The Dermott news., 1915-06-10
PRAISES LYCEUM
 AND CAAUTAUQUA
Norman Hapgood, In Harper's
 Weekly, Comments Them.
REPRESENT NEW FREEDOM

Seasonal Gatherings of People Made
 President Wilson and Secretary
 Bryan PossibIe-Defends Latter's
 Action In Preaching to the Masses
 In Face of Bitter Newspaper Crit
 icism.
 Our forthcoming Chautauqua. which will be held next summer, extending over a week, makes all matters per taining to the Ch utauqua of interest 10 our readers. In recent issue of Harper's Weekly appeared a two-page article about the Lyceum and Chan tauQua. in which the writer set forth the most able defense of Bryan's lee turing that has so far appered in print This is the article in part:
 The lyceum and the New Freedom.
 The Chautauqua and the Lyceum represent the New Freedom that President Wilson represents They are one of the chief sources of that spirit. they made both Wilson and Bryan possible. They are great sea soual gatherings of the common peO- pe for rest, for fun. for common thinking. And more effective think ng has been done there than in all the editorial rooms of all the news papers put together And more news" is published there and more news is made there new news. mean ideas; uew-fashioned news There is freedom there; free thought: free speech. and some day there may be a free people there.
 Mir Bryan knows all this. When he was defeated for the presidency both times-the newspapers pro nounced him dead politically, and they proceeded to kill him. The Ger mans have a good word for what they did cEweigen They set out to silence him to death They ceased to cover" him. They would report nothing that he said or did. and he wtrht have been killed and forgotten But the Lyceums and the ChautauQua said: No. There is still some freedom Of speech in this eountrN Come and talk to the peo- ple." And he went. and he lectured. and the 2aloots" heard him gladly They not onl, heard. they pad him for the service so that he could not only preach. he could live.
 Others beside Bryan have been saved by Gle people of the Chautau- qua and the EHeeunt In the olden days. Garrison and Wendell Phillips all thc old fighters who could get no hoariug from tho press and the bet ter people. were welcomed and they were sent on Ia victory by the Lv. ecum And !a our day. I.aFolleue, Hcney, nr Wiley and others. oh. many others have had that appeal from the press and the system, to the people
 Why Newspapers Criticise.
 I, may be thought that the news. papers are jealous of the Chautauqua, I Gouti it That would imrly a sort ot malicious intellfsence Whjsh he have lot, Nnd they don't say that thc Gh"UtauQUa is da1serojs They say lt is uNuignited il is business and sHn fe. money f provides val dc1ille entertainment, along with lee. lures by pr Wiley. senator Lafol le'te and Nr Bryan; and that it is uldiguiied for secretary of state to appear there as q part of n show The history of the l.yceum. including the GhauiauQuu. is at least aS dieui fed as the history of the supreme court and more so than that of most of the neNspaf CTS. And the gather inCs l have seca were all disnited in tEc real sense They are dcu.ocratie; they are very ungrIstoCratic. they afe utterly uup plutccratic, and they may sometimes seem pretty radical Co th, press nut there Is dceorum. always. The secretary ef state is treated with more respect there than he Is hy the ncWsYancrs. There Is J.usic there is what miaht be called vaudeN He. But the vaudeville Secretav, Bryan ap. pears with at the ChaatauQua is not Sc offensive as that of the comic sup plemeHts with which he would haNc to appear in the newspapers,
 From the new point of view. which. uurepor,ed by the new spapers. Is com ing to protail. it would seem to be better for secretary Of state who thinks he needs more money than his orce=r =raNs to go and get it from the people direct than ny some parasitical, rourIsahout Wall Street. business m,iana. II keeps him dependent upon and in the hold of the people AuG that's what political reform" is after, to make government represent the people