I never realized that film actually got its beginnings in France. I understand that Edison gave it a bit of a jump start, but these two brothers seem to have been the driving force behind what we know of cinematography today.  
If they had something at their fingertips that was quite obviously successful, what was it that had them convinced that there was no future for it?  It was well received and even gained patent across the ocean.  I am curious about their pessimism.  How do you think they would react if they saw what cinema and film have turned into today?
I, too, think this short film should be preserved.  The Lumiere brothers created the beginning of something that would blossom into something beyond their wildest dreams.  They start the world of cinema and were able to start a whole new world from something so simplistic.