The sun., 1902-03-09
THE MINSTRELSY OR TO-DAY.
LEW DOCkSTADER COMPARES 1T
WITH THE OLD STYLE.

The Public in Part 10 Biamc for Changes
Its Popularity as Great as Ever. He
thinks Lack OF Negroes 70 Initiate
Did MInstrels Retired and IN Clover
Il read with considerable pleasure. yet
infinite regret, the interesting editorial IN
The SuN anent the passing away OF men
famous as minstrels 10 playgoers OF two
generations ago. said Lew Dockstader 70
a SUN reporter. But still many Of the old
timers are living.
1T was only lately that received call
| from Sam Sanford. who In the early 'oos
used to make us all happy with his quaint
sayings and jokes. Sam is over 10 now
and is reported to be wealthy. He retired
many years ago, and his son, In conjunction
with Frank Dumont, Ia now running stock
| minstrel show in Philadelphia
sam Witnessed our performance the other
night and was much surprised at the prog
ross that this style Of entertainment has
made since he quit. lie admitted, and
humbly agreed with him. that 1t was moth
| ing like the ninstre.sy OF by-gone days
| Yet he was willing 20 agree that during his
career 1t was impossible TO gather crowded
houses for weeks at 81 for the best seats
| In the palmy days such thing was i'm
! possible.
1T Is not the fault OF the performers
| that this class Of amusement has deterio-
rated. The blame, II anywhere, should be
placed OF the producers.
What would stephen Foster, whose
songs did a great deal toward making
minstrelsy dear to the hearts Of past gen
erations, say If he were alive and saw an
up-to-dat minstrel show? Imagine hin
sitting in the audience and hearing MY
Old Kentucky Home and Come Where
Ny Love Lies Dreaming. rendered by
up-to-date tenors, surrounded by ex
pensive scenery, to the accompaniment
OF a full orchestral Shades Of Julius
Caear, wouldn't it jar himl
@In his day such a thing was unheart
Of. The only music the performers reliec
upon then was bones, banjoes and few
trombones. and the only scenery was q
few fats and an ordinary stage setting.
Il beg to differ with The Sun as TO the
statement that minstrelsy Is on its las
legs; 1t viii never die ss,ISg az long as TN tn,
| 'Niinstrelsy to-day, in my opinion, II
! lust az popular as ii ever was. Take any
; other kind of entertainment and strip u
| Of its femininity and see how long IL vii
| last What show can do without its femi
nine element and vet retain enduring
qualities as minstrelsy has doner None
The deaths Of Billy West, Billy Emerson
| Neil Bryant and Billy Rice have indeed left
a gap in the ranks OF those who follow my
present calling. But there are n few OF u:
| laft thank God.
| There Is Frank Howard. Who OF the
! old-timers will not recall with pleasure his
| antics his sweet voice and the songs Only
a Pansy Blossom and When the Robins
| famous? Howard retired years ago anc
is now running a stock farm somewhere
near Independence, la.
sThen there Is Dan Emmett. who com
posed Dixie: Hughsy Dougheuy. Willie
P. sweatham, George Thatcher lsw Bene
| dict, George Wilson, Carroll johnson
George Primrose. Frank McNish, John l.
seven in number; Dave Reed, Hi Henry
| Charles Goughton. Ben Cotton Billy Airing
ton, Ad Wheeler, George Frothin CHAM
| and Charley Shattuck.
sFrothin CHAM il now, l think, with the
Bostonians. Shattuck has retired and is
! now devoting his time TO arranging music
| He Il clever musician and composed
'One Hundred Fathoms Deep which had a
long vogue: r,o M, tho worst deaI ~ hi.
! life with this song When he went TO Eng
| land several years ago and wanted to sing
| II he found that he could not, for some one
| had forestalled him, stolen his composition
| and had 1t copyrighted and ne was pre-
| vented from singing II.
Frank McNish was the original Silence
| and Fun man, although he has had many
| imitators. John l.. Carncross has retired
and, like Hi Henry. is wealthy. Henry
| owns interests in mines and does not have
| to do any worrying.
-Daye Reed, who ranks with Sanford
and Emmett as one Of the Oldest minstrels
| alive is over 72. Reed had a great follow
! ing and was the best bone in his day Billy
Arlington is not In the business any more
( Wheeler Is out of the game, too, and lives
| somewhere on Long Island
Frank Cushman and Banks Winter are
| still alive Winter and Cushmar are doing
| turns on the vaudeville stage to-day and
! have not lost their old time power 20 amuse
| Frank Cushman's delineauon OF an old
| darly ia a classic and many people are
| humming to-day the tuneful songs Winter
/ wrote. they are White Wings and Little
| Robin, Tell Kitty Am Coming
Il have been asked by my friends why
we don't use in our shows more of the stun
| which we utilized in the old days. Tho rea
son is simple. The public won't stand fol-
| il; that is all. They want things up to date
And another fact is that the negro has
| progressed with time. Very few of the
negro characters which the former min
| strels loved TO impersonate can be found
in flesh and blood to-day. You've got TO
| 20 10 the woods TO get the fellows with
| the broad dialect which Emmett, Emerson
| Bryant, Rice, Luke Schoolcraft and Johnny
! Wild used TO initiate So well.
Some of them are to be found at Pine
| Bluff. Ark: about 1900 negroes reside
| there and I've been told that the town
| always goes Democratic. Doesn't that
indicate that the colored man is getting
| wiser
"No, and can say II without reserve
minstrelsy will never die as long as there
are clever people in the business to give
| A clever and first-class entertainment.