Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1904-07-08
DECLINE OF MINSTRELSY.
Notable Deseneracy Of the Burnt-Cork" A
tist From the Old-Time Standard.

DECLINE OF MiNSTRELSY.
Notable Deseneracy Of the Burnt Cork" Ar
tist From the OldTim Standard.
BY LUE F. VERNON.
How many readers remember the
old Christie Minstrels, which created
such great furore during the year
succeeding the war? If there are
many, and of course there is no doubt
that there are, they will remember the
old plantation scenes, the genuine
negro of the South, wise in crude
way, full of humor and mirth, and the
quintessence of unalloyed happiness
in spite of his rags and plain food.
They gave us the dialect OF the South
ern plantation, with all the local color
ing and customs. They sang us the
negro songs. which linger in the brain
as q delightful reminiscence of true
melody. 1t is pity that they are no
more. The negro OF the South in the
ante-war days has disappeared from
the amusement stage. We have now
in negro minstrelsy an entirely differ.
ent kind OF burnt-cork artist. He is
dressed up in garb SO fantastic as to
put to shame the tailor's flights of
imagination, if he ever has any. He
talks q jargon which is no more the
language of the cotton.picking slave
than it is of Greece. He acts bolster.
ously and his fun is OF the noisy kind,
the more noise he can create the bet
ter it seems to be.
We have our minstrels dressed like
courtiers in the time when court cos.
tune was carried to the extreme. We
have them dressed in apparel that
seems to be cross between to-day and
yesterday, the present and the past.
Sometimes the cork is unceremon.
iously left off and we have our negro
minstrels in white. There is hardly q
trace in the present minstrelsy OF the
good, old-fashioned negro minstrel Of
twenty-five or thirty years ago. By
process Of evolution he has come out
being which Christie and Backus and
the best OF the pioneers on the min.
strel stage would never recognize. He
is lusus maturae OF minstrelsy. Ne.
gro minstrels in those days was .
study. The negro of the South dur.
ing the time preceding the war was q
peculiar institution. He was in
digenous to the soil. He was study
and there was some delight in study
ing him. The present relic of the
minstrel is purely modern invention,
brought into being to satisfy the ever.
lasting desire on the part OF the pub.
lie for change and novelty.
We do not criticise the managers Of
minstrelsy of to-day for this radical
innovation. They want to make
money and they cater to tho prevailing
taste to get it. Another regret that
one feels who looks back upon the
minstrelsy OF the days of Christie is
caused by the music. The present
minstrel is q ballad singer. So was
the minstrel of the past. But now he
sings ballads OF lot OF mushroom
composers who exist solely for the
purpose Of writing ballads to be sung
by the minstrel performers. There is
no individuality about the music. It
is sentimental, sometimes sickly senti.
mental, and no more. An infinite
variety OF tender subjects is covered
and drawn upon. If America ever
had a class OF music which can be
strictly called American, it is the
music that Stephen G. Foster com.
posed. He was the author of "My
Old Kentucky Home."" Ellen Bayne,'
Way Down Upon the Suwanee
River" Willie, We Have Missed
You," lizard Times" 40, Susanna" /"
Nancy Till," and hosts of others
Fosters melodies were an illustration
Of slave life. They were not only cast
in the best mold of pure melody, but
they were, with their words, full OF
pathos and the healthiest kind oil
sentiment. Fosters music ought to
be preserved because it is 90 distinc Il y
American music. The tunes covered
q variety of styles. Some were rol.
{ licking in their rhythmic effects
Some were idyls. Some we're love
songs which never have and never can
be excelled. The charm of simplicity
and innocence hung over them all. II
is pity that we have lost this music
as a feature of our minstrelsy of to.
day.
A Spicy War.
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