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I T was my plea sur e to be among those in the a I dience at K eith's Union Squa:e Theater, in New York, one evemng In July, 1894, the eventful night when the motion picture was first revealed to American theatergoers. It is true that an inferior device under the name of Eidolo-scope had previously made a feeble e.fort to introduce, also in a Keith theater (in Philadelphia), the effects which were destined ultimately to change the theatrical map, and to create the most lucrative field o[ endeavor in the history of p-ublic entertaining. The advent of Lumiere's cinematograph was announced with much advance advertising, but public interest was not aroused. The theater was only fairly flled on the opening night, but an idea may be had of the success from the fact that the theater which had, up to this time, played to average weekly receipts of about $3,000, found its “takings” increased within a single month to the unprecedented average of $7,000 a week, though the cost to the management was probably not over $100 a week for the machine itself. Inside of a year the cinematograph was installed in every vaudeville theater in America, and hundreds of new establishments came into being. Thus was inaugurated the vaudeville craze which, as it progressed, brought into being many new devices, such as the Biograph and the Vitagraph. In a few years, no theater was without its machine. In 1902 the “store” theater came into existence, and of these there were at one time nearly 30,000 in this country. New York city had more than 600 alone. An illustration of the vogue of the motion picture is best shown by the statement that one of the earliest endeavorers in this field, Marcus Loew, started in the Harlem district, about five years ago. Today this man is immensely rich. He has about forty theaters of his own, the majority of which are of the first class, such as the American, Plaza, Majestic, York-ville, and Lincoln Square theaters, in New York. Hardly a week goes by that Mr. Loew does not add a theater to his list. He has now in the eoupse of erection two magnificent amusement places, involving a cost of nearly a million dollars. About four years ago William Fox, a man yet in his early thirties, opened the first “store” theater in Brooklyn; his success was so great that within a year he had a dozen similar resorts, where moving pictures were the sole attraction. In 1907 this man bought the lease of the Dewey Theater, on East Fourteenth Street, paying a rental of $50,000 a year. He then secured the Gotham Theater, in Harlem. the Star Theater. on LeXington Avenue, and the Family Theater, on One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Street. He also has several theaters in Brooklyn. Despite the enormous rentals and the low price of admission, Mr. Fox has made a fortune in the short space of four years, and last year amazed his colleagues by leasing the Academy of Music, paying a rental of $100,000 a year for a building which cost its owners but three times as much. Although Messrs. Keith and Proctor have seven theaters of costly construe-tion in Greater ?ew York, but one of these, the Fifth Avenue, is used for the type of vaudeville for which they are supposed to stand; all the rest, including the Union Square Theater, where the cinematograph was fil'st seen, have reverted to the camera man, and Mr. Proctor has a score of theaters in the smaller cities, besides those in which he is affiliated with Mr. Keith. For several years the various manufacturers of films have been sorely tried to I keep up with the demands for new sub-1 jects. The public patronage has grown to such an extent that millions of new theatergoers have been created. To hold this patronage and prevent its being absorbed by the regular theaters, has been the aim of all concerned in this vast industry. Some of the world's greatest player's have posed for the film makers, many of whom have stock companies under the direction of famous stage directors and producers. For several years efforts have been made to create a perfect synchronism between the moving picture and the phonograph, in order that stage presentations of plays and operas could be reproduced. The spectacle has already been presen ted of a famous stage idol, appearing in a theater of high prices of admission, while but a stone's throw away a perfect counterfeit presentation both as to voice and action could be seen for five cents. Three of the greatest factors in the field of Iotion photography, including Thom's A. Edison, who invented also the phonograph, have announced recently that all of the problems for an absolute synchronism were either solved, or near solution. Mr. Edison has prophesied that the day is near when the working man will present himself in front of a moving picture theater, deposit his dime, and witness a reproduction of scenes from grand opera, such as are presented at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. 1 have already been privileged to hear ana see almost an entire act of Donizetti's “Lucia de Lammermoor,” including the famous sextette, as ,sung by Caruso, Sem-brich, Plangon and others. Although perfection has not yet been achieved, no great wrench of the imagination is necessary, in order to predict that another year or two at most will witness the attainment of absolute synchronism. The serious side of this situation lies .in the ultimate fate of the player and singer, and by the same token of the manager and producer. We know that Caruso has earned almost as much money from the preservaHon of his vocal records as in grand opera. Yet, there are those who have deplored the fact that the penalty is being paid in a slight deterioration in the illustricus Italian's voice. I yield to no one in my appreciation of the benafts to be derived from the phonograph, and have often wished that it had come into being in time to have preserved the voices of Malibran, Jenny Lind and Adelina Patti, in her prime. But if even one year less of Caruso is the penalty which music lovers will have to pay in order that future generations may have preserved for them his vocal records, this price is hard to yield to. It will be of interest to the reader to learn that in Paris such eminent celebrities as Mme. Bernhardt, Jane Hading, Mme. Rejane, and Mounet-Sully have been induced to pose for the moving picture camera. One French firm pays fabulous sums, in order that it may raise the level of its achiavements. The possibilities of a perfect synchronism in effect of the two great Edison devices (for it must be understood that it was Edison who made possible the motion picture of to-day) are beyond all conception. Through this great advancement, the “Passion Play,” as presented at Oberammergau, could be brought to our doors, and that, too, at a not very distant date. It is already on the cards to present before American audiences scenes from grand opera, as presented at the Grand Opera House, in Paris; Covent Garden, in London, and La Scala, in Milan. Thus grand opera novelties, which would probably not be heard in this country for i T HE present development of A aeroplane and “motors” for land and sea has been made possible by the gas engine. 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