The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1874-12-17
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
SINGING IN THE CHURCHE s.

face of Mary Jones and go home with
her after the exercises were over, we
were content to furnish vocalism to the
churches for nothing, and even esteem
it an honor and privilege to be invited
to make one of the choir.
In New York sacred music is quite
another thing. Singing in choirs is as
much of profession as singing IN operas
in fact, the singers who delight the
public in opera, weekday nights, furnish
the sacred music for the Churches Sun
days, and very pretty sum it costs
church to get such music as it wants.
The organist, for instance, in a reason
ably plain church gets $1,000 per an
mum, the leader or manager gets as
much more, the soprano gets from
$500 to 500, the also as much, and the
orally a little less. This makes the
haps twenty voices who are paid from
500 to $500 each, according to position,
quality and capacity.
These singers are almost without eX-
ception professionals, who sing praises
to the Almighty without feeling, caring
OF knowing what they slng-thelr busl-
ness being purely necessary. This scale
of prices applies only to the moderately
opulent churches-the great ones double
or treble these figures. In Trinity for
instance the music is quite as excellent III
character as that of the operate stage,
and it attracts thousands OF people who
go for that alone.
In many of the churches choirs of
boys are employed. It is all well. [
see no reason why the Evil One should
monopolize all the good things of life.
Why should not sacred music be render
ed al:tistically, and why should not the
best musical talent be employed in the
service of the temple2 It attracts peo-
pie to plcaes of worship, and impresses
them when they get there. At least SO
say the clergymen, and who should
know if they don't? Beecher's church
has superb organist, Zundel, and a
choir who simply lead the multitude,
and Talmadge does without a choir.
The organ and a cornet-player lead the
people. When 5000 people in that i'm
mense audience-room raise their voices
together, the effect is indescribably
grand. And speaking Of
MUSIC,
the theatres of the city have for some
months been giving what in the bills are
called Sacred Concerts, Sunday nights.
The value of the "Sacred Concerts
may be inferred from the following pro-
gramme:
BOTH SACRED CONCERT-BOwERY THEATRE.
The concert this evening will COM
mence with the romantic drama entitled
The French Spy,
with Miss Louise Sylvester as the Arab
boy. To be followed by the drama, in
three acts, entitled.
Jonathan Bradford,
or the
Murder in the Roadside Inn.
To conclude with
Jack Sheppard.
In all the minor theatres dramatic per-
fOrmances, the same as on weekday
nights, have been given Sunday nights,
under the name of sacred concerts, and
the opera troupes have been quite as
unblushing in the evasion Of the law.
Finally the managers of the better
class Of theatres entered their protest
against It in conjunction with the lead
ing citizens, and a raid on the places
was inaugurated. Last Sunday night a
htlIhUCI VI UIISI1 WSIt ClOo0u, DllU UIG
majority of them went through with
their performances.
THE SUNDAY QUESTION
is very difficult one to manage here.
There is an enormous German and
French population, who will not yield
one iota of their notions on this subject.
They regard Sunday as a day not only
of rest, but recreation, and crowd into
1t all the amusement of the week. They
want their gardens IN the summer, and
halls IN the winter, and in the evening
their theatres and concerts. They can
not understand why, in a free country
they should be debarred from doing as
they please on any day in the week,
SO that they do not interfere with others.
They want to observe the day in this
country as they observe it in the land
they came from, and they make yigo-
rous fight for it. 1t goes into politics
and has its effect upon all the elections.
The German of New York knows OF no
questions of public policy that is SO i'm
portant to him, and his vote is inf1-
enced more by this question than by
any other. He does not believe in
religious observance on Sunday, he
has no sympathy with the Puritan idea
in short, he is in antagonism with it
all. And to him it is vital matter, and
he fights it in every possible way. 1t
counts on election days, and from this
time out it will count more.
BUILDING AND REAL ESTATE.
The real estate people are disturbed.
Under the stimulus OF the war and war
imitation, real estate went up fearfully.
Building lots IL the vicinity Of the Park
were few years ago counted fairly
cheap at $4,000, and SO, 900 was not
an unusual price. They are not so
high nov, indeed they couldn't be sold
to-day for the half what was paid for
them. They lay dead property. There
is no use in building on them, for there
are thousand or more empty houses
above 42d street, and three times that
number below, not going lower down
than 14th. [ mentioned last week the
fact that there are thousands of empty
stores and Offices. This condition of