Evening journal., 1914-05-14
New News Of Yesterday
When the Lecture Season
Was at It's Height
By Holland.

At the time the lyceum platform.
so-called, was the most popular form
Of winter evening entertainment
everywhere in the United States.
Parke Goodwin was widely sought by
lyceum committees. It was regarded
as especially fortunate IL Mr.. Goodwin
could De secured to deliver a lecture.
lie usually spent three or four
months I'm the winter in travelling
from place to place to meet his en-
gagements with lyceum committees.
Mr.. Goodwin died about ten years ago
well advanced In years. He was the
last survivor of all OF those who had
gained nationwide reputation as
lyccum lecturers. Mr. Goodwin was
associated with George William Cur
tis iE the editorship of Putnam's
Monthly Magazine. which for some
years just before the civil war gained
a greater popularity than any other
American magazine at that time.
Furthermore, as sOn-in-law of Will
liam Cullen Bryant, with whom he
was associated i'm the cditorship Of
the New York Evening Post, Mr..
Goodwin became widely known 70 the
American public. He did not need,
however, any incidental advertising
in order TO secure large audiences
at his lectures.
Three or four years before Mr..
GOdWin's death ! asked him what the
reason was for the rapid decline of
the lycoum lecture popularity.
ftfThnmn frlnr turn rsrnrrra F,.s . ~
he replied. zone was the outbreak
of the civil war. That absorbed the
attention of the people of the NORTH.
Another reason was found in The fact
that newspaper reading became what
/ might call q national vocation. The
low cost OF newspapers and the rapid
transmission of copies by mail served
to divert the attention from the ly-
ceum platform"
Mr. Goodwin became meditative
seemingly turning something over in
his mind. At last he said: 1T is
strange how few of the popular lee
turors of that day accumulated
money 1 suppose John p. Cough
was as popular a lecturer as any, and
i'm the latter years of his life he was
paid S100 a lecture, but I have under
stood that his estate was found 10
be not more than $4,000. I never
accumulated much money. 7 appro-
priated my lecture fees for my per-
soEl and family expenses.
Henry Ward Beecher was as
popular a lecturer as any, yet he did
not leave much more than a COM
Portable estate, the greater part OF
which was gained from his salary and
from his writings. ] used to think
that he utilized the fees which he re-
cciyed from lectures to pay the OK
penses of his farm at Peekskill-on-
the-Hudson. They did not fully nay
those expenses, for his farm was al
ways q considerable drain upon lis
income Wendell Phillips, whose
lectures upon the Lost Arts and
Daniel O'Connor We're very popular
depended almost entirely for his sup
port upon these lecture fees so that
he left very little property. His
estate was a small one.
George William Curtis however
accumulated considerable sum
from his fees as q lecturer Bat hr
devoted every penny Of that 20 the
payment Of obligations which he felt
were morally upon him on account
of the failure of Putnam's Magazine
There was absolutely no legal obliea-
ton upon Mr. Curtis He resolved tC
take the lecture platform regularly
and to set apart his fees for the pur.
pose of taking up The notes which he
gave to those TO whom he felt he was
morally obligated 10 took him
twenty years to do this, and 1T wa.
only two or three years before hi!
death that he was able to take up th'
last of the notes"
Copyright, 1914 by r. J. Ed
wards All rights reserved)
Tomorrow Mr.. Edwards will tell o
"Col Bob lngersolls Views on Ges