Judge V.H. Stone

              1918

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Judge V.H. Stone

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Midland Chautauqua Circuit, S. M. Holladay, Manager.  Des Moines, Iowa



JUDGE V. H. STONE
Judge Stone is essentially a pioneer—mentally and physically.

He was born in Jasper county, Iowa, at a time when Rock Island, Ill., was the western terminus of the C., R. I. & P. Railroad.  He obtained his schooling in eastern states, read law at Newton, Iowa, with his uncle, Judge H. S. Winslow, was admitted to the bar shortly after his twentieth birthday, located and opened a law office at Grand Island, Neb.  His studies caused eye trouble, which made it necessary for him to abandon his law work for several years.  He took up a homestead in the wilds of Nebraska, built a sod shack and met with the usual hardships, privations and adventures incident to life on the frontier.  In 1904 he went to Wyoming, freighting his household goods and law library 150 miles, with a string team.  He has spent nearly a half century on the frontier, he knows the pioneer, talks the pioneer, and IS a pioneer.  He is an original thinker and an orator of power and force.  He strikes from the shoulder on any topic he discusses, takes advanced positions on all questions of public interest, and goes from serious matters to wit and humor in a manner that delights his audience.  There is not a moment from his opening statement to his peroration but what he holds his audience in rapt attention, or calls forth peal after peal of laughter.

He recently concluded a speaking trip that started before the Bonneville Club of Salt Lake City, and concluded before the Rotary Club of New York City and at the Broadway Theatre.  He was received with storms of applause and given ovations that testified to the force of his thought and his manner of expression.

His unsolicited testimonials from the press and individuals are such that it is superfluous for us to comment further.



SUBJECTS

Things We Miss
The Man BEHIND the Man, Behind the Gun




WHAT THEY SAY
REV. W. L. ABSHER, Pastor Methodist Church, Hudson, Wyoming: * * * It sparkles with wholesome wit, is replete with sound philosophy, contains some biting satire, and while an audience is frequently convulsed with laughter at sharply pointed stories told in masterly dialect, yet you take home many thoughts that convince you the Judge has succeeded in pointing out many 'Things We Miss.'

REV. NOEL J. BREED, Pastor First Congregational Church, San Rafael, California: * * * I have heard his lecture several times, and can pronounce it as decidedly worth while.  It bristles with humor, and is filled with quaint philosophy, while throughout it runs a thread of thought that is a solid basis for the whole.  Judge Stone possesses a delivery that is forceful and original.

FRED WYCKOFF, Prosecuting Attorney, Thermopolis, Wyoming: * * * Out of the humor of his philosophy he makes you glad for all your sorrows.

PROF. HARVEY A. BUCHER, Lander, Wyoming: * * * Judge Stone is gifted with a charming personality and rare oratorical ability.

Excerpt from a letter by A. G. LEONARD, President of the Union Stockyards, Chicago, to P. H. FLEMING, Secretary State Council of Defense, Illinois: Judge Stone made a wonderful speech entitled, The Man Behind the Man, Behind the Gun,' at a banquet here on Monday.  There were 500 in attendance, and he brought them to their feet a number of times.  To my mind he has a real message, and I feel that he can be of great service to the State Council of Defense.  * * * He has a true message, gives it in a true style, and I confidently believe that his services ought to be utilized.

MIDLAND LYCEUM BUREAU, Des Moines, Iowa: * * * Your enunciation is exceedingly distinct and clear, your choice of descriptive phrase absolutely perfect, and your wealth of adjectives a marvel.  So high is the literary value of what you give that you could succeed equally well as a writer, and I predict complete and gratifying success before any audience anywhere.

ROTARY CLUB, Denver, Colorado: On November 1, 1917, Judge V. H. Stone, of Lander, Wyoming, delivered before our club his address entitled, 'The Man Behind the Man, Behind the Gun.'  We consider this address a wonderful message, delivered with startling and convincing force, and peculiarly adopted to the present needs of our country; therefore, be it resolved, that this club recommend to all Rotary Clubs, to the National Council of Defense, to the Red Cross, to the Food Conservation Board, to all patriotic organizations, and to all liberty-loving citizens, that they use their best efforts to have this address delivered before as many audiences as possible, as we believe it will exert a powerful influence in arousing public sentiment to a greater degree than anything we have read or heard.

Be It Further Roselved, That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to all Rotary Clubs, and that the secretary be instructed to mail a copy thereof to Judge Stone.

T. W. LEQUATTE, Advertising Manager Successful Farming, Des Moines, Iowa: * * * Your talk before the Des Moines Rotary Club kept our boys on their toes throughout and brought them up standing at the close, and they look upon your presentation of the war situation as entirely worth while.

NEW YORK ROTARY CLUB: * * * May I on behalf of our President and Board of Directors be permitted to express to you the deep sense of obligation we feel for your splendid address today before the members of our organization?

Any number of men have expressed themselves as more than delighted with the illuminating talk you gave our fellows, and we want you to know how really grateful we are for all that you said.

P. E. FLEMING, Secretary State Council of Defense, Illinois: * * * Your message is so worth while and so impressively delivered that its widespread circulation would be a patriotic service of first importance.




PRESS COMMENTS

PRESS LETTER FROM SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, January 17, 1918:
The Bonneville Club, of Salt Lake, paid rapt attention last night to the speech of Judge V. H. Stone, of Wyoming, under the caption, 'The Man Behind the Man, Behind the Gun.'  From a rostrum that has known as speakers such national celebrities as ex-President W. H. Taft, Vice President Thomas R. Marshall, U. S. Senators C. S. Thomas of Colorado,. A B. Cummins of Iowa, ex-Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks, General Hugh S. Scott, Chief of Staff of United States Army, and many other notables, Judge Stone delivered his epigrammatic utterances, and with accentuated sentence he drove home the burden of his masterly conception.  * * * He captured his audience in the beginning, and the reception given his utterances testified to its appreciation, and as the force of his argument and the trite philosophy in his remarks gained headway, he was interrupted by repeated applause, which finally resulted in the rising of the vast audience to its feet in vociferous cheering.  * * * After the dinner and speech,
Judge Stone was sought individually by the club members and congratulated in a manner fairly calculated to turn his brain, but with the suave manner of the gentleman born, he accepted the honor.  He should be kept going now until as large a part of the population as possible has heard him on the foregoing subjects, for Americanism and democracy take on a new meaning under the magic of his eloquence.


SALT LAKE HERALD REPUBLICAN (Daily), January 15, 1918:
* * * Judge Stone is a magnetic and forceful speaker, possessing a knack of coining patriotic epigrams as he proceeds.  Every illustration he made last night pointed a moral or propounded a patriotic truth.  He led his hearers on until they glow with the patriotism he preached.


SALT LAKE DAILY TRIBUNE, January 15, 1918:
* * * Three hundred and fifty members and guests of the Bonneville Club rocked the Hotel Utah to its foundations last night in the course of an enthusiastic demonstration following a patriotic address given by Judge V. H. Stone, of Lander, Wyoming, entitled 'The Man Behind the Man, Behind the Gun.'


SALT LAKE DESERT EVENING NEWS (Daily), January 15, 1918:
* * * MAN AT HOME MUST HELP, SAYS JUDGE V. H. STONE.  Electrifying address at Bonneville Club.  * * * He brought his audience to their feet more than once during his address, 'The Man Behind the Man, Behind the Gun,' and he was overwhelmed with congratulations at the close.


THE MINER, Hudson, Wyoming, June 11, 1915:
'Things We Miss,' delivered by Judge Stone last evening was the best entertainment ever given in Hudson.  * * * It is full of humor, sprinkled with philosophy; stories so told as to make stand out in bold relief, vital facts, impersonations and dialect of a high order; and running through the whole there is a train of thought that has a tendency to make life brighter.  We have heard many of the leading men on the Chautauqua and Lyceum platforms, and we have no hesitation in saying that 'Things We Miss' is entitled to take front rank in entertainments of this character.


THERMOPOLIS, WYOMING, RECORD, April 1, 1915:
* * * He instructs by entertaining, and in his entertaining is constantly instructing.  * * * He has so woven his philosophy, wit and humor, and character and dialect sketches together as to give an audience an hour and a half of solid entertainment and laughter, and the salient fact about his lecture is that while he is being continually greeted with laughter you leave him with the gratifying knowledge that he has driven home many thoughts that tend to make life brighter.


RIVERTON, WYOMING, REVIEW, June 4, 1915:
* * * He reaches the professional man and student, the business man, the artisan, the laboring man—and the ladies.  Judge Stone is a thinker, an orator, and an actor of high order.  His next appearance here will be greeted with a sign 'Standing Room Only.'