Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1915-07-20
HIGH STANDARD STILL main
Tanned IN THE PROGRAMS

1t was a good address and was en-
joyed by all.
Mr. S. Plat Jones introduced /;
new note and style in monologue en-
tertainment this year. His funn!
stories, his readings and his imper
sonations kept the crowd cheerful
In the afternoon he dubbed his en-
tertainment Fits and Misfits, and hi:
strong number was a parody on Bet
sey and I are Out. For his evening
program, with happy effect, he rem
dered James Whitcomb Riley's char
acteristic poem, Trading Jim. He
closed his program with a makeup
character presentation of the speech
OF an old man on the death of a com.
rade. Mr.. Jones' work was we'll re-
ceived. With the exception of one
or two numbers, Mr.. Jones' sketches
are from his own pen.
The afternoon lecture on Dead or
Alive proved to be typical Chau-
tauquan presentation of keen and
needed criticism of the foibles of our
time. The punch of DR.. Piatt's lee
ture, as he put it himself, was the
fundamental truth that God did not
make a fool proof universe where
everything was easy and plain sail
ing. Instead, God put truth at the
bottom of a deep well and covered
it with mystery mountain high, tell
ing man that he must dig to live.
The Almighty has backed man up
against a stone wall of necessity,
where he must use his brains in the
various walks of life. Brains and re-
ligion should go together, the lee
turer said Often they do not, but no
man can honor God by insulting the
human intellect. Brains also should
be put into politics-brains instead
of prejudice, instead of partIanship.
The painful outcome recently at
Terra Haute and indianapolis illus
trated the folly of letting politics
drift into the hands of mere graf
ters. Eternal vigilance is still as
ever, the price of liberty.
Mr. Piatt was at his best when
speaking Of the need for brains in
the twentieth century American
home. Here was the milk in the
Unless brains are in ev-
;dence here wreck and ruin appear
in all sorts of unexpected places. The
lecturer traced the outcome with re-
gard to bodily health and vigor. and
said that the presence of the medi-
cal examiner in the school was clear
evidence that the home had failed to
do it's duty. Our neighbours girl the
lecturer painted life size. She was
too often white handed, empty hand
ed and empty headed. His picture
Of "Maudie" was very effective.
When she got married she tried to
live an automobile life on a wheel
barrow income.
It was a strong point the lecturer
made when he said that the modern
home does not teach the girl to buy
meat and groceries, although in the
vast majority of cases it is the wife
who will he called upon to make the
purchases for the table of the home.
And cooking. The lecture rang mer-
rily the changes on the woe that
comes to newly-weds because the
fair young bride has not learned to
cook. Mr.. Piatt laid stress on the
supreme need for character in man
and woman alike when they set mar
rage bells a-ringing. When the
honey moon sets, if there is no spir-
tual basis for real union in real
character and worth, the home is
likely to be wrecked Mr.. Piatt's
ecture was interesting and inspir-
ng. He took fall out of Calvinis-
lie forms of religious belief which
lave been dead fifty years, but 9TH
erwise his lecture was up-to-date,
instructive and interesting.
The most unique, interesting, in
tructive and inspiring thing upon
he platform this year came last
hight when Mr.. J. H. Balmer and
Hiss Clark of Rhodesia, South Afri-
"a, appeared on the stage with five
native Kaffir boys in their native
costumes. A Basuto with fine leo
,ard skin hung upon his shoulder;
Zulu dressed in native goat skin;
Kaffir clad in goat and monkey
kins; a Hcttentot lad in native cos
ume, only twenty-seven months out
If the most abject barbarism but,
the brightest and most
of all the boys; and an
'lder boy, Kaffir young man in his