The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-04-05
HOWE TALKS.
Delivers a HomeIy Lecture TO
HOmeIy Folks.
A Great Event i'm Town of
Bingham.
"A SPECIAL TRAIN
OF AtchisOn People to Hear
Globe Man Speak.
Some Of the Things He Said
and How He Said Them.

F5ffingham, Kan, April Son the
Santa Fe railroad between Topeka and
Atchison, few miles northeast of the
former city, is a good typical piece of
track, solid road bed, a level stretch,
some curves, few grades. Here the
Santa Fe company tests its locomo-
tives when they come out of the shops
The track is of from the trunk line
the regular trains are snfrequent and it
is altogether a natural testing ground.
If railway engine goes all right along
this right of way it is sure to go all
right pulling regular trains over the
main line.
This town is eighteen miles west of
Atchison on the Central Branch of the
Missouri Pacific railroad. It is a good
community. In fact, it is above the
! average. The Farmers are industrious,
prosperous and intelligent.
Like the Santa Fe tracks near To-
peka. these people are we'll ballasted.
The town is off the main Travelled roads
/ far enough to be close to nature s
heart and yet not so far as to be away
from the touch of general human in
tterest- The folks are straight enough
not to bend backward and the few
curves in the community are just
sufficient to lend a spice to life. The
! grades all have an upward tendency
and whatever goes well here may be
safely and successfully tried on the
average people in the best of commun-
tiles who live along the main thorough
fares of life.
Efingham is the testing ground for
/ E. W. HOWe's lecture, although Mr..
Howe may neither know it, nor DELHI
erately and with malice aforethouSht
/ toward his fellowcitizens, take just
| this view of it.
| Your correspondent does not live in
! Efin CHAM and he consequently takes
an outside view from an inside station
on this occasion.
Mr. Howe is an editor, the best one
/ in the state. His paper is the most in
! teresting one published in Kansas and
| the weekly edition is read by many
people in Ohio with as great interest
as it is read in the far out rural com
munities, for at Efjngham and on her
rural routes the Daily Globe is taken.
/ The audience at Mr.. Howe's lecture
/ last evening was all that could be de-
sired. 1t packed the great assembly
room and gallery of the bingham
high school, The seats were all sold
and chairs were brought in on re-
i QUESTION. People stood in the aisles and
/ the exits were blocked, contrary to ap-
proved fire ordinances, by people who
/ gathered to- heartne speaker and caught
| every word, unfesss gthe Introductory
! syllabfes of a Sentence following ap-
/ plause which was sprinkled Literally
/ throughout the discourse and would
/ give the Ordinars printing Office a big
run on bracket sorts to cover it we'll
bingham is particularly noted for
two things. It's county high school,
which is the second in the state out of
the present forty or fifty, the first Cne
being at Chapman, in Dickinson coun-
ty. Effingham is proud of its high
school and ought to be. Here the
farmers give their children an all
round education, sufficient for foun-
dation for success and usefulness and
the appreciation of the good and meri-
tOrious things in life.
Ehingham also has the New Leaf, a
creditable newspaper, VOicing the senti-
ments of the people and mirroring their
weekly dOings. Their sentiments being
founded upon good principles and good
deeds the reflections in the paper are
correspondingly creditable When
newspaper man thinks of bingham he
high school and the New Leaf. 1t is a
good combination. They are up
builders. Prof Wilson runs the school;
J. w. Coleman the newspaper
Mr.. Howe has established his testing
ground at this place. This is compI-
mentary both to the speaker and his
audience. One could not be success
without the other If he talked well he
must have good ground into which to
SOW his words. If the words took root
they must be good words with the germ
of right thoughts and of right purposes
to expand and later bring forth the
The lecture which took so we'll as that
one last evening at Efingham must
take we'll elsewhere and later we may
hear of Howe on the platform at To-
peka, Kansas City and over the country.
He has the principles of a good lecturer,
something to say and saying lit well.
Last night he was after the necessary
practice. He confronted the condition
and not a theory.
Next week he will taIk~at Everest,
another such community in his own
county as bingham, and he will talk
better, but he will not interest his hear
ers more than he has done in the first
of his series.
He says he is talking to get acquaint-
ed with his constituency, his readers,
but one who speaks in public as we'll as
neighbors. It was not like other adj
dresses in its main lines nor in its side
lines.
The lecture was the big show. The
duet by the Quinn sisters, of Kansas City
the soprano solo by Mrs. Hetherington,
cornet solo and the accomplishments by
the Davies brothers and the contralto
number by one of the Misses Quinn she
of the BOstonians, were all first class
were just as good as the entertainment
in the big tent and everybody was ad-
mitted to all of the attractions with
single ticket. There was no barker.
Principal Wilson intended to present
Mr. Howe with a few Introductory re-
marks, but the lecturer would not
have it, so asked Wilson what he was
going to say. Howe said he did not
purpose to be introduced as that dis
citizen, fine orator and
famous gentleman as it was likely
to result with dull thud which fol-
lowed the speech of an Atchison man
who was once introduced in an elab-
crate manner and whose speech, in a
high squeaky voice was merely, The
people want reform when he sat |
down amid the bushes of his friends.
Howe announced that it was no
three dollar Weber & Field all star
show, but he reminded his audience