The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-03-18
Ri EY AND NYE'S
GREAT MORAL
SHOW"
The Pair Travelled About the
Country, Riley Reading His
Poems, and Nye Making Fun
Of Everyone, including Self.

"y TIE impression We get from
Marcus Dickey's Maturity
Of James Whitcomb Riley
tBobbs-M errilD Ii that while he
found It difficult to make a living
writing poetry. Riley nevertheless
got q great deal Of enjoyment out
Of 1t. For It seems that In those
rude, uncultured times it was not
sufficient that q man should write
verses--he must tear about the
country, living on the wing" as
Riley phrased It. reading his stuff
to the people.
SO It comes to pass that much Of
the book, which il, incidentally, d
really good biography Of the Hoos-
Ter poet, Is taken up BY descrip-
tons Of Riley's jaunts about the
Middle West to give readings .
Sometimes the affair would be 81
gathering Of a score or 50 Of people
at q village schoolhouse. lit by
smoky Kerosene lamps, with q
gate" which would be considered
ridiculous nowadays. Later, gs
the fame OF the poet spread, the
larger towns and cities appeared
on the schedule OF the lecturer,
and he had the advantages Of
real stage and gas lights.
Finally. some enterprising im-
pressario signed up Riley and Bill
Nye. The combination, facetiously
called 'eThe Great Moral show, :
was to receive $500 week, so per
cent Of which. however. was to go
to the agency. so evidently neither
OF the pair was q very good busi-
ness man. Nye. who described him
self as weighing 175 pounds a.
the crow flies" appeared to spend
most OF his time on the platform
having fun with Riley. "A Chicago
newspaper Of the time printed the
following exuberant account Of an
appearance of the lecturers:
2 FAt y = Z
Then Nye stole out past the
grand piano (upheavsl Of popular
opinion). When he reached the
middle of the stage he stopped to
remove his eyeglasses and smile.
applause while the speaker blush
ed) TT affords me pleasure he
began, to play 3 return engage
ment for the Chicago Press Club.
I have a great reverence for the
press. It IL a great engine OF de-
struction. tDemonstration.l I
often think of what may have been
the fate Of many great men with
out the press. Take me. for ex-
ample, or Lydia e. Pinkham, for
instance Offering and cackling).
"'I suppose I should have made.
the opening address, but Mr.. Riley
kindly relieved me. Of that onerous
duty; so can get down to bust
ness. Poets, as you probably know,
have throughout history been &C
companied by their Tyre; / suppose
he has his Tyre; IL not, am with
him. Renewed laughter while the
speaker caresses the bald spot on
his head.) / asked a man while
riding into a city the other day II
he had heard my last lecture, and
he said he hoped he had. Gig
gling)
Horace Greeley says that a
lecture is successful when more re-
main in the hall than go out. ]
have talked with some Of Riley's
friends about 1t, and they suggest
that get brass band to play
half an hour before 1t and half an
hour after. One critic says that
would make more Of a hit IL the
band played through the whole
lecture (Gas flickers and the
rafters shake.r
The book opens with Riley's early
and painful experiences on the
lecture platform, his failures, his
struggles, and his final triumph.
Some space is devoted to his resi-
dence in Indianapolis, where he
wrote editorials on the Indianapolis