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NK evening III tho early mimmor of
1901 I slooil, awed but keenly ox
iicctant, on tho balcony of tlio Kth
nology Building at the Pnn-AitK'ticati
Exposition In Buffalo. By my Bldo
was n Bhort, chubby man In an old
suit of clothes, n nogligco ehlrt and
a string tic that had como undone
and was donning over his capacious
chest. It was a warm owning, and
vjty ho had removed his battered straw
1 I tint ti-ltlMi lin linlil 111 Ills ll'IMll Tho
Elzo of tho hat was No. 8. Tho man was Thomas
A. Kdlson.
Ueforo us spread that dicam In frozen music,
tho buildings fronting tho esplanade, mall and
plnzn of tho exposition. Tho twilight was done,
and tho moment had arrived for tho night birth
of that dream into splendor. For tho llrst time
In history architecture was to bo made alivo at
night, moro living than by day. Half a million
luenndescent bulbs wore hid along tho transverse
lines of tho buildings. Tho current wns turned
on, and they simultaneously bloomed. Knsued a
Epcctaclo for which a Caesar would havo bar
tered a province a joy that brought a gasp of
ccstacy from every one of the millions who
Gaw it.
Kdlson, bare-beaded, squinted his oyea. Tho
poetry missed him. The gallop of scenic history
over tho vergo of a now era missed him. Tho
glory of the spectacle itself missed him. Instead,
ho glanced shrewdly and carefully all around on
tho entrancing wonder, then cautiously into his
battered straw hat and said:
"I could put every filament into that hat!"
Economics, mechanics those ob3osscd him.
That brain, which required a N'o. S hat for cover
ing, could think only of tho compressed fact
that all tho space occupied by tho vibrating, en
ergizing and glory-working sourco of that gigantic,
epectaclo could bo replaced by about two pints
of water or a quart of human brain.
Edison is a raro man. In Ills speech, of which
ho is as careful as of his filaments, ho pulls tho
coro from a field of ideas and thrusts it nt you
oa if it wore a poniard. You think about what ho
Bays for a week, a month; and in years you don't
forget it.
All of this is leading up to a consideration of
what tho wizard-sago said a few weeks ago when
a select nudienco sat In his studio and watched
tho first porformanco of tho klnotograph, that
fabulous Instrument which is destined to repro
duce plays, operas, public spectacles with tho
action, tho color and tho volco intact.
Tho great bid inventor was gratified onco
again. Another thrill had como into his lifo. Ills
latest adventure into tho unknown had pros
pered, and his friends and associates clustered
about him with congratulations, with questions,
with assurances.
For some tlmo Edison wa3 silent. IIo is grate
ful that ho Is deaf. Then ho squinted from one
to tho other, and said:
"Deforo long you'll bo working that in an noro
plano. for you'll bo ablo to pack it into a soap
bubble!" A soap-bubble! Rather a fragile packing-case.
Rather a small compass In which to placo a.
grand opera. A curious comparison. Did Edison
mean what lie said? Did ho know what ho was
talking about?
Ever sinco I heard that Edison said that, I
havo been thinking of moving pictures in connec
tion with soap-bubbles. And not always in tho
way ho meant bubbles in connection with tho
klnotograph.
A Eoap-bubblo Is cheap. It is easy to' make If
you know how. It is fragile. It is very alluring.
It reflects all colors, all forms. It appeals uni
versally to children. Sagos ponder over it. Poets
eclobrnto It. Artists reproduce It.
Conundrum. Why Is a moving picture like a
Boap-bubble?
First, you find them everywhere.
On tho back streetB of Reno I saw tho pictures
of tho bull fight at Guadalajara, Mexico. Tho
Guadalojarans now look on tho moving pictures
of tho prlzo fight at Reno.
At Punta Arenas, tho southernmost port In tho
world, I saw Chileans applaud moving pictures
of tho Rowory and tho New York water front.
On the Bowery I saw pictures of tho battleship
fleet entering tho harbor of Punta Arenas.
On an Island 2,000 miles out in 'tho Pacific
Ocean tho exiled lepers of Molokal gather daily
beforo tho flickering wonders of a world which
before had been but vaguely in their dreams.
Tho Sunday evening young peopio's class of Eau
Claire, Wisconsin, looks in pity on tho trans
planted and resurrected lifo of Molokal which
passes beforo their oyos on tho screen.
A group of travelers in tho luxurious saloon
of an ocean liner study tho lifcllko pictures of
tbo country for which they aro bound. Tho beg
gars who line tho pathways of tho tourist implor
ing backsheesh give up their pennies to sco tho
living presentment of their prey bounding to
them over tho ocean wavo.
In Iceland excited Eskimos applaud tho hero
ism of a cowboy who rescues a captured maldon
from tho redskins. Half-way round the world,
In Northern Russia, tearful peasants sorrow over
tho pictured plight of a French lover.
Tho Benguleo movos down Mowrlnghoo Road
and gives up two ponnles to seo tho funeral of
King Edward to seo it actually raovo. The
Moro in tho alleys of Zamboanga goes without
an extra shirt, that ho may view tho roceptlon ot
Universal as Froth.
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Anywhurc, everywhere, you find them. In tho
United States you will havo to hunt n town of
lebs than 2,000 inhabitants if you wish to escape
the moving pictures.
Fivo millions of Americans daily visit theso
shows.
Tho exhibitors pay $18,000,000 a year for their
films. Tho public pays J57.500.000 a year to seo
them.-
Mr. Edison has an avcrago weekly royalty
therefrom of $S,000.
So It is a pretty big business, pretty thor
oughly organized, quite universal in its reach,
soap-bubbly In its universality.
Tho child of tho poor, with a clay plpo and tho
suds from tho weekly wash, can havo Just na
good a tlmo as any rich young fellow with an Im
ported meerschaum and tho best cnstllo.
So It Is with tho moving-plcturo shows. It ro
qulrcs littlo capital to run them. A long room,
easily darkened, a nlno-fcet cquaro patch of whlto
cloth, somo benches for tho spectators, nn oper
ator nt ten dollars a week, and a rented film, now
takes tho placo of a company of actors, Btago
scenery, properties, lights and a proporly
equipped building. And tho poor boy, gets as
much valuo for his nickel as tho rich boy can get
for any number of dollars.
Yet, they run Into dangers that no soap-bubbles
can nlluro. Flro is of tiicso tho most patent.
Of tho moral dangers wo will Bpoak later. It
is through tho moral noap-bubblo that wo can seo
moro clearly tho moving picture's gossamer
tinsel.
Fire, however, Jb tho first nnd most vital dan
ger. Tho Charity-Ilnzaar flro In Paris, In which
so many women wero trampled to death by cow
ardly men, was caused by tho fall of n spark
upon somo celluloid moving-plcturo Alms which
had been dropped Into a basket. In Canton COO
men, Chinamen, wero burned to death In a flro
in a moving-plcturo show houso. In Quito, Ecua
dor, fifty men nnd women lost their IIvcb in n
similar calamity.
It speaks well for tho widespread and con
stant vigilance of tho flro departments of tho
United States that no great catastropho has yet
como to tho moving-plcturo houses of this
country.
Lives havo not boon lost In tho moving picture
shows. Lives havo been lost through tho moving
plcturo shows.
Whoro onco tho dlrao nnd nickel novels sug
gested ways of crimo to unbalanced youth tho
moving plcturo has como to mako a moro ready
nnd moro potent oppcal. Tho printed word Is
nover so ardent with an Impressionable mind ns
tho acted word.
Sovoral ways havo been thought of to lesson
theso obvious ovlls. ChnrlcB Spraguo Smith, lato
chief of tho People's Instltuto In Now York,
thought ho had solved tho problem when ho In
duced tho manufacturers of tho moving pictures
to agree to n national board of censorship.
Tho manufacturers, good trado diplomats,
readily assented, and then saw to It that tho
board of consorshlp should bo advisory and not
antagonistic. Tho result Is that many pictures
that crcato havoc among youthful minds when
shown on tho public screens "got by" the na
tional board of censorship.
No. This bubblo that Edison has loosed upon
us will play itself out Just so far as tho instincts
of tho wholo pcoplo of this country will permit;
no farther, no sooner.
One night I went to a prlzo flght. Only men
wero present. Tho casual observer might havo
said they wero nW tough men. After tho flght
a canvas was oroctcd in tho ring and an nn
nouncer said, "An cxcluslvo fllm will now bo
shown to tho members of this club."
Tho plcturo proved to bo of French mnnufnc
turo nnd portrnyed a vllo situation In a dlvo.
Instantly hisses nnd a storm of execration burst
from tho nudienco. Tho running of tho fllm was
Btopped and tho plcturo removed beforo It was
all shown. Grim sllenco grcoted tho removal of
tho canvas.
Tho crowd that gloried In the action of tho
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rlzo ring would not endure any pl lured sexual
depravity. To me that was a vvoudoiful revela
tion of Anglo-Saxon psychology.
Thus It will always be In our theater, whether
tho admission pilco be live renin or two dollars.
American uudieurca want action; they want
thrills; they want deperato ( mirage nnd wild
heroism; but they want it all clean. They want
tho good to triumph, tho guilty to bo punished,
and wrong to ho avenged.
A Parisian manufacturer offered $200,000 for
tho right to mako moving pictures of tho Oher
ammcrgnu Passion Play. Ills offer wan refused
Ho went back to his studio, engaged a company
of very Bklllful actors, rehearsed them carefully
and reproduced tho Passion Play, almost as well
as it was originally done, nnd tho cost was about
n twentieth of what ho offered for tho original.
This manufacturer had nn ojo on a now Held
for tho moving picture. Whllo his Imltntlon will,
perhaps, find n comparatively small markot, it
cannot hopo to roach tho class that would havo
purchased a guaranteed reproduction of tho
Obcrammcrgnu play; viz., tho churches.
For tho churches havo not yet como utterly un
der tho nwny of tho moving picture, desplto tho
fact that tho Congregational and Presbyterian
churches of Redlnnds, California, showed moving
pictures nil last summer In their outdoor pavi
lion. Yet tho moving plcturo manufacturers aro do
voting n lot of tlmo nnd money to religious sub
jects. "Joseph Going Into Egypt," "Tho Repulso
of Herod," "Jophtlrnh's Daughter, "The Relief
of Jericho," and "Tho Wisdom of Solomon" nro
a few of tho subjects of moving-plcturo plays
founded on Biblical accounts.
Whilo tho moving pictures aro battering at tho
doors of tho churches they havo already par
tially scaled tho walls of tho school-houses. Out
of every seven subjects passed by tho National
Board of Censorship, ono Ib classed ns "peda
gogical." In tho catalogues of tho manufacturers ono
finds films that show lessons In "agriculture,
aeronautics, anlmnl life, bacteriology, biography,
biology, botnny, entomology, ethnology, fisheries,
geography, history, Industry, kindergarten stud
ies, mining nnd metallurgy, microscopy, mili
tary and naval lifo. natural history, ornithology,
pathology, plsclculturo, religion, travel and
zoology."
It looks llko tho cataloguo of an, educational
publishing houso. Yet It Is only tho list of Alms
that may bo nnd nro ordered by "tho trado."
Subjects under those lists nro shown daily In tho
7.C00 theaters that exhibit moving pictures In this
country. They form cntcrtnlnment, not Instruc
tion. Thoy hnvo put tho ntoroopticon out of
buHinosB, not tho schoolmnster.
For tho public schools havo no moro surren
dered to tho now nnd plnusiblo Invnder than hnvo
tho churches,
Why?
Why not teach children history by showing
them scenes from tho lives of grcnt men,
pagoantB from tho grcnt moments thnt nro duly
nnd laboriously rocorded in tho books. Why not
sit nnd watch Georgo Wnshlngton cross tho Deln
waro on tho moving plcturo Bheot. Instead of
having to puzzle your head ovor tho dry print
thnt records It on unllvened page? Why not
learn about tho growth of flowers pleasantly, by
watching n plcturo instend of having to patently
dissect tho flower nnd then pieco it together
ngaln under tho Instruction of a bolnny toxt
book? Such pictures can bo and nro constantly
shown. Do thoy not mean tho revolution of
pedagogy?
Not long ago tho Now York Bonrd of Education
nppolntod n commltteo to Investigate this cub
Ject, nnd find out If It wero fenslblo to Install
moving-plcturo machines in tho vnrlous schools
of tho city. Suporlntendont Mnxwcll was on tho
commltteo. I saw him n fow days nfter tho ex
hibition. Ho was not vory enthusiastic about tho pic
tures. "A method will never bo doviscd thnt will savo
nny human being tho labor of learning," ho said.
"Wo lenrn only by taking thought, nnd that Is
work, hard work. You cannot Insert learning
hypodormlcnlly. You cannot Bwnllow It In tab
loid form. Thero Is but ono way to tako it, nnd
that It tho oldest way known. You will find after
all of theso wlll-o'-tho-wlsps havo vanished that
it will bo tho nowost way, too."
Which throws tho moving plcturo right back
whoro It belongs Jn tho thenter. It can havo no
pcrmnncnt plnco In tho church. It enn havo no
ronl place In tho school, though It may be auxll
lary to either, or both.
OF
1
Railway Postal Service First Op
erated in Missouri.
William A. Davis, Defore the War,
Postmaster at St. Joseph, Devised
System Now In Vogue for Dis
tributing Mall En Route.
Rt Joseph, Mi). Progress ill tho
earning and dlxtiihutlou of l'tilto.1
States malls ban been remarkablo in
ihH count rv In Urn last fifty enrn. A
half e-'iituiy ago, the llrst railroad went
of the MlHsNrilppl river, from Hannibal
to St. Joxeph, Mo., was constructed,
and on this road the railway mall serv
ice of the country had IN origin and
Inception Thi'ii. onlv tho mails for thu
whole wcHtorn count r cv.mu In bulk
on fr. Ight mid piiKsen;i r tnilii'i to bo
llHtrltuited in ton Intn ami carried to
many destinations b courier, by buck
hoard, horseback and stago lines, thu
only methods In those In h.
It remained for William A. Davis,
postmaster at St. Joseph from 1 sr.fi to
IStil, to Invent and Inaugurate tho
great Hntcm now In vogue llefoio
this time tho malls, all mixed ami in
bulk, were carried to some central dis
tributing point. Independence, Mo.,
was one of these and St. Joseph later
was another. When the railroad was
built the tiHc all came to the SI Jo
seph olllce, hi dlstt Uniting tho entire
oM'ilaml mall.
The Idea occurred to Mr. Davis that
these malls could be distributed whllo
In tianslt. It seeuicd (o hlui In every
way possible and desirable. So ho
wrote to the people In Washington for
autherlty to lit up somo cars on tho
llauiillial 'i St. Joseph railroad to try
out the experiment. The authority
came ami Mr. Davis went to tho rail
way headquarters at llauiillial and mi
I eiintended the arrangement of sev
eral way cars with pigeon hole.j. doors,
windows and other conveniences and
IMPORTANT THAT PUBLIC SHOULD
KNOW ABOUT GREAT
KIDNEY REMEDY
Tim testimonial I nm to give you come
Unsolicited. 1 have been suffering from
lumb.igo for ten jcarn nnd ot times wns
unable to stand erect. A Mr. Dean of this
city, iaw me in my condition tbent over)
nd inquired tlio came. I told him that I
hod tho lumbago, llo replied, "If you c,cb
what 1 tell je.u to, joti nrcd not have it."
1 iniJ I would tiiUo mi tiling for caie. Ifa
aid, "You Ret two bottle of Dr. Kil
mer's Swamp Hoot ond lal.e it, nnd if ib
does tint fix jou O. K. I will piy for tli
tiicdiciiio tnvsilf." 1 did to nnd nm a well
man. Per live innnlhn 1 havo been as well
rouM bo. Iliforo 1 took otir .Swamp
Hoot was in ronsl.int pain tiny nnd night.
Thu may look lil.o dvmtiing, but It
rcini to mo iiiont important that tho
pubho bhmiiil bo made familiar with this
treatment nB it in tho only one I know
wliieh U nn iil"rhito cure. I own a gtcab
deal to Dr. Kiltuer'n Swamp-Hoot, nnd am
mioui that olIirrN Mliulcd n.1 I was
ihoiild know nnd taliu advantage, of it.
I loping that this tcutmioiiijl may bo of
benefit to fomo one, 1 nm
J. A. HOWLAN'I),
1731 Humboldt .St.
Denver, Col.
Btato of Colorado )
City nnd County of Denver J '
Personally appeared beforo inc, a Notary
Pubho in mid for tho city nnd county
of tlio State of Colorado, .1. A. IIovvl.uul,
known to nm n3 tho person whoso narnn
U rubietibed to tho nbovo Rtatcmcut nnd
npon lni oath declines that it is a tru
and correct btntcment.
DANlHh II. DKAPKU,
Notary Public .
Ullrrl
rv. Kiutr r.
rl.tliiailnn. N. Y.
Trove What Swamp-Root Will Do Tor Yon
Solid to Dr. Kilmer & Co., Bingham
ton, N. Y., for a nnrnpla bottle. It will
eonvmco anyone. You will nlso rccciva
a booklet of vnluablo information, telling
all about the kidneys nnd bladder. When
writing, bo euro nnd mention tlili paper.
Tor enla at nil (Inn; stores, l'lico fifty
cents and one-dollar.
THESE MONEY DURNER3.
' i
rn f fell
William A. Davis.
the Initial run with a cnrload of mall
was mado from Hannibal to St. Joueph
in record time, tho malls properly dla
trlbutcd nnd ready for tho overland
Btagss, courlorH, etc.
Tho first trial was so satisfactory
that other cars wero brought into re
quisition and hoou a most remarkable,
clinngo for tho better was mado In tho
receipt nnd distribution of malls. Tlio
great railway mail borvlco lind boon
Inaugurated!
Tlio problem of forwarding overland
malls without delay was solved, nnd
Mr. Davis was soon mado n special
agent of the department nnd given full
cltnrgo of the branch of tho service
which ho had originated.
William A. Davis, Inventor of tho
railway mall service, was born in Dar
ren County, Kentucky, In September,
ISO!). In early youth ho went to Vir
ginia, whoro ho entered tho postal
service, at Richmond and other places,
and with his career In St. Joseph ho
had been In tho postal service about
tlfty years.
Tho llrst car for tho distribution of
tho nnalls was an old-tlmo "way" car,
lilted up with pigeon holes. Kxtra
windows wero arranged nnd tho "dis
tributors" used candles to assist in
lighting tho cars. Mr. Davis mado a
tripon tho flrht car as far as Palmyra,
Mo.,' and then left tho work with nn ns
Blatant whllo ho returned to Hannibal
for tho bocond car. Thero aro ninny
old railroaders yot allvo who roniom
bcr tho first mall cars.
GEESE ON THE STAGE REBEL
Object to Understudy for Singer In
Hallo Performance of Humper-
dlnck's "Konlgsklnder."
Berlin. An nmuslng Incident oc
curred this week nt n performance of
Humpordlnck's "Konlgsklnder" at tho
Hallo opera house.
hive gceso nro employed for tho
Hallo production in contrast to tho
papier tuncho variety which ludulgo In
mako bollovo cackles nt Ilorlln. Tho
prima donnn who regularly sings tho
part of tho gooso maid was taken 111
suddenly nnd It became necessary to
obtain nn understudy. When tlio lat
ter, however, wont on the stngo tho
gceso rebelled against tho intrusion of
n stranger. They becamo so enraged
they threntoned to do tho slngor bod
ily Injury.
The conductor of tho orchestra had
to stop tho porforiiianco until tho
geoso could bo quelled. They refused
to subside until tho familiar figures of
ho wood chopper nnd tho broom mak-
r camo upon tho scono.
,
-sri
Miss llondsen Stocks (at Monto Can
lo) What luck yesterday?
Miss Ulllyuiuj I won twenty thou
sand or lost twenty thousand, I forget
which.
"ECZEMA ITCHED SO I
COULDN'T STAND IT."
"I suffered with eczema on my neck
for about six months, beginning by
littlo pimples breaking out. I kept
scratching till tho blood camo. It
kept getting worse, I couldn't nlcop
nights nny moro. It kept Itching for
about a month, thon I went to a doc
tor nnd got somo liquid to tako. It
Boomed na If I was going to get bet
ter. Tho Itching Btopped for about
threo days, but when It started again
wa3 oven worso than beforo. Tho oc
ccmn ltchod so badly I couldn't stand
It nny moro. I wont to a doctor and
ho gave mo somo mcdlclno, but It
didn't do nny good. Wo havo been
having Cutlcura Remedies In the
houso, so I dccldod to try them. I
bad been using Cutlcura Soap, so I
got mo a box of Cutlcuru Ointment,
and washed oft tho effected part with
Cutlcura Soap threo times a day, and
then put tho Cutlcura Ointment on.
Tho first day I put it on, It rcllovod ,
mo of Itching so I could slcop all that
night. It took about a woek, then I
could seo tho scab como off. I kept
tho treatment up for threo weeks, and
my eczema was cured.
"My brother got lila faco burned
with gunpowder, nnd ho used Cutl
cura Soap and Ointment. Tho pec
plo nil thought ho would havo Bears,
but you can't boo that ho over bad
his faco burned. It was simply awful
to look at boforo tho Cutlcura Rem
edies (Soap and Ointment) cured ltM
(Signed) MIsb Ellzaboth Gchrkl, For
rest City, Ark., Oct 10, 1910.
Although Cutlcura Soap and Oint
ment nro Bold by druggists and deal
ers everywhere a liberal sample ot
each, with 32-pago booklet on tho cars
and treatment of skin and hair, will b
cent, poeifrco, on application to Potter
D. & O. Corp., Dept X, Boston.
IIo who gives ploasuro meets with
It; kindness la tho bond of friendship
and the book of lovo. Basllo.
To keep the blood puro and the ikln
clear, drink Garfield Tea beforo retiring.
A woman's mind enables her to
reach a conclusion without starting.
; ,
Millions Say So
When millions of people use for
years a medicine it proves its merit.
People who know CASCARETS
value buy over a million boxes a
month. It's the biccest seller be
cause it is tho best bowel and liver
medicine ever mado. No matter
what you're usinfr, hist try CAS
CARETS once youfll See. oil
CASCARETS 10c box for a week's
treatment, all dnicHtiU. Dlffceit teller
la tbo world. Million boxes ft tnoata.
"SlXitt Thmptn'EyWiiir
ui
S
