THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE 



sn 



Back Views in Twelve Positions. 



graph is far from being perfected, it 

 may be that before long such copies of 

 plays and operas by leading actors and 

 singers with the best possible stage set- 

 tings may be more effective than the 

 average performance, as the photo- 

 graphic reproduction of a great paint- 

 ing may have more artistic value than 

 an inferior original. As much as 

 $150,000 has been spent on the pro- 

 duction of a single set of films, and 

 leading actors, such as Madame Bern- 



hardt and Sir H. Beerbohn Tree have 

 acted before the film camera. At pres- 

 ent most of the shows exhibit crude 

 farces and melodramas, and it may not 

 be altogether satisfactory that a third 

 as much money is spent on them as on 

 our entire public school system. We 

 may hope, however, that the moving- 

 picture show will make possible a dem- 

 ocratic development of art and become 

 an educational institution of the great- 

 est possible consequence. 



