The Story of Chautauqua Part 16

Downey, of the Utah State Library. The growth of public libraries throughout the country has made this school very popular among young women seeking the profession of librarian.

Some voices new to Chautauqua were heard from the Amphitheater platform in 1901, such as Dr. O. P. Gifford of the Baptist Church, Captain Richmond Pearson Hobson, Mrs. L. Ormiston Chant of England, a descendant of the great Edmund Burke, we were informed, and the Governor of New York, Hon. Benjamin B. Odell. Mr. Joseph Jefferson, whom all the world of that generation knew as "Rip Van Winkle," gave a lecture showing the relations of the lecture platform and the stage. Rev. John McNeill, whose speech showed that he came from the north of the Tweed, preached a powerful and searching sermon. Dr. Robert Stuart McArthur gave a lecture on "Mountain Peaks in Russian History." Dr. Hale, President Crawford, Mr. Leland Powers, Dr. S. H. Clark, Dr. Moulton, and Mr. George W. Bain were among the old Chautauqua favorites of that season. As the C. L. S.

C. Cla.s.s of 1900 had taken the name "The Nineteenth Century Cla.s.s," the one graduating this year was ent.i.tled "The Twentieth Century Cla.s.s." The speaker on Recognition Day was Chancellor E. Benjamin Andrews of the University of Nebraska, on the subject, "Problems of Greater America."

The season of 1902 was noteworthy from a visit of Bishop Vincent. It seems strange to read of a _visit_ from the Founder of Chautauqua, but he was at that time living in Zurich, Switzerland, holding Methodist conferences all over Europe, in many languages through interpreters, and for several years had been absent from Chautauqua. We of the older generation always missed his presence, but to the younger troop of Chautauquans his was only a revered name. The Vincent whom they knew, and packed the Amphitheater to hear, was the Director George E. Vincent, the man at the wheel of Chautauqua. This year the announcement was made that the Chancellor was coming, and a royal welcome was prepared. A printed account of this event reads as follows:

Arriving at Lakewood, the Bishop was met by members of his family, and the Board of Trustees.

After the welcome greetings, the party took a special steamer for Chautauqua. At the Pier a fleet of craft of all descriptions--launches, sail-boats, and row-boats--awaited the arrival of the Bishop's steamer. As soon as it came within hailing distance, the larger boats dipped colors and all the people waved handkerchiefs, the chimes at the Point rang in a familiar tune, and as the steamer headed toward the Pier, the Chautauqua choir, gathered in the balcony, sang the old Chautauqua song, "Join, O friends, in a memory song."

As the boat came to the wharf, the bank and the Park of Palestine were a ma.s.s of waving handkerchiefs. The Reception Committee, composed of officials of the Inst.i.tution, stood on the Pier, and back of them an immense throng all eager to catch a glimpse of their beloved leader. Lines were formed on either side of the walk, and as the Bishop pa.s.sed between them he was greeted with the salute of the white handkerchiefs. In Miller Park were gathered the cottage owners, the Summer Schools, and the C. L. S. C. cla.s.ses, with their banners and emblems, and the various clubs and children's cla.s.ses. On the way to his cottage on Lake Avenue, the Bishop was escorted by about two hundred and fifty members of the Boys' and Girls'

Clubs, whose sweet voices rang out clear and full in "Auld Lang Syne." From the veranda of his tent cottage, the Bishop made an eloquent address of appreciation, full of the joy of home-coming.

In 1904, Bishop Vincent was placed on the retired list, to dwell where he chose, free from episcopal service. From that year until 1918, he pa.s.sed a portion of each summer at Chautauqua and took part in the program, but without the responsibility of supervision. Most of the time he was happy in his release, but there would come occasional hours when he longed to hold the reins once more.

In this year, 1902, a new charter was received from the Legislature of New York, giving a new t.i.tle, "Chautauqua Inst.i.tution." The Girls' Club and the Unitarian House were built this season, also the Disciples'

Headquarters on Clark Avenue received its pillared portico. The Lutheran House was established during this season.

Senator Mark Hanna of Ohio, who was looked upon as "the power behind the throne" during the presidency of his friend, William McKinley, spoke at Chautauqua in 1902, also Mrs. Pennybacker of Texas, Dr. A. E. Dunning of Boston, editor of the _Congregationalist_, General John C. Black of Pennsylvania, Dr. Earl Barnes, Prof. Charles Zeublin, Dr. W. F. Oldham of India, afterward a Bishop, and the ever-welcome Frank Beard who had been absent for a number of years.

Chautauqua has always believed in the open and free discussion of vexed questions, and this year from August 4th to August 8th was held a most interesting conference on "The Labor Movement." The introductory address opening the subject was given by the Hon. Carroll D. Wright, U. S.

Commissioner of Labor. Supplementary lectures, followed by discussion, were by President Harper on "The University and Industrial Education"; Mr. Frank P. Sargent, "Growth and Influence of Labor Organizations"; Mr.

John Mitch.e.l.l, "The Joint Conference between Employer and Employee." On both sides there was the frankest expression of opinion. I remember that when one speaker was asked whether he was an actual worker or a professional agitator, without a word he held out his hands that all might see they were the hands of a working-man.

This year was notable in the Department of Music, by the entrance of Mr. Alfred Hallam as Director. His whole-hearted, absolutely self-forgetting labor, and his reach after the highest standards in his art, from 1902 to 1919, made Mr. Hallam dear not only to his choir, but to all Chautauquans.

The year 1903 was the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the C.

L. S. C. in 1878. That event in popular education was commemorated by a great meeting in the Amphitheater and the laying of the corner stone of a new Hall of Philosophy on the site of the old hall, which, being a wooden building, was decaying. The Cla.s.s of 1882 planted some ivy brought from the Palatine Hill in Rome, other cla.s.ses planted oak and pine trees. A sealed box, containing portraits of the Founders and copies of Chautauqua publications, was placed in the corner stone, which was then lowered into place and made secure with mortar, the trowel being handled in turn by Dr. George Vincent and Director Scott Brown. As the stone was put in place, a cablegram was read from Bishop Vincent at Helsingfors, Finland--"Remember the foundation is Christ." Vincent.

This year, 1903, the Arts and Crafts shops, which had been in various places over the ground, were brought together by the director, Henry Turner Bailey, making the Arts and Crafts Village, in later years to become the Arts and Crafts Building. The Grange Building on Simpson Avenue was erected and presented as headquarters for that order by Mr.

Cyrus W. Jones of Jamestown. This year, 1903, Dean Percy H. Boynton of the University of Chicago was made Secretary of Instruction, and placed in full charge of the Summer Schools, which by this time had grown to more than two thousand students. A few years later he received the t.i.tle of Princ.i.p.al and gave to the summer schools his unremitting attention until 1917. To Dean Boynton's careful choice of instructors and watchfulness over details of management during those years the growth and success of the schools is largely due.

The Liquor Problem was the subject of the Conference on August 3-8, 1903. I find on the list of speakers and their subjects eight names to which might be added five times as many who partic.i.p.ated in the discussions. Commander Frederick Booth-Tucker and his wife Emma Booth-Tucker, told of "The Salvation Army and the Liquor Problem." Mr.

Raymond Robins, an eminent social worker of Chicago, spoke on "The Saloon and the World of Graft, Vagrancy, and Munic.i.p.al Correction,"

although it may have been "munic.i.p.al corruption," for I think he spoke on both subjects. Mrs. Lillian M. N. Stevens told of the work of the W.

C. T. U.; Prof. I. P. Bishop showed "The Physiological Effects of Alcohol," Prof. Frederick Starr, the anthropologist, gave an interesting account of "Stimulants among Primitive Peoples." Other speakers were Rev. E. C. Dinwiddie, Mr. Frederick H. Wines, and Mrs. John G. Woolley.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A Corner of the Playground]

Another Conference was held August 10th to 15th on "The Mob," and attracted the deepest interest. President William G. Frost of Berea College, Kentucky, told of "The Mountain Feuds"; Mr. John Temple Graves spoke in defense of lynching, and declared that the only solution of the negro problem in the south would be the enforced deportation of the negro back to Africa; but other Southerners present did not agree with him. Dean Richmond Babbitt gave "A Study of the Lynch Law"; Mr. D. M.

Parry spoke on "The Mob Spirit in Organized Labor"; Mr. Thomas Kidd on "The Labor Unions and the Mob Spirit." Chief Justice Charles B. Lore of Delaware and Judge John Woodward gave "The Legal Aspects of the Mob Spirit." No discussion at Chautauqua awakened such feeling, although it was carried on with perfect courtesy by speakers on the opposing sides.

We can name only a few of the many lecturers in the regular program of 1903. One was Governor Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin, soon to attract attention as an insurgent in the United States Senate. Another was Mr. George Willis Cooke, on social subjects. Mr. Hamlin Garland, the story-writer, gave a lecture, also General John B. Gordon of Georgia, Dr. Richard Burton, a course in literature; Hon. Wm. T. Harris, Dr.

Moulton, and the Rev. R. J. Campbell of London. The platform during the season was fairly crowded, the speakers and concerts following in such close succession.

In 1904, Bishop Vincent having been relieved from the cares of the Episcopacy, went to live for a time in Indianapolis. He was now able to come with more or less regularity to Chautauqua, and gave the opening address of the season. The exercises of that year extended through sixty days beginning June 30th and ending August 28th. We note that the School of English included in its staff Prof. Richard G. Moulton and Edward Howard Griggs. The work in Nature Study was enlarged to include courses in Botany and Physiography. The courses for teachers embraced systematic work in all the grades from the kindergarten to the college. This year the new electric railway was opened from Jamestown to Chautauqua and thence to Mayville and Westfield on Lake Erie. Bishop Vincent was a pa.s.senger on the first car over the line. This improved means of transportation enabled people to come by rail every hour to Chautauqua, gave direct and speedy connection with the New York Central Railroad, and resulted in making the princ.i.p.al entrance to the grounds no longer by water but by land. Hence the crowds forsook the stores in the Pier Building and the Arcade, and a new business center grew up on the hill.

This year the new Hall of Philosophy was opened, of the same general plan as the old building, but with floor and pillars of concrete, a more durable material. The building was also somewhat larger than its predecessor and was in every way more convenient. In the concrete floor are inserted tablets in honor of the cla.s.ses that contributed toward the building. The pillars also bear the names of their givers. The list of exercises in the Hall during any a.s.sembly season would of itself make a long catalogue.

The Devotional Hour had now become a systematic order and called together large congregations. It was not altogether the fame of the great preachers, but also the strong religious atmosphere of the place that gathered every day at ten o'clock for five mornings of each week a thousand people for worship. How many churches could show a congregation as large, not only on Sundays, when the service was attended by five thousand people, but through the days of the week? Among the chaplains of this season, each serving a week, were Dr. S. Parkes Cadman, Dr. Hugh Black, Bishop Oldham, Dr. Daniel Dorchester of Pittsburgh, and the evangelist, Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman.

The Conference of 1904 was from July 24th to 29th on the subject of Missions, Home and Foreign. Among the speakers were Dr. Francis E. Clark of the Christian Endeavor movement, recently returned from an all-around the world visit to missions abroad, Dr. Frederick G. Stanley, Dr. George M. Boynton, Dr. Homer Stuntz from the Philippines--afterward a Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church--Bishop Oldham, and Mr. J. L. Joslin of India.

I remember hearing Dr. Stuntz tell of a native Filipino who came to him soon after the American occupation of Manila, and after carefully closing the door, and looking in closets to be sure that no one was in hearing, carefully unrolled a package, showed a small Bible in the Spanish language, and asked: "Would it be safe for me to be found reading this book? I have kept it hidden for years, for my life would have been the penalty if it had been seen." Dr. Stuntz led him to a window, pointed to the American flag flying over the castle, and said; "Do you see that flag? As long as that flag flutters over these islands, you can stand in the market place and read in as loud a voice as you choose out of this book and you will be safe. Wherever that flag flies, the Bible is an open book!"

Most of the men whom we have named gave lectures, as well as partic.i.p.ating in the conferences. Besides these, we saw on the platform the ma.s.sive form of William Howard Taft, then Secretary of War, after a few years to be President of the United States; Mr. Griggs also gave a course of lectures and taught cla.s.ses in literature, and Prof. Frederick Starr was one of the speakers. Dr. George Adam Smith of Scotland was also with us during the season of 1904.

Some of the recitations this year were by Dr. S. H. Clark, Mrs. Bertha Kunz Baker, Mrs. Emily M. Bishop, Miss Marie L. Shedlock, and Prof.

Henry L. Southwick.

CHAPTER XX

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AT CHAUTAUQUA

(1905-1908)

THE notable event in the a.s.sembly of 1905 was the fourth visit of Theodore Roosevelt. He was the President of the United States, not now by succession, but by direct vote of the people, for his first term, after the death of Mr. McKinley, had been completed. He had promised to maintain his predecessor's policies during the period for which Mr.

McKinley had been elected, and through that term he had initiated no new movements. But his pledge having been kept and his administration ratified by the popular vote, Mr. Roosevelt was now free to bring forward his own plans. His address at Chautauqua on August 11th, five months after his inauguration, was the first public announcement of his principles and policies, and in its boldness, its candor, and its originality was fairly startling. Mr. McKinley was a cordial, but a reticent party leader. Everyone who talked with him was charmed, but no one could recall any definite promise or statement that he had made.

Mr. Roosevelt was absolutely, unreservedly open; he would state to anybody his opinion on every public question. Lyman Abbott once said, "Mr. McKinley and Mr. Roosevelt were both great men and great statesmen, but between the absolute reticence of the one and the absolutely openness of the other, there is no half-way house."

The presidential party included his son Kermit, his nephew Paul Roosevelt, his cousin Philip Roosevelt, Mr. Jacob A. Riis, and a number of leading politicians, besides secret service men, and the inevitable troop of newspaper reporters. They were met at Lakewood by Bishop Vincent, his son the Princ.i.p.al, and representatives of the Chautauqua Board. A breakfast was served to the party and to some invited guests in Higgins Hall. I sat beside a prominent politician who said to me that on the train and boat he was absolutely amazed at the knowledge of President Roosevelt upon every subject, and his readiness to state his views upon even the deepest matters of State. At the table I noticed Dr.

James M. Buckley sitting beside the President and in earnest conversation with him. As we pa.s.sed out of the Hall, I mentioned to Dr.

Buckley what the public man had told me of Mr. Roosevelt's outspoken candor, and Dr. Buckley said that the President had answered every question in utter frankness, evidently having nothing to conceal; and Dr. Buckley could ask searching questions.

The adage, "It sometimes rains at Chautauqua," was verified that day by a steady downpour, which with the umbrellas lifted over the moving procession made every avenue, seen from an upper balcony, look like an endless serpent with a series of bulging black k.n.o.bs on his back. No words can express the jam of people in and around the Amphitheater and the breathless interest with which all listened to the President's address, which came like a revelation, with its outspoken utterances upon subjects. .h.i.therto held as State secrets. He talked of our relations with nations abroad, and of problems at home, the trusts, questions of capital and labor, and, indeed, every subject under discussion at that time. A statesman once said, "Language was invented to conceal thought,"

but that was certainly not the use of language by one eminent American.

As Mr. Roosevelt was leaving the Amphitheater, he saw the Boys' Club standing together, on guard, and he gave them a short, appreciative, practical speech.

Some of the speakers at the a.s.sembly of 1905 were District Attorney William Travers Jerome of New York, Governor Joseph W. Folk of Missouri, the Hon. Robert Watchorn, Commissioner of Immigration, President Charles Cuthbert Hall of the Union Theological Seminary of New York, recently home from giving addresses in India and China under the auspices of the Parliament of Religion, President Rush Rhees of the University of Rochester, President Herbert Welch of Ohio Wesleyan, Dean Charles D.

Williams--on his next visit to be a Bishop--and Dr. Richard Burton. Mrs.

Bertha Kunz Baker, Dr. S. H. Clark, Mr. Leland Powers, and others entertained us with readings and impersonations; but it should also be said that the leading elocutionists at Chautauqua made it a large part of their task to acquaint us with great literature, both in poetry, in prose, and especially in the drama.

In 1905 the Colonnade Building was built and became the business center of Chautauqua. During this season Mr. Scott Brown, the General Director under Princ.i.p.al George E. Vincent, called into the service of the Chautauqua Inst.i.tution, as a.s.sistant, a young man to become in a few years his successor, Mr. Arthur E. Bestor. Mr. Bestor also began lecturing upon the platform in a course on "Studies in American Diplomacy."

In the report of the year 1906, I notice a custom that is mentioned for the first time this year, though it may have been observed before. On the opening night, June 28, signal fires were lighted at prominent points around the lake, notifying the summer residents, whose cottages by this year were girdling Lake Chautauqua, that the a.s.sembly had now begun for another season. This illumination has been followed every year since 1906, and appropriately gives notice to every village between Mayville and Jamestown that the light of Chautauqua has begun to shine.

The program of July we find as full as that of August. During the earlier month were lectures and addresses by Professor F. Hyatt Smith on "Eminent Englishmen of the Nineteenth Century"--Coleridge, Macaulay, Carlyle, Matthew Arnold, and others; literary lectures by Leon H.

Vincent, who was now "Doctor of Letters," Mr. Henry Turner Bailey, head of the Arts and Crafts, but lecturer on many subjects; Newell Dwight Hillis of Plymouth Church, Brooklyn; Dr. W. J. Dawson, an English preacher and author who had lately come to live in America, equally great in the pulpit and in literature; Dr. S. C. Schmucker, one who could make a scientific subject plain to the lay-mind; Dr. John T.

McFarland, head of the Sunday School work of the Methodist Episcopal Church; Mrs. Donald McLean, President-General of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and other speakers.

During August a most interesting course of lectures was given by Mr.

John Graham Brooks on "America Viewed by Outside People"--showing how the estimates of our country, especially by English writers, had arisen from almost contemptuous criticism (much of it deserved, it must be admitted) to high appreciation. Mr. Griggs gave a new course of literary lectures. Bishop Vincent gave a lecture on Martin Luther. Prof. Cecil F.

Lavell spoke on historical subjects. Sir Chentung Lieng Chang, the Amba.s.sador from China, graduate of an American college, Amherst, I think--was a visitor and spoke in excellent English. Prof. Edward A.

Steiner, the great authority on immigration, lectured on "Our Foreign Population," and told a remarkable story of a journey that he had made through underground Russia, visiting nearly a hundred revolutionary centers. Mr. Ernest Thompson Seton talked on wild animals, to the enjoyment of both young and old.

On Recognition Day of the C. L. S. C., August 15, 1906, the new Hall of Philosophy was dedicated.