Morning journal and courier., 1885-09-16

question, So Ofton Raised In Con. nectfon With the Favoritc Religious Resort-The Managers Not CoIntng Money by Any Means.
 | CHAUTAUQUA, N. Y, September 10. l To the Editor of the JOURNAL. AND COURIER: Others write often and much about the I feast of reason and flow of soul which may
 be enjoyed at Chautauqua. It has occurred I to me to. devote the present letter to dol 1 lars -and-cents view of the great institution which is seated here.
 This is not an altogether new idea, but in so far as it has been attempted in the past, 1 believe this phase of the summer school has been treated by disgruntled correspondents, | who had no sympathy for the Chautauqua 1 movement. If I were to antagonize this l popular resort, after the fashion of such cor respondents, it would be because some ac- ton of the management forced me to do SO; ! for am predisposed to find things about as l they ought to be here. I am at loss to un- derstand, therefore, why facilities have not | been extended to me in some quarters for getting at the data contained in this article Said I to Dr. Vincent the other day: 'Haven't you any printed reports setting forth the financial status of the concern up to the beginning of the present assembly," ''No; we don't print our reports" 'Why is that!'
 'sThey are not for the public. We don't care to bring forward that unhappy side of Chautauqua. People don't like to give mon ey to help pay off debt"
 ttIsn't just the reverse true-that many are not giving to Chautauqua on account of a quite prevalent idea that the association is coining money here? The published state ments which set forth in plausible terms the great prosperity of the summer school are hardly calculated to secure donations" But Dr. Vincent was too busy or too tired to see the matter exactly in that light. ssI hardly think it would help the cause to publish it's financial status," he said; ''but we have clean record fnancially-one that we are proud Of"
 But that's just what many people aren't sure about especially those who have read l the spacious letters of the disgruntled cor | respondents aforesaid. And that's why I'm going to disregard good Dr. Vincents pref erences and disclose the ''clean record" In the first place think the unfavorable letters have many of them been inspired by the change in attitude toward the press. In the early days reporters of the leading dai- lies were both housed and boarded by the as sociation. As a result of this far-sighted policy the daily papers of Cleveland, Buffa- To, Pittsburg and cities somewhat more re- mote 'smade' Chautauqua. I think it is fair to say this, for despite the inspiration of the Chautauqua idea per SC, it could never have attained such popularity without the aid of the press. Time was when over three hun dfed Cleveland papers were sold on the
 grounds here each day, in addition to the large sales of local papers and dailies of oth-
 CT cities. Each Cleveland paper devoted
 about three columns daily to the exercises of
 the great summer school Now you will
 rarely see five lines in Cleveland paper un-
 less some military organization is camping
 out at Lakewood.
 Those who blame the association for it's
 change of policy in this regard do not main
 tain that all members of the newspaper pro-
 fession should be furnished with free accom-
 modations but that at least half dozen of
 the leading newspapers should be thus fla
 vored.
 So much for the matter of press recogni
 tion.
 Leaving Dr. Vincent, man for whom l
 have profound respect, had no difficulty in
 finding an official with more time at his dis
 posal, who appreciated the business wisdom
 of frankly avowing the real facts in connec-
 tion with the indebtedness of Chautauqua.
 'tInstead of coining money" said the off,
 cial in question, s'the association is fettered
 by the incubus of debt amounting to about $75,0O0."
 'fHow was this debt contractedg'
 "In several ways. First, by manage ment of affairs the first year or two where by the outgo exceeded the income. Second, by the purchase of large tract of land, which we found that we could buy to great advantage, but which we are not even yet ready to utilize. Thirdly, by lavish expen-