In its most interesting feature the system used in the United States resembles the newspaper syndicate, through which an article is published simultaneously all over the country in dozens of newspapers. In this case the article is supplied to the different newspapers in advance, with the statement that it is “released” on a certain date; that is, the newspaper may publish it on and after that particular date, but not before. This explains the surprise of the young man who travels away from home for the first time when he finds that the newspapers of the city he is visiting carry many of the special features he reads in the papers at his home city, and that they publish the articles simultaneously. In a similar manner motion pictures are shipped far in advance to the exchanges, the local distributing agents. A certain “release” date has been chosen, and on that day the picture is shown for the first time in theaters throughout the country. New York, in the heart of the film world, thus boasts of no advantage over the city a thousand miles away. The use of the word “release” in this connection is similar to that in the newspaper syndicate field, which explains a point that invariably proves confusing to the layman seeking information in filmland. We are told in the chapter dealing with the history of the motion picture of the formation of the first large distributing organization. The system followed by this combination will give an idea of the method employed by the older organizations in handling the short pictures that make up the bulk of the film output. In forming the combination a group of pioneer picture manufacturers bound themselves together to release their product to the theater-owners through the one channel. Exchanges are located in the principal cities of the country and the distributing organization purchases from the manufacturer the number of positive prints of each picture needed to supply these exchanges. A manufacturer’s popularity with the exhibitors and the public is shown, of course, by the number of positive prints that the distributor must purchase from him to meet the demand. These manufacturers profited both by the sale of their prints and, through their direct interest in the distributor, from the earnings of the latter. There are two other large distributing agents organized along the lines of the pioneer to handle the output of other manufacturers. In the one the union between producer and distributor is not as close as that of the pioneer, while in the other producer and distributor are practically identical.