The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-07
NEW USE IS FOUND
 FOR DUR STATESMEN
Great Demand for Them in
 Chautauqua Field
THEY DRAW IN COUNTRY
Rural Communities Are Eager to Hear Lectures by Congressmen-Till- man Made s,25,oo0 in This
 Way Last Year.

Washington. Senators and representa- lives in Congress complain more bitterly every day of the poor pay and heavy ex- pense of representing a constituency in Washington Many of them are turning for relief to the lecture platform and to the Chautauqua field
 1 The chautauqua is very much on the order of the county fair It is becoming essentially a rural institution in these days of prosperous crops and good prices. But there is an Intellectual flavor about the chautauqua which distinguishes it from the county fair
 The chautauqua bespeaks mental cul- ture In these latter days of the fat corn crib and the overflowing wheat bin, the farmer aspires to metropolitan airs He wants to be like the city folk.
 His son rides in an automobile, his daughter goes to finishing school, ana he shows a fondness for the luxuries of life. The chautauquas must afford enter tainment and in addition to the musical numbers, the moving pictures and other delectable exhibits the orator of the day is a necessary feature
 Of course there is a vast horde of pro- fessional lecturers, some of them men of ability who live by their work on the platform. But the most profitable em- l ployment in this line goes to political celebrities.
 l The farmer wants to see and hear Bryan l talk about free silver. and he is willing to pay the price. He doesn't object to the gate money he has to pay to get Il ] af
 He brings the whole family to town and buys ticket for each one of them to hear l "PitchforS" Tillman tell of the lynching I of negroes in the south, and thus he gets | a thrill that is worth twice the gate l money. Now and then he sees q knock about political sketch in which Represent tative Charlie Landis of Indiana or Rep resentative Charlie Grosvenor of Ohio Is pitted against Champ Clark or De Armond of Missouri It is a rare treat
 Some of these debates recall the days oi Lincoln and Douglas. Such sights are presented in the political campaign but rasely, for the day of joint debates has gone by in political campaigns.
 Clark Drew Knife.
 Occasionally the debate is punctuatcd by an incident that adds to the interest of the show as was the case at a chautau-
 
 Representative Champ Clark drew a knife from his pocket and threatened to cut the throat of persistent interrupter from ear to ear. In the main these debates pass away without incident, the members of each political party cheering their fla vorite
 The most interesting phase of the lecture or chautauqua evolution is the pecuniary one. It has served to augment the income of a great many public servants who are underpaid.
 Some men have made snug fortunes from their work in Che chautaucua field. More public men are going into the work every year. Most of them admit they like 1t.
 The chautauqua season is rapidly draw 1 ing to a close and 1t has been the most prosperous of any yet held. Senator Till man has been the great drawing card
 He has made more money out of it than any other chautauqua attraction. He had a fairly good reputation before the season began, but the railroad rate bill in Con- gross last winter brought him into such notoriety that every farmer in the land wanted to hear him, and all of them were l willing to pay the admission fee.
 Tillman saw the hunor in the whole thing. but at the same time he did not overlook the money. He told a South l Carolina political audience that he made the Yankees pay him for the privilege of hearing him call them lot of hypocrites on the negro question.
 l MT Tillman could not begin to fill the engagements offered to him this season. Three lecture bureaus competed for his time and his price was $250 lecture. 1 For few special engagements he re- 1 ceved higher price, At one place ill Iowa he received $500. At another in Illl- nois he received S3O0. His season was probably worth $25,OOO to him.
 Next to MT. Tillman, Senator La Fol- | lette of Wisconsin lectured on the rate | question purely from the southern point of view. Senator La Toilette discussed the railroads and defended his course in the Senate on rate legislation. For all of this the farmers gladly paid.
 Deliver a Good Entertainer.
 Another popular attraction was Senator 1 Deliver of Iowa. His price is S200 lec- ture. He is a popular entertainer. Rep resentative Champ Clark of Missouri had one lecture which dealt with incidents of public life culled from his experience as A member of Congress that he delivered 15O times and received S100 a night for it.
 Governor Hany of Indiana evolved q lecture at the beginning of the season oil s'The Patriotism of Peace" He told iL friend recently that he took sufficient time from his gubernatorial duties in the past season to make $S000 from delivering the lecture That is almost equal to q years salary of the governor of Indiana.
 Representative Charles B. Landis of the same state has purchased fine farm from the proceeds of his work on the lecture nlatform Senator Elmer J. Burkett of l Nebraska and Representative Charles A. | Towne of New York were among the re- | cr,its in the lecture field this season. Rurkett liked it and will continue, but Towne declares it involves too much in- convenience, and he will make no further engagements.
 The ruling price for lecture by sena tor is s2o0. Representatives command s100 and upward.
 | Walter Welman. who is now trying to discover the North. Pole, essayed a lee 1 ture flight last season. He received sl2a a lecture, and tried to tell his audiences some of the things he had observed in l Washington as a newspaper correspon- 1 dent. His first engagement was in Posey | county Ind, at New Harmony | Mir Wellman read his lecture and he said afterward that he thought he had discovered the North Pole before he con- l clnded. The average lecture patron ex- 1 nacts to he tickled or thrilled He must 1 have a smile or sigh in return for his 1 ticket.
 l Richmond Pearson Hobson has made a .reat success of his lecture experience. yvha, Gov. Bob Taylor of Tennessee went out of the governors office at the end of his last term he found himself bur- | Ia fo tbe lao