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OCTOBER 5,
1918
THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
11
Allied Music Trades Raise Over
Four Millions at Loan Rally
Great Demonstration at Carnegie Hall Brings in Subscriptions to Fourth Liberty Loan Well in Excess of $4,000,000—
Caruso, Galli-Curci, McCormack and Heifetz Appear—Pryor's Band a Feature—Benjamin Strong
and Job Hedges the Speakers—Committee in Charge Does Excellent Work
It took active work on an adding machine
to keep track of the Liberty Loan subscrip-
tions that poured in the great rally and concert
of the Allied Music Division, Fourth Liberty
Loan, at Carnegie Hall, New York, on Monday
night, and when, after an hour of excitement,
the officials called a halt, a total of over $4,-
000,000 in subscriptions was announced.
It
topped the rally last spring by over $1,500,000,
and the amount subscribed is held to be the
largest ever realized at any single gathering in
this country since the beginning of the war.
Individual subscriptions came so fast that it
was impossible to tabulate and credit them ac-
curately, but they ranged in amounts from $50
up to hundreds of thousands each, subscriptions
from $25,000 to $100,000 being so frequent they
were common.
The announcement that four of the most
prominent artists in the world—Galli-Curci,
Heifetz, Caruso and McCormack—would appear
on one program at the'rally served naturally to
jackets with bayonets fixed crouched about the
flag in its defense, John McCormack sang "The
Star Spangled Banner," as few of the audience
ever heard it sung before. It was a thrilling
moment. Mr. McCormack then held the stage
with his singing of "Dear Old Pal of Mine," by
Enrico Caruso
Lieut. Gitz-Rice, "Keep the Home Fires Burn-
ing," and as an encore, his famous prayer song,
"God Be With Our Boys To-night."
Jascha Heifetz played Chopin's "Nocturine in
E Flat Major," and the Introduction and Taren-
telle by Sarasate, and then responded to sev-
eral encores. He was in splendid form.
Galli-Curci, the latest sensation in opera, sang
"Caro Mio Ben," by Giordani; "The Lass With
the Delicate Air," by Dr. Arne, and the mad
scene from "Lucia." The soprano aroused the
greatest enthusiasm.
As encores she sang
"Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes," and then
"Annie Laurie" in English.
Caruso sang several light selections in his in-
John McCormack
fill Carnegie Hall to the limit, and everyone
who was fortunate enough to receive a ticket
had first to sign a Liberty Loan subscription
blank for a substantial amount at the headquar-
ters of the Allied Music Division. The larger
the subscription the better the seats, and the
best boxes brought $100,000 each. This fore-
handed method of disposing of the seats resulted
in subscriptions of something over $2,000,000 be-
fore the doors opened, and the headquarters of
the committee of the division, at 105 West For-
tieth street, presented a scene of activity all
day Monday that would have made a success-
ful theatrical producer green with envy.
The sum total of the concert is that the Al-
lied Music Division succeeded in passing its
quota mark of $4,000,000 within three days after
the official opening of the drive, and with nearly
three weeks in which to work N along ordinary
lines, it appears quite reasonable to believe that
the announced goal of $6,000,000 for the music
industry and profession will be reached without
great difficulty.
From an artistic standpoint the concert was
a huge success. Arthur Pryor's American Band
opened the program with the playing of a num-
ber of popular selections, and then as the spot-
light' fell upon a detail of marines and blue-
Jascha Heifetz
imitable style, and then the stirring number "Vic-
tory, Victory," accompanied by Pryor's Band, the
English words of which were written by his wife.
It was when Caruso sang "Over There," first
in English and then in French, -however, that
the audience jumped to its feet and gave the
tenor the reception of the evening. He closed
with a thrilling rendition of the "La Marseil-
laise" in French, with eight members of the
famous Foreign Legion of France and the
United States soldiers and sailors standing at
attention behind him.
The speaker of the evening was Job E.
Hedges, who was introduced by Benjamin
Strong, chairman of the Liberty Loan Com-
mittee, and who made one of the best addresses
of his career. Mr. Hedges led up briefly to
the cause of the war, and why America was in
it, and aroused great enthusiasm on several oc-
casions. His condemnation of German kultur
and German practices were of the strongest
sort. "It is not possible to confer with a crim-
inal on the subject of crime," he declared, "and
there can be no place for Germany at the peace
table—that is, for the representatives of the Ger-
man Government. When Germany went into
Belgium we were at war with her morally and
didn't know it. We are pledged to a trinity of
faith—to the rights of life, liberty and the pur-
Mme. Galli-Curci
suit of happiness. When any government de-
clares war on that trinity it declares war on
us."
In urging support of the loan Mr. Hedges
said: "The test of patriotic generosity is not
what we give but what we have left. May we
say we gave our all. The question to be an-
swered is, whether we are to live by the grace
of God, or by the favor of man."
A distinctive patriotic touch was given to the
meeting by the presence on the stage of details
of American soldiers, bluejackets and marines,
together with eight members of the French For-
eign Legion, two of whom, Capt. Druland and
Lieut. Ramelet, are wearers of that coveted
decoration, the Legion of Honor. A detail of
Brazilian marines also appeared during the eve-
ning.
Just before Caruso sang J. Newcomb Black-
mail, vice-chairman of the concert committee,
took the stage and in a live address told of the
object of the rally, how the distribution of
tickets had been made the means of getting new
subscriptions, and how it was hoped that those
present would not go out without signing more
subscription blanks. Mr. Blackman then took
up the work of announcing subscriptions as re-
ceived. The girls of the Motor Corps, and of
(Continued on page 13)