Judge — April 17, 1920 — page 26: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Deven by Hrewtas Pause GOOD while a fore the Advance ¢ Civilization gave us subways and jazz and The Moving Picture Puzzle JUDGE ns Weari box Napoleon and beg ared neck-tie—well, t thing else again We can sum it up like this at's som o Art and ingrowing. By Lexso unless you have an intelligent toenails, and) Mack Sennett well-posted citizenry, you can when good King Homer ruled in not have an intelligently run Greece—or some such a matter democracy. And from there it’s in antiquated politico-philosopher named Peristophanes — only a short, straight jump, Number Two, to Great Truth sddicted to sandals, ideals, a toga and out-of-date rubbish like that, rose to remark that democracy cannot govern an empire. Which brings us, naturally, to the subject of Motion Pictures. What the honorable gent had on his mind, I take it, was that chen the let-George-do-it attitude gets too big a grip ona nation, the government, if it’s a democracy, gradually runs down and downer until in the end some aspiring ex-citizen just naturally has to step in and elect himself emperor, all Wars, that-have-made-the-world-safe - for - democracy notwithstane i Of course, he may call himself merely King or Presi or even Boss—but that doesn’t alter the case a wiggle. Well. from there we get to Motion Pictures in three casy irect, and natural jumps. Starting with this high-brow plititude, that you can’t have 1 democratic government worth a whoop unless the individual citizens and professors and farm-hands all take a real interest in the darn thing, the first jump lands us all aspraddle on Great Truth No. Two, that the strength of any nation, the excellence of iny democratic government, is in direct: proportion to the strength or excellence of its individual citizens—the lohr Henrys and Bill Smiths who smoke the stogies and punch the i | ! i i time-cards. , You and [ and Silas Mugg from Toway and Isa dore Bingleswanger of New Yoik are the United States. by Whack!—the United States, tooth, tail, and gov ernment. And if you and I ire well educated, and well posted, and have a real back real head bone that has a tacked on one end of it—and } ' f Silas and Isadore have the me equipment—twe should ry whether or not Yur ip plays skittles, for we have a real country of our own, and a real government i running it. But if you and l can’t for the life of us find whether or not the last ise in the price of shoes ts justified, and Silas finds a blind pig and can’t getit to come to the polls on elec Onca Petrova, Ristye sy Sneee Force or Artistry Avove tie — dope on some oi these things day, and Isadore catches Dean Lever or tHe Movies, Is Anour 10 Sixx Back will be the purpose of this lit- vietenza from a p- Aca 10 THe Deticur or Fax-aticat: Miuutoss tle department from now on. 26 Number Three: Unless the channels of education and informa- tion are kept open, and unpolluted, you cannot have an intelli gent, well-posted citizenry Whaddaya mean by that, Chester? This: You and Silas and Isadore and L are what we are gely because we, and our ignorant fathers and mothers bx ¢ us, were educated in the Little Red Schoolhouse on 125th Street, New York, or in Centralis, Wisconsin, and because we read what we read and hear what we hear and see what we sec Isadore, the darned fool, used to believe everything he read, and now he doesn’t believe any of it doesn’t know Silas still gets most of his information out of the newspapers so that let's him Fortunately, you and I read Judge Three jumps? It’s only a step from where we are now to Motion Pictures —two jumps and a half from Ancient Greece to the Modern Movie! Ten million people go to ’em every day, and get the ideas ind the eye-fulls that make ‘em part of what they are. Think of it!—all the little Izzies and the little Marthas too—and you and I besides, every now in so often. Nearly a tenth of all the people in the United States inside the Pitcher Palaces every learning how to run the government! It’s illuminating. very. day very. Who makes the Movies? What makes ‘em move? When do they tick? What are they doing—what have they done—what will they to Isadore and _ Silas. not to mention you and me? Who makes the best films in America? How do they do it?) Why aren't the others as good? Do they make better ones abroad? Has even poor old Yurrup got a Film Factory of its own, as well as a Secret Diplomaye? The “Moshu Pitcher” is a big. vital factor in modern life. It is bigger than politics, bigger than all Hades. Ht can’t be sneered down. It can be trained to universal beneficence—per- haps. To give you the real comicbooks.com