Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-02-20
THE LECTURE FIELD.
Passing Away of n Once Popular Form Of
Entertainment.
Especial Correspondence

Passing Away OF n Once Popular Form Of
Entertainment.
Especial Correspondence
Boston, Feb. ! The passing away of
the lecture as popular form of entertain
ment has been a favorite subject for news
paper leader writers for some time, and there
is little doubt that from frequent writing
thereof many editors have come to believe
the story true In a certain sense it is true.
That is, no lecturer of these days is able to
arouse such general interest, not to say en-
thusiasm, as was felt in the platform talks
of Mrs. Livermore, John b. Cough, Henry
Ward Beecher and the other stars of the
old time galaxy.
But it is also true that there are more lee
turers making living now than there ever
were in the past, and it is quite likely that
they are earning in the aggregate, even dur
ing this winter of financial shortage all
round, a greater sum of money than fell to
to the galaxy of the winter Of say, 1870.
A man who was famous manager of ia
nous lecturers in the days when people
nsed to fight to get reserved seats to hear
John b. Cough extol the desirability Of
water as beverage over wine, or Mrs. Liv-
crmore set forth the need of emancipating
our wives and sisters and daughters from
the chains of social bondage, said few
days ago:
There are 50 mediocre lecturers today to
one great one 20 years ago Each of the 80
is probably making a fair years income,
net, during the season, and in the total the
earnings Of the present so are perhaps
greater than the one of the past, but there
is vast difference between the lecture de
livered then and the lecture delivered now"
In this last the old time manager is fright
as usual" but he is not right if he holds
that there are no good lecturers nowadays
There were nev>r more informing lectures
than those delivered by Lieutenant Peary,
the arctic explorer, who is now in the
frozen regions on his second trip of ex-
ploration. Peary did a good business,
too-a business that melted him enough,
as has often been stated in print, to
pay the expenses of his present trip
Henry NJ. Stanley is also still making
money, and SO are Eli Perkins, the truth
full man, and George KEENAN,, the Sibe-
| rian traveller. Mrs. French Sheldon, the
only woman who has travelled alone among
the African savages, gathers good annual
income from the people who 20 to hear
lectures, and host of lesser lights are prof
itably in the field on every conceivable sub
iect.
The club course Of lectures is great
thing nowadays, whereas it was hardly in
! evidence at all score Of years ago, and the
private lecture" has similarly increased
vastly in popularity. The army of persons
who subsist as managers and attaches Of
lecture bureaus is an evidence Of the con-
tinued prosperity Of the business. In the
seventies there was but one lecture bu-
reau worth mentioning. Now there are
probably IS.
A feature of the lecture business OF today
Is the greater practical character Of the lee
lures and the larger percentage OF women
who pace the platform. A very large num-
Der of our speaking sisters devote their talk
to physical culture in one form or another,
and another portion speak upon such prac-
tical questions as housewives desire to 70
ceive instruction upon. But the lecture that
strives to be Simply amusing appears to be
10 the sere and yellow leaf. Bill Nye being
almost the only very successful speaker 9,
this sort. PACT MENTOR.