The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-03-07
LIONS OF THE LYCEUM.
Thirty Years Retrospect of an Exporter of Celebrated
People.

will of the people of America. which l
prize 50 highly. l remain, dear sir,
your most faithful servant
wv. E. GLADSTONE
Feb. I. $780,"
Major Pond has returned to the as
sault on Hawarden castle many times
since, but Mr.. Gladstone has always
remained impregnable.
During my trip to England last
year." remarked the major, Il made the
grand cid man one more offer of $4,000
for 20 lectures. OF course he did not
ception he would get in America, and
the anxious, almost feverish. desire
there is on the part of the people to
see him, l think he would be inclined
to run across. There is no building in
the country that he could not fill night
after night at big prices.
John Bright was another celebrity
that Major Pond angled for over and
over again, but without success.
II met him twice in London" he says,
land submitted propositions for tour
of so lectures. He did not discourage
me at first, but later on said he thought
he was too old to make the trip. Be
sides he added, why should 1 go to
America? Don't all the Americans
come to see me?'
Mr.. ]. NJ. Barrie is equally shy of the
public platform. He met the majors
proposals with this brief, but decisive,
note:
'133 Gloucester Road. S. w,
Feb. q, 1897.
Dear Sir-I thank you for your let
ter, bit not all the kings horses nor all
the kings men would induce me to go
a-lecturing. Yours truly,
u. NJ BARRIE"
This season the majors bright par
ticular star in the United States is An
IIona NOT "a ANYTHING new
to tell the public. and not desiring to
pose as a lecturer, the author of The
Dolly Dialogues is contenting himself
with readings from his most successful
novels.
Major Pond had not experienced
great difficulty in securing American
celebrities. No three men in the world
ever achieved so much popularity or
accomplished such a record in lecturing
as Henry Ward Beecher. John b
Cough and Wendell Phillips The
Great Triumvirate of Lecture Kings,
Major Pond calls them, and they were
all under his management for the
greater part of their lecturing careers.
Henry Ward Beecher was my
greatest star" the major says, proudly
He was IL years under my manage
ment. and during that time we Travelled
400 600 miles. Mr.. Beecher made close
on 5000, 200 in that period through his
lectures alone. ne W DIS lily ACciA Cot anu
dearest friend for those IL years with
the exception of New Mexico and Ari-
iona, there was not a state IN the
Union that we did not traverse to-
gether In sunshine and in storm, Dy
night, by day, by every conceivable
mode of travel, in Pullman cars, the
regular passenger trains, mixed trains,
freight trains, on steamboats, and row.
boats. by stage. and on the backs OF
mules, l jOurneyed by his side He
had marvellous powers of endurance as
a lecturer. In one season he preached
and Iectured 232 times in 295 days. Al
together Mr.. Beecher lectured 1,26l
times for me-.
John B. Cough was, in Major Ponds
opinion, king of the lecture world in
America for 40 years" Only Henry
Ward Beecher and Wendell Phillips
could contest the title with him. He
delivered $500 addresses and lectures in
his lifetime, nearly all of them on tenn
perance. For the last ten years of his
life he was under Major Ponds man
agement. He never asked for a fee in
his life He left his remuneration
wholly to his manager. In the ten
years with Major Pond he earned $780,
900 a year.
Wendell Phillips was another of the
majors stars. His popularity lasted a
lifetime.
Among all the heroes and explorers
that 1 have had" observed the major,
the greatest orator has been Lieuten-
ant Peary, the Arctic explorer L nave
managed three successive seasons for
him, and he is immensely popular If
he would give up the navy and explo-
ration and take to lecturing, am con-
WINGED that he would eclipse any lee
turer 1 have had. He is long way
the best of living lecturers in America.
Next to him General Lew Wallace, the
author of Ben Hur, is most popular
Just now He is making a lot OF
money"
Lecturing has fallen sadly into disre-
pute in America of recent years The
days of the giants are gone, never to
return, l fear" remarks Major Pond
"The colleges are in particularly de-
cadent condition. In the old days they
would take only orators and writer's
Now they want actors. They viii give
me 81, 900 a night if 1 can get Joseph
jefferson or Sir Henry Irving for them
Bv the way l am willing to give Irv-
ing more than any man living, except
Gladstone. for a lecturing tour. l am
convinced that if he and Miss Ellen
Terry gave only scenes from their plays
on the platform in America they would
make much more money thar by trav-
cling with a big company and tons or
scenery. The people only want TO see
them They don't care about the rest
of the company
zone of the most diffident men 1 ever
dealt with was Thomas Mast. got him
to lecture one season He made $4O,OOO,
but. despite his success, could never be
induced to lecture again. He used to
illustrate his remarks with lightning
'-~ ROBERT c. BURT.