Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-05-07
THE LECTURE BUREAU.
The PLAN UPON WHICH THE FIRST
ASSOCIATION WAS ORGANIZED.

rhe Real Causes of the Decsdence Of the
Once Popular Platform Lecture-kiIled
by the Enormous Fees Demanded
System of Sharing Receipts.
The first lecture bureau ever formed was
in Toledo Ohio The cities represented in
IA convection ralled 10 meet there in lA4,
were etro!t, Grand Rapids. Adrian, Jack.
son. Coldwater, Toledo. and think two %
three more were represent, either Ly dele
gates or letter. The plan WAS to haze a cen
tral secretary. who should engage a mum
Ter of lecturers for tour among the asSo-
Gated cities The obje,t was Ly unity Of
action to secure able men, who could not
lie induced to come 50 far for the purpose
OF hlling one or two engagements The as
soCiative effort was soon merged into u
reau, established at Chicago Another bu-
reau was soon after opened III New York
or brooklyn, esps tally under the patronage
OF the y GOung Men Christian associations
These in "A few years became the lurraus
that existed for Il long time in h, stun and in
New York as private s. eculationS All hu-
reaus at present are of this sort, and mum
Der, | believe, five, or possibly SIX.
DECADENCE OF PLATFORM LECTURING
The real causes OF the decadence of the
platform lecture were: H. The fact that
large number of intellectually Seeiy persons
procured u lvertlSe nents under the bureaus,
aad their performances disguised the pubic;
e, almost all good lectures are speedily re
ported and read ahead of thr lecturer APP
pearance. - a lack Of confidence in the
common sense Of the peop!e on the part OF
bureaus; it has been assumed that the people
prefer shows: a really tirst-class course Of
4 great losses incurred by committees
through the greedlnass and lawlessness Of
certain speakers 1t is nearly impossible to
secure any compensation for expenses il a
lecturer chooses to break his engagement
One gentleman in st Louis paid hall rent
for two nights, all advertising Lills and
over - for private kilograms, altogether
$50, for one popular speaker, who, the af
ternoon of the appointment sent telegram,
ain isposei OF course no honorable lee
turcr falls of keeping appointments or max
in some just settlement - Science has
really become the popular study of the
American peope. They will no longer
listen to anything of the tinespun essay sort
Men like Holland, Whpple and other highly
cultured gentlemen have no place on the
platform
The platform lecture at the outset was an
apps al to the public for great humanitarian
purposes Sub ectS shut out from pulpItS
and ordinary hearing were carriei to the
people in a final appeal Garrison, Phillips
Cough, Parker were pleaders at the bar Of
the public The he, es,ity for such appeals
passr.l away The lecture then bc, anne
either political or liteI ary, and finally it has
descended INTO a personal assault or ha-
rangue. 1t is dead
KILLED BY THE ENORMOUS FEES.
But beyond all else the popular lecture
has been killed by the enormous fees de-
manded Agasslz received 500, and could
not afford the time at that Beecher, by
report, has re eiN ell double that Cough
for the past few years repeated the same
stories at so night Our English visitors
have generally taken all they could get, and
refused TO talk at all for less than 800 per
night The average fee rSeived by the
early heroes of the platform was not over
so But of late third rate thinkers and
poor orators have demanded slOO to slju
They are now willing to take what they can
get, or share receipts with committees, and
can seldom get Gn invitation at that.
Shakespeare is played out literally
played Off the platform Nandemhotf aud
Murdo,k were master readers of the great
TRACE ian: but alas for the tomtoolery OF
the small fry that have fallen back on Mac
bething for q living Charlotte Cushmin
was the greatest Lady Macbeth ever SAW,
whether as reader or actor. \ half do en-
COOL readers are now on the platform,
mainly good in character reading.
Probably the only resurrection OF the
platform lecture as a system will be on the
basis of science teaching in the cOnversa-
tional style. As yet however, the people
are not quite comprehending the fact that
real science is the romance Of life: full of
that which is novel is exciting and valuable.
Nor are we yet rid of a generation Of
charlatans who have under co, er OF science,
taught medley Of nonsense st LouI:
Globe democrat