Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1902-07-10
The Bible Conference i'll
at EaSles Mere.


Conference has more than one SER
iOus lesson. In the first place it
demonstrates that mem aud women
i'm considerable numbers can be per-
suaded to come to Eagles Mere if the
right inducements are offered them
as early as June, and the session first
held here proved that they could be
induced to come in September.
Then these who have most at. heart
the welfare Of the place need to start
from correct premise and they will
reach conclusions different to those
arrived at by superficial treatment
of the question. More than six hum
dred Christian Endeavor people were
brought here in two weeks at the
time the experiment was made for
meetings in the last week of June
and the first in July.
Again it is demonstrated that larg-
er.numbers of people than we real.
ize are profoundly interested in
questions that concern the spiritual
well being of this life and the next,
and that they will take good deal
of trouble and go to some expense to
sit under competent teachers under
surroundings as pleasant as we have
here. We are of opinion that the
managers have not risen to full
grasp of conditions on this subject.
So far as the material arrangements
for the Conference are concerned
very much better could be done.
The "Pit" in the Auditorium has
been condemned from the start and
promises of its improvement have
been made from year to year. Fred.
Brooks and every other of Chautau-
qua's real friends have urged a
change with consistent persistence.
The stage should be lowered or
the floor of the "Pit' raised so
that there would be no Pit. There
have been headaches, neckaches and
backaches to have paid for it long
ago.
Then again, at any time, storms
may occur at Eagles Mere or any
where else, in June or any other
month, and the very first year dem
onstrated the insufficiency of the
curtains on the Auditorium to pro-
tect the people inside, let alone their
constant flapping in windy weather
making it impossible to hear the
speaker. 1t may be all very well
for the management, well housed in
brick structures at home, to think it
makes but little difference but it is
absolutely barbarous to the people
urged to come to us to put them into
such place. Sash enclosures in
place of the curtains have been prom
lSed 1Or several years.
Again, the comparative cold of last
month out of doors would have made
little difference to the four or five
hundred people so earnestly seeking
to hear Mr.. Morgan and DR.. Scofeld
if they had been only reasonably
comfortable in the Auditorium.
With steam plant only few feet
away, comparatively, an insignifi-
cant expense would carry line of
pipe to and around the inside of the
Auditorium that would have made
the audience Indifferent to conditions
outside especially if the sash enclos-
ures had taken the place of the mis-
cradle shift of curtains that flapped
around making such a noise and let
ting wind and storm i'm on the people.
With this provision for atfording
some warmth in the Auditorium an
expense of one cent per day for each
of the four or five hundred people
would have made them forget what
the weather was and enjoy to the full
the feast of good things offered them
by the speakers.
We believe that a judicious study
of the needs for the comfort and
pleasure of our visitors, and conserv-
ative measures to promote it and
then widening out the efforts to
bring people here, would result in a
considerably heightened season and
not only so but would really be do
ing asgood work in distributing the
real benefits of our favored spot tsl
thousands of homes that do not real