Birmingham state herald., 1897-07-04
SOUTHERN lYCEUM.
An Effort to Be Made to Put Birming- ham in the Circuit-Meeting Call
 ed for Monday Night.

 Do you wish to make it possible to hear from ten to twenty of the leading lsetur- CTS, orators and authors of the country annually in Birmingham at nominal cost? If so, attend the meeting on Mon- day night at the rooms of the Commercial club.
 The following call has been Issued:
 Birmingham. July 3, 1s97 An ladies and gentlemen in Birming- ham who are interested in having our our city placed in the southern lyceum GIT cult for the purpose of having here high order of lectures and lyceum eht=r tainments are requested to meet toge. IT at the Commercial club rooms Monday, July 5. at S30 D. m for the organization of the Birmingham Lyceum
 Ivceums have already been established in Norfolk, Wilmington, savannah, AMu- M gusta Atlasta, Columbus, Jacksonville, Meridian and Little Rock; and the cltles of Mobile Chatta nooga, Knoxville, Nash vile. Charleston, Columbia and Rleh- mond have lyceums in process or ofganl- zation, and will be soon added To the southern circuit
 The difficulty heretofore in procuring lecturers and lyceum entertainers ot high order of ability to come south mas been that the expenses of traVehng to deliver lecture in only one or two cities has been too great to justify the lecturers in coming at reasonable rates. With the lyceums already established in the souh- ern circuit. 1t can now be guaranteed that the best lecturers can be heard at a nominal cost of admission In AuguSta where the first lyceum of the circuit was organized four years ago, there are now 800 members, and they procure the most noted lecturers of the United States at a cost of only IS 2-Se. adm ,ssion to the @members.
 If 300 members can be procured for the 'Birmingham LyceuIl" at s5 each per annum it can.be guaranteed that at least ten lecturers and entertainments can be furnished during the season, to each Of which every member will have two ad- missions, making the cost only 25c. for each admission Owsnty admissions at S5). If more than 300 members can be procur- ed. the number of entertainments can pc proportonately increased. thus reducing the average cost of admission to the members. It is especially desired that the ladies shall attend this meeting. as their influence is always needed in any movement to elevate the public morals
 JAMES BOwRoN,
 H. K. WHITE,
 J. B. COBBS.
 w. J. MILNER,
 B: D. Gray,
 ROBERT JEMISON,
 J. H. PHILLIPS
 THOS. s. FORBES,
 A. B. CURRY.
 A. R DEARBORN,
 THOS. D. PARKE, c. c. KELLY.
 MT. H. C. Middleton, secretary of the Southern Lyceum associa ation who has been sent to Birmingham to interest our city in ,-his matter, yesterday said: ''The INceum is simply a matter of co-opera tion. If you can get 300 people in Bir- minghiam ao cooperate and join the 'Blr- mngham Lyceum' at $5 each per year you can give ten great lyceum numbers xxfi1f a a n L. mission to the members of the ins .itu- tion. That is, for the $5 each member can be given two admissions to all Of the ten entertainments, without further cost The members pay nothing addi- tional 70 the S5. If you could make this number 400 you could give twelve or fourteen entertainments; and if 800 mem --bers, fifteen or eighteen entertainments could be given, all at the total cost of s; for two annual tickets 10 everything The larger your membership, of cours. the larger your fund, the greater the number of entertainments and the less the average cost of each. All your funds go to support your institution. In Au- gusta we have 800 members, and give if cen of the mcet superb entertainments procurabe in America, making the cost only 16 2-3 centls per admission to the members Birmingham can do as we'll as Augusta if not better. Atlanta began last year with 400 members, and will have 600 or more this year. Once established the lyceum is permanent, and forever solves the lecture problem.
 "As 10 the lecturers, you could have 1T the course and hear at 25 cents this win. ter, if 300 people join your institution Gen. Gordon. Henry Watterson. pr. A. A Willits, Senator J. J. Ingalls,, Thomas Dixon, Jr., George Kennan, George W Cable, F. Hopkinson Smith. Madison c Peters, pr. P. S. Henson. Robert J. Bur dette, Will Carlton, or almost any of long lis. of names including elocution- isis, and concert companies for musica numbers. Every course should include music to some extent. Or, as I say, il 300 members could be got these ner could be heard for 16 2-S cents, as in Au. gusta.'