The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-05-11

Sights" the one who planned the
famous Atchison Corn Carnivals, the
author of "The Story of a Country
Town" and other books, earned fame
in another line. He is the only lecturer
extant VINO pays for the chance to
speak from the platform to the plain.
common people.
Ed Howe came to Topeka to lecture
at the Auditorium last night for the
benefit of the Topeka pipe organ fund.
lie would take nothing for his services,
not a penny, and further than that he
brought with him AtChisOn's best con-
cert musicians and brought them on a
special train. Howe paid for the train
and everything incidental to the trip,
including the admissions for his party
of 125 and he gave the plain common
people a dollar entertainment for
twenty-five cents and the plain com
mon people whom Howe likes and
writes about and talks of, greeted him
over 2 200 strong.
Ed Howe's lecture scheme has as
sumed almost the proportions of an
old time "HOwe's famous railroad
shows which travelled the country
some years ago That Howe was no
relation to this Howe and his enter
tainment couldn't have been as good
as this one nor his train much larger
for Lecturer Howe brought nine solo
lists with him and 125 Atchison people.
Howe paid the freight.
Ed HoWe's lecture entertainment is
like a three story club house sand
wich; it is in three substantial layers
with the most delectable parts in be
tween Howe furnished the real meaty
mOrsels of the entertainment.
To say that Howe is a finished orator
would be no compliment and 1t would
be charging him with faults he does
not possess. He isn't an orator. He
only claims to be an amateur lecturer
In fact Howe is a talker and nothing
Il = 1. str oct ~
Atchison and he delivered a few re-
marks or told a story he would do 1t
the same as he did on the lecture plat
form last night. Ezra Kendall, the
monolOguist. and Ed Howe are a good
deal alike and this is an assurance that
Howe is entertaining and that Kendall
is funny. Kendall is the highest sal
aried and funniest monologue artist in
the world He does nothing else for a
living Howe makes his living in an
other way but he could take Kendall S
place. Howe, like Kendall, has one
GESTURE he draws his hand across his
mouth.
One of the funniest features of the
lecture was Howe's talk about his
hands and what to do with them. He
explained that he could rest his right
hand on the speakers stand and move
It up and down but he didn't know
what to do with his left hand and part
of the time he thought he had five
left hands.
InOse VINO nave read AtchiSOn
Globe Sights have had in print Just
what the audience received last night
in the lecture-plain talks about plain
people. Howe told about Atchison peo-
pie. They are no different than other
people in other towns but Atchison is
the only town in the country with a
Howe to paint these characters of ev.
cry day life in just the right shades
and lights and shadows of local color.
Local color is elusive. There are few
who can draw with it and paint the
characters as does the Atchison Globe
man When he does his sketches OF
these A Atchison people, whether in the
Globe or on the lecture platform he
does them with a master hand and
the artistic understanding. His work is
that of an impressionist. Not too much
detail nor too much brilliancy to MAJ
and mark it the work of a copyist. but