Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-07-27
Our Intellectual Circus
by Frederic ]. HaskIn

Il ffTt VI - VttNfy fSfffft ffdH tIHtlAUtfRtiff
together with Election Day and The
Ziesbeld Follies. IL the increasingly
popular form of entertainment known
ms the chautauqua. which has bcen
4 termed the intellectual Circus ~
America. Cbantauqpa authorities say
that last year approximately ouc-third
lof the population Of the United States
3b,4sa.750 people attended Chautau-
/ qua performances. n has ecn pre-
dicted that this year the number en-
joying this form Of educational en-
tertaipment and It's sister type, the
! lyceum program. VIII reach the fifty
million mark.
Every state IN the Union has com
munities which patronize the Char
! tanaua, but the Great chabtauqua
Belt as the trade term has 1t. lies IN
the middle western states including
especially. Iowa. which has 45g. n.
iinois. 352 Ohio, si7. and Pennspl
vania. Nebraska. Kansas, Missouri.
Wisconsin. and Oklahoma. New YORK
state has z01 separate chautauquas
aside from the great organization at
Lake chautanqua. Last year 8.5sf
towns granted their inhabitants and
those of neighboring communities the
/ privilege of Ghautauqua programs
The movement Is growing beyond
/ the bounds Of this country and at
present two continents including -four
countries have chautauquas ii their
midst In. North America the United
States. Canada and ALASKA are favor
"a with the presence Of these organi-
zations. In Australia. Chantauaua
n
Chinese students in this country are
said 70 be eager to carry the Chau-
tauaua movement 70 their home coun-
I try and Lloyd George. Prime Minister
Of England has been quoted as Civ
ing the Chautauqua his heartiest ap-
! pfoyaI.
There seem to be four prime faetoes
/ in the psychological basis which lies
heneafh the marvellous success of th :
/ institution. They are the getting away
Of the members OF the audience from
/ their mere community interests. tho
getting together Of a large body 81
/ people under the cover Of one of these
khakf-covered colleges: the formal dis-
cussion of big problems, and the de-
cldedly informal atmosphere OF ths
place where the program IS given,
/ These factors when set down in in
/ flexible type look extremely paradox
cal yet they are not And. above ali
one should not forget. in this con-
/ nection, what Gilbert X. Chesterton
king of paradozists (if sch word
4 may be permittedJ has stated, namely
that the American people have )
/ positively heroic capacity for giving
and receiving lectures.
I Under the Brown Top.
Come inside the big brown tent for
a minute and stand with others1 be-
/ hind one IF the poles which suppori
the great brown top. Every foldlue
chair in the place d hlIed with solid
men, nervous women, blinking chill
dren. A young lady in a foulard dress
sits with folded hands before the rent.
ed upright piano. A row of perspir4
ing but earnest speakers and town
officials rest their hands on their knees
as they sit in a semi-circle on the
little platform, the architectural crude
ness 0f which is hidden beneath gay
red. white and blue draperies. Tiny
flies polka-iot the sputter1ng electric
lights. The impatient honk u the
horn on one OF the flock OF autonn-
biies outside is sounded occa si0naIfv.
At length the gentleman standing BY
the riekety little cherry -varnislled
stand supporting the proverbial pitcher
oI ioe-Svater, has ceased speaking. 4
swarming buzz of discussion gradual
/ ~ arises after the first timIdly yol-
anteered questions. Struggling groups
/ wait 10 shake the speakers hand. The
+ string quartet who played Tschaikow-
: sky's music earlier and the pianist
strike up the Star spangIed Banner.
! The subject on the program may
: be on any issue Of general interest.
/ New foods. Shakespearfan drama.
I selections from grand opera, clever
readings by famous authors, Boil
shevism. the League OF Nations, the
latest thing in iirplanes, national
debts, are all subjects which have
been brought before interested Cnau-
tauqua audiences. The object OF the
+ Chautauqua is the bringing Of kn0wi-
edge and uplift in all directions to the
people.
The admission price s low, the pro-
gram full Of live interest and the
entire performance as earefulls
thought out and planned beforehand
as the menu whig.n a skilled French
chef prepares for .ne most particular
OF banquets. The mental diet quail
ties of each program are carefully
weighed prior 10 their selection. There
may be a certain number OF calories
of science, a few ot travel. consider
able music Of varying kinds, a little
politics. and this. year especially, plenty
of good solid Americanism.
ane Radcliffe Chautauqua system
one of the largest of the IA large sys-
TENS in the United states is specializ-
ing in American ideals this season.
The three big programs offered by
this system have as their topics
Americas 5 Palitical Ideal. America 5
Social Ideal and Americas Indus
trial IdealH The other numbers on
this ChautauQua 5 programs for the
present season are equally topics Of
the moment including a Community
Program, The Value Of the Individu-
all" and Americans All The last
is a detachment OF men collected from
/ the recruit educational centers Of the
United states Army. This Radcliffe
system is said to be the only one in
the country which carefully collects
the material and performers for the