Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1904-06-15
the PEOPLE Want OLD JUNK
so SAYS SONG WRITER DRESSER
Slusf1. Mush and Milk Lead the Modern COmpOS.
er to Fame and Glory and Cause the
Dollar to Jingle in His Pocket

1 composer of The Suwanee River and
The Old Kentucky Home Think OF
| The millions OF people who have sung
/ those songs and how they still touch
| the heart. 1t is songs like those that
| live.
| Personally love the songs Of Helm
rich HeIne which have been set to
music. They are some Of the most
| beautiful in the world. To me- perhaps
| though, the most beautiful song that
was ever written is Sulivan's Lost
Chord
Il have written about 100 songs. The
very first song l ever wrote was popu-
lar; since then l have had some fail
ures, but song writing is like everything
else: you study your public and you
study the trend of the times and you
usually strike the right note.
DO l think it pays to be a senti-
mentalist"''
II want to tell you that l am not a
sentimentalist. 1t is true that write
Home and Mother songs. but IL you
lived most of your day, as do on the
road between Thirty fourth street and
Fifty ninth street on Broadway, right
in the heart of the Rialto. you would
soon cease, as I have, being a senti-
mentalist
There are the greatest lot of graft
ers and cutthroats in this place that
could be found anywhere in the world.
They get up in the morning and polish
themselves all over and look fine-T
dont's see how they do it-and then
they look around for some one to bor-
row money of; they call it borrowing
but, OF course. they never mean to pay
back
Il have written a charming little song
and put ii away in my desk as l do
lot of them. which is called the Touch
Of Time l might have changed it a
little and called it The Touch OF the
Rialto.' l don't believe there is any
man that knows any more about that
than I do. It's $40 here and IS there
and 50 some other place all because
some time or other may have written
a song called DO Not Turn Your
away. DOuN WHO mas
ever seen me feels that a man who
could write a song like that won't be
cruel enough to refuse a ten dollar bill.
Sentiment? It has given me more trou-
BILE than you could imagine.
Il lent SO to q poor little English
woman some time ago who came in
with tale Of woe. II you WIN believe
1t. few days afterward she came back
and told me she wanted to pay 81 on
account. for she had sold some laces
and embroideries and was going to ret
orders for more. give you my word
that nearly tainted through the shock,
II was the FIRST time II had ever hap
pened to me. don't suppose anybody
ever wanted to pay back money before.
l had to cit down and ask her to repeat
what she said before I grasped It.
"Oh. sentiment Is a great thing!
Reading my songs. OF course. people
think am the easiest thing In the
world. 1t would take a man with a
small fortune to return the songs that
are sent me without postage stamps.
There is one man threatening to sue me
now because didn't return a bunch or
lyrics for which ne forgot to inclose
stamps. and so 1t goes. Sentiment is
all rot
Don't believe there Is such a thing
AS true sentimente Plenty Of H. but
there Is not much of Il here-right In
New York Everybody is trying to get
the best of everybody else and they
have little time for real sentiment.
What the public wants is Junk. and
they get it. They won't be satisfied un-
less they do. Now. a song like this
simply pleases them to death"
Mr.. Dresser plays his accompaniment
while he sings:
hate to leave you behind. dear.
hate to leave you here.
Orders must be obeyed. dear,
Brush away that tear.
REFRAIN
Don't you worry Or fret. dear.
Soldiers girls don't mind
There's something tearing my heart
strings.
| hate to leave you behind.
Now that is the popular song-that
type. You can sell a thousand OF thar
sort where you would not be able to al,
n hundred Of the other. Why. do peop,.
prefer the bad. suppose becaus,
hey don't want to think-they don't
want anything but the mere surfaee
''uehed II V the same way with plays
ana with literature. Give them the
worst that 10 In you and turn out
plenty of 1t and you'u get on. but don't
snot yourself up IN your study and
work and work and work. tor the public
won't have the result OF all those hour.
They want junk. ~ I told you beeore-
JUST 1ans-ehe- junk Of your MIND, ana
u 'ney are satisfied with that. why
snooid you trouble to give them the
Qr1S ~Sl 49,