The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-07-24
Large Audience Attends the
First Entertainments
of Weeks Series
EXCELLENT LECTURE
BY FATHER CRONIN
Concert by Dunbar Singing Orchestra
Affords Much Pleasure = Numerous
Pictures Incident to Yesterdays Pa
rade Shown on Screen.


rade Shown on Screen.
Chautauqua week opened in Brat
tIeboro yesterday with two entertain
ments in the big tent on the high
school grounds. There was n large at
tendance and everybody was greatly
pleased. Dunbar 5 singing orchestra
gave enjoyable concerts both afternoon
and evening and the feature of the
evening entertainment was the lecture
ON Weeds and Flowers of Literature
hy Rev. Father d. }. Cronin Of Ne
braska, a virile and entertaining
speaker. Not only is his earnestness
convincing, but from first to last his
talk was Illuminated by witticlsms and
pointed comment that held attention.
The afternoon session, which opened
Immediately after the parade was nm
ished, began with Il lecture by Supt.
Robert Goldsmith on A World Of
News; The Temper Of the Times. In
this he outlined the history of the
| Chautauqua, which was founded in the
| town in New York from which it takes
its name III 1874 by Bishop John H.
| Vincent and which has many circuits
| throughout the country This year the
! SwarthmCre Chautauqua has 10 com
panies on the road lie then dealt
with some Of the problems CT modern
| life and some of the questions which
confront us as individuals. This lee
1 turc was followed by the concert by
| the Dunbar singing orchestra composed
! OF five young women and one man,
who played violin, flute, clarinet, cor
4 ret, piano and drums. Not only was
| the orchestral music very enjoyable,
/ but the vocal efforts of different mcm-
| bCrs of the orchestra were appreciated
i by the audience.
A large audience was present in the
evening and the Dunbar orchestra
| again gave concert in which they
played, sang and danced, ending with
Il Dutch sketch in costume. Character
impcrsOnations were excellent and en-
cores were demanded and given freely.
i Rev. Father Cronin first discussed
I the immortality OF foreign literature
and then rather startled his audience
by the statement that in the United
States there are more "svile, insidious
immoral, soul-destroying books than in
all Europe put together He placed
the blame squarely ON the American
people as individuals, for, he said, "a
nation cannot be greater than the
people who compose it.
He vigorously attacked yellow jour
nalism and the newspapers on the
front page Cf which is 10 be found al
= ways q widely assorted collection o-
the reported violations of the Tel
Commandments.
He ascribed the public s curiosity a
: to evil, viliany and scandal as the rca
son for its publication in such a whole
sale fashion. The Sunday supplements
the colored section, he described il
Illuminating terms. The result OF thi
perverting form of journalism. h
stated is an absolute unbclief on tn
= part of the public in any and all news
: paper stories.
Our periodicals he declared to be TO
the most part pure and uniniurious t
! the reader, and this form of litcratur
! was passed lightly over
y 1t was the modern novel, the hes
- seller or problem novel, which callc
= forth the strongest condemnation o
r the lecturer; hence so much rotten lii
~ crature. He described the influence G
the hero and heroine upon youthful
uninformed minds and characters i
an amusing truthful fashion The apt
tude of young men and women for az
ing the immoral, constituencies hero
heroine he dwelt upon at some lengt
K He called this type of novel filth
stories in classic guise dealing wit
sin gilded over to such an extent as
-, be unrecognizable to the youthf
= mind.
- Father Cronin closed his talk wit
= q plea for tie reading of deccn
% healthy and elevating literature, whic
10 be said, can be found in abundance /
ny the wise reader.
10 For the closing feature in the eve
af tf ing large number Of stereoptiec
~ ~ pictures of scenes incident to yeste
- day parade were shown on a scree