The Story of Chautauqua Part 18

CHAPTER XXII

WAR CLOUDS AND WAR DRUMS

(1913-1916)

THERE have been visitors at Chautauqua who, listening to some of the lecturers and their radical expressions, were alarmed and inclined to believe that the woods were full of cranks, faultfinders of the general social order, wild agitators, and revolutionary reformers bent on reorganizing the world. Chautauqua has always favored the freest discussion of all subjects and has admitted to its platform spokesmen upon all the questions of the time and from every point of view, even some unpopular men airing their unpopular ideas, confident that in the conflict of opinions the right will triumph. In 1913 the living question under discussion was Socialism; what it means, its positive aims and the arguments both for and against it. Here are the names of some speakers on that controverted subject. Professor Scott Nearing, perhaps the most radical of any, spoke on "Social Sanity," although his conception of sanity was looked upon by many as absolutely insane. Mr. J. W. Bengough explained and advocated "The Single Tax" and almost converted some of us to his doctrine. Mrs. Rose Pastor Stokes, a most winsome speaker, without opinion as to her views, told us of "The Socialist's Att.i.tude towards Charity," which was that much denominated charity is simple justice. Mr. Victor L. Berger of Milwaukee, who has several times been denied a seat in Congress to which he was elected on the Socialist ticket, stated the views and demands of his party. Dr. H. H. Powers spoke on "Present Day Socialism in Europe," John Mitch.e.l.l gave us "The Trades-union Point of View." Earl Barnes took part in the discussion, and Dr. Charles R. Henderson of Chicago also touched upon it. Some speakers were openly for, others as strongly against the movement.

Whether the Socialist Party gained voters may be doubted, but it certainly enjoyed a full and fair hearing.

Turning from politics to religion, which should have a more intimate friends.h.i.+p than most people give them, we notice the Devotional Hour during the season of 1913. The Chaplain for the first week was Dr.

Charles F. Wishart of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, his addresses being on "The Christian View of Some Facts of Life." Dr. Lynn Harold Hough, then a Methodist pastor in Baltimore, and Rev. Arthur C. Hill of London were on the list. Dr. S. M. Crothers of Cambridge, Ma.s.s., preached one Sunday and conducted the Devotional Hour a week in a series on "Gaining the Mastery." Bishop Williams was on the platform again, speaking on "Aspects of Personal Religion." Anyone who attended this service through the season--and the daily congregation was not far below a thousand--would obtain a pretty clear understanding of Christianity and the character of its advocates.

Every year the musical element grows at Chautauqua. There was this year, as had been the case for several seasons, a Musical Festival Week, with daily concerts. For many years there had been a quartette of the best soloists during July and another during August, supported by a chorus often of three hundred voices and the great Ma.s.sey organ. Henry B.

Vincent, who is the son of Dr. B. T. Vincent of the Children's Cla.s.s, grew up at Chautauqua, in a sense, spending his summers there from early childhood. For many years he has been at the organ seat, except when conducting the orchestra which he organized and trained. In 1912 he gave an interesting course of lectures on "How to Listen to Music." Every Sunday afternoon a large audience a.s.sembles to hear Mr. Vincent for an hour in an organ recital. An oratorio of his composition and under his direction was given at Chautauqua some years ago, ent.i.tled "The Prodigal Son." With one Vincent Founder and Chancellor, his son the President, one nephew a lecturer every year or two on literature, the other nephew the organ and band master, and his mother the President of the Woman's Club for many years, the Vincent family has been worthily represented at Chautauqua.

While speaking of music we must not forget one course of lectures by Mr.

Olin Downes, musical critic of the _Boston Post_, on "Musical Expression in Dramatic Form," a history of the music drama in general; early French operas; the German Romantic School; Richard Wagner; Verdi and Latter-day Italians.

Prof. Richard Burton gave an entire course of lectures on "The Serious Bernard Shaw," which caused a run upon the library for Shaw's writings, as I perceived, for I vainly sought them. Miss Maud Miner of the School of Expression gave some recitals and a lecture, packed full of suggestions on "Efficiency in Speech." Dr. George Vincent spoke to a crowded Amphitheater on "A National Philosophy of Life." A Serbian, Prince Lazarovich Hvebelianovich, gave a lurid picture of the Balkan situation. Let me quote one sentence as reported in the Daily of July 11, 1913 (note the date):

"Within the next few months there will be a war; and such a war as has not stirred Europe since the days of Napoleon; a war that will involve all the princ.i.p.al nations on that side of the Atlantic."

Less than thirteen months after that prediction came the event in the capital of his own little nation which let loose twenty millions of armed men, filled the seas with wars.h.i.+ps, above and beneath the waves, and the skies with fighting aeroplanes.

Mrs. Percy V. Pennybacker of Texas, gave a series of addresses on the Federation of Woman's Clubs, of which she was at that time the President. We listened to a Chinaman, Ng Poon Chew, the editor of a Chinese daily paper in San Francisco, on "China in Transformation," a clear account of the new Republic of China in its varied aspects, spoken in the best of English. We noticed too, that the speaker showed an understanding and appreciation which foreigners are often slow to obtain of American humor and jokes.

Another lecturer from abroad, though hardly a foreigner, for he came from England, Prof. J. Stoughton Holborn, wearing his Oxford gown (which we had not seen before at Chautauqua), gave a course on "The Inspiration of Greece,"--a view of that wonderful people in the different fields of their greatness. Think of one city which in the departments of literature, drama, philosophy, oratory, art, and public affairs could show more great men in two hundred years than all the rest of the world could show in two thousand!

We were treated during the season of 1913 to a sight new at that time, though common enough now. Mr. Engels brought to Chautauqua a Curtiss hydroplane, and day after day made flights, skimming over the surface of the lake, rising into the air, circling the sky and returning to the starting-point, to the amazement of the watching mult.i.tudes. A few, and but a few, dared to be strapped into the machine and take the flight; Director Bestor was one of them, and when Mrs. Bestor heard of it she said: "I told him that he must not do it, but I knew all the time that he would!"

Another event of the season was the production of a Greek play, in the original language, by a group of college students in Greek costume.

Another fact worthy of remembrance was the opening of a completely furnished playground for the children in the ravine near the ball-ground. To stand on the bridge and look down upon that company of happy little people, is always a delight. Also it is not to be forgotten that this year for the first time natural gas for cooking and heating was supplied throughout the grounds.

The year 1914 was the fortieth anniversary of the founding of Chautauqua. One of the Founders was with us, hale and hearty, and still able to give an admirable address, although his memory of recent matters and people had failed. The other Founder was no longer among us, and even fifteen years after his departure we of the earlier days missed him; but his memory will ever be kept green at Chautauqua, while the white lilies are silently unfolded in his honor. On Friday, July 3d, the signal fires were lighted all around the Lake. The celebration of the anniversary did not take place until August, near the date in the month of the first a.s.sembly. On Sunday, August 2d, Bishop Vincent preached in the Amphitheater with scarcely any lessening of his old power. At the anniversary service, Dr. Jesse L. Hurlbut--who was exhibited as one of the survivals of the prehistoric age, a sort of a dinosaurus or pleiosaurus,--gave an address on "Memories of Early Days," of which the reader may find the substance scattered through these pages. But we must give a paragraph or two from Mrs. Frank Beard's paper.

In reference to the interdenominational aspect of the a.s.sembly, she said:

The good Baptist brother, wandering down by the Dead Sea and Sea of Galilee to the Mediterranean, looked at the generous supply of water and was satisfied. The Presbyterian brother gazed into the cloudless sky above him, saw his favorite color, and felt that Chautauqua was foreordained for him.

The lineal descendant of St. Peter croqueted his ball through the arch and rejoiced that he was on saving ground.

We sat on the hard board seats with nothing to rest our backs upon but the salubrious atmosphere.

We heard ponderous speakers who talked on ponderous subjects. Among the speakers was Joseph Cook, also Bishop Peck, 350 pounds. Some of the lecturers were recommended as cultured and highly finished. Mr. Beard said that he had attended these lectures, was glad that they were cultured and more than pleased that they were finished.

The music week had now become a permanent inst.i.tution, bringing thousands to the a.s.sembly. This year it began on Monday, July 27th, with Victor Herbert's orchestra through the seven days, the Chautauqua soloists, and the great chorus trained by Alfred Hallam. Some musical a.s.sociations from Jamestown and elsewhere added their voices.

Among the lecturers, Mr. Griggs gave a course on "Dramas of Protest,"

the Book of Job, Sh.e.l.ley's "Prometheus Unbound," Galsworthy's "Justice,"

Calderon's "Life is a Dream," and some others. Bourke c.o.c.kran, the brilliant orator of Irish descent, gave a great lecture on "Abraham Lincoln--Original Progressive." Miss Mary E. Downey, Director of the Library School, spoke on "The Evolution of the Library," Dean Edwin Watts Chubb on "Shakespeare as a Moral Teacher." John Purroy Mitchel, the reform Mayor of New York, spoke on "Munic.i.p.al Government" on July 18th; Dr. Lincoln Hulley of Florida gave a course on the leading American poets. Mr. E. H. Blichfeldt spoke most interestingly on "Mexico as I Know It," the results of a year of wide travel and close observation in that land.

During the month of July we read in the papers of complications in the political world beyond the ocean, but few looked for serious trouble and none for actual war. On the first of August, 1914, the storm burst, and nation after nation in a few hours a.s.sembled their hosts for the most terrible war in the history of the world. In accordance with the Chautauqua tradition of free and open discussion, a War Symposium was improvised and each of the contending nations had its speaker. On Tuesday, August 4th, Dr. Hans E. Gronow who had served his time in the German army gave "The German Point of View." On Thursday, August 6th, Mr. Sanford Griffith, a newspaper correspondent and a student of public affairs spending several years in Europe whom some of us had known as a boy at Chautauqua, spoke on "European Unrest Due to s.h.i.+fts in the Balance of Power." On Friday, August 7th, Mons. Benedict Papot, formerly a soldier in France, gave "The French Point of View," and on Sat.u.r.day, August 9th, Dr. W. S. Bainbridge, English in ancestry but American in birth and spirit, presented "The British Point of View." All the exercises of the crowded program were held, but amid all our efforts the war brooded above us, a darkening cloud.

The Department of Religious Work was carried on with a strong force of speakers and teachers under the direction of Dr. Shailer Mathews, its details supervised by his efficient a.s.sistant, Miss Georgia L.

Chamberlin of Chicago, who also gave daily lectures. Among the instructors were Dr. Charles F. Kent of Yale, and Dr. James Hope Moulton, one of the richest minds of the age in Biblical lore, who gave a series of lectures, learned yet simple, on "The Origins of Religion."

None of us could have thought then that this n.o.ble life in its prime was destined to end in the Mediterranean by a shot from a German submarine.

The Devotional Hour and the Sunday services were led for a week by the Rev. C. Rexford Raymond of Brooklyn, who told in several chapters the old story of Joseph, yet seeming new in its application. The Rev. G.

Robinson Lees, Vicar of St. Andrews, Lambeth, England, who had lived in Palestine and among the Arabs in the desert, had written a book forbidden by the Turkish authorities, and had been banished from the land, preached one Sunday morning and gave graphic pictures of Oriental life through the week. Dr. W. H. Hickman, a former President of the Chautauqua Board of Trustees, Rev. Peter Ainslie of Baltimore, Dr. C. F.

Wishart, Dr. Was.h.i.+ngton Gladden, one who was ever welcome at Chautauqua; and a great-hearted man, Dr. George W. Truett of Texas, were also chaplains, each serving a week.

This year also the new golf course was opened on the field beyond the public highway, to the rejoicing of many patrons. At the close of the season the annual convention was held by the International Lyceum and Chautauqua a.s.sociation, the union of bureaus and speakers in the "Chain Chautauquas" held all over the continent, of which we shall speak later.

Their meetings were continued until September 10th, making 1914 the longest session in the history of Chautauqua.

In 1915, the war of the world was bringing its unspeakable terrors to Europe, and America was looking on, yet hesitating to plunge into the welter; but Chautauqua held on its even way, its courses of instruction as many, and its cla.s.ses as large as ever. This year Dr. George E.

Vincent felt constrained by the pressure of his duties as President of the University of Minnesota, with its eight thousand students and as large a number in its University Extension courses, to withdraw from the direct supervision of Chautauqua. He resigned his office as President of the Chautauqua Inst.i.tution, and Dr. Arthur E. Bestor became President.

But Dr. Vincent retained his members.h.i.+p on the Board of Trustees, was named Honorary President, and has continued to come to Chautauqua almost every year. Even for a few days, and with a lecture or two, his presence gives strength to the a.s.sembly.

In 1917, Dr. Vincent resigned the presidency of the University of Minnesota to accept the same position with the Rockefeller Foundation, disbursing millions of dollars every year in the interests of world-wide education and health.

The lecture platform of 1915 was arranged under six great weeks, each making prominent one subject, while popular addresses and the devotional services went on parallel with them all. The first week was devoted to the study of community service. Mary Antin, whose book, _The Promised Land_, had been read by everybody, was greeted by an audience far beyond the reach of her voice, speaking in her ardent manner. Dr. Lincoln Wirt proclaimed "America's Challenge to the World"; Mr. E. J. Ward explained the why and the how of "Community Service," and Norman Angell set forth "American Leaders.h.i.+p in World Politics." During this week Chancellor McCormick of the University of Pittsburgh conducted the services of the Devotional Hour.

The second week was devoted to the Drink Problem. Bishop Francis J.

McConnell of the Methodist Episcopal Church preached on Sunday morning and spoke at the Devotional Hour each day. The opening address was by Governor George A. Carlson of Colorado, who set forth powerfully the methods and results of prohibition in his State. Dr. H. A. Gibbons spoke on "The Prohibition Question in Europe." The Hon. J. Denny O'Neill, on "Booze and Politics." While the temperance question was discussed in the Hall of Philosophy, there were concerts and lectures in the Amphitheater, one especially by Mr. Sanford Griffith, who had been at the battle front as a war correspondent, on "Fighting in Flanders." Also Dr. Hamilton Wright Mabie, editor and essayist, spoke on "The East and West, Friends or Enemies?"

The third week was ent.i.tled "Justice and the Courts"--with such subjects as law, legislation, the administration of justice, and penology. Among the speakers were George W. Alger, Thomas Mott Osborne, Katharine Bement Davis, Judge W. L. Ransom of New York, and Dean James Parker Hall of the University of Chicago Law School. Mr. Charles Rann Kennedy, author of _The Servant in the House_, a drama with a sermon, recited the play, aided by Mrs. Kennedy. The play had already been read a year or two before by Mrs. Bertha Kunz Baker, and also enacted by the Chautauqua Players, so that we were familiar with it, but were eager to hear it recited by its author. Mr. Kennedy also gave some dramatic interpretations from the Bible. This week the Devotional Hour was held by Dr. Charles W. Gilkey, of the Hyde Park Baptist Church in Chicago, the church nearest to the University and attended by many of the faculty and students.

The music week was notable from the presence of the Russian Symphony Orchestra, led by a great player and delightful personality, Modest Altschuler. One of his company said of him, "He rules his orchestra by love." The Recognition Address this year was by President E. B. Bryan of Colgate University, on the all-important question: "Who are Good Citizens?"

The forty-third a.s.sembly in 1916 found our country in the throes of a presidential election, party strife bitter, and the nation divided on the impending question of our entrance into the world war. The feverish pulse of the time was manifested in the opinions expressed by the different speakers. Dr. George E. Vincent gave a lecture on "What is Americanism"--a sane, thoughtful view which was needed in that hour.

The week beginning Sunday, July 23d, was devoted to the subject of Preparedness for War or Peace. The Ford Peace Expedition of that year will be remembered, the effort of a wealthy manufacturer to stop the war. Several who had taken part in that apparently quixotic movement spoke in defense or criticism of it, and also the question of preparedness was discussed by Governor Charles S. Whitman, President Hibben of Princeton, Hon. Henry A. Wise Wood, Senator W. M. Calder, and others. Mrs. Lucia Ames Ward, of the Woman's Peace Party, was opposed to any partic.i.p.ation in the war or preparation for it. The controversy waxed warm, for the opinions were positive on both sides.

On subjects aside from the war we had an enlightening series of addresses at the Devotional Hour by Dean Charles R. Brown of Yale; a course of lectures by Dr. Edwin E. Slosson on "Major Prophets of To-day," Bernard Shaw, G. K. Chesterton, H. G. Wells, and some others; a series of lectures by Dr. Percy F. Boynton on "The Growth of Consciousness in American Literature,"--as shown in Irving, Cooper, Emerson, Lowell, and Whitman. Raymond Robins gave four lectures on "The Church and the Laboring Cla.s.ses." Dr. Griggs awakened general interest by his lectures on "Types of Men and Women," as ill.u.s.trated in their autobiographies and letters, presenting John Stuart Mill, Benevenuto Cellini, George John Romanes, Marie Bashkirtseff, Sonya Kovalevasky (a new name to most of us), and Henri Frederic Amiel,--all possessing characters p.r.o.nounced, some of them so peculiar as to be almost abnormal.

The Russian Symphony Orchestra, with its beloved director, Modest Altschuler, was with us again for another week, aided by the soloists and Chautauqua Chorus. In our rapid survey, we have only glanced at the prominent events in a great season.

CHAPTER XXIII

WAR AND ITS AFTERMATH

(1917-1920)

WHEN the forty-fourth session of Chautauqua opened on Thursday, June 26, 1917, it found the American republic just entering upon the Great War, which had already raged in Europe for over two years. Training camps had sprung up like magic all over the land, from ocean to ocean, and young men by the hundred thousand had volunteered, with others by the million soon cheerfully to accept drafting orders. Almost every university had been transformed into a war college. President Vincent was at the intensive military training school at Plattsburg, N. Y. Every morning before breakfast two hundred men at Chautauqua were marching and counter-marching, and learning the manual of arms with wooden guns, with President Bestor and most of the officials of the Inst.i.tution in the lines. The young women every afternoon were receiving similar drill under a woman officer, and some said that they presented even a more soldier-like appearance than the men. The headquarters of several denominations had been commandeered for Red Cross work and training. A stranger could scarcely get into the Methodist House without being scrutinized as a possible German spy, with a pocketful of poison or powdered gla.s.s to sprinkle on the bandages. War was in the air as well as in the newspapers. No matter what was the subject of a lecture it was almost sure to be on the war before the finish. There were discussions on the platform and on the street about the League of Nations, some with President Wilson in favor of it, others as vigorously against it. A symposium on "Our Country" and a conference of "Organizations Engaged in Education for Patriotic Service" were held during the session; also a company of students from the Carnegie Inst.i.tute of Technology, Pittsburgh, presented a brilliant pageant, "The Drawing of the Sword."

The Fourth of July address was given by the Hon. G. W. Wickersham, former Attorney-General of the United States. Captain A. Radclyffe Dugmore of the British Army spoke on "Our Fight for Freedom." Miss Ida Tarbell, who had won fame by a book showing the operations of the Standard Oil Company, and had also written a life of Abraham Lincoln, to be found in every public library and read more widely than any other biography of the Greatest American, gave some lectures. Her literary life, by the way, began in the office of the _Chautauquan Magazine_.

Mrs. Percy V. Pennybacker this summer became President of the Chautauqua Woman's Club, which office Mrs. B. T. Vincent had relinquished after many years of leaders.h.i.+p. Both these presidents were eminently successful in different directions and by different methods, the earlier having built up the Club by wisdom mingled with gentleness; her successor carried it onward by an energy that brought everybody into willing subjection to her far-reaching plans. Almost the first result of the new administration was the purchase of a club house fronting on the Lake, and holding in it almost a bewildering series of teas and receptions. While the public meetings of the Club crowded the new Hall of Philosophy every afternoon, Mrs. Pennybacker gave a stirring address on "What our Country Asks of its Young Women."