The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1910-07-28
SPEAKS OF EQUALITY FOR ALL
Colonel Bob Seeds Funny
and Interesting.
Delivers Lecture Full OF Droll and
Thoughtful Saylngs-Crowds at
Chautauqua Fairly Large Despite
Bad Wcathcr-GIcc Club PIcascs
p Audience.
Wednesday Morning.

The Wednesday morning Thought
ful hour" presided over by Professor
| Paul NJ. Pearson. of Swathmore col
| lege, proved to be another one of those
| happy rcstful treats wherein the soul
| is placed i'm accord with the music
| and rythm of poetry. paul Law
renee Dunbar was the poet of the
| hour.
Professor Martin defined the his
| tory of the black race In America as
| a struggle between AmcriCanism and
| Africanism, in which the soul of the
man was rent and torn in an effort
| to establish equilibrium. He declared
the representative race was not try
| Ing to model themselves into the white
American, or usurp his rights. that
there was only the wish to be u ne
gro and an American. Little wonder,
that after the oppression and tram
mel of slavery. that emancipation
should be looked upon by its ignorant
beneficiaries as the panacea for all
evil. The larger and better outlook
is an ideal republic, made up of two
races each giving to the other what
not come to us empty handed. He
has inherent music, loyalty, imagina-
ton, simplicity We are surprised
that there should come from the race
an educator and organizer like Booker
T. Washington, just as we are sur
prscd that there should cmanatc from
IL master artist, q marvellous mu-
steal composer. and a great poet.
According to the speaker, the poetry
of Dunbar enjoys n sale exceeded only
by Riley and Fields. Dunbar was the
child of slave parents, no white blood
flows in his veins. His first book was
published at the age of twenty-Onc.
He enjoys the distinction Of depicting
the race just as he found 1t, with hu-
NOR, and yet with fidelity. Also he
chose for the portrayal higher mode
OF expression than most writers as
poetry always eXcels prose I'm rich
ness of expression. We must con-
cede, whatever our prejudices, that
any black man who can stand with
the best writer's of the day has clc-
waited the race, and made the world
better for his living.
Characteristic Of the Dunbar poems
are simplicity, spontaniety and ten
der humor. Their compOsitOr knew
the JOY of living, and understood how
to inspire II in others. He was hope
full. he knew his people as no white
man could. Their superstitons he
wove into the fabric of his word cloth
of gold, and their spirituals, the quaint
old folk song of the campmeetinS, the
tunes brought from their native AZ
RIGA and the words from the wells Of
their hearts he ldealized and made
into living lines.
In illustration. a number of the
best of Dunbar's poems were recltcd
in dialect, with the peculiar swing
and running action with which they
are imbued Some of his poetic flights,
beautiful figures clad in the rosy mist
of q dream materialiZed into words
were given in the peculiarly impress
siVc manner of which Professor Pear
son Is master. The Eugene Field honr
tomorrow morning at II O'CLOCK
promises to be the poetic bit ol cS-
cellence of the week,
There was a large attendance at the
morning session.
"Wednesday Afternoon.
Colonel Robert S. Seeds knows 'he
art of entertaining and he has II down
to fine point. one of the most IN
teresting humorists and a really run
nv man was heard at the Chautauqua
Yesterday afternoon The ChicaS
Glee clup favored its audience with
another artistic musical prelude. Sew
cral vocal numbers were beautifully
given and brought forth insistent ap-
plause. An original character poem en-
titled 'Uncle Sam-a Calling" was