The Washington herald., 1920-03-04
nv n st.n Corre.pondeatJ

Detroit, Mich, March 2.-They
love to talk in Detroit. Usually
they let off steam by boasting about
their town. Once in a while some
lone says something unpleasant
about the place, as. for Instance, It's
street car system, telephone and gas
company, but 1t all encourages con-
versation.
For several years FredeSck F,
Ingram observed this not unusual
phenome non and decided to capital
ize IL. As he was a man OF means
he is rated as a millionaire, he could
afford to experiment. which he did
by organizing the Detroit Forum
where men and women of every
shade of opinion should have their
say. Mr.. Ingram. who is whole
sale druggist when not on the plat
form, has standing in the commun-
ity and the Chamber of Commerce
thought it might be good thing'
so he indorsed il, although, perhaps,
many members afterwards regret /
ted the move, as the theories ad-
vanced did not always coincide with
solid business.
The school board also thought 1t
would be a good thing to have de
batting societies" so 1t turned over
the auditorium of the Central High
School to Mr.. Ingram. Now the
Forum has become an institution of
the city, and 1t has been suggested
that a similar society be establish
cd in every school in Detroit. So
much for an idea.
On Frce-for-AH Basis.
In order to have an up-to-d lat e
forum Mr.. Ingram travelled over
the rest of the country investigat-
ing public meeting places. He Gull
ed the best from all and now claims
to have an ideal place for bringing
the problems of the day to the at
tention Of the public. White and
black, radical and conservative h 7e
had their innings on the platform OF
the Detroit Forum. During the wal
and since, only seditious talks have
been barred. For the rest il has
been a free-for-all.
Only the best and most expert
enced public speakers are invited to
hold forth at It's Sunday afternoon
sessions. They have to be strong
or they wouldn't be able to stand
the strain, for after each talk an
equal amount of time Is devoted to
questions.
This phase Of the program has
frequently been new to foreign
speakers, but the native spellbind-
ers have become used to 1t. Only
questions, just bald queries, are per-
mitted. The interrogator is not per-
mitted to explain his question. 1t
must be a straight-from-t shout
der, an honest-to-goodness quest
for information. Mr.. Ingram, who
acts as chairman, had a hard time
educating the people to this line of
procedure, but now, as he said, 81
have them eating out of hand"
AS showing the changing senti-
during the war, when extreme rad
icals were barred. many pulled out.
but they are now coming back. ITO
sanity" he put II.
All Glasses Represented.
Anybody is given a chance IN our
FORUM" said Mr.. Ingram. "Only
those who advocate criminal action
are barred, and these are getting
fewer and fewer each day. We have
all classes represented on the plat
form. There have been railroad
and corporation lawyers giving
their opinions as we'll as employees.
Radicals and conservatives are
given an equal show.
The good which has been ac-
complished has been great. in my
opinion. I believe that forums are
necessary IL unrest is to
be allayed. People must have some
place where they can blow OF steam
where they can get a chance to .x-
change ideas. The proposition is
now favored to have open debates
in every school house, and why not 7?
We will never arrive at truth un-
less fundamental principles can be
discussed. To me there seems to be
q tendency to again become sane in
public discussion. There was q
time when was doubtful about Il.