The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1882-09-26
HOW BURNT CORK PAYS.
The Salaries Received by Some of
the Leading Negro Minstrels
Of the Country.
What it Costs ID Run a Company
of Mokos Growch Of
this Branch Of AmuSe-
ment.
St Louis G,oba-Dcmocrat.

there are no theatrical people 50 thor
oughlv misunderstood, or about whom
the public entertain more absurd
notions. than those who blacken their
faces and who, to use vulgar ex-
preston, make monkeys of themselves
before the f"otlighis. An extrava-
giant idea is afoat in regard to the
morals of the minstrel, his social re-
lations, the salary he gets and the
easv time he has. Minstrelsy is not
SO very old that many now living caA
hot 90 back to the DAYS of its birth
and follow the lives of the principal
performers, whose flames and fortunes
were founded upon the rage for Ethi-
opian oddities that existed forty years
ago, and that is still widespread
through this country and Europe.
When Dan Emmett. Billy Whitlock.
Frank Bower and Dick Pelham. the
pioneers of the black art, organized in
the spring of 1871. and under the
name of the Virginia SerenaderS played
"for one consecutive night at the
Chatham Street Theatre. New York,
they made the first move that has
since been so successfully followed by
Jack Haverly and others, and gave
the earlist suggestion of minstrel
organizatiOn-not the mastOdOn affl;r
that prevails now, out quiet and
undemonstrative mbination Of artists
who did not exceed m IRE than dozen
or SO in number, and the fame of many
of whom was coextensive with the
then known amusement world. There
were Barney Williams, Cool White,
Eph Horn, George Cnristy, Johnny
Diamond, Jim Sanford, Frank Lynch.
and others whose memory is still
cherished in the traditions of
THE BURNT CORK END
Of the profession. There was h;...
money in the business in those day
and the boys were accordingly wild
and extravagant in their expenditures.
They were the promoter of the dia-
monI cross fever that now attacks
every man that goes upon the minstrel
stage. They drank, gamblei, and
did worse proh,n'y; they were rich
and poor by turns. AMI many of them,
like Johnnv Diamond. and jim San
ford. Close checknret careers In the
shelter nf snme strange aims house
Geo -ge Clristv goi = salary equivalent
10 $500 a week for .mping jim
Crow. and the other ministries of his
tine were equally well tax care Of !
The managers !r,d few people to piv, /
and could afford to pay them literally, |
particularly wnem the reputation of his |
organization depended upon the repu- |
tation of the names on his bills. Until !
within four years ago it could be said,
as well-known manager puts it, that |
a good minstrel snow consisted of
twelve men, a stuffed club and ten
pounds of red fire. The company had
nothing to carry but little baggage
and when it struck town, after giving
the usual street parade, nothing re-
manned but to 60 upon the stage, no
matter how poor or destitute its stock
scenery, and give the performance.
Now, minstrel companies are forty, i
fifty, sixty and even one hundred
strong.
THE LARGE SALARY LIST.
Enormous sums of money are
now invested in negro minstrelsy, and
the fact that the number of organiza-
tions are increasing, while each is
strengthening itself numerically and
otherwise. is fair evidence that mana
gers have confidence i'm this line OF
amusements, and that AL its possibil-
tiles are not yet exhausted. Last year
there were not more than eight min
strel parties In the United States; this
year there are fifteen, exclusive of the
little Ay-by-night concerns that hang
TO the coat-taiIs of the others, and
manage one way or other to keep
themselves in the land of the living.
The companies give employment to
nearly 1000 persons, and their weekly
expenses for salaries run from $3.50 to
81 200. To this must be added board
and lodging at the rate of $3.50 per
day, aud transportation, which will
average 50 for each person. In en-
ploviny Ministries the. management
always provides 70. the board and
travelling expenses of each performer.
Contracts are very rarely made, be-
cause, the managers say, there are few
men in the business who have sufficient
respect for q contract to observe its
terms. 3,
81 wouldn't have contract with
any of them except Billy Emerson and
one or two others" said a prominent
manager the other day. You might
haua all the contracts in the world