pictured on
the screen.
Rev. K. E. Evans, pastor of All Souls Unitarian Church, Elizabeth,
N. J., recently gave an illustrated lecture at the church on "The Dawn
of Democracy, or the Coming of the Common Man."
Methods of securing and transmitting military information in the
war were described and illustrated in a lecture which F. E. Fegan,
of the New York Telephone Company, gave recently before the 22d
Assembly District Republican Club of Brooklyn, N. Y.
Underwood & Underwood
FANEUIL HALL
Called the "Cradle of
Liberty," because from
the deliberations of the
patriots who assembled
there sprang the divine
inspiration of liberty
which was to spread its
influence as the beacon
light of freedom for all
the world.
This illustration is
slide No. 4 in the Under-
wood "World Visualized"
School Series, which, to-
gether with many others
in the set, contains the
germ of Patriotism.
The Underwood System of Visual Instruction, compris-
ing Thousands of Lantern Slides, extends the environment
of the school-room to the whole world, giving the pupils
the personal experience of being in every country and
actually coming into personal contact with the various
industries and activities of the world — creating an absorb-
ing interest in their studies and supplementing their text-
books in the most practical way.
Send for new lists of Special Lantern Slides on
Astronomy, Birds, Botany and Floriculture, Entomology,
Famous Paintings, Physics, Zoology, Maps, Flags, and
many others.
Ask us about Educational Motion Picture
Films
UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD
Dept. EF
417 Fifth Avenue, New York
Directors and camera men
rely on the latitude, speed and
dependability of
EASTMAN
FILM
That this confidence is not
misplaced is shown by the re-
sults on the screen.
Identifiable by the words "Eastman" and "Kodak"
on the film margin
EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY,
ROCHESTER, N. Y.
"HOW LIFE BEGINS"— 4 Parts
A wonderful screen version, giving a clearer understanding of life itself.
Now being used by the United States Government in
Camp and Civilian Communities.
Of inestimable value in the class room, welfare and social center.
This Subject with French, Italian, Spanish and Russian Titles
Living embryo of chick 52 hours old. From "How Life Begins."
For rental and purchase prices address
Exhibitors Booking Agency, 220 W. 42nd St., N. Y.
Our experts review every picture that is produced. Let us plan your educational
and entertainment programs for the year.
Films Translated into all Foreign Languages.
All work, including Technical Subjects, Guaranteed.
We are in the market for negatives of Educational subjects.
22
FLASHES ON THE WORLD'S SCREEN
News Notes and Comment on Educational and Allied Films
from Institutions, Organizations, Producers, and Individuals
in the United States and Canada and Overseas
WHAT is unquestionably the most
important gathering of educators
having to do with visual instruc-
tion takes place in Chicago the last week
of February. Hundreds, perhaps thousands,
of superintendents of schools, members of
the National Education Association, meet-
ing under the auspices of the Department of
Superintendence of that huge organization,
now 700,000 strong, will hold daily sessions
from February 24 to March 1, inclusive.
The Section on Visual Instruction will be
represented at some of these sessions and
the addresses and discussions promise to be
interesting and valuable and will no doubt
forward the great movement appreciably.
A complete account of the sayings and do-
ings of the convention will appear in the
March issue of this magazine.
Douglas Fairbanks is doing a series of
pictures for the Morale Division and Com-
mittee on Training Camp Activities of the
United States Army. He says they are for
educational and ethical purposes. Purity
of purpose, cheerfulness, steadfastness and
willingness to sacrifice are the guiding prin-
ciples the Government has in mind.
Ignace Jan Paderewski, famous pianist,
first president of the new Polish Republic, is
to be featured in a film to aid the war suf-
ferers of Poland.
The statement published broadcast a few
weeks ago that Carl H. Carson, manager of
the school department of the Educational
Films Corporation, had predicted that "films
would largely replace textbooks in the
schools" has brought forth an indignant
denial from Mr. Carson, who was formerly
instructor in history at Pasadena High
School, Pasadena, Cal. He states emphatic-
ally that what he did say was that "films
would become the most valuable supple-
mentary aid to education" when they are
pedagogically prepared/ to correlate with
the various syllabi.
The censors are at it again. Assembly-
man William F. Brush, of Orange County,
New York, has introduced a bill into the
state legislature providing for a commissioner
to censor films and a state department to
supervise and control production, distribu-
tion, and exhibition. At the same time
Representative Randall, of California, intro-
duced into the house of representatives at
Washington a bill for a federal motion pic-
ture commission, intended to establish super-
vision and censorship over motion pictures.
The Society for the Prevention of Crime,
New York, is said to be one of the organi-
zations back of the movement. According
to Mr. Randall, Cardinal Gibbons has writ-
ten to the International Reform Bureau
favoring motion pictures of an elevated
character and emphasizing their moral im-
portance.
"The Price of Victory," a British war film
brought to this country by Dr. H. D. Gird-
wood, geographer and historical photographer
to the Indian Government, who made the pic-
tures at the front, were shown at the Forty-
fourth Street Theatre recently, under the
auspices of the New York Committee on
America's Tribute to Britain.
Contracts have been awarded by the New
York City Board of Education for rental of
motion picture films for the day and even-
ing high and elementary schools, in accord-
ance with the recommendations made by
Superintendent of Supplies Patrick Jones.
The agreements cover one year from Febru-
ary 1, 1919, are of a blanket character with-
out specifying the number of films or the
rentals to be paid, and were signed with the
Pathescope Company of America and the
Charles Beseler Company, both of New
York City. Mr. Jones states that out of
600 school buildings in Greater New York
200 elementary schools are equipped with
motion picture projectors and 50 high
schools. The majority of the machines are
Pathescopes. It is interesting to learn that
most of the projectors were purchased with
funds raised by the school children them-
elves by means of entertainments and collec-
tions. Only a few of the machines were
installed by Board of Education funds.
The Bishop of Birmingham, England, on
his recent visit to this country watched
Charlie Chaplin at work in the latter's Cali-
fornia studio and lunched with the comedian.
The Bishop visited America in the cause of
motion pictures and their influence on child
life, and he congratulated Mr. Chaplin on
providing the world with wholesome laughter
at a time of universal sorrow.
Profesor Burton L. Rockwood, represent-
ing the Atlas Educational Film Company,
Chicago, lectured on and exhibited "The
Battle Fronts of Humanity," two reels of
army and navy life, excerpts from Elisha,
the life of Christ, and other subjects at
Central Baptist Church, Trenton, N. J., on
January 15. He showed the same pictures
at the First Methodist Church, New Bruns-
wick, N. J., on January 21. Mr. Rockwood
Was a teacher and preacher before becoming
a lecturer.
« Films are helping in the fight against
social diseases in Minnesota, conducted by
the State Board of Health in co-operation
with the Public Safety Commission. Pic-
tures are shown at the free evening clinics
for men and women in St. Paul, Minneapolis
and Duluth.
At Hillside Home for the Aged, Bridgeport,
Conn., the first motion picture exhibition
'was given on January 10. Superintendent
Angus P. Thome, of the local charities de-
partment, says many of the older inmates
had never before seen a "movie" show.
A motion picture of the Students' Army
Training Corps, Yale University, New Haven,
Conn., was shown at the Yale Club, New
York City, on January 13. Secretary Stokes,
of the university, and Major Allan Ward-
well, '95, head of the Red Cross commission
in Russia, were speakers.
Dr. R. L. Ditmars, curator of reptiles,
New York Zoological Gardens, on the occa-
sion of the annual Darwin lecture at New
York University early in February, screened
a series of films of marine life taken in
Naples, Jtaly.
23
Chaplin Emmanual Chastand, representing
the French Government, gave a film exposi-
tion of what France is doing for her soldiers
crippled in the war, at the University of
Pennsylvania on January 13. He was the
guest of Dr. R. Tait McKenzie, of Phila-
delphia.
■n
At the Commercial Museum, Philadelphia,
H. C. Ostrander, of New York, showed on
January 11 pictures of General Allenby's
victorious army in the Holy Land. Some
of the official photographers were said to
have been killed while filming these scenes.
A thrilling scene from the film depicts
"what the world looks like coming down in
a spiral from a height of 10,000 feet at a
speed of seventy miles an hour" in an air-
plane.
9
"Christus," the religious picture which was
seen on Broadway, New York, was recently
shown at Cory Hall, Cardiff, Wales, by the
Cymric Film Company. The projection is
said to have been made exceptionally clear
and sharp through the use of an E. R. A.
shutter, the invention of a Cardiff man.
9
A motion picture theatre will be part of
the equipment of the new clubhouse at 107
to 111 East 30th Street, New York City,
which will be opened by the Association to
Promote Housing for Girls. Fifty girls will
find recreation and all conveniences at the
club and may invite their friends.
9
As part of its recent community service
the First Methodist Church, Bridgeport,
Conn., exhibited films of the Palace of Ver-
sailles, of Paris and environs in color; and a
reel of wild animal pictures — five reels in all.
Admission was free, expenses being covered
by a collection.
In a photoplay called "Women Who Win"
Queen Mary of England appears. The film
was produced under the auspices of the
British Women's Service of which Lady
Francis Balfour is president, and is to be
shown simultaneously in Great Britain,
Canada and the United States.
Dr. P. R. Bowdish, of the New York State
Department of Health, at the farmers' week
meeting at Joseph Slocum College of Agri-
culture, Syracuse University, on January 23,
illustrated his lecture on "Conditions Affect-
ing Public Health" with films showing how
the farmer keeps his milk supply sanitary.
Films contributed by the Extension Depart-
ment, State College of Agriculture, Ithaca,
N. Y., illustrated the actual conditions and
costs of milk production.
Official films of Italy's Alpine battle front
were exhibited in December at Orchestra
Hall, Chicago. Lieutenant Bruno Roselli
was the lecturer and was introduced by
Captain Charles E. Merrian. The pictures
were shown under the auspices of the Italian
Relief Auxiliary.
Seventy prints of the Fox picture, "Les
Miserables," based upon Victor Hugo's
master work, in which William Farnum is
featured, are reported in use. When the
classics are adequately filmed, they will con-
stitute an essential part of the literature
course in every school and college.
(Continued on page 26)
EDUCATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE will publish from month to month classified descriptive lists of all motion
picture films properly belonging to one or more of the various groups of which this publication treats. The
aim will be to give accurate and dependable information under each classification: in some instances this infor-
mation will come from the manufacturers, in other cases from the distributers, frequently from the Editorial
Offices of this magazine, occasionally from individual, outside and foreign sources. Only where the data supplied eman
ates from this office is this publication responsible for the statements made. In all cases, without exception, the reader
should verify the information given at the source indicated.
This magazine maintains an Information Bureau and Special Service Department which will endeavor to furnish
up-to-date facts and data regarding any motion picture film in the fields covered by this periodical. All inquiries of
this character should be addressed Film Catalog Editor, EDUCATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE, 33 West 42d Street, New
York, and to insure reply should contain self-addressed stamped envelope.
AGRICULTURE
All films listed below have been manufactured
and are being distributed by the United States
Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.
All have been released to date. Each reel is
approximately 1,000 feet in length. Prints of
these films are intended primarily for the use
of the extension workers of the Department of
Agriculture and of the State colleges and de-
partments of agriculture. Prints may be pur-
chased by others at the cost of manufacture.
These films are not handled through commercial
exchanges. No prints are now availble on non-
inflammable or narrow width film. Schools,
colleges, churches, clubs, and other institutions
and organiaztions should apply for this film
through their county agricultural agents or the
directors of extension of their State agricultural
colleges.
AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST RE-
SOURCES OF U. S 1 reel
The position occupied by America in the
world's output of plant, animal and forest
products.
CONTROL OF PINK BOLLWORM OF
COTTON 2 reels
Reel 1. The clean-up campaign in Texas,
where 10,000 acres of cotton-land were cleared
and burned to rid them of the infestation of
pink bollworms. Pictures of the bollworm and
larvae. View of Anahuac, where the boll-
worm entered the United States.
Reel 2. Fumigation of Egyptian cotton at
port of entry.
DRYING FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN
THE HOME 1 reel
Types of driers, methods of drying, packing,
conditioning and labeling tomatoes, carrots
and other root vegetables, corn, berries and
apples, and a luncheon of dried delicacies at-
tended by the wives of Cabinet officers.
DUST EXPLOSIONS (A technical reel) . .1 reel
Dust explosions and their results in feed-
grinding plants. Experiments in U. S. De-
partment of Agriculture and Bureau of
Mines, with dust from starch, flour, sugar,
coal and sulphur.
Explosions and fires in threshing-machines;
their causes and results, and tests of fire-
extinguishers to be adapted to use in ma-
chines.
HELPING THE FARMERS OF TOMOR-
ROW 2 reels
The trip to Washington and sight-seeing tours
of the children who won state prizes for
raising fruit, vegetables and poultry in club
work.
THE WICHITA NATIONAL FOREST AND
GAME PRESERVE 3 reels
Reel 1. The Witchery of the Wichita. Visi-
tors, headquarters, small birds, and the uses
and scenic wonders of the Forest.
Reel 2. Bison on the Wichita. Including
an Indian Buffalo hunt.
Reel 3. Wild Turkey and Deer on the
Wichita.
TO FEED A HUNGRY WORLD 1 reel
"The Agricultural Expeditionary Force."
How Huntington, Indiana, met the call for
emergency farm labor in 1918, as a war meas-
ure.
AMERICAN SCENICS
Direction of Robert C. Bruce. Produced by
Educational Films Corporation of America, 729
Seventh Avenue, New York.
The list given below is of pictures made in
the Far West, in the Rockies, Cascades, Sierra
Nevadas, Coast Range, Selkirks of British
Columbia, and Olympic. These films reflect the
best of American mountain scenery taken in
a superb way. Each has been featured at
New York theatres, and is a new development
of the scenic educational picture, in that it
carries a slight thread of a story, has been
carefully thought out, planned and produced,
and is beautifully printed and colored. These
are all full subjects about 900 feet long. They
rent by the clay for $3 to $5 per reel, and may
be had at any of the Educational Film
Exchanges listed in their announcement in this
issue:
IN HANGING GLACIER COUNTRY.
LAND OF SILENCE.
STAMPEDE.
WORLD'S ROAD.
VALLEY OF THE HOH.
HIYU SKOOKUM POW WOW LA PUSH.
ODDITIES IN FILM FORM.
MAZAMAS AND THREE SISTERS (1).
MAZAMAS AND THREE SISTERS (2).
TRAIL TO CLOUDY PASS.
DESCHUTES DRIFTWOOD.
HEAD OF WAR CREEK.
SNOWS OF MANY YEARS.
HERMIT OF HOOD— ICE HARVEST.
SUNSET TRAIL.
HANS HENRI AND NEOPHYTE.
SILVER LININGS— BIRDS OF AIR.
SHEEP OF SHELAN— BIRDS OF SANDS.
MOUNTAINS OF CLOUDS.
ACUTE SPRING FEVER.
TO THE RAINBOW.
FILM HUNTERS.
YARN OF THE SLOWERN'ELL.
VARIETY, ROCKS, RAILS, RIVERS.
HIGH, LOW AND GAME.
WHEN THE MOUNTAINS CALL (1).
WHEN THE MOUNTAINS CALL (2).
WHEN THE MOUNTAINS CALL (3).
SERENE OF INDEX
LUCK OF HORSESHOE BASIN.
NEW YORK TO FLORIDA.
FLORIDA TO LOUISIANA.
CHEMISTRY
The films listed below are distributed by the
Atlas Educational Film Co., 63 East Adams
Street, Chicago, 111. Their latest catalog states:
"We have secured new copies of all our old
subjects which have proven popular. Many of
the reels listed are brand new copies. Every
reel guaranteed in first-class condition." The
prices and terms of this company are as fol-
lows: All subjects for use one day, in one
place, $1.25 per reel, unless otherwise noted.
All reels contain, approximately, 1,000 feet, re-
quiring about twenty minutes to run. Some
reels have more than one subject. Renter pays
transportation charges both ways, except where
film is ordered sent on to another user, then
only receiving charges. Where film is injured or
destroyed, renter is held responsible for damage.
Send orders as long as possible before date re-
quired. Kindly mention second and third choice.
Always order by number. One week's notice re-
quired for cancellation. A pin in the film tears
the inspector's hands. Please use film cement
for patching. Films must be returned by first
express after use. To delay shipment means in-
convenience to others and additional rental to
yourself. Film held beyond the rental date
without our consent must be paid for at the
same rate per day as contracted for.
Terms: Cash in advance or shipment C. O. D,
if express charges are advanced. Reels must
be returned by prepaid express.
LIQUID AIR.
Experiments showing effects upon metals,
flowers and living objects.
OXYGEN.
A demonstration of the effect of oxygen in
combustion and respiration.
ICE AND SNOW.
Instructive picture of the power of frost and
the formation of ice and snow.
SIMPLE EXPERIMENTS IN ELECTRICITY.
Clear demonstration of production and effects
of electricity in simple experiments.
WONDERS OF MAGNETISM.
How different types of magnets work.
CRYSTALS.
Their making, habits and beauty.
CLASSICAL
Distributed by Atlas Educational Film Co.,
Chicago. See prices and terms above.
JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN.
Follows faithfully th° famous storv.
THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH.
Dickens' well-known story.
24
FRIDOLIN. (Colored).
A beautiful pictorial presentation of Schiller's
poems.
THE BRIDE OF LAMMERMOOR.
A fascinating reproduction of Scott's novel.
MACBETH.
A picturization of Shakespeare's play.
THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD.
The well-known story.
BEETHOVEN.
MENDELSOHN'S SPRING SONG.
A visual interpretation.
PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.
Bunyan's complete story. Four reels, $10.
NICHOLAS NICKLEBY.
Charles Dickens' story of Nicholas and
family trials. Two reels, $4.
SCROOGE.
Dickens' Christmas story. Three reels, $5.
THE CHIMES.
Dickens' story of Trotty Vech. Five reels,
$8 50
A WINTER'S TALE.
A photo-drama from Shakespeare. Three
reels, $5.
TREASURE ISLAND.
Stevenson's great story. Three reels, $5.
THE LADY OF THE LAKE.
Scott's beautiful poem in pictures. Three
reels, $5.
HISTORY
Distributed by Atlas Educational Film Co.,
Chicago. See prices and terms above.
THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR.
A vivid story of Admiral Nelson's last battle
which is full of thrilling scenes.
IN THE DAYS OF NERO. (Colored).
A beautifully colored reproduction depicting
the intrigues of the court of Nero the Cruel.
The following subjects dealing with various
phases of the life of Napoleon afford interesting
historical studies:
NAPOLEON IN BERLIN.
An interesting story with the conquest of
Prussia as the main feature.
JOSEPHINE.
The development of the domestic tragedy of
Napoleon's life is shown.
THE PRISONER OF WAR.
Giving glimpses of the life and habits of
Napoleon while a prisoner on the Island of St.
Helena.
THE BETRAYAL OF KING CHARLES V.
(Colored).
A fine representation of the overthrow of
the English consipracy to regain the crown of
France
BETROTHAL OF HENRY V.
Although in love with a country girl, the
Queen Mother persuades him to announce his
engagement to Margaret of Anglon.
THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS.
The stories of the voyage of the Mayflower,
Plymouth Rock, and the courtship of Miles
Standish.
THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW.
A stirring drama of the life of Peter the
Great. Two reels, $3.
JOAN OF ARC.
Showing the exciting life and tragic death of
the Maid of Orleans. Two reels, $4.
MIDNIGHT RIDE OF PAUL REVERE.
The words of this nationally known poem
accompany the action as it is unfolded on the
screen. Two reels, $4.
THE BOSTON TEA PARTY.
Historically portrays the Colonists' famous
coup. Two reels, $4.
THE LIFE OF LINCOLN.
A fine presentation of the life of the Great
Emancipator. Two reels, $4.
JUVENILE
The films listed below are a compilation of
available pictures endorsed by the National
Juvenile Motion Picture League, 381 Fourth
Avenue, New York City. Pictures listed are re-
viewed by the reviewing board two to three
weeks in advance of release dates. Special chil-
dren's matinees are supervised by local commit-
tees throughout the United States and Canada,
"in order to help stimulate a demand for fairy
stones and to provide a safe place for smaller
children to view good films. Family programs
are assisting greatly in this propaganda for
wholesome films." lien and women workers in
child welfare compose the board of directors
New \ork school teachers and child psycholo-
gists assist in the work. All descriptions and
directions to cut or omit, in these lists, emanate
from the league.
Recommended for children under 12 years
of age
THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT
BRIGADE i reel
Producer, Edison; exchange, Beseler; Tenny-
son's poem. Re-issue
UNCLE TOM'S CABIN 3 reels
Producer, Vitagraph; exchange, Beseler.
Shorten death scene of little Eva. Omit last
THE RETURN OF ULYSSES 1 reel
Producer, Pathe; exchange, Beseler. Cut
killing of all the suitors by Ulysses
BOBBY, THE PHILANTHROPIST. ... .1 reel
Producer, Vitagraph; exchange V. L. S. E.
Shorten bath-room scene.
THE PRINCESS' NECKLACE 4 reels
Producer,^ George Kleine; exchange, K. E.
S. E. Young prince recovers lost necklace
for princess and discovers that making others
happy brings happiness.
THE BLIND FIDDLER 1 reel
Producer, Edison-Conquest; exchange, George
Kleine. Viola Dana. Blind man discovers
blindness is not the worst fate.
REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM. (Kate
Douglas Wiggin) 5 reels
Producer, Artcraft; exchange, Paramount.
Mary Pickford.
A LITTLE PATRIOT 5 reels
Producer, Pathe; exchange, Pathe. Modern
war story. Child captures spy and saves
country.
CINDERELLA (Mary Pickford) 5 reels
Producer, Famous; exchange, Paramount.
Folk-lore.
THE PIED PIPER OF HAMLIN 1 reel
Producer, Edison-Conquest; exchange, K. E.
S. E. Legend.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND 6 reels
Producer, Young & Wheeler; exchange, Es-
kay Harris. Fairy storv. In reel 1 cut
scene where Alice steals the tarts.
JEWEL 5 reels
Producer, Universal; exchange, Universal.
Little girl brings love into unhappy home.
LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY 5 reels
Producer. Metro; exchange, Metro. Cut last
part of prolog showing dissipated life of older
brothers.
THE THREE BEARS 1 reel
Producers, Essanay; exchange, Beseler. Folk-
SNOW WHITE 1 reel
Producer, Regent; exchange, Educational Films
Corporation of America. Cut scenes of wicked
Alice before her marriage. Shorten all death
scenes. Eliminate kiss at piano.
MEDICAL AND SURGICAL
Manufactured by U. S. Government agencies.
Assembled, printed and distributed by the In-
struction Laboratory, of the Surgeon General's
Office, Army Medical Museum, Washington, D. C
PARALYTIC GIRL AT TYPEWRITING
DESK 1 reel
Showing speed efficiency.
A CRIPPLED SOLDIER y2 reel
Studied and timed with Gilbreth Clock.
SPECIMEN OF MYRTLE S. POLIOENCE-
PHALTIS 1 reel
TESTS OF THE VESTIBULA
APPARATUS 1 reel
AVIATION TESTS DEVIATING FROM THE
NORMAL 1 reel
AVIATION TESTS FOR ARMY 1 reel
KINETO WAR MAP 1 reel
INAUGURATION CEREMONY OF THE PRE-
SENTING OF AN AMERICAN AMBULANCE
OF RED CROSS TO THE FRENCH GOV-
ERNMENT , 1 reel
HOW TO USE DAKIN TUBES '.'. .1 reel
Also showing operation by Dr. Carrell at a
French Base Hospital.
SHOWING ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES
FOR MESSAGE 1 reel
ATHLETIC ACTIVITIES 1 reel
Muscular activities.
WAR NEUROSIS 1 reel
MEDICAL REVIEW AT
INDIANAPOLIS 1 reel
TYING SURGICAL KNOT ....% reel
New method.
AMERICAN DEFENDERS 1 reel'
HUMAN MOVEMENT ANALZYED. . . V, reel
TREATMENT OF WAR WOUNDS. .. .2 reels
TREATMENT OF WAR WOUNDS.... 5 reels
TREATMENT OF WAR WOUNDS.... 2 reels
TREATMENT OF BURNS 3 reels
Amberine, paraffine, etc.
A LECTURE ON ORTHOPAEDIC SUR-
GERY NO. 1 3 reesl
AN OPERATION FOR CATARACT. ... 1 reel
Smith Indian intercapsular
WAR NEUROSIS .' 3 reels
FIT TO FIGHT 4 reels
A venereal disease photo-play — very interest-
THE'WAY OUT 4 reels
Reconstruction for cripples.
SPLINTS FOR THE TREATMENT OF
FRACTURES ,..2 reels
X-RAY OF STOMACH % reel
A LECTURE ON SOLDIER'S FOOT AND
ADVANTAGES OF THE MILITARY
SHOE 3 reels
PICTOGRAPHS— MISCELLANEOUS
1 he films listed and described below are known
by the trade name, "Paramount-Bray Picto-
graphs. They are produced by The Bray
Studios, Inc., New York City, and are dis-
tributed weekly by 27 Famous Players-Lasky
Exchanges located in large cities in every sec-
tion of the United States. One of these ex-
changes is in your section. "The first and the
original magazine on the screen, and still the
best is the way the organization describes its
releases. There are three or four short sub-
jects on each reel. They embrace science, in-
vention, industry, travel, scenic, social welfare
current events and miscellaneous material. They
are offered on rental "at nominal cost." Full
particulars may be had at the exchanges men-
tioned. The numbers given are the Order Num-
bers supplied by Bray
GUARDIANS OF THE DEEP. CP 4001
SKATING A LA MODE.
TRAINING THE MAN HUNTERS
fm ?iNTEsLuHEBE^02LIAR 0n the Jump"
THE ASTRONOMER'S WORKSHOP
EVOLUTION OF WINTER SPORTS.
§0|BY BUMPS In the Great Divide.
Pv^TIrSS.RIVERS TO WORK. B. 6003.
TWO BOOBS AND A MANATEE
WINDOWS OF ART. ^A1£-*"
THE QUACKY DOODLE'S PICNIC.
c->x?aE1?Jt^t?.NTS WITH LIGHT RAYS. B. 6004
SWAPPING FOUNDATIONS UNDER SKY-
oLKAirJlKS.
COLONEL HEEZA LIAR, Detective
BIRDLAND ROMANCE. B 6005
INDUSTRIAL PARADISE.
FITTING HEADS TO HATS
BOBBY BUMPS Adopts a Turtle.
SArFE£EARDING THE CITY'S HEALTH.
-D. 6006.
FARMING FOR FEATHERS.
^EtXIXI^T(UHE WEAVER'S ART.
Pn^h^wTsTi^ie^^b0^;
Mh^z^sVR*'s FLOWER's-
COLONEL HEEZA LIAR, Spy Dodger
ASSAYING THE NATION'S GOLD
CRAB FISHING IN VIRGINIA
™b£vC»tt^?g«4n orient'al art.
BOBBY BUMPS, Office Boy
mS1??^11? RED CROSS. B. 6009.
MISSION LIFE IN CALIFORNIA
PICTO PUZZLES-By Sam Lloyd
QUACKJ DOODLES As the Early Bird
DEVELOPING THE BALLET. B 6010
THE FIRST AMERICAN
CURIOSITIES OF NEW YORK
¥^ £&yy? GOAT At the Circus.
ABALONA PEARL-FISHING. B 60U
YE OLD TIME COON HUNT
PICTO PUZZLES— By Sam Lloyd
?8lBSB0YNBDUOlIS «&*" DOg'CatCher-
?1^Ei^ns¥^^J£vA^ycaro^a-
QUACKY DOODLES Soldering for' Fair
PREPARING THE SCHOOL-BOY ATHLETE
.D. 6013.
T OFNEUROPEING THE PEASANT'S ARTS
UNMASKING THE MEDIUMS.
^^ading. Messages in Sealed Envelopes.
POLITICAL CARTOON, "Stung "
THE SURE CURE. B. 6014
A LESSON IN WOOD CARVING
MONEY OLD AND NEW ^V11NU'
BOBBY BUMPS Volunteers
SUBMARINE MINE-LAYER. B. 6015
WOMEN PATRIOTS
MODERN FARMING.
PICTO PUZZLES.
THE AWAKENING O FAMERICA B 6016
tIpP&iTe A&!EF-OARED 'CR™
PICTO PUZZLES.
TRAWLING FOR SNAPPERS. B 6017
THE UKALELE BUILDERS
THE AMERICAN GIRL ATHLETE
BOBBY BUMPS, Daylight Camper
A SCHOOL FOR WHITE WINGS B 6018
THE DESERT HARVEST 8'
OTTO LUCK In the Movies.
RELIGIOUS
Distributed by Atlas Educational Film Co
Chicago. (See prices and terms under Chemis-
THE PRODIGAL SON. (Colored)
A fine interpretation of Christ's oft-quoted
parable.
JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER.
A fine rendering of the Bible story of the
time of the Tudges.
THE JUDGMENT OF SOLOMON.
The story of the test of the young King's
wisdom is well told in this picture
THE RAISING OF LAZARUS.
Showing Christ restoring Lazarus to his sis-
ters.
THE LAST SUPPER.
Showing the betrayal by Judas; his remorse
and death.
ELISHA AND THE SHUNAMITE. (Colored).
The story of the prophet's restoration of the
boy to life.
INFANCY OF MOSES. (Colored).
The story of the rescue of Moses from the
water by Pharaoh's daughter.
25
ABRAHAM'S SACRIFICE. (Colored).
In obdience Abraham is about to offer up
Isaac when an Angel interferes.
THE FIRST CHRISTMAS.
This story takes us back to the birth of Christ
and is an interesting portrayal of that great
event.
THE BIRTH OF OUR SAVIOUR.
A very fine presentation of the Gospel story;
titles are extracts from Scripture.
THE STORY OF ESTHER.
The Biblical story of Esther's marriage, Mor-
decai's advancement, and the deliverance of
the Jews from Haman's plot.
ZOOLOGY
The films listed and described below were
directed and manufactured by W. L. Brind. He
calls them "popular educational moving pic-
tures." They are being distributed by the
Eskay-Harris Film Co., 126 West Forty-sixth
Street, New York City. There are two sub-
jects on each reel — eight reels in all. The de-
scriptions given are those furnished by Mr.
Brind:
ALL ABOUT BEES Split-reel 1
Moving Picture World says of this film that
it is the "the best bee film ever produced."
It shows all the happenings around the bee-
hives and the wonderful instinct of the bees
in distinguishing friends from foes. The nat-
ural history of the bee, its community habits
and the uses of beeswax and honey are
demonstrated with amusing episodes.
THE FRESH WATER
AQUARIUM Split-reel 1
Extraordinary fish collected from the re-
motest parts of the globe are here presented
for the first time in film. Some give birth to
their young alive; others lay eggs and others
again build nests of air bubbles and protect
their eggs. Fish race on dry land, others
fight on stilts, others climb trees.
BEAUTIFUL GOLDFISH Split-reel 2
Here we see the evolution of a wonderful
$500 goldfish from the 5c variety. Some
specimens have marvelous veil-like tails and
fins; others have no back fins but are shaped
like cocoanuts with heads like buffaloes.
Others, again, have frog-like eyes and double
tails, and some are sky-blue and come from
Japan. We see them spawning on plants,
microscopic views of young fish inside the egg
and just hatched.
MY FRIEND THE ANT Split-reel 2
Charles Darwin pronounced the ant equal in
intelligence to man. This film proves it. An
ant shows the human observer the secrets of
his nest with its trench-like passage-ways and
quarters for eggs, grubs, pupae and food. In-
dustrious ants are seen building, foraging,
fighting a big caterpillar and lifting and haul-
ing lumber. A duel is fought with an invad-
ing strange ant, and Red Cross ants come to
render "first aid" and finally the queen ant
herself tends her wounded soldier, licking his
wounds and restoring him to life.
DENIZENS OF THE DEEP.
NO. .1 Split-reel 3
Among the strange denizens of the deep we
see here the blow fish who blows himself full
of air and floats on the surface; the red hog
fish with his porcupine quills and pig-like
face; the spiny box fish, all corners, prickles
and eccentricity; the parrot-fish who
crunches shellfish with his powerful beak; the
shark suckers who steal rides by hitching
themselves with the tops of their heads _ to
sharks and so are carried to their feeding
gounds; beautiful angel fish and rare pebble
fish from Tava in their submarine caves.
STRANGE INSECT LIFE Split-reel 3
Here we see the seventeen-year locust whose
long-drawn "chur-r-re-e-e-e-" enlivens our coun-
try lanes in summer-time after its crawling
pupa climbs up the apple-tree trunks out of
the ground, splits open and releases the per-
fect locust who, as soon as its wings are
grown big and stiff, flies off_ in _ search of a
mate. Then we see the fireflies in the grass,
getting restless as night approaches, and fin-
ally their signal corps gets busy flashing to
one another in the dark woods. A big taran-
tula spider guards her ball of eggs at the en-
trance to her tunnel. Also we see the katy-
did attacked by a wood ant and an ichneu-
mon fly attacking a caterpillar.
BIRDS OF THE ORINOCO Split-reel 4
The Orinoco River flows through beautiful
forests in Venezuela which are inhabited by
many strange and beautiful birds shown in
this film: Scarlet tanagers with their nest,
eggs and young; mother feeding baby, wild
canaries, bee eaters, troopials, lovebirds,
doves, manquitos, verdinas, fish eagles in nest
at mouth of river and stormy petrels hover-
ing over the heaving sea.
SWAT THE FLY Split-reel 4
How flies carry germs of diseases was never
more clearly shown than in this thrilling
film. Flies breed in decaying meat, their
maggots swarm in it; then when fully fed,
they drop out and bury themselves in the
ground. Soon they emerge as flies, which
soon fly off to feed and breed on carrion
from which they carry typhoid fever, germs
to the nipple of the baby's feeding bottle, as
is seen in close-up scenes and proven by the
doctor through the microscope.
THE FOPvUM
NATIONAL VISUAL INSTRUCTION BUREAU
Department of the Interior
Bureau of Education
Washington, D. C, Jan 21, 1919.
Editor, Educational Film Magazine.
Sir: — The Division of Educational Extension
is a new organization in the Department of the
Interior, acting under the jurisdiction of the
Bureau of Education. One of its primary ob-
jects is to secure for distribution throughout the
various schools, colleges and universities of the
country, such educative material as will assist
in conveying an intellectual appreciation and
knowledge of the war and its causes, history and
effects. For this purpose the Division is utiliz-
ing various means, including motion pictures, still
pictures, slides, posters and any_ material that
will constitute an educational ; exhibit.
I am requested to communicate with you and
to ask the courtesy of your assistance in this
work. If your department has motion pictures,
still pictures or slides, we should greatly appre-
ciate your sending us a list of the same. If you
have issued posters, a copy of each would mate-
rially aid us. If you have or know of any
material which is of educational value, we should
be grateful for information concerning it.
The importance of circulating accurate in-
formation and reliable visual instruction through-
out the Nation's educational institutions can not
be overestimated, and we confidently appeal to
you for any aid that you may be able to afford
us. Yours very truly,
DIVISION OF EDUCATIONAL EXTENSION,
C. H. Moore,
In Charge of Film Production.
"PRAISE FROM SIR RUPERT"
Board of Education
City of Chicago
Chicago, Jan. 24, 1919.
Editor, Educational Film Magazine. _
Sir: — I wish to acknowledge the receipt of the
first number of your Educational _ Film Maga-
zine. I am more than delighted with the splen-
did task you have set before you. Such a maga-
zine as you have planned to edit and put before
the public certainly answers a very great need
that has developed in our country^ in recent
years. I have seen nothing that will compare
with it in excellence, and in glancing over the
items you mention that you have in mind in
covering the policy you expect to follow in your
paper, I can assure you that you deserve the
highest commendation for the ideals you set
forth.
I trust that you may be backed up most splen-
didly by people interested in visual education
throughout the country, and that you will be
able to attain all the good things you have in
mind. There are some phases of visual educa-
tion especially applicable to school purposes that
we shall be glad to write you about later. A
number of these things are mentioned in the
interview that was had with our esteemed citi-
zen, Thomas A. Edison.
We have had many of those topics under dis-
cussion here in Chicago during the past two
years, hoping that some way might open up
whereby we could render the services Mr. Edison
calls our attention to. It certainly was a unique
thing that he suggests, that we may be having
moving pictures by wireless in the near future.
That seems so remote from us at the present time
and there are so many other things that seem really
to be workable just now, that probably it may
be well for us to center our attention upon the
multiplied service of educational films, not the
kind we see shown in the picture houses, as a
rule, but such as are mentioned in your valuable
magazine as suitable for school purposes.
We can add very largely to that list of topics
and if only some movement can be started
whereby standard-sized films can be furnished
of the non-inflammable stock so that we would
be less hampered by the inability to good service
owing to organizations and city ordinances, it
would help us to give to the people in an edu-
cational way and to the great masses of our
school children, a service which is really their
birthright but which now is denied them because
of these inhibitory phases of our city and ser-
vice regulations.
I am sure that you, through your most excel-
lent magazine, will help us to solve this great
problem in a much more expeditious way than
would _ be possible without your help.
Again congratulating you on your splendid
undertaking,
Yours very truly,
Dudley Grant Hays,
Director, Extension Department.
FROM DR. CLAXTON
Department of the Interior
Bureau of Education
Washington, Jan. 22, 1919.
Editor, Educational Film Magazine.
Sir: — I wish to thank you for the copy of
the Educational Film Magazine, which came
to my desk and which I have examined with
very great interest.
No doubt, the moving picture will become far
more important^ as an educational agency than
it has been or is now.
Yours sincerely,
P. P. Claxton,
Commissioner.
SAYS THE MAGAZINE MEETS A NEED
State of Montana
Department of Public Instruction
Helena, Jan. 27, 1919.
Editor, Educational Film Magazine.
Sir: — Your first number of Educational Film
Magazine is so splendid and meets a need, not
heretofore met, so well that I am sending you
under separate cover copy of our directory and
inviting you to send sample copy to each of our
county superintendents and to such others as
you may select.
I believe strongly in the use of educational
films, especially for schools. Much can be
learned in this way, which is not possible in any
other way.
Any copy of the Film Magazine that comes to
us will find a place on our public magazine
holder.
Very truly yours,
Charles M. Reinoehl,
Rural School Inspector.
OUR IDEALS AND IDEAS HIS OWN
Washington, D. C, Jan. 24, 1919.
Editor, Educational Film Magazine.
Sir: — I have just finished reading your edi-
torial in Vol. 1, No. 1. I do not recall at any time
having read anything with more sincere pleasure
than I have this editorial of yours. It was a
singular delight to me to find another man
whose ideals and ideas were so exactly my own.
It may interest you to know that for the past
year I have been making a very earnest effort
to put into effect this very thing.
I inclose you one of the lists of films, which
the curator of the Army Medical Museum,
Washington, has in stock, which I had the honor
to prepare myself. The greater part of these
films I personally took part in supervising and
preparing, and this laboratory, it may interest
you to know, has delivered as much as 160,000
feet of film per week, positive print, and then
was working a day shift only.
I inclose you $5 for two years' subscription to
the Educational Film Magazine.
Very truly yours,
William O. Owen, M.D.,
Colonel, U. S. Army, Retired.
FROM DR. AVERILL
Massachusetts State Normal School
Worcester, Mass., Jan. 27, 1919.
Editor, Educational Film Magazine.
Sir: — Allow me to congratulate you upon the
general appearance of the new magazine, and to
wish for it and for its promoters a full measure
of well-deserved success.
Yours very truly,
Lawrence A. Averill.
LIKES THE LITERARY SECTION
State House
Boston, Mass., Jan. 24, 1919.
Editor, Educational Film Magazine.
Sir: — I have recently seen a cop}' of the very
interesting Educational Film Magazine for
January, 1919. It is replete with excellent arti-
cles presented in a most attractive form. For
the moment, the Literary-Historical page with
its story of "The Bluebird," so well though
briefly told, particularly pleases me, and is well
worth the 25 cents which I enclose herewith
for a copy of the magazine containing it.
Very truly yours,
Miss C. B. Cole.
FLASHES ON THE WORLD'S SCREEN
(Continued from page 23)
The class of '19 at North High School,
Syracuse, N. Y., is financing the equipment
of a motion picture projector at the school,
from the proceeds of various entertainments
and class activities. A phonograph, records,
and a printing outfit have been provided by
the students in the same way. W. W. Wiard,
Jr., a student, owns a projector and exhibits
films at the school.
"The Heart of the Blue Triangle," a film
showing the work conducted in Baltimore by
the local Young Women's Christian Asso-
ciation, produced under the supervision of
Frederick Arnold Kumer, the playwright,
and Henry W. Webb, president of the Park-
way Theatre Company, was used in Balti-
more theatres to help raise a $35,000 ex-
pense fund for the association.
Motion pictures are being used extensive-
ly throughout Italy to teach illiterate voters
how to prepare their ballots. Why would it
not be a good idea to adopt a similar plan
in this country and thus further the work of
Americanization?
Under the auspices of the Women's Club
of the Evening School Center, Boston, Mass.,
a motion picture exhibition was given in the
South Boston High School on January 14.
tlii
The Artcolor Pictures Company, of which
Louis J. Dittmar is president and Ed. H.
Philippi, an experienced industrial film man,
is manager of the commercial department,
claims to have perfected a natural color pro-
cess of taking and projecting motion pictures
and will soon release a feature picture and
short subjects produced in the colors of
nature. The company is located at 126
West 46th Street, New York City. Educa-
tional and industrial films in natural colors
will be made by the company in the near
future. The process is that of W. Francis
Fox and A. C. Waddingham, of England.
No dyes, coloring, stencils or color screens
or shutters are employed. A special camera
fixes the color values in the negative and
chemical action on the emulsion produces
the coloring. The print in natural colors
may be run through any projecting machine
which takes standard film and at the usual
rate of speed. Apparently, this company,
after five years of experimentation, has at-
tained the goal of so many motion picture
dreamers.
26
The Albany Boys' Club, Albany, N. Y.,
with a membership of 622, is installing a
standard motion picture projector. The fire-
proof booth has been completed. Educa-
tional and comedy films will be shown on
Wednesday and Friday nights.
Kin
In the January number of this magazine
it was stated that the films of the Interna-
tional Paper Company were the first shown
as evidence in a Federal Court. James A.
Parsons, of the advertising department of
the United Shoe Machinery Corporation,
Boston, Mass., calls attention to the fact
that his company's films were exhibited to a
jury in a United States Court in that city
on December 9, 1913, antedating the former
showing by five years. These shoe films
were made in John Hannan's factory in
Brooklyn, N. Y., and depict the different
operations involved in the manufacture of
a man's welt shoe.
Films on chicken raising made by govern-
ment and agricultural college experts were
screened at the thirtieth annual show of the
New York Poultry and Pigeon Association
Madison Square Garden, New York City,
every afternoon and evening from January
21 to January 25.
I A NATIONAL DIVISION OF VISUAL
INSTRUCTION.
{Continued from page 11)
High-brow Stuff" Not for Theatres
Six months ago a former manager of an
change at Des Moines, Iowa, was consulted
concerning educationals. He had several
thousand dollars worth of prints lying idle
in his storeroom. Theatres had threatened
to cancel contracts if any more such "stuff"
be sent them. This manager wasn't enthu-
siastic. He was losing money. It is strange
that film men had not foreseen the error
of the educational in the theatre. Patrons
*do not go to theatres expecting instruction.
They want to laugh, cry, fear, love, hate
and experience all of the human emotions.
"High-brow stuff" is as much out of place
in the theatre as a farce comedy is in a class-
room. Theatres are for amusement; schools,
for instruction. Each has its exclusive
place; neither should usurp the field of the
other. The logical place for the educational
film is in the school-room.
Entertainment may be educational in spite
of the entertainment, or the educational may
be entertainment in spite of the educational
features, but there should be no question
about the relative purpose of the films shown
in the theatre and those shown in the school.
Why Not Adapt Study Courses to the
Films ?
Why haven't motion pictures been ac-
cepted and used more widely in the schools?
Is it because the school man has not caught
the vision? Does he feel other tasks are
more important? One excuse often given
is the difficulty the school man experiences
when he tries to adapt the film to his course
of study. Ought he adapt the film to his
course of study? Should he not adapt his
course of study to the film? Many excuses
coupled with the whole problem of projec-
tion and fire hazard have been ever before
him and many times individuals who other-
wise would adopt the cinema do not be-
cause they believe the difficulties are unsur-
mountable.
Rooms large enough to accommodate a
class are not too small for a motion picture
projector. The modification of the Mazda
lamp has improved illumination and reduced
the requirement of skill for operation. Man-
ufacturers have given us light, compact,
portable projectors, complete in themselves
and giving good service. Some such
machines may be carried from one room to
another or from one building to another as
easily as a chart or a dictionary.
When "Non-Flam" Equals "Flam" in
Efficiency
The fire hazard is of great importance.
The low amperage Mazda lamp in conjunc-
tion with improved optical systems bids fair
to reduce the danger, although the school
man looks forward to the day when Amer-
ican factories will make a non-inflammable
stock the equal of the present inflammable
| stock. Some manufacturers claim they have
perfected such film, but non-inflammable
film is as yet inferior. We draw this con-
clusion not entirely from our own experi-
ence but rather from the fact that producers
still continue to use the combustible stock.
If the non-inflammable film were equally as
good, surely it would be universally used.
Insurance risks would make it worth while
to do so.
Those who know state that the danger,
when film burns in a projector, is not so
much from fire as from panic which usually
follows. The human instinct of a fear of
fire cannot be argued away. The universal
acceptance of the cinema in schools may not
be looked for until the fire hazard is en-
tirely eliminated.
Theatre Rental System too Costly for
Schools
Another item which may explain the fail-
ure to accept the motion picture is the cost.
The present system of production and dis-
tribution is too expensive. It must be re-
duced. To the average school board, a reso-
lution calling for an expenditure from $75
to $350 for rentals would carry information
sufficient to table the proposition imme-
diately. Not only should the school man
convince himself and his school-board that
film work is really worth while but in addi-
tion he must find the solution for the now
prohibitive rental cost. The film men will
object to this statement but this is the
opinion of men now giving thought to
visual education.
One way to bring this reduction to pass
is to connect the schools with the producer
in such a way as to eliminate the unneces-
sary commercial middlemen. The producer
is entitled to a fair margin on all film which
he manufactures. He should have it. The
ultimate solution of the cost, however, may
resolve itself into the establishment of a
National Division of Visual Instruction act-
ing directly with the Bureau of Education
or some other organization prompted by
motives other than commercial.
(To be concluded in the March issue.)
DANGER FILMS!
(Continued from page 19)
side of the abyss, went into a small unseen
crevasse upsetting my balance and I started
plunging headfirst down the slope. For-
tunately I held to my ice-axe and while
falling managed to right myself. After de-
scending another hundred feet I managed
by increased pressure on the axe to gradu-
ally slow up and stop. It was a close shave,
however, and falling to near death is quite
interesting.
I discovered then that one does not have
to think what to do. A falling man is taken
in charge by the instinct of self-preservation
and every action is automatic. My mind
was left free to wonder about pleasant things
which on this occasion took the form of a
bottle of old Burgundy and a hot juicy
beefsteak. I got both later.
On the Bliimlisalp we were nearly all
killed. While crossing an overhanging ice
cornice near the summit the whole top of
the mountain caved in, leaving the expedi-
tion walking within a few inches of the edge
of the abyss. The points of the ice axes
of the guides actually were resting on the
part of the mountain which fell away.
Climbing Up Verglas with a Camera
My hardest climb was not the Matterhorn
or Mont Blanc but the Zinal-Rothorn, near
Zermatt, which is more than 14,000 feet
high. We arrived at the top only on the
fifth attempt. Four times we left the hut
shortly after midnight with stars in the sky
but the streaky clouds looked menacing.
The weather at sunrise might be good so
we risked going on. At sunrise, the crucial
moment of an Alpine day, the weather
(Continued on page 30)
27
DIVISION OF FILMS TO CLOSE
The Division of Films of the Committee
on Public Information will go out of exist-
ence in a few weeks. Charles S. Hart,
director of the division, recently returned
fom Europe and stated that the affairs will
be closed up and no new pictures will be
presented. The contract with the World
Film Corporation for the release of "Amer-
ica's Answer," "Under Four Flags," and the
"U. S. A. Series" will be maintained until
all bookings are completed.
"The public, and particularly the motion
picture industry, will be pleased to know of
the invaluable propaganda work accom-
plished through the screen in foreign coun-
tries," said Mr. Hart. "The foreign organ-
ization, headed by Herbert C. Hoagland, suc-
ceeded in effacing German propaganda pic-
tures in the principal neutral countries and
in displaying our own practically everywhere.
This work was carried out with tremendous
success in Scandinavia, by Guy Crosswell;
in Spain, by Frank J. Marion; in Holland,
by Llleyellyn R. Thomas; and in Switzer-
land, by Mrs. Norman Whitehouse. Much
credit is due to Charles F. Van Arsdale.
assistant to Mr. Hoaaland."
"UNDER FOUR FLAGS" IN SCHOOLS
Arrangements have been completed bv the
Division of Films whereby thousands of
American school children will witness the
Government's victory rjicture. "Under Four
Flags." Recognizing its timely and his-
torical interest as well as its patriotic appeal,
educators are booking the film for exhibi-
tion in the schools. Denis J. Sullivan, man-
ager of domestic distribution of the division,
states that educators are enthusiastic.
We will reproduce
Your Own Pictures
or copy of any kind
ON SLIDES
Each, 25c. plain
Each, 40c. colored
Standard size
Victor Featherweight
style
Guaranteed quality
Guaranteed Safe return of Copy
Show on the screen pictures which
"The Boys" bring back from
"Over There."
Send for our Slide Service Bulle-
tin and catalog of over 16,000
stock subjects.
Photo Department
VICTOR ANIMATOGRAPH
COMPANY
122 Victor Bldg.
Davenport, Iowa, U. S. A.
A GREAT FILM CAMPAIGN FOR
SAFETY
(Continued from page 17)
<S. T.) EVERYTHING WRONG.
(S. T.) WRONG POSITIONS.
(S. T.) NO GOGGLES.
(S. T.) BURRED TOOLS.
(S. T.) THE RIGHT WAY.
(Scene) IV Two men are engaged in chipping
big castings. Both stand in wrong position
with relation to each other, neither have their
goggles on, and their tools are burred and
defective. The following scene shows all con-
ditions corrected.
(D. T.) V A LITTLE CARE WOULD HAVE
AVOIDED THIS.
(S. T.) A CLEAN FLOOR OFFERS NO OB-
STRUCTION TO WORK.
(Scene) V A group of workmen are here
shown charging an open hearth furnace. One
of the men falls over a block of wood, which
has been left on the floor through thoughtless-
ness. The timber is later removed. This pic-
ture illustrates the danger of a disorderly
floor and the necessity of keeping them clean.
(D. T.) VI ALWAYS LOOK WHERE YOU
ARE GOING.
(Scene) VI A workman is shown passing be-
tween mill buildings and suddenly another
workman darts out of the doorway and strikes
the first man on the head with a long piece of
pipe which he is carrying on his shoulder.
(D. T.) VII CONSIDER SAFETY FIRST.
(S. T.) (VIEW OF SIGN OVER ENTRANCE
TO ONE OF PLANTS READING:)
Replace all guards and safety devices when
through making repairs and before machinery
is started.
(Scene) VII Workman is shown operating cir-
cular saw without replacing guard. Later he
puts the guard in place.
(D. T.) VIII DELIBERATELY TAKING
CHANCES IS A CRIME. A MAN'S FAM-
ILY PAYS THE PENALTY.
(S. T.) "THIS IS NO PLACE TO EAT
YOUR LUNCH. GO WHERE IT IS
SAFE."
(Scene) VIII This scene shows workmen eat-
ing their lunches under a freight car. They
are noticed by the Safety Inspector, who
warns them of an approaching locomotive,
which is about to move the cars.
(D. T.) IX A MAN'S MIND ON HIS
WORK IS HIS BEST SAFEGUARD.
(S. T.) "WHY DIDN'T YOU DO THIS?"
(S. T.) "OR THIS?"
(S. T.) "ABOVE ALL, KEEP YOUR MIND
ON YOUR WORK."
(Scene) IX A workman is shown operating a
machine lathe, but his mind is not on his
work and he is caught in the chuck of the
lathe. Foreman then shows him proper meth-
ods of wearing sleeves. The picture' not only
illustrates the necessity of an employe keep-
ing his mind on his work, but the importance
of dressing properly.
(D. T.) X THE LIVES OF YOUR FEL-
LOW WORKMEN OFTEN DEPEND UPON
YOUR CARE.
(S. T.) THE TIME TO THINK IS BEFORE
AN ACCIDENT— NOT AFTER.
(Scene) X Men are shown piling material in
mill yard. Other workmen come up from be-
hind and open manhole to do some work.
They neglect to put a railing around the man-
hole and one of the chippers in backing away
from his job falls into it.
(D. T.) XI SOONER OR LATER A MAN
IS SURE TO PAY FOR THOUGHTLESS-
NESS.
(S. T.) "I DIDN'T EXPECT AN ACCIDENT
ANY MORE THAN YOU FELLOWS DO
NOT."
(S. T.) "SO I GOT A CRACK ON THE
HEAD AND LOST THREE FINGERS FOR
NOT WATCHING WHERE I WAS GOING."
(Scene) XI A workman in walking around
stockyard thoughtlessly passed under heavy
load of billets, which were being lowered by
overhead crane. He reports to the Emergency
Hospital for treatment and converses with
fellow workmen about the accident.
(D. T.) XII THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO
TAKE TOOLS UP A LADDER— THE
RIGHT WAY AND THE WRONG WAY.
(Scene) XII First is shown a workman as-
cending a ladder with an armful of tools. A
large wrench slips from his hold and strikes
his helper on the head. The correct way is
then shown — a workman lifting his tools up to
him by a bucket and line.
(D. T.) XIII SOME MEN TAKE ONE
CHANCE TOO MANY.
(S. T.) (SIGN OVER DOOR). THE BEST
SAFETY DEVICE KNOWN IS A CARE-
FUL MAN.
(Scene) XIII Entrance to subway under rail-
road tracks with sign above to warn men of
danger. Later man is shown being caught be-
tween two freight cars as he attempts to crawl
through them — not heeding warning
(D. T.) XIV WHY DOES A MAN THINK
IT SMART TO BE RECKLESS?
(S. T.) (SIGN) CAUTION.
Stop this machine before oiling, wiping or
repairing.
(S. T.) AFTERNOON.
(S. T.) "I AM BIG ENOUGH AND MAN
ENOUGH TO SAY I WAS WRONG V^U
HAVE SHOWN ME."
(Scene) XIV Machinist observes fellow work-
men oiling lathe while in motion. He calls his
attention to the danger and gives him a printed
bulletin, which he ignores. Later he falls vic-
tim to his carelessness. After some medita-
tion he observes the second bulletin which was
given to him. He realizes the kindness of his
fellow workman and acknowledges his mistake.
(D. T.) XV "WILL THIS EVER HAPPEN
TO YOU?"
(S. T.) "HAVEN'T YOU READ THAT BUL-
LETIN?"
(S. T.) "WHY DON'T YOU HEED IT?"
(S. T.) A WEEK LATER.
(S. T.) "YOUR EYE IS SERIOUSLY IN-
FECTED AND IT CAN'T BE SAVED."
(Scene) XV Workman is shown grinding at
emery wheel, which is properly equipped with
guards and warning sign. He ignores the sign
and leaves his goggles in his pocket. A chip
lodges in his eye and a fellow woikman
sharpens a match and attempts to take it out.
The foreman then calls attention to the dan-
gers of such practices and also to a bulletin
which is posted near his machine. A week
later the workman reports to the hospital for
treatment. He is told that his eye cannot be
saved.
ALWAYS "BE CAREFUL."
THE A B C of
SAFETY.
"Why"
The third motion picture was taken early
in 1918 and was given the title "Why."
This fills two reels of 1,000 feet each and
may be regarded as a continuation of "The
Reason Why." All of these pictures, includ-
ing the colossal 32-reeler, "The Story of
Steel from Mines to Finished Products,"
which was exhibited daily at the Steel Cor-
poration exhibit at the Panama-Pacific Ex-
position in San Francisco, in 1915, have been
shown to thousands of the employees, and
undoubtedly have had a very beneficial
effect A synopsis of the "Why" film fol-
lows:
PRINCIPAL TITLE "WHY?"
A two-reel production.
DIVISION TITLE— I "WHY?"
Produced under the direction of the Safety
Committee of the United States Steel Corpora-
tion, by the Visual Education, Inc., New York
City.
CHAPTER I EDUCATING THE NEW
WORKER.
(Sub-Title) TWO NEW ELECTRICIANS ARE
HIRED AT THE EMPLOYMENT OFFICE.
(Scene) I En route to their new place of em-
ployment the new employes are shown the
various Safety Signs.
(S. T.) THE TWO MEN HAVE SAFETY
DEVICES EXPLAINED TO THEM.
(S. T.) GOGGLES ARE GIVEN YOU TO
SAVE YOUR EYES. DON'T FORGET
THAT.
(Scene) I Safety signs.
Sign No. 1 — Notice to Foremen. Carelessness
is Dangerous. If Workmen Insist on Being
Careless Discharge Them.
Sign No. 2 — Printed in four languages. Remem-
ber, if you are injured, no matter how little,
tell your foreman and go to the doctor. A
slight injury may cause blood poisoning.
(Scene) III He meets the foreman.
(S. T.) HE FINDS MANY THINGS PRO-
VIDED FOR HIS COMFORT.
CHAPTER II ON THE JOB.
(Scene) I Foreman explains the safety de-
vices.
(S. T.) EVERY MAN HAS HIS OWN LOCK
AND KEY FOR THIS SAFETY SWITCH.
HERE IS YOURS.
(D. T.)— I ANOTHER WARNING SIGN.
DANGER, STOP THIS MACHINE BEFORE
OILING, WIPING OR REPAIRING.
(Scene) II A careless fellow.
(D. T.) II HAVEN'T YOU ANY BETTER
SENSE THAN TO DO THAT?
(S. T.) I HAVE DONE IT EVERY OTHER
PLACE I HAVE WORKED AND IT
NEVER HURT ME YET.
(S. T.) LET ME TELL YOU WHAT HAP-
PENED TO THE LAST FELLOW I SAW
TRY IT.
(Scene) III Careless man lights his pipe by
short circuiting the electric switch. Flash fol-
lows by which he is badly burned.
(S. T.) HOW CAN A MAN FORGET SO
QUICKLY?
(Scene)^ IV Man works on circuit without lock-
ing his safety switch.
(S. T.) WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH
THAT JUICE?
(S. T.) IT IS NOT LOCKED SO IT WTLI.
BE ALL RIGHT FOR ME TO CLOSE IT.
(Scene) V Scene shows man about to close
switch when foreman stops him.
(S. T.) IF I HADN'T STOPPED TOHN AT
THAT SWITCH YOU WOULD BE DEAD
THIS MINUTE.
(Scene) VI Man has the lock that he should
have used in his pocket.
(S. T.) SUPPOSE JOHN HAD CLOSED
THE SWITCH?
(Scene) VII What might have happened.
CHAPTER III FOOLISH HASTE SAVES
NO TIME.
(S. T.) AGAINST THE RULES THE TRAIN
28
PASSES THE YARD CROSSING WHILE
A SHIFT IS LEAVING THE PLANT.
(Scene) I Shows man crossing without looking
where he is going. Result, train backs down
on him and he gets an ugly cut.
(S. T.) A BAD CUT AND A TRIP TO THE
HOSPITAL IS HIS REWARD FOR USE-
LESS HURRY.
(S. T.) IF YOU DON'T CARE FOR YOUR
OWN NECK, AT LEAST DON'T SET A
BAD EXAMPLE TO OTHERS.
(S. T.) WHERE WAS THE MAN ON THE
END OF THE CAR? IT IS A STRICT
ORDER AND THEY KNOW IT.
(Scene) II Taken to the hospital.
REEL II
CHAPTER IV WHAT GOOD IS THE MEET-
ING OF WORKMEN; WHAT GOOD THE
MEETING OF FOREMEN; WHAT GOOD
THE FREOUENT MEETINGS OF SUPER-
INTENDENTS IF CARE IS NOT USED?
(S. T.) WORKMEN'S SAFETY MEETING.
(Scene) I The workmen meeting to discuss new
methods of safety.
(S. T.) A MEMBER TELLS OF THE DAN-
GER OF SLIDING DOWN WITH ORE
WHEN WORKING IN BINS.
(Scene) II Scene shows man working in bin
without safety belt. A dangerous practice.
(S. T.) WHY CAN'T MEN WORKING IN
ORE BINS USE THE SAME KIND OF
BELT THAT ROOF WORKERS USE?
(Scene) III Scene shows roof worker at work
with a Standard Safety Belt.
(Scene) IV Scene shows bin worker equipped
with Standard Safety Belt as per suggestion of
workman.
(Scene) V Scene shows same workman at work
guarded from a possible fall by the safety belt.
(Scene) VI Scene shows noonday meeting of
superintendents.
(S. T.) HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS EX-
PLAIN THAT SAFETY COMES FIRST
AND MUST IMPRESS THIS CON-
STANTLY ON THE MEN.
(S. T.) HAS THE SAFETY. BUREAU ANY
SPECIAL REPORT TO MAKE TODAY'
(S. T.) WE ARE PUTTING FORTH EVERY
EFFORT TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS.
THE IMPORTANT THING IS FOR THE
MEN TO BE CAREFUL AND THOUGHT-
FUL AT ALL TIMES.
(S. T.) WHAT IS THERE TO BE SAID
FOR THE ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT.'
(S. T.) WE ARE GLAD TO SEE THAT
THE MEN ARE BEGINNING TO THINK
OF THE OTHER FELLOW'S DANGER,
AND WE HAVE SEEN MANY CASKS
WHERE ONE MAN HAS SAVED AN-
OTHER FROM SERIOUS INJURY BY
CALLING HIS ATTENTION TO UN-
LOCKED SWITCHES AND OTHER UN-
SAFE PRACTICES
(S. T.) HOW ABOUT ATTENTION TO
SAFETY IN THE MACHINE SHOPS?
(S. T.) I CAN'T HELP FEELING THAT
THERE WOULD BE NO ACCIDENTS IF
THE MEN WOULD USE JUST A LITTLE
MORE CARE IN DOING THEIR WORK.
IT WOULD CUT OUT THE " 'I DIDN'T
THINK' ACCIDENTS," WHICH IS THE
CAUSE OF MOST OF OUR ACCIDENTS.
(S. T.) I WISH WE COULD GET MORI:
SUGGESTIONS FROM THE MEN THEM-
SELVES. WE WILL SHOW YOU THE
APPLICATION OF A SINGLE IDEA SUG-
GESTED BY ONE THAT HAS HELPED
THEM LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER.
(Scene) VII Scene shows man operating Bes-
semer converter.
(Scene) VIII Scene shows a man walking
tracks where converter is blowing. Molten
metal is thrown out and the man is severely
burned.
(S. T.) AN AUTOMOBILE MIRROR GIVES
THE OPERATOR AN IDEA.
(S. T.) THE OPERATOR SEES THE
WORKMAN IN THE MIRROR AND
BLOWS THE DANGER WHISTLE.
(Scene) IX _ Scene shows man warned by the
danger whistle. Avoids passing under molten
metal.
CHAPTER V ARE JOKES REALLY
FUNNY?
(Scene) I Scene shows two men sitting on
board resting on nail keg. One man thinking
it a huge joke arises quickly throwing the
other man into a hole.
(S. T.) THE JOKE DIDN'T SEEM SO
FUNNY WHEN HE THOUGHT IT OVER
THAT NIGHT. MAYBE HIS FRIEND
WAS BADLY HURT.
(Scene) II Scene shows man thinking it over
and also the accident which took place. He
decides to see his friend and finds him at home
unhurt. Nevertheless, he learned his lesson
from what might have happened.
(S. T.) I WAS AFRAID YOU WERE HURT.
THERE IS NO SENSE IN THESE FOOL-
ISH JOKES ANYWAY. I AM CURED.
CHAPTER VI THE OTHER FELLOW.
(Scene) I Scene shows a man carrying lumber.
He sees a board with rusty nails protruding
through it. Remembering "Safety First" he
hammers the nails into the board and thought
of the other fellows who might come along.
(Scene) II Another man is carrying lumber and
comes to a similar board. He, being careless,
merely kicks it to one side. His fellow-worker
pays the penalty and is laid up in the hospital.
Blood poisoning sets in and he has a vision of
losing his leg.
(S. T.) "WHY?"
INDUSTRIAL
IMPORTANCE OF THE FILM IN INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION
In Industrial Economics, Experimental Effort, Conservation and Reclamation
and Upbuilding of World Markets for American Products the Motion Picture
Will Play a Vital Part
By c. H. Moore
Former General Manager of Film Production and Distribution to the Industrial Education
Section, Ordnance Division, War Department, and Now in Charge of Film Production for the
Division of Educational Extension, Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C.
EVER since the inception of the motion
picture its producers have been ob-
sessed with the idea that the aim
and object of a film should be to provide
amusement. There were originally causes
for this condition. When the motion picture
arrived it was obvious that the theatre should
be the medium for its exploitation. Conse-
quently it was to the theatrical and semi-
theatrical people that the picture gravitated.
It is true that the first motion pictures were
spectacular in their composition, but the
photoplay almost instantly appeared upon
the scene. The photoplay has consistently
held the screen. Whether this has been for-
tunate or otherwise is a debatable point.
The truth is that the public, or that part of
it which constitutes the audiences at moving
picture theatres, has been trained and de-
veloped to its present conception and appre-
ciation of the screen principally by the
photoplay. Even today the idea persists that
> a picture of any kind, industrial or educa-
tional particularly, if it is to be successful,
must have a story. This is not surprising,
as a well-told story attracts attention from
young and old. Many of the stories told by
the screen had been better unpublished. The
rapid development of the motion picture in-
dustry and the plethora of the "movies"
created a demand for stories which it has
been found very difficult to meet and at the
same time maintain a high and decent
standard.
During the past three or four years, how-
ever, certain transitions have occurred. The
value of the screen as a truly educative force
has been more and more realized. Educators
have always recognized the value that was
latent in the motion picture and the pos-
sibility of its becoming an important factor
in the field of their operations. But educa-
tors talk all the time and act seldom. More-
over, public taste does not, even yet, run
avidly to educational films. It is develop-
ing though. The educator, however, is be-
ing forestalled. Whilst he is holding con-
ferences the captains and guides of industry
are realizing the vital force of the screen
as an industrially educational impulse to
their workers. Lessons by means of pictures
1 do not appeal to children alone; they carry
their messages to everyone. An essential
point to be borne in mind is the fact that
the picture speaks to the illiterate and ignor-
ant as well as to the intellectual. It re-
quires no interpreter because its language
is universal. It attracts the aristocracy, the
bourgeois, the proletariat and the bolsheviki.
Given the proper message, the film can carry
it further than any other known means of
expression. Provided with the correct lesson,
it is the most effective teacher that has been
created.
r^ H. MOORE garnered his film experi-
ence with the house of Pathe. In the
accounting, statistical and sales department
of the executive offices of the Pathe Ex-
change he became familiar with the most
modern and efficient methods of film dis-
tribution. When the War Department en-
tered upon the task of film production and
distribution he was called to Washington
to take charge of the motion picture activi-
ties of the Industrial Education Section of
the Ordnance Department.
Mr. Moore has had a large experience in
the field of educational effort. He is a
graduate of the University of London, Eng-
land, and is now in charge of Film Pro-
duction for the Division of Educational Ex-
tension in the Department of the Interior.
He is a member of the Executive Commit-
tee of the Joint Conference on Motion
Picture Activities of Government and Al-
lied Departments.
He is an ardent advocate of the fullest
exploitation of the screen as an educational
force and as important factor in industrial
development. At present he is engaged
upon the important task of salvaging and
organizing for distribution throughout the
schools, colleges, and universities of the
country, all films of an educational value
which war conditions have brought into
existence.
War's Tribute to the Motion Picture
How true all this is becomes apparent
upon a consideration of what was done in
the period of national extremity. The effec-
tive weapon of all domestic propaganda
work was the motion picture. Almost every
Government department invoked its aid.
The Treasury for its Liberty Loans; the
Food and Fuel Administrations for their
campaigns; the Army and the Navy in direc-
tions too numerous to mention; the Red
Cross, the Y. M. C. A. and kindred organ-
izations, the War Camp Community Service
— in fact every organization that had a mes-
sage to deliver or an appeal to make re-
sorted to the screen. This is a wonderful
tribute to the power of the moving picture.
And out of it all there has evolved one great,
salient, beneficial fact. The standard of
public taste on motion pictures has dis-
tinctly risen. There is a higher form of
criticism and a more elevated demand for
the picture that is really worth while, for
the film that will leave an impression that
is good to retain.
One of the most far-reaching of the Gov-
ernment's efforts during the war period con-
cerned the industrial film. With the nation
at war and our Allies in need, it became
vitally necessary to speed up production in
all branches of essential industry. For this
purpose the Industrial Education Section of
the Ordnance Department was created and
the writer was placed in charge of film pro-
duction and distribution. The experience
was instructive and valuable, first, because
ithe commercial element was entirely obliter-
29
ated. There was no incentive to make
money. The pictures were not shown in
theatres nor to the public. They were con-
fined strictly for exhibition to the workers
in ordnance plants only, and no charge
could be made for admission. Secondly the
pictures which were produced contained no
stories and they had no "stars." They had
an urgent message to deliver and they were
expected to produce results. Under these
conditions it is fairly obvious that the experi-
ment was an excellent test of the utility and
value of industrial films. The task before
the producer may be briefly stated as that
of having to create an increased patriotic
fervor in the worker and as a consequence
to materially enhance his or her productivity.
Linking Worker to Warrior
The plan adopted was to link up the
worker in the factory, workshop, mine or
plant at home with the soldier on the
battlefield. The worker was to be made to
realize that he was equally as important as
an industrial soldier as the man behind the
gun, and moreover that he had a duty to
perform which required discipline and at-
tention just as much as the men under arms.
These conditions naturally determined the
type of picture that was to be constructed.
Between 3,000 and 4,000 plants were
placed upon the service list. The workers
engaged represented every type and almost
every phase of industry. In many cases the
foreign element was predominant amongst
the workers in a plant. They had to be
taught that America was at war; why she
was at war, and why it was essential that
they should do their share to help the
country win the war. The great majority of
concerns were not equipped with apparatus
for the projection of motion pictures. Many
did not have facilities for the installation
of a screen and projection machine. Despite
these conditions the most gratifying feature
of the campaign was the magnificent response
which was returned to the Government's
appeal for co-operation. The plants rose to
the occasion. Hundreds of them expressed
their intention and their willingness to install
the necessary equipment. In cases where
this was not possible, because of the nature
of the industry or from other causes, ar-
rangements were made for the exclusive use
of nearby theatres for such times as the
pictures were displayed. The district ordi-
nance offices throughout the country were
converted into local exchanges. A district
manager was appointed to each. From each
office the films were circuited throughout
the territory under the supervision of the
district manager. Laboratory facilities were
established in New York. The executive
office was in the Ordnance Department.
The late Phillip Lang collaborated with
the writer in the production of the necessary
releases. A number of ordnance plants were
selected and the processes of manufacture
carried on therein were filmed. Rifle mak-
ing, gun making, shell making, the making
of fuses, shipbuilding, mining, the making
of uniforms, shoes, etc., were carefully and
accurately photographed. The audiences
consisted mainly of skilled artisans and they
were critics. These industrial films illustrated
the work of the industrial soldier at home.
Hhe COMBINATION
THAT WILL WIN the WAR
Every piece of work done in this plant Has a
I direct bearing on the outcome of the war.
Our finished product goes to Trance.
The men who face for us weariness, hardship^,
death, depend upon us.
Our work Here, fits their work over there, like
a cog in a giant machine.
Wthout our product they are helpless. Wth it
they are invincible.
They fight with what we make.1^ are their resource
ana reliance, the American workman and the
American soldier, the combinatioQ that will win the war.
m ■ mm
But these films did not constitute a picture.
The guns, shells, rifles, etc., had to be shown
in action. The ships had to be portrayed in
the performance of their duty. The link
binding the worker to the fighter had to be
forged. With the aid of the Signal Corps
of the American Expeditionary Force, and
with the combined assistance of the British,
French and Italian Pictorial Services, an
abundance of material illustrating actual
episodes at the front became available.
These scenes were woven into the industrial
film with an eye to their correct applicability.
Sub-titles and captions completed the pro-
cess and showed the worker and the fight-
ing men as "the combination that will win
the war." Not a foot of "fake" film was
used. It is worthy of record that the pictures
of the Industrial Education Section were
the most authentic records of American war
activity that were placed upon the screen.
How Government Industrials Made Good
And what was the result? An insistent,
continuous demand for more pictures. The
records of the section contain the most
striking testimony to the efficacy of the in-
dustrial film. Directors and managers who
had previously given no thought to the mo-
tion picture as an accelerator to production,
as an instructor in methods of more careful
craftsmanship, as a conservator of essential
energy, were loud in their commendation on
the effect of these displays. To take all
hands from work for half or three-quarters
of an hour once a week, at a time when the
Government was clamoring for speed in pro-
duction and delivery, seemed absurd. But
the absurdity disappeared when the plan was
put into operation. Moreover the very Gov-
ernment which was demanding increased
production and greater acceleration was be-
hind the idea of the motion picture and the
screen. It was a success. Individual in-
stances were numerous where the managers
reported a largely increased production as a
result of the appeal and the message which
the pictures carried.
Incidentally it may be mentioned that a
matter which called for much thought and
care was the compilation of titles, sub-titles
and captions. Every experienced scenario
writer knows that the art of correct and ap-
pealing caption writing is essential to the
successful picture. Many beautiful works
of art and numerous good stories have failed
to reach home because of the language used
in their presentation. But it may be sug-
gested that the work above described was
all very well as a form of domestic propa-
ganda for use during war time, and it does
not follow that the industrial film, particu-
larly when devoid of the war "punch," would
be effective under normal conditions. This
is not a correct viewpoint. The industrial
film is coming to its own. A matter that has
always given great concern to those who
desire to elevate the screen to the altitude
of a great educational force is that the pub-
lic taste did not run on sufficiently cultured
lines to appreciate truly educational pictures.
A marked improvement in this direction is
already noticeable. But the industrial film
is not in this category. It has a practical
interest and it carries an appeal to the
average person even though he be not famil-
iar with the processes portrayed.
Industrial Film Field Widening
When the industrial picture is so con-
structed that it conveys an economic as well
as a technical lesson, it becomes doubly
effective. The Government recognizes this
by having many departments which are now
engaged in some form of motion picture
activity. If the motion picture can carry
one message it can carry another. If it can
successfully teach one lesson, it can teach
others. Visual instruction, if effective at
any time, is effective at all times. It should
not be confined to the school. It is even
more important in the factory, the workshop,
on the railroad and in the mine. The field
XEAjMl
K
IWINS!
Your work
heir makes
their work
over there
possible
for the industrial film has been considerably
widened. More plants are equipped for its
display than ever. Its value is better and
more largely appreciated. As an advertiser
it has long been recognized but it has
soared to higher planes. It is a teacher, a
recreation and an incentive at the same time.
The largest and most successful plants in
the country use it. Particularly during the
period of reconstruction can it be made
effective. For purposes of international prog-
30
ress and development it is unsurpassed.
Chaotic Russia, with all its internicine
troubles, is crying aloud for American indus-
trial film. This fact alone stamps the indus-
trial picture as a potent force. In the
schools for vocational instruction, in the
technical and scientific colleges, in the engi-
neering schools its value is obvious.
A Vital Factor in Reconstruction
There is one more phase of this subject
that is important enough for consideration.
The war has placed this country in a unique
position. Increased productivity was essen-
tial to war progress. It is equally necessary
now. The nations of Europe are physically,
industrially and commercially starving, and
the only country in the wide world that can
cope with their needs is the United States.
Europe must be materially and commercially
fed. America is now the market of the
world. She must rise to the occasion.
American capital should be exploited more
than ever before. The war has given us new
industries. Many previously imported com-
modities can now be manufactured at home.
Necessity has proved the mother of inven-
tion by producing substitutes for numerous
materials that were formerly regarded as
essential and which it is no longer needful
to import from abroad. The industries con-
nected with these new productions must be
exploited to the uttermost. Furthermore we
must not lose what we have gained. The
stimulus given to our industries by war con-
ditions should not prove ineffective. It is
an asset to be preserved. This is the country
of large and speedy production and the
capacity to produce so largely augmented
during the past two years should not be al-
lowed to shrink. Our increased productivity
can rehabilitate the world, and, incidentally
give us a prosperity such as the country has
never known. Consequently in the field of
industrial education there is much to do.
Expert guidance in industrial economics,
experimental effort in new industries, the
application of all that is scientifically under-
sttod by the words conservation and recla-
mation— these and numerous other branches
of constructive effort are legitimate objects
for activity. In each and all the film has
its place.
Will some organization arise and put the
industrial picture where it belongs?
DANGER FILMS!
(Continued from page 27)
thickened, flying clouds hid the blood red
rising sun, the wind screeched in the crags,
and when the snow became blinding the
"strategic retreat" was begun.
On the fifth expedition the summit was
reached but owing to the generally bad
climbing season the higher precipices were
covered with verglas, a thin coating of ice
such as one occasionally finds on street
pavements, which did not allow step cutting
and made hand grips almost impossible. V
The ice was about as steep as a church roof, ™
the slope descending about one mile down.
It was very ticklish work getting up with
cameras and tripods. The fact that every
year about 160 persons are killed climbing
in the Alps suggests there is some danger.
Riding Express Trains "Bareback"
To the cinematographer who is looking
for odd shots, however, there is now and
then danger elsewhere. In Switzerland I
(Continued on page 31)
BIG BUSINESS AIDS FILM INDUSTRY
5,500 Business Men Representing 232 Differ-
ent American Industries, Appraise Value
of Motion Picture Industry's War
Work — Government Competi-'
tion Condemned.
AT the four-day convention of the
War Emergency and Reconstruction
Congress in Atlantic City, December
3 to 6, 1918, under the auspices of the
United States Chamber of Commerce, of
Washington, D. C, the motion picture in-
dustry, classified as related group No. 37,
was recognized as an important unit of
American commerce and the war work of
the industry was indorsed. The 5,500 rep-
resentatives of 232 leading industries, in
adopting the resolutions presented by a
committee from the film business, con-
demned the government's policy of "rent-
ing to motion picture theatres, at high
prices" in competition with members of the
industry. The congress also went on record
as opposed to censorship, assailing it as
"un-American, contrary and dangerous to
the fundamental principles upon which our
government was founded" and declaring
that "the motion picture should be left to
a full and complete responsibility for its
acts under the police powers of each com-
munity."
The reply, in part, of the Joint Committee
on Motion Picture Activities of the United
States Government and Allied Organizations,
was issued on January 6 from Washington
as follows:
"The monetary returns for the rental of
Government films by the Committee on Public
Information cannot be properly regarded as
profits since such returns are by law covered into
the common fund in the United States Treas-
ury, where they offset in part not only the cost
of the production, editing and distribution of
films by the Division of Films, but the much
greater cost of production incurred by other
branches, notably the Signal Corps of the army.
"Obviously your committee failed to take into
consideration the fact that original production
constitutes a large part of the cost of film and
that the rental charge made by one branch of the
Government is meant to cover, as far as pos-
sible, the expenses both of handling by that
branch and of production and other incidental
expenses by other branches.
The following summary of the war work
accomplished by the industry was part of
the resolutions adopted:
1. Treasury Department. First Liberty
Loan: Distribution without charge to 13.000
motion picture theatres of 30,000 colored slides
and 8.000 copies of a motion picture of Presi-
dent Wilson. Second Liberty Loan: Distribu-
tion in all picture theatres of 70,000 colored
slides and of 500 copies of five subjects, each 500
feet in length, in which photoplay stars ap-
peared. Third Liberty Loan: Distributed to
all picture theatres, 17,000 copies of a film of
Secretary McAdoo. Fourth Liberty Loan:
The industry produced at an expense of
$250,000 38 dramatic subjects. Of these, the
Treasury Department at its own expense
ordered 4,000 copies. Distributing companies,
without charge, sent out one print each day
of the drive. About 13,000,000 people viewed
them daily.
2. Food Administration. Distributed to thea-
tres several thousand copies of short motion
pictures and thousands of slides.
3. Department of Agriculture. Distribution
of slides and film trailers, still in progress.
4. Fuel Administration. Distribution of
slides and film trailers, which continues.
5. War _ and Navy Departments. Distribu-
tion of pictures and slides pertaining to re-
cruiting and physical and moral welfare.
6. Four-Minute Organization. 15,000 men
and women daily used the picture theatres.
7. Red Cross. In the first drive 200 copies
of a film entitled "The Spirit of the Red
Cross" were distributed. In the second drive,
a similar distribution occurred of 400 prints
of one subject and of 1,000 prints of a second
subject.
8. The same co-operation occurred with the
Departments of the Interior and of Labor, the
Aircraft Production Board, the Commerce
Economy Board, the Committee on Training
Camp Activities, and other bureaus.
9. Motion pictures were shown in the
trenches, cantonments, hospitals, and on trans-
ports
SHOW INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS WITH FILMS
Unique Plan Adopted by Louisville Indus-
trial Foundation in Report to Stockholders.
It is announced by Tampton Aubuchon,
general manager of the Louisville Industrial
Foundation, that the organization's annual
report to the stockholders will be partly
rendered in motion pictures. About twenty
new industries have been located in the city
of Louisville as the result of the Founda-
tion's activities, and camera men are busily
engaged in photographing the salient feat-
ures of the various new factories in order
that an intimate review of the industries,
their processes and products, may be pre-
sented to the stockholders and the citizens
of "Louisville. It is the idea of the Founda-
tion directors that the stockholders and citi-
zens should be afforded an opportunity to
visit all of the new plants located in the
city and the motion-picture method was
adopted as the most practicable. The con-
tract was made for the work with the Roth-
acker Film Manufacturing Co., Chicago.
The idea of presenting an annual report
in moving pictures is unique and it is be-
lieved to be original in its application in
Louisville. The motion-picture manufac-
turers of the country are keenly interested
in the success of the idea, for it is hoped
that through Louisville's experiment the cine-
matograph will ultimately be utilized as an
assistive force in the development of com-
munities and in the solution of civic and
industrial problems. The use of the film
in merchandising is quite popular now but
its adoption as a means of presenting a
clear and impressive record of the accom-
plishments of an industrial development
organization is said to be without precedent.
One of the prominent features of the film
will be to show that, although a large num-
ber of industries were located in Louisville
during the period of the war, none of them
is strictly a war industry, but, as the pictures
reveal, are engaged in the manufacture of
peace products, a development along perma-
nent, substantial lines.
INDUSTRIAL FILM NOTES
W. H. Farley, of the National Cash Reg-
ister Company, exhibited the N. C. R. film,
"Troubles of a Merchant and How to Stop
Them," and lectured, at the assembly hall
of the Retail Grocers' Association in Phila-
delphia, on January 10. He outlined some
of the latest and best methods of store-
keeping, arrangement of goods, window dis-
plays, how to write newspaper advertisements.
C. A. Kelsey of the power and mining
engineering department of the General Elec-
tric Company addressed the January 3 meet-
ing of the Schenectady Section, American
Institute of Electrical Engineers, on "The
Sugar Industry," his lecture being illustrated
by films and slides.
A. H. Loucks, district advertising manager
of the Burroughs Adding Machine Company,
through the efforts of H. E. Hogle, manager
of the Utica, N. Y., agency, and a member
of the local Rotary Club, at the luncheon
of the club in the ballroom of the Hotel
Utica on January 17, showed the Burroughs
picture, "The Machine that Thinks," and
gave a talk explaining it. The next day it
was shown in the Chamber of Commerce
Building to local bankers and their em-
ployees under the auspices of Utica chapter,
American Institute of Banking. In this film
animated drawings are used and the mys-
teries of the adding machine revealed.
31
5,000 SEE WELFARE FILM IN THEATRE
The Western Electric Company leased the
Lexington Theatre for the evenings of Janu-
ary 20 and 21 for a showing to its 5,000
employees in the New York district of its
four industrial motion pictures. This is an
entirely new departure in welfare work.
"A Square Deal for His Wife" made by
Harry Levey, manager of the Industrial De-
partment of the Universal Film Manufactur-
ing Company, for the Western Electric,
aroused unusual comment. The experi-
ment is being watched by other employers
of labor who are considering the more gen-
eral use of films in their welfare and effi-
ciency departments.
INDUSTRIAL FILMS IN DENMARK
The Danish association Dansk Arbeide
(Danish Labor) , which was founded about
10 years ago and whose motto is '"Buy
Danish manufactures when they are as good
and as cheap as imported goods," has done
a great work for Danish industry. The
association has now taken into its publicity
service the showing of industrial films pro-
duced by the recently formed Danish Indus-
trial Film Company, which takes films in the
Danish factories with a view to showing
them, accompanied by suitable titles,
throughout the country and afterwards lend-
ing the films out to the country teachers' film
association to be used in the schools.
— Canadian Dept. of Commerce Bulletin.
DANGER FILMS!
(Continued from page 30)
rode express trains "bareback," that is,
standing on a trailing flat car without rail-
ings which at high speed shot into moun-
tains to turn around and come out again at
a higher level.
In the Engadine I was very nearly run
down by an American rotary snow plough.
I was standing on the track in a gully and
it had been arranged to stop the plough
thirty feet away. I took the pictures but
owing to the flying snow the engineer was
blinded, misjudged the distance, and I had
just enough time to bury myself in the snow-
wall as the machine shot past brushing my
clothes. Owing to the avalanche of snow
thrown by the machine the workingmen had
to dig me out. If one does not like such
adventures he had better confine his activi-
ties to other fields of endeavor.
"Where Cheese Is Inherited"
Not all movie work is risky. Some of the
work is comfortable and highly pleasant.
One of my most agreeable souvenirs is from
the Lotschenthal, in unknown Switzerland,
where I found strange types of peasants who
did not know of the war, whose language
the Swiss do not understand, who eat meat
many years old, and where cheese is in-
herited.
At Loeche-les-Bains I filmed some very
charming Swiss girls taking a bath in an
old Roman pool supplied by natural hot
water flowing from the- mountain at the rate
of 1,000,000 quarts a day.
Variety is essential to film success. To
get these I wander through England and
Wild Wales, through southern France and
Italy. These films are not essentially edu-
cational, although in England the British
school authorities have stated that every
school child should see the mountain pictures
particularly.
What Is Seen Is Best
Remembered
It is because of this undeniable fact that
Motion Pictures Are a Great Educator
Also it is without question that the subject matter must be so perfectly
projected that all details are brought out in bold relief.
One projector that has held a secure reputation throughout the life of this
industry for the absolute perfection of its work, is
POWER'S CAMERAGRAPH
Everything that is on the film it projects with absolute fidelity and with
such clearness that nothing is left to the imagination. This is why it is
in such general use in Educational Institutions, Churches, Hospitals,
Camps, Theatres, etc., throughout the world.
Motion Pictures Teach Conclusively
Power's Cameragraph Depicts Properly
Catalogue or demonstration will give further details
Nicholas Power Company
INCORPORATED
Pioneers of Projection 90 GOLD ST., NEW YORK, N. Y.
BROOKLYN EAGLE PRESS
DITMARS' ANIMAL PICTURES
53 Reels Visualizing the Animal Kingdom
THE BRUCE SCENICS
The Best Films of American Scenery
THE NEWMAN TRAVELS
Unusual Travelogs of Remote Byways
MEXICO TODAY
George D. Wright's Pictures of What Mexico Really Is
CARTOON COMEDIES
Cleanest and Cleverest of Animated Drawings
Before booking your school, lyceum or church attrac-
tion, ask the nearest EDUCATIONAL exchange
for complete program — if none available, write us
Federal Feature Film Co.
16 Piedmont St., Boston, Mass.
Argus Motion Picture Co.
815 Prospect Ave., Cleveland, O.
First Nat. Exhibitors' Exchange
300 Westing House Bldg.,
Pittsburg, Pa. ,.
Harry Abbott
602 Film Bldg., Detroit, Mich.
First Nat. Exhibitors' Exchange
New Orleans, La.
Electric Theatre Supply Co.
13th and Vine Sts.,
Philadelphia, Pa.
Bee Hive Exchange
109 N. Maryland St.,
Indianapolis, Ind.
Consolidated Film Corp.
90 Golden Gate Ave..
San Francisco. Cal.
N. W. Consolidated Film Co.
2020 Third Ave., Seattle, Wash.
Bee Hive Exchange
207 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago, 111.
Standard Film Co.
Film Exchange Bldg.,
Minneapolis, Minn.
Standard Film Co.
Grand and Olive Sts., St. Louis. Mo.
Standard Film Co.
Boley Bldg., Kansas City, Mo.
M. & R. Film Exchange
Los Angeles, Cal.
ducotional Films GpRPQR^noi
129 ^AVENUE
NEWTORK,
'OaaOCOBBBBPflBCP
NX
QJ
HE PROBLEM OF ADAPTING MOTION PICTURE
INSTRUCTION TO SCHOOL AND COLLEGE
CURRICULA
IS READILY SOLVED THROUGH THE USE OF THE
PROJECTOR
UNIVERSALLY
ENDORSED BY
THE LEADERS
IN THE FIELDS
of EDUCATION
AND AMUSE-
MENT FOR ITS
FIRE-PROOF
QUALITIES
ABSOLUTE SIM-
PLICITY AND
UNEXCELLED
WORKMANSHIP
AND MATERIAL
ITS QUALITIES
HAVE WON FOR
IT THE AP-
PROVAL OF
ARMYWNAVY
ENGINEERS and
DISCRIMINATE
USERS OF PRO-
JECTORS IN
GENERAL
"The Aristocrat of the Projector Family'"
Write for Catalog "Y"
THEPREaSIONMACHlNEg).lNC.
317 East 34th: St- NewYork
_- ,-v^
EDUCATIONAL
FILM
MAGAZINE
The National Authority
Motion Pictures at N. E. A. Meeting
By DOLPH EASTMAN
A National Visual Instruction Bureau
By CHARLES ROACH
Director, Visual Instruction Service, Iowa State College
Micromotion Studies in Education
By A. A. DOUGLASS and W. L. DEALEY
Suggestions on Visual Instruction
By DR. EDWARD W. STITT
District Superintendent of Schools, New York City
Meaning of Better Films Movement
By OPxKIN G. COCKS
Advisory Secretary, National Board of Review of Motion Pictures
The Pictured Message
By KEV. DK. THOMAS H. SPKAGUE
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Troy, N. Y.
How Cleveland Churches Use Films
25 cents a copy
MARCH, 1919
$3 a year
"^^— "^— — — —i i .mm
87% of Knowledge is
Acquired Through the Eye
A potent reason why
Motion Pictures Are An Effective Educator
Motion pictures speak a universal language. This must be
clearly expressed, else it fails of purpose.
The "pioneer projector" which portrays motion pictures in
clear, convincing style, is
POWER'S CAMERAGRAPH
It conveys to the screen every detail of the subject; and
with such steadiness that all eye strain is avoided. It
has found great favor in all lines of endeavor throughout
the world because
"77 Puts the Picture on the Screen'
Illustrated Catalogue 25 gives complete details
Nicholas Power Company
INCORPORATED
Pioneers of Projection 90 GOLD ST., NEW YORK, N. Y.
Paramount - Bray Pictographs
"The Magazine on the Screen"
are all readily available to schools, colleges, churches, institutions
and organizations AT NOMINAL COST everywhere through the
27 Famous Players-Lasky Exchanges.
tf] There are hundreds of short length Educational Subjects on art,
science, invention, travel and industry.
Paramount - Bray Pictographs
u
The Magazine on the Screen'
is a single reel, released each week.
d. First release of its kind — and still the best.
d. An internationally famous Bray Cartoon Comedy is a part of each reel.
C Animated technical drawings by which the heretofore unphotographable is
translated to the screen, appear only in Paramount-Bray Pictographs.
C, A few of the most recent releases are :
"The Astronomer's Workshop." "The Torpedo, the Hornet of the Sea."
"Humpback Whaling in the Pacific." "Microscopic Revelations."
"Uncle Sam's Hints to Housewives." "Ingenious Insects."
"Destructive Power of T.N.T." "Charting the Skies."
C Educational organizations are invited to investigate how any course or subject
may be made far more interesting by Paramount-Bray Pictographs.
C. The complete Paramount-Bray facilities for both filming and distributing are
available to industries desiring to SHOW the public how their products are made or
are to be used.
THE BRAY STUDIOS, INC.
23 EAST 26th STREET, NEW YORK CITY
FAMOUS PLAYERS -LASKY CORPORATION
ADOLPH ZMKQRPres JESSE L.USKY Uce Pres. CECIL B.VEyQUE Director Generul
' OIEW YORIO - J
y^^w^^^^^^
f he Crowning Achievement of the
Inventor of the First Motion Picture
Projector.
Designed especially for Educational
and Industrial Service.
Remarkable for its Simplicity \ Beauty
of Screen Picture, and Positive Safety. |
Projection up to One Hundred Feet.
Weight Ninety-eight Pounds.
Price Three Hundred and Fifty Dollars
You are invited to call or send for illustrated booklet
GRAPHOSCOPE
SO East 42nd Street : : New York
Vol. I
Published Monthly at 33 West 42d Street (Aeolian Hall) , New York City. DOLPH EASTMAN, Editor.
Subscription: United States, $3 a year; other countries, $4 a year; single copies, 25 cents.
Advertising rates on application. Copyright, 1919, by City News Publishing Company.
MARCH, 1919
No. 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Index to Articles
EDITORIAL 5
America — Pathfinder and Pacemaker —
How the N. E. A. Can Help
MOTION PICTURES AT THE N. E. A. MEETING 7
By Dolph Eastman
FILM TEACHING IN DULUTH SCHOOLS 9
By K. J. Hoke
INSTRUCTIONAL FILMS IN MIDDLETOWN, N. Y 9
FOX TO MAKE EDUCATIONAL FILMS 9
SOME SUGGESTIONS ON VISUAL INSTRUCTION 10
Bv Edward W. Stitt, Ph.D. — Illustrated
THE EDUCATIVE VALUE OF THE CINEMA 10
By Sir William Tury
A NATIONAL DIVISION OF VISUAL INSTRUCTION 11
By Charles Roach — Illustrated
10 WAS LIBRARY OF HISTORIC FILMS 12
By Edgar R. Harlan
FILM TEACHING IN A HIGH SCHOOL 12
By William G. Newcomb
THE MEANING OF THE BETTER FILMS MOVEMENT.... 13
By Orrin G. Cocks — Illustrated
MICROMOTION STUDIES APPLIED TO EDUCATION 14
By A. A. Douglass and W. L. Dealey — Illustrated
ENGINEERS SEE BIG GUN FILMS 15
"HOW LIFE BEGINS" SHOWN IN TROY 15
NEW KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS PICTURE 15
A NEW "LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD" 16
Illustrated
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM SHOWS FILMS 16
FILM EXTRAVAGANZAS FINE ENTERTAINMENT 16
HOW CLEVELAND CHURCHES ARE USING FILMS 17
Illustrated
LIGHT IN DARK PLACES 18
By A. H. Shirk — Illustrated
"RAVISHED ARMENIA" ON THE SCREEN 18
"MOVIES" AT THIS LIBRARY 19
By Vera J. Snook
THE PICTURED MESSAGE 21
By Rev. Dr. Thomas H. Sprague
SLIDE NOTES AND COMMENT 23
CATALOG OF FILMS 25
Agriculture — Animal Industry — Entomology — Forests — Fruit
Culture — Plant Industry — Public Roads — American Scenics —
Classical — Drama — Juvenile — Industrial — Pictographs — Re-
ligious— Travel — Zoology
THE FORUM 28
FLASHES ON THE WORLD'S SCREEN 29
FROM FOREST TO PRINTING PRESS 30
THEATRES NOT THE ONLY WAY 31
TRADE SCHOOL FILMS 31
NEW ZEALAND WANTS U. S. INDUSTRIALS 32
By Alfred A. Winslow
MEXICAN LIFE AND PROGRESS 32
"MADE IN AMERICA" FOR WAR DEPARTMENT 32
CHINESE LIKE DRESS AND SCENERY 32
Index to Advertisements
Nicholas Power Co. Inside front cover Excelsior Illustrating Co 22
The Bray Studios 1
Graphoscope Co 2
Community M. P. Bureau 4
Burke & James, Inc 19
Eastman Kodak Co 20
Exhibitors Booking Agency 20
Scott & Van Altena, Inc 21
Underwood & Underwood 21
Chas. Beseler Co 22
Auto-Slyde & M. P. Machine Co. 23
Wholesome Films Co 24
Victor Animatograph Co 26
The De Vry Corporation 27
Atlas Educational Film Co 29
Educational Films Corp.,
Inside back cover
Precision Machine Co. ... Back cover
Special Subscription Offers
EDUCATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION, $3
Trial Subscription for 4 Months, $1
Pin a Dollar Bill to Coupon Below and Mail to Us
Yearly Subscriptions in Clubs of 3 or more, $2 each
2-Year Subscriptions, $4 3-Year Subscriptions, $5
As THE NATIONAL AUTHORITY on educational, industrial and allied
motion pictures, the best thought and most helpful ideas and suggestions
will be found in EVERY issue of this publication.
In EVERY number all worth-while educational,
scientific, agricultural, literary, historical, govern-
mental, religious, travel, scenic, social welfare, topical,
and industrial films are classified, listed, and described.
Many valuable features will be added from time to
time. If you wish to keep in touch with all develop-
ments in Visual Education, take advantage of these
Special Subscription Offers TO-DAY. Fill out the
Coupon and mail to us NOW, with check, money
order, registered letter, or Dollar Bill.
CUT OUT, SIGN, AND MAIL NOW WITH REMITTANCE
Educational Film Magazine, 33 West 42nd St., New York
Enclosed find $ for which enter qtjd subscrip-
tion to your magazine for
NAME
STREET NO
CITY & STATE
MONTHS
• YEARS
SERVICE UNPARALLELED IN THE HISTORY OF
MOTION PICTURES. SCREENING 30,000,000 FEET OF
FILMS A WEEK FOR THE AMERICAN ARMY AND NAVY
AND FOR THE ALLIES. IS NOW AVAILABLE TO MEET
THE NEEDS OF ANY GROUP IN EVERY COMMUNITY.
SCHOOLS - CHURCHES - CLUBS - CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
FACTORIES - Y. M. C. AS - MILITIA - COMMUNITY CENTERS
COMMUNITY
SERVICE
COVERS
ALL SUBJECTS
ALL PURPOSES
Please check be-
low community
interest involved:
Q School
3] Church
□ Sunday School
□ Chautauqua
□ Y. M. C. A.
□ Y. W. C. A.
□ Men's Club
□ Women's Club
□ Boy's Club
□ Lodge
□ Commercial Club
□ Chamber of Commerce
□ Farmers' Gathering
□ Community Center
□ Factory
□ Industrial Welfare
□ Military
□ Americanization
□ Literary
□ Advertising
□ Selling
□ Export Selling
□ City Planning
Cfl Our service is essentially
non-theatrical.
€J The film production of
the world, for years back, is
available through our com-
plete and elaborately in-
dexed library.
Procedure
1. Before starting service for any subscriber, the Com-
munity Motion Picture Bureau makes careful study of par-
ticular needs, and builds a series of programs definitely to
fit those needs.
2. The Bureau's professional editorial staff views all
films produced in America, United Kingdom and France,
giving the slightest promise of value. It selects, analyzes,
classifies and makes available those films which are best
suited for community purposes. It views a million and a
half feet of films a week, and selects the few tens of thou-
sands that meet its exacting standards. If there exists no
film covering any community need, the Bureau supplies the
gap. The Bureau's news weekly, "The World Today in
Motion Pictures," is distinctive.
3. The Bureau correlates educational programs with
standard text books, and gives pedagogical directions for
the use of such programs, prepared by the best educators
in the country.
4. The Bureau's distributing organization with forty dif-
ferent offices moves with the absolute precision which makes
certain that all programs reach their destination on time.
5. The actual presentations are carefully supervised, so
that the subscriber is assured proper projection. The Bu-
reau sees to it that the picture on the screen, before the
subscriber's audience, is presented as it should be.
6. The Bureau acts continually as the friend and counsel
of the subscriber, in every way helping him, through the
intelligent use of motion pictures to meet his problems for
the good of the community. This service includes such
small but necessary aids as notification, in detail, of what
program will be sent, when it should be received, shipping
labels, exact shipping instructions, annotation, with adver-
tising material, directions for proper music, stereopticon
slides rounding out the program and filling the interval
between reels.
Tell Us Your Needs— We Have a Plan
COMMUNITY MOTION PICTURE BUREAU
46 West Twenty-fourth St. New \ork
The National Authority
Covering Educational, Scientific, Agricultural, Literary, Historical, Juvenile, Governmental, Religious, Travel, Scenic,
Social Welfare, Industrial, Topical, and News Motion Pictures
Published Monthly by the City News Publishing Co., 33 West 4,2nd Street (Aeolian Hall), New York City
DOLPH EASTMAN, Editor
Vol. I
MARCH, 1919
No. 3
AMERICA— PATHFINDER AND PACEMAKER
W
AR was the prong which prodded the
slow-moving elephant, government, into
speedy, efficient action in many coun-
tries, notably our own. Before the
great conflict hardly any of the nations engaged,
except perhaps France and Germany in restricted
channels, was interested in the motion picture as a
medium of propaganda, education, or trade promo-
tion. The intensity of the struggle, its vital import
to humanity and posterity, changed this condition of
national indifference to one of exceeding interest.
The film was applied to the activities of government
in nearly all of the warring countries, and the total
expenditures ran into many millions of dollars.
In the era of peace to follow there is, apparently,
to be no change in this governmental policy. France
and Great Britain already are utilizing film material
produced in quantities during the war, and since, in
vocational guidance for soldiers and sailors and in
recreational and educational work among both serv-
ice men and women and civilians. In France, where
in ante-bellum days considerable progress had been
made in visual instruction methods, it is planned to
reintroduce the cinematograph on a larger scale than
ever before into the schools and colleges of the Con-
tinental and Colonial domain. There has been in
force for several years, in the city of Paris, a police
ordinance requiring all motion picture prints made
within the municipality to be on non-inflammable
stock, presumably of standard width. Our Consul
General at Paris reports that as most of the film
manufacturing companies are situated within the
boundaries of that city, and as they appreciate the
value of this law in its various aspects, all of the posi-
tive prints produced there are on slow-burning stock.
This fact, naturally, offers every inducement to the
French schools, churches, community centres and
other institutions to use the motion picture regularly.
It may yet be that the land of Lafayette and Foch
and Clemenceau will lead the way to motion picture
education on an increasingly broad, national scale.
Still, the United States has not been slow to seize
the opportunity presented by the accumulation of sev-
eral million feet of negative produced by govern-
mental agencies and various allied war, war relief,
and industrial organizations. It is estimated that our
government, directly and indirectly, expended twenty
to twenty-five millions of dollars on motion pictures
during the emergency. Even now, films are being
made by the American armies of occupation in Ger-
many, in Italy, in Northern Russia and Siberia. Much
if not most of this film can and should be salvaged
for peace-time purposes; for education, first of all;
military training; the lessons of democracy, patriotism,
and Americanization; the maintenance and strength-
ening of civilian morale; and the preparation for
America's larger participation in world affairs and in
the League of Nations which is to preserve, we hope
and believe, universal and eternal peace — the only
foundation upon which civilization can ever be secure
and progress toward the ideal.
■< Hi
It is gratifying to know that our officials at Wash-
ington are fully alive to the possibilities of the nation-
wide use, in the post-war period, of these thousands
of reels representing an investment of millions con-
tributed by the American people. The Division of
Educational Extension of the Department of the
Interior has the work in hand and the films, after
being edited, retitled and reassembled, are to be
released free of charge to the masses to whom they
belong. They are to be distributed to the educational,
religious, civic, social, and industrial institutions and
organizations of each of the forty-eight states through
some central distributing agency in that state, prob-
ably the extension department of the state university
or leading college.
One of the most significant and valuable develop-
ments of this program is the assurance of the Wash-
ington officials that the motion picture activities of the
government are not be confined to the salvaging, edit-
ing, printing, and distributing of war-made films,
but are to be permanent and to be extended in other
governmental directions. In short, the government
has seriously entered the motion picture industry as
producer, assembler, and distributor, not to be sure
as a competitor of private enterprise, but as a co-oper-
ator with and encourager of private enterprise.
Indeed, it is only upon this basis that industry and
the American people will tolerate the government in
commerce. Government business, in the motion pic-
ture field no less than in other industries, must be
restricted to affairs of government. Private enter-
prise, desirous of entering the educational, religious
and industrial film field, must not be deprived of its
legitimate, fair and free, truly American opportunity
to serve the schools and colleges, the churches, the
industries, the various community groups of the
United States and foreign countries.
SB1
Should a Department of Education be established
at the national capital and a Bureau of Visual Instruc-
tion, operated on a broad and liberal state-aid basis,
form a vital part of this plan, the film producers of
this country must be left entirely free to rent, sell, and
serve institutions and organizations in the ways which
appeal to their clientele. The government can be of
the greatest assistance, morally and financially, to
these film manufacturers by purchasing from them
hundreds of thousands of educational and industrial
prints for national and state film libraries from which
institutions and organizations may draw on a fair
rental plan. But these rentals must be no lower than
those asked by private manufacturers and distribu-
tors; there should be co-operation, but absolutely no
under-renting or under-selling competition on the part
of national or state officials. The government should
also aid in every way the removal of present restric-
tions and obstacles which prevent the wider exploita-
tion and employment of motion pictures for educa-
tional needs. No private, partisan, or selfish motive
should be permitted to interfere with the general daily
use by hundreds of thousands of schools and churches
and community centres of "the fifth estate," one of the
most useful and valuable inventions ever given to
mankind.
9 9
HOW THE N. E. A. CAN HELP
Perhaps the most significant and purposeful motion
picture activities yet witnessed at the convention of a
national organization were those which occurred at
the recent annual meeting in Chicago of the Depart-
ment of Superintendence of the National Education
Association. It was a remarkable tribute and testi-
monial to the courage, the convictions, and the loyalty
of a comparatively few individuals and scattered
groups who have been urging for some years that this
huge educational body, with a membership of seven
hundred thousand, take official cognizance of the
motion picture and official action towards making
its use more general in the curricula of schools.
Educators, however, are among the most con-
servative intellectual forces — even more conservative
than clergymen; and when visual instruction wins its
victory — as win it will — it will be a victory indeed.
The chief aid which the N. E. A. can render the
movement at this time is the continuance and the
redoubling of its efforts to break down the traditional
conservatism and in its place establish sound progress-
ivism. A superintendent, principal, or teacher can
never be a true guide for youth so long as he reminds
one of Uncle Abe's mule: "Too sot t' go on, too
ornery t' go back." We use motors now, not mules,
when we want things done.
The present attitude of the rank and file of the
Department of Superintendence, and of the N.E.A.as
a whole, is that of doing nothing either to retard this
progressive movement in pedagogy or to accelerate
it. It is a stand-pat, watchful waiting attitude. And
while it is true that certain restrictions and obstacles
at the present time prevent the wider employment
and exploitation of educational films, this immense
aggregation of teaching talent and reservoir of intel-
lectual power does nothing to make the weight of its
influence felt in the proper channels. Labor organiza-
tions with far less political strength than this one
have compelled official recognition and action.
Carl Hardin Carson, who founded and was presi-
dent of the Visual Education Association of Cali-
fornia, believes that there should be a national body,
to be known as the Visual Education Association of
the United States and to be affiliated with the N. E. A.
on much the same plan as a number of other national
organizations. This association might be composed
of all motion picture, lantern slide, map, blackboard,
still picture, model, exhibit, and eye-method interests
in the country and might draw its membership and
support from the ranks of the various state teachers'
associations, community centre associations, etc. This
magazine will assist in every way possible the forma-
tion of such an organization, believing that the latter
can accomplish more than is now being done by
scattered groups working spasmodically and unsys-
tematically. All readers who may be interested in
establishing such a nation-wide force as the Visual
Education Association of the United States are
requested to communicate their views to the editor of
the Educational Film Magazine.
1Mb Wb>
I have just witnessed a moving picture of the story
of Edith Cavell, as interpreted by Julia Arthur.
It was on Sunday when I saw it, and I never
attended a church service that stirred me with a pro-
founder religious emotion. — Dr. Frank Crane in
New York Globe.
MOTION PICTURES AT THE N. E. A. MEETING
Intense Interest Manifested by School Superintendents at the
Chicago Convention Held February 24 to 28 — -Many Screen
Showings and Helpful \ Discussions— Government Announces
Distribution Plan for Re-Edited War Films
By Dolph Eastman
AMONG the 5,000 or more members of the Department
/\ of Superintendence of the National Education As-
1 A. sociation, gathered at their midwinter convention
in Chicago during the week commencing Monday,
February 24, the feeling was general that visual education
primarily by way of the motion picture screen was an ac-
cepted fact and that the main thought of educators should
now be directed towards the practical application of film
teaching in the hundreds of thousands of schools and col-
leges throughout the United States.
"Epoch-making" was the term used by one of the speakers
in referring to two of the government films shown in the
Florentine room of the Congress Hotel — one a detailed
analysis and demonstration of the three-inch shrapnel, made
by the Bray Studios, and the other a comprehensive explana-
tion of military map reading, made by the Kineto Company.
If there were any sceptics in that optience before these
films were run, it is safe to say that there were none after-
ward. The Department of the Interior, through its newly-
created Division of Educational Extension, would do well
to exhibit these two technical films and others of high peda-
gogical value at every assembly of teachers, in every normal
and training school, so that there will remain no uncon-
vinced educator anywhere.
Government's Film Activities a Feature
The government's motion picture activities at the con-
vention were, in fact, its strongest feature from a film view-
point. F. W. Reynolds, who is in charge of visual instruc-
tion for the Educational Extension Division, represented
the federal authority and on three afternoons, Wednesday,
Thursday and Friday, exhibited war and patriotic films and
explained the government's plan of distribution through
state agencies to the educational institutions of the country.
On the program slips which Mr. Reynolds handed out was
this line taken from a recent issue of the Educational Film
Magazine: "One of the Greatest Things in the World" —
Thomas A. Edison. Some of the pictures shown by the
government were: "Freedom Forever"; "The Battle of
Verdun," an animated drawing; "New Glory for Old";
"America's Defenders"; "Map Reading," combining ani-
mated drawings with photography; and "The Three-Inch
Shrapnel," also a combination of pictographs and pho-
tography.
The following printed announcement, taken from the cir-
cular questionnaire which the Visual Instruction Section of
the Educational Extension Division has franked to 42,000
schools and colleges of the United States, was distributed
during the week to every member of the N. E. A. present
at the various conferences:
MOTION PICTURES FOR YOU!
The United States Government spent millions of dollars
during the war in making motion pictures.
They cover every achievement which led to Victory — the
getting together at the Country's call, the mastery of the job
at hand, with its accompanying demand for an undreamed
of power to produce and save, the rising to the need for
health and morale, the construction of emergency cities,
ships, docks, storehouses, railroad tracks and bridges, cars
and locomotives, highways, motor trucks, telegraph and tele-
phone lines, and the operation of all these, in the greatest
Service of Supplies the world has ever known.
They show the service and sacrifice of those who risked
all and of those who were held at home.
The War Department alone has thousands of reels of these
pictures and every returning ship brings more.
These pictures belong to the people.
By means of a Projection Machine — no more difficult to
secure these days than a sewing machine — they may be
brought to every school, university, college, even to every
cross roads school house, and shown free to the people.
This announcement aims at just that.
At frequent intervals during the Convention specimen reels
of these pictures will be shown in the Florentine Room of
the Congress Hotel. You are invited to drop in. See sched-
ule of showings on the reverse side of this sheet.
Mr. Reynolds explained the government's plan of nation-
wide distribution of the war films as follows:
During the war period the government expended between
twenty and twenty-five millions of dollars on motion pic-
tures. Of this production the Division of Films of the
Committee on Public Information released only a small
part to the theatres. Many governmental agencies and na-
tional organizations working for the government con-
tributed, and there are now several million feet of negative
film all of which will be available to schools and institu-
tions when the prints have been re-edited, retitled, re-
assembled, and prepared for educational purposes.
How the War Films Will Be Distributed
"The government feels that the mass interest in this ma-
terial is almost as great now as during the war period," said
Mr. Reynolds. "These films belong to the people of the
United States; they paid for them. But beyond this is the
educational, the industrial, the historic, the patriotic, the
Americanization viewpoint. We propose to make of these
thousands of reels, now in government vaults, what I would
call 'Topical War Reviews' and distribute them through
some central agency in each of the forty-eight states, pref-
erably the state university or leading college. In the larger
cities we will probably have local distributing centres.
Prints will be supplied to these distributors and through
them to every institution in the state, without any charge
whatsoever except, perhaps, for transportation back and
forth. In the matter of motion picture projection machines
and the necessary equipment, where these are not imme-
diately available to the school or other community centre,
the government and its state distributor will co-operate with
the local authorities and endeavor to arrange for exhibition
of these films."
Mr. Reynolds made it clear in his talks that the govern-
ment, through the Division of Educational Extension, had
entered the motion picture business permanently and that
it was the intention of his division not only to distribute the"
salvaged war films but to produce and distribute other films
of a governmental character at a later date.
"My section," he added, "the visual instruction section, is
virtually a National Bureau of Visual Instruction, modeled
upon the lines of the efficient bureau at the University of
Wisconsin and other state universities. Our plan of oper-
ation will be much the same, except that we shall deal
through inter-state distributors as well as intra-state agencies.
The government recognized the value of visual education in
war time; it recognizes even greater value for the motion
picture as an educator in peace times. We are in this busi-
ness to stay. We shall not be satisfied until every educa-
tional unit in this country is equipped to take advantage of
this valuable medium of instruction."
The Conference on Visual Education
The most important conference of the week was that
which took place at the Congress Hotel on Friday after-
noon, February 28. On the official N. E. A. program it was
listed as "Visual Education in the Community Centre Pro-
gram, with Interpretations of Films." Charles A. Kent,
principal of Eugene Field School, Chicago, a licensed
motion picture operator, was in charge of the meeting. He
distributed to those in attendance the following typewritten
program for the afternoon and programs recently carried
out at his school:
THIS AFTERNOON'S PROGRAM
I. "Chocolate of the Gang," a Judge Brown two-reel boy
story.
(Courtesy General Film Co., 207 South Wabash
Ave.)
II. A Four-part reel of short "weekly" and "current events"
material:
(a) The pulmotor in use; (b) A giant lifting
magnet; (c) A monorail railway; (d) The acro-
batic fly.
III. The Chapin "Lincoln," Episode One, "My Mother."
(Courtesy Famous Players Co., 845 South Wabash
Ave.)
IV. Ditmar's "Depths of the Sea," Reel One.
(Courtesy Celebrated Players Co., 207 South
Wabash Ave.)
V. Spanuth's "Vod-a-vil," No. One — Trained animals and
trick marvels.
(Courtesy Commonwealth Film Co., 220 S. State St.)
VI. Films loaned by the United States Government.
SOME PICTURE PROGRAMS AT THE EUGENE FIELD
SCHOOL THE PAST YEAR
"Sunshine and Gold" (Marie Osborne), 7 reels, Pathe Ex.,
$7.50. 1
"Dolly does her Bit," (Marie Osborne), 7 reels, Pathe Ex.,
$7.50.
"The Educational 'Snow White'," Lea-Bel Co., 6 reels, $10.00.
"The Modern Musketeer," (Douglas Fairbanks) , Famous
Players Co., 6 reels, $10.00.
"The Seven Swans" (Marguerite Clark) , Famous Players Co.,
7 reels, $10.00.
"Blue Bird" (Maeterlinck), 6 reels, Famous Players, $10.00.
"Depths of the Sea" (Ditmar) , 4 reels, $5.00 each, Celebrated
Players.
"Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp," Fox Film Corp., 8
reels, $15.00.
"Spanuth's 'Vod-a-viF " films, $2.50 each, Commonwealth
Film Co.
"Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," 5 reels, $15.00, Fox Film
Corp.
"Cinderella," "Babes in the Woods," 6 reels, $20.00, Whole-
some Film Co.
Chapin's "Lincoln," Son of Democracy, 10 episodes, 2 reels
to an episode, $5.00 per episode. Famous Players Co.
Community Picture Motion Picture Bureau, 1935 Milwaukee
Ave., has many excellent educational pictures.
Goldwyn Distributing Co., 5 S. Wabash Avenue, supply "Ford
Weekly" Service, at $12.00 per year. One reel per week.
Some recent topics are "Rough Stuff" (Carborundum),
"Old New England," "What you eat" (The food side
of a great hotel), "The Story of Steel," "Mt. Edith
Cavell" (in Canada).
While the films were running, and during the intermis-
sions, the speakers were: Mr. Kent and Mr. Reynolds;
William H. Dudley, chief of the Visual Instruction Bureau,
University of Wisconsin; Dudley Grant Hays, director of
Extension Department, Chicago Board of Education; Wil-
liam W. Earnest, city superintendent of schools, Champaign,
Illinois; Superintendent of Schools Justice, of Evanston,
Illinois, and one or two others who chiefly asked questions.
Film Activities at Illinois Schools
Mr. Kent told in some detail of the motion picture work
at Eugene Field School, Chicago. The school has complete
standard motor-driven equipment, with booth, and the prin-
cipal is the projectionist. "Movie" shows are given every
other Friday afternoon, from 3:30 to 5 o'clock. Admission
fee is ten cents to children and adults. Films are rented
from local exchanges, the rentals varying from $2 to $5 a
reel. The speaker explained that in his programs variety
was sought: something of an entertaining nature, wholesome
and inspiring; clean comedy; travel and scenic pictures;
and good educationals that were really interesting. He
showed the essential difference between programs for the
main assembly hall and those for the small classrooms.
Mr. Earnest and Mr. Justice described the film activities
in their respective cities, their work being similar to that
done by Mr. Kent. The educational idea is present in their
programs but only incidentally. These and other educators,
however, indicated that the day was not far distant when
films in classrooms would be general and accepted as mat-
ters of course and as essential to the curricula. Considering
the present restrictions and obstacles, film teaching in
classrooms has made remarkable headway and hundreds of
schools are equipped and are using pictures of more or less
pedagogic value.
University of Wisconsin Plan
Mr. Dudley spoke briefly of the circuit routing and direct
shipment plans of the Visual Instruction Bureau at the
University of Wisconsin. The bureau has a staff of assist-
ants and ships hundreds of reels and thousands of slides
monthly to every part of the State of Wisconsin. The
university not only buys prints in the open market but
produces films of its own. The greatest advance yet made
in private film production and distribution for educational,
industrial, civic, social and community purposes must be
credited to Wisconsin University.
Two reels showing the reasons for, operation of and
results from the unique Parental Farm School, an hour's
ride from the heart of Chicago, were run while Mr. Hays,
who appears in the picture, interpolated interesting com-
ment on the pictures and explained their significance and
the lasting value of the school's work. He said these films
were a revelation to thousands of people in Chicago who
before had not even heard of the existence of this corrective
institution. The boys are shown entering as budding
criminals; when they leave, they are models of miniature
manhood.
Community Centre Conference
At the meeting of the National Community Centre Asso-
ciation, in the Auditorium Annex, motion picture shows
in public school buildings, together with club smokers,
parties, dances and other social entertainments were
approved by several of the speakers. Harold O. Berg,
supervisor of the Extension Department, Milwaukee Board
of Education, urged the general adoption of "movies" in
schools throughout the country. He said they were needed
to take the place of saloons and supplant disreputable
public dance halls and skating rinks. Mr. Berg told of
his work in Milwaukee and said that one-cent "movies" had
been found successful in providing after-school entertain-
ment in that city, keeping the children away from the
streets and improving their "morale."
Deputy Superintendent of Schools R. G. Jones, of Cleve-
land, and Mrs. Virginia D. Green, member of the Cleveland
school board, both approved the plan. They said that in
their city several schools and churches were already in use
as community centres in which motion pictures played an
active part. In this connection, it is interesting to know
that next year's meeting of the N. E. A. Department of
8
Superintendence will be held in this enterprising Ohio city
on the lake — "The Fifth City" they call it now.
School Garden Army Films
On Tuesday morning, February 25, there was an interest-
ing exhibition of lantern slides and several reels of motion
pictures in the ballroom of the Blackstone Hotel. J. C.
Muerman, special assistant director of the United States
School Garden Army, Washington, D. C, spoke while the
slides and films were being shown. Among the facts
brought out in his lecture were the following: There are
1,500,000 school children producing vegetables under the
direct supervision and encouragement of Uncle Sam. The
acreage under cultivation is about 60,000. More than
1,000,000,000 pounds of foodstuffs have been produced and
marketed by the students. This organization is to remain
intact and the government hopes to obtain at least
5,000,000 recruits.
The principal picture shown at the Blackstone was a
three-reeler, "Making the Home Garden," produced in
California by the Extension Department of the University of
California. Many of the scenes were taken in and around
Washington School, at Oakland. The Junior Red Cross
co-operated in the distribution of this film on the Pacific
Coast. Each reel covers some important phase of school
and home gardening, and complete practical instructions
are given, in photographs and drawings, both animated, for
success in gardening. The one-reeler was made at Mary
Hemenway School, Dorchester, Mass., by Eugene Cornell
and Staff, of Boston. In an interview with the writer in
Chicago Mr. Muerman, who has shown these and other
films and slides and lectured on them in every part of the
country, said:
Students Produced $10,000,000 Worth of Food
''The United States School Garden Army will not be
demobilized. One and one-half million of children who
enlisted in this army during the year 1918 produced more
than $10,000,000 worth of food for the table. Prospects for
the coming year are much better than for the past.
"Excellent films are being sent out by this division of the
United States Bureau of Education under the direction of
Dr. J. H. Francis, director of the school garden army. These
films are in series and give a complete and connected story
from the earliest development of the school garden move-
ment, which began with the letter of the President calling
this army into existence. A series of three reels tells the
story; it also tells of the lessons prepared by the regional
directors for the instruction of the children in the prepara-
tion of the home garden, the fighting of the insects, the
making of a compost heap, preparing vegetables for market,
displays for exhibition purposes and economic results of
gardens well cared for and properly managed. These films
show the capillary attraction of water as applied to the soil,
good and bad uses of fertilizers, proper methods of harvest-
ing and care of vegetables after they are grown.
"The reels are not only very instructive but they are in-
tensely interesting, even to those who are not so situated
that tbey could possibly have a garden. Another film full of
action gives a complete history of a school garden, beginning
with the making of a road byv the pupils to their garden,
breaking the soil, putting it in condition, planting, water-
ing, spraying; in fact, every minute detail of the garden work
is beautifully illustrated by the children actually doing the
work in this model garden.
"Lessons in patriotism are by no means omitted, for one
of the films shows the loyal youngsters giving their salute to
Old Glory in the most enthusiastic manner. This part of the
film never fails to bring its merited applause. It is the inten-
tion to show these films in as many of the large cities as
possible and to reach a great majority of the children already
interested in school gardens and to induce as many more to
enter into this important work. Food has won the war.
It is bound to win greater victories in times of peace. Gar-
dening should be an important part of every school curricu-
lum not only for its economic value but to bring the children
in close touch with life in its various forms."
Visual Instruction Commercial Exhibits
The following concerns had visual instruction commercial
exhibits in different parts of the Congress Hotel:
Community Motion Picture Bureau, De Vry Corporation,
Pathescope Company of Chicago, Victor Animatograph
Company, Bausch & Lomb Optical Company, and Mcintosh
Stereopticon Company. In addition to these the American
Type Founders Company exhibited films showing how boys
are trained for the printing business, and the International
Harvester Company also showed some of their educational
and welfare pictures.
FILM TEACHING IN DULUTH SCHOOLS
By K. J. Hoke
Superintendent of Public Schools, Duluth, Minn.
We are planning to teach, to the children in the day
schools, and the adults in the night schools and community
centers, Americanization work by means of the moving pic-
tures. We use a portable safety projector film and slide
machine, which we move from one building to another.
We have circulars with the topics of the films and the slides
outlined, which are placed in the hands of the teachers who
give a digest of them to the children.
It usually takes about an hour and a half for each
demonstration. At present these topics include the fol-
lowing :
Aviation — The Eyes of the Army.
Neighboring Countries.
Children at Play the World Over.
Children's Classics.
American Travel and Scenery.
Travel and Social Study;
Child Welfare.
Industrial Slides and Films.
Patriotic Slides and Films.
At present we have only two portable projectors and two
stationary machines. Every new building is equipped with
a moving picture booth so that the machine can be installed
as soon as there is a need for it.
Our films are obtained from the Bureau of Visual In-
struction, University of Wisconsin. We are also planning
to secure them from the United States Government.
INSTRUCTIONAL FILMS IN MIDDLETOWN, N. Y.
Having tried motion pictures for instruction in a grammar school
in Middletown, N. Y., Superintendent of Schools James F. Tuthill
favors a more extensive use of films in teaching.
"The results, I am sure," Mr. Tuthill writes, "would justify further
extension in our other schools." He expresses himself as pleased to
find "progressive efforts in the way of public school instruction"
winning public approval.
FOX TO MAKE EDUCATIONAL WAR FILMS
William Fox, of the Fox Film Company, and Winfield R. Sheehan,
an associate, with assistants, have begun work on a series of educa-
tional war films in France and Italy. Believing that the French and
American people are anxious to learn more about each other. Mr.
Fox has worked out a scheme for the further education of the
American people through the film. Many of America's soldier dead
lie in French graves and the people of the two nations are united
as never before. It is with this idea in mind that he will build up
his pictures, which will be principally educational.
D. W. GRIFFITH ON EDUCATIONALS
"Educational production will be one of the conspicuous features
of the motion picture industry for years to come," says David Wark
Griffith, producer of "The Birth of a Nation" and "Hearts of the
World." "Historical pictures, those dealing with the recent Allied
victory, and those which serve to enlighten the public on the great
questions of the day will be to the fore. The government's adoption
of the film is evidence of the tremendous importance of the screen
as a medium of educational effort."
SOME SUGGESTIONS ON VISUAL INSTRUCTION
Following the Passive Reception of Screen Wonders, the Next Step
is to Enlist the Active Energies of Pupils and Awaken Their Self -Activity
By Edward W. Stitt, Ph.D.
District Superintendent of Schools, New York City
IN the Schools of Tomorrow, that inspiring book by the
Deweys, occurs this sentence: "The school, like other
human institutions, acquires inertia and tends to go
on doing things that have once got started, irrespective
of present demands'." In my judgment, this tendency to
tradition is still shown in the desire on the part of so many
educators to make instruction a pouring-in process, in which
the teacher becomes a sort of personal phonograph. She
talks, talks, talks, so that she really makes a conversational
"record"; the child is forced to listen, and his instruction
becomes entirely too ear-minded.
The Department of Science Instruction of the National
Education Association, therefore, wisely created a Com-
mittee on Visual Instruction to em-
phasize the fact that in the future the
province of the teacher shall include
the realm of the eye as well as that
of the ear. The functions of this
committee have now devolved upon
other interests affiliated with the
N. E. A.
The following are suggested as
useful ways to enlarge the plan and
scope of the work: (1) lantern
slides for instruction purposes; (2)
educational motion pictures; (3)
stereographs for work in science, his-
tory, and geography; (4) display of
maps, charts, and models in class-
room; (5) greater use of the black-
board by both pupils and teachers;
(6) illustrations in reading-books
and text-books generally; (7) sou-
venir post-cards and pictures from
magazines and newspapers; (8)
school exhibits displayed in accord-
ance with approved methods; (9)
educational museum in some central
building, and distribution of visual
aids by municipal or state bureaus;
(10) clay-modeling, molding in sand
trays, etc.; (11) homemade appara-
tus in elementary science work; (12)
visits to museums, art galleries,
libraries, etc. Other methods will arise from time to time.
Visual Instruction 260 Years Old
Two hundred and sixty years ago Comenius — one of the
greatest of educational reformers — emphasized the value
of pictures to illustrate the idea symbolized by the word,
and set the first real standard for visual instruction. A cen-
tury later Pestalozzi advanced beyond the picture stage by
insisting that teachers must either bring things into the
school for study, or else take the children out of the school
to see them. Thus further emphasis was placed upon the
visual side of school work.
The advance of science has brought to the aid of the
teacher modern methods of visualization of which the
teachers of the past never dreamed. The wonders of the
stereoscopic pictures, by which objects stand out in three
dimensions and seem to be solids as in nature, show a won-
DR. EDWARD W. STITT, member of the erstwhile
Committee on Visual Instruction of the Depart-
ment of Science Instruction, National Education Asso-
ciation, is one of the ablest and most progressive
public school administrators and educators in the
United States. He is classed as a "progressive" and
for years has voiced his confidence in the pedagogic
value of the motion picture.
derful advance over the ordinary pictures of text-books.
The marvels of motion pictures, bringing into the school-
room actual reproductions of scenes from real life, mark a
still further advance. The next step in progressive peda-
gogic development, however, will be a release from the
passive reception of the wonders of film reproductions, by
enlisting the active energies of the pupils so as to awaken
their self-activity.
THE EDUCATIVE VALUE OF THE CINEMA
By Sir William Jury
Former Director, Cinematograph Department, Ministry of Information.
British Government
It is like repeating a commonplace
to say that the cinema is still in its
infancy. Yet the facts speak for
themselves. In the course of a few
years it has developed from one of
the minor side-shows in the affairs
of the world into a power of almost
incalculable importance. At the
same time it has become one of the
leading industries in universal com-
merce. Wonderful strides have been
made in the comparatively recent
past; more wonderful strides will be
made in the future.
As an entertainment and a great
educative influence, it deserves all
possible support. Above all, it
should not be burdened with unneces-
sary restrictions. The cinema trade
associations are represented by men
who have great interests in the busi-
ness. They are all working for the
success of the industry, and they
realize their responsibilities in pro-
viding good, clean pictures for the
screen. Inventors and trade experts
are continually working on new
ideas. I foresee the day when they
will succeed in perfecting natural
color photography, synchronizing
this with sound and stereoscopic ef-
fects. Individually these three improvements have already
been accomplished. All that remains to be done is to com-
bine them in one production, as it were. Imagine what this
would mean to the cinema! Natural color, synchroniza-
tion of voices and sounds, and pictures that stand out with
solidity and reality. These things may come to pass during
1919; but whether it be this year or next or the year after,
come they will.
CO-OPERATION WITH THEATRES
Educationally all experts agree that the cinema is inval-
uable. Many schools are already equipped with the neces-
sary apparatus, but they lack films. Until this difficulty is
overcome it would doubtless be possible for an arrange-
{Continued on page 32)
10
A NATIONAL DIVISION OF VISUAL INSTRUCTION
Affiliated with the Federal Bureau of Education or The National Education
Association, and Co-operating with the States, Such a Division May Succeed
in Solving All Educational Film Problems
By Charles roach
Director, Visual Instruction Service, Iowa State Agricultural College, Ames, Iowa
(Part II. Conclusion)
~W ~^T THY not make a Division of Visual Instruction a
%/%/ permanent part of the national education
y V scheme? Such a division would be able to
serve as a clearing house and depository for
worth-while educational motion pictures produced at home
or abroad. It would be in a position to produce or obtain
film at the lowest possible figures, the benefit could be
passed on to the states and then to the independent school
districts. Such a division should work in conjunction with
a Visual Instruction Committee selected from the National
Education Association. The last-named committee should
serve in an advisory capacity even if no other authority or
power be given. Federal enactment could give such legal
powers and financial aid as would be necessary to make
the national division of films a really worth-while contri-
bution to education.
Up to the present time there is no central agency which
can reliably recommend a standard course of visual instruc-
tion for the use of schools. As far as the knowledge of
the writer goes, there is no complete catalog of well-edited
motion picture film, such as could be adopted in the public
schools. One of the jobs of the national division of visual
instruction would be to supply such a catalog.
A Visual Instruction Bureau for Each State
The several states should have their own individual
visual instruction departments under such supervision as
the educational authorities may see fit. Many states would
place it under the Department of Public Instruction. A
visual instruction committee should be chosen from the
state teachers' associations and should serve in an advisory
capacity much the same as the N. E. A. Committee would
serve the national division of visual instruction. The states
then could draw upon the national division for material
which could be furnished at actual cost. The states would
build up their own film library or exchange at some
central location. The public schools of the state could
draw from this central exchange and pay a nominal rental
fee sufficient to meet the actual costs of the wear and tear on
the film. The state itself might take care of the expenses,
either in total or in part. Response to a recent question-
naire sent to many of the best educators of the State of
Iowa brought back the unanimous opinion that a film
exchange under state supervision should be established.
Again we find it true that educational motion pictures
have not acquired an "educational respectability." That is
to say, most films produced have been directed by experts
who have been trained in and have about them the atmos-
phere of the theatre but know little or nothing of the school-
room and its psychology. Much of the educational film
now stored in the vaults would need to be very carefully
graded, inspected, and prepared by experts of the school-
room. A list prepared by schoolmen and placed in the
state exchange would meet the demands. The moment this
is done, another criticism offered by school people will have
been eliminated.
In Iowa, the state educational system is composed of
three principal institutions: the State Teachers' College, at
Cedar Falls; the State University at Iowa City; and the
State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts at Ames,
Iowa. Each has its own distinctive field although the activi-
ties of each often overlap, making many matters of
administration extremely delicate to handle. The visual
instruction work is no exception. Film work is carried on
exclusively at Ames, but past efforts to secure co-operation
between the three institutions has not resulted satisfactorily.
How the Iowa Film Plan Works
For the past four years the Iowa State College of Agri-
culture and Mechanic Arts has maintained a visual instruc-
tion service. Any public school or any public organization
owning its own projector may be supplied with films upon
request. No rentals are demanded. Exhibitors are respon-
VISUAL INSTRUCTION SERVICE
IOWA STATE COLLEGE
-4? f>/
trig Ext
Y*cd\ \l
Schoo/j Ctlfrch KMC.A- Co Agfs Co//e?es
"p\IAGRAM showing plan of operation of the Visual Instruction Service of
-L-' Iowa State College. It will be noted that in the college sources of
supply there are two blank squares and in the outside sources two blanks.
These will be filled out later.
sible only for transportation and damage done while
material is in their possession. Film service is not supplied
to theatres.
The work was initiated as a part of the activities of the
Engineering Extension Department and Trade School.
Later the agricultural extension department joined in co-
operation, thereby permitting a wider range of selection of
subject matter. Inasmuch as these two departments are
the only ones having extension funds the scope of the work
is still suffering from limitations.
The people of the state have responded quite well. The
number of exhibitors has increased from six in 1915 to 40
in 1918. From 15 to 25 programs have been on circuit
each year. Film programs are composed of from three to
five reels of motion picture film or a combination program
consisting of one reel of film and a set of lantern slides
with accompanying lecture notes. The combination pro-
gram is in harmony with the recommendation of the Com-
mittee on Visual Instruction appointed at the conference
of the National University Extension Association in Pitts-
burg in April, 1917. Programs have been routed with the
idea of having them returned to the office once every three
weeks for complete overhauling and repair. Experience
proved this to be necessary, because after the film had been
in the hands of four or more exhibitors the physical con-
dition usually proved to be such as to demand careful
inspection and repair.
11
In general, the circuit plan is proving a success. The
greatest difficulty encountered is to get the exhibitor to
ship promptly and to follow instructions explicitly. Again,
many schools have a novice for an operator, particularly
the smaller towns, and it has been necessary in some
instances to withdraw service where a poor projector or an
inefficient operator was located.
Films Improved School Efficiency 5 Per Cent
Several city superintendents of the State of Iowa have
made an investigation attempting to evaluate the motion
picture in their schools. Without going into any discussion
concerning the study made, we may say these gentlemen
came to the conclusion that information from the film
improved written themes somewhat over 5 per cent. This
is not revolutionary nor extremely startling, but it is indica-
tive of what might be done. Surely an investment which
would improve the efficiency of the school 5 per cent is not
to be left out of the consideration of any school official.
Whether the school man will use the film in class work or
not, he surely must agree that educational motion pictures
have a place in his curriculum. If the Federal Bureau of
Education is sincere in the statement which heads this
article, if the experience of those men who have tried out
film work is in any sense an index of what is possible, dare
the educators of this country refuse to give immediate atten-
tion to such a valuable vehicle of information as the educa-
tional motion picture? Dare they longer delay and invite
a confirmation of the statement that it takes school men
ten years to do a thing? Surely it is time to begin.
IOWA'S LIBRARY OF HISTORIC FILMS
By Edgar R. Harlan
Curator, Historical Department of Iowa, Des Moines
I began begging negatives and films as soon as they
began to be made in Iowa, without any very clear idea
of their eventual use. The collecting of source data for
history is the principal function of this institution and it
gives up secondary place to the exploiting of this.
Therefore, we have merely assembled in fireproof recep-
tacles such films as we have received, each being examined
separately as a librarian examines a book for classification.
A card is made to bring out the contents of the film and
this card placed with others in a catalog quite like the
library systems. I designed a method of bringing out the
contents and of identifying films, which is in advance of
any other system I have seen proposed, but nevertheless
it is too imperfect to be appended to my name or to the
name of this institution, and I have, therefore, not an-
nounced or published it.
We have 150,000 feet of carefully selected film that
were made primarily for commercial purposes and which
contain in the main, parades of various kinds, reviews,
drills, agricultural expositions, processions, notables, etc.
We have had made on our own account about 15,000
feet of film, including an almost complete record of the
mobilization of the Iowa National Guard for border service
in 1917. In this is a confidential film recording the phy-
sicab examination of 300 men that I believe to be unique
unless repeated in the present war. About 1,200 feet shows
the Mesquakie Indians individually portrayed in costume,
precisely described in the titles.
9 9
A subscription to the Educational Film Magazine means
a better education for your child. Four months, $1.00.
FILM TEACHING IN A HIGH SCHOOL
Regular Courses of Instruction in History, Geog-
raphy, the Sciences and the Industries Planned
By William G. Newcomb
Film Instructor, New Jersey School for the Deaf
For more than five years we have been giving regular
courses of instruction by means of motion pictures to the
pupils of the New Jersey School for the Deaf, a state insti-
tution at Trenton, the capital, of which Walter M. Kil-
patrick is superintendent. I do not mean by this that we
have had well-laid out film courses correlating or syn-
chronizing with the textbooks, but we have been able to
show pictures of an educational if not of a technically peda-
gogic character and the students, who could not be taught in
spoken language, have learned many things by seeing, the
universal language on the screen. They have studied from
printed books, also, but I am safe in saying that what they
have learned from the films they will, perhaps, never forget
and what they have learned from books they will, perhaps,
soon forget.
I have recently installed in the auditorium of Junior High
School, Tenton, N. J., a standard motion picture projection
machine, modern booth, and up-to-date equipment for the
exhibition of screen pictures. Regular courses of instruc-
tion in history, geography, the sciences, and the industries
will be given by this method in the near future, together
with films of an entertaining but worth-while character.
As I am a practical electrician and licensed motion picture
operator at the School for the Deaf, the high school author-
ities requested me to supervise the purchase, installation and
initial operation of their projection equipment.
To a great many otherwise intelligent people the motion
picture is only an entertainment, never anything more than
a toy or comic paper with which you kill time.
A College for the Masses
Fortunately, however, the art of the motion picture is
gradually coming into service in the application of one of
its greatest fields of usefulness, the presentation of educa-
tion through the medium of motion pictures, motion pictures
that mean something, that do something and that are some-
thing, not accidental but the result of intelligent research.
They have provided a college for the masses, a first aid to
science and a distinct help to education, having verified his-
tory and brought the march of world events to the very
doors of the people.
Every industry, every profession and every art is clearly
and adequately interpreted thereby. Pictures that are clean,
optimistic, progressive and intelligent disseminate knowl-
edge which is the raw material from which the beautiful
fabric of wisdom is produced.
They are the language of the eye and soul and aside from
the practical instruction there is a wealth of diversified
entertainment provided in the swiftly moving tale, amplified
by action, and told upon the screen by pictures which grip
the attention, stir the emotions and satisfy the universal
human passion for dramatic excitement and pleasure.
Lovers of the beautiful in nature will find plenty to in-
terest them in the beautiful scenic pictures. Here one may
see a charming countryside with quiet fields of waving
grain, changing almost instantly to lofty cliffs and the placid
waters of winding streams.
There are animals and birds, too, natives of moor and
woodland that are caught by the camera in the intimate
phases of their timid lives, all of which cannot fail to add
a mental, social and spiritual stimulus to those who view
the films.
12
THE MEANING OF THE BETTER FILMS MOVEMENT
It Is Designed to Improve and Instruct Every Element of Human
Society through Worth-while Entertainment Pictures
By Orrin g. Cocks
Advisory Secretary, National Board of Review of Motion Pictures
NO one worth talking to pretends that the motion
picture or the Better Films Movement will sup-
plant education or, unaided, save the world. The
film, and especially the better film, adapted to
the needs of young people, is, however, a mighty big agency
for teaching facts, motives, and consequences. It is doing
this daily and is helping both subtly and directly the
educator whose primary business is to develop the possi-
bilities of character tucked away in every youngster's soul.
More things are taught by indirection than this old world
dreams of. Just here, the ordinary film story gets in its
fine work on plastic minds.
The film catches people when they want amusement and
holds their attention with a real life story, while it drops
hints here and there which stick and thrill and warn and
create discontent with things as they are. You educators,
keep your boys and girls away from movies, if you do
not want them to learn something new about life!
The motion picture shines brightly when
it attempts to educate people in the less
formal fashion than that used in the schools
or colleges. Not all people spend their
formative years in school. A far larger
proportion, also, have never been drawn
to the big cities, where they are quickly
sophisticated, at least in the superficial
things of life. Some years ago the writer
was permitted to sit in a small motion pic-
ture house in a Minnesota river town. All
around him the audience was seeing most
marvelous things. They commented on in-
terior backgrounds, the furniture, the
clothes of the actors, the table furnishings
and the language of the subtitles, quite as
luch as they remarked the heroism of the
hero and the feminine sweetness of the
star. These people were learning what
were commonplaces to the New Yorker.
/~\RRIN G. COCKS, advisory secretary
How the Better Film Teaches
In all places, whether they are large or
lall, where humans congregate, the fundamental prin-
ciples of life need emphasis. The trouble is that none of
us likes to have these things thrust at us and be scolded
into living righteously. The better film, however, places
just the emphasis people need on moral values without
being mawkish or sentimental at the cost of truth. It
allows people to see that inevitably virtue is more satis-
factory or is triumphant. It makes clear with definite
illustration, and without preaching, that the results of evil
are some form of punishment. Easy money, clothes, posi-
tion or a good time, in fact, anything easy, that is not
striven for, is dangerous. On the other hand, the better
film reveals honorable success to be possible even to per-
sons whose lives are circumscribed. It stimulates the
imagination of rather dull people as they see other kinds
of life.
Without shouting about Americanism from the housetop,
it teaches this same desirable quality in the strongest ways
3y indirection. It does not have to hammer home the
moral. During the stirring days of war, a fine form of
of the National Board of Review
of Motion Pictures, has been one of
the outstanding workers in the Better
Films Movement for some years. His
articles, addresses, and personal advo-
cacy have contributed in no small de-
gree to the forwarding of this idea.
patriotism was developed by telling a simple human story
of a man or woman in the service of our country. The
audience gathers to itself something of the character of
those who on the screen resist allurements, live lives of
simple wholesomeness, and discover the dangers lurking
in things which are gaudy and attractive. It is just pos-
sible that these more indefinite forms of character building
are more worth while than those which are taught by the
more formal and direct methods.
But the better film also leads people into the realm of
good literature. There is a direct relationship between
the picture of "Les Miserables," "The Tale of Two Cities,"
"Lady of the Lake," or "Mill on the Floss," and the book
with all of its literary charm. Many persons have also
been led to observe that the great events of history have
been directed by real men, and they see the characters of
Washington, Lincoln, Napoleon, Jeanne d'Arc, Wilson,
Pershing or Foch in real life on the screen. They are led
also to a new understanding of classic
G| times, and live again through the wonder-
ful pictures of childhood as fairy tales are
presented for their entertainment. Educa-
tors may also rejoice over the ability of
the motion picture to bring vividly before
young minds out of the way places of the
earth and stirring events of the day,
whether they be on the high seas, the
western front, in the heart of the East In-
dies, or in the great cities. All this and
more is now being accomplished by the
motion picture, and far greater things are
coming along educational lines when per-
sons with a skilled interest in young peo-
ple's mental development shall also grasp
the technique of getting attractive and
scientifically accurate motion picture
effects.
Systematic Plan Now 4>y2 Years Old
The development of this phase of mo-
tion picture use is comparatively recent.
The National Board of Review recognized in 1910 or 1911
the possibilities in this new art. It found great groups
of people who were not being reached helpfully by the
ordinary amusement film. At the same time it discovered
through its daily examination of films that there were
many which were deserving of a larger and a different
circulation. It was hard, however, to convince people that
the power was in existence and was waiting to be har-
nessed. In September, 1914, a systematic plan was worked
out for the selection of especially fine pictures for the
family and for children. Films, also, which had educa-
tional value, were noted and the information was given to
those few daring souls who would use them. Steadily since
that time the movement has grown and spread until there
is now a general recognition of the actual forces of this
agency for molding character.
Few persons recognize, even today, the vast service which
motion pictures are rendering to society. The national
board found that the makers of pictures, in response to the
(Continued on page 28)
13
SCIENTIFIC
MICROMOTION STUDIES APPLIED TO EDUCATION*
Novel Use of Films to Reduce Waste in Process of Learning to a
Minimum — Saving 35 Minutes a Day Saves One Year of School Life
By A. A. Douglass and W. L. Dealey
Clark University, Worcester, Mass,
WITHIN recent years school progress has witnessed
remarkable advances in educational engineering,
including such devices as the junior high school
organization, the Gary duplicate-school system,
with maximum use of the school plant, the school survey,
and the various measuring scales for school subjects. From
among similar useful devices in modern industrial manage-
ment, micromotion study as developed by Gilbreth, a con-
sulting engineer of international
reputation, constitutes a method
admirably fitted to study methods
of instruction and the processes of
learning. During the 1916 school
year a first series of experiments
was conducted for the purpose of
testing the application of this
method to the schools. These pre-
liminary experiments have been
thus far in the field of practical
arts; and while the technique used
is more applicable to the arts,
indications are it is not limited to
them, but may be used with the
phonograph feature to study other
school subjects as well. This in-
vestigation will be carried into
these other subjects, and the ap-
plicability of the method to all
phases of school work thoroughly
tested.
It seems agreed that the ends of
practical arts courses lie in their
educative value and the acquisi-
tion of skill. The amount of skill
sought is a point of disagreement,
for some would subordinate its
acquisition entirely to educational
value, and others would develop
skill to a degree profitable to the
pupil in earning his living. Un-
less the general aim of "educa-
tional values" be closely scrutin-
ized and more immediate ends
interpolated, practical arts courses
Figure. 1. — Manual arts
class, eighth grade, Bridgham
School. Note chronometer
measuring thousandths of a
minute and clock alongside.
*This preliminary study was made in
co-operation with Frank B. Gilbreth and
L. M. Gilbreth, and contains many excerpts
from numerous articles and addresses de-
scribing the details and possibilities of their
standard measuring devices. The underly-
ing experimental work was done at Clark
University and in the Gilbreth laboratory.
Films and cyclegraphs were made by Gil-
breth and various of his experts at the
Bridgham Elementary School, Providence
(R. I.).
_ We take this opportunity to thank Prin-
cipal Leonard H. Campbell, Mr. Andersen,
in charge of manual training, and Miss
King, in charge of sewing, as well as other
members of the school staff, for their co-
operation and interest in this investigation.
Illustrations supplied through courtesy of
The Pedagogical Seminary.
are in the same danger of formalism as any other subject.
Also, unless it is determined just what constitutes skill,
whether it be for promoting creative activity or for more
utilitarian purposes, the educative process will be hindered.
Modern psychology, stating these two factors in terms of
situation and response, treats reaction as due to the inter-
action of innate capacity and previous situations containing
factors common to the new situation. The theory of interest
as laid down by Dewey asks that
a boy be allowed to choose his
project in manual arts, and in
other subjects the same principle
insists that subject-matter be psy-
chologized, or stated in terms of
capacity and experience. Because
of wide ranges in abilities and in
environmental factors, and on ac-
count of our present lack of
knowledge of the responses par-
ticular elements in a situation
produce, we cannot outline courses
or projects in a minutely detailed
fashion.
The waste in the process of
learning is due to ineffective and
ill-advised methods of handling
the elements in a situation, and an
ignorance of any method of elimi-
nating useless elements. In any
common school process, searching
investigation will usually show
surprising inefficiencies and pos-
sible improvements. The school
surveys are revealing conditions in
which the child's time is wasted in
useless activities and obsolete ma-
terial, or, in other words, surveys
are pointing out environmental
elements ineffective in producing
efficient responses. Economy of
time, says Ayres, will be secured
only when we realize the amount
of time at our disposal is a con-
stant, roughly about eight years;
so that saving 35 minutes a day
results in saving one year of school
life.
As two fundamental problems.
Learned therefore suggests, first,
how to have "educational processes
conclusively tested by competent
observation under experimental
control; second, how to profes-
sionalize the whole number of Figure 2.— Household arts
practitioners engaged in education c,ass- sixth grade, Bridgham
f^t. tU« „«1 C • t i School. Sewing machine
tor the sake of a quick and operation.
14
efficient response." (Note processes under test, Figs. 1, 2, 3.)
Our first attack, then, is the careful analysis of elementary
situations to evaluate the variables lying within them. As
the same situation may elicit multiple response, this method
of attack considers the behavior desired as a demand for a
certain response, and the child as a potential supply of
certain responses. With Thorndike, the mind is interpreted
as a connection system, and the educative process as the
building of connections. The importance of
definite tasks, or Aufgaben, with their corre-
sponding mental attitudes, is recognized. As
Ach puts it, by definite and concise instructions
we set up a dynamic factor as the determining
tendency which controls the child's response.
But in many classrooms the actual conditions
under which any such procedure — commonly
called a lesson assignment — takes place are
slightly analyzed. The absence of this analysis,
as Hosic aptly states, usually means low pres-
sure, much useless wandering, and great un-
evenness of results. Gilbreth suggests a few
well-chosen, first-class standards, or Aufgaben,
as much to be preferred to many ill-chosen,
imperfect standards, derived from uncontrolled
observation. To suppose that individuality is
thereby repressed is a common fallacy. Ac-
cording to Cooke, a standard is "simply a care-
fully thought out method of performing a func-
tion"; necessarily the best method known to
expert investigators working with the best type
of class; and as Snedden suggests, standard or
best scores are optimum, not maximum.
School tasks may be synthetically built up from
least wasteful units, allowing a definite per-
centage of time for rest and for unavoidable
delays; while after the child or teacher learns
the best way, he has a starting point for any
better method ingenuity can suggest. Such
tasks, as well as conditions, are continually
changing.
The standard motion is a synthesis based
upon analysis of the motion elements taken
from the records of various individuals, and
the best elements of the motions are combined
to form simpler, easier cycles arriving at the
same result. Among the elements of a cycle
of decisions and motions, concurrent with other
elements in the same or other cycles, and in
various sequences, Gilbreth suggests (1) search,
(2) find, (3) select, (4) grasp, (5) position,
(6) assemble, (7) use, (8) take apart, (9) in-
spect, (TO) transport, loaded, (11) pre-position
for next operation, (12) release load, (13)
transport, empty, (14) unavoidable delay, (15)
avoidable delay, (16) rest (for overcoming
fatigue). Unit times and motions grouped
under such rubrics may be applied to identical motions
used in many class exercises, for they afford the basis for
a "functional" reclassification of activities. It will hardly
be held that the best methods,1 in the practical arts, for
instance, have already been reached, even by those who
possess a fair degree of skill in them, so long as scientific
study of existing methods is wanting. While some unneces-
sary movements are eliminated, it is inconceivable that all
individuals will, after a time, arrive by a process of elimina-
tion at the most efficient method of procedure. It is reason-
able, in practical work, to teach "exact pre-
scribed motions that have been found to be the
most productive, the least fatiguing and the
least wasteful," at a speed most advantageous
to the child.
The variables in a child's behavior have been
roughly grouped as (1) those variables, that,
when taken together, constitute the situation,
by which (2) the child, itself a group of
variables, is affected, with (3) a further result-
ant group of variables in the response. Gil-
breth lists over a hundred such variables, any
one of which may be at least partially con-
trolled. As regards variables of the surround-
ings, it is important that the child be given
conditions requiring the "least percentage of
rest" to overcome fatigue. This involves com-
plete control of the class room by school hy-
giene, as in lighting, heating, ventilation, for
example, or as in posture. Special fatigue
eliminating devices become practical. Another
variable is the material to be used, which should
be in that state most easily handled by the child.
Thus weights moved, whether part of the body,
a tool, or material, are a factor. Moreover,
motions being largely determined by the ap-
pliances used, it is essential that all appliances
meet the motion economy standpoint. It is
especially important to supply children with
the proper tools, as otherwise the habits formed
will later interfere with the use of better tools.2
Care should be taken lest pupils waste their
time in activities which cannot be shown to have
functional value. The pupil's time is valuable
and should be spent upon productive learning.
{To be continued in the April number)
m man
ENGINEERS SEE BIG GUN FILMS
Motion pictures of the big guns that silenced the
best artillery the Germans could bring up were
shown members of the Cleveland Engineering
Society and the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers at the close of an all-day convention
in Cleveland on February 4. Methods of testing,
firing from railway carriages and mounting guns
on tractors were vividly portrayed on the screen.
Figure 3. — Household arts
class, sixth grade, Bridgham
School. Upper, cutting pat-
tern. Lower, ironing.
1 Wentworth has based assignments in algebra upon time studies. In
another school, of 70 tasks in the chemical laboratory set after three years'
actual time study, only 3 were found too long for the average student. God-
frey has worked out tasks in studying scientific text. In view of present
wide variations in the time required to prepare even similar material, such
random scientific analyses are important to illustrate the possibility of
setting tasks for mental work.
2 According to Emerson, we are still teaching our children to read fairy
tales instead of watching moving pictures; we teach them to write to the
exclusion of training on typewriters or in stenotypy; we painfully drill
into them multiplication tables instead of initiating them into the mysteries
of the slide rule; we teach them to add and subtract, neglecting im-
proved devices such as the comptometer; we teach drawing, but pay no
attention to the uses of photography; in short, our schools have not
advanced to the state of using modern devices.
"HOW LIFE BEGINS" SHOWN IN TROY
"How Life Begins," the remarkable four reel
motion picture showing the various stages of growth
of plant and animal life, was exhibited on February 19 before
several hundred women and girls at the Troy Boys' Club. The film
was presented under the auspices of the Young Women's Christian
Association.
9 9
NEW KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS PICTURE
A motion picture showing the regeneration of a young man
through naval discipline and Knights of Columbus activities was
screened at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 86 Carondelet Street,
New Orleans, recently. The three-reel film is from a story called
"Ensign Jack," written by Crofton M. Snow, Knights of Columbus
general secretary at Gulfport, Miss. The scene is laid at the Naval
Training Station, occupying the Mississippi Centennial grounds and
shows the boys at work and play. Chief Yeoman Rosenthal wrote
the scenario; Chaplain H. A. Spengler and Mr. Snow directed it.
15
A NEW "LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD"
Helen Hamilton's Version Acted by 360 Child
Players — All the New Photoplay Wrinkles Used
IN another article in this issue a librarian tells of how
she is showing "movies" for juveniles in her library
building and how the children are entertained with
fairy stories while waiting their turn to see the pictures
on the screen. She also writes that fairy tales stand Num-
ber One in popularity with the little ones of her city.
This is mentioned by way of introduction to the interesting
announcement that "Little Red Riding Hood," "Cinderella
and the Magic Slipper," and "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little
Star," are now in film form and are available for rental in
any part of the country. These picturizations of stories that
are as familiar to and as greatly beloved by the average child
as Fido and Pussy have been done for the screen by folks
who have kiddies of their own and for the sheer joy of
delighting the little heart of Young America. In all of
these productions juveniles are the actors and actresses, but
in many instances the acting is better than that of adults in
the ordinary picture.
The newest of the
folk-lore films is
"Little Red Riding
Hood," a five-part
feature by Helen
Hamilton, author of
t h e "Cinderella"
scenario. In makeup
and material it is en-
tirely new. In make-
up it shows the new-
est wrinkles — expert
photography, exquis-
ite settings, and
cameo close-ups. The
material is along the
new lines of realism in motion pictures: a real birthday
party and the magic dinner, with hundreds of children, a
real dog and pony circus, a real castle for the fairy queen
and many other spectacular scenes.
So adroitly has the story been handled that the elemental
theme stands out bold and clear: the wily wolf who ate the
grandmother, the bold wood-chopper who saved the dear
little girl's life, the final rescue of grandmother, alive. The
facts from folk-lore have been so beautifully embellished that
it is like the rubbing of Aladdin's lamp — everything happens
just as you want it to happen.
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM SHOWS FILMS
The following paragraph in the Children's Museum News
of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences indicates the
good use to which motion pictures are being put with
increasing frequency:
"The museum is fortunate in having been able to acquire
a number of motion picture films. A New York firm, re-
tiring from business, disposed of these pictures at a very
low figure, enabling us to buy some of the reels which related
to natural history and travel.
AN exciting moment in the juvenile pic-
ture, "Little Red Riding Hood." The
little actress seated is Mary Burton. There
are said to be 360 child players in the film.
"One of the films depicts a polar bear hunt in the Arctic.
A film on bird life shows the penguins and their peculiar
habits, the kingfisher, solan geese, or 'Malagas' on Malagas
Island, where it is estimated that 400,000 birds live in an
area of 300 square yards. There are also films on flowers,
lumbering, the silkworm, lobsters, crabs, an electric fish,
Japan, Colorado, Hawaii, Yosemite Valley, and the Yellow-
stone National Park.
"With such a collection the permanent property of the
museum it will be possible for us to exhibit motion pictures
to visiting classes upon request of teachers, provided requests
are made two days before the film is to be shown."
Films are coming to be considered as essentially a part of
the equipment of libraries and other educational institutions
as books and lecturers.
9 9
FILM EXTRAVAGANZAS FINE ENTERTAINMENT
Do you remember, when you were small, how you used
to enjoy the big stage spectacles — "Jack and the Beanstalk"
and "Cinderella" and "Ben Hur" and those huge melodramas
and pantomimes from Drury Lane across the seas? It was a
good deal like going to the circus in those happy, care-free,
childhood days, wasn't it? And what fun we children did
have!
Now they are putting those spectacles and extravaganzas
on the motion picture screen instead of the spoken stage and
the same wonderful effects, or even more wonderful, may be
seen dancing and whirling with kaleidoscopic activity and
with photographic reality and verity. Although the screen
is smaller than the stage, the scope of the pictures has been
greatly widened and now hundreds of players may appear in
a single scene from a single act. The costuming, the settings,
the colorings are even more lavish and beautiful in the film
productions. If Drury Lane pantomime made such a strong
and vivid appeal on the stage, why not on the moving, living
screen? Why not, forsooth?
Something new in motion pictures !
That's what the William Fox extravaganzas are, and since
their release these productions have proved to be among the
finest features in filmland. In "Fan Fan" and "Ali Baba and
the Forty Thieves," Mr. Fox has two great successes.
"Fan Fan" is a play of Japan, the land of the Rising
Sun. It is a big spectacle, telling a big story, replete with
atmosphere. Ancient customs are revived with historic
fidelity. Months were spent in preparing the settings, and
the picture is presented with the true richness of the Orient.
"Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" is from the familiar
tale of the Arabian Nights, which has been published in
eighty-nine languages. The scenes are laid in Persia. An
ancient Persian city was created with historic exactness.
"Ali Baba" is refreshing and keeps the whole family
amused. The hardened cynic about whom one reads so
much had better beware, for here is something different
that will startle him into good nature in spite of himself.
Other Fox extravaganzas available are: "Jack and the
Beanstalk," "Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp," "The
Babes in the Woods," and "Treasure Island."
16
RELIGIOUS
HOW CLEVELAND CHURCHES ARE USING FILMS
Reverend Harvey E. Holt, Pastor of North Presbyterian Church, is Giving
Regular "Movie" Shows Every Sunday Night in Place of Sermons.
Reverend J. Ross Green, Pastor of Calvary Congregational, and Reverend
Frederick Brownlee, Pastor of Pilgrim Congregational, Are Also Weekly
Exhibitors — Cinema Club of Cleveland Co-operating
R
ELIGION in the city of Cleveland means more than
sleepy sermons and uninspired services. Religion
The Fifth City" of the United States is an
in
active living force for good and the church there
is militant in an ethical, spiritual and social sense. Many
of the local clergymen are firm believers in the slogan :
"Pictures in the Pulpit Mean More People in the Pews."
At North Presbyterian Church, Superior Avenue and East
40th Street, an interesting experiment in church "movies" is
being undertaken by Reverend Harvey E. Holt who has had
this pastorate in charge since March of last year. When he
took hold of this work he found that most of
the 250 members of the congregation had
moved out of the district and that the church
was in the heart of a foreign neighborhood,
made up of Croatians, Slovenians, Czecho-
slovaks, Ruthenians, Lithuanians and Rou-
manians. It is a factory section and many, if
not most, of the residents are Catholics. Mr.
Holt faced a real problem. It was a man's
size job. but he plunged right into it. He
still calls it an experiment, but apparently
he has "made good" in the twelve months he
has been "on the job." And Sunday night
"movies" have been the biggest factor in his
success.
He's Turning Them Away
The first Sunday night show at the church
was given on December 1. The main audi-
torium seats 500 and on the last few Sundays
every seat has been occupied and many out-
side on the sidewalk have clamored for ad-
mission. No admission fee is charged but an
offering is taken up, and so far the collections
have more than covered the cost of film
rentals and advertising. About half of those
attending the shows are Catholic children
and adults, but no attempt is pr will be made
to make converts of them to Presbyterianism
or Protestantism. It is frankly community
work of a noble, unselfish kind which this
church and other Cleveland churches are
doing — social work which tends to raise the moral and edu-
cational tone of the entire community and helps to make
this progressive Ohio town on the lake "The First City"
in mass benefactions and humanitarian betterment.
Mr. Holt's Sunday night programs of films are inter-
spersed with simple but attractive services. Sermons are
confined to Sunday mornings only. The schedule followed
on Sunday evenings is: 1, song service; 2, scripture read-
ing and prayer; 3, wording of songs thrown on screen from
slides, while entire congregation sings; 4, travelog or scenic
I film; 5. offering to cover expense of films, operator, light,
DEV. HARVEY E. HOLT, al-
*■* though still a very young
man, has made his work count
in church circles. Graduating
from McCormick Theological
Seminary, Chicago, in 1913, fol-
lowing his A. B. degree in 1910
from Carroll College, Waukesha,
Wis., he was sent to Hungary as
an Immigrant Fellow of the Pres-
byterian Board of Home Mis-
sions to make a racial study of
the Magyars and worked among
them until several months after
the war began. For two years
he was pastor of Mayflower
Presbyterian Church, Cleveland,
and in 1916 engaged in a special
survey among the Hungarians
of New York City, work which
occupied six months under the
direction of the New York Pres-
bytery and Holland Reformed
Church. In March, 1918, Mr.
Holt entered upon his present
charge, which
foreigners.
heat, etc.; 6, two-reel feature film; 7, benediction and
dismissal.
Some of the motion pictures shown at North Presbyterian
Church have been Bruce scenics; two of the little Mary
McAllister pictures from "Do Children Count?" entitled
"Kingdom of Hope" and "Bridge of Fancy"; Burton Holmes
travelogs; and the Lincoln Cycle of ten episodes, two reels
to each episode. The latter series started Sunday night,
February 9. There has also been a spoken lecture on travel,
with lantern slides. The projector used is an old model
Edison, but the pastor says it is in good condition and
giving satisfactory results. The screen is sit-
uated in the rear of the organ. There is a
fireproof booth and the janitor of the church,
a licensed operator, is in charge of projection.
The Church As An Educator
"This is essentially a community theatre,"
said Mr. Holt, "with the social, civic, moral
and educational idea influencing this foreign
neighborhood on the entertainment side. We
get their interest by showing films that are
interesting and amusing, and while doing this
we are appealing to their better natures, we
are teaching them things they would probably
never learn in any other way, we are making
better citizens of them, we are educating them
if you please. There is no theatre worthy of
the name in this section and our church is
their playhouse. It is also their schoolhouse,
their community centre. Some day these
children, we believe, will bless us for what
we are doing for them. I think their parents
already feel that way about it. It is still in
an experimental stage, but we are satisfied
with results as far as we have gone."
Mr. Holt feels that there are large possi-
bilities for useful social and community
work in his church district and he regards
motion pictures as the logical and natural
method of reaching these foreigners with the
is also "among right message. In no other way, he thinks,
could he have accomplished such practical
results in so short a period. If his present plans develop
as successfully as he anticipates, he hopes to enlarge upon
the work and perhaps give "movie" shows of the same
general character on weekdays as well as Sundays.
Two Congregational "Progressives"
Reverend J. Ross Green, of Calvary Congregational
Church, 1815 Knowles Avenue, is another enterprising
pastor who, although equipped with a small portable pro-
jector, is accomplishing things with films in his church.
(Continued on page 29)
17
LIGHT IN DARK PLACES
An Impressionistic Sketch of "Fires of Faith"
a Motion Picture of the Army of Salvation
By A. H. Shirk
T
HUMP, thump, thump! Bang, bang, bang "
A sound of strident music playing a half-
forgotten hymn, and the rattle of tambourine
mingled with voices, untrained, singing.
A noisome corner of the East Side, some foul spot near
Cherry Hill or Mulberry Bend, dark usually save for the
fitful glare from a street lamp or the yellowish gleam from
some ginshop, but lighted now by the flare of a gas torch
round which is assembled a little knot of uniformed men
and women above whose heads two banners flaunt the night
breeze — one, the Stars and Stripes, the other a familiar flag
with a design in the center emblematic of the cause for
which these people are struggling.
Drawn to the light, like moths, are bits of human flotsam
and jetsam, dregs of humanity: gray-bearded and dissolute
old men, with eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep and over-
indulgence in stimulants; women, some young, some old,
with haggard faces, leering or pathetically drawn with
hunger, cold, sickness, dissipation; young men, with
drooping cigarettes
and slouching gait —
poor remnants o f
mankind, hopeless,
yet drawn by some
inner voice to this
little oasis, perhaps
from curiosity, pos-
sibly from a deeper
motive.
From overhead a
few drifting snow-
flakes carried hither
and thither by the
wind; tattered, flap-
ping garments ; in the
distance, discordant
voices; a cry of dis-
tress, a blow, a sound
of someone weeping,
a baby's plaintive
whining, ribald
laughter — an oath — far
And still the Army of Salvation, or this little bit of it,
plays on, sings on — and the moths draw closer.
Soon the banners are raised, the band brays louder still,
the procession moves off, followed by a few of the straggling
crowd. Into some humble hall — perhaps an old store build-
ing in the heart of the tenderloin — they go, and from the
platform, perhaps only old soap boxes, the leader harangues
the crowd, others testify to their own salvation from lives
once regarded as hopeless until the pathway was found that
led out of the darkness — more hymns, more music — and a
few wastrels with bended knee and bowed head render their
vows to follow the Light — eyes lifted falling upon a rudely
printed sign, "Feed My Sheep "
'T'HE entire staff of the Salvation Army
-*- in the United States appears in the pic-
ture "Fires of Faith." This scene from
the film includes: (left to right, group in
foreground), Commander Evangeline Booth,
leader of the Salvation Army in this coun-
try; Col. William R. Peart, national execu-
tive secretary; Col. Edwin J. Parker (back
turned), secretary of military affairs; Col.
Alexander Damon, field secretary, home
relief; Col. Thomas Stanyon, social relief
secretary; Col. Gustav Reinhardson, finan-
cial secretary; and Brigadier Charles Welte,
director of purchase and shipping, overseas
department.
off, a police whistle-
I see another vision:
A shattered building somewhere in France, turned tem-
porarily into a Red Cross base hospital; Red Cross nurses
dart here and there caring for wounded, overworked, faint-
ing with fatigue, yet never faltering. Just as the ordeal
seems too great for human flesh to endure, come khaki-clad
figures with the initials "S. A." upon their shoulders.
Women who, perhaps, once have dragged weary feet through
the gutters of the city's slums, now clear-eyed and sure-
footed, aid their sisters of the Crimson Cross, ministering
to brave men who have gone down beneath the merciless
fire of the arch-enemy.
Again — in a hutment, still in France — I see great heaps
of doughnuts, of pies, steaming cauldrons of coffee, and
lines of weary, dry-throated, empty-stomached doughboys,
eagerly waiting their turn as Salvation Army lassies dis-
tribute the welcome provender.
A flash and a sound of hissing — an explosion — a Hun
aeroplane darts away while beneath is a scene of havoc.
Out of the ruins a woman in the Salvationist's uniform
crawls painfully, unmindful of her hurts, to minister again
to those for whom she is giving of her best. Once she was —
but what of that? The past is buried and she is rendering
to the Master the sacrifice that he demanded — "a cup of
cold water — in His name "
Such is the work of the Salvation Army. Such is the
unselfed love that has prompted them through weary years
of struggle and contumely. Such is their story, as told in
"Fires of Faith," the new Paramount-Artcraft motion pic-
ture directed by Edward Jose.
I have seen the picture, in an advance studio showing, and
I can vouch for the fact that it is a faithful record, though
by no means propaganda, of the work accomplished by this
band of workers who have known no depth too great to
prevent their sounding it, if it meant that by so doing they
could save a soul and obey in some degree the command,
"Feed My Sheep."
This is not all of the picture. It is a moving, living,
breathing, vital story of peace and war; of human hearts
wrung in the mangles of fate; of destinies intertwined; of
love and duty, sacrifice, anguish, joy, victory, peace, and
attainment.
It is the picture of a decade — a vital message to all hu-
manity— a picture that will live as a record of a strange
and epochal period in world history.
\m imp
"RAVISHED ARMENIA" ON THE SCREEN
The first half of the film shown at the Hotel Plaza, New York,
recently, consists of four reels of scenes showing Armenia as it
was before Turkish and German devastation, and leads up to the
deportation of priests and thousands of families into the desert.
One of the concluding scenes shows young Armenian women flogged
for their refusal to enter Turkish harems.
"The whole purpose of the picture is to acquaint America with
ravished Armenia," said Mrs. Oliver Harriman, chairman of the
motion picture committee of the American Committee for Relief
in the Near East, "to visualize conditions so that there will be no
misunderstanding in the mind of any one about these terrible things."
18
"MOVIES'' AT THIS LIBRARY
Introduced Six Years Ago Into the Ottawa, Illinois, Public
Library, the Films Have Stimulated the Demand for Books
from Children and Made the Institution A Real Com-
munity Centre
By Vera J. Snook
Librarian, Reddicks Public Library, Ottawa, Illinois
MOTION pictures were introduced into the Ottawa.
Illinois, Public Library six years ago by an
energetic board president who realized that the
institution lacked some of the features of a
modern, progressive public library. At the same time he
placed in the auditorium a first class Victrola and a stere-
opticon machine.
Local playhouse men have always furnished an operator
for us, his expenses, of course, being paid from the library
funds. At present this is $3 for the afternoon.
At first films were ordered through a local theatre, but
were not always satisfactory. Naturally we could not
expect a local dealer to aid our shows, which were free;
consequently, we soon ordered our own films. These vary
in price from $3.75 to $6.00, depending on our program.
We also pay the expressage both ways, which usuallv
amounts to 80 cents.
Being nearest to Chicago, we order from Chicago houses
and have found the following most satisfactory: Atlas
Educational Film Company, 63 East Adams Street; George
Kleine System, 63 East Adams Street; Universal Film
Exchange, Inc., 220 South State Street. We have not as
yet ordered from the last named but we expect to soon.
Our picture shows are really very interesting. The
children form a more interesting moving picture than the
films.
The Method of Procedure
At the beginning of the school year the juvenile librarian
visits each room in each public and parochial » school.
Among other things she tells the children when the "movies"
will start, emphasizes conduct, and leaves a program which
covers the films for half a year.
The first show begins at 1:30 o'clock each Saturday after-
noon. The children come early — some very early. The
children's department is on the ground floor; the adult on
the second; and the museum and auditorium on the third.
Tickets are given at the door by Boy Scouts who act as
pages. When a sufficient number of children has assembled,
they are allowed to march up to the auditorium which has
a seating capacity of 150. Boy Scouts act as "maintainers
of order." A Boy Scout takes the tickets at the door,
another plays the Victrola, and another opens and closes
the windows before and between shows. The scouts have
badges and do not receive any remuneration for their
services. A local music dealer has given us permission to
select each Saturday any records we desire from his stock.
The children are fond of marches, patriotic and instru-
mental pieces.
While the first show is being given the children are as-
sembling for the second. One hundred and fifty children in
a juvenile department are not exactly quiet; consequently,
students of dramatic art, kindergarten and grade school
teachers have been asked to entertain these children with
stories. The little folks sit around on the floor, chairs and
tables.
When the first show is over, in order to prevent conges-
tion on the stairs, the children are marched out of the front
entrance of the second floor and the children who have been
(Continued an page 20)
DEMOBILIZED
The Universal Motion Picture Camera played its
part effectively in times of war. The U. S. Signal
Corps men who used the Universal exclusively in
the war zone to record the Yankee participation in
the Big Scrap are all enthusiastic about this camera,
and the way it stood the most exacting tests ever
encountered by any camera.
They tell in glowing phrases of Universal efficiency,
ease of loading and the rapidity with which it
can be set up. The amount of knocking and bang-
ing around it will stand without getting out of order,
develops in each man who has used the Universal
a fondness for his instrument akin to the fondness
of the sharpshooter for his pet rifle.
Now the Universal has been demobilized. The
U. S. government does not need all the resources
of our motion picture plant any longer, and we
are at liberty to put this tried and true machine at
the service of the civilian photographer for use
in every field where the motion picture camera is
needed.
THE EXPLORER AND THE UNIVERSAL
The Universal has not only proven its top-notch efficiency
in the military field, but explorers and travelers who have
used it are enthusiastic in its praises. Martin Johnson,
the noted explorer who succeeded in making pictures
of the man-eating savages of the Solomon Islands, swears
by his trusty Universal. And he is not the only well-
known explorer who is Universal equipped.
UNIVERSAL ALL-ROUND UTILITY
Universal Cameras have been used with the greatest satis-
faction by studio men, newspaper men, commercial photog-
raphers, and those engaged in the making of educational
films: There are so many features of excellence in the
Universal Camera that it would be impossible to detail
them all in one advertisement. We therefore invite you to
write for the Universal booklet which gives you full par-
ticulars about the one-piece construction, the adjustable
shutter, the automatic dissolve, Universal tilting and pano-
ramic tripod, and all the other features which make up
the motion picture perfection attained in the Universal.
Write for it at once, and learn how the camera that made
good for Uncle Sam is made.
BURKE & JAMES, Inc.
250 E. Ontario Street
Cine Department Chicago, Illinois
Eastern Branch: 22S Fifth Avenue, New York
19
{Continued from page 19)
listening to the stories march upstairs. The children out-
side then either go in to hear the stories and get their books,
if they have not already got them, or go home. Each show
lasts three quarters of an hour. As a rule we have three
and sometimes four shows. Occasionally postal cards
loaned by Ottawa tourists are shown. Practically every
country has been shown in this manner.
Pictures the Children Like
The children are fond of fairy tales, comedies, war and
patriotic pictures, dramatizations of stories or events with
which they are familiar, such as the landing of the Pilgrims,
Paul Revere's ride, animal pictures, travel, if very attractive,
and industry to a very limited extent. Mary Pickford,
Douglas Fairbanks and other favorites would be very pop-
ular if it were within the library funds and purpose to have
them. In this respect the library is not a competitor of the
local playhouses. It is wise to balance strictly educational
pictures with a comedy or the children think they have been
imposed upon.
I know of nothing more effective as a means of advertis-
ing a library than motion pictures. As soon as school
starts we are asked many times at the library and on the
street, "When do the movies begin?" Practically all the
children who are old enough take books and the little tots
are anxious to begin.
It is to be regretted that the supply of films for such a
purpose as this is not more extensive. Undoubtedly, as the
demand grows so will the supply. I have been told that
some of the larger libraries have installed motion picture
machines, but to what extent and how they are using them
I cannot say.
Program for Ten Saturdays
The following films were ordered from the Atlas Educa-
tional Film Company, Chicago. The films for the rest of
the year will be ordered from another exchange and will
probably contain some fairy tales, which are favorites with
the children:
November 16: "Joan of Arc" — A splendid historical feature show-
ing the exciting life and tragic death of the Maid of Orleans. "Rip
Van Winkle" — A beautiful picturization of the famous old story,
with Rip and his faithful dog, the merry villagers, the strange little
men of the mountains, Rip's twenty- year nap, and his subsequent
return, all tattered and torn, to his loved ones.
November 23: "A Day With the Belgian Army"— Shows King
Albert's gallant men marching, resting, playing and fighting. "A
Day With the U. S. Fleet." "Last Rites of the Maine" — An im-
pressive picture of the Maine and its burial at sea. "Battle of
Trafalgar" — A vivid story of Admiral Nelson's last battle, which is
full of thrilling scenes.
November 30: "Adventures of Ulysses" — The famous Greek legend.
"It's a Bear" — Frolics of a faked bear.
December 7: "Fall of Troy" — The well-known Grecian story.
"Runaways" — An amusing story of a little boy who couldn't go
fishing and a little girl who couldn't have jam. Thinking themselves
terribly abused, they pack up and run away. But after many terrible
adventures they are glad to come home.
December 21: "Night Before Christmas"— Little Mr. Mischief
follows Santa Claus home. "Didn't Believe in Santa Claus" — A rich
little boy has Santa Claus pay a little girl a visit. "A Waif of the
Mountains" — A charming story of a little waif. "The Parson's Horse
Race" — A real story with real fun in it.
December 28: "Lady of the Lake" — The visualized story of Sir
Walter Scott's beautiful poem.
January 4: "King Rene's Daughter" — A brilliant production, in-
cluding many beautiful scenes with a fascinating story. "Pony
Express Rider" — A western story of a cowboy's experiences and thrill-
ing riding.
January 11: "Snowball and His Pal" — A beautiful white horse
saves his master from the Indians, then brings the United States
soldiers and saves the entire family. "A Study in Animals" —
Artistically colored pictures of animals, large and small. "Quaran-
tined"— A father's frantic efforts to break quarantine forms the
theme of this story. There are many humorous scenes.
January 18: "Sunny California." "War of the Elements" — Tor-
nadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods. "Hoboes' Invention" —
Two weary Willies sell sausage machine to butcher, but come to grief.
January 25 : "Life of Lincoln," biography. "Greedy George," comedy.
Directors and camera men
rely on the latitude, speed and
dependability of
EASTMAN
FILM
That this confidence is not
misplaced is shown by the re-
sults on the screen.
Identifiable by the words "Eastman" and "Kodak'
on the film margin
EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY,
ROCHESTER, N. Y.
"HOW LIFE BEGINS"— 4 Parts
A wonderful screen version, giving a clearer understanding of life itself.
JNow being used by the United States Government in
Camp and Civilian Communities.
Of inestimable value in the class room, welfare and social center.
This Subject with French, Italian, Spanish and Russian Titles
Living embryo of chick 52 hours old. From "How Life Begins.'
For rental and purchase prices address
Exhibitors Booking Agency, 220 W. 42nd St., N. Y.
Our experts review every picture that is produced. Let us plan your educational
and entertainment programs for the year.
Films Translated into all Foreign Languages.
All work, including Technical Subjects, Guaranteed.
We are in the market for negatives of Educational subjects.
20
THE PICTURED MESSAGE
Church Increases Its Sunday Night Attendance
from 100 to Nearly 400 by Showing Stereopticon
Views
By rev. Dr. Thomas H. Sprague
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Troy, N. Y.
IN an effort to overcome the difficulty of drawing a Sun-
day evening audience, I am at present making frequent
use of the stereopticon. Practically all of our churches
in the city complain of the very small Sunday evening
attendance. Some of them have given up altogether and
make no pretense of holding an evening service at all.
While we have always been able to gather a sufficient
number of people to hold such a service even without extra
attractions, the auditorium would very frequently be woe-
fully empty, very often having perhaps only a hundred
persons present. With the special effort now made with the
assistance of the stereopticon and other attractions the
number is largely increased. Since the first of the year, for
the eight services held, our total Sunday evening attendance
has amounted to nearly 3,000 — the largest Sunday evening
church attendance in the city.
The use of the stereopticon in no way interferes with the
spirit of worship. In many cases it can assist that spirit.
The picture holds the eye, arrests the attention, and reaches
the heart, whereas the spoken message of itself will very
often fail of its object. Vision is of tremendous value in
the conveying of truth to the mind and heart and the truth
conveyed by a picture will remain longer than if it is only
expressed in words.
Pictures are used in almost every other realm; why should
they not be used in religious work? Especially if the effort
is made to emphasize and make more vivid and real the
truth which the speaker is endeavoring to convey. It is
surely proper to draw people by any legitimate method if
when you have them you can give them something to help
them in their daily life and thinking. General Booth at
one time said, "You can't preach to people unless they get
within the range of your voice."
I have no objection to moving pictures in the church
if shown with a definitely religious purpose. But it is a
question whether they are as effective as the still picture in
presenting spiritual truths. It is not always easy for the
eye to follow the constantly changing picture and listen
to a connected message at the same time.
I use in my services a double dissolving lantern with high
power Edison Mazda lamp, thus doing away with the objec-
tionable hissing, spluttering noises accompanying the use of
arc lamps or gas. It is absolutely noiseless.
Many War Slides Shown
Many of the pictures I have shown in my church have
been connected with the great war. For example, I have
given a series respectively on America, France, Belgium
and Britain in their relation to the conflict. With so many
splendid pictures existing it is worth while to have the very
best that can be obtained in order to appeal to the audience
present. I have also used many pictures illustrating inci-
dents from the life of our Lord which afford splendid op-
portunities for pressing home great spiritual truths.
I suppose if I looked upon my church as a select body of
people gathered together for self-adulation, self-culture and
(Continued on page 22)
Slide Colorists to the N. Y. State Educational Department
LECTURERS
EDUCATIONAL
COMMERCIAL
ADVERTISERS
SLIDES
Scott & Van Altena, Inc.
6 EAST 39th STREET NEW YORK
© Underwood & Underwood
ANEUIL HALL
Called the "Cradle of
Liberty," because from
the deliberations of the
patriots who assembled
there sprang the divine
inspiration of liberty
which was to spread its
influence as the beacon
* | ^ light of freedom for all
I the world.
This illustration is
slide No. 4 in the Under-
wood "World Visualized"
School Series, which, to-
gether with many others
in the set, contains the
germ of Patriotism.
The Underwood System of Visual Instruction, compris-
ing Thousands of Lantern Slides, extends the environment
of the school-room to the whole world, giving the pupils
the personal experience of being in every country and
actually coming into personal contact with the various
industries and activities of the world — creating an absorb-
ing interest in their studies and supplementing their text-
books in the most practical way.
Send for new lists of Special Lantern Slides on
Astronomy, Birds, Botany and Floriculture, Entomology,
Famous Paintings, Physics, Zoology, Maps, Flags, and
many others.
Ask us about Educational Motion Picture
Films
UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD
Dept. EF
417 Fifth Avenue, New York
21
{Continued from page 21)
the development of their own spiritual life alone, I would
not worry about trying to draw the masses. But the church
should minister to the community and if a church is content
with ekeing out its own existence, doing nothing to minister
in a large way to the community in which it exists, careless
and indifferent concerning the multitude, not making an
effort even though it be, if necessary, by exceptional and
extraordinary methods, to reach the people, it surely cannot
be said to be doing God's work in the world.
I fully concur with a prominent minister in the metropolis
who says: "Organized religion never had as many com^
petitors as now. Her leaders who sit down in smug satis-
faction with empty churches because people can come and
hear the Gospel if they desire are not followers of the
Master, but are Pharisees and blind leaders. When the
invited guests failed to respond the Host said: 'Go out in
the byways and hedges and compel them to come in.' The
Master created a sensation with a whip that caused talk and
brought an audience. He preached from a boat to the
people gathered by the novelty. Can anyone imagine him
as preaching to empty seats if a modern unusual or even
criticised form of publicity would gather an audience?"
New Method of Gospel Appeal
I am now in the midst of a series of Sunday evening
stereopticon messages using by this method a new form of
Gospel appeal. Mark you, not a new Gospel but a new
method. I take a well-known Bible passage as the keynote
of the address and throw upon the canvas splendid repro-
ductions in color from great artists like Copping, Hoffman,
Raphael, etc., illustrating scenes from the life of Christ,
thus emphasizing the truths sought to be conveyed. The
stereopticon is also used for the reading of the Scripture
and beautifully illuminated songs are sung.
To show that the method finds approval is seen in the
following excerpt from an editorial in one of our daily
papers in a favorable comment on my work in this direc-
tion:— -"To use the stereopticon as an evangelist is to recog-
nize the greater amplitude of the eye gate than the ear gate
as an approach to the temple of the soul. The position of
Dr. Sprague is eminently sensible. The most effective
preachers have been those who have pictorialized their
thought even if no more than in word painting. And what
are the parables of Jesus but picture galleries, in which
often the eye was turned to an actual landscape or to a
visible group of persons?"
Advertising Folder Used by Church
The following is a reproduction of a four-page folder,
printed in red and black, which I have had distributed to
the members of my church and to many others interested in
the pictured pulpit message:
STEREOPTICON EVANGELISTIC SERVICES
The Different Method of Gospel Appeal
BEAUTIFUL PICTURES FROM THE LIFE OF JESUS
AS PORTRAYED BY GREAT ARTISTS
MARCH 2
"What Will A Man Give In Exchange for His Soul?"
Splendid reproductions in color from Copping, Hoffman, Guido
Ruler, Dives and Lazarus, The Good Shepherd, Judas Bargaining,
The True Vine, Lazarus at Door of Dives, Behold I Stand At the
Door, etc., etc., etc.
Illuminated Hymns will also be sung by the congregation and
selections rendered by the choir.
MARCH 9
"Ye Must Be Born Again."
Among other beautiful pictures will be shown Dixon's "The First
(Continued on page 23)
PROJECTION
APPARATUS
For All Purposes
LANTERN SLIDES
from 60,000 Negatives
covering the Universe
Complete Sets With Manuscripts
CHAS. BESELER CO.
131 East 23rd Street
New York
"All that the Name Implies"
EXCELSIOR
Highest Quality Possible in
Lantern Slides
Clear, Brilliant, Photographically Perfect
Lecture Slides Made to Order
Singly or in Sets
We have exceptional facilities for producing special
slides from your photographs, drawings, maps, charts,
diagrams or other copy, in black and white or any num-
ber of colors desired. Particular attention to the needs
of schools, colleges, churches, clubs and similar insti-
tutions.
// you are looking for the best,
not for the cheapest, in Lecture
Slides, write TODAY to
SPECIAL SERVICE DEP'T.
EXCELSIOR ILLUSTRATING CO.
219 Sixth Ave. New York City
!
22
(Continued from page 22)
Temptation"; Hoffman's "Christ and the Adulterous Woman";
Copping's "'The Lost Coin"; Plockhurst's "The Consoling Christ";
"Jesus Eating With the Publicans," etc., etc.
"Abide With Me" illustrated with ten slides will be sung. Beau-
tiful and appropriate scenes have been selected to illustrate the
sentiment of the hymn. The slides are artistically colored, some of
the sunset and night effects in this and other hymns are the finest
known in the slide colorist's art.
MARCH 16
"Lo I Am With You All the Days."
In this message views will be shown from the Life of Jesus as
portrayed by Overbeck, Dietrick, Zimmerman, Copping, Da Vinci,
Beale, Raphael, Hoffman, and others.
Among these ivill be "Raising the Widow's Son"; "In the Home
of Martha and Mary"; "Christ and Peter"; "Supper at Emmaus";
"Christ and the Fishermen"; "The Resurrection," etc., etc.
"Jesus Saviour Pilot Me" illustrated with nine slides and other
illuminated hymns will be sung.
MARCH 23
"// We Confess Our Sins."
• In this message two intensely interesting stories from the Bible will
be illustrated with the stereopticon : "The Healing of Naaman, the
Leper," and "The Cure of the Blind Man" in John 9.
"Rock of Ages" illustrated with nine beautifully colored pictures
will be sung and also the illuminated hymns, "Jesus Keep Me Near
the Cross" and "There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood."
MARCH 30
"The Journey of Life."
Illustrated by more than forty views reproducing Bunyan's
Immortal Allegory "Pilgrims Progress."
"Sun of My Soul," "Guide Me 0 Thou Great Jehovah," illumined,
will be sung by the audience and selections rendered by the choir.
Come with your friends and spend pleasant Sunday evenings with
us and receive help for daily life.
April 6 — Stereopticon Message — "The Last Journey of Jesus."
April 13 — Stereopticon Message — ''The Passion Play."
SLIDE NOTES AND COMMENT
An illustrated travel talk on the Holy Land was given on a recent
afternoon at the "At Home" of the Y. W. C. A. in the Association
building, Trenton, N. J., by Miss Frances Dorrance of the Public
Library.
Royal D. Farnum, superintendent of applied and fine arts of
Mechanic Institute, Rochester, N. Y., gave an illustrated lecture on
"Color, Its Orderly Arrangement as Applied to Everyday Life,"
before the home arts and crafts section of the domestic arts and
science department of the Woman's Club of Albany, N. Y., on
January 24.
J. H. Eschman, using 150 lantern slides depicting Hindu life,
lectured at the Lake Harriet Commercial Club, Minneapolis, Minn.,
on January 31, on "My Experiences in British India."
G. P. Fougery, president of the Societie France-Amerique, illus-
trated his lecture on "Chateaux and Country Life of France," at the
Y. W. C. A., Syracuse, N. Y., recently with interesting stereopticon
slides.
At the Albany, N. Y., Y. W. C. A., Miss Mary L. Waite is using
slides to illustrate her talks on "France of Today."
For the benefit of the relief work of the Daughters of the Amer-
ican Revolution Miss Lida Rose McCabe recently gave an illustrated
lecture on Madame de Lafayette at Central Presbyterian Church,
Columbus, Ohio.
LeRoy Jeffers lectured on "National Wonders of the United States
and Canada." February 2, at the Lenox Avenue Unitarian Church,
New York City. Two hundred colored views were shown.
John Beverley Robinson, formerly professor of architecture at
Washington University, gave an illustrated lecture before members
of the City Club, St. Louis, Mo., recently. His topic was "Egypt,
the Magnificent, the Cradle of Civilization."
rt^cfii
teoc^t^pCcsisp
dlne'&xlucal^mTieiria/o^^h^^,
70 FIFTH AVENUE
NEW YORK
The Only Radical Improve-
ment in Stereopticons in the
Last Fifty Years
Automatic Electric
Slide Projector
fl B'
KH
2\ Tl
■
This Lantern Ordered in Quantity by
The Y. M. C. A. for War Work.
A boon to the Educational Field.
The Machine saves its initial cost by elimi-
nating the expense of an operator.
Can be worked AT ANY DISTANCE by a
push button.
No operator or assistant required, the
Lecturer having entire control in his hand.
Operated from any electric light socket,
A. C. or D. C. current.
To Operate. Place slides in holder "A" in the
order to be shown, insert plug in electric outlet,
take Push Button in hand and press Button to in-
stantly change the slide.
Slides will drop consecutively into receiver "B"
and be ready for use again.
Write for further information and price
Manufactured and Sold Only by
Auto-Slyde and Moving Picture Machine Co.
Incorporated
104 CENTRE STREET NEW YORK CITY
23
Here They Are!
#
PICTURES
Cinderella Dreams of Happier Days
Little Red Riding Hood Meets the Wolf
Played by Juveniles - for Juveniles and Adults
In response to the universal demand 'for wholesome film pro-
ductions we have now available for bookings.
"CINDERELLA AND THE MAGIC SLIPPER"
Four Parts - All Star Juvenile Cast
"LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD"
Starring Mary Burton, age Eleven Years
"TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE STAR"
Starring Zoe Rae, age Eleven Years, and Dorphia Brown, age Four Years
FUTURE RELEASES
"Humpty Dumpty"
"Cat and the Fiddle"
"Puss and Boots"
"Tom Thumb"
"Little Bo-Peep"
"Old Mother -Hubbard"
"Mother Goose"
"Little Jack Horner"
and Others
Scene from "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little
Star," Starring Zoe Rae and
Dorphia Brown
Dorphia Brown (4 years old) in
"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"
. tf OLESOitf
^W ^ Amusement for Children — Our Future Citizens >#»
FILMS COMPANY
Executive Offices:
17 N. Wabash Avenue
Chicago, 111.
New York Office:
729 Seventh Avenue
Other Branches Will Be Announced Shortly
24
CATALOG OF FILMS
EDUCATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE will publish from month to month classified descriptive lists of all motion
picture films properly belonging to one or more of the various groups of which this publication treats. The
aim will be to give accurate and dependable information under each classification : in some instances this infor-
mation will come from the manufacturers, in other cases from the distributors, frequently from the Editorial
Offices of this magazine, occasionally from individual and foreign sources. In all cases the reader should verify the
information at the source indicated.
This magazine maintains an Information Bureau and Special Service Department which will endeavor to furnish
up-to-date facts and data regarding any motion picture film in the fields covered by this periodical. All inquiries of
this character should be addressed Film Catalog Editor, EDUCATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE, 33 West 42d Street, New
York, and to insure reply should contain self-addressed stamped envelope.
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
FILMS
All films listed below have been manufactured
and are being distributed by the United States
Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.
All have been released to date. Each reel is
approximately 1,000 feet in length. Prints of
these films are intended primarily for the use
of the extension workers of the Department of
Agriculture and of the State colleges and de-
partments of agriculture. Prints may be pur-
chased by others at the cost of manufacture.
These films are not handled through commercial
exchanges. Schools, colleges, churches, clubs
and other institutions and organizations should
apply for this film through their county agricul-
tural agents or the directors of extension of
their State agricultural colleges.
AGRICULTURE
COTTON 8 reels
Keels 1 and 2. Planting and cultivation or
cotton.
Reels 3 and 4. Ginning and marketing cot-
ton. Types of cotton and bales.
Reels 5, 6 and 7. Cotton manufacture.
Carding and weaving clotn.
Reel 8. Dyeing.
ANIMAL INDUSTRY
CONSTRUCTION OF A CONCRETE
SILO 1 reel
All steps in the construction of a concrete silo.
CONSTRUCTION OF A WOODEN HOOP
SILO 1 reel
Method of construction of a silo built of
wooden hoops and staves.
CO-OPERATIVE COW-TESTING IN VER-
MONT 1 reel
Work of Co-operative Cow-Testing Association
in increasing profits and improving dairy herds.
LAMBS FROM RANGE TO MARKET.. 1 reel
Ewes and lambs grazing on National Forests;
the lambs separated from the ewes at the end
of the season and taken to feeding yards for
fattening: fattening of lambs on different
feeds, and loading lambs on trains frr market.
This reel largely duplicates that of "Grazing
Industry on the National Forests."
FROM WOOL TO CLOTH 3 reels
Reel 1. Wool sorted and weighed at ware-
houses. Buyers purchasing wool from sample
clips.
Reel 2. Lowell Textile School. Wool sorted
by hand and cleaned and washed by machin-
ery. Wool carded and wound by machines.
Reel 3. Wool twisted into 'yarn of various
grades, then woven into cloth. The fifteen
processes of shrinking, singeing, etc., through
which the cloth is passed after weaving.
CONTROL OF HOG CHOLERA 2 reels
Farmer West, after losing many hogs from
cholera, is converted to the use of hog cholera
serum. Methods of application and results.
GOVERNMENT POULTRY FARM, BELTS-
VILLE, MARYLAND ". .4 reels
Reel 1. Natural and artificial incubation of
eggs and methods of handling; general vie>v
of the poultry farm; the brooders and pens in
which young chicks are raised, how kept,
cleaned, etc., and chicks in the pens.
Reel 2. Houses and pens used for chicks
as they grow older and reach maturity; chicks
moved from one house to another, weighed,
and separation of cockerels and pullets.
Reel 3. The use of the trap-nest, and the
numbering and recording of eggs.
Reel 4. Egg embryology. Testing eggs for
fertility, and the periodic development of the
embryo; how to break up broody hens; and
specimens of breeded poultry.
MILK AND HONEY 2 reels
A dairy romance, in which methods of con-
ducting a modern dairy are shown as part of
the story.
TYPES OF HORSES AT THE WASHING-
TON HORSE SHOW 2 reels
Types and individual horses which won prizes
at the Horse Show.
UNCLE SAM'S PIG CLUB WORK 1 reel
The formation of pig clubs among boys, and
one boy's success in raising a prize hog.
WHY EAT COTTAGE CHEESE? 2 reels
Mrs. Brown learns how cottage cheese is made
from skim milk at a modern creamery, and
marketed and how to use it in the home.
Serves it to her family.
ENTOMOLOGY
POULTRY PESTS AND THEIR CON-
TROL 2 reels
Mites, fowl ticks, chiggers, and poultry lice,
poultry infested with them and methods for
their control.
PREVENTING SPREAD OF THE GIPSY
AND BROWN-TAIL MOTHS 4 reels
The gipsy and brown-tail moths in all stages,
their depredations on trees in New England,
and methods of fighting them.
Inspection of timber to prevent caterpillar's
traveling; spraying trees.
Propagation and spread of parasite which
feeds on moth larvae.
FORESTS
GRAZING INDUSTRY ON THE NATIONAL
FORESTS 1 reel
Cattle and sheep grazing on the National For-
ests of the West.
LUMBERING YELLOW PINE IN THE
SOUTHWEST 1 reel
Cutting the trees under Government regula-
tions on the Coconino National Forest, Ari-
zona, hauling the logs to railroads, and ship-
ping them to mills where they are cut into
lumber.
LUMBERING LODGEPOLE PINE 1 reel
Government timber on the Arapaho National
Forest, Colorado, cut under regulations.
LODGEPOLE PINE FOR RAILROAD
TIES 1 reel
Pines on Wasatch National Forest, Utah, cut
into railroad ties.
NATIONAL FORESTS AS RECREATION
GROUNDS AND "BULL RUN"— PORT-
LAND'S WATER SUPPLY 1 reel
National Forests as summer resorts and fishing
grounds; also how the water supply of Port-
land, Oregon, is protected on the Oregon
National Forest.
THE WICHITA NATIONAL FOREST AND
GAME PRESERVE 3 reels
See description under "Miscellaneous."
THE WORK OF A FOREST RANGER.. 1 reel
The varied life and duties of a forest ranger
on the National Forests.
TREE PLANTING ON THE NATIONAL
FORESTS 1 reel
Planting seedlings and sowing tree seeds in
denuded areas of the National Forests.
WHAT A CARELESS HUNTER IN THE
WOODS CAN DO 1 reel
A forest fire started by a careless hunter, the
methods of the Government's fire nghters, and
the destruction of a town by the fire.
WORK OF THE FOREST PRODUCTS
LABORATORY 1 reel
Work ,at the Forest Products Laboratory,
Madison, Wisconsin, in timber testing, the
preservative treatment of timber, the manu-
facture of paper from wood waste, and meth-
ods of service to manufacturers.
FRUIT CULTURE
CO-OPERATIVE BERRY GROWING IN
PACIFIC NORTHWEST 2 reels
Co-operative growing, purchasing, marketing
and canning in a community in the Northwest.
PLANT INDUSTRY
CONGRESSIONAL SEED DISTRIBU-
TION 1 reel
Testing, storing and packaging of some of the
14,000,000 packages of seeds sent out by the
Department of Agriculture in 1913-14.
PYTHIAN DISEASE OF POTATOES... 1 reel
A technical microscopic study of the parasitic
fungus, Pythian De Baryanum, untitled.
STRAWBERRY INDUSTRY IN KENTUCKY
AND BRIDGE GRAFTING TO SAVE
TREES 1 reel
Berry plants cultivated and pickers gathering
berries. The sorting and handling, down to
the time the fruit reaches the market.
25
Trees girdled by rodents are saved by a
graft bridged across the injury.
PUBLIC ROADS
BITUMINOUS MACADAM ROAD CON-
STRUCTION 1 reel
Construction of a bituminous macadam road :n
Maine.
CEMENT AND CONCRETE TESTS.... 1 reel
How cement is tested in briquettes and stone
slabs tested for bridge building.
CONCRETE ROAD CONSTRUCTION. .1 reel
Construction of a concrete post road in Ohio.
GRAVEL ROAD CONSTRUCTION. .... .1 reel
Construction of a gravel road in Virginia.
MACADAM ROAD CONSTRUCTION. .. 1 reel
Construction of a macadam road in Maryland.
ROAD CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTE-
NANCE AND ROAD TESTS WITH TRAC-
TION DYNAMOMETER 1 reel
Work in repairing and maintaining roads.
Testing rock used for roads and test of the
machine which records wear of different
weights on a road. _
TESTING ROCK TO DETERMINE ITS
VALUE FOR ROAD BUILDING 1 reel
Drills and machines .which are used to test
rock for durability and toughness.
AMERICAN SCENICS
Direction of Robert C. Bruce. Produced by
Educational Films Corporation of America, 729
Seventh Avenue, New York.
The list given below is of pictures made in
the Far West, in the Rockies, Cascades, Sierra
Nevadas, Coast Range, Selkirks of British
Columbia, and Olympic. These films reflect^ the
best of American mountain scenery taken in a
superb way. Each has been featured at New
York theatres, and is a new development of the
scenic educational picture, in that it carries a
slight thread of a story, has been carefully
thought out, planned and produced, and is beauti-
fully printed and colored. These are all full
subjects about 900 feet long. They rent by tiie
day for $3 to $5 per reel, and may be had at
any of the Educational Film Exchanges listed in
their announcement in this issue:
FIRST AMERICAN APARTMENT HOUSE-
NATURE'S THEATRICALS.
LAND THAT DOESN'T WIGGLE MUCH.
TINKLEBOTTOM PASSES THROUGH.
FADING OF LOCAL COLOR.
TINKLEBOTTOM'S FINISH.
HARD, HARD ROAD TO ADVENTURE.
DANNY DEVORE, PACKER.
ME AND MY DOG.
FISHING FOR FISH— BULL THROWER.
CHAIN GANG.
BESIDE THE GLIMMER GLASS.
JUST FOR JOY.
HOUND OF THE HILLS.
WHAT THE ICE AGE LEFT.
THE WORLD O' DREAMS.
TRAIL TO THE SKY.
WHITE WATER AND WINDY WILLIE—
WHERE CLOUDS COME FROM.
CRUISE OF QUICKERN'ELL— WONDERFUL
NIAGARA.
FROM HERE TO SUMMERLAND.
FOLLOWING THE COURSE OF CAYUSE.
RIDGE ROAMERS.
THE SOUTHERN TOURIST.
MAKING A PLOTLESS PICTURE.
THE TIDES OF YESTERDAY.
'TIS TOUGH TO BE TENDER.
TALES OF THE TALL TIMBER.
A WEE BIT ODD.
CLASSICAL
The films listed on next page are distributed by
the Atlas Educational Film Co., 63 East Adams
Street, Chicago, 111. Their latest catalog states:
"We have secured new copies of all our old
subjects which have proven popular. Many of
the reels listed are brand new copies. Every
reel guaranteed in first-class condition." The
prices and terms of this company are as fol-
lows: All subjects for use one day, in one place,
$1.25 per reel, unless otherwise noted. All reels
contain, approximately, 1,000 feet, requiring
about twenty minutes to run. Some reels have
more than one subject. Renter pays transporta-
tion charges both ways, except where film is
ordered sent on to another user, then only re-
ceiving charges. Where film is injured or de-
stroyed, renter is held responsible for damage.
Send orders as long as possible before date re-
quired. Kindly mention second and third choice.
Always order by number. One week's notice re-
quired for cancellation. A pin in the film tears
the inspector's hands. Please use film cement
for patching. Films must be returned by first
express after use. To delay shipment means
inconvenience to others and additional rental to
yourself. Film held beyond the rental date
without our consent must be paid for at the same
rate per day as contracted for.
Terms: Cash in advance or shipment C. O. D.
if express charges are advanced. Reels must be
returned by prepaid express.
CARMEN.
An elaborate setting of the celebrated opera.
Three reels, $5.
THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII.
Lord Lytton's spectacular story. Eight reels,
$15.
THE TEMPEST.
A faithful reproduction of the Shakespearean
play. Two reels, $3.
THE ADVENTURES OF ULYSSES.
The famous Greek legend. Two reels, $3.
THE MERCHANT OF VENICE.
Shakespeare's wily Shylock in pictures. Two
reels, $3.
ROMEO AND JULIET.
The love story from Shakespeare. Two
reels, $3.
THE FALL OF TROY.
The tale from the Greek classics. Two
reels, $3.
THE TAMING OF THE SHREW.
A faithful presentation of Shakespeare's com-
edy. Three reels, $5.
SILAS MARNER.
The famous story is powerfully presented.
Two reels, $4.
THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH.
A faithful rendering of this popular Dickens'
story.
THE BRIDE OF LAMMERMOOR.
A fascinating reproduction of Scott's famous
story.
DRAMA
Distributed by Atlas Educational Film Co.,
Chicago. (See prices and terms under Classical.)
JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN.
The story of the famous book is well depicted
in this film.
QUEEN ELIZABETH'S TOKEN. (Colored.)
An historical, stirring story of Queen Eliza-
beth's court.
CAUSE FOR THANKFULNESS.
A gripping Thanksgiving Day story.
FRIDOLIN. (Colored.)
A vivid picturization of Schiller's famous
poem.
THE DOCTOR'S DUTY.
Showing the obligations of a doctor to the
suffering.
THE MAN OF DESTINY.
The story of the rise of Napoleon to power.
THE PONY EXPRESS RIDER.
A western story of cowboy experiences and
thrilling riding.
THE UPWARD WAY.
An ex-convict's victorious struggle to regain
his place among good people.
THE GAUNTLETS OF WASHINGTON.
An incident of 1830. An old man relates his
part in saving Washington from the Hessians.
A ROYAL ROMANCE.
A charming love story set among scenes of
unusual beauty.
A KING'S DAUGHTER. (Colored.)
A stirring story of early times when King
Theodore of Austria fought against the Visi-
goths.
THE GRECIAN VASE.
In a dream an artist is carried back to Greece
and reviews the glories of her culture.
THE TERROR OF THE NIGHT.
The story of a supposedly haunted house. A
good story with some fun in it.
THE OLD FIRE HORSE.
An old fire horse hurries to a fire and upsets
the well-laid elopement plans of a hasty couple.
A PRINCESS OF THE DESERT.
The story of a disguised outlaw lover of a
desert princess. A beautiful, yet stirring pic-
A FUGITIVE FROM JUSTICE.
Brother shields brother from disgrace. A story
of Alaska in which the theme is self-sacrifice.
THE TWO DOCTORS.
One is charitable, the other mercenary. The
story shows the happy life of the former.
TWICE RESCUED.
An athlete's bravery wins the girl of his
THE GREEN EYE OF THE YELLOW GOD.
A strong story of the superstitious Hindoo
priesthood. Clean, fascinating and instructive.
THE RUNNING AWAY OF DORIS.
The story of the petty persecutions of a young
minister's wife.
GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN.
A beautiful production of a stirring Japanese
love story.
THE GREAT PHYSICIAN.
A symbolic drama showing the Great Physi-
cian's love of the children.
WHAT SHALL IT PROFIT A MAN?
Showing the retribution visited upon a man
who cheated his partner.
ON CHRISTMAS EVE.
A story in which Christmastime brings a wife
to a better appreciation of her duty.
THE LESSON OF THE FLAMES.
An employer fails to provide ample fire pro-
tection for his employes and loses his own son
through his negligence.
GOLDEN ROD.
A beautiful story of a golden wedding.
THE TEMPLE OF MOLOCH.
A story dealing with the prevention of tuber-
culosis in industrial plants.
JUVENILE
The three film productions listed and described
below were acted entirely by children between
the ages of five months and fourteen years.
They were made and are being distributed by the
Wholesome Films Company, of 729 Seventh
Avenue, New York, and 17 North Wabash Ave-
nue, Chicago. They are among the most enter-
taining folk-lore and fairy-tale films available,
and may be had at moderate rental from either
of these exchanges and exchanges in other sec-
tions soon to be opened.
CINDERELLA AND THE MAGIC
SLIPPER 4 parts
The settings are in keeping with the atmos-
phere of the fairy romance: the grand ball,
the little coach-and-four and all the other fa-
miliar features of the story. The actors are
children, more than 150 participating. They
show the result of careful training and enact
the various roles with painstaking care. The
story has been deviated from only to introduce
some pretty fairy dances, which add charm to
the picture. The technical features deserve
praise, photography and tinting being well
blended.
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD... ..5 parts
In this production some 360 juveniles take
part. Mary Burton, eleven years old, is the
little star. The film follows faithfully the old
tale, with some modern but entertaining em-
bellishments. Helen Hamilton, author of the
Wholesome "Cinderella," also wrote this
scenario.
TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE
STAR 5 parts
This is the latest release of this company and
one of the most appealing juvenile pictures
ever made. Zoe Rae, age eleven, and Dorphia
Brown, age four, are the miniature stars of
this photoplay, which will compare favorably
with many acted by adults.
INDUSTRIAL
From the following concerns it is possible to
borrow the film subjects listed, by writing to
them in advance. Many manufacturing, munici-
pal, art and civic corporations and industrial
plants in general are making films showing their
operations, and most of these would, it is be-
lieved, be willing to loan such films on request.
The following list was compiled largely by the
Educational Department of Henry Disston &
Sons, Inc., saw and file manufacturers, Phila-
delphia:
MAKING CRUCIBLE STEEL, CIRCULAR,
BAND, CROSSCUT HANDSAWS AND
FILES. (3,500 feet.)
Henry Disston & Sons, Inc., Philadelphia.
LUMBER INDUSTRY. (4,000 feet.)
Lamb-Fish Lumber Co., Charleston, Miss.
LUMBER INDUSTRY.
Long-Bell Lumber Co., Kansas City, Mo.
MACHINISTS' TOOLS. (3,000 feet.)
L. S. Starrett & Co., Athol, Mass.
AUGUR BITS.
Russell Jennings Mfg. Co., Chester, Conn.
BILLIARDS AND BOWLING.
The Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co., 29 West
32d Street, New York City.
HORSE SHOE INDUSTRY.
Phoenix Horse Shoe Co., Chicago.
FANCY SHOOTING WITH PISTOL, RIFLE
AND SHOTGUN.
Winchester Repeating Arms Co., New Haven,
Conn.
TRINIDAD ASPHALT.
Barber Asphalt Co., Philadelphia.
MAKING FELT HATS.
The John B. Stetson Co., Philadelphia.
YELLOWSTONE PARK.
Northern Pacific Railway Co.. St. Paul, Minn.
GRAND CANYON OF THE COLORADO.
Atlas Educational Film Co., Chicago.
JIM'S VOCATION.
(Industrial School at Beverly, Mass., and the
United Shoe Machinery Company's plant),
United Shoe Machinery Co. (Publicity De-
partment), Albany Building, Boston, Mass.
THE MAKING OF STEEL PRODUCTS.
United States Steel Co., New York City.
STEEL INDUSTRY.
American Steel & Wire Co., 30 Church Street,
New York City.
OPEN HEARTH STEEL.
National Tube Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.
ELECTRICAL CONSTRUCTION.
General Electric Co., Schenectady, N. Y.
MAKING TELEPHONES.
American Telephone & Telegraph Co., New
York City.
NATIONAL LEAD COMPANY.
New York City.
NATIONAL CASH REGISTER COMPANY.
Dayton, Ohio.
26
ALL STEEL: FURNITURE AND ITS USES.
General Fireproofing Co., Youngstown, Ohio.
THE PAPER INDUSTRY.
Atlas Educational Film Co., Chicago.
PRODUCING THE "LADIES' HOME JOUR-
NAL" AND "SATURDAY EVENING POST."
Curtis Publishing Co., Philadelphia. (6,000
feet.)
THE PAPER INDUSTRY.
Peabody, Houghteling & Co., Chicago.
THE TYPEWRITER.
Remington Typewriter Co., New York City.
COAL TAR PRODUCTS.
Barrett Mfg. Co., New York City.
THE GYPSUM INDUSTRY IN AMERICA.
United States Gypsum Co., Chicago.
SILKS AND SATINS. (Life History of Silk
Worm, Etc.)
W. B. Skinners Sons, Holyoke, Mass.
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF SAFETY.
New York City.
PERFUMES, ETC.,
Ed. Pinaud, New York City.
FARMING WITH DYNAMITE.
Du Pont Powder Co., Chicago.
COAL MINING IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS.
Peabody Coal Co., Chicago.
FIXATION OF ATMOSPHERIC NITROGEN.
American Cyanide Co., Buffalo.
WHY THE FISH FAILED. (Necessity
potash to soil.)
German Kali Works, Chicago.
ROAD MAKING.
Universal Portland Cement Co., Chicago.
THE CEMENT INDUSTRY.
Lehigh Portland Cement Co., Allentown,
HEAVY AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY
ACTION.
Holt Mfg. Co., Stockton, Cal.
HEAVY AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY
ACTION.
International Harvester Co., Chicago.
THE OIL INDUSTRY IN CANADA.
Imperial Oil Co., Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.
IDEAL FOUNTAIN PENS.
L. E. Waterman & Co., New York City.
' SHOWING PRECAUTIONARY METHODS
USED.
Underwriters' Laboratories, Chicago
THE SILK INDUSTRY.
Belding Bros. Co., 902 Broadway, New York
City.
COLORADO SCENERY.
Union Pacific Railway, Chicago.
THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY.
Ford Motor Co., Detroit.
THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY.
Packard Motor Car Co., Detroit.
THE CLOTHING INDUSTRY FROM SHEEP
TO WEARER.
Mayer Bros., Chicago.
of
Pa.
IN
IN
.
We will reproduce
Your Own Pictures
or copy of any kind
ON SLIDES
Each, 25c. plain
Each, 40c. colored
Standard size
Victor Featherweight
style
Guaranteed quality
Guaranteed Safe return of Copy
Show on the screen pictures which
"The Boys" bring back from
"Over There."
Send for our Slide Service Bulle-
tin and catalog of over 16,000
stock subjects.
Photo Department
VICTOR ANIMATOGRAPH
COMPANY
122 Victor Bldg.
Davenport, Iowa, U. S. A.
PICTOGRAPHS— MISCELLANEOUS
The films listed and described below are known
by the trade name "Paramount-Bray Picto-
graphs." They are produced by The Bray
Studios. Inc., New York City, and are dis-
tributed weekly by 27 Famous Players-Lasky
exchanges located in large cities in every sec-
tion of the United States. One of these ex-
changes is in your section. "The first and the
original magazine on the screen, and still the
best" is the way the organization describes its
releases. There are three or four short sub-
jects on each reel. They embrace science, in-
vention, industry, travel, scenic, social welfare,
current events and miscellaneous material. They
are offered on rental "at nominal cost." Full
particulars may be had at the exchanges men-
tioned. The numbers given are the order num-
bers supplied by Bray.
SOLDIERS OF THE SOIL. B. 6019.
TRAVELING FORTS.
REPAIRING A DEEP-SEA CABLE.
CARTOON — Evolution of the Dachshund.
UNMASKING THE MEDIUM. B. 6020.
ON DUTY WITH THE COAST GUARDS.
SCIENTIFIC STOCK BREEDING.
BOBBY BUMPS, Submarine Chaser.
AMERICAN MATCH MAKING. B. 6021.
DE LUXE (UN) LIMITED.
FENCING IN TAPAN.
OTTO LUCK To the Rescue.
WAR TIME ECONOMY. B. 6022.
MECHANICAL OPERATION OF BRITISH
TANKS.
SPORTS AND PASTIMES OF AMERICAN
COWBOYS.
PICTO PUZZLE.
GOING TO SEA IN THE HEART OF NEW
YORK CITY. B. 6023.
WATER SPORTS IN HAWAII.
BOBBY BUMPS "Fourth."
LATEST KINKS IN CANNING. B. 6024.
KEY TO BEAUTY.
OTTO LUCK, Ruby Razmataz.
LAND OF MAKE BELIEVE. B. 6025.
TESTING MEN FOR AIR FIGHTING.
A STUDY IN FOXHOUNDS AND ST.
BERNARDS.
CARTOON— Sic 'Em Cat.
THE WORLD'S GREATEST POLICE TRAIN-
ING SCHOOL. B. 6026.
SCIENCE AND THE STOCK FARM.
PICTO PUZZLES.
CARTOON— Fiske Torpedo Plane.
STARS OF YESTERYEAR. B. 6027.
UNMASKING THE MEDIUMS—
Message Reading.
BOBBY BUMPS Amusement Park.
HELPING THE DEAF TO HEAR. B. 6028.
BEACH SPORTS IN SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA.
OTTO LUCK'S Flivvered Romance.
SPEEDY DAY AT CONEY ISLAND. B. 6029.
TEA INDUSTRY IN JAPAN.
LAND AND WATER SUBMARINE.
CARTOON— Uncle Sam's Dinner Party.
EFFICIENCY VIA EXPRESS. B. 6030.
A DAY AT DENISHAWN.
BOBBY BUMPS, Surf Rider.
ART IN BOOKBINDING. B. 6031.
GOAT RANCHING IN AMERICA.
GOODRICH DIRT Among the Beach Nuts.
RELIGIOUS
Distributed by Atlas Educational Film Co.,
Chicago. (See prices and terms under Classical.)
THE RUINS OF DAMASCUS.
Good views of this city of Bible times.
THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM.
Unusually fine production. Follows the Biblical
story from the time of Micah to the birth of
Christ. Three reels, $10.
PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.
Beginning with Bunyan's conversion and clos-
ing with Christian in the Celestial City. Four
reels, $10.
JOSEPH'S. TRIALS IN EGYPT .
The Biblical story from Joseph's boyhood to
his triumph. Beautifully tinted. Three reels,
$5.
ESTHER.
A fine rendering of the Bible story. Three
reels, $5.
JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER.
A massive production of this Scriptural story.
Three reels, $5.
THE SHADOW OF NAZARETH.
A beautiful narrative centering around the life
of Jesus of Nazareth. Three reels, $5.
THE PASSION PLAY.
The famous Oberammergau presentation of the
Life of Christ. Three reels, $10.
THE LIFE OF OUR SAVIOR.
A high class presentation of the Life of our
Lord. Five reels, $20.
TRAVEL
The Burlingham Travel Pictures are thus de-
scribed by the distributors, the Wm. L. Sherry
Service, 729 Seventh Avenue, New York:
An extraordinary collection of motion picture
subjects taken by the distinguished American
lecturer, traveler and naturalist, Frederick Bur-
lingham, in odd and dangerous parts of the
world. These pictures are not the ordinary so-
called "scenic" or "educational type" — they are
real adventure pictures in which men may be
seen risking their lives on the top crags of the
perilous Alps and in the craters of active vol-
canoes. The entire series consists of thirty sub-
jects.
FACING DEATH ON THE
BLUMLISALP 1 reel
The Blumlisalp is one of the famous ice
climbs in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland.
In the film the expedition is seen leaving the
village of Kandersteg with a large party of
Swiss guides and a mule. The scenes around
the Oeschinensee, a savage wonder lake formed
by melting glaciers, is rilled with rare Alpine
charm. On the way to the Blumlisalp Alpine
hut the trail leads under overhanging cliffs and
higher up the giant, ice bound precipices are
awe inspiring. Some spectacular rock climb-
ing adds to the interest. The thrill in this
picture, however, is an accident near the
summit when only a miracle saves the whole
expedition from instant death.
UNKNOWN SWITZERLAND.
(The Lotschenthal) 1 reel
These strange scenes were taken in the Lots-
chenthal, the wildest valley in Europe, without
even a wagon road, which is inhabited by
curious medieval peasants. The great annual
event in the Lotschenthal is the fete of Corpus
Christi, filmed here for the first time, showing
peasant soldiers coming to the fete wearing
military uniforms which date back to the Nea-
politan wars, 420 years ago. The strange
scene shows the Roitscheggeten, or smoke men,
who appear in the valley once a year to look
for bad children.
THE PILATUS RAILWAY 1 reel
The ride up 7,000 feet is highly sensational.
The cars are built leaning to fit the very steep
incline. As the locomotive chug-chugs sky-
ward one passes over dizzy viaducts, showing
the lake far beneath, and after the train bores
its way through a hole in the cliffs it emerges
on the edge of appalling precipices. Now and
then the scene changes to verdant Alpine
pastures and milk cows. At last the summit
is reached, when one gets a glorious panorama
of the Bernese Alps.
ALLIED WAR HEROES ARRIVE IN
SWITZERLAND 1 reel
This film is a historic photographic document
showing the French poilus and British Tom-
mies, exchanged war prisoners from the star-
vation camps of Germany, arriving in Good
Samaritan Switzerland.
ZOOLOGY
One of the most fascinating series of half-
reel (500 feet) pictures that has been devised tor
assembly hall, classroom, church, community
centre, etc., is Ditmars' "Living Book of Na-
ture." They were photographed, arranged and
titled by Prof. Raymond L. Ditmars, curator of
the New York Zoological Gardens, and are au-
thoritative. Much information as to the habits
and facts about the different animals are carried
in short, clever titles. They have been presented
in the most human way and one proof of their
entertainment value as well as educational value
is that each of these reels was first run at the
Strand Theatre in New York. Both children
and adults delight in the Ditmars subjects. They
stand supreme in the moving picture field as an
example of educational value in combination with
meritorious entertainment. Fifty-three subjects
are available, through the Educational Films
Corporation of America, at their various ex-
changes.
THE ORANG.
A chapter of primeval ancestry. Visual in-
struction of the highest type that is, in fact,
most delightful comedy.
MAMMALS OF STRANGE FORM.
The larger animals induced by skillful direc-
tion to display their strange traits and actions.
AMERICAN BEARS.
Exceptionally entertaining and instructive
views of the Grizzly, Cinnamon, Kadiak and
Black bears "at home."
FOREIGN DEER.
The large variety of species, ranging from the
small and delicate foreign deer to the large
and powerful kind that are dangerous to man.
BEAVER PREPARES FOR THE WINTER.
A close-up view of the engineer of the wilder-
ness— an absorbing scene story of animal in-
telligence.
JUNGLE VAUDEVILLE.
A comedy to be featured as a comedy. Small
jungle animals put on a show of their own.
FEEDING THE FISH EATERS.
Skillful dexterity on the part of the larger
animals in "catching their dinner" — and a
pelican parade.
FEEDING THE BEARS.
Considered the most enjoyable feature of the
Zoo — and far more entertaining in moving
pictures.
AFRICAN AND INDIAN ELEPHANTS.
A really wonderful delineation of these great
beasts as they live and play. Scenes impres-
sive, majestic — and humorous.
ODD HOOFED ANIMALS.
An aggregation of striking forms with many
of great rarity.
SURGERY AT THE ZOO.
A new phase in the care of animals — from
the treatment of the giraffe's sore throat to
the python's new spring skin.
TRANSPORTING WILD ANIMALS.
Lively scenes of means and methods by which
wild animals are transported from one part of
the world to another.
AMERICAN DEER.
Beautiful and majestic creations that are
found in our -own United States, from Maine
to California.
THE SMALL CAT ANIMALS.
Splendidly decorated pictures of the snarling,
spitting, clawing relatives of your family pet.
27
TREE ANIMALS.
Original photographs of creatures of the night,
flying animals that are most curious.
FEEDING THE ODD ANIMALS.
Amusing scenes of likable little creatures —
anxiously awaiting their dinner.
MONKEY CAPERS.
No animals are so immediately amusing and
interesting as the monkeys. Here they do
their bit to entertain.
THE LARGER BIRDS.
Birds of cold climates and birds of the
tropics — some grotesque and others beautiful.
ROYAL GAME.
The Indian and African rhinoceros and the
Senegal giraffe — ultra-intimate views of the
big game animals of the tropics.
THE ORANG APPRENTICE.
A unique comedy that tells the connected
story of an orang-utan that has soared into
tHe ranks of celebrated comedians.
BABES OF THE FARM.
A pleasing picture of pigs, kittens, cavies,
infant birds and the like, and prepared along
sympathetic and entertaining lines.
PIGMY CIRCUS.
Another production of odd animal antics,
funnier, if possible, than Jungle Vaudeville.
JOY greets the arrival of the De
Vry in the classrooms' of the
country's leading schools. Its ap-
pearance is doubly welcomed; not
only do the scholars welcome
"movies" — the new and better
way of teaching — but also the
clear, brilliant, perfect pictures
which they know the DeVry pro-
jects.
The DeVry Portable Projector is
entirely self-contained, has no
separate parts, requires no set-
ting up, takes standard size reels
and film, attaches to the ordinary
light socket, and automatically
operates at the touch of a button.
Write today, for "The New Way,"
and our descriptive catalog, they
tell of the application of the
De Vry to your needs. Address
THE DEVRY CORPORATION
1230 Marianna Street
Chicago, III.
THE FOKUM
SERVICE, NOT SALES, NEEDED
Fort Greble, R. I., February 5, 1919.
Editor Educational Film Magazine.
Sir: Last Friday, while taking a few hours off
from duty here, I strolled into the Redwood
Library at Newport, R. I. My eye fell on your
magazine, and I seized it eagerly, for it pro-
vided the objective expression for one of the
interests closest to my attention and reflection.
While pastor of a suburban church in a town
of 2,000 people which had absolutely no moving
picture show, I studied the matter of using mov-
ing pictures in my church, both for the young
and adults. I found that the two problems
were: First, the mechanical problem of securing
the projector suited to the needs and pocket-
book and visual demand of the small church;
and second, the practical side of the educational
problem, or the contact with a group that could
furnish both pictures and ideas to help in devel-
oping experimental plans.
1 can see the tremendously important part
which your magazine may be able to play in
helping to solve both of these problems, provid-
ing you can run it in such a way and with such
a force of assistants as to furnish sincere, a
curate and detailed help to the minister (among
others) who is trying to build a church and com-
munity program into which moving pictures may
not only fit but may provide an essential build-
ing force.
For instance, when I was looking about for
help, reading advertisements in moving picture
trade journals, etc., I came in touch with a cer-
tain firm, who seemed to have the right idea. 1
made several visits to their office and talked with
their salesman. He was more interested in mak-
ing a sale than he was in helping me to build
up a program. _ No matter what the stockholders
in that firm might have said, the business of thai
salesman was to help me (and those like me)
build a program. After that the sale would fol-
low easily enough. There would be no question
about it.
It wasn't because the salesman was disobliging.
He didn't know anything about the program end.
He was a salesman and could tell me the differ-
ence between his projector and other projectors;
but he knew nothing at all about those com-
munity, educational and religious values which
in the long run would make his machine worth
much or nothing. It really used to pain me,
simply because I am an ardent disciple of mov-
ing pictures as a factor in moral and religious
education, and I used to wonder whether a man
might not be rendering society a greater service
if he went into that sort of work and tried to be
a projector salesman with the large community
and educational ideal, than by being the pastor
of a little suburban church.
But the second criticism I would make of this
way of trying to break into the educational game
was that they weren't even good salesmen. I
had to have a projector which would project the
picture sixty feet with good light. I knew that
the lighting problem was the essence of the
projector, and I wanted to see what sort of a
picture this machine would throw at sixty feet.
They had a hall with a throw of thirty feet. The
salesman showed me a picture at thirty feet and
tried to convince me by saying over and over
again that his machine would throw the picture
just as well up to a distance of seventy-five feet.
But that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to see
it. They had no way of showing it to me there,
and the salesman could not seem to catch the
point when I suggested that they ought to cramp
their business offices if necessary in order to
have an exhibiting room that would show the
prospective customer just what he wanted. And
I think my want was quite within reason.
I am not going to inflict upon you a long letter
or criticism of the educational film business as
it is, though I have many more ideas, some of
them a little more constructive, w.hich I hope to
send you later. I merely wish to bring to you
an unexpected ray of interest and a check for a
year's subscription to the magazine. The very
best of wishes to you in your venture. If I can
help in writing or in sending list of names, I
shall be glad to do what I can.
Very truly,
Laurens H. Seelye,
First Lieutenant Chaplain, U. S. A.
SUGGESTS GOVERNMENT FILM LIBRARY
Washington, D. C.j January 28, 1919.
Editor Educational Film Magazine.
Sir: It suddenly dawns on me that propaganda
on your part for the creation of a Film Library
on the part of the United States would be per-
haps the most important public service that any
man could render. Imagine the importance of a
collection and editing of all educational and
scientific film, cutting it, rearranging it, index-
ing it, cross-indexing it, storing it under proper
conditions, caring for it by proper laboratory
procedures.
Now, then, having gone thus far, imagine your-
self with proper projecting apparatus and projec-
tion rooms, with the Library open and properly
controlled for the use of the public.
Can you imagine a manufacturer going there
to study the processes used elsewhere? Imagine
a medical man going there to see on the screen
a spasmodic seizure which he had not previously
seen. Create for yourself the expression upon
the face of a teacher explaining the meaning of
a cube by having the cube created on the screen
before him or the extraction of the cube root by
the same process.
Think of the taking of motion pictures of
machines or animals, placing in the picture both
time and distance of the movement, so that you
can at any time you may desire make a simul-
taneous motion chart to enable you to analyze
the motion in all of its finer details. All can see
the value to a teacher when he is able to create
a diagram of the motion he wishes to explain and
then to see the motion he had dreamed become
animated. He at once knows whether he is cor-
rect in his ideal, and can as well see where the
error has been, and thus progress much more
rapidly.
There is no limit to the value of the film in
teaching the young. You do not have to tell
them; they see what you wish them to see; no
more, no less. Then you tell them what else you
wish them to look up, then allow them to see the
further progress.
Of course, whenever the United States govern-
ment takes this over, they at once would com-
mence to use the non-inflammable film, thus
largely doing away with the fire hazard.
Yours,
William O. Owen, M.D.
MR. ABRAMS "VERY MUCH INTERESTED"
The University of the State of New York
The State Department of Education
" Visual Instruction Division.
Albany, N. Y., Jan. 31, 1919.
Editor, Educational Film Magazine.
Sir: — I have read with much interest the first
number of the first volume of your new maga-
zine. It interests me very much. I note that
you make use of my paper before the N. E. A.
This office should have your magazine regularly
on file, and I wish you would send it to us.
We shall be glad at any time to give you
information relative to our loan collection of
slides and photographs. I enclose herewith an
announcement of our new list on Africa. You
may use it in the Educational Film Magazine
if you so desire. Under separate cover I am
sending you a copy of the list.
Very truly yours,
Alfred W. Abrams.
Chief.
EXCELLENCE AND TIMELINESS
United States Penitentiary
Atlanta, Ga., Jan. 26, 1919.
Editor, Educational Film Magazine.
Sir: — We are in receipt of the first number
of your splendid new magazine and have read
same through with much interest. It should
take a place of prominence in the literature of
the moving picture world, not only by reason
of its excellence but timeliness.
I am enclosing you our Christmas number.
You can see that moving pictures form a decided
feature of our educational program here, and
the addition of your excellent magazine to our
library would not only be appreciated but of
benefit to the educational cause here.
We wish you every success in your new ven-
ture and appreciate your courtesy in remember-
ing us.
Sincerely,
Fred E. Peters,
Editor of "Good Words."
EDUCATES WHILE IT ENTERTAINS
Sing Sing Prison,
Ossining, N. Y., Jan. 25, 1919.
Editor, Educational Film Magazine.
Sir: — The first copy of the Educational
Film Magazine more than fulfills every promise
indicated in your comprehensive announcement,
and we thank you for the privilege of receiving
this invaluable addition to our library of infor-
mation on the art of picture making. f
At last we have a magazine that educates
while it entertains. Any one of the many spe-
cial articles, by the famous experts who favored
your initial number with their contributions, is
worth more to the fortunate reader than the cost
of an annual subscription. '
We congratulate you and acknowledge our
debt for your great favor.
Respectfully,
The Star-Bulletin,
By the Editor, E. H.
BETTER FILM MOVEMENT
(Continued from page 13)
wishes of the government, threw themselves
with skill and enthusiasm into the construc-
tion of those films which assisted in the
building up of a united front at home, in
the winning of the war. The managers of
motion picture theatres also strove as never
before to exhibit those pictures which
cheered the public and built up a home and
community life when many forces were con-
spiring to tear it down.
An increasing number of school men are
using motion pictures to supplement teach-
ing along certain lines, and are co-operating
with commercial exhibitors to encourage the
attendance of young people when certain
films are shown which will emphasize the
results of the school room. Even city,
state and government departments are
thinking seriously about changes in their
system which will include the use of the
motion picture film.
Old Prejudices Vanishing
The old prejudice which has been a char-
acteristic of the church is now disappearing,
as ministers have demonstrated that the film
was valuable in supplementing direct ethical
teaching. The Young Men's Christian Asso-
ciation and other religious agencies, charged
directly with the non-military activities of
the army and navy, have turned without ex-
ception to the use of motion pictures as a
positive force for wholesome entertainment
and as a preventive against dangers and
anti-social forms of amusement.
The same story can be told about librarians
and social workers as well as keenly alert
community center and civic leaders. They
have all found in the motion picture some-
thing which they can use to stimulate the
people they touch. Perhaps, however, the
most thrilling development of the better
film movement is that of the government
itself. The President and his various ad-
visers have called upon the whole motion
picture industry to assist in solving a prob-
lem which demands the energy and skill
of the finest minds. Motion pictures are,
therefore, being made of national aims and
work. They are being sent to the four
corners of the earth to interpret *.he genius
of American democracy.
28
The Drama of Business
The story would also be incomplete if
reference were not made to the high educa-
tional value of the modern industrial pic-
ture produced with skill and profound knowl-
edge of human nature. These films are now
being given to the people of the United
States. They visualize the drama of business.
The better film movement stands, there-
fore, on a solid basis of accomplishment. It
has no small or restricted idea of education;
it believes that the common virtues require
continual emphasis, but that the greatest
skill is necessary to present these in new
and attractive forms. It recognizes that the
needs of people are multiform, and that
there must be in future the same kind of
differentiation that exists now in books.
The two needs which must be met first,
in the near future, are: first, the develop-
ment of educational films which possess ac-
curacy with attractiveness; and, second, an
enlargement both in quantity and quality of
those pictures which present the dignity of
labor and emphasize the skilled human qual-
ities which go into the product which makes
modern life so comfortable.
FLASHES ON THE WORLD'S SCREEN
News Notes and Comment on Educational and Allied Films
from Institutions, Organizations, Producers, and Individuals
in the United States and Canada and Overseas
PRESIDENT W. 0. Thompson, of Ohio
State University, Columbus, during the
fanners' week program at the univer-
sity commencing January 27, exhibited both
films and slides taken during his recent tour
of England and France. He gave three
lectures in the chapel during the week.
*
On "Market Day," January 14, the open-
ing of agricultural week in Trenton, N. J.,
in the Squad Room, Second Regiment
Armory, a United States Department of
Agriculture film, "Milk and Honey," and
another film, "The Use of the Motor Truck
in Market Hauling," were shown to the
farmers of the state.
Everyone has read or heard of "movies"
being thrown on the ceilings of hospital
wards in Europe for the diversion of
wounded soldiers lying on their cots. Now
comes a tale from the hospital near King's
College, Cambridge, England, of soldier boys
sitting in bath tubs with hot water to their
waists, watching Charlie and "Doug" and
Mary cut up on the screen. When the show
is over the lights go out and the patients
fall asleep propped up in their bath tubs.
9
The United People's Church, Schenectady,
N. Y., exhibits interesting films on Sundays
in connection with its evening services. A
recent program contained "The Land of the
Borsheviki" with views of Moscow, "The
Far-Flung Battle Line" and a Biblical pic-
ture called "The Prodigal Son." Rev.
Richard Thomas preaches before the pictures
are shown.
"A Mix-Up in a Dress-Suit Case," a two-
reel comedy, and an educational showing
life in a military camp made up a program
on January 16 at the Young Men's Christian
Association building in Yonkers, N. Y.
9
A film showing hazards in the steel, cloth-
ing, printing and other industries was ex-
hibited at the American Museum of Safety,
New York City, on February 7, in connec-
tion with a lecture.
Films portraying the process of combating
forest fires and the stocking of New York
State waters with game fish were recently
shown at Camp Dix, Wrightstown, N. J.
The soldiers there seem to like such educa-
tionals.
Rev. Ure Mitchell has been exhibiting
Canadian motion pictures recently in Utica,
N. Y. At the Railroad Y. M. C. A. he
showed "Fishing for Salmon in New Bruns-
wick" and "Hunting and Fishing in the
Province of Quebec." Under the auspices
of the Utica Fish and Game Association he
screened at the Utica Free Academy "The
Canadian Beaver Prepares for Winter,"
"Hunting the Wild Goat in the Canadian
Rockies" and the salmon picture. He also
threw on the screen 150 unusual slides of
the wild animals of Quebec province.
9
Trooper H. H. Scott, of the Anzacs, spoke
on "Australia and New Zealand in the War"
at the John Wanamaker Auditorium, New
York City, recently, and Lieutenant Caden-
head told what Scotland had done. Motion
pictures of the British forces in France and
in Palestine and the British navy in the
North Sea were shown.
So interesting have been the results of
the Special Board of Review inaugurated by
M. Kashin, at the Broadway theatre, New
York City, that he has extended it to in-
clude the class in scenario writing of the
Young Men's Christian Association. The
earlier group of reviewers comprised the class
in scenario composition of Columbia Univer-
sity. They attend each week. Criticisms
written • by the members concerning the
various productions shown there are engag-
ing the interest of big producers. This is
in line with the aims of The Better Films
Movement.
At the meeting of the National Girl Scouts'
Council in Chancellor's Hall, State Educa-
tion Building, Albany, N. Y., on January 25,
a film depicting the life of the girl scouts
was observed with keen interest.
Rev. William E. Dougherty preached in
conjunction with the showing of a film por-
traying the life of Christ at the St. Vincent
de Paul Parochial School, 1101 Burnet
Avenue, Syracuse, N. Y., on Saturday, Sun-
day and Monday, January 25, 26 and 27.
9
"Strengthen America," was shown recently
at the Third Presbyterian Church, Elizabeth,
N. J. The pastor, Rev. Robert W. Mark,
spoke briefly.
9
A woman's committee of the Epworth
School for Girls, St. Louis, Mo., has ar-
ranged a series of carefully selected films
for children, which will be shown in St.
Louis theatres on four successive Saturday
mornings, beginning February 1. The pro-
ceeds will go to the school. On Washing-
ton's Birthday the Roosevelt picture is to be
thrown on the screen.
A film of the 59th Artillery, recently re-
turned from France, was among the pictures
seen at the 13th Regiment Armory in Brook-
lyn, N. Y., on February 1.
CLEVELAND CHURCHES USE FILMS
(Continued from page 17)
A third "progressive" is Reverend Frederick
Brownlee, pastor of Pilgrim Congregational
Church, Starkweather and West 14th Street,
who also has a portable machine and gives
entertainments for his parishioners but not
on Sunday nights. Both have found that
motion pictures in their churches increase
the attendance and the membership, without
.in any way detracting from the dignity, the
seriousness, or the sacredness of religious
services. They argue that it is better to
preach to a "playhouse" than to an empty
house, better to make the church attractive
to people than to let it die of dullness and
dry rot.
Through the earnest efforts of Mrs.
Howard Byrnes, president, and Miss Little,
secretary, of the Cinema Club of Cleveland,
and the energetic co-operation of many local
ministers, the motion picture theatres of the
city have "cleaned house" and are putting on
pictures of a finer tone and more elevated
character. The thought is that where it is
not possible to have a theatre do this, or
where there is no theatre in the neighbor-
hood, the neighborhood church, school, club
or other community centre should engage in
the work. Give the masses entertainment,
say these better film workers, but uplift,
inspire, educate, improve, strengthen the
people at the same time. If theatre exhib-
itors will not co-operate and seize the op-
portunity, they have only thernselves to
blame, declare these social workers, when
the church, the school, the Y. M. C. A. and
other neighborhood groups take the matter
in their own hands and start unwilling com-
petition.
The Educational Film Magazine fills a very
great need. I have seen nothing which compares
with it in excellence. I trust you may be backed
up most splendidly by people interested in visual
education. — Dudley Grant Hays, Chicago Board
of Education.
ATLAS
EDUCATIONAL
FILMS
are specially selected for the use of
RELIGIOUS and
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Clean Dramas, Wholesome Comedies'
Authentic Biblical Stories, Wonderful
Travelogs, Interesting Bird and
Nature Studies
Send for Catalog E F
ATLAS EDUCATIONAL FILM COMPANY
63 East Adams Street Chicago, 111-
r ■J'i^§pT»'
&»•**.
29
INDUSTRIAL
FROM FOREST TO PRINTING PRESS
The Story of Pulp and Paper Making in Newfound-
land Pictured in a Remarkable Anglo-Newfoundland
Development Company Film*
SOMEWHERE in Newfoundland"
(sounds almost as indefinite as "Some-
where in France") there is a large up-
to-date paper mill which is supplying the
newspaper stock for many of the newspapers
of the United States.
Newfoundland, which to the average
American is a land of blubber sandwiches
and Esquimaux, is a continuous surprise to
the traveller. Transported to Port Aux
Basques by a comfortable small edition of
an ocean liner from North Sydney, Nova
Scotia, the traveller disembarks, providing
he has a passport, and enters a sleeper
quite as comfortable as those on the Amer-
ican transcontinental lines. His first impres-
sion, as the journey starts across the island,
is a land of low rounded hills, covered with
a soft gray green moss patterned in gorge-
ous designs with wild roses, fiery as flame
and poppy-like in texture; with the white
everlasting and the brilliant purple fireweed,
the dwarf dogwood and the pitcher plant.
Peat bogs abound in the valleys and trees
are few.
A Vast Virgin Forest
Four hours travelling brings a great
change in the aspect of the country. The
trees begin to show up like real trees, some
of them attaining a height of 50 to 75 feet,
poplar, aspen, maple, birch, fir, and black
and white spruce. The heart of the country
is one vast forest in which during the past
eight years the lumber jack has just begun
to swing his axe. And what a sight it is
in the vast solitudes, a handful of men,
armed with keen double headed axes, blaz-
ing a trail, where perhaps even the foot of
the Indian has never stepped, into the very
heart of the primeval forest, over windfall
and deadfall, through the streams and bogs
to the land where the black spruce reigns
monarch of all he surveys. To the north,
to the south, to the east, to the west, forest,
lake and stream, but no habitation save the
home of the beaver in the lagoons and quiet
streams. Even the wild animals are itiner-
ant like the men of the coast who go out
into the deep for fish in the summer and
out into the woods for logging in the winter.
When the wind comes out of the northeast
and the beaver stores his green wood at the
bottom of his house, the fisherman puts
away his nets and turns his thoughts to the
woods where trees are as free for him who
will but take as are the fish of the sea. The
contractors gather together the men and,
going down the Red Indian Lake in the
Lady Mary, a sizable steamer of about 250
tons, each little group of thirty or forty
men with its boss departs at different points
along the lake and disappears into the
woods for the long winter. Mushing back
to the inner camp the men find comfortable
log cabins, stables, machine shops of a
make-shift nature, and supply room where
"Courtesy of Vision.
during the summer the stores had been put
for the coming winter.
The Logging Camp
To the lay mind a logging camp consists
of a couple of logs, pitched like a tent with
a few balsam boughs, which that mind
thinks with a shudder, would be deucedly
uncomfortable, like immature telegraph poles
spread on the ground for a bed. But the
reality is far different. The beds are com-
fortable bunks in two tiers, one end of
which is against the wall; between every
two is an open space of four feet, permit-
ting plenty of air to circulate over the
sleepers in the great big sleeping room,
forty feet in length and perhaps twenty-five
feet in width. In the center is a large wood
stove which makes cheery the "bunk room"
when the thermometer is playing tag with
the zero mark and the wind from the
nor'-nor'-east is making lumpy weather. At
the other end of the long, low house is
the "foretop" where the boss has his pri-
vate room and, no, not bath, but dining
room. Here also is the "harbor" where are
kept the supplies, both grub and tools.
Between the bunk room and the foretop is
the galley, for these fisher folk never be-
come accustomed to the landlubber's terms.
The galley is the sanctum for yarns, yarns
of sea, yarns of woods. One night we were
gathered about the two big, red-hot stoves
glowing like infernal furnaces in the twi-
light and the talk turned to floods, for all
of the rivers and lakes had risen four feet
in one day after several days of heavy rains.
Great floods, from the time of Noah down
to date, were told as present experiences
when a doughty little woodman from Maine
took the floor. "Talk about floods! The
rivers here are nothin' to the rivers of
Maine. Why I have seen the Penobscot
when she was so high that she floated away
all the farm buildin's and the horses and
cows. And do you know them floods was
so bad that they even floated away the
pumpkins! I seed those pumpkins go
floatin' down the tide in sich numbers that
they had to boom them pumpkins and^.drive
them down like logs for seventy-five miles
to a harbor below!"
Early in the morning in their sealskin
boots the men start forth for the chosen
spot where black spruce of at least eight
inches in diameter grows in thick clumps.
The horses draw the sleds which are but
four pieces of wood, two lengthwise with
runners and two cross pieces, a skeleton
sleigh upon which the logs are piled and
bound with chains to haul them to the
brows.
A quick thud, thud of the axe and in
less than thirty seconds a monarch of the
forest has fallen, fourteen inches in dia-
meter. The scaler measures the tree into
thirteen, eight and five-feet lengths and the
logs themselves are piled on the sleighs for
the brows down by the sides of the frozen
30
brook where in the spring they will start
on their water journey through brook to
river to the Red Indian Lake and down
the Exploits to Grand Falls, the mortal
destination of all of the spruce in the
Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company
reservation.
Shooting the Rapids
With the spring freshets life becomes in-
teresting to the logs; from their lofty look-
out on the brow they are hurled into the
rushing water and ice, shooting dizzily the
rapids, down through tortuous shoots, over
the waterfalls to the Red Indian Lake,
thirty-five miles long and 350 feet deep, in
the very heart of Newfoundland. The lake
is a great place for making new acquaint-
ances just like the opening week of a col-
lege year, for the log's conversion into an
intellectual factor is just begun much like
the young freshman's. For hundreds of
miles the logs have travelled to meet in the
lake, there to be boomed and towed down
the lake in the spring by the Lady Mary
to the pulp mills at Grand Falls.
Grand Falls, the only town of any con-
sequence in the interior of Newfoundland
has a thoroughly American atmosphere.
Large arc lights glow at the corners of the
streets and all of the houses are electrically
lighted. What this means can be conceived
only by those who have travelled by train
or on foot through the bush and the moun-
tains with the starlight to guide the way.
It is indeed a thrilling moment to be
immersed in the light of the night in the
forests and emerge the next moment into
the light of the city streets, as though one
were transported by the magician's wand
from the heart of a desert island to Forty-
second and Broadway! The town belongs
to the Company and the Company belongs
to the town; they are synonymous terms,
for the initials A. N. D. which stand for
the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Co.,
express its relation clearly to Newfound-
land. It has its own steamers and railroad,
and hotels and electric plant as well as the
town and, of course, the paper mills, and
to it and the Reid Lines are due the entire
development of the interior of the country.
When the logs disembark from the booms
at the mill they take the escalator for the
Thirty-fourth Street entrance — the jack lad-
der and the rotary saws which cut the logs
into given lengths, give one the same im-
pression of hurry and cut up condition which
usually prevails at that spot in New York.
The logs then take the subway for the
metropolitan district of the mill, a conveyor
of wood filled with water by which the logs
are carried to three different sections of the
plant; one lot goes to the wood pile for
next year, a second lot to the barking
drums and the third lot direct to the wood
room. The barking drums are large cylindri-
cal steel tubes opened at both ends which
constantly revolve just knocking the bark
off the wood by the revolutions.
Merrily, with the aid of the pickeroon,
the small pug-nosed pick which the men
use to push and pull the logs onto the con-
veyors, the ladies of the forest again take
the steel chain conveyors to the wood room,
where they are to receive their finishing
touches before they depart in their decollete
gowns to the grinding room to be reduced
to pulp. In every operation from the mo-
ment the logs reach the little streams in the
forests, water plays an important part as a
conveyor, a loosener of bark, and a medium
for carrying the pulp to the thickeners.
Separating the Logs
When the logs arrive in the wood room
they are separated, the crooked ones being
sent along one line, the straight ones to
another belt on each side of which are the
barking machines. Each log is thrown on
to the lateral conveyor which is released by
foot lever bringing one log at a time to the
barker. If the barking has been well done
in the drums the logs are passed on to
another conveyor and carried directly to the
pulp room. If, however, there is some bark
to be removed the log is held against a
revolving steel knife which does the clean-
ing thoroughly. Each log is inspected sepa-
rately in order that the quality of the final
pulp may be maintained. Bark, logs too
crooked for barking and other wood refuse
are burned as fuel.
The grinding room is the most interesting
of all in which the mechanical wood process
is carried forward. Through its center is
the inevitable belt conveyor from which the
logs are fed into the lateral endless chains
leading to the grinders themselves — huge
machines each with a capacity of nine or
ten tons a day. In the heart of the ma-
chine, hidden as all hearts should be, is the
grindstone against whose sides are three
pockets into which the logs are packed,
hydraulic pressure applied, and by friction
the logs are reduced to pulp and dropped
through the opening in the floor to a water
conveyor whence they are carried to the
mixer at which point the sulphite pulp is
introduced. •
To make sulphite pulp, logs are chipped
in the wood room into small pieces about
an inch in size; they are then carried to
large tanks and sulphurous acid is poured
over them, pressure applied and the wood
reduced to pulp. It is necessary to mix
sulphite with mechanical pulp in order to
give strength to the paper. The mechanical
pulp is the body of the paper stock, the
sulphite the strength.
Black Birch to 'Yellow" Journal
Arrived at the beaters the two converging
streams of pulp meet and are thoroughly
mixed, the pulp which seems to be white
water is passed over very fine screening and
the water is gradually eliminated until a
very thin white sheet of heterogeneous par-
ticles starts on its trip through the thick-
eners or dehydraters. Over one roller and
under another supported by a continuously
revolving belt of felt the pulp is pressed
and compressed until at the final roller it
comes forth, a white sheet of 160 or more
inches wide, according to the size desired,
and is wound into rolls of 700 pounds each,
baled and is ready for shipment on the
Company's own railroad to the port of Bot-
wood. Here it is loaded into bottoms for
the United States, England, Australia and
Canada. Who knows but the very paper
which we read in the morning and from
which we get our daily quota of thrills may
not have started as an ambitious black birch
in the heart of the forests of Newfound-
land?
Every incident in the life history of the
tree to the paper has been filmed in order
that the people of the United States, of
Britain and her colonies, and of all the
Allied nations may know that Newfound-
land, the key to the St. Lawrence, is a
vital part in the life of every wideawake
man and woman, with the hope that the
resources of the country, its scenery and its
people may become as well known as those
of the United States or Great Britain, and
that thereby Newfoundland may play even
a greater role in the histories of nations.
THEATRES NOT THE ONLY WAY
Schools, Colleges, Churches, Institutions and
Organizations Also Willing to Exhibit Worth-
while Industrial Films
MOTION picture theatres are by no
means the only effective method of
exhibiting industrial films. There
are many other channels of distribution for
publicity and propaganda motion pictures
which offer inviting fields to manufacturers
and to advertisers generally, and the spec-
tators in other fields who will see and re-
member such pictures probably equal in
numbers those in the theatrical field. Up
to this time the theatre screen has been
the chief target aimed at by the industrial
manager, first, because he has been under
the impression that more people see films
in the theatres than anywhere else; and,
second, because at present the theatres, with
their superior equipment, entertaining music
and comfortable seats, have more and bet-
ter facilities for showing his films.
Other means and methods of distribution
and of exhibition of industrial films, how-
ever, are opening before both national and
local advertisers and are becoming increas-
ingly important as time goes on. These
new fields of exploitation cannot be ignored
or neglected, for in many instances they
are more productive of results than in the
theatrical field. In the educational institu-
tions of the United States, for example, it is
estimated that there are between 5,000 and
10,000 motion picture projectors, stationary
and portable, active and inactive. Taking in
churches, community centres, clubs, lyceums,
chautauquas, asylums, prisons, hospitals and
miscellaneous institutions and organizations,
it has been estimated that there are as many
as 20,000 motion picture machines of all
kinds available for the running of films.
Millions of Spectators Waiting
If there are only 10,000 projectors avail-
able in these institutions, a national adver-
tiser can double and even treble his present
source of distribution by arranging with
these schools, colleges, churches and other
organizations to show his films. These in-
stitutions will gladly pay the express or
transportation charges both ways, to the
place of exhibition and back to the manu-
facturer or his agent. There is no way at
present of even roughly figuring out the
number of children, young people and adults
who see motion pictures in such institu-
tions, but it is safe to state that this total
will run well into the millions. On a basis
of 1,000 to an institution, which is con-
servative, the industrial concern has a ready-
made audience of 10,000,000 people wait-
ing to receive his message on the screen, in
addition to the other millions in the theatres,
although there must be some duplication,
of course. But, even with a duplication of
a million or two, the advertiser's story is
presented in a serious, forceful and com-
pelling way in these educational and sim-
31
ilar institutions and the young, middle-aged
and elderly people who see such pictures
under such auspices will be even more im-
pressed than in the theatre where the pre-
vailing spirit is one of diversion and relaxa-
tion rather than study and concentration.
This is, perhaps, the strongest reason of all
why manufacturers and selling agents who
use films should not overlook the educa-
tional, religious, civic and social oppor-
tunities to exhibit motion pictures of their
processes, their plants, their social welfare
activities and their work for the public weal
to people who are prominent and influen-
tial and who are in position to co-operate
and lend support to the idea represented by
the film.
This Magazine Will Co-operate
There are several ways of offering this
industrial film service to these institutions,
and one of the most effective and resultful
methods would be through the co-operation
of the Educational Film Magazine. Manu-
facturers, selling agents and advertisers in-
terested in introducing their films to these
millions, who are eagerly waiting for such
opportunities, are invited to communicate
with the Industrial Editor of this publica-
tion, who will supply full information.
TRADE SCHOOL FILMS
The State trade schools of this State are
far too little understood and appreciated by
the public at large. A clever way of mak-
ing them better known has been undertaken
in presenting pictures of them and their way
of working on films at the "movies." There
has been running at the Majestic a series
of views of different schools where the pupils
are at their intelligent and profitable work.
There are trade schools at Torrington,
New Britain, Putnam, Meriden, Danbury,
New Haven, South Manchester, Stamford
and Bridgeport. They teach young men and
women trades in which they are able to earn
their living and more and are as a rule less
dependent on changing conditions for em-
ployment. The pictures show the actual
working of this process of practical educa-
tion. Nobody can take the thing in and
fail to be impressed with the excellence of
what is being done. The effect of this ap-
peal to the eyes of the multitudes who take
in this form of entertainment cannot but be
useful as well as informing. Incidentally it
may be added that the attractive, illustrated
leaflet, which describes the schools, was put
into type and printed at the Bridgeport trade
school by the class there in printing.
— Hartford (Conn.) Courant.
A subscription to the Educational Film
Magazine means a better education for your
child. Four months, $1.00.
NEW ZEALAND WANTS U. S. INDUSTRIALS
Prime Minister Urges British Business Men to Use Motion Picture Ad-
vertising— Australia and New Zealand Promising Fields for United States
By Alfred A. Winslow
Auckland, New Zealand
WHILE the Prime Minister of New
Zealand was visiting Great Britain
during the past year he was re-
ported to have urged the importance of ad-
vertising the business interests of Great
Britain by means of the picture film, and
seemed very enthusiastic over the matter,
since New Zealand in general was not
familiar with what Great Britain was doing
and could do.
It would seem that if this class of propa-
ganda was good for Great Britain it might
be put to most excellent use, so far as the
United States is concerned, and I am satis-
fied that it would be a profitable move if a
large number of industrial, scenic, and other
films were prepared covering the more im-
portant interests and sections of the United
States and supplied to the picture-film
theatres in Australia and New Zealand prac-
tically free of expense. This doubtless could
be done and produce effective results
through the medium of the film-distributing
agents at home, or it might be done through
the consular representatives in this part of
the world.
Many of the picture films exhibited in this
Dominion are of the "Wild West" character
and do not give a fair representation or idea
of the conditions existing in the United
States, and to counteract this it would seem
wise to take up some sort of a propaganda
as suggested above. The energies of Amer-
ican business may well be devoted to this
purpose.
MEXICAN LIFE AND PROGRESS
Commerce and Industry Thoroughly Covered
in George D. Wright's Eight Reels
An eight-reel film entitled "Typical Mexi-
can Aspects," made by George D. Wright,
with the co-operation of President Carranza's
Government, was shown January 30, under
the auspices of the Mexican Consulate Gen-
eral to invited spectators at Wurlitzer Hall,
New York City.
The film begins with the celebration of
Mexican Independence Day, ' September 16,
showing the President and members of his
staff reviewing a parade of soldiers, sailors,
and military cadets, whose number and
equipment would seem to indicate a high
degree of development. The picture then
presents specimens of the people of Mexico,
giving views, first, of the more primitive
natives at their farming, boating, fishing,
and spinning, and next, glimpses of artisans
and mechanics, business and professional
men, and Government officials in typical sur-
roundings.
Commerce and industry are treated in the
6ame way. The 'manufacture by hand of
baskets, jugs, and other articles is illustrated,
and also the selling methods of small mer-
chants at their street stands. The busy in-
side of a large cigarette factory is then
shown, and after it the making of double-
headed wax matches, rolled steel, and air-
planes in modern plants. There are a num-
ber of views of Tampico and its adjacent
oil fields, with close-up views of the work-
ing of a well.
The final scenes are of Mexico City.
President Carranza is shown at his home on
the hill of Chapultepec, taking a ride with
his staff, voting on election day, walking in
his garden and receiving the congratulations
of foreign Governments on Mexican inde-
pendence.
As shown recently the titles were in
Spanish, but the pictures will be divided
into one-reel lengths, supplied with English
text, and distributed to theatres and institu-
tions by the Educational Films Corporation.
9
There is no one agency in the world in
which the possibilities for good are greater
than the motion picture. Probably no other
such human agency has brought so much
happiness into the world. — Los Angeles Times.
EDUCATIVE VALUE OF THE CINEMA
(Continued from page 10)
ment to be made with the proprietors of
cinema theatres for the use of their houses
on certain mornings to produce special pro-
grams, at a nominal fee, when a series of
pictures suitable for the instruction of the
students could be shown. For instance, there
might be pictures of India, with its varied
industries; Canada, with its agriculture;
Australia, with its sheep farms; and South
Africa, with its mines. Pictures showing the
actual everyday life in these Colonies bring
home to the young idea more effectively
the might and glory of the Empire than
years of studying dull maps on which the
Empire is indicated by nothing more in-
spiring than pink blobs. Travel scenes are
interesting to all audiences, old or young.
They create a sense of intimacy with distant
parts, and in the youngsters they engender
that sense of adventure and desire to see
for themselves which, after all, has made the
British Empire what it is today.
Useful in Every Branch
In every branch of education the film may
be useful. Even in naval and military train-
ing it can play its part. Take two very
ordinary instances: It can teach the em-
bryonic sailor the right and wrong way to
lower a lifeboat, and the budding cavalry-
man the right and wrong way to mount and
dismount a horse. In assisting the com-
merce of the empire the cinema can be
utilized in many ways. With practically
every manufacture it can show the various
processes by which it is made, from the raw
materials to the finished article.
"INDUSTRIAL ROMANCE" IN THEATRE
The industrial world now comes forth
with the announcement that romance plays
a big part in the realm of commerce. The
Patton Paint Company has had produced
by the Rothacker Film Manufacturing Com-
pany, of Chicago, "An Industrial Romance,"
a motion picture advertising feature in which
business is combined with sentiment to form
a basic theme. It was shown recently at
the Arcade Theatre, Milwaukee, and aroused
as much interest as the feature.
32
"MADE IN AMERICA" FOR WAR DEP'T.
Eight Reel Series Screened at War College
and Embarkation Hospital No. 3
At the office of .Secretary of War Baker,
in the state Army and Navy Building at
Washington, D. C, on the afternoon of
February 24, W. W. Hodkinson, of the
W. W. Hodkinson Corporation of New York,
formally presented to the Secretary a print
of "Made in America" for preservation by
the War Department. The presentation was
made in the presence of army officers. The
Secretary, in receiving the gift, expressed
his appreciation in a few eloquent words.
Prior to the presentation "Made in Amer-
ica" was shown to the Army experts at
the War College.
Through the courtesy of the producer,
Ashley Miller, the Hodkinson Corporation
gave a private showing of the eight-reel
series to the convalescent soldiers at Em-
barkation Hospital No. 3 in New York City.
It i.~ safe to say that "Made in America"
will n^ver be shown to a more appreciative
audience nor one better qualified to criti-
cise, says Motion Picture News, for every
one of these . men had actually lived the
experiences shown upon the screen. They
found something to appeciate in every inci-
dent and found food for merriment when an ,
audience less educated in military matters
would have failed to grasp the quiet humor
of the situation which, though interesting to
the average layman, needed the knowledge
and experience of the doughboy to bring
out alh the fun.
Made Wounded Heroes Laugh
As it was, the overseas men laughed
heartily at the grouch of the unwilling
draftee Joe Nelson, and showed warm appre-
ciation at his gradual conversion under the
influence of his loyal camp comrades. The
movements of the awkward squad, the bois-
terous outdoor games and all the little side-
lights on the doughboys' career were warmly
applauded.
When the American soldiers in the prac-
tice trench in France hustled on their gas
masks as the poisonous vapor rolled over
the trench, there was much laughter and
applause — it was a case of hustle, and every
man present had been through it and appre-
ciated what it means. The serious moments
of the picture and the emotional appeal of
the dramatic story were followed with an
intentness that showed how deeply it struck
home to the hearts of these veteran soldiers,
who lived over again some of the most
poignant moments of their lives.
CHINESE LIKE DRESS AND SCENERY
Under the title, "Where the Shanghai
Chinese Amuse Themselves," the Far East-
ern Review thus describes a Chinese cinema
theatre in a large amusement park in that
city, based on Western ideas and methods
of organization:
A building on one side contains a cinema,
to which admission is free. Experience has
shown that the Chinese are keenly inter-
ested by those films which might be ex-
pected to appeal least to them. They are
willing to sit through endless "parts" in
which interminable love stories with a moral
are unfolded without understanding any-
thing, but amused and interested by the
dress and the scenery. But, understood or
not understood, the cinema is popular, for
it is full all the time.
*;»''■***
ootxyxKX)6aououocDO(
DITMARS' ANIMAL PICTURES
53 Reels Visualizing the Animal Kingdom
THE BRUCE SCENICS
.The Best Films of American Scenery
THE NEWMAN TRAVELS
Unusual Travelogs of Remote Byways
MEXICO TODAY
George D. Wright's Pictures of What Mexico Really Is
CARTOON COMEDIES
Cleanest and Cleverest of Animated Drawings
Before booking your school, lyceum or church attrac-
tion, ask the nearest EDUCATIONAL exchange
for complete program — if none available, write us
Federal Feature Film Co.
16 Piedmont St., Boston, Mass.
Argus Motion Picture Co.
815 Prospect Ave., Cleveland, O.
First Nat. Exhibitors' Exchange
300 Westing House Bldg.,
Pittsburg, Pa.
Harry Abbott
602 Film Bldg., Detroit, Mich.
First Nat. Exhibitors' Exchange
New Orleans, La.
Electric Theatre Supply Co.
13th and Vine Sts.,
Philadelphia, Pa.
Bee Hive Exchange
109 N. Maryland St..
Indianapolis, Ind.
Consolidated Film Corp.
90 Golden Gate Ave.,
San Francisco. Cal.
N. W. Consolidated Film Co.
2020 Third Ave.. Seattle, Wash.
Bee Hive Exchange
207 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago, 111.
Standard Film Co.
Film Exchange Bldg.,
Minneapolis, Minn.
Standard Film Co.
Grand and Olive Sts., St. Louis, Mo.
Standard Film Co.
Boley Bldg., Kansas City, Mo.
M. & R. Film Exchange
Los Angeles, Cal.
MjOTional FIlms (£)RPORAnoi
.729 7%\vranJE|.
sccoooooocoooocr
NEW YORK,
NX
BROOKLYN EAGLE PRESS
ITS QUALITIES
HAVE WON FOR
IT T H E AP-
PROVAL OF
ARMY and NAVY
ENGINEERS and
DISCRIMINATE
USERS OF PRO-
JECTORS IN
GENERAL
"The Aristocrat of the Projector Family"
Write for Catalog "Y"
ThePrecisionmachine6).Tnc.
317 East 34th: St- NewYoric
—
«s««
p
f
V
m
EDUCATIONAL
FILM
MAGAZINE
The National Authority
The Future of the Educational Film
5y HOMER CKOY
Author of "How Motion Pictures Arc Made"
Educational Films from French Viewpoint
By EDMOND KATISBONNE
Delegate. Cinematographic Division, French Army
Motion Pictures from Freshman Penpoint
By VEKA KELSEY
Instructor in English, University of Washington, Seattle
"Movies" the Doughboys Like
By EDITH DUNHAM FOSTEK
Editor, Community Motion Picture Bureau
Better Films Movement and Education
By MYRA KINGMAN MILLEK
Chairman, Better Film Committee, National Council of Women
The Y and the "Movie" in Industry
By GEOKGE JAY ZEHRUNG
Director, Motion Pic ure Bureau, Industrial Dep't., Y. M. C. A.s
New Non-Inflammable Film for America
An Interview with the Inventor
BENNO BORZYKOWSKI
25 cents a copy
APRIL, 1919
$3 a year
:oLxx>3oaotujixjucroo
DITMARS' ANIMAL PICTURES
53 Reels Visualizing the Animal Kingdom
THE BRUCE SCENICS
The Best Films of American Scenery
THE NEWMAN TRAVELS
Unusual Travelogs of Remote Byways
MEXICO TODAY
George D. Wright's Pictures of What Mexico Really Is^
CARTOON COMEDIES
Cleanest and Cleverest of Animated Drawings
\ Before booking your school, lyceum or church attrac-
tion, ask the nearest EDUCATIONAL exchange
for complete program — if none available, write us
Federal Feature Film Co.
16 Piedmont St., Boston, Mass.
Argus Motion Picture Co.
815 Prospect Ave., Cleveland, O.
First Nat. Exhibitors' Exchange
300 Westing House Bldg.,
Pittsburg, Pa.
Harry Abbott
602 Film Bldg., Detroit, Mich.
First Nat. Exhibitors' Exchange
New Orleans, La.
Electric Theatre Supply Co.
13th and Vine Sts.,
Philadelphia, Pa.
Bee Hive Exchange
109 N. Maryland St.,
Indianapolis, Ind.
Consolidated Film Corp.
90 Golden Gate Ave.,
San Francisco. Cal.
N. W. Consolidated Film Co.
2020 Third Ave.. Seattle. Wash.
Bee Hive Exchange
207 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago, 111.
Standard Film Co.
Film Exchange Bldg.,
Minneapolis, Minn.
Standard Film Co.
Grand and Olive Sts., St. Louis, Mo.
Standard Film Co.
Boley Bldg., Kansas City, Mo.
M. & R. Film Exchange
Los Angeles, Cal.
ojcxnoNAL Films (Srpormoi
^^?>
729 ^AVENUE
NEWTORK.N.Y,
Ilillilllllllliiilillli
Hundreds of films
to choose from on
Art Science Invention Travel
Sports Industrials Cartoons
And all the short length you want
Paramount-Bray Pictographs
The Magazine on the Screen"
THE great number and scope of Paramount-Bray Picto-
graphs are only possible because they were the first
release of that kind. •
Each presents varied information and entertainment by
covering several short different subjects and by always
including one of the famous Bray Animated Cartoons.
The animated technical drawings by which the hitherto
unphotographable is translated to the screen appear only
in Paramount-Bray Pictographs.
There is a new single reel released each week.
Here are some examples of recent releases which give
a little idea of what Paramount-Bray Pictographs have to
offer you.
ART
In a Sculptor's Studio
How museum groups
are made
SCIENCE
Carnivorous plants
Origin of coal
Comets
INVENTION
How the Telephone
Talks
A Machine that
Thinks
TRAVEL
Travels in the West
Indies
Scenic Wonders of
Mt. Lowe
SPORTS
Water Sports of
Hawaii
A Quail Hunt in Ole
Virginny
INDUSTRIALS
Industries of the
West Indies
Meeting the World's
demand for Shipping
Packages
CARTOONS
By the World's great-
est Motion Picture
Cartoonists
Paramount-Bray Pictographs are obtainable at all the twenty-seven Famous
Players-Lasky Exchanges throughout the country — at nominal cost.
THE BRAY STUDIOS, Inc.
23 East 26th Street
New York City
Industries :
The quickest way to gain the confidence of the public is to come right out
and show how your products are made. For this purpose the complete
Paramount-Bray facilities for making the film and giving1 it a country-wide
distribution are now at your disposal. Inquiries are invited.
FAMOUS PLAYERS -LASKY CORPORATION
ADOLPH ZXXKORPres. JESSE L.1ASKY Vice Pres. CECIL B.mMUlE Director</enervl
•■ '"NEW YOBIO ■
"orGei
m
Y///////&/////y/A?s//////7s///jf//s///A//y//jy?ss//^^
'T he Crowning Achievement of the
Inventor of the First Motion Picture
Projector.
Designed especially for Educational
and Industrial Service.
Remarkable for its Simplicity, Beauty
of Screen Picture, and Positive Safety.
Projection up to One Hundred Feet.
Weight Ninety-eight Pounds.
Price Three Hundred and Fifty Dollars
You are invited to call or send for illustrated booklet
GRAPHOSCOPE
50 East 42nd Street : : New York
y////////,ss/?//?/s//yr//r/ss/?^^^
<w>! EDUCATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE
Vol. I
Published Monthly at 33 West 42d Street (Aeolian Hall), New York City. DOLPH EASTMAN, Editor.
Subscription: United States, $3 a year; other countries, $4 a year; single copies, 25 cents.
Advertising rates on application. Copyright, 1919, by City News Publishing Company.
APRIL, 1919
No. 4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Index to Articles
EDITORIAL 5
A Visual Education Association — The Antidote
for Bolshevism — Making School Attractive
THE FUTURE OF THE EDUCATIONAL FILM 6
By Homer Croy — Illustrated
SCHOOL SEES WAR FILM 7
"BELGIUM, KINGDOM OF GRIEF" 7
EDUCATIONAL FILMS FROM A FRENCH VIEWPOINT. ... 8
By Edmond Ratisbonne
HOW THE FILM CAN AMERICANIZE AMERICA. 9
By Charlton L. Edholm — Illustrated
MOTION PICTURES FROM THE FRESHMAN PENPOINT.. 10
By Vera Kelsey
"MOVIES"' THE DOUGHBOYS LIKE 11
By Edith Dunham Foster — Illustrated
INDUSTRIAL FILMS IN SYRACUSE CHURCH 12
THE LONGEST FILM JOURNEY EVER TAKEN 13
By Charles Frederick Carter — Illustrated
FILM PROGRAMS AT BROOKLYN Y. W. C. A 14
SWEDISH LITERARY FILMS 14
MICHIGAN CHURCHES AND '-MOVIES'" 14
CHURCH PUT IN FOURTH PLACE BY "MOVIES" 14
FILM 'HUNTER" VISITS NEW YORK 14
SUNDAY "MOVIES" IN A NEWARK, N. J., CHURCH 15
MICROMOTION STUDIES APPLIED TO EDUCATION 16
By A. A. Douglass and W. L. Dealey — Illustrated
THE BETTER FILMS MOVEMENT AND EDUCATION 18
By Myra Kingman Miller — Illustrated
THE VALUE OF THE STILL PICTURE 19
AFRICAN SLIDES FOR NEW YORK SCHOOLS 20
A NEW NON-INFLAMMABLE FILM FOR AMERICA 22
Illustrated
900- WATT LAMPS IN PLACE OF ARCS 24
By M. Bunays Johnson — Illustrated
THE "Y" AND THE "MOVIE" IN THE INDUSTRIAL COM-
MUNITY 26
By George Jay Zehrung — Illustrated
CATALOG OF FILMS 29
Cycle of Film Classics — Industrial — Literary —
Medical and Surgical — Travel — Zoology
BUREAU OF NATURALIZATION FILMS 32
Index to Advertisements
Educational Films Corp.,
Inside front cover
The Bray Studios 1
Graphoscope Co 2
Community M. P. Bureau 4
Underwood & Underwood 19
Excelsior Illustrating Co 20
Standard Slide Corp 20
Scott & Van Altena, Inc 20
Auto-SIyde & M. P. Machine Co. 21
Exhibitors' Booking Agency.... 23
Post Pictures Corp 23
Victor Animatograph Co 25
Pathescope Co. of America 25
Wholesome Films Co 28
The De Vry Corporation 30
Films of Business, Inc 31
Eastern M. P. Co 31
Eastman Kodak Co 32
Burke & James, Inc 32
Nicholas Power Co. Inside back cover
Precision Machine Co. .. .Back cover
Special Subscription Offers
EDUCATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE
Trial Subscription for 4 Months, $1
Annual Subscription, $3 Subscriptions in Clubs of 3 or more, $2 each
2-Year Subscriptions, $4 3-Year Subscriptions, $5
As THE NATIONAL AUTHORITY on educational, industrial and allied
motion pictures, the best thought and most helpful ideas and suggestions
will be found in EVERY issue of this publication.
In EVERY number all worth-while educational,
scientific, agricultural, literary, historical, govern-
mental, religious, travel, scenic, social welfare, topical,
and industrial films are classified, listed, and described.
Many valuable features will be added from time to
time. If you wish to keep in touch with all develop-
' ments in Visual Education, take advantage of these
Special Subscription Offers TO-DAY. Fill out the
Coupon and mail to us NOW, with check, money
order, registered letter, or Dollar Bill.
CUT OUT, SIGN, AND MAIL NOW WITH REMITTANCE
Educational Film Magazine, 33 West 42nd St., New York
Enclosed find $ for which enter qtt r> subscrip-
tion to your magazine for
MONTHS
• YEARS
NAME
STREET NO. ...
CITY & STATE.
®fje &merican'S Creeb
/ "I believe in tke United States of ^
America as:
Preamble, Constitution of the United States.
A government of the people,
by the people, for the people;"
Preamble, Constitution oi the United States; Daniel Webster's speech' in the Senate.
January 26, 1830; Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg speccti."
Whose just powers are derived
from tke consent of tke governed;"
Thomas Jeffersor\. in the Peclaration of Independence,
VkA democracy in a republic;"
Jama Madison, in "The Federalist." No- 10; Article )
"A sovereign Nation of many sovereign States;
' "E pluribus unum" Creat Seal of the United States: Article IV of the Constitutioi
"A perfect Union, one and inseparable;
Webster's speech in the Senate, January 26, 1830.
<*r*
"Establisked upon tkose principles of
freedom, equality, justice, and kumanity
for wkick American patriots sacrificed
tkeir lives and fortunes.
Declaration of Independence,
I tkerefore kelieve it is my duty
1. <*
ove it;
In substance, from Edward Everett Hale's "-The Man Without o Country."
Oath of Allegiance, Section 1 757, -Revised Statutes of the United State*.
Washington's Farewell Address; Article VI, Constitution of the United States,
To support its Constitution;"
To obey its laws;"
WashingU
\ "To respect its flag;"
j National Anthem "The Sfar-i
on Flag Etiquette, April 14.
"And to defend it against all enemies."
•■. . ■ ;■„>.■
^iy-n.i«T<o ^.
_
mm rm
■■ ■ ■ ■ ■:.■'■■■-■■■' '.,-7 ■ '
fte bureau^
The National Authority
Covering Educational, Scientific, Agricultural, Literary, Historical, Juvenile, Governmental, Religious, Travel, Scenic,
Social Welfare, Industrial, Topical, and News Motion Pictures
Published Monthly by the City News Publishing Co., 33 West 42nd Street (Aeolian Hall), New York City
DOLPH EASTMAN, Editor.
Vol. I
APRIL, 1919
No. 4
A VISUAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
OUR last issue contained an editorial invitation
to all readers to express their views on the
subject of forming a national organization
to be known as the Visual Education Asso-
ciation of the United States, this body to be composed
of all interests identified with visual education in this
country. There have been a few responses to the
suggestion, but we should like to hear from a great
many of our subscribers as to what they think of the
idea and what their views are in detail. If the thought
is worthy, tell us why you believe it is and how such
a national society will help you and others engaged
in visual instruction. If the idea is impractical, or
for some reason does not appeal, tell us that side
of the story also. A consensus of opinion is what we
seek and the father of this plan, Mr. Carson, is, we
know, exceedingly desirous of weighing his idea in
the public scale.
9 ■>
THE ANTIDOTE FOR BOLSHEVISM
Philologically, we do not speak the language of
Russian, Hungarian, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish,
or Portuguese Bolshevists. Sociologically, we Ameri-
cans as a whole have nothing in common with those
who wave the red flag of anarchy, starve and shoot
down intellectuals who wear white collars, and drag
the ermine of undefiled womanhood in the mire.
But there is a common language which every moujik
in central Russia and every peasant on the Hungarian
plains can understand. It is the language of pictures,
more especially motion pictures.
When you bear in mind that Bolshevism is a poison,
a disease, not a cure — an effect of evil conditions,
not a cause of better conditions — you will realize what
power of regeneration upon these ignorant millions
has the motion picture. To the parched throat of the
lost traveler perishing in the desert a sip of muddy
water is as the rarest wine. To the poor diseased
masses of Darkest Russia, Darkest Hungary, and
other dark lands over which the blood-red body of
Bolshevism casts its menacing shadow the cheering,
hopeful, sustaining, life-giving message of the film
will be as food and drink; as clothes and money and
education; as opportunity, freedom, democracy, and
genuine happiness, stripped of the anarchistic fallacy
of class warfare and communism that are based upon
the rule of an illiterate, emotional, unbalanced prole-
tariat.
MAKING SCHOOL ATTRACTIVE
"Children leave school because they do not like
it," Howard W. Nudd, director of the Public Educa-
tion Association, said recently. "In order, to keep
them in school, we must make them like it. A richer
and fuller type of education will accomplish the
reform."
Thomas A. Edison gave the answer to this almost
universal complaint in the January number of this
magazine when he declared :
"The trouble now is that school is too dull ; it holds
no interest for the average boy or girl. It was so in my
school-days and it has changed but little. But make
every class-room and every assembly hall a 'movie'
show, a show where the child learns every moment while
his eyes are glued to the screen, and you'll have one
hundred per cent, attendance. Why, you won't be able
to keep boys and girls away from school then. They'll
get there ahead of time and scramble for good seats,
and they'll stay late begging to see some of the films
over again. I'd like to be a boy again when film
teaching becomes universal."
Mr. Nudd advocates smaller classes, shops and
playgrounds, special classes, and programs for over-
age pupils, pre-vocational and continuation courses,
better paid teachers, and better placed teachers who
may specialize. These are helpful suggestions, but
the crux of the situation is the child himself. The
"movies" are marvelously fascinating to all boys and
girls. Let the schools capitalize that dominant fact of
child psychology and the problem will be solved'.
THE FUTURE OF THE EDUCATIONAL FILM
i
No School Equipment Will Be Complete without Motion Picture
Projection Machines, and Films Will Gradually Replace Text
Books— In History, Geography, Literature, Science, Agriculture,
Industry, and Every Branch of Education the Cinema Will
Dominate the Classroom
By Homer Croy
Author of "How Motioo Pictures Are Made" *
NO greater change will coming years reveal than
that to be brought about in the part motion-
picture instruction will play in the public
schools. Class-rooms fitted with projection-
machines will be an accepted part of the school equipment.
Fewer and fewer text-books will be found in the schools,
with an increasing number of films. History will no longer
be taught from books, but from living models. Coming
students will see George Washington cross the Delaware
from shore to shore. The whole of the American Revolution
will be in seven reels and will be presented to the students
in a way much more vivid than in its present unrelated
generalities.
! Not only history, but geography and science will be taught
by means of motion pictures. Present-day geography can
be shown by means of a trip up the Nile or Amazon with
a camera, but more important will be the teaching of the
effects of geography
on peoples of eras
long gone. Moving
charts and diagrams
will show the flow of
a people toward a
certain region to be
stopped by a moun-
tain range or an arid
area. The move-
ments of centuries
will be brought out
in an hour and will
be more vivid and
permanent in their
lasting effects on the
student's mind than
the same material
covered from text-
books in a semester's course.
Scientific Films on Circuit
Science especially will be taught by means of motion
pictures traveling on an accepted schedule much after the
manner of the present routing of theatrical subjects. A
film illustrating the action and reaction of certain gases
will be shown in one high school, to be sent from there to
another, until it has completed its round of schools of
that grade. Schools public and private unable to equip
themselves with paraphernalia to perform complicated and
expensive experiments will have these experiments pre-
sented to them in graphic form from laboratories ade-
quately equipped for the work.
As a result of the amount of knowledge that can be
imparted in this new form of instruction, school courses
will be shortened instead of lengthened, as is now the general
practice, so that students may specialize in commercial and
vocational subjects. A student who is forced by economic
CLASSROOM scenes such as this will be common sights in the United States in a few
years. Even now hundreds of schools are thus equipped with motion pictures. The
teacher of the future who attempts to teach without the film will find himself or herself
without pupils or prestige.
* Copyright, 1918, Harper & Bros. Illustrations from Pathescope Co.
stress to seek employment early will be able by means
of motion pictures to get a fairly comprehensive idea of
American history and scientific* subjects, with some
familiarity with Shakespeare, and then devote himself or
herself to shorthand or any of the immediately capitalized
branches of study.
The subjects and stories thus depicted will be authorized
by an educational board that anachronisms may not creep
in so that students witnessing the surrender of Yorktown
may see its reproduction with historical accuracy. Pictures
thus approved will be made by private and specialized con-
cerns, as are the text-books of today, and distributed much
in the same way.
The Great War in Film Form
The history of the Great War will not be taught to coming
generations in book form alone, as our past conflicts have
been, but will be unrolled to future students in cinemato-
graphic form. Stu-
dents will see our
generals 1 walking
about and our men
preparing for a con-
certed attack with all
the vividness of an
eye - witness. Along
with the charges and
more thrilling parts
of the conflict will be
shown the work of
the Red Cross, bayo-
net drills, map-mak-
ing, and general prep-
arations behind the
lines, with the history
of a shell from the
time the ore is taken
from the ground until it is discharged into enemy territory.
Not only will motion pictures come to be a phase of
increasing importance in the school, but also will they
come to be more and more a matter of family entertainment
and instruction. The manufacture of portable projection-
machines will make motion pictures in the home a matter
of common acceptance. The present public libraries will be
augmented by film departments where films of an educa-
tional or patriotic nature can be obtained and taken home
to be put on small projection-machines and exhibited to
the family. At the expiration of a certain number of hours,
or days, the films will be returned to the library, where
they will be inspected and turned over to the next in line,
much after the fashion of the withdrawal and the return
of library books of the present day.
A Projector in Every Home
Not only will films of an educational or juvenile nature
be thus exhibited in the home, but films far more intimate
and personal will be in the possession of the average family.
Films showing the baby in arms; the childhood and youth
of members of the family, will be taken by a photographer
coming to the home, and later these films will be put on the
family projecting-machine and exhibited to properly appre-
ciative audiences. The motion-picture projector standing
in its mahogany case will replace the family photograph-
album so dear to the hearts of another generation.
Community instruction will be taken over by a specially
organized branch of the United States Government so that
bodies of individuals of related interests will be instructed
era masse. The latest and best methods of gardening will
be shown free in village theatres, and automobile vans will
travel agricultural districts fully equipped for setting up
tents and showing farmers at their homes the best farming
methods. Before the farmers are ready to plant corn they
will be given film instruction in selection of seed and
germination, with similar instruction in the planting of
spring and fall wheat, with best methods of safeguarding
against weevil and blight.
Not only will state and government films be used in mass
instruction, but the different states will use them as a
means of keeping
agriculturists on the
soil. These films
will be prepared
under state and
governmental super-
vision and will be
taken to the small-
est and farthest out-
lying communities
and shown to the
people there free of
charge. The 'films
will not only be ed-
ucational, but of
story interest, so
that tillers of the
soil will not be
flowing to the cities
in such unceasing
numbers to find
something to relieve
the monotony o f
their rounds.
Farmers as
"Movie" Stars
Will Outstrip the Daily Paper
The possibilities of motion pictures are apparent to an
observer of their trend and a prophet of their future by
the fact that they combine the appeal of acting, reading, and
painting, and when shown with music add to the faculties,
stimulating that which is reached through the ear. They are
the universal art. They have outstripped the theatre in
importance and have surpassed painting and magazines, and
now have .left as a contestant of public attention only the
daily newspaper. Soon they will outstrip it — and then
continue to advance in importance and scope.
They will be a factor in the birth of a child, for by motion
pictures the attending physician will be instructed for what
is before him; by their means the mother will be taught
hygiene and care of the child; by them the child himself
will be instructed in school, drilled in military service, pre-
pared for citizenship, instructed in his choice of a life's
work whether for office or factory, helped in his illnesses,
entertained and amused as he goes along life's way and
finally his obsequies will be recorded and shown to those
interested by the
same celluloid
means.
SCHOOL SEES
WARfcFILM
* As for "movies"
in our public
schools, our wide-
awake authorities
have lost no time in
using them as a
supplement to the
courses in the his-
tory of the world
war which the
schools are now giv-
ing, says the Phila-
delphia Public
Ledger.
How different
from 1914, when
the teachers were
forbidden to discuss
war in their class-
LJERE is an audience of little girls in the assembly hall of a school, intently watching the
-^ ■*■ visualization of Victor Hugo's immortal classic, "Les Miserables." If the great Frenchman
were here to-day he could not fail to be impressed by seeing 'his Jean Valjean on the motion
ill picture screen. In the schools of the future
films Will be and main assemblies.
given a direct and
local interest impossible to even the best of dramatic sub-
jects by rehearsing plays with the farmers themselves as
actors. The men of the soil will be drilled, rehearsed, and
a play put on with all the parts taken by local individuals.
In crowd scenes hundreds of people will be shown, that the
interest may be as wide as possible. The film will be
developed at the state's expense and returned to the people
free of charge, that they may have the pleasure of seeing
themselves in film form. Thus motion pictures will be used
in farming districts with the state's backing for both instruc-
tion and amusement.
At this writing motion pictures are twenty-four years old.
From the first crude, groaning experiment performed in the
Indiana jewelry-store motion pictures have risen from an
unnamed novelty to the fifth industry of the world. They
have accomplished as much in a quarter of a century as
printing did in two hundred years and as much as drama
has since the death of Shakespeare.
'movies" will be essential in both classrooms
rooms.
On a recent
Friday pupils of the
Robert Morriss School — 1,100 strong — were assembled and
marched to a nearby motion picture theatre.
There, through the co-operation of the management, they
were given a visualized lesson on the war in the film known
as "America's Answer."
Though the picture had been used before with single
classes, this is probably the first time the plan has been put
in operation with an entire school.
The result was most gratifying; and the end of the pos-
sibilities of such instruction is not in sight.
"BELGIUM, KINGDOM OF GRIEF"
A historic film record of Belgium's unhappy career is
"Belgium, the Kingdom of Grief," which the city of Brus-
sels exhibited at Carnegie Hall, New York City, and the
Academy of Music, Brooklyn, N. Y. The pictures show con-
ditions in Europe following the fall of Napoleon in 1815.
EDUCATIONAL FILMS FROM A FRENCH VIEWPOINT
Standard Projectors, Fireproof Booths, Non-inflammable Film, Film Text-book
Libraries, Educational Clearing Houses, Training Schools for Operators and
Instructors, and Millions of Working Capital among the Suggestions Offered
BY EDMOND RATISBONNE
Delegate of the Cinematographic Division of the French Army
THE learned world, too long inclined to regard the
cinema as a pastime devised by mountebanks to
amuse the shallow and idle, is beginning to take
motion pictures seriously. It would be regrettable,
as Professor Guillet of Paris says, to limit the future of the
pictures to the throbbing melodramas, the girly-girly bur-
lesques and the slapstick comedies with which the present
market is overcrowded. Just consider a few of the things
the new art, if properly utilized, can do:
It can teach more history in a two-hour pictorial than can
be taught in months' of routine classroom lessons and reci-
tations. It makes geography the most fascinating instead
of the dryest of studies. It brings before the eye the
wonders of science. It instructs in practical work by
concrete example instead of by hearsay. In fact, it offers
short cuts to knowledge in every department of human
activity.
This new concept of the cinema's function is spreading in
France and America, and big things are happening. The
motion picture instructor is a demonstrated success in the
French primary schools. Here in the State of New York
extensive plans are under way, involving co-operation
between the State University and the school population.
Each defrays part of the cost; after the necessary equipment
has been installed, two kinds of films will be shown: (1)
pictures giving academic instruction, and (2) military pic-
tures showing the "school of the soldier" and leading up to
the establishment of universal military training. The col-
leges and high schools are in the movement, too, and scores
of industrial films made by large American manufacturing
corporations are now at the service of technical students iri
engineering, mining, medical, chemical, physical, architec-
ture and arts departments.
It used to be a commonplace of the film-maker: "Educa-
tionals don't pay!" Of course they didn't pay, being a
product made with the schools in mind, but which had no
outlet other than cheap amusement halls. All the more
credit to the pioneers who labored, at sacrifice of time and
money, to develop the possibilities. Among these pathfinders
the French houses of Pathe and Gaumont hold a high place.
The Pathes have been for years patrons of science, giving
the use of their studios and laboratories freely to investi-
gators and exploiting with great liberality the scientific,
geographic, and industrial subjects which they knew could
not possibly yield them a percentage of profit. M. Gaumont
in like manner has developed the useful side of the cinema
with a noble disregard of immediate gain and an eye to the
future requirements of education.
Professor Guillet's Success with Film Teaching
The result of French initiative is seen in the remarkable
success which Leon Guillet, professor in the National School
of Arts and Trades, has attained in teaching young children
by the cinematograph. Natural history, geography, lan-
guage, and technical arts are all inculcated by this means.
The youngest pupils learn to understand the habits and
characters of the animal world by the moving pictorial
story. They see the life of the fly, the evolution of the
frog, the skin-changes of the chameleon, in living and
striking lessons which no oral instruction, however pain-
fully exact, could equal. The cinema study of geography
gives them the outer aspects of each country, the costumes
and ways of the inhabitants, unlocks the doors of homes,
factories and offices, and acquaints them with political and
social institutions.
Next we come to the study of language. M. Guillet here
uses the cinema for the purpose of enlarging and strength-
ening vocabulary. The children are asked to describe what
they see, to characterize it by the precise noun, verb and
adjective. This develops observation, improves wording,
and imparts vigor and narration. The picture method is
so much more vivid and attention-compelling than the old
school-book method of prose composition that Professor
Guillet records young students as being able to remember
and describe graphically a set of film scenes three years
after they had looked upon it!
In the great manual training field — the field which will
particularly interest America on account of her innumerable
manual schools and vast industrial organizations — Professor
Guillet has discovered immense potentialities. Two hundred
boys and girls — or men and women, for that matter — can
get "the hang of the job," so to speak, from looking at one
set of pictures, whereas formerly each one had to be in-
structed in turn by the master. France has taken a first
great step forward by introducing motion picture machines
and motion picture teaching into her primary schools, and
the next stage of progress will undoubtedly be their entry
into the higher schools, the technical colleges and the
universities.
Solving School Film Problems in America
The educational campaign for America bristles with diffi-
culties which, however, can be overcome by planning
rationally and availing ourselves of the lessons learned by
French successes. Obviously, it is of no use to have school
films without places to show them and operators to run them.
Every grammar and high school, college and university,
should have a fireproof projection room equipped with
standard safety machine, the cost of which projector need
not exceed $300. One of the professors should be taught
to light an electric lamp, to feed and rewind film, to turn
a crank or run an electric motor. A week's instruction
would be sufficient, and either a man or a woman teacher
would do. In England, it may be noted in passing, fifty per
cent of picture operators are women. The assembly hall
should be large and provided with abundant exits. Non-
inflammable film of the type used in French schools must
be employed, and the same rigid precautions taken against
fire as in the commercial picture theatres.
What about the pictures themselves? For immediate needs
catalogs should be prepared of all existing film available
in the hands of the manufacturers, and these should be
supplied to the schools at a low or nominal figure by a
single distributing company specializing in such work.
Many of the existing subjects, if re-edited and re-titled, will
answer fairly well in the role of improvised picture text-
(Continued on page 30)
*
HOW THE FILM CAN AMERICANIZE AMERICA
By Interpreting the Facts, Opportunities, and Glories of Our Land
to Foreigners Who Love It, by Way of Motion Pictures, We Can
Remove the Seeds of Social Unrest
By Charlton L. Edholm
HOW much does the average man know about
America? Aside from the lucky few who can
travel, or are students of the subject, how many
of us know even a small part of our land, its
, resources, its promise?
We have a general idea of the beauties of California or
Florida or some other well advertised sections, and we know
A/TEN of this type can be Americanized through the film, which speaks
a common language. One good picture will offset a dozen silver-
tongued agitators, and remove the menace of Bolshevism.
a little about the state in which we live and work, but apart
from that, isn't it true that our knowledge of the land we
live in is very hazy indeed? How many of us have crossed
the continent, or been down the Mississippi, or visited a
great steel plant, or descended into a coal mine, or lived
in a logging camp, or walked in an orange grove?
Yet all these things are America.
Americans Who Know Not America
If the average native-born man admits his very sketchy
knowledge of America, what about the immigrant who is
handicapped by inability to read our language, who has
no chance to travel for pleasure, and whose life since he
landed on our shores has been spent in the foreign quarters
of one or two cities or the labor camps where his job held
HPHE immigrant comes to America as to "The Promised Land."
■*■ He wants to know all about its wonders and opportunities. The
screen will show him, and help him to become American in fact as
well as in name.
him? Usually he has no contacts with Americans who could
tell him of this land of opportunity; he has passed the
school age so that the textbook information is not available
for him, and in consequence his outlook is narrow and
his views distorted. From his home in the slums he is likely
to regard the America of his dreams as a swindle and to
long for the land of his youth, the Old Country that he
knew.
And that is a danger that confronts America in this period
of reconstruction, when the immigrant hears the call of
the homeland and seeks to return, because he believes there
are better opportunities for him there than here. It would
be a serious loss to the United States if a million of these
sturdy workers should leave us when peace is signed; yet
that is the condition we face.
Or if he remains here, discontented and with a grievance
against America, he is the material upon which agitators can
work with ease, and stir up to violence, and in that way
he is a danger to the Republic. Upon such soil the seeds
of Bolshevism fall and take root with fatal results.
How the "Movies" Can Americanize
The motion picture can remedy this to a great extent by
showing foreigners in America just what this country has
to offer them. The slum dweller can see on the screen the
H«^B ' • '" liiiil'iirMi illlSSll
A GROUP of workers gathered in a neighborhood hall, going
through an Americanization motion picture "experience." A few
educational "experiences" like this make aliens good citizens.
fields of the western states where a man can own his farm
and provide a decent home for his family. It can show the
Italian, for example, that on the Pacific coast they are pro-
ducing the fruits whose cultivation he understands, the
orange and lemon, the grape and the olive. It can show the
Russian that in the northwest there are broad acres where
wheat calls for the harvester. It can show the wonders of
our reclamation projects that develop the desert into fields
and gardens.
The film can show the industries of every section of
America, so that a man who is in the wrong job can see the
one that suits him better and go after it.
It can show the worker in a city tenement how people in
the less crowded sections live, in pleasant homes, with fresh
air and sunshine, and a chance to educate their children.
This is all educational, and the captions should tell what
the pictures fail to show: that is, what the labor demands
are, the wages, the cost of living, the special requirements,
the amount needed to get a foothold, and so on.
(Continued on page 12)
MOTION PICTURES FROM THE FRESHMAN PENPOINT
"I Do As I See," Writes a Chinese Pupil— "I Watch Till I Know," Says a Russian Student-
Norwegian Girl from Alaska Lives in the Beautiful Film City of "Make-Believe"
BY VERA KELSEY
Instructor in English, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.
WHEN the jaded pens of my freshmen in English
composition begin to lag I hastily administer a
tonic by telling them to discuss the motion pic-
ture. Nine out of ten, of course, spring valiantly
to the defense of the unmenaced cinema and in worn gen-
eralities extol its beneficent influence on our physical,
mental, and spiritual well-being. But the tenth student dips
into his own experience and oftentimes reveals a new phase
of moving picture influence.
A western university draws its student body not only
from the United States but from China, Russia, India,
Mexico, and Alaska. Yet the foreign student with com-
parative ease fits into the complex and new life of the
co-educational institution. Freshmen themes and confer-
ences discover the value these students place upon the film
in enabling them to do this for they look upon it as an
infallible guide in the dizzy paths of "How to Act and What
to Wear."
Now He Can "Stare" the Ladies
"I know not how to act with ladies," a Chinese boy wrote
carefully. "I cannot stare them on the street or in the class.
I go to the 'movie' house. I see that American man let her
talk and be first to go into doors. American wait on Amer-
ican lady and is not a servant. I do as I see, and I am
polite like Americans."
"When I come to America," said a Russian student,
"I want to look like American right off. But when I go for
to buy American clothes, a man fool me and sell me suit
with large squares. All the puple (people) laugh at me,
and I was shamed and could not study good. I go to the
'movie' and watch every man. Funny men wear funny
clothes, but man the lady loves wear clothes you not see at
first. They are dark and fit him. I watch till I know, and
then I go and buy clothes like that for me."
Invited Teacher to See the Real Thing
And an older Russian wishing to repay me for the assist-
ance I had given him with some papers, invited me to dine
with him at a widely known cafe. He had been charmed,
I learned later, by the pictured representation of such a
scene and imagined that I would be more than charmed
with the reality.
Many such instances have come to me through hearsay
or personal experience of the influence of the screen. Al-
though on the surface this influence is more or less super-
ficial, actually it plays a comfortable part in putting the
foreign student at his ease in the American classroom or
home. And when he is at ease in either place he is more
readily enabled to accomplish the purpose for which he
came to our shores — the assimilation of American customs
and ideas.
Greeted "Movie" as a Dear Friend
But trans-Pacific students do not sit alone at the feet of
the motion picture. A Norwegian girl snapped my eyes
open to an unknown side of Alaskan life. She sat through
the first week of class with tightly closed lips and with icy
blue eyes following every movement of the other students.
The second week she burst confidently into speech and
thereafter was never the last to offer an opinion or take any
part. When I assigned the moving picture topic, she
greeted it as a dear friend.
Her Dream "City" in Alaskan Wilds
Twelve years of her life had been spent in a very small
Alaskan town. During the long winter months, when they
were cut off from the Outside, the motion picture was their
only interest. Some weeks she went four or five times to
see the same picture. Afterwards she and her sister would
act out the various scenes. To this undoubtedly she owes
her ability to express her ideas so clearly. They would
discuss each new feature of city life and place it in "The
City of Make-Believe."
"Although we had never seen a street car, an automobile,
a bank building, an elevator, or a brick church," she wrote,
"our air castle city had them all. It had paved streets am
lights and every kind of tree we had ever seen in an;
picture — palm and fir and many other kinds we had to
name ourselves."
The Screen Her Preparatory School
When she came to the United States to complete her
education, she was so afraid she would not be like other
girls, and not know the most ordinary things, that she hes-
itated to expose herself by word or act to ridicule. But as
she watched and listened she realized that she was quite as
well prepared as, and sometimes better than, the freshmen
about her. She realized also that the little theatre in Alaska
had been her preparatory school.
"If our town had not had a 'movie,' " she concluded her
theme, "I would not be able to enjoy my college life so much
because I would have to spend all my time learning what
everyone else knows."
Is the Film Making Freshmen Wise Men?
Few comment now on the fact that boys and girls from
the small towns have little more to learn when they ente
the university and a large city for the first time than thos
more experienced in travel and city life. But sometimes -I
wonder how much of this sophistication may be traced bac
to the motion picture. American students are not so naivel
honest about themselves as the foreigners, or, perhaps t<
some extent, they are unconscious of the sources of their
ideas. But it is not difficult each fall to pick out the fol-
lowers of certain film favorites or to discover that a new
star has appeared. And the motion picture topic never fails
to bring out a vivid detail or two concerning the freshmen
themselves or some allied field which cannot be the result
of imagination only.
Marvelous! Fat, Yet "A Perfect 36"
For example, an earnest film crusader wrote: "A fat woman
can rest from shopping in a moving picture and at the same
time learn to dress so that her waist will appear a perfect
thirty-six."
"The motion picture is not destroying home life," another
defended. "It is making it more interesting. Parents and
(Continued on page 12)
10
MOVIES" THE DOUGHBOYS LIKE
Contrary to General Opinion, Uncle Sam's Fighters Cared
Nothing for Sex. and Vampire Stuff and Were Happiest
When Shown Kiddies, Home Folks, and Sparkling Comedy
By Edith Dunham Foster
Editor, Community Motion Picture Bureau
WHAT is a war camp, a transport, or an army-
battalion overseas but a community and a com-
munity group? In hundreds of these commu-
nities the motion picture has served in a way
which far surpasses the use of any other one factor in main-
taining the morale of militant men. It was the privilege
and responsibility of the Community Motion Picture Bureau
to select the motion pictures that were to be shown to the
soldiers and sailors.
A survey of the nature of this work and the results ob-
tained points its suggestion to any group in every com-
munity. One of the rules of thumb necessary in our selec-
tion of pictures is that no officer be shown in films where
his conduct is unworthy his uniform. We protect the officer
in our selection of films. We object to society drinking.
None of the films shows the drinking of today unless the
moral is plainly to be seen. We avoid international com-
plications by refusing to ship abroad screen dramas which
deal with the American Revolution, for instance. Of course
we object emphatically to undress and sex pictures. The
"vampire" film is absolutely taboo.
Doughboys Love Kiddie Films
When we had established our basis of selection, or our
basis of rejection, and were sending the best films we could
get, President Warren Dunham Foster went to France to
investigate. Immediately he wired back: "Send to France
all the pictures of children you can get." The sort of pic-
ture we had been sending to cantonments was not exactly
the sort wanted in the huts at the front. They wanted pic-
tures with children, the children for whose safety they
fought. They wanted pictures of home and home life. The
soldier who was fortunate enough to see his home town on
the screen was filled with a curious elixir of happiness.
The folks back home in Salem, Massachusetts, were espe-
cially enterprising for their boys. They marched the whole
town in front of the motion picture camera and sent this
film album to the home boys in France and made a rare
and glorious holiday.
Now, the boys in camp are just our boys — bone of our
bone, flesh of our flesh, clean, patriotic and brave. Who
was it was so ready to say that these boys would want the
vulgar? We know they did not and do not.
Just as entertainment, the "movie" contributes "pep" and
ginger and nothing in the wine shops can compare with it
as medicine for boys on the march. The first car to reach
the Prussian border with the American Army of Occupation
contained three men of the Community Motion Picture Bu-
reau with a Y. M. C. A. sign on the weather barrier. The
report of that night reads:
"We reached Godbrauge at 12.15. At this place we swung our
screen on poles and set up in an open field. 'Twas a wonderful
night; a bit cold but with a clear sky. The men crowded into
the field early, one thousand strong, anxious to get a glimpse
of the first moving object on the screen. They had forgotten
sore feet and tired limbs and all the aches and pains of the
hard march of the day. A reel of 'Farmyard Romeo' and they
were whistling and singing. Douglas Fairbanks in 'Manhattan
Madness' took the field by storm, men cheering every climax.
Hats always go in the air out here when we flash a scene from
little old New York."
The "One Boy and One Girl" Story
Three new programs are given each week at each camp.
Each program contains an outdoor story such as a William
Hart picture showing the struggle to be physically fit. There
is also what we call the "one boy and one girl" love story.
Whatever the program, we are very anxious each week to
get the memorandum concerning the reaction of the boys
to these films. December 12 "Miss U. S. A." "went big
with all the boys" and there were 600 of them. The 350
men who saw "Peggy" the night before said it was one of
the best films shown there. These oversea audiences run
3,000 more often than 300 now. This is probably because
during the fighting not more than 200 men were allowed
to be together at one time in the fighting zone. Air planes,
bombs, and artillery fire interrupted more than one show.
TN the circle at the right is a
group of khaki-clad doughboys
happy at the thought of the
"movie" show which the motor
cyclist is about to speed off and
get for them. Below, a group
of fighters, wearing their "tin
Lizzies," watching a film.
On shipboard the showing of pictures was curtailed dur-
ing the war because of the necessity for a minimum of
lighting. Now, however, I understand that the first reel of
film is unwound at nine o'clock in the morning and the
show is continued throughout the day until midnight so
that everybody can have a chance to see the films. On the
most crowded ships, motion pictures sometimes run until
two o'clock in the morning. There are six to seven million
feet of films on the sea every day. Many of these have
to do with pictures that have not yet been released to au-
diences in America.
For the transport, "George Washington," on which Presi-
dent Wilson sailed, and returned in February, the films were
those selected and supplied by our editorial staff. In select-
ing for the President and his company, the editorial force
felt their peculiar responsibilities. Surely there is no
group or community that would require more stimulating
effort. And twenty cases, each containing five reels of
films, were sent to entertain his party. We selected "Quo
11
Vadis" that was filmed at Rome; "The Hope Chest," with
Dorothy Gish as the little waitress in a great candy store;
"The Secret Garden," a charming picturization of Mrs.
Burnett's novel, was a third.
If Standard Books, Why Not Standard Films?
When serving the President with motion pictures it is
not out of place to say that ever since the entrance of the
Bureau into the field, five years ago, it has had one decided
purpose: to create a standard screen equal to standard
literature. The producer will be encouraged beyond all
present conception when people learn to view motion pic-
tures with the discrimination they give to the spoken drama.
Increasing use of re-issues is a most encouraging sign.
Many really excellent subjects, years old, are playing now
this minute on Broadway to crowded houses.
Yes, why not select our motion pictures as we select a
school, a magazine or daily paper? Why have we sent our
children to any picture house without choice or discrimina-
tion wondering, possibly, if the air is good? Must all
screen dramas be suitable for the young because the price
is within their reach? Must the showing of the bear
nursing its mother's breast be cut from a film when the
picture is made to teach the ignorant mothers how to keep
the baby's mouth healthy? Selection is the only sane
method of handling motion pictures and the bad need never
be selected in any community if you create the demand
for the good — and the supply of the good is constantly
increasing. Select the good; the bad will die of starvation.
Ideas and Ideals Essential
I know of no other public utility that has been so mis-
treated as the motion picture. Nothing has been so mis-
understood. Because the Community Bureau is in business
as a service is no reason why the producers should be. They
are in business for the almighty dollar and that is entirely
natural. However, I believe that producers without ideas
and ideals cannot stay in the motion picture business for
any indefinite length of time. Choosing and patronizing
the good will prevent the production of the evil, and the
best is none too good for our boys.
Parenthetically, I may say that certain subjects can be
recommended for church audiences that we would not place
before any other audiences. On Sunday night, in a church,
with the right man on the job, the vicious is often an elo-
quent argument for its own destruction. When we hear of a
picture that has a perfectly tremendous theme it sounds like
Sunday night. The strongest meat can be offered in a church
where the right kind of emphasis can be placed on the most
pitiless exhibition of human frailty. "The Unbeliever" I
consider is as good a picture as has ever been filmed, and
this is especially suited to church audiences.
We are not quite so serious as we sound. First and fore-
most, we want all the comedy we can get. Comedy has one
quality of sleep in that it gives us a chance to begin again —
relieves the tenseness so that relaxation will follow. We
seldom recommend a program without its due share of
comedy.
Won't "Fall for That Stuff Now"
A soldier from overseas stood on Broadway looking at
a screaming bill poster on the front of a third rate picture
house. A Red Cross worker strolled up beside him.
"Say," he said, turning to her, "I used to fall for that
kind of stuff, but we have had a different kind of picture
in the camps and you can't get me to go in for that now."
INDUSTRIAL FILMS IN SYRACUSE CHURCH
Motion pictures exhibited recently at the Missionary
Study Institute in the First Baptist Church, Syracuse, N. Y.,
disclosed agricultural conditions in India and China, and
industrial conditions in Japan and South Africa. Other
pictures showed the making of pottery in Borneo and the
weaving of shawls in Cashmere. Some films visualized
industrial conditions in South America, the Philippines and
China. Among the views was one showing the antiquated
methods of silver mining in Peru.
The object of the pictures was to disclose the needs for
practical Christian work on the part of missionaries in these
lands. The study classes are from 5 until 8:30, at which
time the pictures are presented, until 9:30.
9 9
HOW THE FILM CAN AMERICANIZE AMERICA
(Continued from page 9)
Foreigners Eager for Such Films
There is no doubt that such films would be eagerly fol-
lowed by the foreigner who wants to better himself, and
would be profitable to the theatre, the educational exhib-
itor, the producer, the community, and the spectator alike.
Such films can be produced in narrative form with all the
human interest, the love story, or the adventure woven into
the plot as may be considered desirable to add to their
popularity, but exaggeration or misrepresentation must
be avoided. Co-operation with chambers of commerce or
other bodies that desire immigration could be secured by
the producers.
Patriotic, Literary, and Historic Films
This is but one phase of Americanization work which can
be done by the film. Patriotic pictures are useful, of course,
and are so plentiful at present as to need no special en-
couragement, but the literary masterpieces of America might
be shown on the screen to advantage, and probably will be.
Effort should be made to avoid cheapening them, how-
ever, by sensational incidents or exaggeration. The re-
straint of the literary artist has a lesson for the scenario
writer, and the first one who learns that lesson will reap
a harvest of profit and fame.
American history can be taught in the same vivid manner,
but the historical film should be as accurate and impartial
as it is possible to make it.
Interpret Our Land to Those Who Love It
With films prepared especially to interpret America to
the foreigners, showing this country's resources and oppor-
tunities, its history, literature and ideals, the ties that bind
him to this land may be infinitely strengthened.
It is a big job, bigger than merely amusing the public,
and some day a big man in the motion picture world will
tackle it and do it right.
9 9
PICTURES FROM THE FRESHMAN PENPOINT
{Continued from page 10)
children used to have nothing to talk about together. Now
the mother and father go to their favorite theatre, the boys
go wherever Bill Hart plays, and the girls follow their hero.
Then afterwards they can all talk about what they have
seen."
"The Mixed and Inky Chorus of Praise"
The pens of clergymen, military authorities, and pro-
fessors extol the merits of the camera in religion, war, and
education. Although I know not what the truth may be
and tell the tale as it was told to me, I submit that the
freshman pen be allowed a place in the mixed and inky
chorus singing the praises of the motion picture.
12
TRAVEL-SCENIC
THE LONGEST FILM JOURNEY EVER TAKEN
Herford Tyne Cowling, Cinematographer for Burton Holmes, Covered
Almost the Distance to the Moon on His Two Year Trip — Back in
New York with More than 100,000 Feet o£ Rare Negatives of Pacific
Lands and Peoples
By Charles Frederick Carter
HERFORD TYNE COWLING, chief cinemato-
grapher for Burton Holmes, has just returned to
New York from a two years' trip in which he has
been taking motion pictures in the Orient and the
islands of the South Sea for the Paramount-Burton Holmes
Travelogs. He left New York February 2, 1917, accom-
panied by Mr. . Holmes, and since then has covered over
200,000 miles in his travels.
Mr. Holmes and Mr. Cowling went first to Canada, where
they filmed the popular Travelog series, "Winter Sports
in Canada." Crossing the continent to Vancouver,
they went first to Hawaii and thence to Fiji, Samoa,
New Zealand, Australia, Tasmania, China and
Japan. After a few weeks' sojourn Mr. Holmes
returned to this country, leaving Mr. Cowling to
continue the work alone except for the help of
native assistants.
From Japan Mr. Cowling crossed to Formosa,
where he spent six interesting weeks. Formosa
being a Japanese colony, he was accompanied at
all times by a guard of the Mikado's soldiers. Here
he secured some rare pictures of the famous For-
mosan head hunters, it being the first time that
Hong Kong was next visited and thence Mr. Cowling pro-
ceeded to Siam, a land never before visited by a cinema
photographer. Here pure Buddhism is the religion, and
the people are shown at worship in their temples as well
as at work and play. The King of Siam not only extended
every courtesy to Mr. Cowling, even allowing him to photo-
graph the dancing girls of his court, but posed before the
camera himself.
"Shoots" Largest Volcano
Mr. Cowling next visited the federated States of the Malay
"C* OR nearly two years Mr. Cowling wandered in
-*- strange lands, among strange peoples, making film
records for present and future generations. Some of
the most remarkable motion pictures yet made of the
Fijis, Tasmania, Samoa, China, Japan, and the Phil-
ippines are the result of this 200,000 mile junket of one
of the foremost camera men.
these savage natives had ever seen a camera. This
series of Formosa pictures will show graphically
the Japanese methods of colonization.
Fine Philippine Pictures
Returning to Japan, Mr. Cowling then embarked
for the Philippines, where he remained six months.
HP HE celebrated Fire Walkers of Fiji and their curious ceremonials are picturized in
-1- Burton Holmes' Travelogs. This ancient custom is intended to insure good crops.
A priest and other celebrants walk barefoot across a bed of stones which have been
heated upon a mass of burning wood, called by the natives a "taro oven." The late
Professor S. P. Langley, of Smithsonian Institution, showed that the volcanic rock
used is a poor conductor of heat and while the lower part may be red hot, the upper
part is only moderately warm.
13
Peninsula. Here the people are opposed to photography as
against their Mohammedan religion, but Mr. Cowling ob-
tained special permission, and even was allowed to take
pictures of the Sultan of Parak and his entire court in full
regalia.
The Straits' Settlements were next on the itinerary, Penang,
Malacca and Singapore being visited in turn, and from there
the photographer went to the Dutch East Indies. In Java
some splendid views were taken of Mt. Bromo, the largest
active volcano in the world.
Here Mr. Cowling found three Americans, one the pro-
prietor of one of the leading hotels, who stated that their
interest in Java had first been aroused by Burton Holmes
pictures which they had seen on the screen and which had
been directly responsible for their turning their backs on
the Western world and taking
up their permanent residence in
this beautiful island of the South
Sea. With these pictures
Cowling completed his work and
returned to America via the Philip-
pines.
Has Remarkable Record
For seven years Mr. Cowling
was in the employ of the United
States Government, in charge
of the photographic work of
the Interior Department, be
coming famous in the
cinematographic world
for his series, "See
America First." He also
produced for the In-
terior Department the
dramas, "The Ro-
mance of the West"
and "The Life of a
Forest Ranger," and
for his work was
awarded a gold medal
by the Panama - Pacific
Exposition at San Fran-
cisco,
Mr. Cowling's tour was
the largest purely photo-
graphic expedition on
record. He traveled in
every known conveyance
except an airplane, and
shot over 100,000 feet of film, developing all of it on the
way. He believes, and with good reason, that he has the
most complete and comprehensive series of views of the
Orient ever taken.
9 9
FILM PROGRAMS AT BROOKLYN Y. W. C. A.
The motion picture projection machine is being used to
good effect to supplement the attractive program that
Central Branch Young Women's Christian Association is
offering the people of Brooklyn, N. Y. In the auditorium,
as a part of the recent Sunday vesper service, beginning at
4.15 o'clock, was shown a picture of "The Life of Lincoln"
and pictures of war work in France. On Monday the com-
munity sing, at 8 o'clock, was followed by the showing ol
a feature film. Another ideal motion picture program for
children was carried out Saturday afternoon, March 1, under
the auspices of the educational committee.
BURTON HOLMES, known as
"The World's Greatest Trav-
eler," sponsor for the famous Trav-
elog pictures, is here shown in the
official correspondent's uniform
which he wore at the front during
the war. Since February, 1916, Mr.
Holmes has been engaged in pro-
ducing and the Paramount Com-
pany in distributing his one reelers
depicting lands, peoples, customs,
dress, industries, home and social
life of every country in the world.
SWEDISH LITERARY FILMS
To Be Produced on Large Scale in New "Movie" Studio City Near
Stockholm
By George D. Hopper
Stockholm, Sweden
Plans are being made for the erection and equipment of
a large moving-picture city, corresponding to those in Cali-
fornia, in the vicinity of Rasunda, outside of Stockholm.
The Swedish Biograph Company, Limited, has bought a site
of about ten acres that is suitable for taking pictures; there
is a large fir forest with a rocky area and also a lake. It is
expected that the acting will begin in 1920.
In order to meet the heavy expenses connected with this
project, the company has increased its capital from 2,500,-
000 to 10,000,000 crowns ($670,000 to $2,680,000 at normal
exchange) . It is the intention of the promoters to specialize
in Swedish literary films, or dramatizations of Swedish
books. The production will be about 3,000,000 meters
(9,700,000 feet) of film per year.
MICHIGAN CHURCHES AND "MOVIES"
The churches of Detroit had agreed upon an extensive
use of motion pictures as an auxiliary aid of Christian edu-
cation and were putting into effect some plans calling for
their extensive use. Just as the plan was getting well under
way the state law interfered and demanded a radical change
in the construction of the buildings, a change which could
not be made in more than a few cases. The churches were
to be subjected to the same conditions as required in the
commercial picture theatres. As a consequence of this
interference, says the Northwestern Christian Advocate, the
churches propose to go before the state legislature and fight
for the enactment of a new law which will give room for
the larger development of the motion picture along moral
and educational lines.
(When non-inflammable film comes into general use,
churches and schools will not have to fight the authorities
for the right to use this great invention for moral and edu-
cational purposes. — Editor.)
CHURCH PUT IN FOURTH PLACE BY "MOVIES"
At a recent meeting of the Chicago Censorship Com-
mittee Professor Ernest W. Burgess, instructor in sociology
at the University of Chicago, said that in his opinion the
church is slipping backward in public influence and esteem.
"Instead of the church being a secondary influence in the
welfare of the youth of the country," he daclared, "it is
fourth. The three important influences are the home, the
school, and the motion picture theatre."
The professor's report was based on observations made by
237 teachers. Of 100,000 children tested over 50 per cent
were vitally affected by picture shows.
Dr. Fred Z. Zapflee, neurologist, was of the opinion that
children should attend film performances only once a week,
and the show should not be longer than an hour and a half.
FILM "HUNTER" VISITS NEW YORK
"Square Deal" Miller, the Detroit jeweler, visited Broad-
way while en route from Florida to his home in Michigan.
Mr. Miller spends much of his time in winter in the Ever-
glades, hunting both with gun and motion picture camera.
On this trip he is carrying back with him about 3,000 feet
of interesting film taken during the winter hunting season.
14
RELIGIOUS
SUNDAY "MOVIES" IN A NEWARK, N. J., CHURCH
Reverend Doctor Harry Y. Murkland, Pastor of Central Methodist Episcopal
Church, in the Heart of the Business Section, Solves the Sunday Night
Problem with Pictures in His Pulpit
Wi
HY under the stars shouldn't the motion picture
be used for religious purposes?" demanded the
Reverend Doctor Harry Y. Murkland, pastor of
the Central Methodist Episcopal Church, of 227
Market Street, Newark, New Jersey. "Is it not the most
wonderful invention of modern times with which to circu-
late propaganda? And is not the church in need of
Christian propaganda?
"Some say the age is irreligious. I do not believe it.
Any new leader who comes along gets a following. That
would not indicate that the age is irreligious. Religion
should be attractive. Motion pictures in the church will
make it so."
Dr. Murkland wants, and his church needs, more people
in the pews on Sunday evening. No longer in a residential
district, the Central Church draws a goodly morning con-
gregation from all around, but is dependent on those who
might be called "transients" for the evening service. For
this downtown church problem, that he says is not peculiar
to his church alone, Dr. Murkland became convinced of the
efficacy of the motion picture.
A Pioneer Among Newark Churchmen
For three months Dr. Murkland has been studying the
motion picture possibilities for his Sunday evening service.
In the church proper, dark against the organ pipes, is a
motion picture projection booth, and motion pictures were
shown for the first time in the church on the evening of
March 23. A Powers machine and a Beseler stereopticon
are used. Incidentally, so far as learned, this will be the
initial venture in motion pictures on Sunday in Newark
churches. Offerings cover all expenses, the pastor says.
Dr. Murkland asked a local motion picture theatre man-
ager to acquaint him with the ethics of obtaining equip-
ment and selecting films, but pointed out that he had been
an opponent of Sunday "movies." Nevertheless, the co-
operation he got was instantaneous and generous, an oper-
ator being assigned to help him in all details, gratis. The
projection room in the theatre was offered for his "try-outs"
at any time. The church is not much farther from the
theatre than what is called "a stone's throw."
Tremendous Future for Church Films
"I believe there is a tremendous future in the motion
picture for the church and in the church for the motion pic-
ture," said Dr. Murkland, while partially outlining his
plans, as yet nebulous. "As the field broadens, I believe
the film producers are going to see a light, also, and pro-
duce the right kind of films for use in the church."
Enthusiastically, the pastor reviewed the progress of
motion pictures in religious and social welfare fields since
the pioneer, Rev. Dr. Christian F. Reisner, pastor of Grace
Methodist Episcopal Church of New York, established them
in his schedule and crowded his church by so doing.
Dr. Murkland does not fully agree with the statement that
convention in religion is doomed, but he believes that the
church has been out of touch with the great mass of people.
15
Not long ago he asked a Socialist who lives on the "Hill"
what he thought of the church. The Socialist replied: "The
church is not the friend of the people. Jesus was."
Screen Sermons Now Called "Churchly"
Years ago, Dr. Murkland reminiscences, it was regarded
as a sacrilege when they first put organs in churches, and
violin performances were called "unholy." People pun-
ished their children when they first began to sing gospel
hymns in place of the metrical versions of the psalms. Yet
all these have come to be considered as churchly.
The powers of advertising and keeping in close social
touch with the people were mentioned by Dr. Murkland as
two essentials for the church of today. Greater electric
power will soon brighten the site of the church. He in-
timated that the church must concern itself with the home
affairs of its congregation. Many things, he remarked,
have combined to justify the working people who have
believed that the church has not had the right amount of
interest in them.
To support his theory, Dr. Murkland points out that
Newark has what he has learned theatrical managers call
"a drawing constituency" of almost 1,000,000 people, yet
maintains but one theatre for drama. The vaudeville and
motion picture houses draw on the major portion of the
constituency.
His Motion Picture Programs
On Sunday, March 23, in the evening, Dr. Murkland
preached on the new regime in the Holy Lands. The sermon
was preceded by a motion picture, "A Trip Through Pales-
tine." The Aida Trumpeters from Brooklyn, two young
women, entertained.
The following Sunday, March 30, in the evening, Bishop
Luther B. Wilson lectured from his personal experience on
the Western front and there were shown pictures of "Our
Boys in France," with songs of war-time.
Following, according to tentative plans now working out
on the pastor's desk in his study, will come a film taken by
Kalem who transported a company to Palestine and pro-
duced "From the Manger to the Cross."
Major Everett Colby has promised a lecture on the
"League of Nations" and appropriate pictures will be run.
Judge Edward Schoen of the Essex County Juvenile Court
has also promised co-operation.
Will Show Educationals, Too
In addition to pictures on religious topics solely, which
films are not only difficult to procure but difficult to select
from the various standards on the market, there will be
inspirational pictures somewhat of the character of Geral-
dine Farrar's "Joan, the Woman," but shorter, also educa-
tional, travel, scenic, and nature films.
For instance, if Dr. Murkland plans to preach on fru-
gality and ambition and selects a text of the nature, "Go to
the ant, thou sluggard," the sermon may be followed or
{Continue^ on page 30)
A
SCIENTIFIC
MICROMOTION STUDIES APPLIED TO EDUCATION
Novel Use of Films to Reduce Waste in Process of Learning to a
Minimum — Saving 35 Minutes a Day Saves One Year of School Life
By A. A. Douglass and W. L. Dealey
Clark University, Worcester, Mass.
Part 2
FIGURES 1-3 show the movements made by a boy in
taking (1) a spoke shaver, (2) a chisel, and (3) a
chisel, out of the tool rack and laying them on the
table; figure 4 shows on one photograph all the
movements made in taking eight different tools out of the
rack and laying them on the table.
^ t
*J$* P ^-~~,
■■^^r~-
Figures 1-4. — Removing tools from rack, manual arts class, Bridgham School
Figures 5-8 show the movements made in replacing (5) a
knife, (6) a chisel, (7) a marking gage, and (8) a spoke
shaver in the rack from the table.
It is noticeable that the movements for supposedly the
same operation are by no means the same, and
that the operation is hindered by the present
arrangement of the rack.
The elements of the child's organization, innate
and acquired, constitute the variables of the child.
Children differ greatly in physique, as shown by
Baldwin's tangible norms of height, weight, and
lung capacity, while the child's body is structurally
different from that of the adult. In this connec-
tion, Swift found that the more complex the motor
skill, the more easily is it disturbed by physical
changes in the body. The child's health, whether dependent
on conditions within or without the school, and fatigue,
whether due to coming to school improperly rested or to
necessary school work, are essential considerations. Every
air schools, provision for play, are many; but school work
itself should add to health.
Since the development of the muscular system proceeds
from the fundamental to the accessory, an early emphasis
upon fine co-ordinations is not hygienic. During the
period of lessened motor control that comes with puberty,
Hall1 believes the adolescent should develop the
more basal muscles while the finer ones are some-
what relieved. From this same point of view,
Burnham argues for a thoroughly hygienic environ-
ment and the acquisition of habits distinctly con-
ducive to health; in discussing the hygiene of
manual arts he calls attention to the important
fact that the nervous system is conditioned in its
development by motor exercise. The development
of the muscles during their period of rapid growth
goes hand in hand with that of the nervous system.
Again, while this period of instability presents opportunity
for rapid educational progress, the greatest care is needed,
for the early adolescence is peculiarly liable to ill health.
The advent of pubescence varies with the individual, so
\v /*** -SJ^
p^»
Figure 9. — Chronocylegraph of boy planing, manual arts class, Bridgham School
motion causes fatigue and requires a certain percentage of
rest, which should be computed with great exactness and
properly distributed. Factors contributing to the child's
health, such as medical inspection, school lunches, open
'Monroe's Cyclopedia of Education articles on Adolescence; Hygiene of
Adolescence; and Hygiene of Manual 3>\ 'nir
Figures 5-8.— Replacing tools in rack, manual arts class, Bridgham School
this factor must always be taken into account.
Such variables reveal the importance of our methods if
for no other reason than for evaluating present manual arts
courses. Chart A, for instance, suggests that a study of
manual training projects comparing time spent
upon fine co-ordinations with the time devoted to
the more basal muscles, would lead to surprising
results. How much of manual arts work demands
delicacy of movement rather than strength? How
much time is spent in sandpapering and other
finishing processes requiring only the fingers and
wrist, as compared with sawing, nailing, or other
processes more adequately meeting the hygienic
conditions of growth? Can such courses, spending
the major part of effort in finishing operations, have
the "educative value" of courses utilizing construc-
tive projects? Charts A to D summarize the mo-
tion cycle charts of five boys working upon different pro-
jects in different stages of completion. It should be added
that this class in manual arts was not a random selection,
but carefully chosen, after visits to many other schools, as
16
representing best practice. In Chart A, the relative amount
of time different parts of the right hand were used is shown
by R; the left hand, by L. The fingers were used prac-
tically all the time; the upper arm and palm only half
the time, with an apparent correlation between the use of
the palm and upper arm. Chart B supplements A, in show-
ing the activities of the trunk, head, and form of inspection
used. The posture throughout was standing. It will be
noticed that the trunk was bent forward a noticeable part
of the time, and that the head was bent forward most of
the time.
R Chart A L
of all the factors which make the disposition of the learner
toward his task at any given time." From a pedagogic side,
it is of interest whether a survey of classes in manual arts
would show identical work assigned to all pupils. Park
and Harlan '15 in a questionnaire study of practical arts in
156 cities, found seventeen per cent, using systematic
graded exercises, then in order, individual projects selected
by the pupils, co-operative projects selected by the group,
and projects expressive of other phases of school work;
while systematic graded exercises were combined with indi-
R
Chart
— -i i
C
L
hr
L_
t> hJ £
s h h h h £
■s e
bo Si: to bo
fi< fe ft, ft, J=
H -
I- Ph
H ~
Legs
The child's experience affords many variables, connec-
tions between previous situations and responses varying
greatly in different children. Detailed studies of situations
and resulting responses should aid each pupil "(1) to try
to form certain bonds rather than others, (2) to form them
in a certain order, (3) to identify more easily (than if left
to his own devices) the bonds he is to try to form, (4) to
be more satisfied at the right bond, and more
unready to repeat the wrong bonds." The most
direct way of controlling child activity is by
practice and habituation, and conversely, former
habits are often difficult to overcome. How
many teachers consider that time will be lost if
the habits formed in the lower grades are such as
cannot be used
Chart b Head iater? Finally, the
social setting of the
child's life is im-
portant in determin-
ing the particular
level of his ex-
perience.
Inspect
m
h m « j « j a
fe m
« J
3 "*
O °
A related factor is the child's motivation, or interest,
which results in greater willingness and concentration, and
requires less rest for overcoming fatigue. At present there
is an attempt to curtail the loss in interest arising from
unmotivated study and from the present methods of con-
ducting recitation. In the manual arts work, for example,
the test of "interests" is the choice of projects. Interest is
thus a blanket term which includes the child's attitudes
(Einstellungen) and definite tasks (Aufgaben) acting as
stimuli; while "the adjustment (Einstellung) is the product
D r-S +j
OHP-<PKh-lH£
c/)OHPh£>Ki-IH>-<
Chart D
vidual projects in twenty-three per cent, of the classes. A
"group system" of projects would seem most adjustable to
individual variables, the class remaining in a given group
until the slow worker completes at least one project within
that group.
Among the variables of motion, next to fewest motions, a
standard speed, which means simply the rate producing the
desired results most efficiently, is most important. Motions
should be such that as few starts and
stops as possible occur; for if momen-
tum must be overcome rather than uti-
lized by the child's muscles, fatigue will
result. The most economical direction
is important, and results in standard
paths. Motions should be shortest pos-
sible. The plane in which the work is
done should be carefully located; for
balanced motions counteract each other,
resulting in less fatigue. "Most work is
accomplished when both hands start
work at the same time, and when the
motions can be made at the same rel-
ative position on each side of a central
fore and aft vertical plane dividing the
worker's body symmetrically." In
proper sequence, each motion combines
economically with succeeding motions.
Charts C and D, for instance, suggest
definite inefficiencies in the control of
these variables. In Chart C, the right
arm is represented by R; the left by L. This reveals the
relative percentages of the entire time that the arms were
occupied with the various elementary motions noted. These
are summarized in Chart D, which shows under R the time
the right arm was engaged in the operations "use" and
"transport loaded," as compared with time employed in
other operations admittedly less productive. It is important
to note a longer time is spent upon these other more wasteful
operations than upon the more constructive, use and tran-
sport loaded. This is even more striking for the left arm.
As aids in controlling such complex series of variables,
elaborate measuring devices have been developed by Gilbreth.
(To be continued in May issue)
—
R
D O
O P
17
THE BETTER FILMS MOVEMENT AND EDUCATION
Clean, Stirring Dramas of Historic and Contemporary Interest; Pictures of Civic,
Ethical, and Sociological Value ; Films that Arouse Helpful and Inspirational
Discussions, Are Being Threshed from the Trash as Wheat from the Chaff
By Myra Kingman Miller
Chairman, Better Film Committee, National Council of Women
BETTER Films Movement: To most people this
phrase signifies some specific, concerted effort to
raise the present standard of films in general, but
more particularly has it come to mean the banning
of certain undesirable films, the attempt at censoring the
entire output, thus hoping to raise the standard. This
course is destructive in the main, and has proven to be of
little or transitory value. It does not get at the heart of
the problem.
The better film workers of national reputation and influ-
ence today are formulating and following a constructive
course of procedure, gleaning the field to find that which
is worthy, adaptable, educational, and useful along indi-
vidual lines, collecting and disseminating this information
through all available channels, thus penetrating the very
theatres themselves through their influence on individuals
and groups.
Present Day Workers
i The thinking men and women of America are analyzing
the situation as it is; and with the many new fields for the
motion picture, such as the industrial, propaganda, religious.
the purely educational, as well as the vast number of
dramatic films that have educational value, they are finding
that the undesirable film is gradually sinking into its own
sphere and in many cases into oblivion, swamped by the
good things the market affords.
Every great movement or perman-
ent reform that has been accom-
plished has been by education
preceding legislation, and so the
better film workers would educate
the people as to the potentialities of
films now extant. From out the
stirring dramas the film world has
produced one can find and select
films that will not only entertain and
please the most fastidious, but will
educate them unconsciously along
any one given line.
An Illustration
Take, for example, the history of
the United States. It can be taught
through the visualized method
chronologically, most happily. That
school is on the onward march which
supplements its history course with
such a series, making the attendance
part of the work. A glimpse at such
a series shows us the Colonial period
through the picturized version of
"The Courtship of Miles Standish,"
the Revolutionary period through
"Betsy Ross." This film shows the
"M" O individual in any country, man or woman, has
done more to forward the movement for Better
Films than Mrs. Myra Kingman Miller. This great
cause, which has for its goal the purifying, uplifting,
broadening, and bettering of the masses through the
motion picture screen, may be said to have had its
inception eight years ago in Long Beach, California,
when Mrs. Miller gave the first film exhibition exclu-
sively for children in the local "movie" theatre.
evolution and development of the American flag and fol-
lows the Bancroft footnotes on this Colonial dame's life
accurately and yet as a drama. It is thrilling enough to
please the most sophisticated schoolboy of today. "Heart
of a Hero," which is the life of Nathan Hale, is equally
good. Following on through the decades one comes to the
pictures of Civil War days, of which there are many to
choose from, which lose nothing historically by being
dramas with a plot.
Ante-Bellum Days
The settlement of the great West also has its record in
the film world of drama, and the World War for Democracy
has been accurately chronicled, perhaps the best being "Our
Own United States." Could a child who views this series
ever forget his history?
Or is it ancient history? Then the school can find
"Julius Caesar" set with all the early Roman magnificence,
or "Quo Vadis" seeing which a self-confessed athiest said,
"From now on I am a Christian because it's the best belief
for the progress of Humanity." And so on ad libitum
could be named films that teach the messages of the ages
in world history, art, and literature.
Presentation
The methods of presentation of such a series are various
and depend upon local situations. A high school auditorium
is most desirable, but there are
church auditoriums and parlors,
halls, and even the local picture
houses for morning matinees, where
appliances are all at hand.
Many churches now include in
their equipment an assembly room
with motion picture machine. A
notable instance is the Suydam Street
Reformed Church, of New Bruns-
wick, New Jersey,
progressive pastor,
perfect equipment
annex.
In some communities local high
school faculties or student bodies
arrange the course, but in many
places the organized womanhood of
the city take the matter up and handle
it much as they would a lecture
course, selling seats for the entire
course. Especially is this advantage-
ous for the literary course, which
they often have accompanied by a
lecturer, or one who makes sugges-
tions and leads the Round Table
discussion which follows.
(Continued on page 30)
Dr. Payson, the
has installed a
the church
in
■!
18
THE VALUE OF THE STILL PICTURE
Despite the Popularity o£ the Moving Picture, There
Remains a Wide Field of Usefulness for Well-Made,
Artistic Slides and Photographs
AVAST amount of thought, ink and paper has been
expended upon the moving picture and today
there is none so poor to do it reverence. But who
has any sympathy for the still picture — our
"ancient mariner" friend, the magic lantern slide? Only
the other day a New York journalist, writing in his paper
in criticism of this department in the Educational Film
Magazine, derided the "wasting of so much valuable space
on the educational lantern slide." To him there was no
further need for the still picture. Poor old Dobbin had
outlived his usefulness and all that was left was to call the
dealer in old bones and horsehair and take him away.
As a matter of fact, however, the still picture has never
really been displaced by the moving picture. It has been
tremendously strengthened by the acquisition of a powerful
big brother, but little brother slide still runs along although
it is sometimes hard for the little fellow to keep up with
the other's giant strides. The point is, nevertheless, that he
has kept up and, in the motion picture theatre, the very
A NEIGHBORHOOD crowd watching a Y. M. C. A lantern slide
-**■ exhibition outdoors in a congested city section.
temple of the new art, the colored slide has been found
indispensable, performing a function which even the film
cannot perform at the present time.
Still Pictures for Non-Motion Studies
For non-theatrical uses the lantern slide has a wider field
of usefulness than most people would at first imagine. In
schools, colleges, churches, clubs, lyceums, libraries, hos-
pitals, industrial plants and many other similar institutions
the still picture, in black and white, and in colors, holds
sway and in many instances does not yield first place to
the film. In the study of objects, for example, which are
by nature still and fundamentally non-moving, such as
architecture, geology, certain phases of art, forestry, botany,
topography, astronomy, philology, anatomy, etc., the same
or even better pedagogical results may be accomplished
with slides as with moving films. The dictum has been
laid down by some specialists in visual instruction that
still pictures are indicated where the object under discus-
sion would be studied in nature as still, and moving pic-
tures are advocated where the object to be studied is by
nature a moving object and the motion study is funda-
mental.
Take the study of Grecian or Roman architecture, as a
concrete instance. What would be the necessity of taking
sixteen tiny pictures to the foot, eight thousand separate
pictures for a seven or eight minute showing on the screen,
when no motion or.*action whatever is indicated and when
precisely the same educational result may be achieved with
a few slides, which may be artistically colored in detail to
reproduce the originals to perfection? The same argu-
ment holds for such a study as forestry. In examining a
white or yellow pine, for example, the matter of motion is
of no moment at all. A magnification of birch bark or
maple sap, of a veined leaf or a tree root, does not call fox
film action. The still picture serves the purpose, and
serves it admirably.
Motionless Picture Pedagogically Sound
The truth of the matter is, that the amusement world,
the educational world, the religious world, and the indus-
trial world need both of these visual aids. They are both
vitally important in the human scheme, and we could not
Underwood & Underwood
FANEUIL HALL
Called the "Cradle of
Liberty," because from
the deliberations of the
patriots who assembled
there sprang the divine
inspiration of liberty
which was to spread its
influence as the beacon
light of freedom for all
the world.
This illustration is
slide No. 4 in the Under-
wood "World Visualized"
School Series, which, to-
gether with many others
in the set, contains the
germ of Patriotism.
The Underwood System of Visual Instruction, compris-
ing Thousands of Lantern Slides, extends the environment
of the school-room to the whole world, giving the pupils
the personal experience of being in every country and
actually coming into personal contact with the various
industries and activities of the world — creating an absorb-
ing interest in their studies and supplementing their text-
books in the most practical way.
Send for new lists of Special Lantern Slides on
Astronomy, Birds, Botany and Floriculture, Entomology,
Famous Paintings, Physics, Zoology, Maps, Flags, and
many others.
Ask us about Educational Motion Picture
Films
UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD
Dept. EF
417 Fifth Avenue, New York
19
well get along without either. There is no real conflict of
interest between the still picture and the moving picture.
They are members of the same family. And even when
that day arrives in which it will be possible to combine
both values in the film, the glass lantern slide and the still
photograph will have their uses and they will be large uses.
This is because the idea behind the motionless picture is
fundamentally sound, from an optical, pedagogical, mental
and psychological viewpoint; and no matter how far the
motion picture may widen its scope, even to the extent of
encroaching upon the function of the slide, the still picture
in whatever form it may take in the future will retain its
basic value and can never become obsolete.
Eras m>
AFRICAN SLIDES FOR NEW YORK SCHOOLS
The latest catalog of slides and photographs announced
by the Division of Visual Instruction, State Department of
Education, Albany, N. Y., is List 38 on the Union of South
Africa, Rhodesia and British East Africa. The list includes
162 titles, and covers a wide range of topics, including
the interesting city of Cape Town and other centers of popu-
lation; such notable physical features as Table Mountain,
Victoria Falls and Lake Victoria; industrial studies, par-
ticularly ostrich farming, gold and diamond mining and
the soda deposits of British East Africa. The native negro
tribes and their manners and customs are well represented
in the collection.
Most of the negatives for this collection were made by
James Ricalton, an experienced traveler who has made
large contributions to the state collection for many years
These slides and photographs, as well as all others of
the state collection, are available for use in the New York
City schools. The Board of Education has made an arrange-
ment by which the principals may readily obtain them.
"All that the Name Implies"
EXCELSIOR
Highest Quality Possible in
Lantern Slides
Clear, Brilliant, Photographically Perfect
Lecture Slides Made to Order
Singly or in Sets
We have exceptional facilities for producing special
slides from your photographs, drawings, maps, charts,
diagrams or other copy, in black and white or any num-
ber of colors desired. Particular attention to the needs
of schools, colleges, churches, clubs and similar insti-
tutions.
// you are looking for the best,
not for the cheapest, in Lecture
Slides, write TODAY to
SPECIAL SERVICE DEP'T.
EXCELSIOR ILLUSTRATING CO.
219 Sixth Ave. New York City
Cut Your Slide Bill
Something New in Lantern Slides
Standard- SAVE - a - Slide
Hand-colored glass slides that
reduce breakage 50 per cent.
Half the weight of ordinary slides
Light to carry; easy to ship
Ideal for Lecture Slides
Old slides re-made "SAVE-a-Slide" way
kfpa Send one of
;SAVE-a.
your slides to be made up kfpp
Slide" way, as sample 1 I CC
Standard Slide Corporation
213 West 48th St.
New York
Slide Colorists to the N. Y. State Educational Department
LECTURERS
EDUCATIONAL
COMMERCIAL
ADVERTISERS
SLIDES
Scott & Van Altena, Inc.
6 EAST 39th STREET NEW YORK
20
SLIDE MAKERS CLAIM BIG SAVING
New "Save-A-Slide," Specially Protected, Said to Reduce Breakage
and Be Twice As Durable
During the sixty years that stereopticon slides have been commer-
cially made and sold, complaint has been general that they "break
and crack." This complaint was inevitable, as the heat of the
stereopticon, and the dangers of handling and transit, menace the
' brittleness of the glass support of the picture. Mica and brass
slides, for straight text matter, eliminate breakages, it is true, but
mica and metal are neither suitable nor adaptable as supports for
lecture or commercial advertising pictures.
The recent introduction of the Standard "Save-A-Slide" by the
Standard Slide Corporation, of New York, will interest slide users,
as the glass support or slide bearing the picture is so protected that
the likelihood of breakage through the heat of the stereopticon, or
••through accident in handling or transit, is said to be reduced by
VoO per cent. All the photographic beauties of the slide are pre-
served, it is said, while it is made twice as safe to handle. The
chances that an ordinary glass slide will break in the stereopticon,
or in handling, are two in 100. With the new "Save-A-Slide" they
are one in 100, the manufacturers claim. The new slide, therefore,
should be economically more valuable or last twice as long as the
older form of slide.
Not only is durability said to be increased, but weight is diminished
one half. This is a factor of importance, reducing parcel post and
express charges. To the user of slides, who also carries them, this
diminution of weight is an advantage.
Standard "Save-A-Slides" are now being made for all purposes:
lecture, illustrated song, commercial advertising, screen announce-
ments, and for every use for which the ordinary glass lantern slide
is desired. The same photographic method is employed as in glass
slides. The cost of these new slides is about 5 per cent greater
than that of the average glass slide; yet the reported saving enables
the average glass slide bill to be cut in half.
NEW "FEATHERWEIGHT" SLIDES
Less than Half the Weight of Old Style Slides and Breakage
Eliminated, Say Manufacturers
Since the beginning of the use of stereopticons, lantern slides have
remained the same — heavy, fragile, bulky, expensive. The latest
innovation of the Victor Animatograph Company, of Davenport,
Iowa, is the Standard "Featherweight" slide — what is thought to be
the first real improvement in photographic lantern transparencies.
The photographic image is on glass, to retain the clearness and
general quality that is possible only with a glass slide. In the old
form the glass is full size of the slide and cover glass protects the
photographic surface. The waste of glass under the mask and bind-
ing has been eliminated and in the Victor slide the actual glass area
is only a little larger than the aperture or opening. This glass trans-
parency is mounted in an embossed press-board frame. The emul-
sion is coated with a waterproof preparation of crystal clearness and
the hardness of flint, which gives protection against scratches, and
allows thorough cleaning.
Fifty old style slides weigh six pounds four ounces, fifty "Feather-
weight" slides weigh two pounds thirteen ounces — less than half.
A hundred or two of the old slides make a load of too great weight
and bulk for any person. Two hundred "Featherweight" slides can
be carried with ease, it is claimed.
Loss from breakage is said to be practically eliminated by the
new patented frame, and breakage is an expensive item for the
users of large quantities. In carrying or shipping, the slide needs
no separator between each one — each slide furnishes its own "buffer."
The resiliency of the frame is said to prevent 95 per cent of the
usual slide breakage.
The new slides are not so slippery and heavy that they cannot
easily be removed from the slide carrier. Operators approve of the
embossed frame because it helps make rapid changes possible with-
out "jiggling" the carrier. There is no tape binding to come loose
on the new slide. Once put together it "stays put" — and they are
said to cost less.
SLIDE NOTES AND COMMENT
Professor James W. Mayor delivered a lecture on physiology in
the auditorium of Butterfield Memorial chemical laboratory at Union
College, Schenectady, N. Y., January 22 and 29. The lectures were
illustrated by experiments on living tissue and by projections, to
give a clear idea of physiological principles. The first subject was
"Muscle and Nerve," and the second, "The Heart and Blood Vessels."
Mrs. J. J. Tracy, who has traveled extensively in China, spoke to
the Cleveland Art Association recently on "My Trip Up the Yang-tse
River," in the Cleveland Museum of Art. The lecture was illustrated
by lantern slides showing the beauty of the river and its surround-
ings and life conditions existing there today.
Dr. Timothy Drake recently gave an illustrated lecture on "The
Passion Play" in the First Baptist Church, Rensselaer, N. Y. Several
hundred stereopticon views were shown.
The Only Radical Improve-
ment in Stereopticons in the
Last Fifty Years
Automatic Electric
Slide Projector
This Lantern Ordered in Quantity by
The Y. M. C. A. for War Work.
A boon to the Educational Field.
The Machine saves its initial cost by elimi-
nating the expense of an operator.
Can be worked AT ANY DISTANCE by a
push button.
No operator or assistant required, the
Lecturer having entire control in his hand.
Operated from any electric light socket,
A. C. or D. C. current.
To Operate. Place slides in holder "A" in the
order to be shown, insert plug in electric outlet,
take Push Button in hand and press Button to in-
stantly change the slide.
Slides will drop consecutively into receiver "B"
and be ready for use again.
Write for further information and price
9
Manufactured and Sold Only by
Auto-Slyde and Moving Picture Machine Co.
Incorporated
104 CENTRE STREET
NEW YORK CITY
21
A NEW NON-IJNFLAMMABLE FILM FOR AMERICA
Benno Borzykowski, Polish Inventor, to Manufacture Boroid Safety Film
on Large Scale near New York City — British Experts Declare Boroid
"Absolutely Non-inflammable, with All the Advantages of Celluloid Film" —
Millions of Feet at Low Price to Be Available for Negatives and Prints,
Announces Mr. Borzykowski
THE great war in some respects has
not been altogether an evil, and one
of the incidents of the conflict which
subsequent events may prove to be a bene-
faction and a blessing was that which sent
Benno Borzykowski to America. For, if the
statements of this Polish chemist and in-
ventor are correct (and he supplies what
are apparently irrefutable evidences of his
claims), the film manufacturers of the
United States and of all other countries, for
that matter, may as well stop making prints
on the present celluloid stock and make up
their minds to print hereafter on what he
calls "safety film."
'Why run the risk to life and property,
why pay high fire insurance rates?" asks
this little inventor. "My film is safe
enough for a child to play with. And
I give you the same results as with
celluloid — the same clear, sharp screen
image, the same durability, the same cost.
I shall go further and say, Boroid film base
is much more pliable than the nitro-cellulose
base. I have a roll of film made in my Berlin
factory during the summer of 1914 and today
(April, 1919) it is just as flexible and just
as efficient to carry the emulsion as it was
the day it was made, or practically so."
Made Millions of Feet in Berlin
Boroid (a trade name coined from the
first three letters of the name of the dis-
coverer) is new only to this country. For
a year prior to the breaking out of the war
this non-inflammable film was manufactured
in considerable quantities by Boroid Limited,
an English corporation, in its plant in Berlin,
reaching a productive capacity of millions
of feet. The fact that only British capital
was invested in the enterprise, however, was
sufficient to cause the German government
to put an immediate stop to operations. It
is not known at present what has become of
this plant representing an investment of
several hundred thousand dollars. The
English concern is capitalized at $1,500,000.
It was more than a year after the war
started, in October, 1915, before the German
authorities would permit Mr. Borzykowski to
leave, go to Holland and there board a ship
for the United States. Only the fact that
he is also the inventor of artificial silk, that
he had been in negotiation with capitalists
in Cleveland, Ohio, for some time prior to
the war, and that he was above military age,
enabled him to obtain the necessary pass-
port.
Chemist to Uncle Sam
Since the fall of 1915 Mr. Borzykowski
has been living quietly in New York City,
Cleveland and Washington, D. C, and travel-
ing extensively in the United States. Hav-
ing obtained a fortune from the sale of his
rights to Boroid film and artificial silk in
BENNO BORZYKOWSKI, son of Alex-
■^ ander Borzykowski, a successful manu-
facturer of wood pulp and cardboard, was
born in 1871 in Czenstochowa, Poland.
Following his early schooling in Czensto-
chowa, the ambitious youth studied chemis-
try and textile engineering in the Technical
High School of Berno, Moravia, and later
at the University of Vienna. In 1897 the
degree of Chemical Engineer was conferred
upon him. While a student at the univer-
sity he made his first discovery in photo-
chemistry, the so-called radium sensitizing
process.
In 1901 Borzykowski established in Berlin
the Photochemie Gesellschaft where he pro-
duced in a semi-commercial way photo-
chemical products. Five years later he be-
gan important research work to discover
non-inflammable cellulose products from
which to manufacture motion picture film
and artificial silk. He finally hit upon wood
pulp as a satisfactory base.
By 1909 his experiments had proved so
successful that a group of capitalists known
as the Bennobor Syndicate decided to de-
velop the two revolutionary discoveries on
a commercial scale. In 1911 the corpora-
tion of Boroid Limited was organized in
London and the manufacture of Boroid
Safety Film on a large scale was begun at
his Berlin plant. By 1914 the sales had
reached several million feet a week and
just before the war arrangements had been
made to quadruple the productive capacity.
Great Britain, France and Germany, and
the United States, he seemed in no particular
hurry to launch his inventions in this country
and bided his time. Furthermore, he was
too busy building a $1,600,000 plant on a
block covering forty acres, on the west side
of Cleveland for the manufacture of artificial
silk and too busy giving chemical assistance
to the United States Government during the
latter's participation in the war, to devote
himself to making and marketing his non-
inflammable film.
Now he feels that the time has arrived to
give to the motion picture producers and
exhibitors of this country the advantages
which he claims for Boroid film, and when
peace is formally declared he hopes to reopen
his Berlin factory and probably establish
another near London. Believing that his
film is what the motion picture industry has
long been seeking, he proposes to manu-
facture it on a large scale in America and
Europe and market it at a price no higher
than the cost of celluloid film.
Opens Vast Future for Education als
What this means to the future of thfe
motion picture, especially from an educa-
tional, religious, social and industrial view-
point, can scarcely be estimated. The future
of the instructional and industrial field, say
those who have the knowledge and ability
to foresee, depends almost entirely upon the
availability of a true non-inflammable posi-
tive film. If Boroid proves to be this long-
sought treasure, the schools, colleges,
churches, community centres, industrial
plants and even the "movie" theatres of the
land will arise as with one voice and acclaim
this little Pole with the same enthusiasm as
music-lovers acclaim his friend, Paderewski.
Mr. Borzykowski is now organizing a com-
pany with several millions of American
capital and is arranging to take over
former munition plants or plants devoted to
war work, in the vicinity of New York City
if possible. He states that five or six months
will be required in which to install the
necessary machinery and equipment and
train the factory force, but by next autumn
he hopes to be able to announce that the
Boroid Company of America is ready to
accept orders for non-inflammable film in
almost any quantity at the market price of
celluloid film. Meanwhile he hopes experts
in photo-chemistry, in fire prevention, pro-
tection and insurance, and in motion picture
projection and film manufacture will in-
vestigate his product and test and compare
it in any way they see fit alongside of the
nitro-cellulose and acetate of cellulose film.
He does not fear the most technical investi-
gation, he says; indeed, he invites it.
;
"Waste Wood" the Base
To many people it will seem amazing that
this great discovery has for its basis ordinary
wood pulp, "waste wood" the inventor calls
it. His artificial silk, he asserts, has the
same base — "wood that was formerly thrown
away." Boroid film can also be made from
cotton waste or other pulpy material. A
hard amber-like jelly is formed for a base
and this is chemically treated and rolled out
to the thinness of motion picture film. The
process has not been patented and will not
be; it is a secret formula known only to the
inventor and two trustees in England. H
has never sold the process itself, merely th
right to manufacture and market under thi
process in certain countries.
Mr. Borzykowski favored the Educational
Film Magazine with a copy of the original
prospectus of Boroid Limited, in which it is
stated that "the principal advantage of the
22
substance is that while possessing the ad-
vantages of celluloid in cost and adaptability,
it differs from celluloid in being funda-
mentally and permanently non-inflammable."
The following well-known Britishers make
up the directorate of the corporation:
Noted Men in British Company
Captain Vincent R. Hoare, director of
North British & Mercantile Insurance Com-
pany (killed in battle in 1915) ; Hubert F.
Barclay, director of North British & Mercan-
tile Insurance Company and Barclay, Perkins
& Company; The Earl of Chichester, chair-
man of Omnium Insurance Company and
director of Union Bank of Australia; I. B.
Davidson, of Davidson Brothers; Major
Walter R. Hoare, director of Rubber Trust,
Limited, and Hoare & Company, Limited;
A. Barton Kent, chairman of G. B. Kent &
Sons, Limited, and Benno Borzykowski.
The well-known consulting and analytical
chemist, A. Gordon Salamon, A.R.S.M.,
F.I.C., consulting chemist for the company,
went to Berlin in the fall of 1910 and
''there closely investigated the process for
the manufacture of non-inflammable cine-
matograph films." In his report to the
directors, dated December 10, 1910, he says:
"The process is completely ready for im-
mediate conversion into satisfactory manu-
facture upon the larger scale, all the various
stages having already been worked out. . . .
As the result of experiment I find that the
cinematograph films have the enormous ad-
vantage of being non-inflammable as com-
pared with the great inflammability of the
films at present employed, and that this non-
inflammability must remain permanent during
the life of the films. ... I am struck by the
unusual competency of the inventor to prac-
tically apply his inventions upon a technical
manufacturing scale. I regard it as in the
highest degree improbable that the processes
of manufacture as practiced will ever be
revealed by a chemical analysis of the
finished products."
Lieutenant Colonel Fox, president of the
Professional Fire Brigade Officers' Associa-
tion, of London, reported on Boroid film as
follows :
"I have made a series of tests of the film
material given to me by Mr. Davidson (one
of the directors of the company) and as the
result of its tests I am of opinion that it is
the best material of its kind I have seen.
It has all the good points claimed for it and
none of the disadvantages (from a fire point
of view) which are so marked a feature of
the ordinary films. In my opinion it is per-
fectly safe."
Under date of December 8, 1910, Alfred
West, F.R.G.S., proprietor of "Our Army"
and "Our Navy" cinematograph exhibitions,
a film expert, wrote the Boroid directors
thus:
"I have thoroughly examined and tested
the Boroid non-inflammable film you have
submitted to me to report upon as to its
suitability for cinematograph purposes. I
have' treated the film under exactly the same
conditions as if I was dealing with celluloid
from the time of printing, developing, dry-
ing, and finally running it through the ma-
chine and exhibiting the picture on the
screen. The results of these tests showed
the following important advantages:
Stood 15 Minutes' Arc Test
"1. It is absolutely non-inflammable. This
I proved in the following way: By trying
to set fire to it with a lighted match. By
pressing a lighted cigarette against it, which
after a little pressure went through it as
clean as if the hole had been made by my
perforating machine and without any smoke
or fizzle. I then tested it in the lantern
with a current working at 100 amperes,
leaving it there for fifteen minutes during
which time I inserted close to it a piece of
the inflammable film as now used for cine-
matograph pictures; this latter fired in three
seconds. At the end of fifteen minutes I
took it out of the gate and found it abso-
lutely intact from the intense heat rays to
which it had stood. I then placed it against
the red hot carbons when it melted away
without flame, smell, or smoke.
"2. It does not shrink.
The emulsion adheres rigidly to the
"3
base.
"4
"5
There is no frilling.
It is very strong and pliable.
"6. The emulsion is of magnificent qual-
ity, producing a brilliant picture.
"This film will do away with all danger
from fires and panics, will make fireproof
enclosures and spool cases quite unneces-
sary, and the public will have a feeling of
security. No place will be restricted from
exhibiting animated pictures; in short, the
Cinematograph Act may be shelved.
"I am satisfied that your films are abso-
lutely non-inflammable, and that they have
all the advantages you claim, and can be
worked in exactly the same way as cellu-
loid films."
Another film expert, Mr. C. Reid, cine-
matograph operator at the Polytechnic,
Regent Street, London, reported the follow-
"I have examined the sample of the non-
inflammable film submitted to me by you,
with a special view to its transparency, its
adaptability for cinematograph work, and
especially with regard to its fire-resisting
properties, and I beg to report as follows:
Clearer Picture Than Celluloid
"Transparency.— In making my test here,
I have taken a piece of the ordinary cellu-
loid film used at the present time, and a
piece of the Boroid film, and placed them
side by side in a lantern. The result, as
shown on the screen, proved to me conclu-
sively that the Boroid film was certainly
clearer and more transparent than the
ordinary celluloid. The effect of this extra
transparency, therefore, would be to give
a more brilliant picture, an effect of great
importance.
"Projection. — In the first instance I used
uncoated film, after which I placed in the
lantern a piece of the complete film which
had been exposed, developed, etc. The result
was a perfectly clear, crisp and sharp pic-
ture, and in my judgment the emulsion was
an improvement on what is ordinarily used.
No Flame Smoke or Smell
"Fire Resisting. — In making the follow-
ing test, I was using a .current of 100 am-
(Continued on page 25)
"HOW LIFE BEGINS"— 4 Parts
A wonderful screen version, giving a clearer understanding of life itself.
Now being used by the United States Government in
Camp and Civilian Communities.
Of inestimable value in the class room, welfare and social center.
This Subject with French, ^Italian, Spanish and Russian Titles
Living embryo of chick 52 hours old. From "How Life Begins.'
For rental and purchase prices address
Exhibitors Booking Agency, 220 W. 42nd St., N. Y.
Ourcexperts review every picture that is produced. Let us plan your educational
and entertainment programs for the year.
Films Translated into all Foreign Languages.
All work, including Technical Subjects, Guaranteed.
We are in the market for negatives of Educational subjects.
Tost Pictures!
They are now appearing under two classifications
Post Travel Pictures
Post Scenic Pictures
<][ A prominent motion picture firm refers to the Post
Travel Series as "wonderful pictures" — the best of
their kind. Why? Because Post Travels are pictures
that not only are well photographed, expertly toned,
and carefully edited, but also are pictures in which the
human interest element is strongly assertive. More-
over, nobody tries to be funny in Post titles, which
are prepared with the thought of making them informa-
tive and giving them rare educational value.
<I The president of the Film Club of Boston, Mrs. J.
Wentworth Brackett, declared the Post Scenics to be
"marvelous pictures, possessing the atmosphere of
master paintings." These pictures need no blatant
press agenting. They impressively show how great may
be the achievement when a fine idea is intelligently
developed, and, then being completed, is admirably
presented.
<I Sincere applause, whenever they are presented to
the public, confirms the judgment of the exhibitor who
buys Post Pictures.
POST TICTVRES
COHrOllATIOSf
Formerly Post Film Co., Inc.
527 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK
23
900-WATT LAMPS IN PLACE OF ARCS
President Wilson on "George Washington"
Sees Pictures Projected the New Way
By M. Bunays Johnson
Projection Division, Westinghouse Lamp Co.
WHEN the transport George Wash-
ington was designated for the use
of the Presidential party on their
trip to the Peace Conference, a series of
motion picture exhibitions was planned dur-
ing the voyage. For this purpose there had
been installed two small portable machines
using 600-watt incandescent lamps and cor-
rugated lens system, but due to the weak
light and its yellow cast the results proved
unsatisfactory. Chief Radio Officer Rose
upon the return of the ship to New York
was directed to secure two standard mo-
tion picture projectors. He witnessed a
demonstration of the Simplex incandescent
projector using the new Westinghouse 900-
watt movie lamp, and was so pleased that
he insisted upon having the two machines
which had been employed for this purpose.
These machines had just returned from a
successful demonstration trip to Boston and
New Haven. They were installed aboard
the George Washington on New Year's eve.
The motion picture exhibitions were held in
the main dining saloon. In order properly
to set these machines and yet not crowd
erly set these machines and yet not crowd
the aisles between the tables, a special plat-
form was constructed. upon the railings over
the main staircase and to this the machines
were securely bolted.
Another novel feature was a steadying
post to which the operator held while the
ship rolled. At times during the exhibi-
tions the ship rolled so much that the oper-
ator, to save himself from being thrown off
the platform, had to grasp both the steady-
ing post and machine frame, and right here
was conclusively proved the superiority of
incandescent projection over the arc for this
kind of work.
The machines were of the latest motor
drive; so all the operator had to do was to
watch his projection and light, and as the
incandescent lamp always gives a steady,
clear light, never requiring any feeding like
the arc, it was possible to get first-class pro-
jection regardless of the rolling of the boat.
A feature of this equipment which proved
its superiority, yet has been a subject of
much discussion by experts, was the lens
system. This equipment uses the regular
6% to 7.% plano-convex condenser as em-
ployed by the standard arc equipment, and
not a corrugated lens, and the superiority
of this system was what made it possible
to obtain a much whiter and brighter light
and afforded a greater contrast between the
blacks and whites of the films, consequently
affording better projection.
. Projection with Mazda Lamps
Mazda lamps for motion-picture projection
have been standardized. Two lamps are now
being marketed for this purpose. The 900-watt
30-ampere 30-volt lamp is intended for general
service in motion-picture machines, while the
600-watt lamp is recommended for use only
where there is not sufficient power available for
the 900-watt lamp, or where the picture is
small and the conditions such as are found in a
church, school or lodge room.
The 600-watt lamp is especially suited to the
conditions where a farm lighting outfit of the
30-volt range supplies the power. Both the 600-
watt lamp and the 900-watt lamp are made up in
the T-20 bulb, and the filament is arranged in
four closely spaced parallel coils as shown in
Fig. 1. Both the 600 and the 900-watt lamps
are of the 30-volt range, and this simplifies the
electrical control equipment which is required,
as it is necessary to have only one voltage range
for two lamps.
The Simplex lamphouse equipment has the
following general features which are of particu-
lar interest, as they represent many advantages
over most of the equipment which has heretofore
been placed on the market:
Practically all the adjustments on the lamp
may be made from the outside of the lamphouse.
The lamp is placed in a removable holder and
an extra holder provided so that new lamps may
be installed without difficulty or loss of time.
Ample working space between the lamphouse and
the motion-picture condensers instead of a short
focus prismatic condenser.
As the plano-convex condensers are used for
projecting motion-picture film it is unnecessary
to provide an additional set of condensers for
lantern slides, and, therefore, one of condensers
is all that is required; this is much better me-
chanically than is any shifting device for chang-
ing condensers which is necessary where a pris-
matic condenser is used for the film. Another
feature of the lamphouse which is of great im-
portance is that it is designed so that it can
be installed on any standard make of motion-
picture projector.
The advantages of having handles for adjust-
ing the lamp outside of the lamphouse are that
the projectionist works comfortably as the
handles are not hot and adjustment can be
readily made at any time in case of necessity;
the mechanism is similar in its operation to the
mechanism of the arc lamp, and therefore the
operator can readily adapt himself to the new
equipment.
When adjusting a lamp the lamphouse may be
closed up so that the eyes of the projectionist
are not blinded by the glare of light from the
intensely hot filament. If adjustment is made
with the lamphouse door open as is necessary
with most types of lamphouses, the glare of the
lamp prevents the operator from seeing the
screen clearly for some time afterwards, and he
is therefore unable accurately to focus the
picture on the screen.
NEW GERMAN GLASS FILM
It is reported that a new method for pro-
ducing motion pictures by projection through
a glass film (as distinguished from the
usual commercial film of celluloid) has been
worked out at Jena, Germany. This new
glass film has the advantage of being only
one one-hundredth as large as the film now
in use. This so-called glass "film" is in
reality a very thin plate of glass, upon
which the necessary number of prints are
made, and which is shifted mechanically be-
fore the arc. It is not known whether this
method of projection is in commercial use.
A/j"AIN dining saloon of the United States transport "George Washington," showing motion
picture screen at the far end. Here President and Mrs. Wilson and their party, on their
trans-Atlantic trips to and from the Peace Conference, were entertained daily with selected
film programs, some of which possessed decided educational value.
• 24
'T'HE brace of Simplex motion picture projection
machines installed in the main dining saloon of the
"George Washington." This was the first public use
of the new 900-watt Westinghouse projection lamp.
A NEW NON-INFLAMMABLE FILM
(Continued from page 23)
peres. The film was placed in the gate of
the cinematograph machine and the light
turned and focused directly on the film.
With the ordinary celluloid film this would
have flared up in a second or so, but I left
the Boroid film in the lantern for over a
quarter of an hour, during the whole of
which time there was no smouldering, smok-
ing or shrinkage, but on the contrary, when
taken out of the lantern it was in just as
good condition as when first placed in the
lantern. I next placed a piece of the film
against the red-hot carbons. Here again the
film stood the test to my entire satisfaction,
merely crinkling up and giving off no flame
or smoke. I look upon this test as about the
most severe to which any film could be put,
| and during the whole course of my experi-
' ence, which has extended ever since the
cinematograph was introduced into London.
I have never seen any film that could stand
a fire-resisting test approaching that to which
I have referred.
"I regard the advent of the Boroid film as
a thing of the greatest importance, and have
no hesitation in saying that with the use of
this film, fire is an impossibility."
Paris Police Regulations
The inventor handed the interviewer copies
)f police regulations in Paris and other
French cities, forbidding the use of inflam-
nable film. The Paris ordinance, dated
November 13, 1913, and signed by Hennion,
prefect of police, and E. Laurent, secretary
;eneral, literally translated reads as follows:
"Considering the use of cinematograph
film on celluloid presents .a serious danger so
far as fire is concerned and the fact that
it is possible to substitute with a film called
Safety Films;
"And considering that it is equitable to
accord to exhibitors of cinema films suf-
ficient time to procure these Safety Films;
"On the proposal of the Secretary Gen-
eral, it is ordered as follows:
"1. The use of cinematograph film from
celluloid or other materials easily inflam-
mable is forbidden in public establishments.
"2. Time is given exhibitors, starting
July 1, 1915, to comply with these regula-
tions.
"For non-compliance with this order the
penalty is provided by the act of August
10, 1908 — the same punishment for failure
to observe these regulations.
"Police officials duly charged with the
carrying out of these regulations are' hereby
advised."
Prohibitory Laws in Many Cities
Other French cities which issued similar
police orders were Commercy, where inflam-
mable films were forbidden after December
1, 1913; Mouzon, January 1, 1914; Lyons,
October 1, 1914; Tours, October 1, 1914;
Mans, November 1, 1914; Troyes, December
1, 1914; St. Quentin, January 1, 1915; and
many other municipalities in the republic.
Similar laws were either in force or under
way in other European countries, following
the lead of France.
Mr. Borzykowski prizes a document
signed by Herr Glasenapp, chief of the
Safety Bureau of the Berlin Police Depart-
ment, dated February 3, 1913, which,
translated, reads as follows:
Berlin Safety Bureau Permit
"The tests made by the Material-
Pruefungsant (the Government Bureau of
Tests) with your film Boroid, manufactured
by you, have proved that same is difficult
to inflame (schwer entfiammbar) in the
meaning of paragraph 31, subdivision 2, of
the police regulations of May 6, 1912. I am
therefore willing that in all cases where this
film is used exclusively to allow the follow-
ing exceptions from the restrictions made
by the police on May 6, 1912:
"1. The film does not need to be in a
special protective box.
"2. All the restrictions mentioned in par-
agraphs 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. and 10, of subdi-
vision 12; in paragraphs 1 and 3, of sub-
division 13; in paragraphs 1, 18, 26 and 27
of subdivision 3, do not need to be ob-
served."
We will reproduce
Your Own Pictures
or copy of any kind
ON SLIDES
Each, 25c. plain
Each, 40c. colored
Standard size
Victor Featherweight
style
Guaranteed quality
Guaranteed Safe return of Copy
Show on the screen pictures which
"The Boys" bring back from
"Over There."
Send for our Slide Service Bulle-
tin and catalog of over 16,000
stock subjects.
Photo Department
VICTOR ANIMATOGRAPH
COMPANY
122 Victor Bldg.
Davenport, Iowa, U. S. A.
THE NEW
PREMIER PATHESCOPE
BECAUSE OF ITS SPECIAL, NARROW WIDTH
SLOW BURNING FILM
Bears the Underwriters' Official Approval Label
" Enclosing Booth Not Required."
Adopted by Every School Board that INVESTIGATES the
Merits of Portable Projectors
Many of them adopted the Pathescope after unsatisfactory and expensive efforts to use
unapproved projectors. You cannot afford to take the chance of
having a serious accident.
There are more Pathescopes in schools today than all
other portable projectors combined, because they are
designed particularly for SCHOOL USE and embody
seven years of successful experience gained in the
world-wide sale and use of over ten thousand former
models in Schools, Churches, Institutions, etc.
There are about one hundred "Popular" Model
Pathescopes in the Public Schools of New York
City, and the Board of Education has recently
ordered a number of NEW PREMIER PATHE-
SCOPES, after a careful investigation of the
merits of other portable projectors, as being the
ideal projector for classroom or auditorium use.
The Pathescope Film _ Library now contains over
1,500 reels and is growing rapidly.
All on' Underwriters' Approved and Label-Inspected
Slow-Burning Films.
The largest assortment of available educational
and entertainment films ever offered for universal
public use.
For the fourth consecutive year we have been awarded
the contract for furnishing Pathescope Educational
Film Service to the New York Public Schools, on
the recommendation of their Investigating Committee.
If you really wish the BEST you will eventually use
the Pathescope; in the meantime
Write for Booklets:
"Education by Visualization" (5th Edition, 100,000).
"Educational Films for the Pathescope."
"Endorsements of Educational Efficiency, Etc."
The Pathescope Co. of America, Inc.
Dept. M, Aeolian Hall, New York
Agencies and Branch Exchanges
Boston, Philadelphia, Buffalo,
Pittsburgh, Harrisburg,
Chicago, Minneapolis,
Salt Lake City
25
INDUSTRIAL
THE "Y" AND THE "MOVIE" IN THE INDUSTRIAL COMMUNITY
With Its Comprehensive Five-Fold Program, the Motion Picture and Exhibit Bureau
of the Industrial Department, Y. M. C. A.s, Expects to Serve Without Cost More than
1,000,000 Workers and Their Families This Year— Industrial, Educational, Religious,
and Social Groups to be Thoroughly Covered
By George Jay Zehrung
Director, Bureau of Motion Pictures and Exhibits, Industrial Dept., International Committee, Y.M.C.A.e
p EORGE JAY ZEHRUXG is the "live
^-J wire" director of the Bureau of Motion
Pictures and Exhibits of the Industrial De-
partment, International Committee, Y. M.
C. A.'s, which was created to meet an urgent
demand for special service to men in in-
dustry. He produced the first thrift exhibit
for the Industrial Department in co-operation
with the American Bankers' Association, and
prepares the thrift cartoons, special indus-
trial exhibits, and illustrations for all of the
department literature.
Mr. Zehrung is a graduate of Columbus,
Ohio, Art School and of Pratt Institute,
Brooklyn, N. Y. Before he was called to his
present responsible position he had been for
ten years an instructor in manual training
and art in the public schools of New York
City. In the application of both still and
moving pictures to industrial and social work
Mr. Zehrung is considered an authority.
SOME six years ago the Industrial De-
partment, International Committee,
Y. M. C. A.s, believing that industrial
workers would be interested in seeing how
their fellow workers mined their coal, pro-
duced and prepared their food, and made
their shoes and clothing, organized a Bureau
of Motion Pictures for the sole purpose of
serving:
1. Industrial workers and their families by
providing free exhibitions of industrial, edu-
cational, and scenic subjects which would
tend to develop appreciation of the common
everyday essentials, create and stimulate
pride in their work and a demand for pure
food, sanitary working and living conditions.
2. Association secretaries, by enabling
them to obtain free film service with which
to carry the five-fold program to the whole
industrial community.
3. Industries producing motion pictures of
their products, welfare and safety work, by
offering a profitable medium of distribution.
All Portables Tested
This service had been in operation but a
short time when numerous requests came for
information concerning equipment which
would enable the "Y" to use these films.
To meet this situation the department has
conducted a test of all types of portables
and is now in a position to recommend the
proper equipment for the particular service
of any secretary.
A list of slides, films, and exhibits which
can be secured from the federal, state and
city departments, philanthropic welfare soci-
eties, and industries enables this bureau to
put secretaries in touch with specific mate-
rial for use in promoting health, sanitation,
first aid, accident prevention, home beautify-
ing, and other campaigns.
Many secretaries hesitated about using
films in connection with their religious meet-
ings, and wanted religious subjects or care-
fully censored and specially-edited films for
this service. They realize now that the im-
portant part is not so much the character,
but the way in which the film is used.
Explanatory Cards
Enclosed with each
shipping notice will be a
card for each subject.
This card will present
the synopsis of the film,
list of groups who will be
especially interested in
the subject, and sugges-
tions for using the film
as a "Y" promotion,
moral, economic, or pa-
triotic lesson. For ex-
ample:
W. S. STAFFORD, Inc.
Subject: "A Drop of Ink
Makes Millions Think."
Films of Business,
producers.
Stafford's Products
Ink; Making test in
laboratory — the gaul wasp
that is responsible for the
gaul nuts on oak trees —
gaul nuts — extracting tan-
nin — adding sulphate of
iron, which makes the
body of ink — adding the
coloring matter — curing in
vats for 30 days — filtering
— bottling — corking —
labeling — testing non-
leakablc stoppers.
Paste: Material ■ — mix-
ing — testing — filling
and capping 14,400 bottles
of paste a day.
Carbon paper and type-
writer ribbons: Grinding
pigments and oils — select-
ing fabrics for ribbons -
inking ribbons — ingredients
for inking carbon papers —
preparation — coating — in-
specting — counting — cut-
ting— packing.
Auditorium Show
Be sure to especially in-
vite the High and Business
26
School Students, Office Departments in Indus-
tries, Library and Bank Clerks, Teachers and
Professional Men. These people will be especially
interested in seeing this picture.
Suggestions For Use at "Y."
1. Invite inspection by men and boys
building, tank, showers, Gym, classrooms and
dormitories.
2. Have games and classes in progress. Boys'
Dept. — Shop Talk or Moral Lesson. Habits are
similar to ink and character — can be richly en-
grossed and beautified or smeared, stained and
soiled by habits. A clean character is the
greatest asset to a young man. He should en-
deavor to make each habit strengthen character
and be free from blots and stains of dissipation
and vice.
Ink can be eradicated, but usually it takes a
part of the parchment or paper. A bad habit can
be eradicated, but nearly always leaves its mark.
Lessons from Films
The religious program of the Association,
whether it be Bible classes or Sunday after-
noon men's meetings, is strengthened by the
use of industrial motion pictures. When
used to emphasize religious truths, their
value is increased ten-fold.
The Biglowe, Hartford Rug and Carpet
Company film, ''Transformation of a Bale
of Wool," shows the wonderful looms and
This service opens the way for the introduction of other
Association activities; it creates opportunities for
makin? new contacts and establishinsr ^lationships from
which will come financial and Moral support needed to
extend the WHOLE program of the Association
throughout the entire communis
ORAPHIC pictorial chart, in the form of an eight-point st drawn
^ by Mr. Zehrung for the guidance of "Y"
guid
community groups with industrial "movies.'
secretaries in reaching
one can see the pattern grow as the shuttle
speeds back and forth. This picture fur-
nishes an excellent opportunity to compare
character building with weaving and show
how Jesus Christ wove the ideal pattern in
life and we are taught through Him to weave
our life tapestry with beautiful deeds of
service. Washington, Lincoln, McKinley,
and Roosevelt have woven tapestries that will
be admired and studied to the end of time.
f The educational departments are using
industrial films successfully, especially in
classes of English, history, Americanization,
/"GROUPS of about 200 workingmen, many of
^J them aliens, attend the "movies" twice a
week at the Chase Companies' Red Triangle
Building every week. No groups to which the
"Y" Industrial Department has shown motion
pictures ever applauded the "Star Spangled
Banner," when it appeared on the screen, more
enthusiastically than these men.
special and technical subjects. I recall one
"Y" meeting of 250 non-English-speaking
men, representing nine nationalities. The
picture used was a melodrama — the story of
a moonshiner, the United States revenue
officer and, of course, a pretty mountain lass.
For one hour the secretary talked with the
picture, reading the titles in very simple
English, composing short sentences from the
•picture action; such as, "the door opens,"
"the man comes mit," "he looks around,"
"he hears a noise," "he grabs the gun,"
"he shoots the men," "he is a bad man," "he
breaks the law," "he is not a good citizen,"
"a good citizen will not break the law," etc.
Incidentally the characters were compared
and discussed. Those men went home that
afternoon with higher ideals of citizenship,
and best of all, they had been helped to
think in English. Making similar use of
industrial, scenic, and educational films,
these non-English-speaking men and women
can be quickly taught to think and speak
English about their work, at the store and in
their homes.
The physical departments see in the indus-
trial film strong arguments for their program,
which prove that the boiler-maker and the
machinist need the service of the gymnasium
or special exercises as well as the banker
and the office man. The value of accurate
muscular correlation is readily seen when
different types of industrial processes are
pointed out. The dangers of over or under-
development of any part of the body, due to
certain occupations, and lessons in recrea-
tion, sanitation, ventilation, are easily learned
through the use of the industrial films.
Entertainment Programs
Industrial workers' desire for self-expres-
sion finds satisfaction through the Y. M. C.
A. industrial program which helps the
workers with minstrel shows, pageants, open
house and department nights. Usually the
"movie" is one of the features — a short
comedy and a scenic with the ever-present
industrial. Superintendents and foremen
frequently entertain their men at the "Y"
, or at their homes and the "Y" secretary is
' invited to bring the portable and a selected
industrial film. ^Safety guards, modern
I
equipment, fire prevention and welfare films
are being used with great success at the
foremen's monthly dinners. Industrial films
portray very clearly the latest manufacturing
methods and incidentally emphasize the
value of economy. At one wood-working
plant where a film showing the manufacture
of W. A. Ives wood-boring tools had been
shown, it was noticed that the men were
taking greater interest in the care of their
to,ols. Groups were found discussing the
design and cutting quality of various bits.
Greater appreciation had been developed
after seeing the quality of material, the
care and skill which had been devoted to
the making of a perfect wood-boring tool.
Skill is the ability to produce the best
results with the least amount of energy
exerted, in the shortest period of time, and
with the smallest amount of material wasted.
Education or training is the important factor
in developing skill, and skill increases earn-
ing capacity. Industrial films are the best
kind of argument showing why the untrained
worker cannot compete with the skilled
mechanic.
Industries receive increased earnings in
proportion to the increased production with
reduced cost of manufacture. "Factory
A CLASS in gas engine construction at one of
the hundreds of local Y. M. C. A.'s, situ-
ate'd in industrial districts of the United States.
The instructor is explaining the principles of the
automobile spark plug from the screen image.
Here is real film teaching.
Thrift" or the "Saving of Power, Time, and
Material" is a prominent feature in all in-
dustrial films. "Making an Automobile
Wheel" (Ford Motor Company) is one of
many fine examples of industrial films which
lend themselves readily to the economic
program of the Y. M. C. A. which recognizes
not simply the need of more dollars but
rather the mora efficient dollar. Industrial
workers are shown how to spend wisely and
save safely.
Noon Hour "Movies"
The five-fold program goes to the men at
the factory through the Association in special
industries or the city industrial extension
work. Industrial "movies" are making great
headway and many factories have provided
shades for windows to permit the use of
"movies" at noon hours. Some have installed
equipment, permanent shadow-boxes and
day-light projectors, at great expense.
In days long past the artisan produced the
material, converted it into the finished prod-
uct, and sold it directly to the consumer.
The power to produce was a source of joy
and made the artisan not only proud of his
skill but of the product. It is impossible for
the millions of workers to have much infor-
27
mation concerning source of material, rela-
tion of parts, market, or use of product upon
which he works. His part, no matter how
important to the success of the product, is
just a job and the only enjoyment of his
industrial life is produced by the pay en-
velope. At a local Association one com-
pany placed a large engine lathe in the
"Y" industrial exhibit. A worker brought
his family and pointed out a small part on
the beautiful machine and said to them, "I
make that." He was very proud of his con-
tribution to the complete and powerful lathe.
In the industrial ""movies" the miner is
shown his coal and ore being converted into
power, wonderful structures, ships, and ma-
chinery; the miller, his flour converted into
bread and cake; the mechanic, his machines
at work in the mines, fields, and factories.
It makes them realize the importance of their
contribution to the progress of the world,
civilization, and humanity. Jobs become ser-
vice and their trade an art of which they
have a right to be proud.
Unlimited possibilities for the Association
program lie in the parks, playgrounds, and
vacant lots during spring, summer, and fall.
How the "Y" Helps Families
To many people in industrial communities
traveling is limited to an occasional short
trolley trip, a visit to a nearby city or a
short stay in the country. The scenic films
reveal to the stay-at-home families the mys-
teries of the Arctics and the Tropics, the
enchantment of the Orient, the wonders of
the mountains and the splendor of the
Golden West. Fields of vegetables, grain,
cotton and flax, dairy farms, orchards, vine-
yards, cattle and sheep ranches tell a story
of pure production while the packing houses,
creameries, canneries, elevators and mills
show pure food produced under sanitary con-
ditions. Films that show why the fly should
be swatted, the mosquito exterminated, the
refrigerator kept clean, and the garbage can
covered provide a service which must result
in better health and more happiness to the
community.
The stereopticon is a very important factor
in supplementing the film show, especially in
a foreign district. The slides printed in
(Continued on page 31)
MOHAMMED
d.il not woil. M tl>e
mountain to uomi'
to htm hul.
wont to
it -
ASSOCIATION DOES NOT
Wait, for the industrial men to
come to the building but thru
its EXTENSION WORft foes to
them with a program of Fim,
Instruction, and Inspiration
ANOTHER of Mr. Zehrung's pictorial
b tells lis own story. Th
tjve , ipplement the showings "t film*
,,„,! slides ^ ■ r> enectii
-
Here They Are!
PICTURES
Cinderella Dreams of Happier Days
Little Red Riding Hood Meets the Wolf
Played by Juveniles - for Juveniles and Adults
In response to the universal demand for wholesome film pro-
ductions we have now available for bookings
"CINDERELLA AND THE MAGIC SLIPPER"
Four Parts - All Star Juvenile Cast
"LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD"
Starring Mary Burton, age Eleven Years
"TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE STAR"
Starring Zoe Rae, age Eleven Years, and Dorphia Brown, age Four Years
FUTURE RELEASES
"Humpty Dumpty"
"Cat and the Fiddle"
"Puss and Boots"
"Tom Thumb"
"Little Bo-Peep"
"Old Mother Hubbard"
"Mother Goose"
"Little Jack Horner"
and Others
Scene from "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little
Star," Starring Zoe Rae and-
Dorphia Brown
Dorphia Brown (4 years old) in
"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"
^
Amusement for Children — Our Future Citizens
FILMS COMPANY
£
Executive Offices:
17 N. Wabash Avenue
Chicago, 111.
New York Office:
729 Seventh Avenue
Other Branches Will Be Announced Shortly
28
EDUCATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE will publish from month to month classified descriptive lists of all motion
picture films properly belonging to one or more of the various groups of which this publication treats. The
aim will be to give accurate and dependable information under each classification: in some instances this infor-
mation will come from the manufacturers, in other cases from the distributors, frequently from the Editorial
Offices of this magazine, occasionally from individual and foreign sources. In all cases the reader should verify the
information at the source indicated.
} This magazine maintains an Information Bureau and Special Service Department which will endeavor to furnish
Up-to-date facts and data regarding any motion picture film in the fields covered by this periodical. All inquiries of
this character should be addressed Film Catalog Editor, EDUCATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE, 33 West 42d Street, New
irk, and to insure reply should contain self-addressed stamped envelope.
CYCLE OF FILM CLASSICS
lookings can be arranged through George
:ine System, 729 Seventh avenue, New York
or any office of the General Film Com-
ly. Descriptions below are from the Kleine
Ices.
eight-part picturization of Henry Sienke-
dtz's famous historical novel. A correct re-
iroduction of Rome at the time of Nero.
IO VADIS.
JUS CESAR.
massive production, showing the leading
icidents in the life of Caesar. Ten thousand
1 people were employed in making this picture.
I Made in Rome by the Cines Company.
'OTHELLO.
T A five-part production, made in Venice, where
I the scenes of this tragedy were laid. Excep-
5 tionally beautiful.
THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII.
S A particularly fine Roman picture, faithful to
history. Six parts.
THE LION OF VENICE.
A six-part story of Venice. Photographed amid
I the canals of this "Gem of the Adriatic."
SPARTACUS.
The story of the revolt of the Roman slaves.
f Splendidly done. Eight parts.
"ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA.
Another of our Roman productions. Eight
I massive reels. Exceptionally interesting from
» a dramatic and historical standpoint.
VANITY FAIR.
tMrs. Fiske as "Becky Sharp"). A seven-reel
picture of this well-known English classic.
One of the best pictures we have ever had.
INDUSTRIAL
The following films are distributed by the
Industrial Department Motion Picture Bureau of
the International Committee Y. M. C. A.'s. The
headquarters are at 347 Madison avenue, New
York City. This film service is free. In con-
sideration of this service the exhibitor agrees:
■ to pay transportation from and to exchange or
' the point of exhibition as directed by the
bureau; to see that the films are handled care-
fully, that they will be returned on the morning
I following the last scheduled showing, and that
reports will be made promptly.
STRIKING A LIGHT (Matches) ...... .1 reel
FROM COAL MINE TO CORNFIELD.. 2 reels
FROM COAL MINE TO CORNFIELD.. 1 reel
(Fertilizers).
i BANKING HIS PROFITS 1 reel
GIRLS WHO MADE GOOD 1 reel
(Publishing).
FROM COCOON TO SPOOL (Silk) 2 reels
MAKING TIME (Watches) 2 reels
MAKING TIME ■ 1 reel
• FROM RAGS TO ROOFING (Roofing). 1 reel
, BUILDING ROADS IN A MILITARY
CAMP 1 reel
TRANSFORMATION OF A BALE OF
WOOL ! reeJ
EVOLUTION OF A SILKWORM 1 reel
MAKING WHITE LEAD 1 ree
THE PASSING OF THE BROOM 1 reel
k (Vacuum Sweeper).
■I\ CONCRETE ROMANCE 2 reels
^THE STORY OF A TYPEWRITER 1 reel
I 'EVOLUTION OF A STENOGRAPHERS reels
THE FAMILY TAR (Food) 1 reel
MAKING THE '57 VARIETIES (Food).l ree
I SPEEDING THE SPOKEN WORD 3 reels
(Telephone). _ ,
SPEEDING THE SPOKEN WORD 1 reel
A ROMANCE OF THE OLD-TIME
SCHOOL (Electric) 2 reeis
ROMANCE OF RAILS AND POWER.. 2 reels
(Electric). , „ ,
THE GRAPE TUICE INDUSTRY 2 reels
THE GRAPE TUICE INDUSTRY 1 reel
THE SPIRIT OF CORN 2 reels
THE BOX FROM LARKINS fSoant. . ..1 reel
THE EDUCATION OF MRS. DRUDGE. 1 reel
(Electricity).
:
LITERARY
The films listed below have been produced by
the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation and are
released through their distributing exchanges in
various parts of the United States. Some of
these pictures bear the Paramount trade-mark;
others are of the Artcraft brand. There is un-
doubtedly a Famous Players-Lasky exchange
located at some convenient city in your section;
if you have difficulty in finding it, write direct to
the executive offices, 485 Fifth avenue, New York
City. All of these films are of superior quality
and literary flavor, and will appeal to students of
literature courses, family groups, selected assem-
blages, for wholesome entertainments, etc.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS 5 parts
One of Dickens' best-loved novels, with Jack
Pickford and Louise Huff playing leading
parts. (Paramount).
OLIVER TWIST 5 parts
Marie Doro as Oliver Twist, the wistful boy
who is, perhaps, Dicken's most noted character.
(Paramount).
THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER 5 parts
(Paramount).
PUDD'N HEAD WILSON 5 parts
Mark Twain's story showing the origin of the
Bertillion system, with Theodore Roberts as
the lead. (Paramount).
TOM SAWYER 5 parts
The American boy classic with Jack Pickford,
Mary Pickford's brother, as the lead, and a
splendid cast. (Paramount).
HUCK AND TOM 5 parts
Sequel to Tom Sawyer, though complete in
itself, giving Tom's further adventures with
Huckleberry Finn. (Paramount).
UNCLE TOM'S CABIN 5 parts
Marguerite Clark plays both Topsy and Little
Eva in this historical American classic which
was actually filmed on the scene of Mrs. Har-
riet Beecher Stowe's novel. (Paramount).
LITTLE WOMEN 5 parts
Louisa M. Alcott's classic of American girl-
hood filmed at Concord, Mass., on the old
Alcott homestead, with an exceptional cast.
(Paramount).
THE BLUEBIRD 5 parts
Maeterlinck's beautiful play exquisitely filmed
by Maurice Tourneur. the internationally
famous director. Said to be more beautiful
than the stage version. (Paramount).
PEER GYNT 5 parts
Ibsen's classic translated to screen terms by
an excellent cast. (Paramount).
A DOLL'S HOUSE ■ ■ • 5 parts
Elsie Ferguson, under the direction of Maurice
Tourneur, brings to the screen version of
Ibsen's play all the finesse of which she is
capable. (Artcraft).
MEDICAL AND SURGICAL
Manufactured by U. S. Government agencies.
Assembled, printed and distributed by the In-
struction Laboratory of the Surgeon General s
Office, Army Medical Museum, Washington, D L.
PROPER METHOD OF MAKING BLOOD
CULTURE 2 reels
SPLINTS FOR TRANSPORT 2 reels
IN THE WAKE OF THE HUNS 3 reels
X-RAYhMOVINGUPICTURES OF MOUTH-
HAND— LEG V* reeJ
NEW METHOD OF ICE PACK lA reel
FEMORAL HERNIA 1 reel
Animated drawing.
THE CHAUCHAT AUTOMATIC
•RTFLE 2 reels
THE 37M.M. OR ONE-POUNDER 3 reels
TARGET DESIGNATION 2 reels
LEWIS LIGHT MACHINE GUN 2 ree s
VICKER'S MACHINE GUN 2 ree s
BROWNING AUTOMATIC RIFLE.... 3 reels
BAYONET INSTRUCTION 1 reel
FIELD FORTIFICATIONS 2 reels
RE-EDUCATION OF THE BLIND 1 reel
TENDON TRANSPLANTATIONS 3 reels
Flat foot.
29
ANTI-VICE 1 reel
Animated drawing.
TENDON TRANSPLANTATIONS 3 reels
Club foot.
EMPYEMA 1 reel
BONE GRAFTING 1 reel
PRODUCING NYSTAGMUS AND
VERTIGO 1 reel
Animated drawing.
TRAVEL
The following list of films is known as the
Post Travel Series, and these interesting and
educationally valuable pictures have been pro-
duced by the Post Pictures Corporation (former-
ly called the Post Film Company, Inc.), 527
Fifth avenue, New York City. Thirty of the
series have been released through the Pathe Ex-
change, Inc.,. 25 West 45th street, New York,
with numerous branch exchanges throughout the
country. Each film is about one reel in length.
ST. THOMAS, VIRGIN ISLAND.
St. Thomas is the island for which the United
States paid Denmark $50,000,000. The reel
shows the famous harbor, views of the city
streets, homes erected by the Danes, the natives
of St. Thomas coaling a French Vessel, Chow
Chow Town, markets, United States barracks,
the water-front, close-ups of the natives, Boy
Scouts, and the Naval Military Band.
ST. CROIX. VIRGIN ISLANDS.
St. Croix is more important agriculturally than
St. Thomas. A feature of the reel is the
United States Marines. A riot in which the
Marines take part is extremely interesting.
There are views of historic Fredericksted and
Christiansted, natives, quaint buildings and
squares, Governor's house, vessels in the har-
bor, Customs Building, system of lighting,
primitive methods of plowing, native women
engaged in washing clothes on rocks, etc.
GUADELOUPE, WEST INDIES.
This reel shows Basse Terre, the capital, and
the beautiful surrouding country in detail.
The scenes include: Mountain streams,
quaint streets, girls, native troops back from
France, close-ups of soldiers, market, Ameri-
can Consulate, military road, mountains,
women in street work, French transport, palm
trees.
OUR VOLCANIC NEIGHBORS AND
DOMINICA.
The educational feature is animated maps
showing how the West Indies were once part of
the United States, and through volcanic action
took their present form. Scenes of Dominica
show mountain streams, mountain scenery,
clouds and waterfalls, lime tree industrv, cocoa
trees, market process, and Boiling Lake, one
of the natural wonders of the world.
EAST INDIANS OF TRINIDAD.
Views of coolie homes, how easily and quickly
-these houses are built, views of beds on
which thev sleep, a coolie harbor, girls dec-
orated with bracelets, and rings in their
noses: East Indian cleaning his teeth, and his
method of doing it; punting rice, their chief
food, and primitive manner of cooking; cat-
tle, showing hump; itinerant merchants, cocoa-
nut vendor, woman smoking native pipe,
close-ups of different tvpes of East Indians.
DOMINICA, WEST INDIES.
Interesting scenes of Roseau's streets, market
place on Saturday when hundred-; of hoase-
wives gather, natives who speak English and
French pntois. boats loaded with fruits and
vegetables, water-front. lazv Dominicans,
mountains, natives washing. Botanic Garden.
Reel contains much scenic beauty.
EAST INDIANS OF BRITISH GUIANA.
Shows natives at home, in business, and
amusements. Views include: East Indian
starch factory, the rice industry, workers in
the field, snowing primitive methods, native
boats, attending babies, working in cane-field,
cutting grass.' adorning for Sunday, East
Indians and theft children, bow bracelets are
made by native silversmith.
ZOOLOGY
One of the most fascinating series of half-
reel (300 feet) pictures that has been devised tor
assembly hall, classroom, church, community
centre, etc., is Ditmars' "Living Book of Na-
ture." They were photographed, arranged and
titled by Prof. Raymond L. Ditmars, curator of
New York Zoological Gardens, and are au-
thoritative. Much information as to the habits
and facts about the different animals are carried
in short, clever titles. They have been presented
in the most human way and one proof of their
entertainment value as well as educational value
is that each of these reels was first run at the
Strand Theatre in New York. Both children
and adults delight in the Ditmars subjects. They
stand supreme in the moving picture field as an
example of educational value in combination with
meritorious entertainment. Fifty-three subjects
are available, through the Educational Films
Corporation of America, at their various ex-
changes.
BIOGRAPHY OF A STAG.
A scenic story which Dr. Ditmars declares to
be one of his best. Vastly entertaining and
great value from a scientific point of view.
LIFE OF A MOTH.
Scientific apparatus at the Ditmars Studios
turning upon the insect world — fragile and
beautiful creatures that perform almost unbe-
lievable feats.
WOLVES AND THEIR ALLIES.
Entertaining portrayals of wolf babies and a
photo-story follows the growth and develop-
ment of these animals.
WATER FOWL.
The real beauties of the wilds without an in-
dication of cage or restraint — in bewildering
varietv and enormous numbers.
MOUNTING BUTTERFLIES.
The fascinating pastime of preserving the
beautiful winged creatures of the flowers —
thoroughlv and interestingly explained.
ANIMALS IN WINTER.
A picture story that follows the various types
through the winter and in which Dr. Ditmars
has done surprising things with his camera.
ANCESTORS OF THE HORSE.
Some exceptionally rare types that indicate
the origin and ancestry of domestic horses,
particularly valuable for instruction as well as
entertaining.
ORANG VOLUNTEERS.
Another picture story that proves there is
nothing of the slacker about the orang. A
demonstration of thought in wild animals.
K.WGAROOS AND THEIR ALLIES.
Kangaroos form a distinct race of rather
lowly animals and are found in a compara-
tively small area. Some very rare types are
illustrated here.
ANIMALS OF AUSTRALIA.
The land of zoological curiosities — mammals,
birds, reptiles and insects — even botanical fea-
tures display strange phases.
SMALLER MONKEYS.
The favorite specimens of interest in a zoologi-
cal collection. There is much that is funny
as well as educational in this study of rare
species.
THE BETTER FILM MOVEMENT
(Continued from page 18)
Discussions
These are the most interesting part of the
evening for many. Leaders are chosen
beforehand; people in the community who
are leaders or authority in art, drama,
literature, while some good leader discusses
the heart interest, moral lesson, etc. The
audience leave feeling they have been botli
enlightened and entertained, and are less
rifling to be taken in by the lurid glare
of the yellow posters of the mediocre melo-
drama.
Organization
Heretofore the Department of Civics in
1 1>«- women's clubs has included the Motion
Picture Committee, but since the subject
hi- become one of such national import
and of Btioh local importance, many clubs
now creating a special department of
thi- work, co-operating with such other
existing agencies and committees in their
citj .1- ahead) exist. As a result the public
in man) cities have a definite night and
place where the) ma) attend the motion
picture drama with the assurance before-
hand tli.it they will pass a pleasant and
profitable evening,
I he methods of work and concrete results
will be taken up in a later article.
FRENCH VIEW OF EDUCATIONALS
(Continued from page 8)
books. Their number has enormously in-
creased in the last three years, as the interest
of the amusement public has widened in
non-fiction themes and the screen has taken
on many of the functions of the book of
travel, the daily paper and the magazine.
Vast Library of Film Text-Books Needed
But for permanent upbuilding a vast new
library of film text-books must be created.
The present educationals, in America at
least, are after all only makeshifts. School
and college courses must be laid out grade
by grade and year by year, containing defi-
nite amounts of instruction for each period,
developed in sequence and progress unlike
the haphazard amusement educationals, and
provided with titles or leaders embodying
information along text-book lines. These
courses should be planned by educators who
should also co-operate in their production to
see that they are properly graded, authori-
tative, and pedagogically effective. There
should be a big educational clearing house
for the issuance of these films; training
classes for operators and cinema classroom
instructors; and a well thought-out system
governing the whole.
It is a big task, one of the biggest con-
fronting the intellectual leaders in the
period of reconstruction following the war,
and not to be achieved by nibbling at it
with half-measures. It suggests American
munificence such as is illustrated by the
great philanthropic foundations of Rocke-
feller, Carnegie and Russell Sage. State co-
operation together with voluntary subscrip-
tions from parents and pupils, exemplified
in the New York plan, can do a great deal;
but the major opportunity awaits a group
of public-spirited capitalists or trustees of
great estates who are sufficiently broad-
minded to perceive the social need and to
prepare adequately for the coming of the
cinema age.
In France the spirit of French art con-
tinues to flourish; its contributions, though
smaller in volume, are as excellent as ever,
and we are proud of the fact that the Ameri-
can cinema, in its titanic development, owes
so much to the influence of French genius.
I venture to predict that there will ensue a
tremendous renaissance of French pictorial
activity which will bring about a great inter-
change of cinema products between the two
nations. Many new and valuable uses of the
cinematograph will be discovered. The pic-
ture-genie has still greater wonders to per-
form in science, in education, in everyday
convenience, than he has yet achieved.
France may be trusted to take the lead in
many of these.
The French Government, through its
Cinematographic Division, is making a pic-
torial history of the war. I have the honor
to represent these films in America, and the
old-time triumphs of "French pictures" are
vividly recalled to my mind by the marvelous
enthusiasm and acclaim with which the
pictured war-story is universally greeted. As
a civilizing and humanizing agency the
motion picture is in many respects superior
to the printed word or to speech. The era
that began when Lumiere freed its utter-
ance and made it a world force will in its
full fruition coincide with the splendors of
a world democracy.
39
SUNDAY MOVIES IN NEWARK CHURCH
(Continued from page 15)
interspersed by an instructive picture oi»
the ways of the ant. Having obtained a
stereopticon also, Dr. Murkland contemplated
using that on Easter Sunday evening.
In fact, Dr. Murkland has carte blanche to
put anything in the evening service that will
instruct, inform, or help.
"This may be the first church in the city
to establish a motion picture system," con-
cluded Dr. Murkland as he turned back to
the difficult task of combining religion with
entertainment, "but it will not be the last-
The motion picture science is going to spread
over all the world. I am enthusiastic oven
its possibilities."
T^ROM one class-room into the
other, is the daily course of
the DeVry in many of America's
foremost pedagogical institutions.
America's leading educators,
realizing and appreciating the
power and scope of motion pic-
tures for educational purposes',
and desiring the use of this won-
derful aid in pedagogy in every
phase of their activities, have —
after careful investigation —
adopted the DeVry Portable Mo-
tion Picture Projector as being
the one Projector in existence
that makes practical the unlim-
ited use of film.
Write today for a catalog and
complete specifications. Address
THE DEVRY CORPORATION
1230 Marianna Street
Chicago, III.
THE "Y" AND THE "MOVIE" IN
THE INDUSTRIAL COMMUNITY
(Continued from page 27)
English and the prevailing foreign tongue
should carry bulletins from the Board of
Health. Board of Education, Police and Fire
and other city departments, announcements
of celebrations, "Y" activities, church ser-
vices, information concerning excursions,
trolley trips, boat trips, swimming pools,
picnic grounds, outings, camping sites and
hiking trips; how and where to buy Liberty
Bonds and W. S. S.; where to secure a loan,
if needed, on Liberty Bonds. A community
soon learns to appreciate the value of such
information and profits by it.
Educational Phases
Schools, museums and libraries are eager
for the industrial, educational, and scenic
moving pictures with which to supplement
their work. The Associations are rendering
service directly or loaning the films to the
organizations desiring them. Technical,
trade, vocational, and manual training high
schools afford an excellent opportunity for
the Boys" Work Department to render valu-
able service by providing a classified list of
pictures which will correlate and strengthen
the course of study. The English Depart-
ments find the films a great aid in provid-
ing material for compositions. United
States history and geography can be sup-
plemented by the scenic films. Household
science classes find many interesting sub-
jects on food production, preparation, and
household equipment. From fifteen minutes
of motion pictures a class will learn more
about Yellowstone Park, geysers, and hot
springs than by reading a hundred pages of
descriptive matter. Hospitals, institutions,
and homes appreciate the Association pro-
gram of religion, music, and entertainment
pictures. A portable machine makes it pos-
sible to take good cheer, inspiration, and joy
to the shut-ins.
The Association's program is welcomed by
the labor trade union and a program of one
or two industrial "movies" is included in the
regular meetings. The pattern-makers,
joiners, and carpenters are interested in lum-
bering, wood-working machinery, manufac-
turing of hand tools, etc., while the masons
and bricklayers are interested in the manu-
facture of brick, terra cotta, fireproofing
materials, Portland cement, concrete con-
struction, etc.
The latest methods of construction, fac-
tory systems, fire prevention, modern machin-
ery and equipment appeal to business men's
clubs at the "Y," chamber of commerce or
board of trade.
Americanization Work
Foreign societies offer one of the greatest
opportunities for the Association to develop
a constructive and stabilizing program of
Americanization woven into a program of
entertainment and education. Films show-
ing immigrants the advantages of becoming
citizens, and encouraging them to hold fast
the best of the old world's ideals and to grasp
the best of the new, are in great demand.
Street shows on election, holidays, and
Saturday nights give the Association an op-
portunity to put vital campaign issues before
the people. The motion picture is a great
weapon against evil, disease, accidents, and
a strong ally for good, health, and safety.
The Association can make itself indispens-
able to the community by providing proper
and timely service. The same type of slides
is used in connection with street shows as
suggested for park and playground shows.
Health and Garden Films
The Industrial Department Bureau of
Motion Pictures is co-operating with the
United States Health Service Bureau by dis-
tributing the health film, "Fit to Fight"
(now called "Fit to Win"). Since February
1, 1919, 46 exhibits have been conducted
with a total of 17,500 in attendance. During
the Fourth Liberty Loan campaign a com-
plete set of Liberty Loan films was dis-
tributed and arrangements are being made
to assist in promoting the Fifth Victory
Loan. The National War Garden Commis-
sion films are being used by the Association
in promoting Victory Gardens.
During the year 1918 over 500,000 indus-
trial workers and their families were enter-
tained and instructed by films distributed by
this bureau.
January Attendance 91,250
In January, 1919, 325 free exhibits were
held, using 256,000 feet of film, with an
aggregate attendance of 91,250. With the
increased demand for service by industries,
engineering societies, churches, libraries and
museums not now being seived by local As-
sociations, the Industrial Department Motion
Picture Bureau will provide free service to
more than 1,000,000 in 1919.
D'ANNUNZIO'S WORKS FOR THE SCREEN ?
One of the recent rumors is the screening
of Gabriele D'Annunzio's works with Dolores
Cassinelli as the star. The Italian poet's
works are well known to every lover of the
drama, having been presented in this
country by the famous actress Eleanore
Duse.
At the Metro studio, New York, where
Miss Cassinelli is under the direction of
Mme. Alice Blache, she would neither admit
nor deny the rumor of her appearing in
D'Annunzio's works.
She admitted, however, her frequent in-
terviews with Ugo D'Annunzio, son of the
novelist, who is in this country on a special
mission from the Italian Government, and
has been for some time directing the big
Caproni airplane factory in Detroit.-
"Bobby," said the minister to a little chap, "I
hear you are going to school now." "Yes, sir,"
was the reply. "What part of it do you like
best?" "Comin' home," was the prompt answer.
(But, you see, they had no "movies" in Bobby's
school.)
FILMS^OF^BUSINESS
220 West 42d Street, NEW YORK
NEW YORK Is Our Headquarters,
But We Operate Anywhere!
The Eastern Motion Picture Company
Does More Than Produce Industrial Films!
It puts Ideas into them. It gives them expert studio
treatment. It has an organization composed of men
of big production experience. And its scope is not
local, but national and international.
Write Us Your Problems!
Eastern Motion Picture Company
1451 Broadway New York City
Studios: New York City and Providence, R. I.
31
BUREAU OF NATURALIZATION FILMS
Classes of Aliens, with Teachers, to See Agricultural and Industrial
Pictures in Local Theatres
So well has the plan of the Bureau of Naturalization for
educational motion pictures for aliens been received that it
has been greatly enlarged. Instead of single series of his-
torical and industrial films the bureau will present two
series.
The first series will be introductory, showing the develop-
ment of the nation of its industries from the early days
down to the present period of after-war adjustment. When
the aliens have been given a general idea of the greatness
of the country they have adopted as their own they will
have a second series of pictures showing them exactly the
opportunities provided them in particular trades. For
instance, there will be a film showing how a naturalized
citizen took over some land and started a fruit farm, how
he built it up, how he made for himself a good living, built
a house and raised his family in comfort under the protec-
tion of the government.
Another picture will show how the newcomer may go into,
say, the shoemaker's trade. The pieces of machinery used
and the parts of a shoe will be thrown on the screen, with
the name of each object in English, and in the native tongue
of the foreigner. Thus he can learn the name and the use
of every article he will have to handle when he enters the
shop. In order to impress them on his mind the teacher
will repeat the names and then have the class repeat them,
until every man knows the lesson by heart.
The films will be shown to nearly 2,000 classes for aliens
in all parts of the country. The pupils will adjourn to the
local motion picture houses to see the pictures, with their
teachers attending to explain everything.
A subscription to the Educational Film Magazine means a better
education for your child. Keep posted on all developments in
visual education. 4 months, $1. 8 months, $2. 12 months, $3.
EASTMAN
FILM
first made motion pictures prac-
tical— to-day it plays its full part
in making the best pictures pos-
sible.
Identifiable by the words "Eastman " and "Kodak*
in the film margin
EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY,
ROCHESTER, N. Y.
DEMOBILIZED
The Universal Motion Picture Camera played its
part effectively in times of war. The U. S. Signal
Corps men who used the Universal exclusively in
the war zone to record the Yankee participation in
the Big Scrap are all enthusiastic about this camera,
and the way it stood the most exacting tests ever
encountered by any camera.
They tell in glowing phrases of Universal efficiency,
ease of loading and the rapidity with which it
can be set up. The amount of knocking and bang-
ing around it will stand without getting out of order,
develops in each man who has used the Universal
a fondness for his instrument akin to the fondness
of the sharpshooter for his pet rifle.
Now the Universal has been demobilized. The
U. S. government does not need all the resources
of our motion picture plant any longer, and we
are at liberty to put this tried and true machine at
the service of the civilian photographer for use
in every field where the motion picture camera is
needed.
THE EXPLOBER AND THE UNIVERSAL
The Universal has not only proven its top-notch efficiency
in the military field, but explorers and travelers who have
used it are enthusiastic in its praises. Martin Johnson,
the noted . explorer who succeeded in making pictures
of the man-eating savages of the Solomon Islands, swears
by his trusty Universal. And he is not the only well-
known explorer who is Universal equipped.
UNIVERSAL ALL-ROUND UTILITY
Universal Cameras have been used with the greatest satis-
faction by studio men, newspaper men, commercial photog-
raphers, and those engaged in the making of educational
films. There are so many features of excellence in the
Universal Camera that it would be impossible to detail
them all in one advertisement. We therefore invite you to
write for the Universal booklet which gives you full par-
ticulars about the one-piece construction, the adjustable
shutter, the automatic dissolve, Universal tilting and pano-
ramic tripod, and all the other features which make up
the motion picture perfection attained in the Universal.
Write for it at once, and learn how the camera that made
good for Uncle Sam is made.
BURKE & JAMES, Inc.
250 E. Ontario Street
Cine Department Chicago, Illinois
Eastern Branch: 225 Fifth Avenue, New York
32
Jfo HEADLINER
' HOLDS THE
SPOTLIGHT a
1729
POWERS
CAMERAGRAPHS
SELECTED TO PROMT PICTURE!
FOR THE BOYS OVERSEA I
DELIVERED
THE GOODS
/the BIGGEST
Feature Act
f IN THE HISTORY OF
/ PICTURE
/ PROJECTION
"Nichoim Power Company
INCORPORATED
filo/ieers of projection
90 GOLD ST. NEW YORK.N.Y.
Illustrated Catalogue 25 gives complete details
BROOKLYN EAGLE PRESS
ITS QUALITIES
HAVE WON FOR
IT THE AP-
PROVAL OF
ARM Yand NAVY
ENGINEERS and
DISCRIMINATE
USERS OF PRO-
JECTORS IN
GENERAL
The Aristocrat of the Projector Family"
Write for Catalog "Y"
ThePrecisionMachine(o.Tnc.
317 East 34th: St- NewYork
EDUCATIONAL
FILM
MAGAZINE
The National Authority
o
Detroit School Bpard Adopts Films
"Movies" for 64,000 Methodist Churches
How to Use Films in the School
By CAFkL HARDIN CARSON
Former Instructor in History, High School, Pasadena. California
Former President Visual Education Association of California
Analysis of Motion in Cinematography
By WILLIAM O. OWEN, M.D.
Former Curator, Army Mjdical Museum, Washington D. C.
Mastering Nature with the Motion Picture
By TOLLEF BERNARD THOMPSON, Ph.D.
Former Principal, School of Commerce. University of South Dakota
Teaching Surgical Operations with Films
By GEORGE SUTCLIFFE
Psegistrar, St. Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons
The Golden Age in Motion Pictures
Editorial By DOLPH EASTMAN
§^
15 cents a copy
MAY, 1919
$1 a year
«J
^
Hundreds of films
to choose from on
Art Science Invention Travel
Sports Industrials Cartoons
And all the short length you want
Paramount-Bray Pictographs
"The Magazine on the Screen"
THE great number and scope of Paramount-Bray Picto-
graphs are only possible because they were the first
release of that kind.
Each presents varied information and entertainment by
covering several short different subjects and by always
including one of the famous Bray Animated Cartoons.
The animated technical drawings by which the hitherto
unphotographable is translated to the screen appear only
in Paramount-Bray Pictographs.
There is a new single reel released each week.
Here are some examples of recent releases which give
a little idea of what Paramount-Bray Pictographs have to
offer you.
ART
In a Sculptor's Studio
How museum groups
are made
SPORTS
SCIENCE
Carnivorous plants
Origin of coal
Comets
INVENTION
How the Telephone
Talks
A Machine that
Thinks
TRAVEL
Travels in the West
Indies
Scenic Wonders of
Mt. Lowe
Water Sports of
Hawaii
A Quail Hunt in Ole
Virginny
INDUSTRIALS
Industries of the
West Indies
Meeting the World's
demand for Shipping
Packages
CARTOONS
By the World's great-
est Motion Picture
Cartoonists
Paramount-Bray Pictographs are obtainable at all the twenty-seven Famous
Players-Lasky Exchanges throughout the country — at nominal cost.
THE BRAY STUDIOS, Inc.
23 East 26th Street
New York City
Industries :
The quickest way to gain the confidence of the public is to come right out
and show how your products are made. For this purpose the complete
Paramount-Bray facilities for making the film and giving it a country-wide
distribution are now at your disposal. Inquiries are invited.
».p. . « * * »
FAMOUS PLAYERS-LASKY CORPORATION
ADOLPH ZUKORPres. JESSE L.LASKY Vtce Pres. CECIL B.'Dll'MlLLE Director Qenerul
' '"NEW YORIO •
V
~ — -T ' ',„
'The EDX/CA.TIOJV 4i FILM MA.GA.&IJVE should be bacKed up by e-Oeryone interested in -Visual
education." — "D\7T>L.E,y CRA.JVT HA>yS, "Director Extension "Dept.. Chicago "Board of Education
I JV otv Only
One Dollar
A Year
(Ttefo Dollars Outside of V. sT. and Possessions)
THE insistent demand of educators, lecturers, churchmen, social workers, industrial executives,
and others interested in the great movement for visual education has encouraged the publishers,
after weeks of investigation and discussion, to heed this larger call and serve this larger field
of usefulness.
The original intention was to confine the circulation of the Educational Film Magazine to
institutions, organizations, large industrial plants, and officials interested in the serious use of the
motion picture and the lantern slide. Due, however, to numerous calls' upon us from various
groups throughout the United States it has become necessary to enlarge upon this plan and widen
the scope of the magazine.
But the main motive for our decision to make the yearly subscription price of the magazine
One Dollar, without in any way lessening either quality or quantity, is to enable us to place it before
the eyes of many thousands of teachers, principals, ministers, Sunday School and social workers,
and the great army of toilers in educational, religious, industrial, civic, social and allied fields.
It is through these individual workers that this movement for visual education is developing into
gigantic proportions, and it is to their voices and their influence we wish to add the weight of our
message and our authority.
If the Educational Film Magazine, "The National Authority," is to prove the pathfinder, guide,
philosopher, and friend to these thousands of workers in the ranks, and through them, to the insti-
tutions and organizations they serve, it is obviously the duty and the privilege of the publishers to
meet this larger call in the higher spirit. In announcing this low rate, we feel that we have taken
a big forward step toward the realization of the ideal all of us have in view.
(In fairness to those who have sent us subscriptions at the higher rate, the publishers hereby announce that all of these
will be credited on the basis of tbe $1.00 rate. Thu9, a 81,00 subscription will be carried on our records for one
year; a $3.00 subscription for three years, etc.)
EDX/CATIOJVAL FILM MAGAJZIJVE is the only high class publication in the
titorld, not a trade paper, cohering the serious, non-theatrical use of motion pictures
and slides. "E*)ery issue a treat/' turites S.G. *Reinertsen, Supt. Alt a, Iobva, Schools
you Cannot Afford to Miss a Single fiximber
of This Magazine. yott JVeed It
Take Ad-Vantage of This Lobv *Rate. Tear Off The Coupon And Mail It XOith
your -Dollar "RIGHT JVOtV. It Will De a Dollar Well In-Vested
EDUCATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE, 33 West 42nd St., New York City.
Enclosed find One Dollar ($1.00) for which enter my subscription. to your magazine for 12
months beginning with the issue.
Name Occupation
Street No.._ City and State
(It is not necessary to register the envelope containing your Dollar. We will assume the responsibility for its safe delivery.)
\
rr:
4op
Fireproof Pictures — without
Fireproof Booths
WHICH ARE YOU— A CLOG OR A COG IN
™ THE MACHINERY OF HUMAN ADVANCE-
MENT?
Do you belong to that group of broad visioned
human beings working for the betterment of So-
ciety's needs; or are you one of the pigmies throw-
ing out your own little obstructions in the path of
progress, blind to everything but your own in-
dividual greed?
Does your sense of responsibility to the race
lead you to protect the safety of your fellow beings;
or does your desire for self-aggrandisement lead
you to protect only your own profits?
Are you a Law Evader, or a Law Enforcer?
Do you conscientiously observe the legal rulings
of the country — realizing their intent to protect and
assist the majority; or do you slyly evade these
rulings — realizing therefrom an individual gain?
When you answer these questions you signalize
your position in regards to the Safety Film Stan-
dard, approved and adopted by the Society of Mo-
tion Picture Engineers at Rochester, New York,
April 8-9, 1918.
There is a law, forbidding the use of motion
picture projectors, employing Standard Theatre
film, unless the projector is enclosed in a fireproof
booth.
The sane justice of this law is at once apparent
to anyone acquainted with the hazards connected
with the use of inflammable film. This film is of
the nature of gunpowder, and is composed of nitro-
cellulose, a highly explosive material.
The disaster caused by having a single reel of
inflammable film ignited in a crowded room is
terribly apparent.
The modern motion picture theatre is made abso-
lutely safe by the inspection of the Fire Marshal,
requiring the projecting apparatus to be enclosed
in a fireproof booth, with an iron chimney, making
it impossible for the flames to reach into the theatre,
in case of film fire.
The use of inflammable film without such a fire-
proof booth is illegal and criminally hazardous.
Owing to the existence of a certain class of law-
evaders, legislators found it necessary to forbid
the use of standard projectors, employing standard
film without booth, even though such film is made
of non-inflammable stock. The unscrupulous ex-
hibitor can too easily substitute the unsafe for the
safe.
The Safety Film Standard, adopted by the Society
of Motion Picture Engineers, at their meeting,
August 8-9, 1918, is intended to meet existing legal
requirements — and further the advancement of the
industry by opening SAFE channels for the broader
use of motion picture projectors.
It makes the portable projector a useful citizen;
where it has heretofore been a dangerous outlaw.
With the new Standard Safety Film, motion pic-
tures may be shown anywhere, without booth, and
without risk.
The new Standard is UNPATENTED AND
OPEN TO ALL MANUFACTURERS. Its aim is
not monopoly, but advancement.
Raw stock of the new Standard — perforated or
unperforated — is now available to all users.
One pioneer concern in the field of safer and
more useful movies has ready for immediate use
and projection, thousands of film subjects, and
offers help and co-operation to anyone wishing to
enter the field.
Other manufacturers are strenuously at work
getting out film and projectors. New and extensive
libraries, able to take care of every need, will soon
be available.
And all these projectors and all these reels of
film may be used SAFELY and LEGALLY any-
where and at any time— WITHOUT FIREPROOF
BOOTHS. For the school — the church — the home
— the movie enters its broader field with a clean
bill of citizenship.
AS A PURCHASER OF A PROJECTOR FOR
YOUR HOME, SCHOOL OR FACTORY— WHERE
DO YOU STAND? Are you backing the law and
accepting your ethical responsibility of protecting
your audiences by buying a machine employing
Safety Film?
AS A MANUFACTURER— ARE YOU A CLOG
OR A COG IN THE WHEELS OF ADVANCE-
MENT?
Will you continue to manufacture and sell a
criminally hazardous article, in order that your
individual profits may accrue more rapidly, or
will you work sturdily in the path of progress, in
order that the industry may advance? Do you
stand ready to help make the portable projector as
safe in its field of the home, school and church as
the professional machine is in the theatre?
Personally, I stand for advancement and develop-
ment, secure in my belief that while profits may be
delayed by the growth of something new — they will
also grow with the industry.
ALEXANDER F. VICTOR, President
VICTOR ANIMATOGRAPH COMPANY
Davenport, Iowa
Published Monthly at 33 West 42d Street (Aeolian Hall), New York City. DOLPH EASTMAN, Editor.
Subscription: United States and Possessions, |1 a year; other countries, $2 a year; single copies, 15 cents.
Advertising rates on application. Copyright, 1919, by City News Publishing Company.
Vol. I
MAY, 1919
No. 5
TABLE OF
Index to Articles
EDITORIAL 5
The Golden Age in Motion Pictures —
The Solution for Non-Attendance
DETROIT SCHOOL BOARD AUTHORIZES GEOGRAPHY
AND HISTORY FILMS 7
VISUALIZED GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY 7
HOW TO USE FILMS IN THE SCHOOL 8
By Carl Hardin Carson — Illustrated
ANALYSIS OF MOTION IN CINEMATOGRAPHY 10
Bv William O. Owen, M.D.
MASTERING NATURE WITH THE MOTION PICTURE.... 11
By Tollef Bernard Thompson, Ph.D.
MICROMOTION STUDIES APPLIED TO EDUCATION 12
By A. A. Douglass and W. L. Dealey
Part 3 — Illustrated
AERIAL CINEMATOGRAPHY 13
TEACHING SURGICAL OPERATIONS WITH FILMS 13
By George Sutcliffe
"MOVIES" AT THE METHODIST CENTENARY CELEBRA-
TION 14
By Professor Lamont A. Warner — Illustrated
MILLIONS FOR "MOVIES" IN METHODIST CHURCHES... 16
THE NECESSITY OF VISUAL INSTRUCTION 17
By Charles F. Hunt
BURTON HOLMES TRAVEL CLUB A SUCCESS 18
Illustrated
"MOVIES" VS. SALOON 19
By S. L. Rothapfel
"CINDERELLA AND THE MAGIC SLIPPER" 20
Illustrated
CONTENTS
BRIGGS CARTOONS ACTED BY CHILDREN 20
THE NEED OF FILM LIBRARIES 20
HOW THEY DO IT AT ALTA, IOWA 21
By S. G. Reinertsen — Illustrated
HOW TO MAKE AND COLOR LANTERN SLIDES 22
FLASHES ON THE WORLD'S SCREEN 25
CATALOG OF FILMS 27
Ford Educational Weeklies, Miscellaneous — Industrial — Literary — -
Pictographs, Miscellaneous — Scenics — Travel
MOTION PICTURES TO DEVELOP AMERICAN EXPORT
TRADE 29
By Waldon Fawcett
CUBAN TRADE REPORT IN FILMS 30
PRODUCERS THEIR OWN CENSORS 31
ENGINEERS URGE SAFETY FILM 31
FEDERATION BETTER FILM WORKERS 31
SAFETY AND GOOD ROADS FILMS 31
HOW FILMS TRAINED AVIATORS 32
Index to Advertisements
The Bray Studios, Inc.,
Inside front cover
Victor Animatograph Co 2-25
Pathescope Co 3
Community M. P. Bureau 4
Excelsior Illustrating Co 22
Scott Slide Co 23
Underwood & Underwood 23
Exhibitors Booking Agency 24
Auto-Slyde & M. P. Machine Co.. 24
Wholesome Films Co 26
De Vry Corporation 28
Films of Business, Inc 29
Eastern M. P. Co 30
Eastman Kodak Co 32
Burke & James, Inc 32
Nicholas Power Co.,
Inside back cover
Graphoscope Co Back cover
»
THE NEW
PREMIER PATHESCOPE
BECAUSE OF ITS SPECIAL, NARROW WIDTH
SLOW BURNING FILM
Bears the Underwriters' Official Approval Label
" Enclosing Booth Not Required."
Adopted by Every School Board that INVESTIGATES the
Merits of Portable Projectors
Many of them adopted the Pathescope after unsatisfactory and expensive efforts to use
unapproved projectors. You cannot afford to take the chance of
having a serious accident.
There are more Pathescopes in schools today than all
other portable projectors combined, because they are
designed particularly for SCHOOL USE and embody
seven years of successful experience gained in the
world-wide sale and use of over ten thousand former
models in Schools, Churches. Institutions, etc.
There are about one hundred "Popular" Model
Pathescopes in the Public Schools of New York
City, and the Board of Education has recently
ordered a number of NEW PREMIER PATHE-
SCOPES, after a careful investigation of the
merits of other portable projectors, as being the
ideal projector for classroom or auditorium use.
The Pathescope^ Film _ Library now contains over
1,500 reels and is growing rapidly.
All on Underwriters' Approved and Label-Inspected
Slow-Burning Films.
The largest^ assortment of available educational
and entertainment films ever offered for universal
public use.
For the fourth consecutive year we have been awarded
the contract for furnishing Pathescope Educational
Film Service to the New York Public Schools, on
the recommendation of their Investigating Committee.
If you really wish the BEST you will eventually use
the Pathescope; in the meantime
Write for Booklets:
"Education by Visualization" (5th Edition, 100,000).
"Educational Films for the Pathescope."
"Endorsements of Educational Efficiency, Etc."
The Pathescope Co. of America, Inc.
Dept. M, Aeolian Hall, New York
Agencies and Branch Exchanges
Boston, Philadelphia, Buffalo,
Pittsburgh, Harrisburg,
Chicago, Minneapolis,
Salt Lake City
sr:
'■' ■'
Builders
of the
Future
Recognize the Motion Picture as a
Great Community Force
The Community Motion Picture Bureau
Welcomes the Opportunity to Demon-
strate the Picture's Power for Good.
The officer of an industry, a church,
school or community center has usually
neither the time nor experience neces-
sary to a wise choice of films.
Films available for industrial, educa-
tional, religious and community pur-
poses, already of a very large volume
and continually increasing, are by many
producers done for many enterprises.
So vast is the amount of films available
for these uses that it would take years
for any one person to review them all,
and to make a careful digest of their
merit and suitability for various uses.
In order that this wealth of film
material may be made available, it is
necessary that many trained reviewers
of films co-operate, and their joint judg-
ment, from many angles, be placed at
the service of all who make use of
motion pictures for non-theatrical pur-
poses.
This need has been an inspiring chal-
lenge to the Community Motion Picture
Bureau. Several years before the war
this Bureau began its work with schools,
social centers, churches, and other social
groups, making a careful study of films
then available for use by such bodies,
selecting and organizing programs suit-
able for their varying purposes.
Upon the entrance of the United States
into the war the Community Motion Pic-
ture Bureau was selected for the task of
providing motion pictures for the sol-
diers and sailors of the American Army
and finally for practically all the Allies.
Its work developed, not only a great
distributing and supervising force, but
also a large and well trained editorial
staff, which has reviewed most of the
best films now in existence and recorded
the reactions of the thousands of audi-
ences to which its programs have been
presented.
To the industrial manager, the employer's association, the clergyman, teacher
or community worker, considering the uses of motion pictures for purposes of
wholesome recreation, visual instruction, a quickening interest in life's serious
problems, or an awakened public opinion, this Bureau offers its organized distribu-
tion of films, its supervision of service, and the experience, information and judgment
of its Editorial Department.
Tell Us What You Want To Do and We Will
Help You Do It
Community Motion Picture Bureau
46 West Twenty-fourth Street :: :: New York City
The National Authority
Covering Educational, Scientific, Agricultural, Literary, Historical, Juvenile, Governmental, Relicious, Travel, Scenic,
Social Welfare, Industrial, Topical, and News Motion Pictures
Published Monthly by the City News Publishing Co., 33 West 12nd Street (Aeolian Hall), New York City
DOLPH EASTMAN, Editor
Vol. I
MAY, 1919
No. 5
THE GOLDEN AGE IN MOTION PICTURES
M'
OTION pictures back in the pioneer days
of Goodwin and Edison and Eastman, of
Jenkins and Armat, of Lumiere and
Robert W. Paul, less than thirty years
ago, were taken seriously. It is significant that when
the Wizard of Llewellyn Park succeeded in taking
pictures on a continuous flexible strip of film and
when the young government clerk from Washington
succeeded in projecting moving images on the wall of
a country jewelry store, both inventors had in mind
the serious use of the fruit of their genius. It is even
more significant that the man who wrested from
nature the secret of the sensitive coated film, the
narrow ribbon of celluloid that was to wind its thou-
sands of miles of footage around and around the
earth, was a clergyman, a religious teacher.
From the other side of the Atlantic, where for two
decades prior to the war the French and the Italians
were the most active producers of films, the early
note was one not of frivolous amusement but of
seriousness. Some of the best of the so-called "edu-
cationals" were made during the formative years of
the motion picture industry by Pathe, Gaumont,
Eclair, and others in France; by Cines and others in
Italy; by Urban, Eclipse, and others in England; by
Edison, Kleine, Vitagraph, and others in America.
Twelve years ago, in April, 1907, Charles Urban,
F. Z. S., wrote in a booklet entitled "The Cinemato-
graph in Science, Education, and Matters of State":
"Former cinematographic exhibitions of individual
scientific subjects in places of amusement were intended
as an introduction and served their purpose in attract-
ing and compelling the attention of scientists and
experts. Possibilities, as demonstrated in the displays
of three years ago (1904), are now accomplished facts
in prepared educational and scientific series of subjects.
"The entertainer has hitherto monopolized the cine-
matograph for exhibition purposes, but movement in
more serious directions has become imperative, and the
object of this pamphlet is to prove that the cinemato-
graph must be recognized as a national instrument by
the boards of agriculture, education, and trade, by the
war council, admiralty, medical associations, and every
institution of training, teaching, demonstration and
research.
"The time has now arrived when the equipment of
every hospital, scientific laboratory, technical institute,
college, private and public school is as incomplete
without its moving picture apparatus as it would be
without its clinical instruments, test tubes, lathes,
globes, or maps." This statement is endorsed by hun-
dreds of teachers and heads of institutions in many
countries, who now realize the educational possibilities
and scientific usefulness of the animated picture
camera.
Reading this statement today, more than twelve
years after its appearance in print, we are astonished
not so much at the boldness of the prophecy as at the
slowness of its realization. But educators, scientists,
government officials, and executives of large institu-
tions and organizations are necessarily conservative
and it is, perhaps, natural in the course of man's
progress toward the ideal that conservatism should
hold in check unbridled enthusiasm.
At last, however, due no doubt to the stressful con-
ditions brought about by the world war, the motion
picture giant can no longer be held down by the
Lilliputians of the theatre and already he is beginning
to break his bonds and emerge from his long captivity
in the studios where mischievous Mary and comical
Charlie and dare-devil Douglas have been dancing
over his prostrate body. Already has he opened his
eyes and looked about him in wonderment, pondering
his long-neglected opportunities to serve mankind with
one of the most useful and valuable inventions man
has yet mastered. No giant is this to be slain by the
debonnair Jacks of the theatre, after climbing the
beanstalks whereon millions of the people's dimes
and quarters grow. Rather is this giant to be put to
work as the servant of the people, to do his master's
bidding, to unite and uphold and uplift the humanities
and the civilizing influences of the race.
:c
*■*■
~m
Signs of this revival of seriousness on the motion
picture screen are abundant. Probably the greatest
and most important of these forefingers at the cross-
roads is the announcement in this issue that the
Methodist Church in America plans to raise the sum
of $120,000,000, the major part of which is to be
devoted to equipping more than 64,000 church build-
ings conducted by this denomination with motion
picture projection machines for the regular use of
films. If this project matures and materializes on the
magnificent scale outlined, or even on a lesser scale,
it will constitute a realization in part at least of the
dreams of the pioneers and early enthusiasts. Mr.
Urban's picture of more than a decade ago will have
been painted and hung in its frame, so far as the
Methodist Church is concerned. And it is to be noted
that in his statement quoted above he did not mention
the church as one of the institutions needing such
equipment.
Once the churches of this single denomination have
begun to utilize the motion picture, other Protestant
denominations will follow along similar paths. The
Catholic Church in America, also, is beginning to
adopt the film more and more in its buildings given
over to worship, to schools and convents and asylums.
It is estimated that there are more than 230,000
churches of all denominations in the United States,
with more than 189,000 ministers and nearly
42,000,000 communicants. If only one-tenth of this
total were to be equipped with motion picture pro-
jectors and were to use films twice a week, for mid-
week and Sunday programs, we would have 23,000
church buildings as against less than 14,000 picture
theatres at the present time. But the indications are
that within a year or two, certainly within three or
four years, the number of churches in the United
States showing motion pictures for wholesome enter-
tainment, for religious and moral instruction, for
Americanization and civic and social needs will out-
number the theatres of the country five to one,
perhaps eight to one.
ft\ /TV
The schools of the nation may lag behind in the
general adoption of visual aids to learning and
scholarship and character-development, for education
is ever the first to check and the last to accept the
principles of human progress. It should not be so,
but it is. The schools and the colleges are unquestion-
ably the most conservative forces in a nation, and
their acceptance of a fact comes only after all the
progressive forces of the nation have tested and
proved and convinced them that it is a fact many
times over. Perhaps it is well for a nation that its
educators should be the governor, or the balance
wheel, in the great machine called progress.
Here and there, nevertheless, school boards, super-
intendents, principals, and teachers are breaking
through this wall of conservatism and scepticism. A
recent notable instance of this occurred in Detroit
where the board of education is reported to have
authorized two large industrial concerns to make films
to correlate or co-ordinate with the history and
geography courses taught in nine schools of that city.
This is probably the first time that any executive
action of this kind has been taken in a city of the
front rank, and it is highly significant. It marks the
beginning of big things in the schools of the United
States.
THE SOLUTION FOR NON-ATTENDANCE
Four years ago George Melcher, director of the
Bureau of Research and Efficiency of the Kansas City,
Missouri, Board of Education, found that 52 per cent
of non-promotions in the schools were due to non-
attendance, according to the teachers' estimates. In
a statement at the 1916 meeting of the National
Education Association he said:
"Assuming that a pupil cannot complete a given
course satisfactorily unless he attends at least 80 per
cent of the time, it was found that 60 per cent of the
non-promotions were caused by non-attendance. Of the
pupils who were not promoted, only 40 per cent had
attended more than four-fifths of the time school was
in session ; but 60 per cent had attended less than four-
fifths of the time, or had been absent more than 20
per cent of the time. Of the pupils who were pro-
moted, 11 per cent had been absent more than 20 per
cent of the time.
"This study makes it evident that the most serious
problem in non-promotion is non-attendance."
At the same meeting Fred M. Hunter, superintend-
ent of city schools of Lincoln, Nebraska, showed that
"dislike of school" was the chief cause for the failure
of the majority of boys and girls to complete their
studies. At the Round Table discussion he said:
"Dr. Ayres says that the mortality from the ninth
grade to the twelfth grade in 386 cities of the country
averages over 70 per cent, that for every 1,000 pupils
entering, 56 complete the prescribed course of the
school system. The survey of the Massachusetts In-
dustrial Commission concluded that over 70 per cent of
those who leave school at an early age in the industrial
cities of Massachusetts do so because of indifference
towards school and not because of poverty or economic
necessity. Alice P. Burrows finds, in a survey made in
the Borough of Manhattan, below Fourteenth street, of
the families of children leaving school at an early age,
that 67 per cent leave because of dislike of school, not
because of poverty."
Motion pictures in assembly halls and classrooms
offer the obvious solution of this serious problem.
Wherever they have been introduced non-attendance
and non-promotion have been reduced to a minimum
and in time will be a negligible factor in school work.
Here is a fact easily demonstrable to school boards
and superintendents. Why not demonstrate it in your
own community, in your own schools?
DETROIT SCHOOL BOARD AUTHORIZES GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY FILMS
Charles L. Spain, Assistant Superintendent. Will Supervise Visual Instruction in Nine Elementary
Schools — Ford Motor Company and Solvay Process Company to Make These Film Courses Free of
Cost— Plan Starts Next Fall
THE first large city in the United States, perhaps in
the world, officially to approve and adopt, through
its board of education, a system of motion picture
instruction to correlate or co-ordinate with the geog-
raphy and history courses taught from textbooks in its local
| schools is Detroit, Michigan. It is probably the first city
in this country, and perhaps in any country, to recognize
what the moving film may accomplish educationally when
installed in elementary schools as a silent teacher of youth.
Formal approval was granted at the last meeting of the
board of education to a project which bids fair to make
geography and history the most popular subjects in the
elementary school curriculum.
Will Be Shown in Nine Schools
The projects, as presented before the board by Charles S.
Spain, assistant superintendent of schools, is the paralleling
on the screen of the entire history and geography courses
of the schools. The filming will be undertaken, free of
charge, by the Ford Motor Company and the Solvay Process
Company, and will be shown in all the schools equipped
with auditoriums.
The Ford Company has promised to parallel the lessons
in history, making pictures of the children themselves in
historical pageants, such as the signing of the Declaration
of Independence, or such a tale as the "Courtship of Miles
Standish," Longfellow's romance of early New England life.
This will mean that nine schools, or approximately
10,000 of the 110,000 elementary school children of the city,
will be given the opportunity next fall of learning a lesson
from the text-book and then seeing it presented in screen
form. All platoon schools have fireproof booths, but no
projection machines have yet been installed. They will be
before the next school year starts.
Six of these schools are those in which the platoon system
has been installed. These are the Kennedy, Maybee, Co-
lumbia, Stevens, Russell and Hely. Three more, the Greusel,
Wilson and Bishop, have auditoriums which may be used
for the purpose. Films will be obtained also from govern-
ment motion picture departments at Washington, according
to Mr. Spain.
"Very Fine Results Expected"
"We expect to have very fine results from this work," said
Mr. Spain, "for the child mind grasps most quickly and
firmly that which is presented in pictures before the eye.
The object of geography, for example, is to bring to the
mind a country, its people and its industries. Pictures of
these things will be the best possible stimulation to the
child's imagination. We will in all probability put upon
the screen also the various facts in connection with the geo-
graphical stories which must be memorized. In showing
maps we will use the animated cartoon system.
Merely a Beginning
"If the picturing in this way of the history and geography
lessons work out well, we will start the idea in other subjects,
such as physiology, hygiene and civics.
"We have planned to take moving pictures of the school
children themselves in the dramatizations of various stories
of literature and history which they have been carrying out
as a part of their course. These will then be put upon the
•
screen and, if successful, the entire course will be shown
this way, making a continuous story."
9 9
VISUALIZED GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
Visualized geography, it is believed, will beat the maps
a good deal further than a live bird beats a stuffed one.
Likewise, visualized history, it is expected, will beat the
narratives in the books, which we sometimes say, when they
are written by a graphic writer, make the dead past live
again. But it is visualized history that will indeed resurrect
the past, so far as a moving picture can make a scene that is
past and gone real again. For these terms, visualized geog-
raphy and visualized history, are said with reference to the
possibilities and the development of the moving picture.
Less Hysteria — More Education
The President of one of the big moving picture companies
has been talking very eloquently about the use of the film
in the schools, and surely he brings before our imagination
a thousand school rooms full not of languid but of eager
pupils. Educators are thinking about the same thing, and
we may be thankful that they are, for more of fact, informa-
tion and instruction in the film service to this age, and less
of hysteria, emotionalism, cheap farce and thrill is a de-
sideratum, says the Omaha World-Herald.
The classes in geography will see the mountains, the
plains, the rivers, animated by such life as is peculiar to
them. They will see the natural products of various
countries being cultivated or gathered. Before them will
appear companies of the inhabitants of each. In front of
their eyes will troop the wild animals of which they see
only the flat prints in the books. They will see exports
moving out and imports moving in, the work at the wharves,
the carrying to seaboard, the laden ships plowing the
ocean. It will be like taking them traveling over the earth
to learn what it looks like, and they will get the vivid im-
pression that is made on the eye, and their memory will be
assisted as by a personal recollection.
Historic Film Records for Posterity
As for history^ millions have been able to see on the
screen the momentous history that has been in the making
during the last few years — the camps and cantonments, the
marching columns, the moving ocean transports, the busy
shipyards, the construction and factory work of the war,
the batteries in action, the destroyed cities, the flights of
refugees, the commanding figures whether on the field or
in the government cabinet — all the scenes of war, of war-
swept countries, glimpses of wretchedness and the ministra-
tions of comfort and mercy. Hereafter a film record of the
more notable historical events will be kept for what will be
the entertainment and instruction of after generations.
A Big Job for the Film Industry
It is going to be a big work to get the moving picture
installed as a common equipment for educational work in
the schools. Schools will have to have the'films and the
machines and they will require men, teachers or not, to
operate them. This signifies that a great development of
moving picture facility will have to be made in all the
appliances and technique connected with the exhibition of
the pictures.
wm^u
~e:
HOW TO USE FILMS IN THE SCHOOL
Constructive Suggestions on Capitalizing the Motion
Picture in Assembly Hall and Classroom — Facts, Figures,
and Helpful Hints for the Teacher and the Principal
By Carl Hardin Carson
Former Instructor in History, iiigli School, Pasadena, Cal.
Former President, Visual Education Association of California
THE use of motion pictures in the school and the
college is so new, is in such an experimental and
transitional state, that the experiences of a teacher
in a western high school and the suggestions that
have arisen out of these experiences may not be without
value to the readers of this magazine.
First of all, a distinct line of demarcation should be
drawn between the class and character of films suitable
for showing in the main assembly hall and those suitable
for screening in the small classroom. Entertainment
pictures per se would be out of place in a room set apart
for instruction. Vice versa, strictly educational films as
such might hold little interest in the large assembly com-
posed of students taking widely varying courses.
While emphasizing this distinction it would be well to
say, what has been said before by
others who have studied the matter,
that standard motion picture projec-
tion equipment, with fireproof booth
and competent operator, should be
used in the auditorium, whereas in
the small classrooms some form of
portable or semi-portable projector
should be employed. In the latter
case, when non-inflammable film can
be had in sufficient quantities and of
the proper subjects, no booth will be
necessary and no special skill in
operating will be demanded. Unfor-
tunately, classroom films which cor-
relate with textbooks and syllabi do
not exist at the present time. Until
an adequate supply of properly cor-
related or co-ordinated pictures be-
comes available, the school teacher
who wishes to do actual film teaching
will have to make up his own screen
courses from the limited supply of
prints here and there in the ex-
changes. There are decided indica-
tions that conditions will change for
the better within the comparatively
near future.
pARL HARDIN CARSON, one
^-' ers" in visual education, wa
Informational Films
On the other hand, the present
available supply of clean and whole-
some entertainment pictures for the
main assembly is large and growing.
There are thousands of prints ready
today for the schoolman who knows
how to choose discriminately for his
select group of children and families.
There are the so-called educational
scenics, travel reels, news and topical
pictures, uplifting and inspiring
dramas, comedies free from vulgarity
and horse-play, cleverly amusing car-
toons, intensely interesting and really
of the "trail blaz-
was born in Prome
Burma, Asia, of American parents, on February 3,
1888. He was educated in the schools of Illinois and
Nebraska, attending the University of Nebraska and
leaving there in 1907 for Brown University, Provi-
dence, Rhode Island, from which he graduated the
next year with the A.B. degree. His post-graduate
work was done at the University of Pennsylvania and
the University of Paris, France. In 1911 and 1913,
Mr. Carson taught in the New York City high schools,
in the latter year going to the High School at Pasa-
dena, California, where he was instructor in history,
government and economics and coach in debating and
athletics until 1918.
Mr. Carson was one of the founders and organizers
of the Visual Education Association of California and
was its president for three years. In that capacity he
was largely responsible for the establishment of the
Los Angeles County Bureau of Visual Education. He
handled many films for the Association, and to gain
practical experience worked as a company clerk at
Universal City, California, and as managing editor for
the Lincoln & Parker Company.
Since 1911, Mr. Carson has spent all of his spare
time and vacations in cataloging and classifying all
regularly released films suitable for educational pur-
poses. In 1916, he was appointed a member of the
Science Section Committee on Visual Education of the
National Education Association.
8
instructive films of animal and plant life, and well-made
industrials reflecting our commercial life which is so im-
portant to us Americans. Hundreds of worth-while pro-
grams for the high school, the elementary school, the public
or private graded school, and even the college and the
university can be made up from the present stock of prints
in the various exchanges. How much such programs con-
tribute to the pedagogic results we have a right to expect
from visual education is altogether another matter. My
own experience in school work leads me to believe that
motion pictures of this kind, rightly chosen, are exceedingly
valuable and should form an integral part of the curricula.
Let us, then, divide the subject of motion pictures in the
school into these main subdivisions:
1— classroom films; by which we mean films that are the
very heart of visual education and
that co-ordinate or correlate with
textbooks and syllabi.
2 — general cultural films; by
which we mean the classics of litera-
ture and drama, corresponding to
books by great authors and lectures
by famous people and wholesome
entertainment films such as scenics,
travelogs, news and topicals, cartoons,
comedies, industrials, etc.
Pedagogical Films
As to the first subdivision, only
general hints and suggestions can be
given at this time, since the available
supply of genuine pedagogic films
is so restricted and since what is
available has not been co-ordinated
with the courses now taught in the
schools. There is a vast virgin field
of opportunity here for those who
know how to master all of the many
intricate problems involved and who
can command the large capital neces-
sary to carry out such an enterprise
to its logical conclusions. So far all
such attempts have ended in failure,
chiefly because the promoters did not
know how, because they did not know
the essential difference between a so-
called "educational" picture such as
is screened in the theatre and a genu-
ine pedagogical film which is essen-
tially and fundamentally instruc-
tional or educational. Until a reel
is edited and subjected to the same
careful pedagogic supervision as a
textbok or a map, by some one at
least as well educated as a textbook
author, there will be no truly educa-
tional motion picture but a makeshift
"educational" in name only.
Classroom films should be pr>-
duced by educators trained as technical film experts. These
educators should prepare the scenarios and have general
supervision over the work, but the actual production of
the pictures could be made by film specialists who are at
the same time educated men. The ideal combination would
be the ability to write a classroom textbook plus the ability
to produce a classroom film plus experience in both fields.
In any case, the producer should collaborate with educa-
tional specialists in the field being covered.
The "Development Method" in Classroom Films
The present tendency is to make pictures instruct (in-
struo, to pour in), instead of making them educate
(educere, to draw out). Probably no teacher will dispute
the necessity for retaining the "development method" in
films as well as in other classroom work. One might have
a Gargantuan mental appetite and swallow the contents of
dictionaries, atlases, and encyclopedias, and still remain
uneducated. Therefore I would make classroom films not
merely informational or instructional but truly educational.
The teacher who has mastered the principles of pedagogy
and of child psychology will comprehend my meaning and
appreciate the significance of this essential distinction in
terms. Right here, let me repeat what I have so often said,
I do not believe that the film will or should ever replace
either the teacher or the textbook; but I do hold that it will
play at least as important a part as has the invention of
printing.
Classroom films, of course, should be shown more than
once; the number of times depends upon the amount of
development work needed. When non-inflammable stock
is used it will be possible to stop the film where required
and to show the single frame as a still picture or slide.
While with celluloid film it is safer not to attempt this, slide
enlargements can be made from the small frames.
A film for classroom use should not exceed 500 feet in
length and even shorter than this would be preferable; a
reel should be split up into two, three, or four units. With
the longer units there is too great a temptation to run the
film right through and to neglect the teaching. The fact
must not be lost sight of that the pictures are being shown
for serious, thoughtful educational purposes and not for
mere observation or running comment. For purposes of
review it would still be possible to gather these units
together and screen them in series one after the other.
Motion Picture Syllabi
With each film a printed abstract should be furnished
to the teacher. This will be his motion picture syllabus
and it should correlate or co-ordinate in every detail with
the syllabus of the textbook or lecture course. In the case
of an assigned topic in literature, history or science, the
pictures must be selected with the utmost care and discretion
and with painstaking accuracy and consideration of the
topics assigned. The film syllabus should give the film
titles and sub-titles in consecutive order; it should include
> a digest of data which will be helpful to the teacher and
P students; it should include topics for discussion and suggest
typical development questions.
Schools and colleges, as a general thing, should not
attempt to produce their own instructional or educational
pictures. They have not the facilities, the equipment, the
technical experts, the financial means or the time to under-
take ventures of this kind. In most instances, where such
institutions have attempted it, the results have been disas-
trous. There is no economy in it, and it is far better to
leave such work to the skill, the judgment, the experience,
and the means commanded by technical specialists.
Physical Geography Films First
It appears probable that geography will be the first class-
room topic to be adequately filmed in correlation with text-
books and classroom lectures. This is indicated by the
replies to hundreds of questionnaires mailed to school
superintendents, normal, high school and grade school
principals, and college professors a few months ago. These
replies for the most part advised that geography should be
the first school subject to be picturized. As a great mass of
general geographical material (scenic, travel, industrial,
agricultural, topical, etc.), has already been made and now
awaits merely combining, editing and titling, probably the
first new subjects to be attempted should be in physical
geography.
The second subdivision, that of general cultural pictures,
is a far easier matter to discuss. The classics, such as "Quo
Vadis," "Les Miserables" (the French version), "Oliver
Twist," "Julius Caeser," "Romeo and Juliet," "Tale of Two
Cities," "David Copperfield," "Ivanhoe," "Last Days of
Pompeii" and other films of this character form the essence
of cultural and ethical teaching and should have a place on
the program of every school. I mention only a few, but
there are actually scores, perhaps hundreds, of such cul-
tural films readily available in most sections of the country.
Satisfactory arrangements can usually be made with the
local exchange manager for a showing of such pictures in
the assembly hall of the school. In the morning, when
there is little call for these films, they can be run off on the
screen for the benefit of the entire assemblage — the whole
body of students and teachers. Suitable music by the
students or teachers may be provided.
Student Admissions Paid for $2,000 Equipment
At Pasadena High School we found the forenoon, around
ten or eleven o'clock, to be best suited for these general
cultural film entertainments. On the average we gave them
once or twice a month. Local school boards should provide
a special fund for this purpose, but if this is not done ad-
mission fees paid by the pupils will more than cover the
necessary expenses. At Pasadena we expended for our
two standard motion picture projection machines, booth,
motor generator, stereopticon, screen, wiring, and other
equipment about $2,000. It would have been much more
but for the fact that manual arts students did much of the
work under the supervision of their teachers. The audi-
torium in the high school seats more than 1,600. The local
school board paid not more than $200 or $300 toward the
cost of the equipment; the remainder was paid for by the
five and ten cent admissions of the students.
At Pasadena High School the work was taken seriously.
Therefore, we believed in getting the best pictures possible
for the purpose and paying the regular rentals for them.
We would not run old, scratched, or "rainy" prints; we took
only what the exchange man calls "new stuff." Our rentals
varied from $8 to $60 per program, the cost depending upon
the composition of the program.
The classical programs were alternated with those of a
mixed kind. In the latter there would be a one or two reel
drama with a well defined idea or purpose; an artistic or
picturesque scenic or travel film; a scientific or an unusually
good industrial reel; a news, topical, or screen magazine
film; and a clean, wholesome comedy, the comedy always
coming last on the program — the practice of any good
showman.
Real Need for Cultural Films
General cultural film programs fill a very important place
(Continued on page 31)
z^:
*m*m
ANALYSIS OF MOTION IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
Secrets of the Slow and the Fast "Take" Disclosed — Filming Flower
Growth and Building Construction — Simultaneous Motion Charts —
Animated Drawings Described
BY WILLIAM O. OWEN, M. D.
Former Curator, Army Medical Museum, Washington, D. C.
IT has been found that sixteen to the second is as slowly
as light can be interrupted without flickering to such
a degree as to produce a much greater discomfort to
those who are in the audience (or should I say the
optience?) than they are willing to stand. For this reason
sixteen to the second has become the standard. As a result
they run sixteen pictures to the second, and this corresponds
to one foot of the film. It is true that the retina will fuse
the images when they are going on the screen as slowly as
eight to the second, but the interruption to the light produces
such a disagreeable flickering that one cannot watch the
screen with pleasure. Hence it is not a commercial propo-
sition.
Now, when a picture is taken at four to the second, and
thrown upon the screen at sixteen to the second, the appear-
ance of the movement, as perceived upon the screen is
quadrupled, and on the other hand when it is taken at 64
and thrown on the screen at 16, it is slowed down four
times.
Thus it appears that the man who walks across the field
of a camera at the rate of four miles to the hour in the one
case appears to be going at the rate of 16 miles to the hour,
while in the other he appears to be walking very, very
slowly, at the rate of one mile an hour, his strides remain-
ing the same in either case; whereas a man walking at a
very rapid gait takes a long stride as a rule, and when
walking slowly takes a short step, being guided largely by
his own momentum.
Giving Away Mack Sennett's Secrets
The first of these combinations is the one which is used
to produce the comic effect upon the screen, both in the
movement of men and of machinery. Many of the auto-
mobile scenes appearing upon the screen as very rapid
motion are taken by this means. The rapid "take," on the
other hand, is used for the purpose of getting pictures of
the rapidly changing positions of the limbs or parts of
machinery as closely together as the case might be. Thus
it is seen that in true photography there are at least three
varieties of moving pictures: the normal, 16 to the second;
the slow take, or slower than 16 to the second; and the
rapid take, or more than 16 to the second. All three va-
rieties are used by manufacturers of films to produce the
various effects which they wish to produce upon the screen,
and these rates are matters of very serious study amongst
those who make their living by the moving picture screen.
The Ultra-Slow "Take"
There is yet another variety that might be called the ultra-
slow "take," in which the pictures are taken once an hour,
or once in 24 hours as the case might be desired. These
very slow pictures are taken for the purpose of illustrating
plant growth; the still slower ones to illustrate the growth
of a building and other similar uses which will occur to
almost any man who deals in scientific procedure. Sixteen
to the second is that which is ordinarily used by the film
manufacturing world, slow takes of from 2 to 4 to a second
being that which is used as a trick movement of these
pictures, producing when thrown upon the screen the ex-
traordinarily rapid movement so frequently seen upon the
screen. In these cases those who produce the funny work
are taken by themselves while the rest of the cast stand still,
and then when the cast is moving at 16 to the second the
comic artist stands still. A blow on the man's head with an
ax can be taken at one or two to the second, and when thrown
upon the screen will appear as a most extraordinary rapid
thing when it goes on at 16 to the second, and thus an ax
only held on the head may appear to strike a severe blow.
Thus it is that many of these comic effects are produced.
Stealing a March on Mother Nature
On the other hand, let us take a more scientific pro-
cedure. A man arranges a clockwork which will trip and
throw into effect a Cooper Hewitt light by a clock-like
arrangement once an hour. He then arranges a flower pot
in the focus of the camera which is to take the picture, and
then plants the seed and waters it in the pot. Now, then,
once an hour the clock trips the switch, and at once the
Cooper Hewitt lights are thrown on and by the time they
have had an opportunity to come to full brilliance and get
the scene illuminated properly, the camera is open and
the number of exposures which it has been determined
previously to make are made, then the clock-work cuts off
the current and the camera remains still — no light, nothing,
until the appointed hour rolls around and again the same
series of pictures is taken.
Thus it is that the seed appears to sprout, the plant to
grow, leave out, flower, fruit, the seed pods burst as the
case may be, and then the plant to die and wither, and the
whole scene takes place in fifteen or twenty minutes, depend-
ing purely and entirely upon the number of pictures that
were taken. It may be that it would be a thousand feet,
in which case it would occupy about 15 minutes, or it would
occupy more or less time as it ran up in thousands of feet.
Now these pictures are used again for another purpose,
taken once in 12 or 24 hours, or at the beginning or end
of the day's work on a building, to show how the contractor
has been progressing from day to day. Some take it yet
more often, every three or four hours as the case may be,
and thus it is that they get a continuous appearance of the
moving house as it grows up.
On the other hand, when it comes to very rapid move-
ments, these are used for serious study by scientific men,
of the motion of men, animals and machinery. It is, indeed,
a very interesting thing to see a man in running leave the
ground very, very slowly and float with both feet in the
air as his feet change in position from rear to front, floating
in the air and landing on the opposite foot from which he
sprang. I have one very curious picture taken in this way
at about 130 to the second, of a group of children playing
together piled in a pile.
Analysis of a Boy Jumping
One young lad about thirteen years old standing by my
side at the moment ran across the field of the camera as
rapidly as he could and jumped upon the top of this moving,
(Continued on page 31)
10
MASTERING NATURE WITH THE MOTION PICTURE
Social Philosopher, Economist, and Psychologist Shows How the Film is
Directing Nature's Determinism and Even Creating New Environment
and Moral Influences — Motion Pictures May Inspire Future Thinkers,
Poets, Artists, and Men of Genius
By Tollef Bernard Thompson, Ph. D.
Former Member of the Faculty, University of South Dakota
T)R. TOLLEF BERNARD THOMPSON was born on a farm in
XJ Minnesota forty-two years ago. In turn he was a rural school
teacher, village teacher, high school principal, and an instructor
in a denominational college in his native state. For a year he
taught in a business college in Pensacola, Florida; then organized
the School of Commerce in the University of South Dakota, at
Vermillion, and was its principal for two years. For sixteen
years he was a member of the faculty of the Arts and Sciences
department of this university, with the exception of four years
spent in study abroad — one year at the University of Christiania,
Norway, and three years at the University of Berlin. During the
past year Dr. Thompson has been engaged in war work. In re-
cent years he has studied and taught along two main lines, social-
philosophical and economic. He is considered one of the brilliant
thinkers in these fields.
OU recall the experience of standing on an emin-
ence, filled with the consciousness of the vastness
of the scene before you. Your eyes wandered aim-
lessly and with apparent freedom off to the right
nd to the left, near and far away, in eager enjoyment of
the variegated landscape. Stillness reigned everywhere.
In the distance where the familiar shaded into the indis-
tinct the eye rested perchance momentarily to explore some
vague outline not much larger than the head of a pin.
Suddenly it was diverted off to the right or left not more
than a few hundred feet away. Something had moved.
Was it a squirrel or a cotton-tail that stirred the bushes?
Although a thousand elements composed the tiny image
on your retina, no larger than a dime, only a single one
of these thousands, the hardly perceptible movement in
the bushes, had forced itself into direct vision and
demanded your attention.
For beings who have eyes with which to see this is but a
typical case of all experiences of visual perception. Strictly
analogous to it is the familiar fact that a loud, sharp noise
will capture the auditory attention whether the listener wills
it or no. All sense avenues to the soul, in fact, are com-
pelled by environmental factors to swing open the door.
Men will for centuries to come continue to weigh the cumu-
lative evidence and speculate about whether human thought
and action are amenable to principles of free-will or of
determinism ; but the fact remains — one on which both liber-
tarians and determinists must agree — that all beings who
have physical senses are not in their mental activities,
their inner life, independent of their physical environ-
ment. Thoughts of Elysium * are interrupted and offset
by the precept of a squirrel or a rabbit.
We have but to assume a rapid succession of move-
ments, sounds, high or low temperatures, and the like, in
our environment in order to develop a situation in which
any thinker must surrender unconditionally to the phan-
tasmagoria of the physical environment.
Not only the "world-out-there" environment but also
his own physical body, which is only a somewhat more
intimate part of the physical environment of his soul, may
dominate the inner life when nervous currents are sent
brainward from sources within — conditions under which
any given train of thought must needs yield to thoughts
of hunger, sex, vertigo, and the like.
Modern Asceticism and the Motion Picture
It was the insufferable consciousness of this fact that led
men early to attempt to escape nature's burglarization of
their inner citadel, by barricading themselves behind ascetic
walls or seeking lonely places where they might reduce the
compulsion of the environment to a minimum and thus be
able to give themselves up to a purer, soul-initiated sort of
contemplation. In order to carry this to the extreme limit
resort was made to the practice of "mortifying the deeds of
the flesh" even to the extent of morbidity.
Not that civilized men of today have developed past the
stage where such effort seems necessary for the salvation of
the personality within. Indeed, the pressure of the outer
environment is greater in our day than ever before. When
was there ever such moving of bodies hither and thither, such
a variety of quality and quantity of external physical stimuli
as today ! Nor has the inner man abated his tragic struggle
to think his own thoughts, to be himself, in the words of
Peer Gynt, or, if you please, to save himself, to be true to
his ideal.
The difference in respect to all this is not so much the
fact that man by that wonderfully efficient thing we call
"organized effort" has vastly improved and generalized
the means of the ascetic in selecting and contriving thinking-
places, schoolrooms, churches, offices, private studies, etc.,
where distracting movement, sounds and other undesirable
sense stimuli are practically excluded; but he is now en-
gaged in contriving combinations of external stimuli which,
so far from being incompatible with the higher thought
processes, are actually conducive to their success. The cun-
ning of man is, in other words, stealing a march on nature's
determinism by turning her environmental onslaught on his
quasi-free spirit to his own advantage. Otherwise expressed,
he is forcing nature to do her forcing of him as he pleases.
Cinema Directs Nature's Determinism
One of the very best examples of this latest wrinkle in the
scientific program of conquering nature is the cinema or
moving picture. It is a unique example of how the inner
man with Faust-like temerity and persistency of struggle
is little by little succeeding in taking advantages of nature's
determinism to determine the nature of his own future self
and the selves of others.
Mind you, I am not speaking of the movie-picture as such.
This invention, essentially a capitalization of optical illusion,
was conceived with no such purposes in view. But educators,
ever on the alert for better methods of appeal, are now be-
ginning to realize the possibilities of the cinema for helping
to draw out (educere) and hence assist the self-realization
of the inner man by contriving exhibitions which are in no
way incompatible with the thought process, but which pre-
sent unique situations so frequently and strikingly that the
thought process must move forward in order to link the
episodes into a rational unity. What may be the limit of
the possibilities of the film to translate thought into action
and in turn super-impose this action on another mind or
other minds and thus reproduce the thought in those minds,
(Continued on page 25)
11
~r~
MICROMOTION STUDIES APPLIED TO EDUCATION
Novel Use of Films to Reduce Waste in Process of Learning to a
Minimum — Saving 35 Minutes a Day Saves One Year of School Life
By A. A. Douglass and W. L. dealey
Clark University, Worcester. Mass.
Part III
THE essential of the micromotion method is to record
by photography the best activities found. The
cinematograph film presents in the most objective
way possible, numerous, accurate observations of
the individual's behavior under normal school conditions.
It offers a continuous record with no time gaps except the
slight intervals between pictures, obviated where necessary
by using a double cinematograph, so that the pictures
overlap. By photographing with a child's hehavior a
Gilbreth chronometer recording the thousandth part of a
minute, the relative times of the elements of the response
are permanently recorded. The relationship between this
timing device and motions too small even for the eye is
always constant. A
cross - sectioned screen
may be included to
mark the dimensions
of the motion. Every
film then reveals the
successive positions of
the child in perform-
ing each minute opera-
tion of his task. By
exposing only a por-
tion of the film,
through a special type
of shutter, as many as
24 pictures have been
crowded into a single
reel, to cheapen costs.
(See Figure 5.)
It was anticipated
that difficulty would
arise from lighting
conditions ; and that
our camera would it-
self be a complicating
variable, preventing
normal behavior by
the children. The
former condition was
met in a satisfactory
way without the introduction of artificial lighting; while
the films show scarcely any embarrassment on the part of
the pupils. This is extremely important, for if it were
necessary to rehearse pupils extensively, results would
become artificial. Pupils were not informed beforehand
that pictures were to be made; and though opportunity was
given, no one withdrew. A camera was set up in a corner,
the class proceeded as usual, and pictures were made from
time to time. We are therefore convinced these theoretical
objections break down in practice.
To show directions, speeds, and continuous paths of
motions, the Gilbreth cyclegraph records were devised.
They visualize with ease the path taken by the motion.
Figure 1. — Motion picture apparatus and
solenoid motor. Kellum Talking Picture
Company, Los Angeles.
Figure 2. — Phonograph fitted with commutator con-
trolling solenoid motor. Kellum Talking Picture Company,
Los Angeles.
Small elec-
tric-light
bulbs
attached by
flexible
wires to
moving
parts of the
body, mark
the motion
paths by
lines of
light, rec-
orded on
»the photo-
graph as
white lines.
Interrupt-
ers in the
light cir-
cuits change these lines to a series of dots or dashes, and
a variety of interrupters enable the simultaneous photo-
graphing of different moving parts (see Figure 4). By
using tuning forks vibrating a known number of times per
second, exact periods of elapsed time of any desired
duration are photographed. These are termed "chrono-
cyclegraphs."
Direction of motion is shown by using lamps with thick
filaments and the right com-
bination of volts and am-
peres, vanishing by quick
lighting and slow extinguish-
ing of the lamp, in distinct
points. Exact distances are
obtained by the penetrating
screen. Through a multiple-
exposure method, a cross-
section screen of known
dimensions may be placed in any plane of the picture, for
example, in the very plane of work, or where necessary,
enclosing the individual in a four-, five-, or six-sided
net; the motions are photographed upon this screen.
Combining methods, the
path of motion, relative and
exact time, relative and ex-
act distance, and direction,
are photographed in three
dimensions by a stereoscopic
camera. The chronocycle-
graph, in Figure 6, for
example, shows the move-
ments made by a boy in
(1) picking up a plane;
(2) taking two strokes with
the plane; (3) laying down
Figure 3. — Gilbreth motion models
of cyclegraphs.
Figure 4. — Time flashes obtained
with different chronocyclegraph in-
terrupters.
12
the plane; (4) taking up a tri-square and the piece of wood;
and (5) testing the piece of wood by running the tri-square
along the edge. The lines show the movements made by
the head, the right shoulder, the right hand, and the left
hand. The picture is stereoscopic. The motion may be
made actually tangible, and thus viewed from all angles,
by a wire model exactly representing path, speeds, and
directions (see Figure 3). The elements of the motion
path are transferred from one or more cyclegraphs to the
wire, which is then placed in a cross-sectioned box for
analysis.
From these records, "simultaneous motion cycle charts"
are made to show in concrete form which members of the
associated units of the child's body are performing the
various elementary motions. Various working members of
the body are used as column headings, and the motion
elements placed on a vertical scale as to time. These
columns divide into such groups
as right and left arms, consisting
of the subgroups, upper arm,
lower arm, wrist, thumb, first,
second, third and fourth fingers,
palm; right and left leg, with the
subgroups of thigh, knee, calf,
ankle, heel, and toes; trunk, with
such subgroups as forward bend,
backward bend, bend to right,
bend to left, twist to right, twist
to left; head, with subgroups of
forward bend, backward bend,
turn to right, to left; eyes; such
general headings as posture, in-
cluding sit, stand, kneel, stoop,
right forearm supported, left fore-
arm supported, right hand supported, left hand supported,
back supported, head supported; or as inspection, including
see, smell, touch, hear, blow, count. By showing the inter-
relations of a simultaneous cycle, this device facilitates
inventing more efficient arrangements of motions.
(To be continued in June issue)
Figure S. — Gilbreth multi-
ple picture film. Enlarged
by throwing on screen.
Figure 6. — Chronocyclegraph of boy planing, manual arts class,
Bridgham School
AERIAL CINEMATOGRAPHY
Aircraft development during the last few years has thrown
open to the moving picture man an entirely new field. It
may be some years yet before flying comes within the means
of the ordinary person as a mode of travel, but, through
the film he may experience some of the artistic joys of
aviation.
Already a certain amount of aerial cinema photography
has been carried out successfully — enough at least, to
measure its possibilities. In the near future, it is expected
that magnificent mountain scenery will be photographed
from aircraft, not only in Switzerland and in the United
States, but in Abyssinia, the Himalayas and other less ex-
plored regions of the world.
TEACHING SURGICAL OPERATIONS WITH FILMS
Dr. Waldo Briggs, Dean of the St. Louis College of Physicians and
Surgeons, Has Achieved Remarkable Success With Motion Pictures —
College Produces Its Own Films, Developing and Printing Them
Within Twenty-four Hours
BY GEORGE SUTCLIFFE
Registrar, St. Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons
THE utilization of films as a method of teaching has
"made good" in every field, but in no sphere of
education has it proved of more service than in that
of surgery. Perhaps the greatest difficulty that pro-
fessors of surgery have had to overcome is the practical
demonstration of technique at operations to a body of
students. For many years most of the major operations
have been demonstrated on the cadaver. The experience
thus gained by the student is, however, of doubtful value
as, when confronted with the actual operation, the severing
of capillaries and consequent hemorrhage confuse the be-
ginner to such a degree that he is often anxious to quit
then and there.
Dr. Briggs a Pioneer in Visual Education
Ever since motion pictures first attained any good results
Dr. Waldo Briggs, dean of the St. Louis College of Physi-
cians and Surgeons and professor of surgery at this institu-
tion, has been obsessed with the idea that at last a sure
method of teaching surgery has arrived. After forty years
spent in training surgeons he realizes that a student present
at a major operation, no matter how carefully the operating
surgeon explains the technique, goes away with but a hazy
picture in his mind of the actual operation. The patient is
surrounded by assistants, and surgeons work fast, so that
the spectator sees but little.
During the years 1914, 1915, and 1916, Dr. Briggs made
many attempts to obtain films of operations with but little
success. The failures in most cases were due to the "bull-
headedness" of the camera man who would insist on setting
the stage, and when the pictures were shown the operating
table, the patient and the surgeon, together with assistants,
were seen but the actual operation could not be followed.
In the summer of 1918, however, a well known commercial
photographer of St. Louis matriculated at the school and,
on having the matter explained to him, contrived a method
by which pictures were obtained that covered only the field
of the actual operation.
Cinematographic Method Followed
The means employed by Clarence M. Black, the photog-
rapher referred to, are as follows: He built a stage some
ten feet high overlooking the operating table, placed his
(Continued on page 17)
13
:^2__
FkELIGIOUS
MOVIES" AT THE METHODIST CENTENARY CELEBRATION
At the First Religious World's Fair Ever Held Films Will Play a
Prominent Part— D. W. Griffith to Make Permanent Film
Record of Pageant in which 5,000 Methodists Will Participate
BY PROFESSOR LAMONT A. WARNER
Art Director, Methodist Centenary Celebration
NOVEL motion and still pic-
tures will be a prominent
feature of the Methodist
Centenary Celebration at
Columbus, Ohio, the first religious
world's fair ever attempted, which
is expected to attract 75,000 to
100,000 every day from June 20th
to July 13th, 1919.
Cinematographic records of life
in many foreign mission fields and
a wide range of colored views pre-
sented by experts' on different
countries will be shown in many
simultaneous exhibitions.
The largest screen for stereopti-
con pictures
ever made will
be erected for
use before vast
outdoor throngs on
old Columbus race
course. The largest photo-
graph ever developed will be
shown in one of the exhibition build-
ings.
D. W. Griffith, famous "movie"
director, will make a permanent
film record of the great indoor
pageant in which 5,000 Metho-
dist stewards will take part, as a
memorial to his mother who was
a Methodist.
Greatest Church Photo-
graphic Bureau
This pictorial program is
largely the product of the Metho-
dist photographic department at
150 Fifth Avenue, New York
City, believed to be the only one
on a like scale possessed by any
church organization in the
world. This department employs
over 200 persons and has on file
more than 70,000 negatives
taken in foreign countries and
9,000 negatives illustrating home
mission work. It now has a
capacity of 1,000 lantern slides
a day. Its artists can color 500
slides a day. In addition, large
quantities of still photographs
Little Hindu girl (from new
Centenary film).
are developed. The capacity is being increased steadily to
care for the needs of the Inter-Church World Movement of
North America, the union campaign of thirty Protestant de-
nominations for which preparatory work is now being done.
The department constantly is receiving exclusive pictures
from Methodist missionaries in all parts of the world.
It also sends out skilled photographers to make motion and
still photographs of life in every land.
The heads of the Methodist mission boards early recog-
nized the value of graphic appeal in presenting the needs
of Christian work to the people in the home churches and
they have built up a photograph department which com-
pares favorably with any commercial organization.
The Largest Screen in the World
L. H. Rich and others in the organization overcame the
obstacles in the way of the use of the giant screen intended
for Columbus. They had to produce a most intense light
which, however, would be "cool" enough not to injure the
slide. Just what methods were used to accomplish this
will not be divulged at present. The largest screens ever
used before are believed to be about 35 feet square. The
Methodist screen will be 100 feet in one dimension and
will dwarf anything seen before.
The photographic department some time ago developed
a print 25y2 feet long and four feet wide, showing a
panorama of Jerusalem. This is the largest print ever
made, but another which is still larger is in preparation
T ITTLE Japanese Christians receiving their daily "baptism" of soap and water atthe Christian Orphanage
•*-' Sendai, Japan. They are taught at this early age that "cleanliness and
•
for the Columbus show. Its
exact size is not yet revealed.
An Eight Ring "Movie
Circus"
The principal hall in which
pictures will be shown at
Columbus will seat between
1,200 and 1,500 people.
There will be seven other
halls seating from 75 to
700 persons each in other
large buildings; all these au-
ditoriums will have something
of interest going on from
10:30 A.M. to 9:30 P.M. The
shows will be free to those
who enter the exhibition
grounds.
Each hall will be in a
building devoted to a special
mission field. For instance,
one enters the Japanese build-
ing and immediately seems to
be in Japan itself. Japanese
houses and stores and Japan-
ese street life have been re-
produced from photographs
and peopled by missionaries
and others brought here from
Japan for the purpose. No ad-
vertisements, charts or other
objects will be permitted to
mar the illusion. In one cor-
ner will be the hall where
Japanese moving and still
pictures will be shown.
Experts have figured out
that it will take a visitor three
days to cover all the regular
sights of the exposition. In
addition there is a continuous
program of special days and
extra events.
New Oriental Films to be
Shown
Final plans for the "movie"
program have not been com-
pleted, but they are expected
to include scenes from Japan.,
Korea and Burma taken by
S. R. Vinton; and the Philip-
pines, by Dr. J. L. McLaugh-
lin; and a feature film of
three reels made in India un-
der the direction of L. E.
Linzell.
Mr. Linzell saw the pic-
torial possibilities of the
Indian "mass movement,"
where 50,000,000 of the depressed classes are becoming
Christians at a faster rate than the Roman Empire left off
its paganism in the first centuries of our era. The Metho-
dist Church alone is baptizing a thousand a week.
"From Krishna to Christ"
His feature film of three reels, "From Krishna to Christ,"
A YOUTHFUL daughter of Nippon who graciously consented to become a "movie" star for the benefit of
the Methodist Centenary Celebration. Note the look of condescension on her expressive face.
was the product of a native Indian camera man. Mission-
aries and devout Christian natives arranged the settings and
acted the various parts. The result is a striking panorama
of the rich, romantic life in one of the world's oldest
civilizations.
By such means does the church move forward.
15
~^r_
MILLIONS FOR "MOVIES" IN METHODIST CHURCHES
$120,000,000 Fund to Equip Thousands of Edifices of This
Denomination — D.W. Griffith to Supervise Film Production —
Details to be Announced Later
recently conferring with D. W. Griffith, the noted director
and producer, with a view to his supervising the production
end of the vast enterprise. Mr. Griffith's mother was a pious
member of this denomination and naturally he feels sym-
pathetic toward the "movie" plans of the church.
Church to Be Biggest Factor in Film Industry
"When the plans of the church mature," said the state-
ment issued from Los Angeles, "it will become one of the
most important film producing and distributing concerns
in the world. A large producing organization will be con-
trolled by the church. It will have more churches in
America where screens will be maintained than there are
motion picture theatres at the present time."
Some of the leaders of the Methodist Church in America,
THE biggest news of recent months in the world of
educational and religious motion pictures is the
announcement that Rev. Dr. Christian F. Reisner,
pastor of Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, New
York City, and his band of co-workers, are now devising
ways and means to raise a fund of $120,000,000 for the
purchase of entertainment devices to be placed in the
churches of this denomination, of which there are more
than 64,000 in the United States. The principal feature
of the entertainment and religious program is to be motion
pictures, with stereopticon views thrown in for good
measure. It is to be the most gigantic motion picture enter-
prise undertaken since the first nickering image on the
screen danced its way into the hearts of millions of the
world's inhabitants.
If this huge
film scheme
of the Metho-
dist Church is
carried out,
the motion
picture thea-
tres of this
country and of
the world will
be relegated to
second place
in numbers,
in financial
investment, in
the exhibition
of films, and
in commercial
importance. It
is estimated
that there are
not more than
13,000 to 14,-
000 active
"movie" thea-
tres at the
present time,
and if the
Methodist
plans mature
there will be
fully three or
four times that
number of
churches with
motion picture
projectors and
giving
"movie" shows
regularly.
Dr. Reisner
and a party of
twelve Metho-
dist ministers
and laymen
Were in LOS a GROUP of forty natives in a village in India being baptized in the Christian faith. Inhabitants of these Indian villages
A n _. _ l p -^ clamor for religious instruction from the missionaries and their appeals are always answered. In the "mass movement"
n. II g o 1 c » 50.000,000 of the depressed low caste classes are becoming Christians. Scene from a new Centenary film.
16
it is understood, had given a good deal of thought to this
matter even before the war; but the changed conditions
brought about by the great conflict and the necessity of pro-
viding safe places of amusement and recreation for the
young people of the community, combined with the closing
of the saloons and the falling off in church interest and
membership, have brought this question again to the fore
with every indication that this denomination, at least, will
enter actively into motion picture work. Following the
introduction of machines and films into the Methodist
Churches on a large scale, it is expected that the remainder
I of the 200,000 church buildings of Catholic and Protestant
faiths will also be similarly equipped.
TEACHING SURGICAL OPERATIONS WITH FILMS
{Continued from page 13)
camera thereon, and with the aid of two powerful Cooper
Hewitt lights was enabled to focus directly upon the sur-
geon's hand, following the knife into the incision and thereby
photographing the entire operation from start to finish. As
in the average operation the incision is seldom more than
four or five inches in length, it is easy to understand that,
this being the full vision of the picture, when thrown upon
the screen every movement of the surgeon is seen. The
division of the superficial and deep fascia, the severing of
the muscles, all can be distinctly shown and the camera man
continues to turn his crank until the last suture is in place
and the patient is ready to be removed from the operating
theatre.
The negative is then immediately taken to our dark room
where it is developed at once and within twenty-four hours
we turn out a positive and Dr. Briggs is ready to begin his
lecture.
A surgeon, at an operation, is able to give but a cursory
talk on the anatomy, etc., during the course of the operation.
Now, however, before showing the picture, the professor
goes carefully over the entire ground, illustrating the anat-
omy of the part operated upon by means of lantern slides,
showing clearly the arteries, veins, lymphatics, muscles,
etc., to be encountered in the course of the operation and
thereby fully preparing students for any dangerous mishaps
requiring the use of hemostats, ligatures, etc. In addition,
pictures of all instruments to be used are thrown upon the
screen and the professor is able to give a full history of
the case prior to proceeding with the "film operation."
Films Revolutionize Surgical Teaching
This method of teaching insures the student getting a
thorough grounding in every operation and has the addi-
tional advantage of being able to be repeated several times
during the session. It must be remembered that in surgery
some operations are exceedingly rare and many surgeons
are never able to see them demonstrated. These men when
in practice in some remote place are often called upon, in
order to save life, to do an operation of which they have
' only read. The advent of the film has changed all this and
in but a few years every man turned out by a medical
college using this method of instruction should be capable
of performing any of the major operations.
Those that already have been filmed by Dr. Briggs in-
clude: Appendectomy; enterectomy (use of Murphy's
button) ; gastro enterostomy; abdominal; intestinal sur-
gery (Briggs' method) ; removal of large ovarian cyst;
application of Lambert's sutures; trefining; excision of
upper jaw; excision of mandible; tracheotomy, high and
low; esophagotomy; laryngectomy; empyema; gunshot
wounds showing lung collapse and amputations of the hip
joint, middle thigh and leg.
Filming of Negroes Fails
I have purposely refrained from any technical details,
feeling that these would be out of place in a publication
such as the Educational Film Magazine, but I should like
to mention for the benefit of any surgeon who may attempt
filming operations, that we have had absolute failures on
colored people. Although we have apparently had plenty
of light, we have obtained only a dark shadow through
which nothing could be distinguished. Quite recently Dr.
Briggs operated on a colored man with a huge lipoma tumor
on the back of the neck. Although the picture was taken
under exactly similar conditions as others performed on
white people, absolutely nothing of the actual operation was
distinguishable. We came to the conclusion that this was
due to the shortness of the focus combined with the color
of the patient.
"Educational Film Magazine Doing Valuable Work"
There is no doubt that this magazine is doing a valuable
work in calling attention to the efficacy of teaching by
means of films and in these days of increased efficiency the
publishers should speedily receive the reward of their efforts.
Should any surgeon or teacher care to see surgery films
in operation they will at all times receive a welcome at the
St. Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons where we are
proud of the fact that we have, if not inaugurated this branch
of teaching, at any rate have gone farther than any other
similar institution.
THE NECESSITY OF VISUAL INSTRUCTION
By Charles F. Hunt
South Bend Indiana
Visual instruction in the public schools is certain to come.
By visual instruction I mean instruction by means of moving
pictures. I believe moving pictures should be used in every
public school, for they will fill a place that nothing else
can. It is not practicable to take our pupils to our fields,
mines and factories, but it is practicable to bring the fields',
mines and factories to the schools in the form of moving
pictures.
A child who has never seen a watch can in five minutes
by having it shown and explained obtain a better and more
lasting knowledge of it than by reading about it five times
as long. It is the same with a steamship or a machine shop.
I believe that because of this quicker, easier and better
method of teaching visual instruction should be adopted in
all our public schools.
Millions of our boys and girls who attend the primary
schools never reach the high school. I do not believe that
such pupils leave the grades with all the knowledge and
practical education that it is possible to give them. And it
is for this reason that I favor a national board of practical
education. Such a board should be of sufficient size and
composed of the most capable educators to be found. It
should be the duty of such a board to provide lessons in
practical education rather than in theory, and I can con-
ceive of no better method than by use of moving pictures.
A reel 1,000 feet long could be shown in twenty minutes,
which, with proper explanations and questions, would oc-
cupy a full lesson period.
Educational Film Magazine is the only high class publication, not
a trade paper, covering visual education. Now $1.00 a year. Sub-
scribe today. It will be a dollar well invested.
17
'■ ■ W'
TRAVEL-SCENIC
BURTON HOLMES TRAVEL CLUB A SUCCESS
Introduced into the University Town of Evanston, Illinois, It
Wins Instant Favor Because of Its Educational and Entertainment
Value — Idea Approved by the Mayor and Others — Little Girl
of Ten Answers Her "Questionnaire" Correctly
BURTON HOLMES, ever awake to the educational
possibilities of the motion picture, has stolen a
march upon all of his rivals in the field of travel
films and has introduced into the middle west
Burton Holmes Travel Clubs for "Grown-Ups" and
"Growing-Ups." Under the magic of his name and the
merit of his pictures the idea has "caught on" and Evan-
ston, Illinois, Chicago and St. Louis are in a ferment over
the prize contests cast among thousands of school children.
Quite a nifty scheme, this, combining as it does educa-
tional advantages for the boys and girls of a town with
publicity advantages for B. H. But everybody in the com-
munity— the mayor, the superintendent of schools, the
teachers, the parents, the pupils, the managers of the
theatres — everybody is willing to give the great world
traveler all the credit because of the knowledge and the
entertainment and the real good fun and the profit every-
body gets out of it. Hats off to B. H., say they!
Here is the whole scheme taken from one of the folders
distributed to each school child between the ages of 10 and
16, inclusive:
BURTON HOLMES offers 168 Prizes for answers, from members
of the Travel Club, to All Four Sets of Questions (considered as a
whole) according to merit. There will be One First1 Prize, One Second
Prize and Fifty Third Prizes awarded to each of three classes (Class
A, ages 10 to 12; Class B, ages 12 to 14; Class C, ages 14 to 16).
Twelve Special Prizes for adults will be offered by Hoyburn Theatre.
The First Prize in each of the three classes — A, B and C — will be
A Motion-Picture-Portrait of the Winner showing him or her, in
school, at play or at Home.
These will be shown on the screen of the Hoyburn Theatre, on Friday
and Saturday, and then will be presented to the winner, with the com-
pliments of Mr. Burton Holmes, to form the nucleus of a Motion-Picture-
Portrait Library, to record his or her appearance and achievements
at this age.
The Second Prize will be 52 Tickets, admitting the bearer to the
Hoyburn Theatre on 52 successive Fridays, on which days others' of
Burton Holmes' Litt'le Journeys will be shown.
This Second Prize will be given with the compliments of
The Third Prize (of which there will be 50 for each class) will consist
of a handsome photogravure of Burton Holmes, autographed by himself.
Twelve Special Prizes for Adults each prize consisting of one hand-
somely bound and illustrated volume of the Burton Holmes Travelogues,
each volume containing three separate Travelogues. Mr. Holmes will
inscribe the winner's name above his own autograph in each Prize
Volume.
Conditions Under Which Prizes will be Awarded.
Take this folder with you to the Hoyburn Theatre. The Ticket-
Seller will stamp it when you buy your tickets each week, on either
date, as given on inside pages.
That will show you have joined The Burton Holmes Travel Club.
See all four "Little Journeys."
Read Burton Holmes' description of every scene, carefully. They
will give you some of the answers you require, to compete for the
prize.
Write the answers in your own handwriting under each question.
Penmanship and neatness will be considered.
Sign your own name below, and (if a student) ask your teacher
and parents to add their names and addresses.
We will need all this information if you should be the winner, as
all this information will then appear on the screen, with your
picture.
Enclose this folder in an envelope and mail it to Mr. Burton Holmes,
care of Hoyburn Theatre.
All answers will be read in the order of this receipt — which must
be on or before Wednesday, May 7th. If perfect answers are re-
ceived, the first received in each class, will be awarded the prizes,
according to merit.
Answers by boys or girls of the same age will be judged on the
same basis.
An invitation from BURTON HOLMES to Boys and Girls, "Growing-
ups" and "Grown-ups."
7.
8.
Mr. Holmes Says to You
"When 1 was a boy. Geography and History were the two studies
which gave me the most trouble. A map was merely a crazy patch-
work quilt — a confusing collection of colored spots on a printed page
— and 1 never could remember the dates of even the most importar
historical events.
"But —
"When I began to travel, and saw with my own eyes the peoples
of the world and the countries in which they live, then maps became
living and real, the little black dots became big cities or quaint towns,
and dates became easy to remember, because I had seen the actual
places in "which great historical events had occurred.
"1 suppose some of you feel as I used to; t'hat is why I am invit-
ing you to join our Travel Club, so that you may become acquainted
with real, living men, women and children all over the world; see how
they live and what sort of places they live in, and find out what they
are doing today, and what their ancestors did there in the days of
long ago.
"Why not join the Travel Club and try to win a prize that both you
and your parents will be proud of?"
Sincerely yours,
BURTON HOLMES.
THE BURTON HOLMES TRAVEL CLUB.'
To win a Prize You Must Come on One Day or the Other, Each Weeh
Friday and Saturday, April 11 and 12, Matinee and Evening.
Subject: The Sunny South of England
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Where does your "Little Journey" begin?
What do they call the first house you see?
On what channel is Ilfracornbe?
From what river does Falmouth take its name?
What is a tidal river?
How often does the tide rise?
Spell "Torquay" in the way it should be pronounced.
Is Weymouth east or west of Falmouth?
Where is Bournemouth located?
What are English "Bank Holidays"?
QEOUP of school children, teachers and parents in front of Hoyburn
*-* Theatre, Evanston, Illinois, after seeing the Versailles pictures.
Note the enthusiasm of the boys and girls who hope to win some of the
prizes offered.
Friday and Saturday, April 18 and 19, Matinee and Evening.
Subject: Motoring in England.
1. Where does this "Little Journey" take you?
2. Who were the builders of Stonehenge?
3. What cathedral in England has 600 statues on its facade?
4. How high is the tower of Salisbury Cathedral?
5. What are the two principal "University Towns" of England?
6. Who was Walter Hines Page?
7. Where was Shakespeare born, and when?
8. What was he?
9. Who was Shakespeare's sweetheart, and where did she live?
10. Where is Shakespeare buried?
Friday and Saturday, April 25 and 26, Matinee and Evening.
Subject: From Glasgow to Edinburgh.
1. Who controls the street-car system of Glasgow?
2. What river flows through Glasgow?
3. What great industry is located on its banks?
4. Was the Clyde always a large river?
5. What are the Trossachs?
6. What does "Loch" mean?
7. Name two Scottish lochs.
8. What famous castle have you seen in this "Little Journey"?
18
9. What is the principal street in Edinburgh?
10. Spell "Edinburgh" in the way it is correctly
pronounced.
Friday and Saturday, May 2 and 3, Matinee and
Evening. Subject: In Bonnie Scotland.
I.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
9.
10.
How long is the Forth Bridge?
What' does it cross?
Near what city have you seen the raspberries
picked?
How are the pickers paid?
Where do the berries go, and what use is made
of them?
Aberdeen has a famous market; what is it?
What city gives an annual picnic for its poor
children?
What is the highest mountain in Great Britain,
and how high is it?
How long is the Caledonian Canal?
What bodies of water does it connect?
On Friday, March 21, and Saturday,
March 22, matinee and evening, before the
regular Travel Club series of four week con-
tests began, Mr. Sam Atkinson, managing
director of the Hoyburn Theatre, Evanston,
inaugurated a "try out" little journey called
"A Visit to Glorious Versailles." This was
considered especially timely and valuable
from an educational viewpoint because of
the peace conference and the prospective
signing of the peace treaty in the historic
Trianon Palace built by Louis XIV.
The first prize in Class A (ages 10 to 12)
was won by Elza Dewar Hall, aged 10,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Hall, of
2044 Sheridan Road, Evanston, a pupil at
Roycemore School. On the printed folder
given to the school children after they had
viewed the film in the theatre were these ten
questions :
1. What event of world-wide importance has re-
cently taken place at Versailles?
2. For whom was the Palace of Versailles built?
3. What did it cost?
4. What historic event took place here in 1871?
5. What grows in the flower-beds in war-time?
6. How many courtiers could sleep in the Palace?
7. Where is the grandest stairway in the world?
8. Who built the Grand Trianon, and when?
9. Who built the Little Trianon, and when?
10. When is the National Holiday of France?
Here are little Elza's answers to the ques-
tions, in her own handwriting, reproduced
from her "questionnaire":
dJv*J&i>
son of Mr. and Mrs. H. Manning, of 1302
Harriman Avenue, Evanston, captured the
blue ribbon in Class C.
Manager Atkinson, of the Hoyburn Thea-
tre, declared the Travel Club idea "a tremen-
dous success" in the following letter to Mr.
Brown, manager for Burton Holmes:
March 24, 1919.
Mr. Louis Francis Brown,
Orchestra Hall, Chicago.
I am pleased to be able to inform you that the
Burton Holmes Travel Club has proven itself a
tremendous success in the Hoyburn Theatre.
The crowds were so great that 1 could not make
a correct analysis of the attendance so far as chil-
dren were concerned from ten to sixteen years of
age, but the following figures may interest you.
At the Saturday matinee alone, we had more chil-
dren under twelve years of age than our average
Monthly attendance last year, as proven by our
War-Tax receipts.
On Friday and Saturday we broke all previous
house records for children's performances, the pre-
vious record being held by "Snow White" featuring
Marguerite Clark, but the BURTON HOLMES
TRAVEL CLUB proved a greater drawing card by
fifty per cent.
Our two day showing gave us a greater profit
than any two days of this year.
But, all this is nothing to the interest aroused
already for the two day showing of the winners,
when I am sure that the house will be packed at
all performances.
As you are well aware, Evanston is the seat of
one of the greatest Universities in America. Nothing
can be put over on the people of this community
unless it bears the hall-mark of sterling worth, and
I am quite convinced that the Travel Club has proven
such a success here that it cannot help but prove
itself a whirlwind attraction anywhere throughout
the country.
Sincerely,
SAM ATKINSON,
Managing Director.
Mayor Pearsons writes that "the Travel
Club idea should become a great factor in
the education of children." His letter to
Manager Atkinson follows:
CITY OF EVANSTON
Evanston, Illinois
April 14, 1919.
Harry P. Pearsons, Mayor.
Mr. Sam Atkinson,
Hoyburn Theatre,
Evanston, Illinois.
I wish to compliment you upon the excellent show-
ing you have made in introducing the Burton Holmes
Travel Club.
It is very fitting that this idea should be inaugu-
rated in Evanston, because Mr. Holmes delivered his
first' lecture in this city some twenty-six years ago,
and there are many people who were present then
and have followed his career since with great inter-
est.
I am glad to learn that
many other theatres are tak-
ing up the Travel Club idea,
and I can see no reason why
it should not be adopted
throughout the country and
become a great factor in the
education of children.
The amount of good you
are doing in Evanston along
this line is heartily appreci-
ated I am sure by many
Evanstonians. -
Very sincerely yours,
H. P. PEARSONS, Mayor.
^JMSk
7 WlcSKa-ap^cr>fi ft^uxsaiSSaA
10.
CVivW IfrtSftyfo ju<hm\
Benjamin Philbrick, aged 13, pupil at the
Noyes Street School, son of H. S. Philbrick,
of 2130 Sherman Avenue, Evanston, was the
winner in Class B. Merrill Manning, 14,
student at the East Technical High School,
MOVIES VS. SALOON
By S. L. Rothapfel
It has been true al-
ways that the motion
picture has been the
great foe of the saloon.
This has been particu-
larly noticeable in small
towns, where, prior to
the movie theatre, there
was little entertainment,
and the saloon had
things its own way. With the coming of
the motion picture, which offers whole-
some amusement to the whole family for
the price of a man's drinks, many men
have chosen the better entertainment.
19
■■
W-%.
CTRIP of film, actual size,
^ showing 12 different pictures
of Evanston school children
who participated in the Travel
Club contest and who man-
aged to get into the "movies."
Local films of the boys and
girls and their teachers were
shown on the theatre screen
and given as prizes.
Boys and girls were filmed
doing characteristic "boy and
girl things." These local pic-
tures scored as big a hit in the
theatre as the travel films.
MBSSErlr-r-T
-
X"
=z
"^*QP
JUVENILE
CINDERELLA AND THE MAGIC SLIPPER"
Helen Hamilton's Charming Four Reel Film Version
Enacted by More than 150 Children
ONE of the "kiddie" tales you never tired of when
you were a boy or a girl was that of the little
kitchen drudge who dreamed a great dream about
a fairy prince, and a wonderful coach drawn by
ever so many horses, in which she was the honored pas-
senger, and a gorgeous gown the envy of all other girls at
the prince's ball, and a marvelous pair of slippers — such
slippers as the eyes of womankind never before beheld.
Yes, you've guessed it — Cinderella.
When you were
little and mother
or auntie or nursie
showed you the pic-
ture books in many
colors "Cinderella
and the Magic Slip-
per" was the story
of stories you
always looked for.
Those pictures were
so fascinating!
And now, just
f^INDERELLA dreaming her wonderful
^ dream of love, fame, and riches.
fancy! you can see
them all in the "movies" — yes, all of them — Cinderella
herself, and the fairy godmother, and the fairy prince
and princess, and the wicked sisters, and the coach and
four, and Cinderella's dream all acted out, right down
to the prince finding the magic slipper and slipping
it on Cindy's dainty foot. Oh my, oh my, it's a lovely
"movie" and it takes an hour — just think — a whole
hour to see it all. You wouldn't believe it, but there are
more than 150 "kiddies" in this film and they're doing
something every
minute.
Here's what the
critic of the Exhib-
itor s Herald said
about the pictures,
and surely he (or
she) ought to know:
As a whole. . .Charming
Story Fairy Tale
Cast,
Well Drilled Children
Settings Beautiful
Photography, Very Good
"Cinderella and the
Magic Slipper" — the
first production of the
Wholesome Films Com-
pany— viewed from the
standpoint of a film for children, is a praiseworthy accomplishment.
There is no question that it will prove popular with the children and
many grown-ups, too.
The settings are in keeping with the atmosphere of the fairy
romance, the grand ball, the little coach-and-four and all the other
familiar features of the old story are there. And all the actors are
children, more than 150 of them participating. They show the result
of careful training and enact the various roles with painstaking care.
The story has been deviated from only to introduce some very pretty
fairy dances, which add considerable charm to the picture. For most
of the youthful actors this was their film debut, but they give a good
account of themselves.
'T'HAT heart-stirring moment when the
-*- fairy prince slips the magic slipper on
Cinderella's dainty foot.
The technical features of "Cinderella" deserve the highest praise,
photography and tinting being a feature of the picture.
9 9
BRIGGS CARTOONS ACTED BY CHILDREN
The juvenile characters that C. A. Briggs, the cartoonist,
has made famous are being brought to life on the screen
in one-reel comedies, according to an announcement from
Briggs Pictures, Inc., a new producing company, of which
the artist himself is the head. The pictures are not animated
cartoons, but comedies, principally with youthful actors
staged to reproduce the individuals and environment upon
which Briggs draws for his pen and ink sketches, especially,
"When a Feller Needs a Friend," "The Days of Real Sport,"
and "Married Life." The producing company has started
work on the first three comedies at the Thanhouser Studio
in New Rochelle and its first release is "When a Feller
Needs a Friend," with the subtitle, "New Folks in Town."
Briggs Comedies are real one-reel photo-plays enacted
principally by the three clever Carr children, Rosemary,
Stephen and John. The premiere was held at the Strand
theatre, New York, a few weeks ago and they are to run
there every other week. It is understood that the distribution
of these pictures will be handled by the Paramount organiza-
tion through Famous Players-Lasky exchanges.
9 9
THE NEED OF FILM LIBRARIES
The idea of libraries of educational motion pictures is
gaining support. The government is already doing a good
deal in this line, and some people feel it should do much
more. Thomas A. Edison, in a recent Educational Film
Magazine article, says the government should have great
libraries of educational films to be used in school work.
He would have these available so they could be had in any
school anywhere. He thinks there are a great many slow-
minded children who could get ideas in this way that they
could never obtain through books.
It is predicted that the time will come when all public
libraries will carry a department of educational moving
pictures; that picture machines and films will be produced
at moderate prices and will become common in schools and
churches ; that history, geography, social science, community
spirit, the Bible, and many other subjects will be taught
in this way.
Without doubt moving pictures are destined to be one
of the world's great educational forces. They convey ideas
more vividly than any other method, they arouse emotion
and enthusiasm, and they form deep impressions that pro-
foundly influence people. Pictures performed a tremendous
service during the war. They helped people who do not
read much to understand the reasons for the war, and to
see America's peril. They also secured a splendid support
for the war efforts. In the same way moving pictures can
be used to help on all community causes. The power of
this form of instruction should be realized, and a great
system built up for supplying educational pictures for
public and school use all over the country. — St. Joseph, Mo.,
News-Press.
20
THIS department of the EDUCATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE aims to give readers the benefit of the motion picture
and lantern slide experiences of other readers. It is intended to be as constructive, suggestive, and practically
helpful as it is possible to make it. All schools, colleges, churches, Sunday schools, clubs, lodges, asylums,
prisons, hospitals, settlement houses, community centers, industrial plants, and other institutions and organizations are
invited and urged to send in accounts of their experiences with visual education. The readers of the magazine are
eagerly looking forward to this mutual interchange of ideas, views, and suggestions. Address your letter to Experience
> Exchange Editor, EDUCATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE, 33 West 42nd Street, New York.
HOW THEY DO IT AT ALTA, IOWA
Film and Slide Experiences Told by S. G. Reinertsen, Superintendent,
Alta Independent Consolidated Schools
FROM a sceptic to an enthusiast is the writer's experience in
the adaptability of screen instruction to education. If my
experiences as an enthusiast can be of any value to those
still in doubt they are gladly submitted. There is nothing new or
original in what I have to say, but merely a resume of attempts in
this rather new phase of school work.
We enjoy the visual part of our instruction work. Teachers,
pupils, and, best of -all, the community, are delighted. While at
Lake Mills, Iowa, the writer purchased equipment for this work
and learned his first lessons. The first lesson of importance that
impressed itself on me was that I had made a mistake in buying a
cheap machine. The projection was poor. The audiences were, as
a result, prone to slight the school "movies" and go where they
could enjoy better projection. At the present time we are enjoy-
ing the best of projection. When buying equipment for this school
we tried several of the portable makes, but concluded that for long-
range projection a stationary machine of the heavy professional type
would be the best in the long run. We purchased a new Simplex
complete. No doubt any of the other machines of similar rank
would be as good.
State Should Employ Projection Expert
Let me say at this juncture that there should be expert advice
available for all school boards and superintendents in this very
important matter. This advice should come from the state depart-
ments of instruction who will do well in engaging an expert in this
field. We have inspectors for buildings and other parts of our
equipment; why not men who could offer expert advice on projection
apparatus?
To return to our own local problem. We have a throw of 72
feet, projecting a picture 10 by 12 feet on a mirroroid screen. The
pictures are as good as and better than the average small town
"movie." They are shown in our audito-
rium where we have constructed a steel
fire-proof booth. We also operate a stere-
opticon in our lecture rooms in the high
school department. This is of the small
portable type (Bausch and Lomb) fitted
with gas mazda (nitrogen filled) lamp
which makes it available for use in all
rooms of the schools.
Especially Good Films This Year
Our picture hour comes once a week.
The entire school is invited to the audi-
torium and pictures of an educational and
industrial nature are shown free of charge.
The State College at Ames, Iowa, runs a
circuit of 25 programs to which all schools
are admitted by subscribing the nominal
sum of $5.00 and paying expressage one
way. The programs this year have been
especially good, containing patriotic reels
about the work of the navy, army, Red
Cross, etc. The industrial and educational
films have included titles like the follow-
ing: Lumbering, production of foods,
clothing, furs, how Liberty Bonds are
made, Indians of Arizona and Wyoming,
story of a loaf of bread, and others. Then,
too, we have received films that are of
a civic nature, assisting the pupil in his
knowledge of the great program of Amer-
icanization. The University of Wisconsin has
a complete catalog of film titles indexed
and arranged in such a way that any
teacher can find at once films suitable
to her subject. These are arranged first
community function.
s.
G. REINERTSEN, superintendent of the great
Consolidated Schools at Alta. Iowa, is one of the
forward-looking educators of that forward-looking state.
He is doing much to promote the national movement
for visual education.
21
alphabetically, and then topically, by subjects. The subjects are
such as are generally found in the usual school curriculum, includ-
ing history, literature, agriculture, domestic science and manual
training, and kindred subjects. We also avail ourselves of the
splendid titles found in the catalog of the Atlas Educational Film
Company of Chicago. For the evening programs we rent films
from the above-mentioned as well as the film exchanges of the
large corporations who have branches in the near-by cities, Omaha,
Des Moines and Chicago.
A Real Community Centre
Our work is distinctly communistic. The Alta Independent Con-
solidated Schools draw from a large territory covering at least 50
sections of the richest Iowa farm land. Their large building and
splendid equipment are a source of pride to the patrons. Supt.
Deyoe of the State Department of Public Instruction is quoted as
naming this "the largest and most costly consolidated school build-
ing in the United States." As such the work is not only for the
school, but for a large community. Then, too, we are often asked
to give a benefit program for the Red Cross, city library and other
civic and community projects. To meet this demand and the ever-
increasing demand for good pictures, we put on popular evening pro-
grams featuring some classic like Scott's "Lady of the Lake," "Romeo
and Juliet," etc., with a news and humorous reel for dessert.
On May 9th we are presenting the well known Maeterlinck's
"Bluebird" as filmed by the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation.
(See January number of Educational Film Magazine.) Indus-
trial and educational films of the same nature as those used
during our weekly school picture hour are included. These pro-
grams are given in the evenings and not more than one during the
week. Often we omit a program to accommodate some church or
We make a small charge at these pro-
grams, usually 10 or 15 cents, and the
crowds have been large. Indeed, the
crowds have convinced the writer that the
community as a whole wants good pic-
tures. A school must be able to meet this
demand and can well afford to study the
variety of tastes and occupations requir-
ing special topics and special features.
Equipment Cost Covered by Admissions
The expense of operation, express on
reels, etc., are more than covered by the
proceeds of the evening programs. In
fact, the writer intends to pay one-half
of the cost of the projection equipment,
as per the agreement entered into with
the Board of Education prior to the pur-
chase of the machine, booth and screen.
The expense of the original installation
is no doubt a hindrance in most small
schools, but the writer finds that the
small schools can arouse more interest in
the community for good pictures than the
larger schools in cities where local thea-
tres compete for the patronage. There is
no doubt that the cost of this equipment
can be made on a small admission fee col-
lected at evening programs. There should
be little or no charge for pictures shown
during school hours.
The stereopticon affords an economical
and convenient method of visual instruc-
tion. In addition to the weekly picture
hours we arrange for sets of slides for the
various high school and grade classes.
(To be concluded in June issue)
SEE
__ — r—
'JS.
LANTERN SLIDES
HOW TO MAKE AND COLOR LANTERN SLIDES'
Complete Detailed Instructions for
Novices and Helpful Hints for Experts
Part I
THERE are no great difficulties connected with lantern
slide making; anyone who can make a good print can
make a good slide also. The difference between a
print and a slide is that a print is examined by re-
flected light or by looking at it, while a slide is viewed after
light has passed through it and on to a screen.
Lantern slides are made on glass coated with an emulsion
similar to that used for making negatives, but slower and
of finer grain. They are developed, fixed, washed and dried
just like negative plates, but more light can be used in the
darkroom since they are not as sensitive to light as negative
plates or Kodak film.
The special lantern slide plates made by the Eastman
Kodak Company are of three grades: the Standard Regular
and the Seed Yellow Label for normal negatives, and the
Standard Slow for softer negatives.
The Seed Yellow Label plate is of approximately the
same speed and contrast as the Standard Regular, while the
Standard Slow plate requires about three times the exposure
of the Standard Regular.
The plates are packed emulsion to emulsion with a thin
paper mask separating the two. The emulsion side may be
easily distinguished by its appearance, though in a weak
light it is better to feel the edge of the slide with a moistened
finger.
The plates have a speed of about that of bromide paper
and should be handled in a perfectly safe dark-room light —
such as that given by the Wratten Series 0 Safelight.
The Negative for Printing the Slide
Any negative which will give a good print will give a
good slide, though it should be as free from blemishes as
possible, since any imperfections, such as scratches or pin-
holes, although too small to be noticed in the hand, will
show up very plainly on the screen. Any spotting or
retouching should therefore be done very carefully.
Printing the Slide
The slide may be printed either by contact or by pro-
jection. If the negative is small, and it is required to in-
clude all of the subject, or if only a portion of a large nega-
tive is required, contact printing is the simpler, but if the
whole of a negative larger than the slide must be included,
the slide must be made by reduction.
Contact Printing
The contact method of printing will appeal to the beginner
as it entails no apparatus other than an ordinary printing
frame.
Place the emulsion side of the slide in contact with the
emulsion side of the film or glass negative and make the
exposure in the same way as when making a Velox print.
If a number of duplicates from the same negative are
required, a special printing frame such as the F. and S.
Lantern Slide Contact Printing Frame is a convenience.
This consists of a frame with a composite back, the outer
frame serving to hold the negative in position while the
inner one holds the slide in place. In this way any danger
of scratching the negative is eliminated, the slides are dupli-
cated exactly, while a neat border is automatically produced
around each slide.
Printing by Projection
When making a slide by enlargement or reduction, the
method of procedure is exactly the same as when working
with bromide paper.
(The reader is, therefore, referred to the booklet on
"Enlarging" supplied gratis by Kodak dealers, or on appli-
cation to the Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N. Y.)
A convenient method of holding the slide against the
enlarging easel is by means of four short pins arranged in
the form of an L, or to cut out an L-shaped piece of card or
wood, and fasten this on the easel, the slide being allowed
to rest on this during exposure.
First mask the negative so that only the portion desired is
projected on to the slide. In this way any reflections from
edges of the slide which would otherwise produce fog are
avoided. Then focus on an unexposed slide with the emul-
* From booklet "Lantern Slides — How to Make and Color Them," pub-
lished by Eastman Kodak Co.
22
sion side facing the lens, cover the lens with the cap,
replace the slide with a new one, and expose as when making
an enlargement.
The Century Lantern Slide Camera forms a convenient
outfit for producing slides either by enlarging or reducing.
It is possible to adapt any make of enlarging, reducing or
copying camera for making slides by means of the F. and S.
Lantern Slide Attachment. The attachment is interchange-
able with the regular back of the F. and S. cameras, and
may be fitted to any make of camera at a slight extra charge.
When using the attachment with an ordinary camera, the
'negative should be fitted into a frame and illuminated from
behind, interpose a sheet of opal or ground glass, and the
slide made by copying in the regular way.
By using the Kodak Portrait Attachment No. 5 with the
Kodak Enlarging Camera, negatives five inches wide may be
reduced to Sy2 inches wide, and others in this proportion.
Draw out the bellows to their fullest extent and move the
camera to or from the easel until correct focus is obtained.
Exposing
The method of procedure when exposing, whether print-
ing by contact or projection, is the same, though it should
be remembered when using an enlarger that the contrast of
the slide will be greater when using a condenser system of
illumination than when diffused light or opal glass is used.
When using a lamp to make slides by contact, the intensity
of the light varies roughly as the inverse of the square of the
distance from the lamp, but this does not apply when moving
the easel to and from the lens when enlarging.
For contact printing use a frosted bulb, otherwise a
shadow of the filament is liable to fall on the printing
frame. A clear bulb may be frosted by coating with the
Eastman Ground Glass Substitute.
Before inserting the negative in the enlarger or the print-
ing frame, clean the glass side thoroughly, since any marks
will show very plainly on the screen. Any dust should also
be removed from the slide by gently tapping the edge on the
bench, rather than by brushing.
(A) Although definite instructions for determining the
time of exposure can be given for one particular negative,
1 in order that they shall be of practical use, the negatives
should be classified so that the exposure may be adjusted
according to the quality of the different negatives.
A negative showing a full range of tones, normally ex-
posed and correctly developed, may be referred to as a
"normal" negative, and all negatives may be classified into
five classes: "normal," "thin," "very thin," — these being
very much under-exposed — and "dense" and "very dense,"
the latter being over-exposed and with little contrast in the
shadows.
Having classified the negatives, it is only necessary to
know the exposure for the normal or standard negative.
When using a frosted 25 watt tungsten lamp at a distance
of, say, 6 feet, the exposure for the Seed Yellow Label and
t Standard Regular Lantern Plates will be about 5 seconds,
and that for the Standard Slow about 15 seconds.
Roughly speaking, a thin negative will require about half
the standard exposure, and a very thin negative a quarter,
while a dense negative will require about twice and a very
dense one four times this exposure.
(B) When making slides by enlargement or reduction it
is absolutely necessary to make trial exposures, since the
exposure depends on the degree of enlargement or reduc-
tion, size of diaphragm, intensity of light source, character
of negative, and its color and opacity.
John D. Scott
Announces
the coming dissolution of
Scott &? Van Altena,
Incorporated
The Scott Slide Co.
24 East 55th Street, New York
Telephone Plaza 6673
is now ready to take orders for
SLIDES
LECTURERS
EDUCATIONAL
COMMERCIAL
ADVERTISERS
Special Low Prices for Quantity Orders.
@ Underwood & Underwood
FANEUIL HALL
Called the "Cradle of
Liberty," beoause from
the deliberations of the
patriots who assembled
there sprang the divine
inspiration of liberty
which was to spread its
influence as the beacon
light of freedom for all
the world.
This illustration is
slide No. 4 in the Under-
wood "World Visualized"
School Series, which, to-
gether with many others
in the set, contains the
germ of Patriotism.
The Underwood System of Visual Instruction, compris-
ing Thousands of Lantern Slides, extends the environment
of the school-room to the whole world, giving the pupils
the personal experience of being in every country and
actually coming into personal contact with the various
industries and activities of the world — creating an absorb-
ing interest in their studies and supplementing their text-
books in the most practical way.
Send for new lists of Special Lantern Slides on
Astronomy, Birds, Botany and Floriculture, Entomology,
Famous Paintings, Physics, Zoology, Maps, Flags, and
many others.
Ask us about Educational Motion Picture
Films
UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD
Dept. EF
417 Fifth Avenue, New York
23
Trial Exposures
When making the first trial exposure, and in all cases
where it is necessary to determine the exposure of a photo-
graphic material under unknown circumstances, take a suf-
ficiently wide range of exposures. Suppose that from
previous experience the exposure is guessed to be about ten
seconds under the conditions given. Then on the first trial,
the lantern slide should be exposed by applying a card over
it as follows:
Cover two-thirds of the slide and give an exposure of,
say, 40 seconds. Now move the card back so that only one-
third of the slide is covered and give an exposure of 8
seconds. Finally, take the card off entirely and expose for
2 seconds. One-third of the slide will then have been
exposed for 2 seconds, one for 10 and one for 50, and it can
at once be seen which exposure is the more nearly correct.
Suppose that the 50 is over-exposed and the 10 is under-
exposed, then we may imagine that the exposure is about 30
seconds, and a trial exposure at this point will probably give
a good slide.
When it is necessary to vary photographic exposures,
either double or halve them. Smaller differences are rarely
of any value, so that if the slide appears under-exposed, the
exposure should be at least doubled at the next trial, while
if it appears over-exposed the exposure should be at least
halved. m m>
DISSOLUTION OF SCOTT AND VAN ALTENA, INC.
The corporation of Scott & Van Altena, Inc., is being dissolved by
mutual consent, Mr. Scott entering business on his own account as
The Scott Slide Company, at 24 East 55th Street, New York, while
Mr. Van Altena continues in the slide business at his present
location, 6 East 39th Street, New York. The Attractoscope Com-
pany, makers of electric automatic slide display devices, in which
both slide men retain their interests, will continue at 6 East 39th
Street.
"HOW LIFE BEGINS"— 4 Parts
A wonderful screen version, giving a clearer understanding of life itself.
Now being used by the United States Government in
Camp and Civilian Communities.
Of inestimable value in the class room, welfare and social center.
This Subject with French, Italian, Spanish and Russian Titles
Living embryo of chick 52 hours old. From "How Life Begins."
For rental and purchase prices address
Exhibitors Booking Agency, 220 W. 42nd St., N. Y.
Our experts review every picture that is produced. Let us plan your educational
and entertainment programs for the year.
Films Translated into all Foreign Languages.
All work, including Technical Subjects, Guaranteed.
We are in the market for negatives of Educational subjects.
The Only Radical Improve-
ment in Stereopticons in the
Last Fifty Years
Automatic Electric
Slide Projector
*^$$( ^W-J
>y. ■ "J
rrf
'4
This Lantern Ordered in Quantity by
The Y. M. C. A. for War Work.
A boon to the Educational Field.
The Machine saves its initial cost by elimi-
nating the expense of an operator.
Can be worked AT ANY DISTANCE by a
push button.
No operator or assistant required, the
Lecturer having entire control in his hand.
Operated from any electric light socket,
A. C. or D. C. current.
To Operate. Place slides in holder "A" in the
order to be shown, insert plug in electric outlet,
take Push Button in hand and press Button to in-
stantly change the slide.
Slides will drop consecutively into receiver "B"
and be ready for use again.
Write for further information and price
Manufactured and Sold Only by
Auto-Slyde and Moving Picture Machine Co.
Incorporated
104 CENTRE STREET
NEW YORK CITY
24
FLASHES ON THE WORLDS SCREEN
i
News Notes and Comment on Educational and Allied Films
from Institutions, Organizations, Producers, and Individuals
in the United States and Canada and Overseas
A WAR motion picture spectacle, "The
Price of Peace," was shown during
the Victory Liberty Loan campaign
throughout the Fifth Federal Reserve Dis-
j trict. E. Victor Williams acted as film
committee chairman for Virginia under ap-
| pointment by Oliver J. Sands, of the Federal
Reserve organization.
9
Martin Johnson, who described in the
January number of this magazine his mo-
tion picture adventures in the South Sea
Islands, is now on his second film expe-
I dition to the Pacific, accompanied by plucky
Mrs. Johnson. They were feted in Los An-
geles and San Francisco for a week before
sailing from the latter city on April 8.
9
Municipal "movies" of the St. Louis Zoo
! were thrown on the screen at the Kings-
highway Presbyterian Church in that city on
March 27. The Zoo was pictured as it was
I eight or nine years ago and as it is today,
with special features showing the success
achieved. Mayor Kiel of St. Louis, E. R.
Kinsey of the Board of Public Improve-
i ments; C. M. Talbert, director of streets
I and sewers; George Dieckmann, president of
I the Zoological Society, and members of the
Fellowship Club of the church attended.
The Mayor gave an address.
9
To obtain funds for the purchase of a
motion picture projection machine for the
use of the war work committee and the
mothers' club of the Mount Vernon Place
Methodist Church, Baltimore, a "movie"
show and a concert were given in the church
on April 11. The club will soon have its
machine, no doubt.
9
Health Commissioner Copeland, of New
York City, at a New York* State conference
of picture theatre exhibitors, praised the
educational value of motion pictures. He
said they had waged a more efficient fight
against the influenza epidemic than all the
health commissions combined.
9
"The Evolution of a Stenographer," one
of the films supplied by the Bureau of Mo-
tion Pictures, Industrial Department, Y. M.
C. A., was shown on a recent Saturday even-
ing in the auditorium of the Wilkesbarre,
Pa., Y. M. C. A. The picture has high
educational value.
9
"Smiles," the home-town "movies" shown
overseas by the Community Motion Picture
Bureau, have made a hit with American
doughboys. They invariably pack the Y. M.
|C. A. huts "over there." The boys love to
see the home folks, the old streets, and the
familiar landmarks in the films.
9
Motion pictures illustrating the work
among the crippled children in the Hospital
for Deformities and Joint Diseases, New
York, were screened at a dinner given at
the Hotel St. Regis in that city in honor of
Louis F. Rothchild, treasurer of the insti-
tution.
9
At the annual industrial and trade fair at
Lyon, France, which opened March 1, mo-
tion pictures played a prominent part. There
were more than 4,000 exhibitors and the
value of the exhibits was more than $4,000,-
000.
9
The first Rotary Club to be formed at
South America, at Montevideo, Uruguay,
plans to use films regularly at their bi-
weekly luncheons and on special occasions.
The secretary is Herbert P. Coates, Calle
Sarandi 469, or care American Consulate.
9
The reorganized Agricultural School at
Ambato, Ecuador, is sending lecturers with
films and slides throughout that country to
give instruction in the use of modern agri-
cultural implements and the latest methods
of cultivation of the soil.
9
An illustrated narrative in the form of
motion pictures, giving the complete story
of the activities of the United Service Club
of Maryland and the Maryland Congress of
Mothers, was presented at the national con-
vention of the Congress of Mothers and
Parent-Teachers Associations in Kansas City,
Mo., May 6 to 10.
9
The famous Portland, Oregon, rose fes-
tival and "war spruce," from which govern-
ment airplanes are made, were picturized in
films and slides in France for the benefit of
the doughboys. Two reels from the Port-
land chamber of commerce, three reels of
Finley's birds and animals of Oregon, and
60 colored slides made up the program. Up
to March 21, 50,000 soldiers had seen the
show in the Paris district, including large
hospitals at Chaumont, Dijon, Neuchateau,
Bon le Due, Bon Ser Auge, Gondrecort, Le
Thiel, and Nogent-Bermond.
9
Eight motion picture operators (five of
them ex-soldiers), headed by Leonard Mar-
tin of Boston, with 50 projection machines
and 100,000 reels with titles in the Russian
language, have been sent to Siberia to do
educational work among the Russians and
to entertain allied troops. The Y. M. C. A.
and the United States army educational
committee are in charge of this film propa-
ganda.
9
The public schools of Sheridan, Oregon,
will derive the benefit from educational
films to be shown in a local theatre and to
be supplied by the government at a small
consideration. Pupils of the schools will
attend Friday nights and will be questioned
by their teachers on what they have seen.
Visual instruction has been in use in sev-
eral state schools for some time and is said
to have produced very satisfactory results.
9
"The Eternal Light," an eight part motion
picture depicting the life of Christ, produced
by the Catholic Art Association of New
York at a reported cost of $350,000, was
shown recently in the auditorium of St.
John's Roman Catholic Church, Newark,
N. J. The scenes of the film were taken in
the Holy Land and in Egypt by the Societa
Italiana Cines. The pictures were shown
three days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday,
afternoons at 3.30 and evenings at 8.15.
25
MASTERING NATURE WITH "MOVIES"
(Continued from page 11)
much as the phonographic record reproduces
the combinations of sound, is a matter
about which we can only speculate at the
present stage. May it not be that even the
most abstract sciences may some day be im-
parted more efficiently through the utiliza-
tion of the cinema method?
Visual Inspiration for Men of Genius
However that may be, it is safe to predict
a long step forward in the field of the more
concrete sciences by virtue of the increasing
supplementation by this new method, which
confronts the pupil with the living, moving
realities of life. From every part of the
earth, from every historical epoch and age,
but especially from the present; from every
form of natural and industrial operation;
from every type-form of development, not
only physical but all outward expressions of
social development as well; from anywhere,
in fact, the film selects any portion of life
it pleases and sets it down anywhere where
it may be observed to advantage. It means
nothing less than a new era in the education
of young and old.
Nor is it only as a means for the im-
partation of knowledge within the educa-
tional field that the film will find its greatest
usefulness. There is that other function,
(Continued on page 28)
We will reproduce
Your Own Pictures
or copy of any kind
ON SLIDE!
Each, 25c. plain
Each, 40c. colorec
Standard size
Victor Featherweight
style
Guaranteed quality
Guaranteed Safe return of Copy
Show on the screen pictures which
"The Boys" bring back from
"Over There."
Send for our Slide Service Bulle-
tin and catalog of over 16,000
stock subjects
Photo Department
VICTOR ANIMATOGRAPH
COMPANY
122 Victor Bldg.
Davenport, Iowa, U. S. A.
Here They Are!
^oleso^
'#
PICTURES
Little Red Riding Hood Meets the Wolf
Played by Juveniles-for Juveniles and Adults
In response|to the universal demand for wholesome film
productions we have now available for bookings
"Cinderella and
The Magic Slipper"
Four Parts - All Star Juvenile Cast
"Little Red Riding Hood"
Starring Mary Burton, age Eleven Years
Cinderella Dreams or Happier Days
"TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE STAR"
Starring Zoe Rae, age Eleven Years, and Dorphia Brown, age Four Years
FUTURE RELEASES
"Humpty Dumpty"
"Cat and the Fiddle"
"Puss and Boots"
"Tom Thumb"
"Little Bo-Peep"
"Old Mother Hubbard"
"Mother Goose"
"Little Jack Horner"
and Others
Scene from "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little
Star," Starring Zoe Rae and
Dorphia Brown
Dorphia Brown (4 years old) in
"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"
SfJ
VI O L ES O j^
Amusement for Children — Our Future Citizens
FILMS COMPANY
£
Executive Offices:
17 N. Wabash Avenue
Chicago, 111.
New York Office:
729 Seventh Avenue
Other Branches Will Be Announced Shortly
26
EDUCATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE publishes each month classified descriptive lists of all motion picture films belong-
ing to the various groups of which this publication treats. The aim is to give accurate and dependable information
under each classification : In some instances this information comes from manufacturers, in other cases from distrib-
utors, frequently from the Editorial Offices of this magazine, occasionally from other sources. This magazine maintains an
Information Bureau which will endeavor to furnish data regarding any motion picture film in the fields covered. All
(inquiries should be addressed Film Catalog Editor, EDUCATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE, 33 West 42d Street, New York.
FORD EDUCATIONAL WEEKLIES— MISCEL-
LANEOUS.
Each release consists of one reel and is pro-
duced by the Ford Motor Company, Detroit,
Michigan, Goldwyn Distributing Corporation, 16
East 42nd Street, New York, and their dis-
tributing exchanges handle these Weeklies. The
cost is $1.00 per month, $12 per year. Any
Goldwyn exchange in your section can give you
complete information.
HISTORICAL BOSTON. (17)
DENVER. (18)
INDIANAPOLIS. (19)
DETROIT. (20)
APPLE INDUSTRY. (21)
CLEVELAND AND TOLEDO. (22)
CANADIAN ROCKIES. (23)
PIKES PEAK. (24)
STORY OF A GRAIN OF WHEAT. (25)
TRIP TO ROYAL GORGE. (26)
TRIP TO OLD SANTA FE, N. M. (27)
A STORY OF A CAKE OF SOAP. (28)
PETRIFIED FORESTS OF ARIZONA AND
CONGO BASKET MAKING. (29)
GRAND CANYON OF THE COLORADO. (30)
THE MAKING OF A BOX OF CANDY. (31)
TRIP TO NEW YORK CITY. (32)
VISIT TO A BIG HOTEL. (33)
PHILADELPHIA. (34)
OLIVE INDUSTRY. (35)
ST. PAUL AND WINTER CARNIVAL. (36)
NORFOLK. (37)
MT. LOWE— OSTRICH FARM (CALIFOR-
NIA. (38)
LOS ANGELES. (39)
SANTA CATALINA ISLAND. (40)
WASHINGTON, D. C. (41)
MT. WILSON— ROOSEVELT DAM. (42)
SAN FRANCISCO. (43)
ORANGE INDUSTRY— AND HARVESTING
ICE ON THE HUDSON. (44)
BALTIMORE. (45)
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS (SUGAR INDUSTRY)
(SOLDERING FOR UNCLE SAM). (46)
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS (LIFT, INDUSTRIES,
CUSTOMS AND SCENIC WONDERS).
(47)
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS (HISTORICAL PA-
GEANT, PINEAPPLE AND BANANA IN-
DUSTRIES. (48)
" THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA— THE STORY OF
OLD GLORY. (49)
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS (RICE HARVEST,
MAKING POI, PICKING COCOANUTS).
(50)
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS (HAWAIIAN FISH-
ERMAN—HAWAIIAN WATERFALLS— HA-
WAIIAN LANDSCAPE. (51)
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, SCENES OF AT-
LANTIC CITY. (52)
MAKING OF HAWAIIAN UKULELE—
—GLIMPSES OF JACKSONVILLE, FLOR-
IDA. (53)
A VISIT TO KILAUEA VOLCANO (THE
WORLD'S GREATEST ACTIVE VOLCA-
NO). (54)
THE MAKING OF CUT GLASS— PART NO.
1. (55).
THE MAKING OF CUT GLASS— PART NO.
2. (56)
A VISIT TO OLD ST. AUGUSTINE,
FLA. (57)
THE GUARDIANS OF COLUMBIA (A TRIP
TO MT. HOOD— MT. ADAMS— MT. ST.
HELENS). (58)
THE MAKING OF POTTERY. (59)
A VISIT TO SEATTLE, WASH. (60)
MAKING OF SHOES— PART NO. 1. (61)
| MAKING OF SHOES— PART NO. 2. (62)
W THE COLUMBIA RIVER HIGHWAY. (63)
A VISIT TO THE MISSIONS OF CALI-
FORNIA. (64)
A VISIT TO PORTLAND, OREGON. (65)
FROM TRAP TO CAN— SALMON INDUS-
TRY. (66)
QUARRYING ASBESTOS— CANADIAN GIRL
GUIDES. f67)
MAKING WHEELS FOR AUTOMOBILES.
(68)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA. (69)
MOTIVE POWER ON THE FARM— THE
FORD TRACTOR. (70)
YOSEMITE VALLEY— THE LAND OF EN-
CHANTMENT. (71)
NEW ORLEANS. (72)
MAKING AN AUTOMOBILE. (73)
THE BLUE AND THE GRAY— VETERANS'
REUNION AT VICKSBURG. (74)
A VISIT WITH LUTHER BURBANK. (75)
THE LUMBER INDUSTRY OF THE AMERI-
CAN NORTHWEST. (76)
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA. (77)
RAINIER NATIONAL PARK. (78)
A VISIT TO ATLANTA, GA. (79)
THE GIANT FORESTS OF CAL. (80)
A TRIP THROUGH A MODERN STEAM
LAUNDRY. (81)
A VISIT TO PITTSBURGH— THE STEEL
CITY. (82)
INDUSTRIAL
The following films are distributed by the
Industrial Department Motion Picture Bureau of
the International Committee Y. M. C. A.'s. The
headquarters are at 347 Madison avenue, New
York City. This film service is free. In con-
sideration of this service the exhibitor agrees:
to pay transportation from and to exchange or
the point of exhibition 9s directed by the
bureau; to see that the films are handled care-
fully, that they will be returned on the morning
following the last scheduled showing, and that
reports will be made promptly.
PEA CANNING IN WISCONSIN.
Sprague Canning Machinery Co., Chicago.
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE FROM BEAN TO
CUP.
Hershey Chocolate Co., Hershey, Pa.
MAKING OF PURE FOODS IN BATTLE
CREEK.
Postum Cereal Co., Battle Creek, Mich.
MAKING FLOUR AND OTHER FARINACE-
OUS PRODUCTS.
Hecker, Jones & Jewell Milling Co., New York
City.
MAKING OF HEINZ PURE FOOD PROD-
UCTS.
H. T. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.
PREPARATION AND PACKING OF CHOICE
FOOD PRODUCTS.
Beech-Nut Packing Co., Canajoharie, N. Y.
THE SUGAR REFINING INDUSTRY.
American Sugar Refining Co., New York.
SOAPS, PERFUMES, ETC.
Larkin Soap Co., Buffalo, N. Y.
ABRASIVES.
The Carborundum Co., Niagara Falls, N. Y.
OPEN HEARTH STEEL.
Commonwealth Steel Co., Granite City, 111.
FROM MINE TO MOULDER.
Rogers-Brown Co., Cincinnati, Ohio.
SOLVAY PROCESS COKE.
Pickards-Brown Co., Chicago.
PHARMACEUTICAL CHEMISTS SUPPLIES.
H. K. Mulford Co., Philadelphia.
THE VARNISH INDUSTRY.
Murphy Varnish Co., Detroit, Mich.
CHI-NAMEL.
Ohio Varnishes Co., Cleveland, Ohio.
PAINTS AND VARNISHES.
Sherwin-Williams Co., Cleveland, Ohio.
MAKING WOMEN'S OUTER GARMENTS.
Printzess Garment Co., Cleveland, Ohio.
PENMANSHIP.
The A. N. Palmer Co., New York and Chicago.
SANITARY AND SCIENTIFIC DAIRYING.
(8,000 feet.)
Dr. W. E. J. Kirk, Borden Milk Co., 108
Hudson Street, New York City.
THE CATERPILLAR ENGINE.
Holt Caterpillar Co., Peoria, 111.
From Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Rail-
way, Advertising Department, 547 West Jackson
Boulevard, Chicago:
HOW THE MISSISSIPPI WAS HARNESSED
BY MAN.
HOW THE NATIONAL TIMBER SUPPLY
IS PRESERVED. AND ONE RAILROAD TIE
IS MADE TO LAST AS LONG AS FOUR.
THE CUSTER BATTLEFIELD AFTER
FORTY YEARS, AND THE CROW INDIAN
FAIR.
THE CODY ROAD TO YELLOWSTONE
PARK.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL— ESTES
PARK, COL., THE IDEAL PLAY SPOT.
THERMOPOLIS HOT SPRINGS, WYOMING.
HOW TWO FARMERS FROM THE EAST
MADE GOOD IN COLORADO AND NE-
BRASKA.
FLY PEST, SUMMER BABIES and THE
STORY OF THE MAN WHO LEARNED.
Milk Campaign of Board of Health, City
Hall, Chicago.
Films on progress and industry in the South
may be borrowed by addressing the Secretary of
the Chamber of Commerce of any large southern
city — Charleston, Sumter or Columbia, S. C;
Houston, Tex.; New Orleans, La., and others.
27
LITERARY
The films listed below have been produced by
the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation and are
released through their distributing exchanges in
various parts of the United States. Some of
these pictures bear the Paramount trade-mark;
others are of the Artcraft brand. There is un-
doubtedly a Famous Players-Lasky exchange
located at some convenient city in your section;
if you have difficulty in finding it, write direct to
the executive offices, 485 Fifth avenue, New York
City. All of these films are of superior quality
and literary flavor, and will appeal to students of
literature courses, family groups, selected assem-
blages, for wholesome entertainments, etc.
THE ETERNAL CITY 8 parts
Pauline Frederick and a company of actors
went to Rome to film this picture, wh'.ch is
interesting both from a historical and geo-
graphical viewpoint, as well as for the story
itself. (Paramount).
THE LITTLE PRINCESS 5 parts
A Frances Hodgson Burnett story of India and
England, with Mary Pickford as Sarah Crewe.
(Artcraft).
POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL 6 parts
Mary Pickford in the Eleanor Gates play
directed by Maurice Tourneur. An appealing
story of a lonely little girl. (Artcraft).
MADAME BUTTERFLY 5 parts
One of the first operas to be shown on the
screen, starring Mary Pickford as the attrac-
tive Tapanes- heroine. (Paramount).
THE JUDGMENT HOUSE 5 parts
Sir Gilbert Parker's novel of the Boer War
brought to the screen under the direction of
T. Stuart Blackton. (Paramount).
THE WORLD FOR SALE 5 parts
Another Sir Gilbert Parker novel directed by
J. Stuart Blackton. Author and producer
worked together on these pictures. (Para-
mount).
WILD YOUTH 5 parts
Theodore Roberts and Louise Huff are said to
give marvelous characterizations of youth and
age in the last of Sir Gilbert Parker's stories.
(Paramount).
REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM.. 6 parts
Kate Douglas Wiggins' rustic tale, with Mary
Pickford as the heroine. (Paramount).
LA TOSCA 5 parts
Sardou's opera with Pauline Frederick as the
star, directed by Edward Jose, at one time
Bernhardt's director. (Paramount).
LOVE'S CONQUEST ..5 parts
Another Sardou opera based on "Gismonda."
Lina Cavallieri as the star. (Paramount).
RESURRECTION 5 parts
Tolstoy's story of Russian life vividly por-
trayed bv Pauline Frederick and an excellent
cast. (Paramount).
OLD HOMESTEAD 5 parts
Denman Thompson's play with Frank Losee as
the old man and Louise Huff as his daughter.
(Paramount).
WILLIAM TELL 5 parts
Schiller's Swiss classic, filmed by Swiss actors
in the Alps, where the events actually oc-
curred. (Paramount).
THE AMAZONS 5 parts
Sir Arthur Wing Pinero's comedy, featuring
Marguerite Clark. (Paramount).
MRS. DANE'S DEFENSE 5 parts
Henry Arthur Jone's famous drama in which
Margaret Anglin appeared on the stage, trans-
lated to the screen by Pauline Frederick
(Paramount).
ARIZONA 4 parts
Augustus Thomas' play of Civil War days
with Douglas Fairbanks as Lieutenant Denton.
(Artcraft).
PICTOGRAPHS — MISCELLANEOUS
The films listed and described below are known
by the trade name "Paramount-Bray Picto-
graphs." They are produced by The Bray
Studios. Inc., New York City, and are dis-
tributed weekly by 27 Famous Players-Lasky
exchanges located in large cities in every sec-
tion of the United States. One of these ex-
changes is in your section. "The first and the
original magazine on the screen, and still the
best" is the way the organization describes its
releases. There are three or four short sub-
jects on each reel. They embrace science, in-
J
vention, industry, travel, scenic, social welfare,
current events and miscellaneous material. They
are offered on rental "at nominal cost." Full
particulars may be had at the exchanges men-
tioned. T-he numbers given are the order num-
bers supplied by Bray.
A QUAIL HUNT IN OLE VIRGINNY.
HOW THE COWBOY MAKES HIS LARIAT.
QUACKY DOODLES Signs the Pledge.
IN A SCULPTOR'S STUDIO. B. 6033.
DE-INDIANIZING THE RED MAN.
BOBBY BUMPS Starts to School.
AFTER MALLARDS ON THE CAROLINA
COAST. B. 6034.
UNMASKING THE MEDIUMS—
Materialization.
IN CAMP WITH THE U. S. AMBULANCE
CORPS
CARTOON— A Submarine Destroyer.
DENIZENS OF A METROPOLITAN JUNGLE.
B. 6035.
HIGHER EDUCATION FOR ARMY COOKS.
A DENISHAWN ENTERTAINMENT.
GOODRICH DIRT, Lunch Detective.
A SOUTHERN DEER HUNT with R. F. War-
ner of "Field and Stream." B. 6036.
UNCLE SAM'S HINTS TO HOUSEWIVES
NO. 1 — Soap Making at Home.
A WOOD-CHOPPING CONTEST IN NEW
ZEALAND.
BOBBY BUMPS "World Series."
WOODCRAFT AND CAMPING. B. 6037.
UNCLE SAM'S HINTS TO HOUSEWIVES
NO. 2 — Iceless Refrigerator.
DENIZENS OF A METROPOLITAN JUNGLE.
QUACKY DOODLES The Cheater.
HUMPBACK WHALING IN THE PACIFIC.
B.6038.
UNCLE SAM'S HINTS TO HOUSEWIVES
NO. 3 — The Meatless Meat Loaf.
CARTOON— Aeroplane Machine Gun.
ON ADIRONDACK TRAILS. B. 6039.
JEWELRY AND PERSONALITY.
A POTATO SKYSCRAPER.
BOBBY BUMPS, Chef.
SCENICS
These one-reel scenics (Outing-Chester and
Rathacker Outdoors) are handled through the
Exhibitors' Mutual Distributing Corporation,
1600 Broadway, New York, and their various ex-
changes. Outing-Chester scenics from No. 16
to date, for use outside of theatres, are dis-
tributed by the Community Motion Picture Bu-
reau, 46 West 24th Street, New York, and their
branches throughout the United States.
EX-CANNIBAL CARNIVAL (Outing-Chester).
No. 1.
An adventuring expedition into the cities and
wildernesses of Fiji, — as told by the camera —
including some sidelights on the Feminist
Movement, the drinking of kava and the
native war on cocoanuts.
KAIETEUR (Outing-Chester). No. 2.
A hair-raising camera adventure through the
river _ jungles of British Guiana in South
America, including a visit to the waterfall
five times as high as Niagara — Patamonan In-
dians shooting fish — life on the coorial trails
over mountain and mad water courses.
MOUNTAINEERING MEMORIES (Outing-
Chester). No. 3.
Qimbing the roof of the world — a spectacular
ascent of Mount Assiniboine, backbone of the
American continent. Society hoboes of the
alpenstock whose slogan is "Over the top"
and whose objective is the highest peak of the
rockies.
ZUNI KICKING RACES (Outing-Chester.)
No. 4.
The Zunis have a cross-country race like no
other in the world. Barefooted and bare-legged
they kick a painted stick across twenty miles
of desert, through cactus, out of stone heaps,
and over river quicksands.
A WHITE WILDERNESS (Outing-Chester).
No. 5.
The eye of the camera graphically portrays
the towering peak of Mount Columbia, the
drifting cloud banks, the mammoth glaciers,
the vast silences; and the red-blooded winter
sports of that region.
A COORIAL ON THE ORINOCO (Outing-
Chester). No. 6.
"A Coorial on the Orinoco" shows, in vivid
picturing, how the Ladies of the Guarauno
Indian Tribe in the Wilds of Venezuela
follow Mr. Hoover's ideas in economizing ma-
terial. An intimate bit of camera work.
BLACKFEET AND FLATHEADS (Rothacker).
No. 16
Nick Carter Was Right! An over the hilltop
view of an Indian war dance will make any
one's blood run cold. Just take a look and
then appreciate your kitchen — bedroom — and
bath. But say! It's real country.
BAD MEN AND GOOD SCENERY (Rothacker).
No. 17
Entirely hemmed in by Mountain peaks, the
only entrance a small pass that could easily be
guarded by one man with a Winchester, Jack-
son Hole was in the days of Jesse James the
rendezvous and hiding place of the wanted
and hunted desperadoes.
PEAKS, PARKS, AND PINES (Rothacker).
No. 18.
Through deep canyons of Fir and Spruce — ■
over rocky trails and mountain streams —
through parks and over peaks — till at last —
near the top of the world — we view the
grandeur of Our Country.
A MAORI ROMANCE (Rothacker). No. 19.
A fable in slang unconsciously perpetrated by
the carved natives midst the geysers of New
Zealand. Watch the scenery. The rocks and
everything are real.
TRAVEL
Burton Holmes' Travel Pictures, each in one
reel, are released through Famous Players-
Lasky exchanges in many sections of the
United States. Burton Holmes has been a
leader in the travelog field for 25 years. His
films are as standard as his lectures and books.
The executive office is in Aeolian Hall, 33 West
42nd Street, New York City. Descriptions fur-
nished by the Burton Holmes management.
the cliff Dwellers '
of america. (t-1044)
A remarkable little journey to the homes of
the "First Americans" — the prehistoric peo-
ples of thousands of years ago — 'houses still
standing and still inhabited, perhaps by de-
scendants of _ the original builders. In Mex-
ico and Arizona, these cliff-dwellings and
pueblos, — the ancestors of our apartment
houses of today — are now, more than ever
before, the centres of romantic interest.
THE GRAND CANYON OF
ARIZONA. (T-1045)
A trip to the Grand Canyon in company with
Burton Holmes will never be forgotten. The
Canyon is the most beautiful big thing in the
world as yet discovered. Mr. Holmes not
only takes you to it, but also down its mile
and an eighth of depth, — down dizzy trails
which plunge into and through the very
crust of the earth, — down to where the Colo-
rado River rages through the granite.
A DAY WITH THE WEST POINT
CADETS. (T-1046)
A day at West Point well repays every pa-
triotic American, for it is not only a spot
of great historic and traditional interest, but
an institution of national importance. Here
Mr. Holmes shows you our young officers in
the making, and all the work and drill and
play of their daily lives, as well as giving you
an idea of the delightful surroundings of
Uncle Sam's imposing "Soldier Factory."
OUR MIDDIES AT ANNAPOLIS. (T-1047)
■ Visit our Naval Academy at Annapolis and
see where our officers who have won dis-
tinction and glory at sea have come from.
See the fine old buildings where they
studied, and also the splendid new buildings
where the cadet of today learns to follow in
the footsteps of his illustrious predecessors.
MASTERING NATURE WITH "MOVIES"
(Continued from page 25)
equally important in this great world-society,
where the satisfaction of all individual and
social striving is fast becoming interknit with
every other, namely, the supplying of ade-
quate suggestions for our deeper thinkers,
men of research, inventors and other creative
minds.
Two agencies, the reading of books and
face to face dialectic, have hitherto and will
no doubt continue to be the physical means
of greatest consequence in quickening the
mind of the original thinker and bringing
about that mental attitude or mental setting
from which leaps the perception of new re-
lations, the contributions of small and great
geniuses in every age. That the new method
of the film, because of the far-reaching scope
combined with the vividness and impressive-
ness of the presentation, will assist to a
large degree in enhancing and multiplying
those very situations which enable men of
originality to glimpse relations before un-
known, and thus serve as a means for those
new adjustments which our ever expanding
social life must have, is reasonable to assume.
Moral Determinism by Way of Films
Finally, a word as to how in a third and
most important way the use of the. film will
assist in forcing the environment to deter-
mine the inner man in harmony with what
the leaders of society hold as the ideals of
what ought to be: in regard to the facility
with which it can place any individual in
any desired situation for the sake of moral
influences. Practical demonstrations of this,
the greatest of functions perhaps, as resulting
from intelligent selection of film-presentation
in a given community, is already in evidence,
according to some of the testimony offered
at the last National Education Association
convention in Chicago. Social surveys which
28
are beginning here and there, especially in
urban communities, to place the concrete
social standards on record, will in the near
future furnish valuable data in this matter.
By laying hold of the environmental factors
and shaping them wisely, man can force
nature's play of forces on the growing in-
dividual soul to raise — or if unwisely, to
lower — the moral disposition in a degree
the measurable, statistical results of which
he can anticipate with almost mathe-
matical exactness. The danger of prostitu-
ting instrumentalities like the film, which
in these days are being capitalized more and
more for pecuniary profit to the individual'
in a manner that can scarcely be said to
control favorably nature's relentless selection
in this regard, should fill the social worker
with concern.
TT'ROM one class-room into the
other, is the daily course of
the DeVry in many of America's
foremost pedagogical institutions.
America's leading educators,
realizing and appreciating the
power and scope of motion pic-
tures for educational purposes,
and desiring the use of this won-
derful aid in pedagogy in every
phase of their activities, have —
after careful investigation —
adopted the DeVry Portable Mo-
tion Picture Projector as being
the one Projector in existence
that makes practical the unlim-
ited use of film.
Write today for a catalog and
complete specifications. Address
THE DEVRY CORPORATION
1230 Marianna Street
Chicago, III.
•
Y~~ INDUST RIAL ' : [
<!£$>
MOTION PICTURES TO DEVELOP AMERICAN EXPORT TRADE*
Industrial Films Will Not Only Popularize American Goods Abroad But Will Offset
Anti-American Propaganda and Promote International Friendship
AKING, by frank confession, a leaf
from Canada's book of advertising
ideas, Uncle Sam plans to spend this
next year a sum close to $70,000 on indus-
trial and commercial films as a means of
boosting our foreign trade. That is, the
Government -will undertake this innovation
in motion picture advertising if Congress
will say the word. Sanction is necessary
from the national legislature because Con-
gress must make a special appropriation to
foot the advertising bill. However, the offi-
cials of the Department of Commerce are
saying everything that can be said to per-
suade the Appropriations Committees at the
Capitol that this would prove a wise invest-
ment in international good-will.
That the government, which is only in
process of being "sold" on advertising in
general, should thus succumb to the latest
addition to the standard forms of adver-
tising is due in great measure to the circum-
stance that Secretary of Commerce Redfield
happened to be in Canada when the Do-
minion appropriated $100,000 or some such
sum for a campaign of motion picture adver-
tising. The head of Uncle Sam's business-
building institution came home impressed
with the belief that this country should du-
plicate the project of Sir George E. Foster,
Minister of Foreign Trade and Commerce of
Canada.
Start Made in China
It would be unjust to intimate that the
Department of Commerce will enter upon its
new program an absolute novice in motion
picture advertising — an unpleasant contrast
assuredly, by comparison, with what Canada
has already accomplished via this medium.
As a matter of fact, not only have the trade
experts of the United States Commerce De-
partment been studying for months past the
possibilities of film advertising as an aid in
the development of our export trade, but
they have actually made experiments on a
small scale. The United States Commercial
Attache in China was supplied, some time
since, with a projection outfit and an assort-
ment of films. It is the result of this try-
out that renders the officials so confident
that the motion picture offers one- of the
best expedients for making ultimate con-
sumers overseas acquainted with American-
made goods.
Meanwhile, it may be said as an aside, an-
other branch of the government has been
collecting evidence as to the advertising
efficacy of the motion picture. The United
States Department of Agriculture which has
been an enthusiastic user for some years past
of its own special brand of educational sub-
jects has been sending to Russia and other
countries a number of reels illustrating the
use of the time and labor saving farm-oper-
ating equipment that has been responsible
* From Advertising and Selling.
By Waldon Fawcett
for the productiveness of American agricul-
ture. The enthusiastic reception with which
these "pioneering" firms have met and the
call for more has eloquently attested the
advertising mission that such reels can per-
form. It is even better propaganda, seem-
ingly, than the earlier advertising stunt
whereby the salvation of thousands of starv-
ing babies are sought by the donation of
cans of condensed milk — each can labeled
with a picture of the American flag and a
good word for American products.
To Reach the Illiterate
Mention of the situation in China and
Russia brings up, just here, the compelling
reason why the Federal executives feel that
the motion picture is the logical advertising
medium to employ at the present stage of
Yankee cultivation of foreign trade. For all
that American producers and manufacturers
are bound to sell big bills of goods for re-
construction work in war-swept Europe, the
fact remains that in laying the foundation of
a permanent export trade attention must be
focused upon quarters of the globe where not
only total ignorance of the English language,
but a high percentage of downright illiteracy
must be faced. For example, Latin America,
which is the overseas market that appeals
most strongly to the average American ad-
vertiser as an outlet for his surplus, products,
presents the problem of a native population,
four-fifths of whose members do not read or
write. Obviously, in such an environment,
the universal language of the picture is the
only language that can be employed with
100 per cent, efficiency in advertising and
the motion picture has special qualifications
to commend it.
Entirely apart from the mission of the
advertising film as a means of popularizing
American-made articles by familiarizing aliens
with their uses and the process of manu-
facture is the service that the animated pic-
ture can render as an antidote for anti-
American propaganda. Because he counts
upon our industrial reels to bring confusion
to the commercial scandalmongers is one
reason why Secretary Redfield is so strong
for this proposition. Speaking on this as-
pect of the subject, the other day, the head
of the Department of Commerce, said:
Visualizing America's Greatness
"Our foreign competitors used to proceed
— but the one that did it most is not likely
to do it much now — on the general theory
of depreciation of American products. That
method took the form of saying that Amer-
ican salesmen were all bluffers; that there
were no such establishments; that they
could not do such and such things; that
they did not have the ability to do them,
and that it was all one gigantic game of
bluff. A very practical way of answering
that would be to show something of the
commercial development of the United
29
States. A picture showing a great steel mill
would be a very telling statement as to
whether we were able to supply steel or not.
I think it is quite feasible to do this in a
most effective way. We have films our-
selves which we could use right away with-
out any expense if we had an operator and
a machine, for instance, showing the process
of curing and canning fish for food."
Although this project for Governmental
motion picture advertising on a large scale
is as yet on paper, so confident are the
officials that it will be put through in the
near future that they have already per-
fected plans for the distribution and exhibi-
tion of the films. Director Burwell S. Cut-
ler, of the United States Bureau of Foreign
and Domestic Commerce, who had pro-
longed training in advertising and selling
before the government drafted him for his
present job, has made arrangements to
utilize not only the facilities of American
chambers of commerce in foreign countries
but a number of more or less unusual chan-
nels for advertising. For example, Roberts
FILMS^ORBUSINESS
220 West 42d Street, NEW YORK
ILMUf I I
College in Constantinople has promised that
the films sent from America shall be shown
to the Syrian merchants and the Young
Men's Christian Association all over the
world has been put under similar contract.
American manufacturers and merchants
will naturally be curious as to just what
means are to be afforded to enable them to
cash in on this advertising which Uncle
Sam proposes to do for the common good.
Answering this question Director Cutler ex-
plained: "The way we intend to do at
each exhibition is to throw on a picture of
some commodity — a typical article — and
then if there is any curiosity, give the
names of the manufacturers, both large and
small, but not to have the names of the
manufacturers on the film."
Entertaining Programs Planned
According to the plan that Directpr Cut-
ler has worked out, Uncle Sam will, in
making up his programs for foreign au-
diences, follow the same general plan that
has been adopted with success by the ad-
vertisers who have used motion pictures to
the best advantage in the United States.
In other words, the federal missionaries
who will preach the trade-extension gospel
by means of motion pictures will subscribe
to the psychological theory that the secret
of motion picture advertising is not to bore
the spectator and not to overwhelm him
with one idea. To that end the advertising
reels will be alternated with all manner of
entertaining and diverting subjects calcu-
lated to appeal to the audiences whose in-
terest is to be held. Pictures of American
life will, however, predominate in all the
supplementary reels because such subjects
have an underlying power of suggestion in
that they show, in use or as features of the
landscape, many of the articles of American
manufacture that it is sought to specifically
popularize. Sandwiched between the human
interest films will be the reels that get
closer to the advertising impulse. The idea
is not, however, merely to demonstrate
finished products. The larger purpose is,
as Secretary Redfield puts it, "to show the
foreign world American industry, its proc-
esses, and how it works."
The advantage that should accrue from
Yankee pre-eminence in moving picture
production is not lost sight of by the Fed-
eral advertising managers. This was com-
mented upon, with a tinge of chagrin, by
Director Cutler in reflecting that the Ca-
nadian Pacific Railroad is supposed to have
sold practically all of its real estate by aid
of advertising of this kind. He added: "It
is safe to say that within a short time after
peace is finally concluded the motion picture
will be used by all the great manufacturing
countries to promote the sale of their wares,
and certainly the United States, the home
of the motion picture industry, should meet
this competition. It is a most effective
method, as advertising agencies use it, to
popularize goods."
Now Only ONE DOLLAR a Year
Educational Film Magazine — the same in
quality and quantity as formerly — can now
be had on yearly subscription for $1.00.
It is the only high-class publication in the
world, not a trade paper, exclusively cov-
ering the serious, non-theatrical use of motion
pictures. "Should be backed up by everyone
interested in visual education," says Dudley
Grant Hays, Chicago Board of Education.
"Every issue a treat," says S. G. Reinertsen,
Supt. Alta, Iowa, Schools. Mail your dollar
NOW to Educational Film Magazine, Aeolian
Hall, New York City. A dollar well invested.
CUBAN TRADE REPORT IN FILMS
AN unusual enterprise is being under-
taken by Arthur Liebes, of New York
City, Latin-American trade expert,
in which the motion picture plays a vital
and significant part. Mr. Liebes left New
York on March 29 for Cuba, upon a special
trade investigation, carrying with him a
technical director and two cameramen from
the Eastern Motion Picture Company of
New York, to make films of exclusive pro-
fessional interest to American manufacturers
and merchants. The trip has been under-
taken with the co-operation of a Latin-
American newspaper, El Mundo, of Havana.
Trip Unique in Trade Annals
The plan under which Mr. Liebes is con-
ducting his investigation is unique in the
annals of trade. He originated it after years
of study of every phase of local and inter-
national commerce. His object is to illumi-
nate the many technical requirements upon
which the freer exchange of business be-
tween the two countries so largely depends.
Enthusiast^ over the project is marked in
Latin-American trade circles.
Complete Films of Cuban Trade
The novel part of the trade expert's per-
sonal survey of every vital trade relationship
between Cuba and the United States will be
the exhaustive motion picture record of his
visit. This record will consist of specially
photographed action films of factories, stores,
plantations, scenery, merchandise, raw prod-
ucts and manufactured goods, shipping and
railroad facilities, and packing and sales
methods. In short, he will secure and pre-
sent to the manufacturers and boards of
trade of the United States just such specific
information as will deeply interest them.
Along with this collection of motion pic-
tures, when showing them to boards of
trade and chambers of commerce in the
United States, Mr. Liebes is to deliver lec-
tures explaining the resources of Cuba, the
special export and import conditions pre-
vailing on the island, the best procedure of
securing shipments from Cuba's wealthy
storehouse of raw products, the various local
requirements in the form of manufactured
goods, and every interesting detail that may
promote a profitable business intercom-
munication between the two countries.
A Commercial Travelog of Cuba
"The plan is different from any that ever
has employed motion pictures. Mr. Liebes
is not after conventional scenes such as com-
pose the ordinary travelog or scenic picture.
His intention is to present altogether a com-
mercial travelog of Cuba, each 'shot' being
taken with a purpose, and that purpose
strictly of trade interest. The films and
stills he will bring back are calculated to
visualize exactly the points about which
there is most curiosity among exporters, and
the questions the films are to answer went
with Mr. Liebes in the form of a thick
bundle of letters of inquiry from every part
of the United States.
"The range of questions was remarkable.
Everything was asked, from the favorite cut
of a Cuban coat lapel and the manner of
counter display of goods, to the exact
methods of cultivation employed by planters
under existing conditions with a view to
suggesting sales-talks for improved machin-
ery. He has been solicited by several organ-
izations to address them upon his return."
Educational Film Magazine is now only
$1.00 a year. Subscribe today. It will be
a dollar well invested.
WANTED :
Manager for educational and industrial
motion picture enterprise. Concern
(one of the oldest in the field) desires
to expand and has opening for conserv-
ative and capable executive. Previous
experience in similar capacity not es-
sential. One who has followed and
studied the development of the Industry
will be given every consideration. Ad-
dress giving full particulars as to quali-
fications and references. Applications
absolutely confidential. Box 100, care
Educational Film Magazine, Aeolian
Hall, New York.
Big Production
Experience
Applied By Us To
Your Problems
We Make To Order
Industrial Pictures
Educational Pictures
The largest proposition you have
is not too large for us ; and no con-
tract, small or large, fails to re-
ceive our most expert attention.
If you have the slightest interest
in a motion picture of your fac-
tory, or your product, or your in-
dustrial ideas, write us for ways
to go about it.
If you have a story, or a message,
or a plan that you want to give
visual expression in dramatic
form, ask us about that, too.
Production Is
Our Specialty
EASTERN MOTION
PICTURE COMPANY
1451 Broadway - New York City
30
PRODUCERS THEIR OWN CENSORS
Will Also Try to Amend Federal Constitu-
tion Placing Pictures on Same Plane
as Speech and Press
Members of the National Association of
the Motion Picture Industry, said to con-
stitute 95 per cent, of the producers and
distributors in the country, have agreed to
submit their films to a censorship of their
own. In so doing, they plan to oppose offi-
cial censorship by the Government, accord-
ing to William A. Brady, president of the
association.
Mr. Brady said that the association had
adopted resolutions providing that members
should accept "all rulings" made by the
proposed censorship that the first reel of
every picture produced by them should bear
a mark or stamp as authorized by such
censor; and that they would agree to any
eliminations in pictures or changes in titles
or subtitles which should be ordered. They
condemned the exhibition of "all pictures
which are obscene, immoral, salacious, or
tend to corrupt or debase morals."
"The National Association of the Motion
Picture Industry," added the resolutions,
"reaffirms its unalterable opposition to any
form of legalized censorship of motion pic-
tures prior to their exhibition. We shall
endeavor to cause to be adopted an amend-
ment to the Constitution of the United
States prohibiting the enforcement of any
law abridging the freedom of expression
through the medium of the motion picture,
to the same effect as is provided in Article
I. of the ten original amendments to the
Constitution of the United States that were
declared in force December 15, 1791, pro-
hibiting the enactment of any law abridging
the freedom of speech or of the press."
ENGINEERS URGE SAFETY FILM
The Society of Motion Picture Engineers
started a movement on April 16 at the
Hotel Adelphia, Philadelphia, where they
held their semi-annual convention, to make
motion-picture films entirely from slow-
burning or non-inflammable material.
C. Francis Jenkins, of Washington, D. C,
president of the Graphoscope Company, in-
troduced a motion, which was passed with
an amendment, recommending to the govern-
ment of the United States and to the indi-
vidual states that films hereafter made by
them should be printed on non-inflammable
stock.
Mr. Jenkins said safety in film exhibitions
was a hobby of his which he had advocated
before the society and elsewhere. He also
said: "As the motion-picture comes more
and more into use for imparting informa-
tion outside of the theaters, where 90 per
cent of the future usefulness will be, safety
becomes more and more the important con-
sideration."
FEDERATION BETTER FILM WORKERS
The National Federation of Better Film
Workers was organized in April in the Ho-
tel Commodore, New York, at a meeting of
women called by Mrs. Myra Kingman Mil-
ler, chairman of the Better Film Committee
of the National Council of Women. Her
idea in organizing a national federation
was, she explained, to have a clearing house
for the women's committees of the United
States, who are interested in improving
motion pictures.
9
SAFETY AND GOOD ROADS FILMS
Francis M. Hugo, Secretary of State, New
York, is strongly in favor of using motion
pictures to show the public how automobile
accidents occur and how they can be avoided.
He told of one film that was shown in mo-
tion picture theatres throughout New York
State which cost the state considerable
money. He said the picture proved a great
object lesson.
Under the sanction and support of Mr.
Hugo, Charles Henry Davis, president of the
National Highways Association, and Windsor
T. White, president of the White Company,
an educational film has been produced by
the Universal Film Manufacturing Company
to exploit the movement for good roads in
America.
The picture is called "Good Roads" and
is introduced as part of the campaign of
education among the people of the country
to bring about a greater interest in the
betterment of the nation's highways than
might be obtained through any other method.
Among those interested in the motion pic-
ture campaign is Austin F. Bement, vice-
president of the Lincoln Highway, the coast
to coast route which is nearing completion.
The Lincoln Highway Association is complet-
ing 4,000 feet of film designed to show the
importance of highway improvement, and the
progress made on the Lincoln Highway.
HOW TO USE FILMS IN SCHOOL
(Continued from page 9)
in our present day' all too specialized school
programs. There is a real need for a source
of general information, for some sort of
ethical training, for instilling high ideals
and a love for the beautiful. These pro-
grams are invaluable for broadening the
mental powers, quickening the mental ener-
gies, and developing the character in gen-
eral. Practically all educators who have
had experience with this phase of visual
education endorse the plan and advocate
its general adoption. For the elementary
grades a somewhat different selection of
subjects, perhaps, should be worked out
without departing, however, from the gen-
eral cultural and character-developing idea.
To be thoroughly satisfactory and give
the best educational results, until complete
courses are made available, the regular pro-
gram in the large assembly hall, as well as
the irregular showings in the class-rooms,
should correlate as far as possible with the
textbooks used at the school, and with the
authorized syllabi or schedule of studies for
the school year. In other words, the visual
part of school work should form an integral
and essential unit of the school scheme and
wherever it enters into the work of an insti-
tution it should be taken up seriously, pro-
fessionally, and in complete harmony with
the regular scholastic activities. No hit or
miss method should be tolerated. If no well-
laid visual educational plan can be formu-
lated to co-ordinate with certain courses or
certain studies, and if it cannot be executed
as faithfully and as efficiently as other seri-
ous work at the school or college, it had
better not be undertaken at all.
How Educationals Should Be Distributed
A final word on the proper method of dis-
tribution of school and college films seems
advisable. Circuiting or routing of pictures
under present conditions is the surest way
to spoil prints and discourage manufacturers
and distributors of educational films. It has
failed utterly in the commercial field, and
regrettable as the fact is, the average teacher
or principal has no realization of the neces-
sity for promptness in forwarding a reel to
the next exhibitor. It seems absolutely nec-
essary to have a local office which can keep
track of the films and keep them moving.
Another serious drawback is the fact that no
matter how skillful the operators, the films
need to be inspected, cleaned and repaired
at frequent intervals if they are to reach the
exhibitor in good condition. School teach-
ers and principals and their operators should
never fail to realize that each reel of film
is worth from $50 to $150 and that it is
not their property to treat with scant con-
sideration.
The logical and the ideal method of supply
and of distribution would be to build up
libraries of educational subjects in one, two
or three central places within each state
and circulate these films on precisely the
same plan as books are circulated from cen-
tral or branch public libraries. In a small state
like Rhode Island or Delaware one central
source of supply would serve. In a large
state like Texas or California three or even
more central distributing points should be
maintained. In every case, without excep-
tion, the film should be delivered direct from
the exchange to the exhibitor and returned
direct from the exhibitor to the exchange. The
exhibitor (in this case, the school, the col-
lege, the church, or other local institution)
should pay the transportation charges to and
from the exchange and a reasonable rental
per day, per two days, per three days, per
week, etc.
School Film Libraries
Some institutions may prefer to own cer-
tain classroom films which are exceptionally
active and frequently used by a number of
classes. The school may even build up a
limited film library of its own where the
conditions demand this and where the funds
are available for this purpose. The general
adoption of non-inflammable film and the
possible lowering in costs of prints as time
goes on will make it feasible for many
schools and colleges to possess film libraries
of their own.
ANALYSIS OF MOTION IN CINEMA
(Continued from page 10)
squirming mass of children. It was very
interesting to watch this young lad's move-
ment as he went across the field. His legs
would take him into the air with a very,
very slow, deliberate way, and he would
apparently float from one foot to the other
and then when he came within about four
feet of this pile of children he jumped and
left the ground very, very slowly and floated
apparently over the top of this living,
squirming mass and gradually settled slowly
upon the top of the mass, very much
as does a child's balloon when filled
with a gas just slightly heavier than the
air in which it sinks to the floor and strikes
it very softly, and bounds back very, very
sluggishly, and so it was with this child.
He lit upon the top of this pile of squirming
children and then slowly, slowly bounded
back in this sluggish way. The movement
had been so rapid that I couldn't see it with
my unaided eye.
(To be concluded in June issue)
31
»--"
HOW FILMS TRAINED AVIATORS
The moving picture was widely used in the training of
American pilots in England during the war. The young
flying officers sent to the Armament School to acquaint
themselves with the use of airplane guns and gun gears
found their three weeks' course a most interesting one, owing
partly to the large share which the moving-picture machine
played in the instruction.
The pupil was not required to sit out a lengthy lecture
read aloud from the notes of an instructor. Instead, the
various branches of gunnery training, such as the stripping
and assembling of guns and the various points to be ob-
served before, during and after flight, were demonstrated
by films, accompanied by concise explanations by competent
officers.
Frequently a film was run over the screen several times
at different speeds, so that the pupil got a very intimate idea
of the process being illustrated. Monotony and complexity
found no place in this method of training.
The films standardized the correct methods, and their in-
structional value was far-reaching. The film work was not
confined to gunnery alone, but continued in the other tech-
nical courses, such as aerial tactics and bomb dropping.
According to British instructors, the use of the film shortened
and improved the course of training in these departments
very materially.
Now Only ONE DOLLAR a Year
Educational Film Magazine — the same in quality and
quantity as formerly — can now be had on yearly subscription
for $1.00. It is the only high-class publication in the world,
not a trade paper, exclusively covering the serious, non-
theatrical use of motion pictures. "Should be backed up by
everyone interested in visual education," says Dudley Grant
Hays, Chicago Board of Education. "Every issue a treat,"
says S. G. Reinertsen, Supt. Alta, Iowa, Schools. Mail your
dollar NOW to Educational Film Magazine, Aeolian Hall,
New York City. It will be a dollar well invested.
EASTMAN
FILM
first made motion pictures prac-
tical— to-day it plays its full part
in making the best pictures pos-
sible.
Identifiable by the words "Eastman** and "Kodak**
in the film margin
EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY,
ROCHESTER, N. Y.
Photo by Signal Corps, U. S. A.
Copyright by Committee on Public Information
Signal Corps operator loading his Universal
Motion Picture Camera in a dugout on the
firing line in France.
UNIVERSAL ON THE FIRING LINE
The U. S. Government selected the Universal
Motion Picture camera for the exclusive use of
the military operators during the war. No
other motion picture camera was accorded such
distinction, as the Universal is the only camera
embodying the special features of compactness,
strength and mechanical excellence needed for
the trying work of recording military operations
under war conditions.
Under the most trying tests to which a motion
picture camera has ever been put the Universal
performed creditably every time.
The Universal is the ideal, in fact, it is the
only motion picture camera for the explorer,
traveller and those making educational pictures
where compactness is such a prime considera-
tion. Martin Johnson's famous Cannibal Isle
pictures were made with a Universal.
It is light in weight: there are no bulky pro-
truding parts. It is easy to operate, quick to
load and set up. One master gear operates all
moving parts in perfect unity.
The Universal is built to stand the roughest,
hardest usage to which a moving picture camera
can be put. Write for descriptive booklet and
prices.
Burke & James inc.
250 East Ontario Street
CHICAGO, ILL.
Eastern Branch:
225 Fifth Avenue, New York
32
Make Study A Pleasure
Through the Medium of
Motion Pictures
iiIt Puts the Picture
on the Screen"
TEXT book tedium is becoming obsolete.
Motion pictures impress and the sub-
ject is retained in the memory; but they
must be projected clearly and without flicker
else they cannot deliver their message.
Power s Cameragraph
the pioneer projector of the industry, has
been offering perfect projection for over 20
years. The high quality of its work finds
favor throughout the world, and in all
branches of endeavor it is recognized as the
leader of its class.
Illustrated Catalogue No. 25 Gives Full Details
Nicholas Power Company
INCORPORATED
Pioneers of Projection
90 GOLD STREET
NEW YORK, N. Y.
BROOKLYN EAGLE PRESS
"Ill MM I— mmim
WT.
y/s//7/sMf/7/?/////s/////y/y////r//?////////s////^^^
Efficiency — Safety — Portability
For schools, churches, institutions, industrial
corporations and other general non-professional use,
in school-room, shop or small-to-medium sized hall or
auditorium.
Graphoscope, Jr.
best combines clear, steady projection, ease of oper-
ation and exceptional safety. It weighs but 98
pounds, is compact and simple and requires no pro-
fessional operator. You should know about Grapho-
scope and our
Film Service
We assist you in procuring just the films you
want, when you want them. We suggest programs
covering any subjects on request. Write us for bock-
lets, or any specific nformation regarding films and
their use.
The Graphoscope
50 East 42nd Street, New York
EDUCATIONAL
FILM
MAGAZINE
Educational Value of Screen Pictures
By FLORENCE M. CHPJSTIANSON
Motion Pictures in Art Education
By ELISABETH JANE MERRILL
Supervisor of Education, Toledo Museum of Art
Micromotion Studies in Education
By A. A. DOUGLASS and W. L. DEALEY
Clark University, Worcester, Mass.
The National Authority
'International Girlhood" Via Movies
Film Work of the National Y. W. C. A.
By AENID SANBORN
Review of 'Bolshevism On Trial"
By DOLPH EASTMAN
Stereopticon Aiding Americanization
By H. D. RICKAKD
Principal, Putnam School, Syracuse, N. Y.
Kodak Film in the Making
By E. A. HUNGER
W
15 cents a copy
Each film covers several subjects and
has a Bray Animated Cartoon.
And yet — each is the short length you
prefer.
Par amount- Br ay Picto graphs
11 The Magazine on the Screen"
IF the educational film or films you are looking
for are not in the list below, remember the
subjects there are only samples. Remember that
the complete list of Paramount-Bray Pictographs
— the first release of its faind — runs far into the
hundreds. Remember — there's a new single reel
released every week. Remember — the animated
technical drawings by which the formerly unphoto-
graphable is put on the screen appear only on
Paramount-Bray Pictographs
Art -Science - Invention - Travel
Sports - Industrials - Cartoons
Paramount-Bray Pictographs are obtainable at all
the twenty-seven Famous Players-Lasky Ex-
changes throughout the country — at nominal cost.
THE BRAY STUDIOS, INC.
23 EAST 26th STREET, NEW YORK CITY
\
I FAMOUS PLAYERS-LASKY CORPORATION
f * ADOLPH ZUKOR Pres: JESSE JLLASKY Vice Pres. CECIL B.DE MILLE DimdnrCenmU
As an American citizen
you will be glad to see
^PICTURES
Great Special Attraction
Bolshevism on Irjai
not a war picture
not propaganda
not a trouble-breeder
A Highly Interesting, Instructive, Thrilling Film Entertainment
Which Has As Its Theme the Most Discussed Topic of the Day
"Bolshevism On Trial" bears the endorsement of
judges of superior courts, labor unions, chambers
, of commerce, state executives and legislators, and
all right-thinking Americans
See It At Your Favorite Theatre
or for further information, address
SELECT PICTURES CORPORATION
729 Seventh Avenue New York City
Parex Film Corporation, 729 7th Ave., New York, N.Y., Furnishing
THE WILLIAM L SHERRY SERVICE
.»
"Twilight'
De Luxe Pictures Production
In Six Parts — Starring
Doris Kenyon
a
99
Love and the Law
Edgar Lewis Production
A Great Love Drama
In Six Parts
"Son of a Gun"
Golden West Producing Co.
In Five Parts — Starring
G. M. Anderson
(Broncho Billy)
a
Marriage"
Frank A. Keeney Production
In Five Parts — Starring
Catherine Calvert
with David Powell and Thos. Holden
"The Inn of the Bine Moon"
De Luxe Pictures Production
In Six Parts — Starring
Doris Kenyon
Wild Honey"
De Luxe Pictures Production
In Five Parts — Starring
Doris Kenyon
"Marriage for Convenience"
Frank A. Keeney Production
In Five Parts — Starring
Catherine Calvert
"Calibre 38"
Edgar Lewis Production
• In Six Parts
With Mitchell Lewis and Hedda Nova
"Shootin' Mad"
Golden West Producing Co.
In Two Parts — Starring
G. M. Anderson
(Broncho Billy)
"The Street of Seven Stars"
De Luxe Pictures Production
In Six Parts — Featuring
Doris Kenyon
By Mary Roberts Rinehart
»
u
"Out of the Night
Frank A. Keeney Production
In Six Parts — Starring
Catherine Calvert
"Red Blood and Yellow
Golden West Producing Co.
In Five Parts — Starring
Gilbert M. Anderson
>>
"A Romance of the Underworld "
Frank A. Keeney Production
Starring
Catherine Calvert
New York City, Eastern New York, Northern New Jersey and Western Connecticut Booked
Direct Through The William L. Sherry Sales Force. All Other Territory Sold Direct by
Sherry Sales Force, Distributed Through
FILM CLEARING HOUSE EXCHANGES
Vol. I
Published Monthly at 33 West 42d Street (Aeolian Hall), New York City. DOLPH EASTMAN, Editor.
Subscription: United States and Possessions, $1 a year; other countries, $2 a year; single copies, 15 cents.
Advertising rates on application. Copyright, 1919, by City News Publishing Company.
JUNE, 1919
No. 6
f.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Index to Articles
DITORIAL 5
Education and Entertainment — Interpreting
Industry on the Screen — Methodist Church Movies —
And Now the Baptists — A Good Slogan for the Churches
EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF LARGE SCREEN PICTURES... 7
By Florence M. Christianson — Illustrated
HOW ONE SCHOOL REMOVED A MENACE 8
By Tristram Walker Metcalfe
MOTION PICTURES IN ART AND CULTURAL EDUCATION 9
By Elisabeth Jane Merrill ■ — Illustrated
NEW YORK HIGH SCHOOLS URGE CLASSROOM FILMS. . . 10
MOVIES DISCIPLINE UNRULY INSANE 10
EDUCATIONAL FILMS IN THE THEATRE 11
By Fenton Ash
MICROMOTION STUDIES APPLIED TO EDUCATION 12
By A. A. Douglass and W. L. Dealey — Illustrated
Part 4 — Conclusion
MOVIES AT CANON CHASE'S CHURCH 14
Illustrated
PREACHING WITH PICTURES 15
By Rev. Roy Campbell
"INTERNATIONAL GIRLHOOD" VIA THE MOTION PIC-
TURE 16
By Aenid Sanborn — Illustrated
JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES SHOWN IN FILMS 17
SOCIAL HYGIENE AND THE SCREEN 18
Illustrated
FILM GREATER THAN NEWSPAPER 18
By William L. Sherry
"BRONCHO BILLY" REDIVIVUS 19
AN ANTI-BOLSHEVISM PHOTOPLAY 19
Review of "Bolshevism on Trial"
By Dolph Eastman — Illustrated
HOW THEY DO IT AT ALTA, IOWA 20
By S. G. Reinsertsen — Conclusion
CHURCH MOVIES POWERFUL 20
By Rev. Ernest A. Miller
FRIDAY NIGHT MOVIES IN CHURCH 20
By Rev. A. O. Stixrud
STEREOPTICON AS AN AID TO AMERICANIZATION 21
By H. D. Rickard
KODAK FILM IN THE MAKING 24
By E. A. Hunger — Illustrated
CATALOG OF FILMS 26
Industrial — Medical and Surgical — Pictographs, Miscellaneous —
Scenics — Travel — Zoology
ANALYSIS OF MOTION IN CINEMATOGRAPHY 28
By William O. Owen, M.D. — Conclusion
NATIONAL JUVENILE MOTION PICTURE LEAGUE 28
FLASHES ON THE WORLD'S SCREEN 29
A GOOD ROADS FILM CAMPAIGN 31
FILM TO DIM GLARING HEADLIGHTS 31
MOVIES AND "EATS" IN TWO SHIFTS 31
GRANITE FILM SHOWN COUNCILMEN 31
Index to Advertisements
The Bray Studios. .Inside front cover
Select Pictures Corporation. .... 1
William L. Sherry Service 2
Peerless Projector Co 3
Community M. P. Bureau 4
Eastman Kodak Co 18
Scott Studios 21
Excelsior Illustrating Co 22
Underwood & Underwood 22
Auto-Slyde & M. P. Machine Co. 23
Victor Animatograph Co 25
The DeVry Corporation 27
Eastern Motion Picture Co 31
Nicholas Power Co.,
Inside back cover
Graphoscope Co Back cover
Announcing the
PEERLESS
Standard Projector
Uses thousand foot reels of standard film ob-
tainable at any exchange. Operates from any
light socket or from a small storage battery.
Motor drive and rewind with speed control,
or can be operated by crank.
The Peerless Standard Projector has the wonderful 5 to 1 eccentric star intermittent
movement and a balanced shutter that passes 62^% of the light and gives an abso-
lutely flickerless picture at less than normal speed. This is of great importance to
teachers who wish to project film subjects slowly for explanation to their pupils.
Pictures up to 12 feet at distances up to 75 feet.
In order that every purchaser or user of
ANY STANDARD PROJECTOR
may understand the hazardous nature of the celluloid film, eith
storage or use, the name-plate of the Peerless Standard Proj
bears the following:
Send for Circular
"CAUTION"
Any Projector using inflammable celluloid films is sub-
ject to State, Municipal and Insurance restrictions pro-
vided to reduce fire hazard.
s Peerless Projector Co.
DEPARTMENT Z
32 West 43rd Street, New York
ONE -TENTH of the worlds total show-
ings. OVER 30,000,000 FEET OF FILMS A WEEK
FOR THE AMERICAN ARMY AND NAVY AND
FOR THE ALLIES. OUR SERVICE MEETS THE
NEEDS OF ANY GROUP IN EVERY COMMUNITY.
SCHOOLS -CHURCHES -CLUBS-CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
FACTORIES-Y. M. C. A'S-MILITIA-COMMUNITY CENTERS
COMMUNITY
SERVICE
COVERS
ALL SUBJECTS
ALL PURPOSES
Please check below com-
munity interest involved:
□ School
□ Church
□ Sunday School
□ Chautauqua
□ Y. M. C. A.
□ Y. W. C. A.
□ Men's Club
□ Women's Club
□ Boys' Club
□ Lodge
□ Commercial Club
□ Chamber of Commerce
□ Farmers' Gathering
□ Community Center
□ Factory
□ Industrial Welfare
□ Military
□ Americanization
□ Literary
□ Advertising
□ Selling
□ Export Selling
□ City Planning
Our service is essen-
tially non-theatrical.
The film production
of the world, for years
back, is available through
our complete and elabo-
rately indexed library.
WHAT WE DO
1. Before starting service for any subscriber, the Community
Motion Picture Bureau makes careful study of particular needs,
and builds a series of programs definitely to fit those needs.
2. The Bureau's professional editorial staff views films pro-
duced in America, United Kingdom and France, giving the slightest
promise of value. It selects, analyzes, classifies and makes avail-
able those films which are best suited for community purposes.
It views a million and a half feet of films a week, and selects the
few tens of thousands that meet its exacting standards. If there
exists no film covering any community need, the Bureau supplies
the gap. The Bureau's news weekly, "The World Today in Motion
Pictures," is distinctive.
3. The Bureau correlates educational programs with standard
text books, and gives pedagogical directions for the use of such
programs, prepared by the best educators in the country.
4. The Bureau's distributing organization with forty different
offices moves with that precision which makes certain that programs
reach their destination on time.
5. The actual presentations are carefully supervised, so that
the subscriber is assured proper projection. The Bureau sees to it
that the picture on the screen, before the subscriber's audience,
is presented as it should be.
6. The Bureau acts continually as the friend and counsel of
the subscriber, in every way helping him, through the intelligent
use of motion pictures to meet his problems for the good of the
community. This service includes such small but necessary aids
as notification, in detail, of what program will be sent, when it
should be received, shipping labels, exact shipping instructions,
annotation, with advertising material, directions for proper music,
stereopticon slides rounding out the program and filling the interval
between reels.
Tell Us Your Needs Visit Us During Vacation
COMMUNITY MOTION PICTURE BUREAU
46 West Twenty- fourth St. New York
>
The National Authority
Covering Educational, Scientific, Agricultural, Literary, Historical, Juvenile, Governmental, Religious, Travel, Scenic,
Social Welfare, Industrial, Topical, and News Motion Pictures
Published Monthly by the City News Publishing Co., 33 IT est 4,2nd Street (Aeolian Hall), New York City
DOLPH EASTMAN, Editor
Vol. I
JUNE, 1919
No. 6
EDUCATION AND ENTERTAINMENT
THERE are three ways of looking at the
more or less abstract conception we call
education: The strictly scientific, or peda-
gogical; the cultural; and the pseudo-scien-
tific or quasi-cultural, in short, the popular. In
dealing with visual education the same distinctions
must be kept in mind. In form, substance, spirit,
method, and aim, motion and still pictures must
necessarily differ as widely as theses and textbooks.
The scope of this magazine is sufficiently broad and
comprehensive to embrace every phase of educational
effort in its visual applications. The statement has
been made that entertainment and education go hand
in hand, but this is true only in its popular aspect.
To the sincere and enthusiastic student, of course,
all education is entertaining in the sense of self-
interest or self -motive; to the deeply- delving scien-
tist or pedagog engaged in exhaustive research edu-
cation is work, mental labor of a most exacting
character.
In the motion picture field the word educational
is used far too loosely. A writer in a British trade
journal, whose article is reproduced in this issue,
even suggests that some other word be found to
express the thought. That the term has been shame-
fully misused, aye, abused, cannot be denied; but
other words in the language have been similarly
maltreated without, however, seriously impairing the
estimation in which they are held by philologists and
lexicographers.
What we need is not a new word, or a new defini-
tion of the old word, so far as the film industry is
concerned, but a recognition of the fact that all
films, except those which are obviously fictional,
diverting and trivial, are more or less educational in
the broad, loose, inaccurate, and unscientific meaning
which superficial usage has sanctioned; and of the
further fact that in the true sense of the term, very
few films in existence today are what an educator
would call educational. The name has been given
to many pictures shown in movie theatres, but in the
strict sense very few of these reels have actually been
educational. Interesting, informing, instructive per-
haps, but rarely educational have been the theatrical
exhibitions announced as such. They have afforded
good entertainment in much the same fashion as the
popular scientific and mechanical publications, with
their wealth of illustrations, afford good entertain-
ment to many thousands of readers.
We think it advisable to draw these lines of de-
marcation, as Mr. Carson did in his article on school
films in the last issue, in order that our attitude
may be clear. When we use the word educational
in reference to motion or still pictures, the context
will specifically explain what may seem general or
confusing in the headlines or captions. When we
use the word entertainment or entertaining in refer-
ence to films or slides, the context will also make
clear precisely what we mean. The point is that
while many so-called educational and, perhaps, a
few strictly educational pictures are entertaining,
per se, entertainment pictures as such are rarely
educational in the true, scientific, pedagogic mean-
ing of the word.
INTERPRETING INDUSTRY ON THE SCREEN
We are all agreed that the United States is a
great commercial nation, perhaps the greatest the
world has ever known, and that American life,
nationally and individually, rests largely upon an
economic basis. This being admitted, it would seem
to follow that education itself would rest upon an
economic basis; that, in point of fact, the blood of
commerce would course through every artery, vein,
organ, and tissue of the body politic. In educa-
tion we have recognized this of late by adding voca-
tional, pre-vocational, and continuation courses in
our schools and colleges; we have a Federal Voca-
tional Board and a national law appropriating mil-
lions of dollars yearly proportionately among the
different states, for pre-commercial training. In
many educational institutions the practical, money-
making side is stressed and the literary, classical,
and cultural side is made secondary or optional.
Small wonder, then, that the industrial motion
picture as a mirror and an interpreter of American
life by and large should have risen to such a com-
manding position in the film industry. Indeed, an
adequate and elaborate filming of the motion picture
industry itself, from its crude beginnings historically
through each development to its present huge pro-
portions, with a vision of its future, would constitute
one of the most effective bits of propaganda, or ad-
vertising if you will, which an enterprising pro-
ducer of such pictures could screen for his pros-
pective client. Talk about romance in business!
Where is there a more moving one than right here
in this moving picture business!
It looks now as though the art or science of ad-
vertising is destined to be revolutionized by the
adaptability of the film to propaganda and publicity
purposes. The movies are certain to affect present
methods in the advertising world, just as they have
left their impress in the theatrical world, in the story-
writing and magazine world, in the educational, re-
ligious, scientific, civic and social worlds. And be-
cause our life rests upon an economic or industrial
basis, just so much more will the motion picture
leave its distinguishing marks upon industry's chief
motive power, publicity. The advertising specialist
of the future will of necessity be a film enthusiast
and know as well how to manipulate films, lights,
objects, cameras, projectors, screens, and parapher-
nalia of motion pictures as he does now with paper,
pencils, ink, still photographs, drawings, engravings,
letters, newspapers, periodicals, and the present para-
phernalia of an advertising office.
The United States Department of Commerce is one
of the trail-blazers. The success of our commercial
attache in Peking, China, with a small portable pro-
jector and a few industrial films, has led Secretary
of Commerce Redfield to ask of Congress a trivial
appropriation, less than $70,000, for the purpose of
equipping other commercial attaches of the depart-
ment in various parts of the world. American manu-
facturers who have made motion pictures of their
plants, processes, and products, representing as the
latter do the foremost progress in their respective
branches of commerce, have agreed to supply their
films to the department for the use of these attaches.
The plan is admirable. It has threefold publicity
value — for the country, for each industrial concern,
and for the film producer. And it will be the means
of interpreting American industries to the people of
every nation in the world, linking up with all of the
industrial picture propaganda at home and giving
body and soul to that ideal of internationalism and
world brotherhood which, in the final analysis and
at bottom, must rest also upon an economic and in-
dustrial basis.
METHODIST CHURCH MOVIES
We have been requested to correct the statement
published in our May issue, to the effect that a com-
mittee of the Methodist Episcopal Church was plan-
ning to raise a fund of $120,000,000 for the purpose
of placing entertainment devices in the church build-
ings of this denomination, the major part of which
was to be motion pictures. From the office of David
Wark Griffith, who it is understood is to have general
supervision of the producing division of the great
enterprise, comes the correction in this form from
one of Mr. Griffith's assistants:
"This present fund, I think, has already been ap-
propriated for church extension, but there are plans
now under way for an immediate motion picture fund
that will be invested as your story suggests."
We also have a verbal statement from Rev. Dr.
Christian F. Reisner, chairman of the committee in
direct charge of the motion picture activities of the
church, that the motion picture fund mentioned is for
use only in Methodist Episcopal churches and not in
the buildings of the several other Methodist sects.
As this branch of Methodism, however, is the most
numerous, with 28,000 church buildings and nearly
4,000,000 communicants, it may well stand as repre-
sentative of the entire denomination and a pathfinder
for churches of all denominations.
AND NOW THE BAPTISTS
As we go to press word comes from Rev. Chester
C. Howe, chairman of a committee appointed by the
Commission on Religious Education of the Northern
Baptist Convention to report on the subject, "The
Church and the Moving Picture," that this division
of the Baptist Church, representing nearly 1,500,000
members in the northern states, plans serious work
with motion pictures in the near future.
As our old friend Josh Billings said, "The world
do move!"
A GOOD SLOGAN FOR THE CHURCHES
In an article by Rev. Dr. Chester C. Marshall, of
New York City, in a recent issue of this magazine,
he referred to this slogan:
Pictures in the Pulpit
Mean More People in the Pews
Why not -adopt this as a universal slogan for all
churches everywhere?
THE EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF LARGE SCREEN PICTURES
"It Is a Weil-Established Pedagogical Truth That What Is SEEN Is Better Remembered
Than What One Hears or Reads"— One Must Take Little "Looks," Must "Feel" and
"Brood Over" Pictures, to Make Them Live
BY FLORENCE M. CHRISTIANSON
Niagara Falls South, Ontario, Canada
In a letter to the editor Miss Christianson writes:
"I received my kindergarten and elementary training in the Cleve-
land schools and I can testify to the excellence of the instruction.
While I do not give my time wholly to kindergarten and primary
teaching now, I did at one time and I can well see many uses for
moving pictures in connection with school work. I have used large
and small pictures for many years regularly, in all grades of teaching
(and I have taught all the grades at different times and a number of
high school subjects), and have found them of the greatest value. I
could use large screen films to even greater advantage, especially
when I could have pictures made from my own films. For years I
have used an Eastman camera for making pictures for various uses
and would not be without a camera. It is a nice way to get a
picture of a plant, an animal, or device made in the manual depart-
ment. And pictures have more than a passing interest because they
are of things in which one has a personal interest."
THERE never was a time when visualization as a means
to instruction in the learned professions as well as
in the crafts was more sought after and used than at
present. This is due in large proportion no doubt
to the fact that what sometimes escapes the mental eyes is
noted by the physical eyes so that by the use of pictures one
has as they say "two strings to his bow" and results are
more certain.
I know teachers who are ever on the alert for pictures to
illustrate places, manners of living, housing, customs, etc.
These they cut from transient magazines and newspapers to
illustrate their lessons in history, geography, literature, be-
cause a picture brings so vividly before the senses past time.
Now art is always selective, while nature is prodigal, and
so when we have a picture we have it with a lot of irrelevant
detail left out, for it is neither possible nor desirable to put
everything in the composition (picture) .
Become A Chooser
When you use your kodak you adjust the machine or
your position until you see framed in your finder just that
picture which you wish to preserve and emphasize. You
become a chooser. Then a series of selections may be made
until the subject is exhausted. The artist never paints for
us what he knows is there but only what he can see. This
selective process, then, in both painting and camera-pic-
tures, is one of the greatest boons to art. The stress is put
just where most desired and all that detracts from the main
idea or purpose is omitted so that the effect is impression
with double power.
There is a real use for large film pictures in our schools
and I predict that in a few years hence the school without
its picture apparatus will be hard to find.
There is a certain passivity existent in the human family
that formerly did not seem to be there or perhaps it was
there all the time but we failed* to notice it. People go to
the movies, primarily, to be entertained and if the pictures
| be instructive, so much the better.
Easier to Get Ideas from Pictures
It is certainly a great deal easier to get ideas from pictures
than it is laboriously to peruse the printed page, for the
same purpose. The day has passed when it was difficult
to make pictures and people were used to read pictures
instead of seeing them. Now we have pictures done in
pictures.
But I notice when I go to the art galleries and observe
the people there that they are not looking at the pictures
but at their guide-books, so distrustful are they of their own
ability to see anything in the pictures at hand. They want
to find out the painter's thought, in words, and then in a
hasty look at the paintings read his meaning into the canvas
or find what he saw there because "they ought" to see it.
The process should be reversed. Let the seer exhaust
himself first; then and only then may he look at the guide.
Very many pictures are pictorial only, and their composition
does not lend itself to expression in words. You must
"feel" the picture! You cannot learn to read pictures over-
night and by reading a picture I mean of course to find
out what is in it and to understand it.
"Skimmers" in Picture Reading
Now in word-reading we have a class of readers called
"skimmers." They catch a letter or two in a word and
know it and in this way they can run through a printed
page very quickly, but this desultory way of proceeding is a
poor excuse for reading.
It is impossible to read pictures in this way. We need
to look long, carefully, and painstakingly, and then look
again, until we register a great number of these little
A LARGE screen picture of this kind visualizes farm life as
nothing else can. Cows in the pasture, trees, and rolling
meadows become real to the child mind.
"looks." Then if we have several pictures of a series which
are generally related we are able to compare, observe,
reflect, and infer as the study proceeds and this is in itself a
valuable exercise.
Now in the wall screen film we can have large pictures,
which may be seen by everyone at the same time, to illustrate
history, art, geography, nature work, mechanical art, etc.
And when these pictures are arranged to emphasize a single
topic, for a grade, at a time, very good results follow, espe-
cially where the series is in the hands of skilled and en-
thusiastic teachers.
Tree Studies on the Screen
Suppose, for example, it is a nature lesson on forestry or
for the sake of art. Then the pictures of trees are selected,
growing single in the open, growing in the forest and en
masse, showing the effects on the form of the tree in each
case. This can all be brought out in the pictures, each
picture throwing light on others and adding something
to the information and enjoyment of the child.
A tree may be thrown upon the screen for a moment to
be looked at by the class, then removed and an attempt
made to sketch it. Suppose the study is an oak. The screen
picture has an advantage over a real-oak in that you see it
in the same position each time it is presented and this
important fact will help to fix its general form and shape
in the mind and lead to its recognition when again met in
the boulevards, parks, or forest.
A tree has certain family traits. A maple does not look
like an elm. They are most unlike. The oak is a robust,
strong, sturdy tree, well balanced and independent and wears
its arms horizontally.
The final picture in a tree-group should show designs or
motives to be used in applied art and examples of orna-
mental screens and patterns should be worked out. It is
such things that lead to creative art — the thing we most
desire in our pupils.
Even very young children can be interested in such deep
things as the lights and shadows, shown by the trees in their
relation to each other and to other objects in the composi-
tion. Then there must be correlation with the subjects in
the curriculum so that art will not be an isolated thing but
seen to be related to every subject taught, for as the child
advances in his grade and proceeds in his knowledge of
geography, history, literature, etc., he will be interested in
pictures that relate to those new studies and illustrate them.
Brood Over Pictures
I would have the teacher know well the picture she teaches.
And to this end it will be necessary to study it, brood over it,
think over and look at it many times, until it becomes a
living thing and then I will trust her to make it live before
her little audience of admirers. She will have learned just
how to put her questions, which will be so well related and
apt as to get from the child what is necessary to open up
the picture to their minds.
Eschew all irrelevant matter and hold to the things, in the
picture, that are the real vital things. Teach those.
Teaching Biology with Films
In teaching human biology, for example, film pictures
would greatly enhance and elucidate the text if used by a
skilled instructor. Suppose the mouth and air passages was
the subject of the lesson. A large picture of the wide-open
mouth is thrown on the screen, showing the position and
relative size of the palate, uvula, pharynx, tonsils, tongue,
and teeth. These variously interesting things may then
easily be pointed out and their use and prophylactics indi-
cated.
The text may be provided with small pictures but there
is added advantage in a magnified picture for it emphasizes
some things that are often lost sight of in the small print
and then there is an opportunitty to point out any specific
object, as, for example, the tonsils, and all the pupils see at
once what the teacher means and is better able to follow the
instruction.
"Greatest of These is the Eye"
In spelling, especially, we use any avenue of approach
to get the word impressed on the gray matter. The ear,
eye, hand, and voice are all used but the greatest of these is
the eye. It is a well established pedagogical truth that what
is seen is better remembered than what one hears or reads
So that to see a good picture is next best to seeing the orig-
inal object and then if the picture can be shown again and
again it gets itself imprinted on the memory by repetition
and ils image may be recalled any time.
In looking over our local daily I noticed most casually
this sentence crowded into a corner presumably to fill up:
"Tho Jordan is such a tortuous stream that it ranges over
220 miles to go a distance of 60." As I sat writing that bit
of information recurred to my mind, showing the effect of
"seeing." Things seen are also more easily retained in the
memory.
Map Studies on the Screen
Again, in geography, suppose we were teaching the physi-
cal United States. Project a meagre outline map picture on
the screen, showing only the state divisions. Then follow
this with another showing the mountains in place and an-
other having the lakes, rivers, and coast waters in position.
To lead to the commercial United States is only a step.
Portions of territory producing a quantity of any commodity
could be enclosed in circles and a great many little "looksfl
at these pictures would quicken geography and teach it in
the very best and easiest way.
The way to learn anything is not to stick to it everlast-
ingly but everlastingly to go away from it, only to return to
it again and again ! Peu a peu is the way.
HOW ONE SCHOOL REMOVED A MENACE
Opened Its Own Movie Show to Lure Children from the Degradin,
Influence of Cheap Theatres
By Tristram Walker Metcalfe*
Educational Editor, New York Globe
As a means of lessening the desire on the part of childrer
in his school unlawfully to attend the neighborhood picture
theatres under the subterfuge of a "guardian," Dr. William
Rabenort, principal of intermediate school 55, St. Paul's
Place and Park Avenue, Bronx, New York City, has opened
his own weekly movie show in the school auditorium.
Dr. Rabenort knows that all children like moving pictures
and will manage to get to see a show once in a while by
fair means or foul. He also realizes that many of the pic-
tures that these youngsters see in the average cheap movie
theatres are degrading and in many instances harmful.
"Many Pictures Unfit for Adults"
"I have heard many complaints concerning bad or in-
decent pictures, and pictures that are too complicated for
the child mind to understand," said Dr. Rabenort. "I have
noticed the many unscrupulous owners and doormen have
been admitting children under sixteen years of age unaccom-
panied by parents or guardians. It is possible to find little
children in the theatres at all times unaccompanied.
"If you will stay around the door of the average cheap
moving picture house you will notice many children accost
adults entering the place to 'please buy me a ticket,' and in
this way the children beat the law. Very often pictures
shown in these places are unfit for adults, to say nothing of
the little tots that attend them. Men and women around
them often speak of things regarding some obscene pictures
which children should not hear. This makes the atmosphere
of the trashy theatre unfit for any child. That is the motive
for this plan," said Dr. Rabenort.
Teachers Select the Films
Under Dr. Rabenort's plan the pictures shown in the
school auditorium are selected by teachers who have charge j.
of these shows. The program consists of about six reels of™
films. Two reels of the better class comedy, a good two
reel, clean drama, and a couple of interesting and instructive
educational films are shown. By arrangement with the film
company, teachers go to the film company's exchanges,
where they pick out the films, and then review them — in this
way making sure that the performance will be wholesome
and educational.
A nominal charge of 5 cents is made, which, after the
,
1 In New York Globe
{Continued on page 15)
8
MOTION PICTURES IN ART AND CULTURAL EDUCATION
For Nearly Four Years the Toledo, Ohio, Museum of Art Has Shown Movies to
a Total of More Than 224,000 Children— After the "Show" the Boys and Girls
Voluntarily Study the Objets d' Art They Have Seen on the Screen
By Elisabeth Jane Merrill
Supervisor of Education, Toledo Museum of Art
NTIL a few years ago motion pictures were consid-
ered by many, even without a Puritanical strain,
as pernicious to the morals of children. This in
spite of the fact that life and action could be por-
/ayed more realistically by motion pictures than by any
other means.
So it was that much surprise was expressed when the
Toledo Museum of Art announced in September, 1915, that
it would show free motion pictures on Saturday and Sunday
afternoons, in its beautiful auditorium called the Hemi-
DEFORE the movies begin: Miss Merrill telling the children
-lJ stories about the paintings in the permanent collections.
cycle. The thought of turning motion pictures toward
educational work was just taking root.
No Verbal or Book Impressions Equal Visual
The very fact that motion pictures do portray life and
action realistically makes of them a great medium for stimu-
lation in work along educational lines. They give to the
child a visual impression not to be equalled probably by
any verbal or book impression. Whether good or bad,
the growing child thought is pretty apt to accept it. So
intense is the impression received by them that very great
care was and still is needed in the selection of films, that
only a desirable lesson may be driven home.
The big majority of films at the time the Toledo Museum
began to use them were suitable only for grownups. They
were far beyond the thought of the children. Details, of
plot possibly, were enlarged by the little ones out of all
proportion, through their vivid imaginations, thus shutting
out the main thing in the film,v easily grasped by adults,
but not understood by little folk. Now the stimulating of
•imagination is a good thing rightly directed, but works much
mischief if allowed to run in wrong channels.
No wonder the thought prevailed quite generally that
motion pictures were bad in their influence on children.
They were planned for adults. The children were not
considered.
Capitalizing the Movies for Child Needs
But today is the children's day, and in the movies as well
as in other fields thought is being more and more directed
to them and their needs. Today motion pictures are being
'*/ Love Them All," Says Miss Merrill of Her Little
Charges, Who Love Her in Return and Not Because
She Gives Them Such Dandy Movies Either
"Possibly my title, Supervisor of Education, speaks for itself. The
museum children are my especial charge. I love them all, and their
welfare is dear to my heart. Educational work in museums is young,
very much so. Most museums now see the need for it and all are
working the problem out according to their aims and needs. The
Toledo Museum is one of the pathfinders, if not the pioneer in this
field which is opening up to us more and more each day and of which
the movie program is only a phase." — Elisabeth Jane Merrill.
made which cover almost everything of interest or educa-
tional value to children. If they are not on the market
there are firms that have made or will make films which will
supplement, almost, if not quite, any subject.
Rightly chosen and used the motion picture holds won-
derful possibilities, as is being proven every day. The
Toledo Museum saw the opportunities, educationally, in the
good movie rightly used. So far as is known this museum
was the first one in the world to use motion pictures for
educational purposes.
First Art Museum to Screen Educationals
A motion picture machine was installed and movies were
first shown in the museum in the autumn of 1915. From
the first they have been popular not only with the children
but with the adults as well. Some 2,000 or more children
see the films each week-end and Saturday and Sunday after-
noons. This means that within the past three and a half
years some 224,000 children have been able to see educa-
tional motion pictures free of charge.
It might seem that it would be a difficult thing to preserve
order with so many children in a small museum. They
come two hours before "the show," as they call it, begins.
P ^tH^HWPtHIB^^ ™
9
V
TN the Hemicycle, Toledo Museum of Art: Children eagerly waiting
-^ for the movies to begin.
These two hours allow time for museum work to be done,
for during that time stories about the art objects in the
collections are told by the educational staff worker of the
museum, and some thirty voluntary workers who are in the
galleries at various times. Half an hour before the time
to open the Hemicycle for the movies the children form in
ranks, two abreast, the girls in one large gallery, the beys
in the other, in the east and west wings of the museum.
When the doors open, it is a sight much enjoyed by the
adults to see them marching in. Many of them would like
to be children again, for the grown-ups are not admitted
until the children are accommodated.
How Films Teach in Art Studies
The films are chosen with a view to stimulating interest
in the arts, crafts, travel, nature, industries, etc., always
with the hope that the pictures will enlighten the children
concerning the museum's collections and supplement the
museum's activities.
For instance, films showing the wonderful ruins in sculp-
ture and architecture of Old Egypt, Babylonia, Greece, and
Italy are splendid material for use in the museum field. The
right kind of motion pictures on such subjects create in
children a feeling of respect, of appreciation for those old
countries and their civilizations. Those old peoples live
again in the imagination, and everything they made and
used, exhibited in museum collections, takes on new
interest.
The same may be said of similar films picturing Japan,
China, Korea, India, and Persia, which vitalize the far and
near East for the children, to say nothing of the adults.
So, too, with those showing other countries, especially the
beloved United States. The showing of motion pictures
dealing with the early Colonial days in this country, for
instance, will usually result in the audience desiring to see
the art of colonial days exhibited in the museum.
Children Seek the Objects Picturized
In connection with films of this kind the museum uses
lantern slides showing art objects in the various galleries.
After the movies the children will be found in the galleries
looking for the things they have been shown.
Films which show the making of prints, lithographs,
glass, pottery, metal work, stone work, wood carving, weav-
ing, wood-block printing on materials, etc., in fact, most of
those showing craft work, are of interest to museum visitors.
Motion pictures on nature subjects such as bird, animal
and plant life, gardening, camping in the open, etc., are
used regularly by the museum, since they are splendid
films for children generally and because they tie up with
the museum's activities.
Some industrial films have been used, but with less suc-
cess. Several films picturing Boy and Girl Scout camps
have been shown and enjoyed.
The museum has used all the patriotic films available,
since the United States entered the world conflict. The
enthusiasm and patriotism of the children, brought to the
surface by such films, has been very apparent, for cheer
after cheer has greeted them whenever they have been
shown.
Time, Money, and Effort Well Invested
While the wisdom of using this means for education in a
museum was seriously questioned at the time the Toledo
Museum of Art took the initiative, the results have justified
the expenditure of lime, money and effort. Today other
museums are showing motion pictures to their little visitors.
At the present time the motion picture is recognized far
and wide as one of the great means which may be success-
fully used in educational fields. Much has been done in the
way of producing educational films. More, vastly more,
will he done as the call comes from educational centers for
d educational motion pictures. More and more thought
will he given to the editing of both pictures and captions as
the demand grows for good pictures well set forth. Then
it will not happen that an otherwise splendid educational
film will be accompanied by captions which make it unfit
for educational purposes. Such is sometimes the case today.
Faith in Film Teaching After Long Experience
When the museum in Toledo began its motion picture
work it was not an easy matter to find films suited to the
subjects to be set forth. Today the problem is much
simpler, for there are some film companies making nothing
but educational films; others that are specializing in them;
while quite a large number are producing a few occasion-
ally. In addition there are also some industrial concer^
sending out good travel and other educational films, making
the list of available films for such purposes a fairly long
one.
After a period of nearly four years the Toledo Museum
of Art has faith in the value of motion pictures. Chosen
with discretion the museum believes they are a means to-
ward both educational and cultural development, an end
constantly held in thought by all seriously working insti-
tutions.
William a. brady on educational films
The scope of the motion picture will be considerably
broadened within the next few years, declared William A.
Brady, film producer, following a conference with Governor
Sproul to protest against the removal of the Pennsylvania
State Board of Censors to Harrisburg from Philadelphia.
He freely predicted that the film will come into use in
the home for entertainment as the stereopticon was once
used, will be employed as a textbook in schools and to
illustrate sermons in churches. It will also be used by
surgeons in registering important operations of the eye, nose,
ear, throat and appendix, he asserted.
"The motion picture is only in its infancy," he stated,
comparing it to the automobile a half dozen years ago, and
the airplane now. "People think of the motion picture as
being for entertainment only. This is not the only use. It
will be used to record great events, great scenes and great
men and women.
"The motion picture will also be used in churches in the
near future. Canon Chase, of Brooklyn, N. Y., is using
motion pictures in his church chapel on Sundays. If it is
good enough for Canon Chase, on Sundays, I see no reason
why it should not be good enough for the people of other
states," he declared.
"Suppose it had been possible to film the massacres in
Armenia for ten years. How long do you suppose the
world would have stood for them? The motion picture
did more to show the horrors of war than any other instru-
ment of publicity. Further, the motion picture sold more
Liberty Bonds, raised more money for the Red Cross and
did more for the Food Administration, than any other in-
strument of publicity."
N. Y. HIGH SCHOOLS URGE CLASSROOM FILMS'
The principals of New York high schools met recently to arrange c ome
plan whereby teachers may use portable motion picture projectors in
the classrooms with standard size films, non-inflammable if possible.
Present regulations do not permit this, except with fireproof booth and
licensed operator. It is said that some action is to be taken to overcome
what is considered a handicap to visual instruction in the high schools.
MOVIES DISCIPLINE UNRULY INSANE
Dr. Ross, superintendent of the State Hospital for the Criminal Insane,
Uanncmora, N. Y., says that the morale of the inmates has improved as a
result of taking from those who misbehave the privilege of viewing movies
at the institution. He finds motion pictures a powerful disciplinary medium.
10
EDUCATIONAL FILMS IN THE THEATRE
British Exhibitors Think Their Patrons Are Bored By
Instructional and Informational Pictures-^'Filma on Jules
Verne Lines" Would Hold The Interest of Parents and
Children, Says This Writer*
By Fenton Ash
i
I
)
N the department of education and popular science the
cinema is capable of taking a place as high in public
estimation and usefulness as that which it has already
gained in regard to scenery, travel and spectacle. Here,
also, it has come to the front rank quite easily and almost
i at a bound, so far, at least, as intrinsic good work is con-
cerned ; and it has evidently an immense, a wonderful, future
before it. It needs no inspired prophet to predict that
much, or to declare that it has possibilities so great, so daz-
zling, that no man can dare to say where they may or may
i not eventually lead us. It is bound to become one of the
most tremendous forces in the education of the youth of the
Empire; it is certain to take the place of school books in
many directions. Day by day one can point to fresh de-
velopments, actual or possible.
Much has already been achieved. Films' of great educa-
I tional value have been produced dealing with all sorts of
: subjects, many of them remarkable for their ingenuity, for
their technical interest, or for the time, trouble and expense
which have obviously been expended upon them.
All this is true; and much more could be said, and de-
serves to be said, in praise of the efforts that are being
made. And yet the fact remains that up to the present
Educational Films Are Not Popular
This is the complaint that managers make. One hears it
pretty generally. One can see it for oneself when one
visits the halls. Manufacturers and producers echo the
cry, and declare that the market for these films is so re-
stricted that it does not pay to produce them; and hint that
they only continue to do so as a matter of public duty.
Exhibitors — some of them, at least — -give similar reasons
for continuing to book them- — that they are influenced by a
feeling that they ought to show them rather than by com-
mercial considerations.
It must be admitted that this is a very unfortunate state of
things'. There never was a time when the kind of assistance
to education which the cinema can give was of such value to
the whole nation as it is likely to be at the present. The
cinema at its best is undoubtedly one of the greatest inven-
tions of the age. It is a great gift to mankind ; its possibili-
ties for good — especially in this particular field — are in-
calculable. In the not far distant future the nation will
look back with gratitude to the benefits which the cinema
will then be seen to have contributed to the great cause of
national education.
And it is quite time a beginning — a real beginning —
w.ere made. The call is insistent, urgent. In the interest
of the whole Empire it must not be ignored or neglected.
It is absolutely necessary, if Britain is to maintain its place
in the new world which is opening out before us, that our
youth should be educated on a new system, and that system
should have a foundation of scientific knowledge.
Education! Yes, But Something More
It is clear that if the so-called "educational film" has not
"caught on" it must be because it has not yet been presented
in the right shape. There is something wrong, something
wanting somewhere; and it is a matter of national impor-
* In the London Bioscope.
tance that we should set to work to find out the fault and
put it right.
As a beginning I would suggest that the word "educational"
should be dropped. All young people take fright at the
mere sound of it — we all know that — and not young people
only, but, unfortunately, many of their elders also. Hence,
we require a new word, or short description, to start with.
What is needed in these days is not mere education of the
old school-learning type, but something that will at the
same time lead to the formation of character. And the
best form for character to take is that of an inquiring mind,
especially one with a scientific basis prompting inquiry in
the right direction; and we can set this going if we employ
the right means.
Inspire Youths With World Wonders
The world upon which we live is a vast, inexhaustible
storehouse of wonders, of which some (but only compara-
tively few) have been revealed to us. There are more, far
more, waiting to be discovered and dragged out into the
light of day. Instil this idea into the mind of a youth;
show him how, perhaps, if he takes the right road, he may
be one of those destined to discover those secrets. En-
courage him in an ambition to win fame by this means,
and he will follow up the quest of his own accord.
First Steps on Jules Verne Lines
"But," it may be objected, "how are we to interest the
youthful mind in the first place?" The answer is, "Jules
Verne knew how to do it, and he had no cinema to help him ;
only books, which are tame and prosaic by comparison."
Yet, what a number of young people read, and re-read, his
quasi-scientific romances, and not one of those readers
grows up without bearing in his mind more general scien-
tific knowledge than he would otherwise probably have
possessed. And we may be sure he was in every case, con-
sciously or unconsciously, more or less influenced by it
throughout the rest of his life. What is required, therefore,
is films on Jules Verne lines. But these, again, should be
so constructed as to
Interest the Parents
This is not impossible. It can be done. And the aim
should be to interest both parents and their children in
such a manner that the former should perceive the impor-
tance of interesting the young people, and so themselves
aid the object in view.
The present form of so-called educational or instructive
film fails to do any of these things. It interests neither
the young people nor their elders.
"Directly the educational film appears upon the screen,"
said one exhibitor to me, "there is a marked change in the
audience. Some get up and go out; others become restless
and impatient. An unmistakable air of boredom settles
down, as it were, upon the whole assembly. It is very
much like what would happen if a clergyman were to get
up and begin a little homily!"
Unfortunate! But the moral is that though the fare
offered may be unexceptionable it is evidently not "dressed
up" in the right way. And it is of no use to continue
giving to the public something they do not want.
11
SCIENTIFIC
MICROMOTION STUDIES APPLIED TO EDUCATION
Novel Use of Films to Reduce Waste in Process of Learning to a
Minimum— Saving 35 Minutes a Day Saves One Year of School Lite
BY A. A. DOUGLASS and W. L. DEALEY
Clark University, Worcester, Mass.
Part IV — Conclusion
i
THE accompanying segment of a motion cycle chart
compares the arm movements made by two boys in
reaching for a piece of wood, transferring it
to a vise, tightening the vise, taking the plane,
and planing. The unit of time is one-four-hun-
dredth of a minute. The movements are charted o
from the film of a manual arts class at the Bridg-
ham School. It is noticeable that different motions
are used to perform the same operations; that the
movements in planing are not uniform throughout;
and. that one boy is distinctly less efficient, with a
large waste in his motions preparatory to planing.
In the application of such devices, there should
be co-operation between the experimenter and the
teacher. There is much in any school subject that
the teacher however ingenious or specialized cannot
be expected to do; the expert simply makes valua-
ble suggestions as a base line from which to esti-
mate efficiency. Following "scientific manage-
ment," it would be profitable if specially equipped
planning departments could be established in con-
nection with school systems, to make investigations
and suggestions.1
work a radical change in methods of teaching in manual
arts. To discard unproductive habits later results in
Right Arm (A)
ooee-Hfm^o.
Left Arm (A)
Seek
viae
wood
Graap
Hold
bet go
Clean
table
Greep
Trans?' t
loaded
Films Show Individual Differences
President Hall has suggested that concrete films
may demonstrate individual differences between
children. The movements of the individual may be
charted at any stage in the learning process, com-
pared with another individual supposedly at the
same stage, or with a chart representing the learn-
ing sought, while the end product resulting from
these processes remains as a further means of judg-
ing learning.
Thus, Chart E contrasts the movements of two
boys engaged in planing, both working exactly the
same length of time. One boy is noticeably more
efficient than the other. Boy A's piece of wood was
about half as long as Boy B's. Boy A made 32
strokes with the plane; Boy B (shaded) , 42. Boy A
"let go" 7 different times; Boy B, once. They stop-
ped planing to inspect their work about the same
length of time. The average time to plane forward
was 3 units for Boy A; 3 for Boy B; to plane back,
2.5 units for Boy A, 2 units for Boy B. Boy A
always let the plane slide back on the wood; Boy B
lifted the plane clear in returning it one-third of
the time. Boy A always came to position before
planing forward; Boy B came to position about one-
third of the time, but held his position nearly twice
as long as Boy A.
The principle that wrong habits formed under
one set of conditions work as a disadvantage in
learning and cannot be transferred without loss may
«/
Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, New Orleans, New
Schenectady, and Rochester have developed bureaus of
Grasp'
Trenap* t
to
rise
150 B'«
Right Arm (B>
Graap
Tranap'
feet„*°
Seek
viae
Grasp
Tight'ei
viae
bet go
Seek
plane
Grasp
Tranep't
loaded
SeeK
,1...,
Soe -'
Right f.
.Arm
'/Z4Y////
L»rt Arm (B)
PI f'r^d
B'a.d
PI f'rwd
777'
T7^,
Let go
See
Right
Arm
' Raltimore
York. Oakland
educational research,
Segment of Simultaneous Motion Cycle Chart
(Contrasting Arm Movements of Two Boys Engaged in Planing)
interference and consequent unnecessary fatigue. To
judge the child's accuracy by his conforming to the best
12
sequence of the best motions would then become the proper
basis for organizing higher forms of behavior. As fast mo-
tions are different from slow motions, it would also, follow
in habit formation that the learner should be taught the
standard speed from the first day.
IGilbreth Film Scale Effective
Qualitative analyses are stressed, since through perform-
ing the correct motions at the correct speed the standard
quality should result. To make quality of output our pre-
liminary standard might result in incorrect motions and
times; while to judge by the quality of output in a given time
M more a test of effort than of motions used. The Gilbreth
film scale is strikingly complete, with its photographic
record of all attendant variables of the process. This
is an advantage over measuring scales depending entirely
upon end product, and should therefore afford a valuable
supplement to them. Otherwise, present scales may tend to-
ward more formal aspects of reading, writing, spelling, or
arithmetic, rather than the processes involved. As Bucking-
ham points out, it is increasingly evident that present general
scales will give place to more specific ones, each suitable
for a particular purpose and applicable to a given situation.
When supplemented by a synchronous phonograph feature,
film scales should be a complete record of any standard.
In conserving the individuality of the child, the qualita-
tive emphasis is further realized through such "management"
mechanisms- as departmental teaching and flexible promo-
tions. Systems of vocational guidance, using an empirical
method of trial and error, rotate the child through various
pre-vocational shops, until he appears adjusted. Motion
study would imply a more precise analysis of responses,
carefully pointing out the tasks at which a boy is first-class,
opening wide possibilities in guidance. Poorest units are
brought to the level of the present best, while the present
best establish a higher standard, thus promoting exceptional
children out of competition with ordinary children. The
"theory of tolerances" emphasizes the excessive waste from
over accuracy, as training beyond a certain optimum value
is waste. Every standard under scientific management pos-
sesses its tolerance, with a further zone of flexibility for
variations in individual ability.
Film Possibilities with Gilbreth System
Such standards are peculiarly applicable to the practical
arts, whether in technical or trade schools,3 pre-vocational
classes, or household arts; to such arts as drawing or in-
strumental music; and to laboratory work in the various
sciences. It has been asserted that the value of the Gilbreth
measuring devices is limited to such subjects. Apart from
the immense possibilities in the motion picture film scienti-
fically controlled, such an assertion dodges the essential
principle of "learning by doing," with which it is hoped to
vitalize the academic curriculum; from a psychological
standpoint, it overlooks the fundamental role of kinesthesis
and the modern emphasis upon objective behavior. These
methods may be associated with the present advance of be-
haviorism into experimental education, as laid down in
Hunter's delayed reaction experiments, Yerkes' multiple-
choice experiments, or studies of the conditioned reflex, by
Krasnogorski, Mateer, or Watson.
2 In our opinion, the efficiency engineer, such as Gilbreth, with his con-
ception of scientific industrial management .as an educational process, is
tnaHno- an important contribution to education. . . ...
* "We ha ™ never heard of a trades school, manual training school, or
work." Gilbreth, Motion Study, New York, mi, page ai.
The Gilbreth methods not only chart actual movements
with exactness, in three dimensions, including time, but so
far as facial expression or other movements indicate process,
process is arrived at as well. Though frankly working, as
Angell says, with "two terms of a series of events of which
the intercalary links are frequently most complex and sig-
nificant," yet a record of actual conditions calling forth
certain responses should aid in arriving at the underlying
processes. We are, for example, filming a geography class
at the Bridgham School, and hope that its careful analysis
will elicit many interesting details. But it is primarily
with big muscle activities, manual activities, activities con-
nected with the child's environment, economic activities,
social activities, dramatic activities, rhythmic and musical
activities, in short, activities as described by Dewey or
Flexner or others of the new school of learning by doing,
that the beginning should be made.4
Camera and Phonograph Synchronize
It should also be remembered that we regard a syn-
chronous phonographic record as an essential adjunct to
these devices. There is the Edison kinetophone or Gaumont
chronophone, but we believe the electrically driven appara-
tus perfected by the Kellum Talking Picture Company of
Los Angeles the most suitable for our purposes. The willing-
ness of this company to co-operate, even to the extent of a
possible branch laboratory, is most encouraging. In their
apparatus the speed of the phonograph regulates a commuta-
tor which controls the motor driving the camera, thus in-
suring absolute synchronism. The result is a. high degree
of graphic representation, continuous with the length of film
required. In a history class, for example, by tabulating such
Chart E
R
M
go O
■d
•a
>
o
*
X
a
o
o
n
CO
1~
CU
S3
a)
"co
o
•a
bo
(3
H
a.
Ph
HI
J
l±
-o -a
•3
<u aJ rt fs
ZZ OJ t-H I— .—I
3 W O H CkOnK J (^ «
■a
o o
c •- 2
phonographic records, we would know with a fair degree
of accuracy "what the common pabulum of the elementary
curriculum in respect to history" is; and similar for other
subjects.
Wilson '15 cites the investigation of a public school in
Manhattan by the Bureau of Municipal Research, which
found by reporting 18 recitations stenographically, that
teachers were doing the thinking and talking rather than the
pupils; teachers used 18,833 words; pupils, 5,675, with 420
one-word responses, 208 one-sentence responses, 96 phrase
responses, and only 20 extended replies. There were 622
"what," "when," and "where" questions, and but 138 "why"
or "how." Similarly, Stevens '12, by stenographic report* <>t
(Continued on page 30)
' As in, Hetherington, C W. The Demonstration Play School. University
of California. 1914; Bourne. R. S. The Gary Schools. 1916.
13
i ll 1 1! in urml milium HUM '■■ ■"
RELIGIOUS
MOVIES AT CANON CHASE'S CHURCH
For Two Years and A Half Sacred Films Have Been
Exhibited in the Chapel of Christ Episcopal Church,
Brooklyn, N. Y. — Dr. Chase to Push Federal Regulation
of Motion Pictures
pANON WILLIAM SHEAFE CHASE was born
^ at Anboy, Lee County, 111., January 11, 1858,
the son of Newton Simpson and Harriet (Peck-
ham) Chase. He was educated in the public
schools and high school at Providence, R. I.; was
graduated from Brown University, A.B., 1881, and
received the degree, A.M., 1884, and D.D., in 1912.
At Brown he was a classmate of former Supreme
Court Justice Charles E. Hughes, and some years
ago assisted the latter, when governor of ISIew
York, in his fight against race track gambling.
In 1885 he graduated with the B.D. degree from
the Episcopal Theological School, Cambridge, Mass.
Dr. Chase was principal of the high school at
Bristol, R. I.', 1881-1883, and assistant minister
of Emmanuel Church, Boston, in 1885. He was
rector of St. James' Church, Woonsocket, R. I.,
1885-1902, honorary canon of Garden City, N. Y.,
Cathedral, and chaplain of St. Paul's School, Gar-
den City, 1902-1905. He has been rector of Christ
Episcopal Church, Brooklyn, since 1905.
Dr. Chase is a Phi Beta Kappa and a Delta
Upsilon man. He has traveled extensively in
Europe. He is vice-president of the Society for
the Prevention of Crime of New York City;
president of the New York Civic League, and
chairman of the Diocesan Social Service Commit-
tee; director of the Lord's Day Alliance of the
United States; and a member of the Hanover
Club, of Brooklyn. Canon Chase has taken an
active part in the plan to regulate motion pictures
from the national capital, and he hopes to see this
pet dream of his realized.
river bridges to
its less maligned sister city crowned with high towers of
commerce. Even before the consolidation of the boroughs
Brooklyn ever had to play "second fiddle" to New York,
as Manhattan borough was then known; and today thousands
of visitors who come to the metropolis seldom cross to the
great town lying on the western end of Long Island.
Brooklyn, nevertheless, is the home of many big men
and women and of many things worth while. For one
thing, Brooklyn decided several years ago that the motion
picture invention was too fine and too useful to be employed
only in theatres to appeal to the risibilities and the
emotions. Therefore, the Central Branch Young Men's
Christian Association, the Central Young Women's Christian
Association, the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences,
LONG has
i t been
the cus-
tom o n
the stage and
i n the comic
papers to poke
fun at Brook-
lyn, N.Y. They
used to call it
"The City of
Churches," and
even today this
borough of the
greater city can
perhaps lay
claim to a
larger number
of active
churches than
any other com-
munity in the
world of like
population.
But since the
permanent pop-
ulation of Man-
hattan began to
decline and that
of Brooklyn to
increase, the
j okesters
no longer send
forth their jibes
at the huge,
wide -sprawling
city o f more
than two mil-
lions connected
b y under-river
tubes and over-
a number of schools, Dr. Moor's Baptist Temple, Canor
Chase's church on Bedford Avenue and other local insti
tutions installed projection machines and used films regu
larly as far back as 1914 and 1915. Dr. Chase at tht
invitation of the Motion Picture Magazine engaged in what
was called "The Great Debate, Shall Pictures Be Censored?'
with Frank L. Dyer, formerly president of the General Film
Company, in three numbers, beginning February, 1914.
Dr. Chase, having been an active worker for federal
regulation of motion pictures for some years, decided about
two and a half years ago to install a Simplex projector
in the Partridge Memorial Chapel of Christ Episcopal
Church, a parish in which his name has become a household
word. He defrayed the cost out of his own personal funds
and one of his parishioners donated a booth. The main
tenance of the outfit, rental of films, etc., has also largely
been borne by him.
Booths in Both Church and Chapel
Up to the summer of 1918 it was the practice at the
church, after the Sunday night services, to invite those who
were interested to step into the chapel adjoining and see
the pictures. Dr. Chase had also installed a stereopticon,
and numerous slides were shown on the screen. Films and
slides were also used a half hour before and after Sunday
School. A novel feature at Christ Episcopal Church is the
fact that there is a completely equipped fireproof booth
FAMOUS old Christ Episcopal Church, in Bedford Avenue, Brook-
lyn, N. Y. Once in the heart of an aristocratic section, it now
shows religious movies to the younger generation, many of whom
spring from the immigrant class.
14
both the chapel and the church proper, so thai: the pro-
ection machine may be moved from one to the other as
>ccasion may require. This was the case on Good Friday
or three years.
Some of the films shown in the Partridge Memorial
Chapel have been Kalem's '"From the Manger to the Cross,"
~athe's "Life of Christ," and other pictures of that char-
cter. Canon Chase says that he would be glad to run
jmore films of a religious and sacred nature if he could
get them, and he. is delighted to know that there are two
projects under way to supply churches with just such
Hictures.
Urges Films of Bible Stories
"If we might have a group of persons, such as produce
the Passion Play at Oberammergau," declared Dr. Chase,
"who would produce the filming of the stories of the Bible,
lit would be a fine thing for the churches of America. Of
course, they should be people imbued with the proper spirit
of reverence, the actual producers as well as the patrons
of such a series. Modern parables of their own, under
suitable direction, might be worked out in the films. There
is no doubt that such pictures would be warmly welcomed
by ministers of all denominations."
Canon Chase stated that his plans for future motion
picture activities at his church were still uncertain, but
he expected next autumn to do more than ever before.
To Push Federal Regulation of Movies
He is now working on a revision of the scheme to regu-
late the motion picture industry from Washington, D. C,
by means of a Federal Motion Picture Commission along
the lines of the Federal Trade Commission and the Inter-
state Commerce Commission. It is understood that Repre-
sentative Randall, father of the successful prohibition act
in congress, who introduced the film bill in the last con-
gress, will introduce the revised bill during the present
session.
The bill is to provide for a commission of five members,
the chairman to receive $8,000 a year and the four others
$7,500 a year each. Several prominent manufacturers in
the film business are said to favor the measure, and others
state that if federal regulation and license will do away
with state censorship and local police and political "hold-
ups," they are strong for the proposed national law. Dr.
Chase quotes W. W. Hodkinson, the founder of the Para-
mount Pictures Corporation, who three years ago said:
"Earnestly I have awaited some solution from any source, so
that I, too, can say with all the rest, 'no censorship at all.' But
that solution has not been forthcoming. No one who cries forth
that motto has given consistent and constructive reasons why
there should be 'no censorship at all.' I do not say 'no censor-
ship at all' but a commission in Washington that protects those
in the industry who are trying to be clean, from others who are
not. as well as protecting us from the evils of local censorship
and the inevitable reaction that must come from offending the
public's morals and intelligence, as we know will come if unsuit-
able pictures are not checked."
Dr. Chase thinks that^ the bill in its revised form has a
chance of being passed by congress.
HOW ONE SCHOOL REMOVED A MENACE
(Continued from page 8)
expenses are deducted, is put aside for a fund to establish
a dental clinic in the school. For this amount a performance
is given that is better, more interesting and more instr"^e
than that shown at the average cheap movie theatre While
the atmosphere is changed, still the show has all the thrills
that a good movie show should have. )
The children viewing these movies in Dr. Rabenort s
school theatre are supervised by teachers.
PREACHING WITH PICTURES
Making the Film a Servant of the Spirit of Righteousness
By Rev. Roy Campbell
Pastor, Fourth Congregational Church, Oakland. Cat.
Ninety per cent, of all human beings are eye-minded.
That fact, of itself, explains why motion pictures win
greater success financially than concerts or lectures.
Now, there is no reason on earth why this great medium
of education should be limited to commercial amusement.
The motion picture can be made a true servant of the
Spirit of Righteousness, and a mighty efficient servant at
that.
Seeing is believing. Hearing is only half believing.
The church has always sought to inspire people to good
deeds and high thoughts by word-of-mouth description.
How much more direct, how much more stimulating to
bring home the lessons of the Bible and moral conduct by
throwing them on the screen!
Uses Biblical, Parable and Problem Films
I have used films of Biblical characters, screen versions of
the parable and movie stories showing men and women
battling their way through toil and tragedy to the heights
of a better life.
I act as orchestra while the pictures are clicking along —
that is to say, I preach my sermon and make it illustrate
and interpret the scenes.
Many Parishioners Deeply Impressed
Has the experiment succeeded? I should say it has!
Not only is the church crowded to the doors, but men and
women go away with a more definite inspiration. Scores
have told me how deeply they were impressed.
The big difficulty was to overcome the memory of the
theatre — the rustling programs, candy and peanuts, the Wild
West, the pie-fight and the vampire. Certain members of
my church started out with a strong prejudice against what
seemed to them a theatrical way of doing. They sincerely
doubted whether the devices of a theatre could ever have
spiritual value.
Movies Make Religion Realistic
But now these all agree that the church atmosphere has
been preserved. Spirituality isn't stained glass and slow-
music; it is real life. Ideals formed under the influence
of the rather abnormal traditional "church atmosphere"
are unlikely to come into touch with daily living — neigh-
borhood quarrels, for" instance.
But the movie hits home to one's plain, everyday deeds.
It makes religion realistic. And that is just what preachers
everywhere are longing to do.
MOVIES AT METHODIST CENTENARY
At the Methodist Centenary Celebration, Columbus, Ohio,
June 20 to July 13, the African building is devoted to
Roosevelt and Rainey motion pictures, episodes from the
life of Dr. David Livingstone, lion hunts and Kaffir dances,
the Uganda railway and African mission scenes. The repro-
duction of a ruined French cathedral which seats 500 people
will be used for lectures and movies. Pageant-, in which
thousands will participate, are to be filmed by D. \Y. Griffith.
Educational Film Macazine is the only high class publication » >t
a trade paper, covering visual education. Note $1.00 a year. Sub-
scribe today. It will be a dollar ucll invested.
15
SOCIAL WELFARE
&£)
INTERNATIONAL GIRLHOOD" VIA THE MOTION PICTURE
Film Work of the National Young Women's Christian Association
in America and Overseas
By Aenid Sanborn
IN these days when every one is thinking in terms of
internationalism the Motion Picture Section of the
National Young Women's Christian Association falls
in line, with its effort to create a sense of "inter-
national girlhood." The association has always been
interested in girls of every land. It took the war to make
clear to all Americans the necessity for this
new kind of international understanding.
Until then the attitude of most of us was
that of the child in Robert Louis Steven-
son's poem:
Little Indian, Sioux or Crow,
Little frosty Eskimo,
Little Turk or Japanee,
Oh! don't you wish that you were me?
But now that our sympathies have been
broadened as never before, the time is ripe
to carry "picturewise" the story of the life
of the girls of the world to each other, and
this is what Miss Sutherland Griffith,
director of the Motion Picture Section, is
seeking to do.
Almost as soon as the association secre-
taries had started their work in France and
Russia they sent back a plea for pictures,
posters, slides, movies — in fact, anything
that would help the French and Russian
women to visualize their American sisters
across the ocean. All the graphic resources
of the association, including two movies,
"Our Girls" and "The Y. W. C. A. in War
Service," were sent over to interest and
cheer the French women munition workers
and the Russian girls who had been going
through so much anxiety and excitement.
Then, finally, in the leisurely fashion of all
things French, films arrived in America
showing the French girls at American play
— in fantastic costumes, to be sure — but
with all the enthusiasm for games
American girls could possibly show.
Y. W. C. A. Films Cheered French Women
Not content with presenting merely the association side
UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD
MISS SUTHERLAND GRIF-
FITH is director of the
Motion Picture Section of the
National Young Women's Chris-
tian Association. Her connection
with the association started with
the founding of the Y. W. C. A.
Studio Club for motion picture
actresses at Hollywood, Califor-
nia, of which she was first presi-
dent. War work drew her to
the Y. W. C. A. Club and Host-
ess House at Bremerton, Wash-
ington, where she had charge of
recreation for yeomanettes and
navy men. Her film, "Our
Girls," taken on the Pacific Coast
for the United War Work Cam-
paign, was so successful that it
led to a call from headquarters
in New York. There Miss Grif-
fith plans and supervises the tak-
ing of films and assembles ex-
hibits for foreign countries.
and gymnastics that
The department for foreign-born women of the National Y. W.
C. A. announces an increase of over one hundred workers on its office
staff for the past year. A year ago there were twenty-three work-
ers employed. Today there are 159. The department is now work-
ing with women and children of twenty-four nationalities, including
Mexican, Porto Rican, Italian, Syrian, Albanian, Finnish, Czecho-
slovak, Swedish, Japanese, French, Greek, Armenian, Hungarian,
Lettish, Croatian, Norwegian, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, Rus-
sian, Polish, Lithuanian, Serbian, Danish. Work has just been
opened with French Canadians in New England and with Mexicans
on the Mexican border. At the present time the members of the
staff of this department, with headquarters at 600 Lexington Avenue,
New York City, speak twenty-two languages. One secretary, who
does publicity with the foreign press, writes stories in ten languages
on a typewriter that speaks as many tongues.
of the work Miss Griffith assembled an exhibit of thirty1
films showing many phases of American life in town and
country, the industries of the various sections, the wonder
ful scenery, and the most modern methods of sanitation,
domestic economy, care of children, prevention of disease —
in short, anything that would make America more real to
the women of other countries. This exhibit
was very valuable in heartening the French
women whose work in the munition plants
was over and who had to face the uncer-
tainties of the future and a long period of
unemployment.
These requests from France and Russia
were followed almost immediately by similar
requests from China, South America and |
Hawaii, where, at the request of the gov- j
ernment, the association is undertaking j
recreation work among the women on plan-
tations. China is an especially good field,
for Chinese girls seldom have an oppor-
tunity to see any representation of the
American girl other than the vampire style
in the movies. Chinese girls in return
have sent over here a film entitled "The
Blue Triangle in Xlihina," which shows how
surprisingly modern the Chinese girls are
in their love of freedom and play. In fact,
so modern is China becoming it is hoped
that by next year every association there
will have a projection machine, which will
play a prominent part in the education of
Chinese girls.
Although South America is better pro-
vided with high-class films than China, the
girls there, nevertheless, are eager to learn
just how their North American sisters do
things; so the industrial commission sent
to South America by the Y. W. C. A. was
provided with all the available films of asso-
ciation work, titled in Spanish, and with letters of introduction
to the leading moving picture concerns of South America,
where it is hoped that valuable material may be collected
and helpful connections made.
Film Activities of "Y" This Summer
In our own country it is proposed to take pictures this^i
summer of all sorts of outdoor activities at summer camps
and conferences — catching all the joys of camping out,
attending big mass meetings, and coming into contact there
with people from the ends of the earth. The work along
the Mexican border will come in for its share of attention,
as well as the activities of the industrial war service centers,
which it is hoped will become "peace service centers" when
the plants are turned over to less warlike uses.
The film, "How Life Begins," illustrates still another way
(Continued on page 20)
16
JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES SHOWN IN FILMS
Visual Report in Seven Reels of Many Phases of the Work
Accomplished in Hospitals, Orphanages, Schools, and Other
Institutions
WHAT was probably an innovation in annual re-
ports of. philanthropic activities was the pres-
entation in seven reels of motion pictures, at
the recent meeting of the Federation for the
support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies of New York
City, embracing practically every phase of the humanitarian
) work accomplished within the past twelve months in all of
the eighty-six affiliated institutions. The only verbal report
was that of the chairman, Felix M. Warburg. Everything
else was visual.
To accomplish this an elaborate motion picture was
filmed, through private subscription, which took the audi-
ence into many of the institutions, illustrating virtually
every phase of the multifarious activities of this community
in behalf of its unfortunates.
Without attempting to evolve any story or plot, the pic-
tures, which were made through the courtesy of Jack Cohn
of the Universal Film Company, were shown in consecutive
order and constituted a human narrative that far exceeded
in interest any possible scenario. Beginning with the arrival
of a ship at New York, bearing 'immigrants to the New
World, the picture took the audience to the crowded East
Side, where first steps in Americanization and in education
were shown in the classes maintained at the Educational
Alliance, and where many intimate views were obtained,
including most attractive pictures of the Day Nursery, where
the children are cared for while their parents are at work.
Work of United Hebrew Charities
Next was shown the United Hebrew Charities, with its
many ramifications and its manifold facilities for aiding in
cases of sickness and distress, and for placing the family
again in a position to meet the struggle for existence.
Then was shown the Hebrew Free Loan Society, and here
it was possible to obtain photographs of the Directors at an
actual meeting, presided over by Julius J. Dukas. Samuel
Seinfel, the manager, also was shown in his office consum-
mating a loan to a man who wished to set himself up in
business. Members of the Hebrew Actors' Protective Union
assisted in the taking of this picture.
The educational advantages obtainable at the Hebrew
Technical Institute, the valuable training in the arts, sciences
and trades, as well as the training for business careers,
afforded to the young men here, and to the young women
at the Hebrew Technical School for Girls were amply and
entertainingly shown.
No effort was made to take the classes in the Talmud
Torahs and Religious Schools, because of the nature of the
instruction, but the picture disclosed the old type of Talmud
Torah, of a generation ago, in the heart of the East Side, and
contrasted this with the Central Jewish Institute, as the
modern type of Talmud Torah, and with its classes in the
interests of Americanization and the many lectures and other
features which are provided there.
Y. M. H. A. and Y. W. H. A.
The picture, the title of which was appropriately "How
the Jews Care for Their Own," next disclosed the home-like
surroundings and the opportunities for recreation, for physi-
cal betterment and for mental stimulus afforded in the
Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association.
What is accomplished towards solving the problems of
delinquency, by the Jewish Big Brothers and Big Sisters,
was illustrated in scenes taken at the Children's Court and in
which Judge Franklin Chase Hoyt was a central figure.
These scenes emphasized the preventive measures, and the
way in which wayward boys and girls are in most instances
reclaimed without recourse to sterner disciplinary measures.
That, where these sterner measures are necessary, how-
ever, humanitarian motives, kindness and intelligence are
now the controlling factors, was shown by the scenes which
followed of the Jewish Protectory and Aid Society for Boys
and the Cedar Knolls School for Girls at Hawthorne. The
boys at the former institution were shown at their vocational
work and in military drill and training, as well as at work
on the farm of the Protectory. They also were shown in
their homelike buildings, with surroundings and environ-
ment calculated to give them a new view of their responsi-
bility to society, and a new view of the way in which to lead
decent and useful lives.
Child-Caring Institutions .
The various child-caring institutions under Federation
were illustrated by stimulating and delightful pictures taken
at the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, showing the boys and girls
at both work and play, and at the Hebrew Sheltering Guar-
dian Society, at Pleasantville. Much interest was manifested
in the pictures of the Home for Hebrew Infants, with its
fine hygiene and scrupulous care for the welfare and health
of the tiny ones in its charge.
Many most unusual pictures were obtained in the hos-
pitals. Those at Montefiore Home, showing the Zander
Room, with its amazing appliances for teaching the use
of wasted limbs and muscles, and the classes in occu-
pational therapy, making the first extensive efforts along
these lines recorded in the United States. The opportunity
afforded in these classes to chronic invalids and cripples to
occupy their minds and bodies with useful labor, has proven
of the utmost mental and physical advantage to the patients.
A typical ambulance case was filmed at Beth Israel Hospi-
tal, together with the work of the Social Service Department,
in supplementing medical and surgical relief by going into
the home and relieving the hardship and distress frequently
caused when a breadwinner is incapacitated.
How Nature's Defects Are Remedied
Equally unusual were the pictures taken in the Hospital
for Deformities and Joint Diseases and Dr. H. W. Frauen-
thal was shown in one of his remarkable operations to ac-
complish the straightening of a crooked limb. There also
was shown the marvelous methods employed in the Associa-
tion for the Improved Instruction of Deaf Mutes and by
which the handicap of nature imposed upon these unfor-
tunates is overcome and they are made to understand and
to speak, and even to appreciate, through the sense of touch,
the qualities of music.
The Crippled Children's Driving Fund, with one of its
jolly outings, likewise was filmed and the special work for
tuberculosis convalescents, maintained by the Committee for
the Care of the Jewish Tuberculous and by the Lewisohn
Workrooms at Emanu-El Sisterhood, also was depicted.
Took Movies of Jacob H. Schiff
The picture came to a fitting end with a meeting of the
trustees at the home of Mr. Warburg. It was possible, on
(Continued on page 30)
17
SOCIAL HYGIENE AND THE SCREEN
Mrs. Woodallen Chapman, Noted Lecturer, Uses "How Life Begins"
and Other Films to Visualize Her Health Talks
Lecturers, who for years have been laboring to bring
to the general public information and knowledge in
such a way as to make the most permanent im-
pression upon the human mind, are among the first
to recognize the great educational value of the motion
picture. While school authorities are o considering the
advisability of making use of this form of visual instruction,
lecturers are hastening to take advantage of what they per-
ceive to be a wonderful addition to their effectiveness as
teachers.
Among the best known lecturers using the educational
motion picture as an ad-
junct is Mrs. Woodallen
Chapman, known for
many years as a writer
and speaker on subjects
pertaining to the health
and welfare of the indi-
vidual and the com-
munity.
Although born in Ohio,
Mrs. Woodallen Chap-
man's girlhood was spent
in Michigan, and it was
here, as the daughter of
Dr. Mary Woodallen, the
noted pioneer writer and
lecturer in the field of
social hygiene, that she
early began her public
work.
The greater part of
this work, however, up to
the period of the war,
was carried on in New York City, of which she has been
a resident for a number of years. As field secretary of the
New York Social Hygiene Society, she has spoken to groups
of women and girls in churches, women's clubs, public
schools, settlements and other social centres, using- visual
aids of her own at first, and, more recently, the four-reel
microscopic biological film, "How Life Begins," with
notable success.
At the time of America's entry into the world war Mrs.
Woodallen Chapman was secretary of women's work for
the American Social Hygiene Association, and it was nat-
ural, therefore, that she should be "drafted" for lecture
work under the women's section of the Social Hygiene Divi-
sion of the Commission on Training Camp Activities of the
War Department. Her services were especially in demand
in the South, where her careful, delicate presentation of the
subject met with enthusiastic approval from conservative
communities in that section of the country.
An Authority on Social Hygiene
Although the work under the commission has come to
an end, it is being continued under state boards of health
and through the agency of philanthropic organizations, with
the result that this lecturer's services are still in demand.
As chairman of the social hygiene committee of the
General Federation of Women's Clubs Mrs. Woodallen
Chapman has prepared a written lecture for use in com-
munities unable to secure the services of a speaker, which
may be read at club meetings. Thus she is contributing to
the widespread enlightenment of the nation upon this
important subject in which she is considered an expert.
A/TRS. WOODALLEN CHAPMAN
!-**■ has found the motion picture a
powerful adjunct in her work as an
educational lecturer. Like her famous
mother, she has become an authority
on social hygiene.
In all of this work she finds the motion picture an invalu-
able aid, for even far distant communities can secure film
which carries its message wherever it is shown.
So impressed is this worker with the great value of this
form of visual instruction that she is planning a number
of pictures which shall present other, important aspects of
the same subject. These pictures are to be produced by
Mrs. Katherine F. Carter, of New York City.
Hb Mb
FILM GREATER THAN NEWSPAPER
By William L. Sherry
President W. L. Sherry Service, New York
There is no doubt in my mind that an idea can be rammed
home via the screen with far more certainty where the great
mass of people is concerned than by any other process. An
astonishing number of men and women who read the daily
papers more or less regularly do not read them under-
standingly. I am willing to wager that you might pick
up a hundred ordinary folk at random after they have read
the newspapers coming downtown in the subways or elevated
roads and discover, on questioning them, that their ideas of
public questions discussed in the news and editorials of the
papers' they have glanced over are just as casual as the
glances they. gave each subject.
Pictures give a greater number of people a more com-
prehensive idea of any subject now before the public than
any amount of conversational writing. Subjects dealt with
on the screen if properly captioned with a view to making
them intelligible create a distinct impression on the mind.
If the United States authorities have not thoroughly digested
the lesson taught by screen propaganda during the war,
they have been asleep at the switch. One good motion
picture film teaching lessons in finance, industry, sociology
or patriotism will reach the eyes of millions of Americans in
a day if properly distributed, whereas lecturers as indi-
viduals can appeal only to small audiences here and there.
As pioneers in the manufacture
of motion picture film — for it was
Eastman Film that first made mo-
tion pictures practical — the East-
man Kodak Company has from
the beginning been identified with
the success of the motion picture
industry. One could hardly have
advanced to its present stage of
development without the other.
Identifiable by the words "Eastman*' and "Kodak"
in the film margin
EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY,
ROCHESTER, N. Y.
18
W^M
DRAMATIC
"BRONCHO BILLY" RED1V1VUS
Gilbert M. Anderson, Famous Interpreter of Western Gun-Men,
Returns to the Screen in Red-Blooded, Wholesome
Five-Reelers
w
Peking,
HEN the movies were young, back a dozen years
or so, "Broncho Billy" was a household name in
Punxsutawney, Pa., and Paris, Tex. Since then
his flowing neckpiece, buckskin gloves and knee-
high boots have been seen atop his mustang cantering over
China, and Per-
short, "Broncho
character, and he
ory and heart-
grown-up and
Now Gilbert
of that charac-
small boy
back on the
tious pho-
the hills in
nambuco, Brazil. I n
Billy" was a world
still lives in the mem-
of-hearts of many
growing-up.
M. Anderson, creator
ter, the delight of the
of a decade ago, is
screen in more ambi-
toplays. Although he
no longer portrays the
famous "Billy," the
roles he assumes sym-
bolize much the same
homely and whole-
some virtues typi-
fied by the earlier
character. H e
is still the rep-
resentative of
manly ^
courage
GILBERT M. ANDERSON, the world-renowned "Broncho
VJ Billy," in his characteristic cowboy, two-gun outfit. His
latest productions are five-reelers, affording him dramatic and
acting opportunities which the earlier two-reel films did not offer.
loyalty, devotion, self-sacrifice, the defender of truth and
woman's honor, the upholder of the best Western traditions
and ideals.
Unquestionably the finest work of his career as a screen
actor, author and producer has been brought out in his
latest five-reel dramas, "Red Blood and Yellow," "The
Son-of-a-Gun," and "Shooting Mad." The longer films
afford Anderson greater scope in which to display his talent
and at the same time offer admirable vehicles to drive
home the moral lessons which a good red-blooded Western
drama can so vividly do. All of the scenes in these pic-
tures were made outdoors in different parts of the West
and are full of "atmosphere." The stories may not appeal
to timid souls who faint at the sight of a cowboy quick
on the draw, but as historic records of Western days and
characters that have passed, and as dramatizations of manly
and womanly virtues contrasted with vices and brutalities,
they have both educational and ethical value.
In "Red Blood and Yellow" Anderson has a dual role,
that of twin brothers. The story emphasizes the contrast
between the fine, upright, manly brother, devoted to his
mother and brother, and willing to lay down his life that
they may be happy, and the other, a moral weakling, who
is "yellow" to the core.
AN ANTI-BOLSHEVISM PHOTOPLAY
"Bolshevism on Trial" Is Good Pro-American Propaganda and Will
Aid the Americanization Movement
By Dolph Eastman
THE motion picture "Bolshevism on Trial" is good
pro-American propaganda. It tears the mask of
humanitarian hypocrisy from the face of the Russian
Bolshevist and reveals him for what he is, in truth —
a cruel, self-seeking, tyrannical autocrat without respect for
law, without moral scruple, ignorant of the plain lesson of
history and of the fundamental psychology of the race.
The compass of the photoplay is restricted, since the locale
is confined to a small mythical island, and the ensemble
consists of a handful of men and women; but, as the title
suggests, and as the story unfolds, the whole thing is an
experiment, and the experiment fails as dismally and as dis-
astrously as the larger one has failed in Russia and in
Hungary.
"Bolshevism on Trial" is an indictment of that silly, super-
ficial emotionalism upon which the partly crazed, partly
crafty, schemes of its leaders are based. It mercilessly
exposes and flays, in the character of the Russian Androvitz,
alias Herman Wolff (note the Germanophile significance of
names') , the follies and the fallacies of Bolshevism, making
clear the fact that Socialism is not even a near relative of
this hybrid hyena prowling for midnight prey. , In his
seizure of power, his ingratitude toward the idealistic young
man who made the trial of communistic theories a reality,
his renunciation of his wife to grasp a younger and fairer
mate under the guise of Soviet marriage law, his unprin-
cipled ambition and conscienceless leadership we have
admirably summed up the evils and the perils of this menace
NORMAN WORTH, idealistic hero of "Bolshevism On Trial,"
appealing to his followers to try and live up to the ideals of
true Socialism. At the left is seen Barbara, who shares Norman's
views, and immediately behind her, to the right, the Russian Bol-
shevist Androvita, alias Herman Wolff.
which rules only through hate, fear, terror, assassination
and extermination.
The menace to true democracy typified by Bolshevism
and red radicalism is so genuine that one might wish the
producers of this photoplay had painted their picture upon
a broader canvas, in more vivid, striking and convincing
colors. For Thomas Dixon's story, "Comrades," which
forms the substance of the film, scarcely does justice to the
magnitude and seriousness of the subject. In this respect
the picture is disappointing.
"Bolshevism on Trial," nevertheless, is unique in that, so
(Continued on page 29)
19
THIS department of the EDUCATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE aims to give readers the benefit of the motion picture
and lantern slide experiences of other readers. It is intended to be as constructive, suggestive, and practically
helpful as it is possible to make it. All schools, colleges, churches, Sunday schools, clubs, lodges, asylums,
prisons, hospitals, settlement houses, community centers, industrial plants, and other institutions and organizations are
invited and urged to send in accounts of their experiences with visual education. The readers of the magazine are
eagerly looking forward to this mutual interchange of ideas, views, and suggestions. Address your letter to Experience
Exchange Editor, EDUCATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE, 33 West 42nd Street, New York.
HOW THEY DO IT AT ALTA, IOWA
Film and Slide Experiences Told by S. G. Reinertsen,
Superintendent, Alta Consolidated Schools
(Part 11 — Conclusion)
AT present we are showing a series of
eight sets of botany slides. These are
obtained from the State University Ex-
tension Department at Iowa City. Recently
the Latin classes enjoyed two sets of slides
which were handsomely tinted and colored.
Our classes in agriculture delight at the
unique slide sets furnished by the Inter-
national Harvester Company of Chicago.
There is no doubt as to the practical and
immediate help these sets give in the hands
of a teacher who is ready to seize the op-
portunity for live and thorough teaching.
Apparatus Is Community Property
The stereopticon is easily portable on ac-
count of its lightness and compactness. The
writer has often stated, publicly, that this
apparatus is the property of the community
and that it is at the disposal of any church,
woman's club or similar organization. It is
a pleasure to note that many of these or-
ganizations and institutions are waking up
to the fact that pictures are here and ready
to play a big part in their work. During
the recent Centenary Drive for the Metho-
dist Episcopal Church, several sets of splen-
did, hand-colored slides were shown at the
local church, projected by our stereopticon.
The schools that have projection apparatus
and fail to offer its service to the community
and church organizations are escaping a
wonderful field of usefulness and service.
Advantages of the Opaque Projector
Another and very useful piece of projec-
tion apparatus is the opaque projector. The
writer has used the Radiopticon with great
success. This is often called a post card
projector. Its great advantage is that post
cards, printed matter, drawings and maps
from pages of school books can be projected
on the screen with remarkable clarity and
distinctness. Slides and films are obviously
eliminated and any subject may be covered
as the field is limited only by the illustrations
and sketches found in text and reference
books. If the operator will remember to
set his machine on the side of the screen
opposite from his class or audience all read-
ing matter and drawings will appear on the
screen right side up and may be read as
from the printed page. Dampening a com-
mon bed sheet and using it for a screen
will improve the illumination and brighten
the picture. This is by far the cheapest
piece of apparatus to install and can be
operated by a novice.
Hints on Darkening Rooms
The matter of darkening the rooms for
day use is often a serious problem in school
buildings. Where a heavy professional mov-
ing picture machine is installed the projec-
tion should not be spoiled by lights that
leak in through poorly shaded windows. It
will pay those in charge to buy new curtains
that are black and entirely opaque, or at
least take down the old ones and give them
a coat of black. Paint is not very satisfac-
tory, but a coat of lampblack mixed with
glue in the right proportions to make it like
heavy paint is quite efficient and should be
applied twice. For the stereopticon the
common green window shade darkens the
room sufficiently to admit of good projection.
The same applies to the opaque projector,
although any operator knows that complete
darkness enhances the beauty and value of
the illumination and picture projected.
Let us hear from others- in this same field
of work. Your experiences, successes or
failures will be interesting and mutual in-
terchange is profitable.
CHURCH MOVIES POWERFUL
By Rev. Ernest A. Miller
Pastor, M. E. Church, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
I have made the experiment of movies in
the church and am more than ever con-
vinced of their feasibility and power. In
almost every church or community there is
some one who has the ability, conviction and
consecration to make church motion-picture
work a success and a religious force. How-
ever, the minister should keep very close to
the project. If he fully understands the
religious educational value of films he will
be willing to put motion pictures among the
first things in his busy life.
Only the best in machines and equipment
should be considered by the governing body
of any church. Here, as almost everywhere,
the best is the cheapest.
Every new church today should be built
with a suitable and commodious assembly
room which may be used for motion-picture
purposes. This room may serve many pur-
poses, but, in the not distant future, there
is going to be an insistent demand for
moving pictures in every progressive church.
In old church buildings the Sunday school
auditorium may be used. Sometimes par-
titions will have to be removed in order to
increase seating capacity; adjustments and
alterations will be fully justified by the in-
creased serviceableness of the church plant
through the medium of this new public bene-
factor.
20
FRIDAY NIGHT MOVIES IN CHURCH
Sunday School Attendance Increased 80 Per
Cent in Five Months
By Rev. A. O. Stixrud
Lake Bluff, 111.
We have given weekly motion picture
entertainments in our church every Friday
evening for the last five months. They are
given under the auspices of the Sunda>
School. All the Sunday School scholars
who come on time are given an "On Time"
ticket which entitles them to come to the
Friday night movies for five cents, which is
half the charge otherwise made. The effect
of this arrangement has been to increase
our average Sunday School attendance 80
per cent and very largely to increase the
"On Time" attendance. The average attend-
ance at the movies has been about 125, 75
per cent of whom were children.
We are using a Premier Pathescope pro-
jection machine. This machine uses a sub-
standard size film that can be obtained only
through the Pathescope Company. The ad-
vantage of this is that all their film is made
of the slow-burning, non-inflammable kind
so that no metal booth is required or needed
and all danger of fire or explosion is re-
moved. The machine can be stopped at any
time and the picture shown still, which we
often do for purposes of comment. The ma-
chine is simple of operation; my twelve-
year-old son has no difficulty in operating
it alone.
The disadvantage of this arrangement is,
of course, that you are limited to the library
of this one concern. I ought to say that
they have a very good library and I have
had no difficulty in securing good programs
for our shows.
Financially and every other way our ex-
perience with moving pictures in our church
has been a success. When the Christian
church will have filmed their missionary ac-
tivities at home and abroad and made them
available for the churches, the educational
opportunity of motion pictures in the church
will have taken a great step forward.
9
INTERNATIONAL GIRLHOOD VIA
MOVIES
(Continued from page 16)
in which the association uses educational
films. The lecturers of the Social Education
Committee, under the direction of the Com-
mission on Training Camp Activities, trav-
eled all over the country with this film,
rousing the girls in factories, shops and
schools and near the camps to the necessity
of living up to their very best and so help-
ing to win the war.
Miss Griffith is enthusiastic over the possi-
bilities of films in bringing the girls and
women of the world closer together and in
helping to create international friendship
and understanding.
«
THE STEREOPTICON AS AN AID IN THE AMERICANIZATION MOVEMENT*
Detailed Description of Visual Instruction Methods Employed in Evening Classes for Foreigners — Plan Suggested
for Loan Collection of Americanization Slides and Lessons in All Schools
By h. D. rickard
Principal, Putnam School, Syracuse, N. Y.
WITHOUT going into a psychological discussion of the merits
of visual instruction as a method of teaching, I shall try
to make clear to you just how the stereopticon may be
used to promote and simplify the teaching of English to
classes of foreigners. At last we are getting down to some funda-
mental principles, in making Americans out of the vast throng of
pilgrims who for years back have been poured in upon us from
every corner of the globe.
There are three glaring defects in the Americanization work as it
has heretofore been conducted. In the first place, it was not seri-
ously taken up soon enough; in the second place, it has been, un-
systematically planned and has not been carried on with any definite
end in view ; and lastly, the methods of instruction have not been
made sufficiently attractive to appeal to the class of immigrants
that most need the guidance.
Evening school work is not new. For years, in most of the larger
cities, evening classes have been maintained for the benefit of those
who have been unable to attend the day schools. The fundamental
idea has been, very largely, the idea of giving the newcomer a working
knowledge of the English language, in the hope that he would,
somehow or other, gradually assimilate the American spirit of free-
dom and gradually conform to the American ideal.
In many instances the result has been satisfactory. In other cases
it has been a disappointment, to find that it takes something more
than a course of training in the principles of English to inspire the
stranger with the spirit of true patriotism and loyalty toward his
adopted country. In saying this I am not minimizing the necessity
for English instruction, for the object of this period is to show a
way in which the instruction in English may be carried on more
effectively and with less expenditure of time and effort on the part
of both teacher and pupil.
English Language the Foundation
We do need the English first of all as a foundation in all Ameri-
canization work. The great trouble has been that we have spent so
much time with the technical instruction in English, without hitting
the nail on the head, so to speak, that we have not had time for the
other equally important features that should be brought to the
foreigner's attention. However, too much stress cannot be laid upon
the fact, that an understanding of English is the foundation upon
which the superstructure is later to be built. If the instruction can
best be carried on by the use of objects in development lessons, use
them ; if by aid of the stereopticon, use it ; if by means of text books,
provide them in abundance. In any event put the newcomer in a
position where he can understand what is being said and done about
him and do it at the earliest possible moment after his arrival in
this country.
. The general public has been slow to appreciate the great value of
Americanization work. As a natural result the strongest and most
efficient body of teachers has not been attracted to this field. Those
who have gone into it voluntarily have been, for the most part, un-
trained and underpaid.
Definite courses of study have been evolved slowly. Effective
methods of getting results have never been exploited systematically
and sufficiently to reach the present body of evening school teachers.
The teaching force changes too often to obtain progressive and con-
tinuous work, and the good methods," used by certain natural teachers,
are lost whenever changes are made. The supply of text-books,
written especially for the adult foreigner, has been limited. Charts
and illustrative apparatus and material objects, for object lessons,
have been procured with difficulty and consequently much valuable
effort has been wasted and much precious time has been lost.
Illustrative Material Important
In Putnam School, Syracuse, N. Y., we have always felt that we
could make so much better progress, especially with beginners, if we
could only use objects in all development lessons. It was a lack of
objects and illustrative material that prompted me to experiment with
the stereopticon, in an endeavor to find something to take their
place. In my observation of Americanization work I have not found
anybody who has used the stereopticon in just the way that we are
using it. Consequently our methods are very largely the result of
a local evolution, but our experience to date has shown us that we are
* Address at Americanization Conference held under the auspices of the
Department of the Interior, at Washington, D. C, May 12-15, 1919.
now doing much more efficient work, with a smaller expenditure of
time and effort, than we have ever been able to do before.
The experiment with the stereopticon is, of course, simply one
phase of our program. It appeals to all educators, who have seen it
in operation, as practical and pedagogically correct, and I pass it
on to you in none other than in a spirit of helpfulness.
If I were asked for my opinion as to the most effective plan for
instructing the foreigner in the principles of the English language,
I would say to give each pupil an individual teacher and teach him
by the individual instruction method. This plan would be too ex-
pensive and would not be practical. However, if one can apply
individual instruction methods to each pupil of a class of forty,
all at the same time, his work is inexpensive, efficient and practical.
That is what we endeavor to accomplish by the use of the stere-
opticon. We try to keep all the pupils of the room working all the
time instead of working with one individual out of a class of forty
and permitting the other thirty-nine to grope in the dark as best
they may.
Stereopticon Serves As "Rest Period"
It has been found by experience that three-fourths of the foreigners,
who begin the study of English, need objective work at the start.
The slide takes the place of the real object and provides the con-
necting link between the object and its representation in the written
word. As a device for keeping up the interest the scheme has un-
limited possibilities. The stereopticon period seems to act as a rest
period when the eyes are relieved from the glare of the room lights.
It gives the pupils an opportunity to change to rest positions and they
look forward to it with pleasure and like it.
We Claim
To give the best plain or colored
slide for the price.
To give the best service in the
time allowed.
To furnish the best service to all —
the low priced as well as the
high priced.
To make the best possible slide from
a negative or a picture.
To reproduce most faithfully in a
slide a colored subject like a
painting, flowers, etc.
SCOTT STUDIOS
24 East 55th Street, New York
Telephone, Plaza 6673
21
For a lantern we use an ordinary Bausch and Lomb balopticon,
with incandescent bulb, which may be attached to any electric light
socket and which will burn continuously for about 300 hours without
any attention whatsoever. It is so simple that a child of eight years
of age could manage it with ease.
From an economical standpoint, it would be economy in light to
use the lantern all the time for, when the one bulb in the lantern
is burning, a dozen other room lights are not, and instead of being
dissipated the attention of the whole room is concentrated upon an
eight foot square. Concentration means progress.
Slides of Every Day Life
The prime requisite for a successful lesson is a suitable slide.
I mean one that embraces a subject that is within the experience
of the pupil. It should be plain and clear cut and should not contain
too much detail. Colored slides are desirable but are not essential.
The main thing is to get a familiar and an interesting subject from
which may be developed a series of words and sentences, touching
upon topics that have to do with the every day life of the pupil.
In this way a vocabulary may be built up and the pupil may
gradually branch out from the known to the unknown.
As the work advances from the simple and concrete to more ab-
stract ideas, the need for objective teaching diminishes just in pro-
portion to the increasing ability of the pupil to understand the
language. In every stage of the work the picture helps the pupil
to grasp the idea quickly, and its value cannot be over-estimated.
If it gives an actual view of one of the many experiences with which
the foreigner must deal in his daily life, it will add much to the
interest and will arouse an enthusiasm which otherwise might lie
dormant.
Very Simple Pictures to Start
I said that the primary object with the beginner is the building
of a vocabulary. For this beginning work we use a very simple
picture.
The pictures used for the first lesson might, for example, represent
a little girl and her dog. The dog is sitting and the little girl is
standing. The teacher present the simple words, "girl," "dog,"
pointing in turn to each object in the picture and pronouncing dis-
tinctly in each case "girl" — "dog." The members of the class repeat
the words, first in concert and then individually until they have
mastered them. Next the articles "a" and "the" may be prefixed,
the class imitating the teacher in repeating, "a girl," "a dog," —
"the girl," "the dog," with plenty of practice both in concert and as
individuals. Then the two ideas may be connected e.g., "The girl
and the dog," and then, "I see the girl," "I see the dog," "I see the
girl and the dog," etc.
We might go a step further at this point and develop the words
"stand" and "sit," also the suggestion "the girl is standing," "the
dog is sitting," etc.
When this step has been thoroughly mastered, there follows a
careful drill in associating the spoken with the written or printed
word. The teacher writes the words on the board, reads them, and
the members of the class repeat them, first in concert and then as
individuals. They may then copy the words neatly upon the board
or upon paper. After a few words have been developed in this way,
the reading lesson may be taken up from a prepared slide, from the
board or from a book. This illustrates briefly and broadly the objec-
tive plan of presentation of a lesson to a class of beginners by using
a lantern slide.
Slides for Advanced Classes
I will now describe briefly just how we use the slides with a class
that is somewhat advanced, say for example with a class that has
this objective instruction for six, eight or ten weeks, and is somewhat
proficient. Let us begin on Monday night.
On Monday night the teacher selects a suitable slide, say for
example a slide representing the office of the principal of the school.
She turns off the room lights and throws the picture on the
screen. Then, with pointer in hand, she takes five or ten minutes
in carefully studying and in developing the words suggested by the
objects in the picture, e.g., desk, chair, table, picture, telephone,
rug, floor, wall, book, bookrack, couch, neat, clean, etc.
As each word is » developed the teacher pronounces it distinctly,
having the members of the class repeat it until they can pronounce
it correctly. A slide containing these words is prepared in advance
and is inserted in the lantern, so that the one who is operating the
lantern may easily project upon the screen, first the picture and then
the word — again the picture and then another word, etc. By this
association of words and picture the words are impressed upon the
mind of the pupil in a concrete way.
How the Screen Aids Spelling
As the words appear in succession upon the screen, the teacher
leads with the pointer and the pupils spell the words, first in concert
and then as individuals. Then the written words are removed from
view and the pupils try to spell them from memory. This at first
is somewhat difficult but, if the words are occasionally thrown back
upon the screen so that the pupils may visualize them, the difficulty
is soon remedied. In other words we introduce at this time a study
period for the spelling lesson that is to be taken up on Tuesday night.
I might say here that it is well for the teacher, early in the
Slides
Many of the foremost schools, colleges, churches,
hospitals, clubs and institutions are using
Excelsior Slides.
To us this record of accomplishment is gratify-
ing. To you, it should indicate the thoroughness
of our methods and quality of our results.
Write for information. No obligation to you.
A pleasure for us.
EXCELSIOR ILLUSTRATING
COMPANY
219 Sixth Ave. New York
Underwood & Underwood
FANEUIL HALL
Called the "Cradle of
Liberty," because from
the deliberations of the
patriots who assembled
there sprang the divine
inspiration of liberty
which was to spread its
influence as the beacon
light of freedom for all
the world.
This illustration is
slide No. 4 in the Under-
wood "World Visualized"
School Series, which, to-
gether with many others
in the set, contains the
germ of Patriotism.
The Underwood System of Visual Instruction, compris-
ing Thousands of Lantern Slides, extends the environment
of the school-room to the whole world, giving the pupils
the personal experience of being in every country and
actually coming into personal contact with the various
industries and activities of the world — creating an absorb-
ing interest in their studies and supplementing their text-
books in the most practical way.
Send for new lists of Special Lantern Slides on
Astronomy, Birds, Botany and Floriculture, Entomology,
Famous Paintings, Physics, Zoology, Maps, Flags, and
many others.
Ask us about Educational Motion Picture
Films
UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD
Dept. EF
417 Fifth Avenue, New York
22
evening, to copy upon the board a list of the words that she intends
to develop, so that the pupils, as soon as the development lesson is
over, may copy them upon paper or in note book and take them home
for home study. These words are studied at home and on the follow-
ing evening may be written from dictation. The papers may then be
collected, checked by the teacher and returned to the pupils.
It is well, as the work progresses, to give something more than
the mere spelling of the words, e. g., the singular and plural forms
may be noted as — one book — two books— ten books, etc. Also com-
parison of adjectives as — this boy is tall, — here is one who is taller
— this one is the tallest of the three, etc. Again, the simple tense
forms of verbs may be pointed out, as "Tonight I see the picture
— Last night I saw the picture — tomorrow night I shall see the
picture," etc. It is easier to teach the forms by association than it
is to teach them as isolated and independent words.
Slides for the Reading Lesson
Next comes the reading lesson which the teacher prepares in
advance, as follows:
She takes a piece of transparent paper the size of a regular lantern
slide and, with the aid of a typewriter, she places upon this the
reading lesson of the evening. This transparent paper is then
mounted in permanent form between two cover glasses and the slide
is ready for use. If the above equipment is not available, the teacher
simply takes a piece of ordinary window glass the size of a regular
slide and upon this, with specially prepared slide ink, she writes
simple sentences pertaining to the picture, i. e., the principal's office.
For example, she writes sentences like these:
In this picture I see a desk arid some chairs.
A rug covers the floor.
Several pictures hang on the wall.
A telephone is on the desk.
A couch is in the corner.
Two pillows are on the couch.
One pillow has a dark cover and the other has a light one.
The office is very neat and clean, — and so on until the slide is filled.
Perhaps four or five slides are prepared in this way if the picture
provides enough material for that many. These slides are thrown
successively upon the screen and the reading lesson proceeds as
from a book. All eyes are directed toward the same point on the
screen and the teacher is enabled to carry along a class of forty
pupils as well as one, with the further advantage that all members
of the class are following, and all profit by the mistakes and success
of the one who is reciting. Concert work may be carried on at will,
and with accuracy, because the teacher leads with the pointer and,
when she wishes to pause for an explanation, the whole class under-
stands what she means.
Review Work Necessary
Then too, if she wishes to refer again to the original picture, the
process is a simple one. In fact it is well to refer to the original
picture occasionally in order to refresh the memory of the pupils.
It is well to have the sentences read first in concert, by all members
of the class, and then by individuals, taking the pupils in rotation
as they gain confidence in their ability to pronounce the words.
While some slides suggest a great many more words and sentences
than others, it is well not to attempt too much that is new for any
one night. A few words carefully developed, with review on suc-
ceeding nights, are better than a superficial treatment of a great
many words.
When a lesson has been completed, the original picture and the
written slides are kept together in separate envelopes, labeled and
dated and are usually given two nights in succession for the benefit
of absentees. They are then carefully preserved for later review
work.
This explanation will give you a general idea of how the work is
carried on — starting with the pictured object the word is developed;
after the word comes the sentence; after the sentence comes the
paragraph; after the paragraph comes the story or the composition
or the letter as the case may be.
Why Not Such Slides and Lessons in All Schools?
It seems to me that it would be an economical use of public
money, and that it would be most practicable, to make up a series
of slides and lessons and then to loan them out for use in the various
schools, where Americanization work is carried on. This could be
done under the supervision of the state or the national government
and the plan followed could be similar to the plan now in use in
the Visual Instruction division of the New York State Department
of Education. Then if a book could be prepared to be put in the
hands of the pupils, with illustrations and lessons, numbered to
correspond with the lessons on the slides, it would put the work in
convenient, compact and permanent form for review and future
reference.
Teach Civics with Proper Slides
With proper slides I see no reason why the stereopticon could no.t
be used to advantage in teaching civil government in the class room.
By proper slides, I mean slides showing maps, e. g., of the world;
of Europe and the different countries of Europe, and the cities where
(Continued on page 30)
The Only Radical Improve-
ment in Stereopticons in the
Last Fifty Years
Automatic Electric
Slide Projector
■'- ■ ■
HB'I
**" '*G&ssmss*> f
D
■■ ^*'.
i
This Lantern Ordered in Quantity by
The Y. M. C. A. for War Work.
A boon to the Educational Field.
The Machine saves its initial cost by elimi-
nating the expense of an operator.
Can be worked AT ANY DISTANCE by a
push button.
No operator or assistant required, the
Lecturer having entire control in his hand.
Operated from any electric light socket,
A. C. or D. C. current.
To Operate. Place slides in holder "A" in the
order to be shown, insert plug in electric outlet,
take Push Button in hand and press Button to in-
stantly change the slide.
Slides will drop consecutively into receiver "B"
and be ready for use again.
Write for further information and price
Manufactured and Sold Only by
Auto-Slyde and Moving Picture Machine Co.
Incorporated
104 CENTRE STREET NEW YORK CITY
23
KODAK FILM IN THE MAKING
Materials, Methods, and Processes Used in the
Manufacture of Eastman Nitro-Cellulose Base
and Sensitive Gelatine Emulsion — Quality as
Well as Quantity the Watchword at Kodak Park
By E. A. Hunger
WITHOUT film the photographic in-
dustry would be a sorry pigmy be-
side the widely ramified industry
that it is today, and well can we say that
photographic film, both for still and motion-
picture work as developed and made in the
great Kodak Park Works, has helped enor-
mously to place photography on the high
plane that it stands today. In fact, it was
due largely to George Eastman's efforts, be-
gun back in the late eighties, that the film
camera and the "movies" were made pos-
sible.
At first the film had a backing of paper;
and the development of this type of film and
the so-called "stripping film" (the emul-
sion of which was so made that when placed
in water it could be removed from the paper
backing, dried, and then transferred to a
transparent backing of gelatine) made the
first kodak with the famed slogan, "You
press the button, we do the rest," a possi-
' bility.
Film with a paper backing was only tem-
porary, however, for the great desideratum
was film with a transparent base or support.
After months of application the kodak engi-
neers brought out a film with cellulose as a
base, and then the series of developments
which came as a result of the production of
kodak transparent flexible photographic film
in ever-increasing quantities revolutionized
the photographic industry.
Made Motion Pictures Possible
The advent of the Eastman film proved a
particular boon to motion pictures; in fact,
the courts have decided that Eastman film
made the complete commercial success of
the motion-picture camera possible. With
the continually growing popularity of mo-
tion pictures the demand for kodak film
mounted higher and higher. Quality in those
early days, as now, was of paramount consid-
eration; but the company went further and
made elaborate preparations for the future.
It takes a great deal of time and money
to prepare for the manufacture of photo-
graphic film of high average quality in the
large quantities necessary for present-day
production. To keep ahead of the demand
and always be ready for big business as the
Eastman Company has done requires vision
and pluck — the vision to anticipate every
demand and the pluck to spend millions of
dollars as a toll for preparedness.
Use 4,000,000 Silver Ounces Yearly
The story about the making of kodak film
is one of continuous interest. Many diversified
products enter into its manufacture. Who,
for instance, outside those in the "know,"
would think that bales and bales of cotton
are required for the making of the thin
transparent backing on which the light sen-
sitive picture-making coating is spread?
Or who would imagine for one instant that
some two tons of silver bullion are used
each week in the Kodak Park plant for mak-
ing the sensitive coating? Two tons of sil-
ver a week! Think of it! Close on to
4,000,000 troy ounces a year, almost twice
as much as the total output of the white
metal from Arizona, one of the leading sil-
ver-producing states of the Union!
When the sixteen-to-one idea fell into the
discard in 1896, everybody said that the sil-
ver industry had irrevocably passed to the
"bow-wows," but the many photographers
throughout the world, together with the
"movies," have helped bring it back with a
mighty thud. Besides the silver and cot-
ton, there are the various acids for treat-
ing these products, thousands of tons of
which are required. Then come the organic
solvents, including alcohol and other liquids,
for converting the nitrated cotton into a
honey-like fluid from which the thin film is
made, and lastly the gelatine and chemical
compounds for making the sensitive coating.
For the convenience of analyzing the vari-
ous steps taken in the manufacture of kodak
film four general processes may be consid-
ered as follows: 1, chemical preparation of
raw materials such as the cotton and silver
already mentioned; 2, spreading of the sup-
port or cellulose backing for ■ the sensitive
coating, which is called the emulsion, in
thin layers on the surfaces of huge wheels;
3, spreading of the sensitive emulsion in a
thin layer on the support; and, 4, slitting
of large film rolls into stock sizes, inspec-
tion and packing for shipment.
Quality and Clearness Essential
Of course, in making anything that re-
quires such a high degree of quality and re-
finement as photographic film, every process
must be conducted in the cleanest of sur-
roundings. High average quality is another
important requisite in photographic film. It
means that a photographer can get the same
kind of good results at one time with one
piece of film that he can with another piece
1. Weighing silver bullion. 2. Draining liquid in porcelain baskets from white silver nitrate crystals,
room; silver bars are dissolved in nitric acid to form silver nitrate. 5. Washing cotton.
24
3. Cotton nitrating centrifugal. 4. Silver nitrating
)
\
from different stock at another time, pro-
vided in both cases the conditions of ex-
posure are the same. Moreover, to get a
high-average quality film in the large quan-
tities necessary for present day production
requires the greatest care in the selection
of raw materials and repeated tests and ex-
aminations— and rejections. Then, again,
the manufacture of a product in large
batches is far different from that in small
lots — it requires complete reorganization of
the plant; and it is here that the genius
for organization and conduct of big things
that has exemplified everything done in the
kodak way is so marked.
The campaign for an absolutely pure
product commences with the treatment and
selection of raw materials and is particu-
larly rigid in connection with cotton. After
being carefully cleansed and prepared to
make it soluble the cotton is passed through
a huge drying machine in order to remove
the moisture which it contains under ordi-
nary atmospheric conditions. Special ma-
chines, called nitrating centrifugals, are
used to mix the cotton with nitrating acids.
These acids act upon the cotton in such a
way that it may later be dissolved into
honey-like "dope" and subsequently formed
into a transparent sheet or film backing.
After being treated with acids, the cotton
when washed and dried is called nitrated
cotton. A nitrating machine is shown in
one of the accompanying illustrations, with
cover raised, and consists of a large-sized
perforated basket which rotates in a vat.
A mixture of nitric acid and sulphuric acid
is poured into the vat until the cotton is
completely immersed. Operators clad in
rubber gloves and goggles so as not to be
burned by splashing acid douse the cot-
ton with paddles, as shown. The sulphuric
acid is used to dilute the nitric acid and to
absorb any moisture present in the mixture.
Shooting "Dope" at Kodak Park
After a short immersion the acid is
drained off from the cotton and then the
basket is rotated at a high speed to throw
out through the perforations as much of the
acid as possible. The treated cotton is next
removed to tanks of water, where it gets its
first washing. After being rinsed in the
above-mentioned tanks the cotton is again
passed into centrifugals, where water is
played on it and then conveyed to other
water tanks, where it is thoroughly washed
to remove all traces of acid. The excess
of water is now removed and the cotton is
then ready to be taken into solution by or-
ganic solvents. When dissolved the cotton is
changed to a thick viscous fluid resembling
honey which in kodak parlance is called
"dope."
The "dope" is passed through an elaborate
system of filters and finally spread in thin
layers on highly polished wheels which
form parts of immense machines several
stories high weighing approximately 150
tons. When dried it becomes the familiar
transparent backing on which the sensitive
material is coated. In designing these huge
machines for spreading the "dope," the en-
gineering talent of the company registered a
triumph. In spite of the size of the machine,
the accuracy is such that in a roll of film
as it comes from the machine, 3% feet wide
by 2000 feet long, the variation in thickness
is not more than % of y~nW °f an inc^
from end to end. Two thicknesses of sup-
port are made, one being about .003 inch
thick for ordinary nitro-cellulose or kodak
film, and the other .005 inch thick for motion-
picture film.
Purest of Virgin Silver
The silver, which is used in such great
quantities to make the sensitive emulsion,
is the purest that can be obtained. The
proverbial slogan, "99.9 per cent, pure," is
only enough to begin with in this case. The
silver comes in bars weighing about 500 troy
ounces. Each bar of silver is placed in a
large porcelain crock, as shown in one of
the accompanying illustrations, containing
diluted nitric acid. Silver nitrate is formed
in solution which in the next step is evap-
orated to the point of crystallization. In
viewing the many crocks with their wealth of
contents, as shown in the illustration, one is
dangerously liable to let his imagination go
rife. Think of all the treasures literally go-
ing into "soak"! The precious solution of
silver nitrate is poured into evaporating
dishes which are placed on steam tables
where the solution is heated to facilitate
evaporation.
Trying for "100 Per Cent Pure"
After a certain amount of the silver nitrate
has been crystallized, the crystals and liquids
remaining, called mother liquor, are poured off
into draining dishes which allow the mother
liquor to drain off. Here again we get that
everlasting search for purity which is so
necessary for high-quality photographic ma-
terial. The silver nitrate crystals are next
redissolved and recrystallized until all impuri-
ties are removed — a process which virtually
reduces itself into a chase after that J-$ per
cent, of foreign matter in the bullion silver
in order to have in the final run a straight
"100 per cent, pure" product.
The pure white silver nitrate crystals are
now placed in porcelain draining baskets,
as shown herewith, where as much of the
liquid as possible is drained off. The crys-
tals are next placed in shallow glass trays
and allowed to dry at first on open racks
and then in drying closets. They are finally
placed in covered jars and stored until
needed.
That Mysterious Emulsion
We now come to that mysterious some-
thing, the light-sensitive emulsion on which
when coated on the cellulose backing the in-
visible or latent image is impressed and,
through suitable chemical development,
brought out as a negative. To make a sen-
sitive emulsion a silver nitrate solution is
mixed with a solution of potassium of bro-
mide and gelatine dissolved in hot water,
thus forming insoluble silver bromide in the
solution, which is the compound that is
sensitive to light. The warm solution of
gelatine containing the silver bromide is
coated on the nitro-cellulose backing already
described. The gelatine solution with the
silver compound in it is called an emulsion
because of the way in which the silver bro-
mide remains suspended in the gelatine. Af-
ter the emulsion has been applied the film is
handled only in dark rooms which are kept
at a constant temperature and humidity. Of
course, the need of handling the huge quan-
tities of sensitive film and operating numer-
ous machines in dark rooms increases the
difficulty of manufacture and greatly adds to
the care and vigilance that must always be
exercised to secure a high-quality product.
The large rolls of sensitized film are now
packed in long tin cans and stored in a
special room until the slitting and inspection
departments are ready for them.
25
Inspections — and More Inspections
The film is inspected very carefully and
then slit into various lengths and widths for
motion-picture purposes and to fit the differ-
ent types of kodaks and brownies and other
kinds of cameras. A continual search for
defects is maintained so that only a high-
grade product may leave the plant. Inspec-
tions and tests figure in practically every
process. Besides repeated chemical tests of
raw materials, emulsions, etc., strips are
taken from every large roll of film and sub-
jected to numerous tests. The entire surface
of every roll before being cut up is also
closely examined by special inspectors. With
all this vigilance one can rest assured that
the possibility of anything but high-grade,
high-average quality film is very remote, and
it is largely due to such vigilance carried
out so thoroughly in all the plants that kodak
products are in such great demand in all
quarters of the globe.
New York State picture theatre exhibitors
have offered to flash on their screens each
Sunday the topics of sermons of local min-
isters. When the ministers have their own
screens in the near future they can do their
own "flashing."
Now Only ONE DOLLAR a Year
Educational Film Magazine — the same in
quality and quantity as formerly — can now
be had on yearly subscription for $1.00.
It is the only high-class publication in the
world, not a trade paper, exclusively cov-
ering the serious use of motion pictures.
"Should be backed up by everyone in-
terested in visual education." says Dudley
Grant Hays, Chicago Board of Education.
"Every issue a treat," says S. G. Reinertsen,
Supt. Alta. Iowa, Schools. Mail your dollar
NOW to Educational Film Magazine, Aeolian
Hall, New York City. A dollar well invested.
We will reproduce
Your Own Pictures
or copy of any kind
ON SLIDES
Each, 25c. plain
Each, 40c. colored
Standard size
Victor Featherweight
style
Guaranteed quality
Guaranteed Safe return of Copy
Show on the screen pictures which
"The Boys" bring back from
"Over There."
Send for our Slide Service Bulle-
tin and catalog of over 16,000
stock subjects
Photo Department
VICTOR ANIMATOGRAPH
COMPANY
122 Victor Bldg.
Davenport, Iowa, U. S. A.
CATALOG OF FILMS
EDUCATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE publishes each month classified descriptive lists of all motion picture films belong-
ing to the various groups of which this publication treats. The aim is to give accurate and dependable information
under each classification : In some instances this information comes from manufacturers, in other cases from distrib-
utors, frequently from the Editorial Offices of this magazine, occasionally from other sources. This magazine maintains an
Information Bureau which will endeavor to furnish data regarding any motion picture film in the fields covered. All
inquiries should be addressed Film Catalog Editor, EDUCA TIONAL FILM MAGAZINE, 33 West 42d Street, New York.
INDUSTRIAL
The following films are distributed by the
Industrial Department Motion Picture Bureau of
the International Committee Y. M. C. A.'s. The
headquarters are at 347 Madison avenue, New
York City. This film service is free. In con-
sideration of this service the exhibitor agrees:
to pay transportation from and to exchange or
the point of exhibition as directed by the
bureau; to see that the films are handled care-
fully, that they will be returned on the morning
following the last scheduled showing, and that
reports will be made promptly.
GIVING HIS WIFE A SQUARE DEAL. 2 reels
(Electricity).
TELEPHONE INVENTORS OF TO-
DAY (Electricity) : 3 reels
INSIDE THE BIG FENCE (Welfare) .. .2 reels
FORGING THE LINKS OF FELLOW-
SHIP (Electricity) 2 reels
A BRUSH WITH THE ENEMY 1 reel
(Toothpaste).
KEEP THE GOING BUSINESS GO-
ING (Fire Extinguishers) 1 reel
WORKMAN'S TOOLS 1 reel
ALPHA PORTLAND CEMENT 1 reel
THE RYZON GIRL (Baking Powder) ... 1 reel
TRACTOR FARMING 1 reel
FROM CAR TO' CAN (Paint) 1 reel
HOW THE MILLER HAS CHANGED
TO MEET MODERN CONDITIONS. .3 reels
(Flour).
THE MANUFACTURING OF CREPE
PAPER 1 reel
A PICTURE FRAME UP 1 reel
ALL IN THE SERVICE (Railroad) ... .3 reels
THE MANUFACTURING OF INK
AND CICO PASTE 1 reel
STAFFORD'S INK AND OFFICE SUP-
PLIES 1 reel
HOW UNIFORMS ARE MADE 2 reels
MAKING CANDY FOR THE SOL-
DIERS 1 reel
FROM WHEAT TO FLOUR 2 reels
MEPHISTO WOOD BORING TOOLS.. 1 reel
KING OF THE RAILS 3 reels
MAKING LINOLEUM 1 reel
SHREDDED WHEAT 2 reels
FOUNTAIN PEN MAKING 2 reels
HEADS WIN. I. C. S 3 reels
HEADS WIN— STORY OF VINCENT,
I. C. S 1 reel
THE CHEF'S REDEMPTION (Cereal). 1 reel
STACKING RAW HTDES 1 reel
THE VARNISH INDUSTRY 1 reel
MAKING A MODERN SHOE 1 reel
HOW FORD CARS ARE MADE ..2 reel?
SI SMITH'S CONVTCTTON 1 reel
PORTLAND CEMENT (Penn. Co.) 1 reel
FINE TOOLS 4 reels
ROMANCE OF WALDEN (Knives) 2 reels
THE OLIVE INDUSTRY 1 reel
THE ORANGE INDUSTRY 1 reel
SUGAR INDUSTRY 1 reel
FROM LOGS TO LUMBER 4 reels
MAKING A CAKE OF SOAP 1 reel
THE STORY OF A BOX OF CANDY.. 1 reel
MAKING A UKELELE 1 reel
MAKING CUT GLASS 2 reels
MAKING OF SHOES 2 reels
THE SALMON INDUSTRY 1 reel
ASBESTOS OUARRYING 1 reel
THE LUMBER INDUSTRY 1 reel
THE TALE OF A SHIRT 1 reel
POTTERY MAKING 1 reel
MAKING AN AUTOMOBILE 1 reel
APPLE RAISING 1 reel
MAKING AUTO WHEELS 1 reel
The following films are owned by the Board
of Education, Chicago, 111., and are supplied to
schools and institutions in that citv and in
Illinois. The Bureau of Commercial Economics,
a private distributing office, at Washington. D. C,
also has some of these prints. All of them may
be obtained direct from the manufacturing plants
where the pictures were taken or from their
selling agents.
FROM GRASS TO GLASS.
The milk industry.
IMPROVED FARM MACHINERY.
Rumelev Company.
ILLINOIS STEEL (Gary Mills). Part T.
ILLINOIS STEEL (Gary Mills). Part IT.
ORANGE INDUSTRY— SKIING AND NOR-
WAY WINTER SCENES.
PIG IRON— PAPER— GLUE.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN RAILWAY ELECTRIFI-
CATION.
SPONGE FISHING IN CUBA AND THE
CARIBBEAN SEA.
SPRING LOG DRIVING IN MAINE. (N. I.)
TAPESTRY WEAVING— ITALY.
Including a short eruption of Veruvius.
THE FORD FACTORY Part I.
THE FORD FACTORY. Part II.
SAFETY FIRST.
Ford Motor Co.
THE FORD ENGLISH SCHOOL.
THE EVOLUTION OF HARVESTING.
Part I.
International Harvester Co.
THE EVOLUTION OF HARVESTING.
Part II.
International Harvester Co.
RAILWAY EQUIPMENT; BASKET MAK-
ING; MAKING A MODERN NEWSPAPER.
HEMP GROWING IN NEW ZEALAND AND
STRAITS OF BONIFACIO.
ALGERIA NEW AND OLD— NORWAY
WOOD INDUSTRY— PACIFIC COAST LOG
RAFT.
MEDICAL AND SURGICAL
Manufactured by U. S. Government agencies.
Assembled, printed and distributed by the In-
struction Laboratory of the Surgeon General's
Office, Army Medical Museum, Washington, D. C.
KELLER HAND 1 reel
TEMPORARY ARTIFICIAL LEG OR THE
PYLON 1 reel
CENTER OF PHYSEOTHERAPY OF THE
13TH REGION— Vichy 2 reels
NORMAL SCHOOL AND MILITARY CEN-
TER OF PRAPPEMINAL 2 reels
Re-education for the mutilated of the war
at Bordeaux.
AGRICULTURAL RE-EDUCATION AT
LYONS ._ 1 reel
Under inspection of President Poincaire.
PHYSICAL RECONSTRUCTION OF DIS-
ABLED SOLDIERS AT WALTER REED
HOSPITAL 2 reels
THE RIFLE GRENADE 1 reel
LIGHT FRENCH MORTAR 2 reels
BROWNING MACHINE GUN 2 reels
DRILL OF GUN SECTION— FIELD GUN
BATTERY 2 reels
SIMPLE FIRST AID HINTS 1 reel
IMPROVED METHOD OF PREPARING AND
ADMINISTERING CARRELL DAKIN SOLU-
TION 1 reel
AN ARTILLERY TEAM IN DRAFT 2 reels
INFANTRY PACK AND EQUIPMENTS reels
DISABILITIES OF SOLDIER'S FOOT AND
THEIR TREATMENT 5 reels
CARE OF HORSE AND MULE.. 1 reel
ELEMENTS OF MAP READING 2 reels
HARNESS AND HARNESSING 2 reels
THE MOSQUITO 1 reel
U. S. ARMY X-RAY AMBULANCE 1 reel
FIGHTING THE FLY IN
CLEVELAND 1 reel
PICTOGRAPHS— MISCELLANEOUS
The films listed and described below are known
by the trade name "Paramount-Bray Picto-
graphs." They are produced by The Bray
Studios, Inc., New York City, and are dis-
tributed weekly by 27 Famous Players-Lasky
exchanges located in large cities in every sec-
tion of the United States. One of these ex-
changes is in your section. "The first and the
original magazine on the screen, and still the
best" is the way the organization describes its
releases. There are three or four short sub-
jects on each reel. They embrace science, in-
vention, industry, travel, scenic, social welfare,
current events and miscellaneous material. They
are offered on rental "at nominal cost." Full
particulars may be had at the exchanges men-
tioned. The numbers given are the order num-
bers supplied by Bray.
HARVESTING WAR TIMBERS. B. 6040.
UNCLE SAM'S HINTS TO HOUSEWIVES
NO. 4— The Fireless Cooker.
GOODRICH DIRT At the Training Camp.
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF FAR EASTERN
ARTS— Japanese Floral Artistry. B. 6041.
FARMING FOR FUR.
CARTOON— Putting Volcanoes to Work.
STRAW WEAVERS OF THE TROPICS.
B. 6042.
UNCLE SAM'S HINTS TO HOUSEWIVES
NO. 5 — How to Preserve Eggs.
"OVER THE JUMPS" WITH THE ARMY
TRACTORS.
BOBBY BUMPS and Fido's Birthday Party.
THE WORLD'S GREATEST MOUNTED
POLICE. B. 6043.
TRENCH TORCHES.
CARTOON— The Gasoline Engine.
THE ART OF MONOPRINTING. B. 6044.
MAKING THE OCEAN SAFE.
AN X-RAY ON TEETH.
GOODRICH DIRT at the Amateur Show.
THE "WOMANLY" ART OF SELF DE-
FENSE. B. 6045.
SCIENTIFIC SWEETMEATS.
THE FASTEST THING ON FOUR LEGS.
BOBBY BUMPS, Early Shopper.
WINTER SPORTS IN COLORADO. B. 6046.
THE BUSY BEE IN WAR TIMES.
UNCLE SAM'S HINTS TO HOUSEWIVES
NO. 6 — A Substitute for Butter.
FREAK PATENTS— The Balloon R. R.
(Leventhal.)
THE DIARY OF A DOG CHAUFFEUR.
B. 6047.
MAKING CORD TO BIND UNCLE SAM'S
HARVESTS.
GOODRICH DIRT and the $1,000 Reward.
WAR DOGS. B. 6048.
KNIT YOUR BIT.
BOBBY BUMPS, "Tank."
SCENICS
These one-reel scenics (Outing-Chester and
Rathacker Outdoors) are handled through the
Exhibitors' Mutual Distributing Corporation,
1600 Broadway, New York, and their various ex-
changes. Outing-Chester scenics from No. 16
to date, for use outside of theatres, are dis-
tributed by the Community Motion Picture Bu-
reau, 46 West 24th Street, New York, and their
branches throughout the United States.
A DAM CATASTROPHE (Outing-Chester).
No. 7.
"A Dam Catastrophe" illustrates with the
fidelity of the camera just how Mr. Beaver
goes at cutting down a tree ten times as
big around as ha is himself with the razor
sharp teeth nature has provided him for
doing just such strenuous work.
STATIA WITH A PAST (Outing-Chester).
No. 8.
St. Eustatia, or "Statia," is one of the queer-
est spots in the world. In 1812 it was the
busiest little island on the face of the earth,
and the Dutch traded there from every cor-
ner of the earth.
PINES UP AND PALMS DOWN (Outing-
Chester). No. 9.
A wonderful camera illustration of delights
that await the adventurous on pine fringed
rivers of the north, as well as on the palm
fringed semi-tropical courses of the Floridan
Everglades.
PIN FEATHER PICCANINNIES (Outing-
Chester). No. 10.
When the millions of long-legged terns hold
their annual spring convention on the Gulf
Coast islands, there is as much noise as was
ever heard in the noisiest gathering that ever
acclaimed a nomination for president.
FINEST ON FOUR FEET (Outing-Chester).
No. 11.
Dogs are divided into two classes, just like
human beings — -thoroughbreds and "mutts."
The camera man in this "Dog Film," a dog
fancier himself, has assembled an extraordi-
nary canine congress of nations for this pic-
ture.
SABA THE ASTONISHING (Outing-Chester).
No. 12.
Strangest of all islands is Saba. Here on this
seagirt volcanic cone is a snug little town
one thousand feet above the sea. There they
build boats where every plank must be carried
on the men's heads.
A JUNGLE JOY RIDE (Outing-Chester).
No. 13.
Twenty reckless miles with native boatmen
on the tempestuous Potaro River, through the
unexplored wilds of British Guiana.
UNBLAZED TRAILS (Outing-Chester). No. 14.
A hazardous hunt for trophies with a motion
picture camera in the unvisited ice-fields and
among the peaks of the Canadian Rockies.
26
• A TROPIC MELTING POT (Outing-Chester).
i ! No. 15.
Rough-neck and cavalier, noble and savage,
prince, pauper and private — they drift to the
gay cities and hidden villages of South Amer-
ica and form a strange race of fascinating
cosmopolitans.
VACATION LAND (Rothacker). No. 20.
Business cares forgotten, the boiled shirts and
conventions of home stored away — we wan-
der through the Promised Land.
HITTING THE PIKE (Rothacker). No. 21.
A nose drive through America's greatest play-
ground. Thrills, throbs and everythin'. Visit
the Bug House.
HIGH AND HUNGRY (Rothacker). No. 22.
A horseback ramble over the mountains, lakes
and snows of Glacier National Park. A trip
that set Mr. Hoover back some.
.TEETOTALERS, TEA AND TOTEM POLES
I lothacker). No. 23.
Far from the Bright Lights among the
mountain lakes with their pine-clad banks.
Truly God's country — here the things worth
while are made and found — also glimpses of
the "Old" and some of the "New" inhabitants.
GEEZERS AND GEYSERS (Rothacker).
No. 24.
Yellowstone National Park contains more
geysers than all the rest of the world to-
gether,^ boiling springs — mud volcanoes. The
first view can never be forgotten. The first
explorers thought they smelled brimstone.
BULLS AND BEARS (Rothacker). No. 25.
The Yellowstone National Park is the largest
wild animal preserve in the world and bears
cross the road without haste ahead of the
passersby. . . . Here live the last of the
wild buffalo.
WESTERN STUFF (Rothacker). No. 26.
Buffalo Bill. Frederick Remington and Bret
Harte have familiarized us with the picturesque
Western cowboy and his "cow country." See
them both as they exist today — "do" the an-
nual ranch roundup with us. Thrills a plenty!
TRAVEL
The Burlingham Travel Pictures are thus de-
scribed by the distributors, the Wm. L. Sherry
Service, 729 Seventh Avenue, New York:
An extraordinary collection of motion picture
subjects taken by the distinguished American
lecturer, traveler and naturalist, Frederick Bur-
lingham, in odd and dangerous parts of the
world. These pictures are not the ordinary so-
called "scenic" or "educational type" — they are
real adventure pictures in which men may be
seen risking their lives on the top crags of the
perilous Alps and in the craters of active vol-
canoes.
SCRAMBLES IN THE HIGH ALPS....1 reel
These Alpine scenes are unique. Mr. Bur-
lingham is _ famous for his mountaineering
movie exploits and portions of this film equal
anything he has yet done. The picture starts
in Zermatt, Switzerland. With the best guides
obtainable the scrambles begin, first, through
the mountain buttresses, then up cliffs into the
perpetual snow land, where moving clouds are
seen sweeping the towering crags, the picture
culminating in a thrilling ascent of some very
precipitous granite needles where a slip would
mean instant death.
THE RIVIERA OF LAC LEMAN 1 reel
Lake Geneva is the biggest in Switzerland and
the mountains here are snow-capped even in
midsummer. The approach to this magic shore
is made by lake steamer which passes close
to the famous Island of the Swans set like a
pearl in the blue lake. Far above are seen
the hotels at Caux. while higher still rise the
Rochers de Naye, 6,800 feet, swept by clouds.
Montreux; Clavens, immortalized by Rousseau;
Territet; the Chateau of Chillon, made famous
by Byron; Glion, with its hanging gardens,
and the Dents du Midi are also features of
this picture.
LOVELY LUCERNE 1 reel
Lucerne is an old medieval Swiss town dating
back to 735 A. D. It is protected by a high
stone wall interspersed with nine towers used
in ancient times to defend the citv.
The Pont de la Chapelle, bridge built in
1333 A. D. across the clear blue-green water
of the Reuss, is an example nf the picturesque
architecture in which the city abounds^ The
bridge itself is an art museum containing 121
panel paintings representing the valorous deeds
of the city's heroes. This film is filled with
such quaint curiosities.
J ROM ZERMATT UP THE
ORNERGRAT 1 reel
This picture is filled -with extraordinary
scenes, including glimpses ~ii 55 glaciers and
many views of the Matterhorn, 14.705 feet
high, the most famous mountain in the world.
At the beginning of the picture the com-
fortable electric train is seen crossing the
Findelen viaduct, the highest in Europe. Soon
our tourists arrive at the famous Riffelalp
alpine terrace, where thousands go every year
to meditate on the colossal grandeur of the
Matterhorn. Here one gets views of the ter-
rible Weisshorn and Zinal-Rothorn, where so
many expert mountaineers have lost their lives.
On reaching the Gornergrat, nearly two
miles high, one sees the grandest panorama
possible, including a perfect galaxy of alpine
giants such as the Monte Rosa, Michabelhnr-
ner, Lyskamm, Breithorn and Matterhorn.
ZOOLOGY
One of the most fascinating series of half-
reel (500 feet) pictures that has been devised tor
assembly hall, classroom, church, community
centre, etc., is Ditmars' "Living Book of Na-
ture." They were photographed, arranged and
titled by Prof. Raymond L. Ditmars, curator of
the New York Zoological Gardens, and are au-
thoritative. Fifty -three subjects are available,
through the Educational Films Corporation of
America, at their various exchanges.
TURTLES OF ALL LANDS.
Dispelling a popular idea that the turtle is a
dull, uninteresting creature that is extremely
slow in its motions.
EVOLUTION.
A study of animal life as it existed many
years ago in comparison with animal life of
today — a particularly entertaining and im-
portant educational subject.
LIFE IN INLAND WATERS.
Various lively scenes show the trials and
tribulations of aquatic insects. How they are
transformed to creatures of the air.
ENEMIES OF' THE GARDEN.
The strange monsters of our own back yards — -
carrying on their persistent work of destruc-
OUR 'VANISHING GAME.
An animal picture with a moral which illus-
trates surprising facts — wild game animals
shown in their own areas.
LIFE OF THE SPIDER.
Fascinating subjects, teeming with difficulties
to tax the ingenuity and skill of the producer
— resulting in an astonishing photographic feat
that is intensely interesting.
NATURE'S SONGSTERS.
Strange events in the lives of the smaller
birds that not one in a hundred thousand per-
sons could ever learn, except in years of
observation.
ANIMALS IN MIDSUMMER.
A companion picture to the story of the ani-
mals in midwinter, that answers the question
as to what happens in the Zoo in the intense
heat of July and August.
LIFE IN THE INSECT WORLD.
A host of strange things difficult to under-
stand from mere written descriptions — particu-
larly wonderful scenes of a rare phospho-
rescent insect of the West Indies.
The films listed and described below were
directed and manufactured by W. L. Brind. He
calls them "popular educational moving pic-
tures." They are being distributed by the
Eskay-Harris Film Co., 126 West Forty-sixth
Street, New York City. There are two sub-
jects on each reel — eight reels in all. The de-
scriptions given are those furnished by Mr.
Brind:
"DENIZENS OF THE DEEP" No. 2. Split-reel 5
A marvelous submarine picture of great beauty,
showing the Argus or "Many-eyed" fish from
Java in a coral grotto: next the "Missing
Link" from Soerabaia, a strange beast half fish,
half prehistoric monster supposed to have
given rise to the myth about Mermaids, as
it springs out of the sea on to a rock, where
it loves to bask and only re-enters the water
when scared. This is the only living speci-
men ever seen in this country. Following
this we see "Buffalo Trunk Fish," "Spade
Fish," "Sea Robin," Queen Trigger Fish,"
"Sergeant Majors" and finally Sea-Horses,
frolicking on the ocean bed.
"BIRDS OF THE TROPICS" Split-reel 5
Here we see many extremely rare and odd
birds of the Tropics such as the scarce Electus
Parrots from New Guinea, various Macaws,
Parrots, Parrakeets, Cockatoos, Cockateels and
lastly the Laughing Toucan, a veritable
"Charlie Chaplin" of Birdland, completing a
most entertaining reel.
"DOG KENNELS AFLOAT" Split-reel 6
Who ever heard of Breeding Dogs in num-
bers on a Houseboat? In a lovely wooded
cove on a river two Australian ladies keep
35 adult prize dogs, Bull-dogs, French Bull-
dogs, Boston Bull-dogs, Seeleyhams, Wire-hair
Terriers and Cocker Spaniels and their puppies,
on the upper deck of a fifty-foot house-boat!
Beautiful close-up scenes of dogs and their
puppies are presented and their association
with their fair owners.
"MICROSCOPIC LIFE IN
WATER" Split-reel 6
Water contains a wonderful assortment of
strange and fearful creatures when revealed
through the microscope and this film shows a
big collection of them — quite enough to make
us pause and reflect before drinking unfiltered
water! This film speaks for itself — no
words could convey any idea of the infinity
of different forms of life shown in it.
"THE MOSQUITO PEST" Split-reel 7
Mosquitos introduce themselves to us without
formalities and have been proven to be car-
riers of malaria and yellow fever and other
serious diseases. This film shows their life-
history- — microscopic views of their anatomy
and of their natural enemies — and their life
under water, at the surface and finally their
departure on the wing are all clearly shown
and a very valuable lesson taught thereby.
"FAMILIAR REPTILES Split-reel 7
This pictures shows reptiles of various kinds,
in natural and also in grotesque phases. A
Bullfrog "swallows" an Alligator! Turtles,
27
■Newts, Tadpoles of Toads and Frogs and vari-
ous species of frogs and their life-history
from eggs to completely developed frogs are
entertainingly and instructively demonstrated.
"BUTTERFLY WONDERS" Split-reel 8
Most of us know what Butterflies and Moths
look like as they flutter about in our gardens
or surround the street lamps at dusk, but
how many of us ever saw a butterfly op moth
come out of its chrysalis or cocoon? Who
have observed how caterpillars feed, grow,
change their skins, and finally throw off their
last skin to become chrysalides from which
beautiful butterflies burst fort.., grow their
wings as we catch them sipping honey from
flowers and finding their mates, fly away?
'AQUATIC PLANT LIFE" Split-reel 8
Seaweeds and plants growing out of sight un-
der the sea or in fresh waters are now shown
for the first time in film. Their wondrous
beauty is clearly depicted as they grow at vary-
ing depths below the surface. A wonderful
view of the juices circulating through the
branches of a plant (microscopic) is given,
illustrating the similarity between plants and
animals whose blood circulates through arteries.
"The Pitcher Plant" is shown in the act of
catching and devouring an insect.
TT^ROM one class-room into the
other, is the daily course of
the DeVry in many of America's
foremost pedagogical institutions.
America's leading educators,
realizing and appreciating the
power and scope of motion pic-
tures for educational purposes,
and desiring the use of this won-
derful aid in pedagogy in every
phase of their activities, have —
after careful investigation —
adopted the DeVry Portable Mo-
tion Picture Projector as being
the one Projector in existence
that makes practical the unlim-
ited use of film.
Write today for a catalog and
complete specifications. Address
THE DEVRY CORPORATION
1230 Marianna Street
Chicago, III.
ANALYSIS OF MOTION IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
Secrets of the Slow and the Fast "Take" Disclosed — Filming Flower
Growth and Building Construction — Simultaneous Motion Charts —
Animated Drawings Described
By William O. Owen, M. D.
Former Curator, Army Medical Museum, Washington, D. C.
(Part II — Conclusion)
I have one picture taken at 160 to the
second with a special camera which was
created by two of the men in the group
which I had the good fortune to look after
for nearly a year. These pictures of men
playing baseball, smoking cigarettes, spit-
ting, and all of the normal, rapid motions
appearing very, very, very slowly, the ratio
Being 10 to 1 of the speed at which it was
taken.
Motion Plus Time and Distance
These pictures can be added to very great-
ly in value if they shall be taken with time
and distance within the field. One of my
friends has chosen a four-inch screen as
his screen upon which to photograph all
matters in which) he is interested in making
a study from a scientific standpoint, simply
because four inches is practically a decime-
ter (only lacking .63 of being four inches).
Now when this screen is used and the move-
ment taken upon it, it keeps the distance
always in the field, no matter what part of
the field the movement takes place in, be-
cause the floors as well as the sidewalls
should have this four-inch screen upon them.
If, in addition to this, one shall place
into the field some continuous moving
timer which shall be free from an escape-
ment because of the dead points in the
escapement, and then take the picture, one
will have both time and distance in the
picture, and thus add very greatly to the
value of it; and it will enable the scientist
to study these matters, making a "simul-
taneous motion chart," as the engineers
call it.
It is my belief that when the medical
world shall wake to this and shall make
a study of spasmodic diseases of various
characters with the time and distance rec-
ords, it will enable them to solve many of
the mechanical difficulties due to their in-
ability to see the movement which takes
place in the individual pictures.
I was very much interested in one of
the experiments of my friend Frank Gil-
bert, of Providence, in which these matters
were brought to his attention three years
afterwards (he had not noticed it, though
he had made a careful study of these pic-
tures at the time) by a young engineer
student who had made a simultaneous mo-
tion chart and noticed the irregularity of
the rectangle of time and distance due to a
small irregularity in the pathway of the
loaded man.
Animated Drawings Described
There remains yet another character of
moving pictures to be described, namely,
animated diagrams. Animated diagrams de-
pend upon the fact that the impression
made by continuous motion can be simu-
lated by giving the retina first a picture and
then repeating it a little further on with-
out giving the retina sufficient time to gain
a distinct strong impression of this pic-
ture, for the retina will not pick up these
pictures when the impression is much less
than 8 to the second. The animated dia-
gram man takes advantage of this and does
his work somewhat after the following
method: He draws in the background,
which he wishes to appear permanently,
and then makes a drawing of the scene
which he wishes to appear upon it. He
then places this over the background and
takes a picture of it, then he changes a
position; for instance, that of the foot and
knee and slipping them just a little bit
further on than the picture was before,
while the body changes position in the
same way, and he keeps repeating this one
by one, not taking to exceed two pictures
of any one scene. This can best be told
you by giving you a picture that I have
actually had shown. For instance, a chisel
is to dig a hole into a piece of wood upon
the scene. The first thing to be done is
to draw a picture of the wood, then draw
a picture of the chisel, then of the mallet
that is to drive it in. Now cut each one of
these pictures out of the cardboard within
the black lines which have surrounded and
complete the drawing.
In order not to have the picture com-
plicated let's take the chisel and carry it
into the piece of wood. The wood draw-
ing is placed upon the scene and a couple
of pictures taken, then the chisel is put
within the scene, a couple of pictures taken;
moved a half inch, two more taken; moved
a half inch, two more taken, until it arrives
at the position that you wanted to dig your
hole into the piece of wood. Now if in
moving the chisel to that position from the
side of the picture you have taken sixteen
pictures, then the thing will go upon the
screen as one single second as the time
upon which the movement has taken place,
because it is thrown upon the screen at 16
pictures to the second, and you have sixteen
pictures in your vision. If you increase
these pictures to four" you will get a very
decided jerk because you have impressed
the retina strongly with it and the result
is this jerk when the position on the retina
is changed.
"Freak" Printer and Camera
In the course of the work which I did
two of the young men with me invented
two machines: one which I choose to call,
for lack of a better name, a multiplex
printer, the machine taking the negative
and printing two prints from each individual
picture in the negative, or four, or six, or
eight as is preferred. With two there is no
jerk, the jerk gradually increasing until
with the eight it is very vivid and decided
from one place to another.
The other was an ultra rapid camera.
They took some pictures at the rate of 160
to the second.
"The Law of Nature," an eight reeler deal-
ing with the menace of alcohol, was written
by David G. Fisher in collaboration with Cap-
tain Richmond Pearson Hobson, of Merrimac
fame. "The Mayor of Filbert," a Triangle
production, also deals with prohibition.
">8
NATIONAL JUVENILE M. P. LEAGUE
"Clean Movies for Children" the Slogan at |
Annual Meeting in New York
"We want to teach moving picture syndi-
cates that, from a business standpoint, it
will pay them to put clean pictures before
the children of this country. In order to
turn out the finest products of American
manhood and womanhood, you must catch
'em young and give 'em the habit. There
is no better way to give them this habit
than to show them clean moving pictures
which have been purged of all virus."
"Don't Advertise Dirt" ■
Such were the declarations of Thomas W.
Churchill, formerly president of the New
York City Board of Education, before the
annual meeting of the National Juvenile
Motion Picture League held May 23 at the
Sage Foundation Building, New York. The
league was formed more than a year ago
for the purpose of selecting and presenting
to children suitable films.
"The hint Mrs. Woodward has is not to
advertise dirt," continued Mr. Churchill.
"She is right. If we say a thing is dirty
every eye is turned toward it. If we say it
is clean, every eye is turned toward it like-
wise. We must bring clean pictures to the
attention of our children. It is up to us as
educators, teachers, fathers and mothers and
as public spirited citizens to see that clean
water is run through these plastic minds."
Industrial Films Urged
Dr. William L. Ettinger, superintendent
of New York City Schools, voiced his appre-
ciation of the work of the league in co-
operating with the board of education in
selecting films suitable for children and in
providing in m tion picture theatres per-
formances especially for children. He also
suggested the introduction of more industrial
and commercial films.
George Gordon Battle, who has long been
prominent in social welfare work, spoke oi
the movies as a keen-edged tool which must
be guided, and urged that for the sake of
the children it be guided in the right path.
Entertainment and Education
Mrs. Adele F. Woodward, president of
the league, voiced the hope that the market
would soon be so flooded with instructive
motion pictures that ordinary routine school
work would, in a great part, be supplanted.
"Entertainment and education go hand in
hand," she said, "and they can never be
divorced."
ARMY MEDICAL FILMS
Major Henry C. Marble, of Boston, and
Captain J. Spencer Davis, of Dallas, Texas,
both of the U. S. A. Medical Corps, have
been ordered by the army authorities to
make a permanent film record of "The Ap
proved Methods in Splints and Appliances
for the Treatment of Bone and Joint In-'
juries, As Used at the United States Army
Base Hospitals in France, 1917 to 1919,"
The pictures were made, for the most part,
at General Hospital No. 3, Colonia, N. J.
There will be from three to four reels in all,
«
the negative to be deposited for safe-keeping
in the Army Medical Museum, Washington,
D. C. Major Marble was stationed for 20
months in Base Hospital No. 6 in France.
He operated upon hundreds of wounded
soldiers.
FLASHES ON THE WORLD'S SCREEN
News Notes and Comment on Educational and Allied Films
from Institutions, Organizations, Producers, and Individuals
in the United States and Canada and Overseas
Dunwoody Institute, Minneapolis, is cir-
culating to schools, clubs and organizations
free of charge educational films supplied by
the Bureau of Commercial Economics, a
private concern at Washington, D. C. This
bureau is supported by large industrial or-
anizations and private as well as propa-
ganda interests. The subjects furnished to
Dunwoody include the naval training ship
and naval training school; Battle Creek
sanitarium; Cardinal Farley's return to
America; gas harvester as the grain sees it;
historical Boston; the rubber industry; the
story of the typewriter; the silver industry;
scenes of San Francisco and Santa Fe, New
Mexico; up the Parana river; from wheat
to flour; the cotton industry; making a box
of candy; the olive industry.
ft
Sister A. Clare, dean of St. Mary-of-the
Woods College, Indiana, with other sisters
and girl students recently witnessed a show-
ing of "Mrs. Leffingwell's Boots," with Con-
stance Talmadge as the star, on the college
screen. The picture was made from the
stage play by Augustus Thomas.
"Training the Soldier Mechanic," a vo-
cational film made at the William L. Dick-
inson High School, Jersey City, N. J., which
illustrates various training methods of the
vocation section of the Students' Army
Training Corps, was exhibited in the ball-
room of the Hotel McAlpin, New York City,
on Friday evening, April 18, at the annual
convention of the Eastern Arts Association.
W
Cave dwellers, Vikings and Norsemen in
battle, Handley Page airplanes bombing
Berlin, and other historical "thrillers" have
been put into the British national film, "The
Warrior Strain," produced by F. Martin
Thornton. It is to be hoped that this pic-
ture will be seen on this side of the Atlantic,
as well as that other historical classic,
"Nelson."
Mb
The King and Queen of England, the
Queen of Norway, Princess Victoria, Prince
Henry, the members of the royal household,
and many tenants on the Sandringham es-
tate saw the army and navy boxing films at
Sandringham Palace some weeks ago. Lieu-
tenant E. G. Tong, the War Office cinema-
tographer, was in charge of the exhibition.
9
■ The Jack London stories are to be filmed
on an elaborate scale by C. E. Shurtleff in
this country, among the first to be "The
Call of the North," "Smoke Bellew" and
"Odyssey of the North." The novels of the
late Seton Merriman are also to be pictur-
ized by the African Film Productions in
England and on the Dark Continent.
ft-
Dr. John L. Kelly recently lectured on the
teeth, at Washington Irving High School,
New York, with motion pictures as illus-
trations. The affair was under the auspices
of the National Round Table for Speech Im-
provement in co-operation with the Division
of Educational Hygiene of the New York
Board of Education.
The Provincial Department of Agriculture
of Saskatchewan, Canada, is teaching the
farmers of the province the latest ideas in
farming and agriculture by means of motion
pictures and lantern slides. Not only the
growth of wheat and other products of the
soil but the care and production of cattle,
pigs, poultry and livestock are embraced in
the extensive plans of the department. The
Ontario Department of Agriculture is work-
ing along similar lines.
Animated technical drawings telling the
story of how coal is mined, by E. Dean
Parmelee, of the Bray Studios, New York,
appear in the April 13th release of the
Paramount-Bray Pictograph. Shafts are
sunk to the coal bed, levels are cut, and
chambers excavated. On the surface lumps
of coal pass through the breakers, and are
graded, cleaned, and stored, ready for trans-
portation.
Four o'clock Sunday afternoon motion
pictures are shown at St. Paul's Methodist
Church, on the west side of Chicago. Bibli-
cal narratives and historical studies make
up the programs. The life of Abraham Lin-
coln, the "Son of Democracy" series, is
being shown in ten weekly episodes.
"The Golden Eaglet," the national Girl
Scout film, has been shown lately in Albany,
Philadelphia, and other cities. All the dif-
ferent phases of scoutcraft are picturized,
including the fun of summer camps, hikes,
swimming, and camp fires. The first reel
visualizes the experiences, of young girls
attracted to the girl scout movement, how
they are saved from useless occupations and
become healthy, vigorous, useful and happy
through their new-found activities.
Lieutenant Colonel E. R. Lewis, U. S. A.,
recently exhibited motion pictures of the
work of the aviation section to members of
the medical profession in the Hotel Port-
land, Portland, Oregon.
Charles Cottar, famous big game hunter,
is shown in hand-to-paw battles with lions
and in close shaves with rhinoceroses in the
Outing-Chester release of April 20, called
"Cameraring through Africa." One is re-
minded of Paul Rainey's remarkable ani-
mal films. Besides Mr. Cottar's adventures
are seen hippopotamus families bathing and
sunning themselves on the sand, many
crocodiles, the mysterious Great Kudu, and
herds of zebras, giraffes, waterbucks, and
antelopes.
George W. Coleman of Boston proposes
that films be used instead of a lecturer at
the Open Forum meetings. David K. Niles,
in charge of film work for the United States
29
Department of Labor, is co-operating with
him in selecting pictures of suitable char-
acter for these meetings.
Motion pictures of bombs dropping from
airplanes were a feature of the recent aero-
nautical show at Madison Square Garden,
New York City. The films clearly showed
that the bomb, after being released, travels
forward practically at the same rate as the
airplane, so that it is directly under the
plane when it explodes.
Films recently settled a heated contro-
versy as to who had rightly won the de-
cision in the boxing contest between Pal
Moore, of this country, and Jim Wilde, the
British champion. The pictures proved to
the satisfaction of boxing experts exactly
what took place, and that the American was
justly entitled to the decision.
Anti-tuberculosis films were shown re-
cently in Philadelphia by the Society for the
Prevention of Tuberculosis, at the Friends'
Neighborhood Guild and at the S. S. White
Dental Manufacturing Company.
AN ANTI-BOLSHEVISM PHOTOPLAY
(Continued from page 19)
far as I know, it is the first and only serious
screen attempt to knock the weak-kneed
props from under red radicalism and
I. W. W.-ism in America and, as such, should
be exploited widely and exhibited every-
where in this country. It is thought-
compelling and arouses a passionate fervor
for real democracy and Americanism. Not
alone in theatres, where its romantic and >
sex elements, realistic fight scenes, and sin-
cere patriotism will appeal, but in schools,
colleges, churches, the various "Y's" in in-
dustrial plants, labor unions, and other
institutions interested in Americanization
work should this picture be shown, and not
, once but several times. A good plan would
be to have a flag-raising, patriotic songs and
exercises, and a short speech or two as part
of the program.
Some institutions and officials may wish to
eliminate the two scenes in which nude and
semi-nude female figures appear, and perhaps
the portion of the bedroom scene in which
Wolff carries Barbara in his arms and
throws her shrieking, on the bed; but, for
adult spectators, I would advise leaving the
film as it is, to convey the lesson all the more
strongly. Before an optience of children,
however, the scenes mentioned should be
omitted. ■ The impressionistic child mind
will grasp the true significance of the pic-
ture without emphasis being unduly placed
upon sex.
MICROMOTION STUDIES
EDUCATION
(Continued from page 13)
IN
20 random New York classes of 20-40 pupils
found 64 per cent, of the spoken words
teacher activity, and but 36 per cent, of the
spoken words divided among the pupils.
Different classes varied from 116 to 206
questions and answers in a forty-five minute
period. In 6 history lessons, the percentage
of questions involving judgment ranged only
from 5-27. In a group of 7 classes averaging
fewer than 90 questions, 63 per cent, were
memory questions repeating the text-book,
in 9 other classes, 73 per cent. Horn '15
in the Teachers College Record prints steno-
graphic reports, and Farmer '14 made use
of them in his survey of Wisconsin normal
schools. Such methods are suggestive, but
inadequate when contrasted with complete,
synchronous phonographic and photographic
records.
Visualizing the Motion Path
With reference to the second fundamental
problem outlined by Learned, these methods
should strengthen the teacher's efficiency.
This is a true form of modern school inspec-
tion, since it attends to the process itself, and
demonstrates its significance to the teacher.
Cinematographic and cyclegraphic photo-
graphs, phonographic records and motion
models would serve as most admirable teach-
ing devices, for through them there could be
transferred the "selected elements of skill
and experience, in a new synthesized cycle
of least waste." In the practical arts such a
teaching device as the motion model visual-
izes the motion path. The films passed from
teacher to teacher, record in concrete detail
the best methods of doing school work.
As outlined, classes in manual arts, house-
hold arts and geography of the sixth and
eighth grades, have been filmed in the Bridg-
ham School, Providence. This school is su-
perior to the average, and so selected after
inspecting other schools. In the junior high
school movement, there is the similar possi-
bility of including junior high school grades
and subjects, filming the best procedures in
these schools; and eventually developing
standard film-scales for rating any junior
high school. A single film may contain in
rapid, contrasting series, for ranking by rel-
ative position, superior, mediocre, and infe-
rior solutions of any school situation. Films
containing such advanced data should con-
stitute a distinct force in developing back-
ward schools. Similarly, in one-room rural
schools, some 200,000 in number, it is but a
step in technique to supplement by films
the slides now made for the Department of
Agriculture.
The possibilities of illustrating school sur-
veys by such photographic features are ex-
tensive, as compared with slides now made
in routine practice. Existing measuring
scales themselves, if supplemented by stand-
ard films of their procedures as instructions
for presentation, should gain in precision.
Though careful attempts are made in the
experimental work of psychological labora-
tories to control and record attendant condi-
tions and train research assistants to ob-
serve correctly, it is difficult to reconcile pres-
ent practice, utilizing written notes and indi-
vidual observers, with complete, permanent
films or phonograph records having all at-
tendant variables and susceptible of full veri-
fication. It is unsafe to limit the possibili-
ties of micromotion films, supplemented by
the phonographic feature, whether as con-
trols in the laboratory, or as standards of
teaching efficiency and instruction cards pic-
tured to the last detail.
Handwriting and Reading Films
In fact, in the Clark University laboratory,
Snoddy '15, has applied the Gilbreth cycle-
graphic method in a careful, as yet unpub-
lished study, of the learning process in
mirror tracing a star. At Chicago, Freeman
and Gray now report intensive studies of
handwriting and reading. "The use of
moving pictures and of a hand tracer in
making possible the study of the rapid mo-
tions and the fine adjustments in writing
and the use of a two lensed camera, operated
synchronously with a phonograph, to record
the eye movements, vocal adjustments and
the time elements in reading, give promise
of enabling an analyses that will show the
motor correlates of good and poor reading
as well as suggesting the psychological con-
comitants." Or, again, according to Saun-
ders '14 a company was preparing to illus-
trate in motion pictures such texts as Thorn-
dike and Strayer's School Administration,
and such suggestions as the "evolution of
the rural school." Roach (Philadelphia)
'13 illustrated his paper at the Congress of
School Hygiene (Buffalo) with motion pic-
tures of the Bache open air school, showing
under actual conditions a series of physical
exercises, for which the film serves as an
instruction card. In the school phase of
athletics there are already many excellent
films ; while Haughton '15 used the . cine-
matograph to film plays of the Harvard foot-
ball team, discovering and graphically dem-
onstrating faults. These are random ex-
amples of coming activity in this field,
which should bring to the moving picture
and its accessory devices a role of high
significance in experimental education. As
G. Stanley Hall suggests, the moving pic-
ture, with its inherent possibilities, marks
an epoch. Under the stimulus of this new
field for experimentation there will doubt-
less be a rapid development of many-sided
applications to the newer education.
9
JEWISH PHILANTHROPIES IN FILMS
(Continued from page 17)
this occasion, to obtain excellent pictures of
Jacob H. Schiff, Dr. Julius Goldman, Mrs.
Sidney C. Borg, Mr. Warburg, I. Edwin Gold-
wasser and of Mrs. A. N. Cohn, 93 years of
age and the oldest contributor to Federation.
"How the Jews Care for Their Own" takes
about one hour and a half to run, and is
quite the most extensive and elaborate edu-
cational film that has been made in this
country in relation to philanthropy. The
picture is in no sense "dry," but will provide
an afternoon or evening not only of profit
but of real entertainment and pleasure for
those who witness it.
Films Loaned on Application
These pictures will be loaned upon request
by application to I. Edwin Goldwasser, ex-
ecutive director. The projecting machine
and operator will, of course, be supplied by
those borrowing the film. Many of the in-
stitutions affiliated with the Federation have
shown the pictures, and the society is plan-
ning to have the synagogues and leading
clubs exhibit them. They will also be pleased
to show them outside of New York, upon re-
quest.
The 86 institutions now have a budget of
more than $5,000,000, of which $2,800,000 is
collected by contributions from nearly 70,-
30
000 persons. The federation had its be-
ginning two years ago, with 21 constituent
institutions and a budget of only $1,700,000.
9
STEREOPTICON AIDING AMERICAN-
IZATION
(Continued from page 23)
these strangers embarked when they came
to America; North America and the United
States, and the cities of Halifax, Boston,
New York, Philadelphia, etc. New York
State and Albany (or any other state and
its capital) ; the city of Washington and thfc
capitol building, etc., with exterior and iQ
terior views.
This would lead up to an explanation of
the different law-making bodies and the
different government bureaus, and, when
pupils have advanced far enough, the method
of filming naturalization papers could be
nicely illustrated by the use of the lantern.
Then, too, the pictures would furnish con-
crete, suggestive, conversational material for
the further development of English practice
work in the more advanced classes. The
teacher might permit each pupil around the
class to stand and give one correct English
sentence concerning the picture; then have
each give two correct and connected sen-
tences, then three, etc.
Concrete suggestive material is essential
to encourage foreigners to talk, and if they
can be made to talk freely, and in an or-
derly way, the teacher can readily correct
mistakes and give them practice upon the
correct form until it becomes a part of them.
Here again the whole class profits from the
work of the one who is reciting, for, like
children, adult foreigners make typical mis-
takes, and a correction of one helps every
member of the class.
Motion
Pictures
of
A
mencan
Industries
-i-i
Intelli-
gently
Built
FILMS^OF^BUSINESS
220 West 42d Street, NEW YORK
INDUSTRIAL
A GOOD ROADS FILM CAMPAIGN
National Automobile Chamber of Commerce
and Other Bodies to Co-operate with United
States Government
HOLDING that sound highway develop-
ment is a question of basic importance
to the people of the United States,
officials of the visual instruction section of
the Department of the Interior are perfecting
plans for an International distribution of
slides and motion pictures depicting road
construction and the benefits to be derived
therefrom.
The work is under the charge of F. W.
Reynolds, associate director of the educa-
tional extension division, who is assembling
as his aids some of the best-known au-
thorities in the United States on all
branches of visual instruction from the first
preparation of the film to its introduction to
the smallest school, church or club in the
smallest community in the country.
Few phases of Government work are
more interesting than this presented by Mr.
Reynolds.
Film Distribution in Each State
'"The visual instruction section will seek
to present topics of national interest
through the medium of an elaborate 'book-
ing' system," he said. "Arrangements
already have been perfected for distribution
of these films and slides in twenty-five
States and we are rapidly adding to the
number. A set of 40,000 questionnaires sent
out recently to university, schools and com-
munity centers and others have developed a
surprising interest, and everywhere there is
keen demand for educational subjects pre-
sented by the Government.
"In the War Department archives there
are now some 1,000,000 feet of film nega-
tive, presenting every phase of America's
participation in the war, little of which has
yet been released. We are making a topical
digest of this material with the idea of
making war subjects our leader in various
topical reviews.
Highway Development
"Thus in the case of highway develop-
ment we can first show roadmaking in
France under fire, the difficulties of trans-
portation, etc., and then branch from that
into road construction as carried on in the
United States with 'cut-ins' showing the
results of road' improvement as interpreted
by the eye, the surest educational sense we
have.
"Unfortunately, our funds do not permit
us to enter into an extensive film-making
campaign, hence we are calling upon the
National Automobile Chamber of Commerce
and other associations which may have
films on this subject to lend them to us.
No advertising matter of any kind could be
used by the Government, beyond a courte-
ous acknowledgment of the source of the
picture, but by editing scenes from a num-
ber of reels we can build up a series of say
ten one-reel features, which we will then
link up with war pictures and send out
broadcast.
"Later, as the value of this work becomes
apparent, we expect to have feature films
prepared and offered for use after Govern-
ment inspection. These will always be
available to any community desiring them,
free of charge.
International Interchange
"In the meantime we are making arrange-
ments to make use of slides which Govern-
ment agencies have on hand and will ex-
tend this rapidly as we can procure new
films.
"It is also our plan to interchange high-
way reels, for example, with Great Britain,
France and other countries in order that
our people may see what they are doing and
to give them the benefit of our work."
FILM TO DIM GLARING HEADLIGHTS
Supplementing his campaign for safety
among drivers of motor vehicles, Francis M.
Hugo, Secretary of New York State, has
sponsored the production of a motion picture
film to dim automobile headlights having
concentrated glares.
In "Danger Ahead," a one reeler, pro-
duced by the Industrial Department of the
Universal Film Manufacturing Company,
Mr. Hugo has introduced incidents in sup-
port of his statement that a large percentage
of automobile accidents after nightfall are
caused by glaring headlights. The film is
composed almost entirely of thrilling spills.
MOVIES AND "EATS" IN TWO SHIFTS
At the David Blumenthal textile plant in
Shelton, Conn., where thousands of opera-
tives are employed, it has been necessary to
work on both day and night shifts. In
order to bring the employees going to work
on the night shifts to their various depart-
ments in good humor, Miss Kenyon, super-
visor of the Factory Welfare League, had
several Simplex projectors installed in the
factory restaurant.
There the incoming night shift is enter-
tained with movies and "eats," and after
finishing their work the outgoing shift is
similarly treated. The installation of the
machine, it is said, is responsible for the
greater spirit of co-operation between the
employees and executives.
GRANITE FILM SHOWN COUNCILMEN
The usual routine of business before the
street committee of the Atlanta city coun-
cil on a recent Friday afternoon was
enlivened by moving pictures. Production
of granite in quarries from the original mass
through various stages to regular standard
paving blocks was shown by means of the
screen by the Granite Paving Block Manu-
facturer's Association. Besides members of
the street committee William A. Hansell,
Jr., Fulton county engineer; C. A. Smith,
31
representing the Georgia Railway and Power
Company and several members of the asso-
ciation were present.
The films were designed to display the
superiority of granite as a paving material.
Many views of streets in New York City of
different types of construction and various
times of wear up to twenty years were
shown. According to the representative of
the association, the first improved granite
block paving laid in the United States was
at Worcester, Mass.
Big Production
Experience
Applied By Us To
Your Problems
We Make To Order
Industrial Pictures
Educational Pictures
The largest proposition you have
is not too large for us; and no con-
tract, small or large, fails to re-
ceive our most expert attention.
If you have the slightest interest
in a motion picture of your fac-
tory, or your product, or your in-
dustrial ideas, write us for ways
to go about it.
If you have a story, or a message,
or a plan that you want to give
visual expression in dramatic
form, ask us about that, too.
Production Is
Our Specialty
EASTERN MOTION
PICTURE COMPANY
1451 Broadway - New York City
"The E'DX/CATIO/'fA.L FILM MAGAZ.IJVE, should be backed up by everyone interested in -visual
education." —"DWDLBy CRAJfT HA.yS. "Director Extension Dept., Chicago "Board of Education
jTV otv Only
One Dollar
A Year
(Tbuo Dollars Outside of \7. sf. and 'Possessions)
THE insistent demand of educators, lecturers, churchmen, social workers, industrial executives,
and others interested in the great movement for visual education has encouraged the publishers,
after weeks of investigation and discussion, to heed this larger call and serve this larger field
of usefulness.
The original intention was to confine the circulation of the Educational Film Magazine to
institutions, organizations, large industrial plants, and officials interested in the serious use of the
motion picture and the lantern slide. Due, however, to numerous calls upon us from various
groups throughout the United States it has become necessary to enlarge upon this plan and widen
the scope of the magazine.
But the main motive for our decision to make the yearly subscription price of the magazine
One Dollar, without in any way lessening either quality or quantity, is to enable us to place it before
the eyes of many thousands of teachers, principals, ministers, Sunday School and social workers,
and the great army of toilers in educational, religious, industrial, civic, social and allied fields.
It is through these individual workers that this movement for visual education is developing into
gigantic proportions, and it is to their voices and their influence we wish to add the weight of our
message and our authority.
If the Educational Film Magazine, "The National Authority," is to prove the pathfinder, guide,
philosopher, and friend to these thousands of workers in the ranks, and through them, to the insti-
tutions and organizations they serve, it is obviously the duty and the privilege of the publishers to
meet this larger call in the higher spirit. In announcing this low rate, we feel that we have taken
a big forward step toward the realization of the ideal all of us have in view.
EVJSCATIOJVAL FILM MAGA^ZIJVE is the only high class publication in the
tvorld, [not a trade paper, cohering the serious use of motion pictures and lantern
slides. "E-Very issue a treat " tetrites S. G. "Reinertsen, Supt. Alta, Iobua, Schools.
you Cannot AJiford to Miff a. Single JVumber
of This Magazine. yoti JSfeed It
TaKe Advantage of This Later 'Rate. Tear Off The Coupon And Mail It tOith
Vour Dollar TUGHT JVO&t. It Will 'Be a Dollar Well In-Vested
EDUCATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE, 33 West 42nd St., New York City. •
Enclosed find One Dollar ($1.00) for which enter my subscription to your magazine for 12
months beginning with the issue.
Name _ __ _.._ _ _ _._ Occupation
Street No _...: — _ __ _ City and State
(It is not necessary to register the envelope containing your Dollar. We will assume the responsibility for its safe delivery.)
32
Make Study A Pleasure
: Through the Medium of ==
Motion Pictures
"// Puts the Picture
on the Screen"
TEXT book tedium is becoming- obsolete.
Motion pictures impress and the sub-
ject is retained in the memory; but they
must, be projected clearly and without flicker
else they cannot deliver their message.
Power's Cameragraph
the pioneer projector of the industry, has
been offering perfect projection for over 20
years. The high quality of its work finds
favor throughout the world, and in all
branches of endeavor it is recognized as the
leader of its class.
Illustrated Catalogue No. 25 Gives Full Details
Nicholas Power Company
INCORPORATED
Pioneers of Projection
90 GOLD STREET
NEW YORK, N. Y.
BROOKLYN EAGLE PRESS
v//>T/y/V,',*'/y////r.'///y.W<'^^
Efficiency — Safety — Portability
For schools, churches, institutions, industrial
corporations and other general non-professional use, i
in school-room, shop or small-to-medium sized hall or
auditorium.
Gaphoscope, Jr.
best combines clear, steady projection, ease of oper-
ation and exceptional safety. It weighs but 98
pc uids, is compact and simple and requires no pro-
fes onal orerator. You should know about Grapho-
scope arid tuir
hdm Service
We assist you in procuring just the films you
want, when you want them. We suggest programs
coverb any subjects on request. Write us for book-
lets, any specific information regarding films and
their
!
qg
The Graphoscope
50 East 42nd Street, New York
ss///ysy/yyy//y/yy/y//yy//y//y/y/^^^
\u£r
yM/////M///////y///#////s//////y///////////////////////////"^^
,
A-
-y
^
-
AY " , %
,0o
A0
<•.
% <£'"
*,^W/'
'/ >
■ ■ I
v-
^ V*
a\" «
-
.v. >- 3
-/-
^ ^
-
A^'
-0<
SS^
S^* ^ •?'
.0
A y ' a = A. O '/ ,
- AV '*> o >VJl
% - ^'% '
« <# \A'
.A 'O ,* . A %
<^ AX
$% ;
aV
U '*
";;
>.
ro0V
VV ' •
V"
•A
, '<>. .A^
1'
<s, A^
,0o^ j _.
^ /
***
**v"<
*'
Oo.
^<V
\
^ ^ '
\ v :> ■'■' *"*-
"^ V*
8 I > " \V
,
* <>
%/ W Wx : \ %^
'/. ->
:%
,^> *
wffl '
;- ■
.■'.■:
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
0 012 077 407 4
,,. v ■ ,■/.*■/■'
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11