Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1897-01-21
A BENEFICENT BAND.
The Good Work of a Kentucky
Musical Organization.
Some Rough Lumbermen Got Together
with Their instruments and Bring
Peace to Turbulent
Community.

MuSlC Hdull W SOOtiiC d
savage, to rend rock and burst cab
bage," quoted the hotel clerk to the
guest from the mountain region of Ken
lucky, as that individual dropped o
nickel in the tin cup of In bella Ital-
ianna-organ-gri
Well" he laughed, heres cab
bage it can bust every time it hits it,
and I'm glad of it. I'm great believer
in music and its power over the tutored
and untutored mind. Of course, there
is margin of poetry in it, but its prac-
tical workings are no less. AS an in
stance, let me tell you my experience.
/ am, as you know, in the lumber busi-
ness in the mountain region of Ken
lucky, and, as you are also aware, that
particular section is not entirely in
habited by Quakers. l had employed at
my mill about dozen men who were a
fair average. That is to say, as long as
they were not drinking they were not
shooting, but when the wine was in the
pistols were out and civilization was not
greatly advanced by the subsequently pro-
ceedings. Among my men were two
who played the fiddle and it occurred
to me after reading ABOUT what Prof.
Somebody had done in the Chicago
slums with music to try it on my peo-
pie SO l called them up and talked to
them on the subject, suggesting as
kind of inducement that the company
would pay for the instruments if they
would organize and hire a teacher for
q brass band"
The clerk put his hands up to his ears.
"Oh, that's all right" laughed the
timberman; II know that a brass band
practicing isn't much for pleasure, but
it's good deal safer and more agreea-
BILE than shooting chunks of lead around
town and our brass band was intro
duced as a public soother, SO to speak.
At first our musicians were disposed to
shoot up the town because some in
discreet person made remarks about
what a brass band sounded like, but
put the wickedest man of the lot at
the head of the band, for he was
leader wherever he was and l told him
how necessary discipline was.
"He caught on at once and all the
soon had them trained as soldiers. The
teacher was d city man of courage and
II gentleman as well and his influence
helped, too, so that within six months
you wouldn't have known my people
or our little town. They worked near
ly every night till nine o'clock at their
music and as soon as they could play
a piece fairly well they went on exhibit
ton with it, and when summer came i
furnished the material and they built
n public music stand, where they played
every night for an hour or more. l
never saw such an improvement in men
and it extended to their friends and the
whole community. ....
after a time they were playing well
enough to go to the neighboring places
to play at local celebrations, and once
they played three days at county fair
and made quite little sum of money.
When they went away on these trips,
which were not numerous enough to
interfere with their work, their conduct
was something to be proud of, and they
would as soon have thought of getting
drunk or raising a row as they would of
throwing their Instruments in the river.
They stopped their nightly gam
bling and saved their money, and after
two years of that band wouldn't have
parted with it for 25 per cent. divi-
dend of our company."-Washington
Stor