The Norfolk weekly news-journal. (Norfolk, Neb.) 1900-19??, 1908-08-07

must be personal No matter how
infrequent the personal pronoun, II is
his voice which speaks, his eye which
flashes, his arm which gesticulates. his
personality which dominates the
scene. And Bryan talked thus per.
sonally to 100000 people during the
chautauqua season of 1907 He has
/ been delivering from 100 to $50 ly.
ceum and chautauQua addresses yearly
for a dozen years.
Few people realize the extent and
influence of the chautauquas and the
possibilities they afford public man
with a purpose. 1t is doubtful whether
Mr.. Bryan himself realizes his in.
debtedness to them. Comparatively
few people know anything about the
extent of the chautauQua movement,
and especially in the east where the
chautauqua originated is the ignor.
ance OF the real outgrowth most pro.
found. The conservative Democrat OF
the east, for example, continually rubs
his eyes and scratches his head over
the vitality of the Bryan boom
"Chautauqua?" Why, that is lake
In western New York with summer
school. Some such vague idea exists
In many minds, and even when they
do know what chautauqua institute
(of New York; is, they do not know
that 1t is mere drop in the bucket
OF the great chautauqua movement of
the west. These chautauquas are held
for about ten-day sessions, from June
to September, all over the west, and
the aim is to hold them when and
where the rural population can attend
And it does. The farmer and his
family buy season tickets, and they
attend the sessions afternoon and
evening, for ten days, even to phys.
ical exhaustion and intellectual indi.
gestion.
They hear the prelude by the
; soprano and the reader, they listen to
d the lecture by the more or less great
statesman, orator. minister. or trav.
t eler, they hear the jubilee singers, the
well known author, and they see the
magician and the moving pictures
If they do not buy season tickets
they at least drive to town on
Bryan day" Indeed, part of Bryan S
fee is conditioned upon the extra ad
: missions at the gate, and it is said
his own share amounts TO about
$4,000 in single summer. In one
day last summer his receipts were
$1,000 The chautauqua received a
like amount.
, Most people can understand the
ngures OF gate receipts if little slow
10 accept figures of spl och. They car
begin to realize Bryan's popularity
: when 1t is expressed in dollars. anG
, yet Mr.. Bryan's fees are the smallest
part of the dividends from his plat
form work, as before limited. 1t only
: fair to Mr.. Bryan to mention that he
makes more speeches without pay
: IMAM he does for pay. A large part OF
V his time is devoted to public anC
. party work, which not only brings nc
profits, but involves a very consider
able expense.
Nor does Mr.. Bryan charge call the
= traffic will bear" 1t is interesting tc
l note that his contracts provide thai
: the admission fee to hear him shall
: not be higher than the same fee TO,
at least two other numbers of the
y course Is this modesty the wisdom
or the serpent or the harmlessness
OF the dove? He is also cautious II
: expressing his opinion of his con
1reres. "Who is the greatest orato,
e you ever heard?" he was asked
on answered Mr.. Bryan coyly. We
: without a blush of self-consciousness
/ nave heard too many good Dem
ocrats speak to answer that"
Mr.. Bryan has ideas about introduc
lons, from which he has suffered
ana he lays down one infallible rule
a When an audience becomes tired O
the Introduction, it is time for the in
e .Foducer to stop" "The laudatory
n introduction" he says, Should b,
: avoided. Not that one objects t.
oelng well thought of, but he object,
10 having people watch him while h,
Dlushes, or, worse still, watch hin
l. while he fails to blush when he ough
p to-"
Mr.. Bryan has long since ceased t.
blush when introduced as "our nov
president" though there is a touch O
!. incredulity in his smile. And if tn,
8 presidency comes to him, he ma,
S thank the chautauqua, and if tn,
d presidency fees from him the chautau
q qua is still there and waiting to wei
y come him again.
A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE.