The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-01-19
A BENEFICENT BAND.
Tho Good Work Of q Kentucky
Musical Organization.
Some Rough Lumbermen Get Together
With Their Instruments and Bring
Peace to . Turbulent
Community.

"Music hath charms to soothe q
savage, to rend a rock and burst a cab
bage," quoted the hotel clerk to the
guest from the mountain region of Ken
lucky, as that individual dropped a
nickel in the tin cup of Ia bella Ital-
ianna-organ-grindera.
WELL" he laughed, "here's q cab
bage it can bust every time it hits it.
and I'm glad of it. I'm a 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-
teal workings are no less. As an in
stance, let me tell you my experience.
I 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. 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 subsequent pro-
ceedings. Among my men were two
who played the fiddle and it occurred
to me after reading about what Prot.
Somebody had done in the Chicago
sluns with music to try it on my peo-
pie. So called them up and talked to
them on the subject, suggesting as a
kind of inducement that the company
would pay for the instruments If they
would organize and hire q teacher for
brass band"
The clerk put his hands up to bis ears:
"Oh, that's all right" laughed the
timberman; Il know that brass band
practicing isn't much for pleasure, but
its a 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 q brass band sounded like, but
put the wickedest man of the lot at
the head of the band, for he was a
leader wherever he was and told him
how necessary discipline was.
HE caught on at once and all the
young fellows were afraid Of him. He
soon had them trained as soldiers. The
teacher was city man of courage and
q 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
~ every night till nine o'clock at their
music and as soon as they could play
a piece fairly well they went on exhibi.
ton with it, and when summer came I
furnished the material and they built
a public music stand, where they played
every night for an hour or more.
never saw such an Improvement in men
and it extended to their friends and the |
whole community. X
after time they we're playing well |
:nough to 60 to the neigbboring places
% play at local celebrations, and once
hey played three days at county fair
md 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
vas something to be proud of, and they
would as soon have thought of getting
Trunk or raising row as they would of
hrowing their instruments in the river.
''They stopped their nightly gam
ling and saved their money, and after
wo years of that band wcpldn't have
,arted with it for IS per cent. divi-
END of our company."-Washington
tar. -