Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1919-07-21

COMES T0CL0sE
Webster City Assembly for
Present Year Closed
With Saturdays
Sessions.
MORNING LECTURE
"The Magic Piper MARY
X. Nelson, Nurse, and
"Joy Night"
BY REV. ARTHUR METcALF.

by REV. ARTHUR MEICALF.
A very interesting and illuminating
lecture was given ut chautauqua Sat
urday morning by Raphael Emmanuel,
a native Of Chaldea. The subject was
Nee 'sOpOtamia, as the lecturer pict-
uresquely accented the name of the geo.
graphy of the cradle of the human race.
Emmanuel is not only to the manner
horn, but he is born also to the
language, the customs and the costumes
of this ancient home of Abraham.
Emmanuel wore the soft, fiOwery cos
tune Of the orient. His features bear
striking resemblance to Hoffman's
head of Christ. He is tall, dark, genial
in manner, animated in speech, and
laughter plays in his voice and eyes.
Raphaels native land is Cialdea. He
was born into the HISTORIAN religion,
and travel in the western world has
opened his eyes to the lights and
shadows, the contrasts and identities
of the civilizations east and west. 1t
would be easy to misunderstood En-
manuel's message Only can it be I'M
derstOOd when it is remembered that
F. the address is the simple, naive COM
ment of half awakened oriental mind
in contact with the oppulence of west
ern civilization which it has not yet
rightly appraised and which, therefore,
it does not yet fully understand. But
if listened to as revelation of the
spirit and civilization Of Mesopotamia,
Raphael Emmanuel's address shed light
upon the human problems east and
west.
The Difference in Peoples.
The address established the truth OF
Kipling's famous line, East is east,
and west is west, and never the twain
shall meet" for it revealed the vast
differences between the psychology OF
two peoples. In Mesopotamia they
measure distance by days, not by miles.
Only peddlars and beggars travel. They
have no money in circulation, and the
lecturer asked naively what westerners
wanted with money anyway! There
are no dentists nor dentifrices in Elm
manueTs land, and they need none
there for they eat no candy or un-
natural foods which are the enemy OF
teeth. The audience envied Emmanuel
his fine. set of white teeth, all innocent
InOin nhn
and the black art of sorcery take the
place of medicine and doctors in MesO-
pOtamia. Nobody knows how old any
body is, for there is no record Of years.
Emmanuel was in Berlin when the
war broke out. On the great adventure
Of seeing the western world he escaped
eventually to America, where he is
struggling with our speech and litera-
ture. He quotes the best classic Eng
lish literature and shows fine apprecia-
ton Of the best models Of our speech
and thought. His memory seems Won
derful, until he explains that we have
no memory because we crowd the mind
with silly things, then it becomes a
grave indictment of our mode of edu-
cation. He does not like pictures.
Talking of western vanity i'll matter OF
looking glasses Emmanuel exclaimed,
I'm very glad my men do not look in
the mirror, because I'm afraid they
would mott like it!'' quip which
brought the audience to laughter.
Emmanuel's lecture is tremendous
thought provoking presentation OF the
simple life. He deprecates American
dances as immoral and scandalOns. lie
is sure that tobacco is more harmful
than beer and wine and thinks that
prohibition should step in against the
noxious weed. Speaking OK American
acknowledgements Emmanuel exclaimed
naively: "Yau make your conclusions
v.'ee"ry soon." So simple is he and
SO unworldly-wise that he and his
people scorn life insurance. Nobody
would accept money in MesopOtamia
which came out Of the fact of rela-
tive's death. CO-educatiOn in the east
il misunderstood and despised by this
son of Chaldea, just as it would have
been four thousand years ago by us.
Indeed, there has been no progress,
and Emmanuel glOries in his standpat
land.
Against Modern Civilization.
In this lecture Webster City people
had the strange experience of hearing
a man plead against modern civilization
because it brings in it's wake all kinds
of social and financial strife. He sees
nothing in modern civilization except
the mad struggle for wealth. But his
own language contains only some five
or six hundred words! 1t was his
naivete and laughter that made the
address attractive to the thoughtful.
Emmanuel is living revelation of the
interior of Asia Minor. The costume
worn by the lecturer was hand made.
1t was linen fabric that years of wear
had failed to wrinkle, statement that
brought EXPLANATIONS. of establishment
from the ladies of the audience. The