Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-07-25
on THE PLATFORM.
HOW TO MAKE CERTAIN THE Sue
CESS OF LECTURE.

} The Audience R"om-A Good Thing ss
improved by Being Enjoyed In L Good
PIsce-T" Work Up AN Audience
; Other Items.
Out Of some years Of experience I ven
hIrc n few suggestions that if followed
will enable the hearers to c.t all the light
. aud enjoyment contained in any public al
dress, and that every time
One thing even the most careless will
see: The address that i a signal success
tonight can not hc "A failure to morrow
night II the conditions the surroundings
are the same Halls. churches, audiences,
expectations change. the language Of the
lecture does not materially change. and
only as he i chilled by empty seats and
the shivcrS Of Il cold stove, or opposed 10y
the echoes, VIII his delivery change II il
he clear, charming thUru;!S bred to night,
tomorrow might on a platform as cosy and
before as many people, 1t will not he cold
and half bred
Having secured a speaker, You will be-
ltevc will please the people Of course you
wish To do all you con To help him please.
The first question then is that Of an audi
loiut i the dream that the larger the
room the more people VIII attend, the
more money he gained, an the greater
the success every way. OF course you
should know enough Of the temper Of your
people To form an idea Of the number you
and the speaker together can draw" for
you can count On the fingers of one hand
the American names that, unaided, will
draw fair house, and those you must pay
into the hundreds to get
CHOICE OF \ ROOM
Better Chuuse a room "a little pinched
( than much too large. Overflow the regu-
Lar seats, iii up the aisles, and you lift
your speaker up TO point whereon, IL he
be mental athlete, he will lift the people.
There Is eloquenCe in row standing
against the wall No man ever admires
himself or the audience while speaking To
f!fty people and 800 chairs In the average
town OF 1000 to 300 people you do well
when you get 3OO TO pay their way 10 a
lecture; and a small room will seat that
I number
Having determined how small room
will tit the audience, look for the room
that has the best reputation for ease in
speaking and hearing Where it il hard
Speaking 1t is hard hearing; and you never
thoroughly liked anything you worked
hard to listen to. yet missed parts Of It.
/ Between the hall and the church Of
suitable size, etc, always take the church
Ii is generally better lighted, seated.
warmed. and ventilated, and infinitely
cleaner, quieteT and more in harmony with
/ right sentiments, even when set to the
music of humor. The average hall has
high naked stage, with wings and curtains
I that check the sound Of the voice a bare
dirty floor, hard, sOiled seats, dingy walls
and windows, tobacco on the stove and
the stairs painted with it. Your minstrel
patrons like TO 90 there but they don't 90
there for the lecture with moral pur-
/ pose and pay their way: and even when
free they only lounge in and out to the an
nOyRnCe Of all listeners. Your best, clear
minded thinkers and workers-your men
and women with whom the good thought
is seed sown ir good ground-do not like
to enter such holes up stairs; food for
brain and heart does not relish well there.
A good thing is improved by being enjoyed
in good place. And the free lecture in
the downtown hall, If 1t has any delicacy
Of wit and sentiment. is ruined by the con
slant tramp over bare floors by boys and
loungers who can not digest a thought in
p Iblic. 1t is mistake to bid for such
there; they must first he trained in the
schools and by conversational inter
course.
TO WORK UP AN AUDIENCE"
When you want to work up an audi
ence" you say: Well. the way to do it is
to work, at least when entrance means
money; and often il requires skill to get
good free house. Having engaged a
speaker begin To build up an interest in
him and his theme. Get into your local
paper brief sketch Of the speaker, or
anecdotes, etc. about him, and perhaps
something about the lecture its age, num-
Der Of times given, etc. Anything in this
line that has the flavor of a news item
your journals commonly will insert with
out charge. Then when you ask the peo-
pie to buy tickets the name is familiar,
and they more readily respond Keep the
people awake to the coming lecture as an
important event Speak of il to ali you
meet everywhere, except st funeral
Good personal talking is the most paying
advertisement And you may be sure
that the more earnest you are to get an
audience, the more enthusiastic will peo-
pie be to attend.
If il is a lecture chiefly for entertain
ment, an admission fee should be charged:
and then to get an audience, pay ex-
penses and have something left, you must
sell tickets in advance, and the further
ahead the better for the ticket-holder be
comes friend inviting others to attend
And don't leave the canvassing to chill
dren; they are easily put of. Send out,
by districts or streets, your beSt-known
and esteemed members-those whose
good will everybody likes to share. The
people you want are the thinking. read
ing, souls capable of pleasant evening
at home; and to get them out you must
convince them of something good to
come simply the announcement Of the
time and place and the deposit of tickets
at Smiths store will not so convince them.
That method may do for a minstrel show,
for the spirits 1t caters to don't know how
to be happy at home, but are on the watch
for some ClOwnish evening resOrt-James
Clement Ambrose In Inter Ocean.
Acid Rites and AIksH Cures
Almost all bites and stings are destruc-
tive from their acid nature; consequently
the cure is an alkali. Spirits of hartshorn
i ~ = ha ND iG EarN in, al-