The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-11-03
INTERVIEW WITH soUsA.
He Tells How He Came to Write
Washington Post March"
Nondon Morning LEADER

Dondon Morning Leader)
John Philip Sousa, the march king,
is in London at last, and viii give US
taste of his quality in the Albert nan
today. A Morning Leader representative
came across the great composer ana
conductor at the Carlton hotel yester-
day. and was received with the greatest
courtesy and amiability.
The famous writer of the Washing
ton Post March" has handsome smiling
face, and is not bit pulled up py MS
innumerable successes. He IS modeSty
and unconventionahty themselves
Have you brought US any new cOmpO-
sitions?' the Morning Leader representa-
tive asked.
as an encore-that is if get one Che
added, with a modest laughD- DIX
months ago, when this tour was ar
ranged, ! thought it would be nice
thing TO write something which Woulu
please Englishmen. Hence my Patrol OF
the United Kingdom 1t will be reminis-
cent of mc ny patriotic British songs
The Blue Bells of Scotland Soldiers OF
the Queen The British Grenadlers ana
so forth, and it win finish up with Rule
Britannia.
Mr.. Sousa wrote the patrol a few days
ago when he got on board the ship tndt
brought him to England. This is his way.
He does not believe in anything put the
'inspiratiOnaI' method Of composing
So that all compositions are complete IN
his mind before he sets them down on
paper. 4 nurse them and talk baby talk
to them" he said in his tendeTly, atfec-
tiOnate way to the Morning Leader rep
resentative, before 1 put them in writ
ing"
What about your other new march,
the Invincible Eagle that you are bring
ing with your?
ron. that's only teething now; but it's
a healthy baby. I can tell you
SOUsa's love for music breaks out over
and over again in this affeCtionate fam
lily talk. Thus: Which is your faVOrlte
composition" asked the Morning Leader
representative. An was the reply
I'm in love with all my babies
'Then which is the most POPULAR
% The Stars and Stripes Forever. It
has outsold and outwhistled all the 9TH
ers."
sousa was good enough to tell our rep
resentative how he came TO write THE
Washington Post" There is, it seems, a
journal of that name. This j0urna! got
up a prize essay competition among the
public school children of Washington,
and the competition took on wonder
I fully: the distribution of the prizes was
arranged to take place in the famous
! Smithsonian grounds. and promised to
( become a tremendous popular function.
One of the prOpriet0rs (Mr. HattOn) con-
/ sequently bethOught himself of inviting
casiOn. This obtained, he went one step
I further and besought Sousa himself to
grace the function with special march.
[ The genial composer consented at once,
and the famous march of The Wash
/ ington Post" was the result.
/ Such is the story published for the first
/ time Of the origin of the world-renowned
{ composition.
"A cutting from a journal" said SOusa
I amusedly, ''was inclosed in the first edi-
I ton. in which it was stated that the
march was composed specially for the
prize distribution, and that it seemed 70
meet with popular approval
The washington Post afterward be-
/ came the national anthem Of the great
/ worlds fair. Together with the High
/ School Cadets it made my reputation. In
/ fact, the two ran together like tandem
/ team"
/ Sousa got $50 each for these two COM
/ positions. For the Liberty BelI' ne has
/ received so far $4,000, nearly 100000 copies
/ having been sold.
what do you think of our English
muster" the Morning Leader representa-
/ tive ventured to ask.
Now. look here, was the answer,
/ whatever you do. never talk to a mu-
1 stefan about music. 1t is dangerous"