Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1911-07-11

OUT VI pOllCiCo dAu ACoNO ~ IL lie
hands of a commission of experts
The business men, as such, should
bv kept out of politics in favor of
the statesman. The business man
has, very properly, contracted the
habit of buying what he wants,
which principle, carried into poll
tics, is the Lorimer way. The exc
cution of justice, too, the lecturer
claimed should be put beyond the
range of petty party politics, and d
| Just system of taxation would have
to be devised before the square deal
could be said to have arrived. DIR.
Dixon's lecture was one of the
strongest on this years platform.
For the closing number at theaev-
ening hour an audience gathered
which filled the great tent and rang
ed crowd of interested and silent
listeners around the oblong sweep
Of the canvass. The Strollers' quar-
tette was greatly enjoyed, especially
the sacred numbers of their program
which fitted into the spirit Of the
day and helped to create a proper
atmosphere for the close Of the great
weeks program. A Roman Cath2-
| lie divine had made the opening adj
dress of this years Chautauqua, and
it fell to the lot Of a Congregation
al minister from Wisconsin to close
the program. William Rainey Ben
nett was the man, and his lecture
bore the title, "The Man Who Can"
The man and his lecture were good
illustrations of his theme. 1t prov
ed to be one of the best popular
lectures of the entire series. It was
full of wit and humor and of sound
common sense. Mr.. Bennett carries
enough avoirdupoise to put him out
of the vinegar class and to make
him look jolly and talk jolly. From
the first sentence he had his audi
ence with him, and he kept them to
the end. The pith Of Mr.. Benefits
message lay around the fact that
the Imagination is the searchlight of
the soul. The nimble wit of the
speaker scintillated for an hour and
a half in illumination of some Of the
serious issues of life. Neither his
jokes, which were many, nor his
stories, which were exceedingly
funny, seemed to be nailed on to his
theme-they seemed to have grown
there and to be a natural part Of
the expression of his ideas. In Ger,
tain directions Mr.. Benefits lecture
was as funny as was the one deliv-
cred the previous afternoon by the
redoubtable humorist, Bob Seeds.
Close analysis of his lecture seems
to leave more material for thought.
Mr.. Bennett was very funny. HIS
invention of noiseless soup spoon
took the house by storm, as did bis
definition of tainted money-"It is
tainted because 'ta'nt yours!" He
said that many had their wish bones
where their backbones should be,
and the crowd laughed and laugh
ed again at the sally. He paid
high tribute to William Jennings
Bryan as a man who had lived if
teen years in the spot light, and no
newspaper had been able to discover
a single spot on his moral charac-
ter. The enthusiasm of Mr.. Ben
netts lecture formed fitting close
and also was kind of happy eli
max to long weeks program filled
with very good things.
The dismissal of the great crowd |
provided fairy-like scene never be-
fore witnessed in Webster City. A |
freight train blocked Des Moines
street just as the great crowd was
strolling homeward. Automobiles Of
ell sorts and sizes, rigs OF every de-
scription, and folk a-foot on the
filed the street from side
to side, and the headlights Of the
presented prettier
sight than the White Way of Second
street, because the lights were gent
ly on the move. More than fifty
were in the blockade,
and when the crossing was open and
the vehicles moved on 1t almost
seemed like the drifting of stars in
a milky way. And so passed the
of Nineteen-Hundred
and Eleven.