Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-02-12
NEW YORK'S TOWN HALL
BY Frederic J. Haskin
YEW YORK CITY, Feb. New York
N now has town hall, where any or

vert your fellow men to vegetarianism are
| you against compulsory vaccination in the
schools? Is your hobby prison reform? or
cooperative economics, or better public edu-
cation? Then, the town hall is at your dis
posal wherein to pour forth your great idea
| or grievance.
OF course, there are a few strings to it.
| You have to pay a rental OF $25 to cover the
cost of light AM heat and if you must have
ushers to seat your non-paying guests, the
charge is $50. You must also prove the merit
and sincerity Of your cause to the renting
committee, and promise to conduct your
meeting in a polite and orderly way, espe
cially when casting aspersions on the United
States government. Aside from this restric-
| ton, however, your speech can be absolutely
| free For it was to encourage fee speech
that the town hall was built.
Unlike most other town halls, so thick1y
scattered throughout the provinces, this one
| is not I unicipal institution. 1t belongs to
the League for Political Education, a large
New York organization containing over six
thousand members, who believe that ma
TONS greatest safety valve is discussion.
'Open discussions are conducive to mutual
good will" says the league, 'as well as fair
play. They result in fewer MISUNDERSTANDING
of public opinion, because it has always been
true that discussion rationalizes everything
it touches"
The object of the town hall is best de-
nent members, Mr.. Henry w. Taft.
"Whct is needed in, this age" according
to Mr.. Taft, els some reliable basis for form
ing opinions upon subjects which more or
less directly affect our well-beng in the COM
| ruunity. Many Of us have plenty of education;
some of US perhaps have too much. There are
lots of things that we ought to unlearn.
SIN republic it inevitably happens that
public attention is constantly directed to
| matters connected with problems of govern
ment which include ecor omics, industrial, fl
nancial, and purely political questions. We
wish to give the opportunity for free discus
| sion of such matters as these particularly. We
would found later Faneuil hall, modern
Roman FORUM Cooper union, with an even
broader purpose. We would have fairly pre-
sented both sides in such controversial mat
tiers free trade and protection, without ad-
vocating either; but we do insist upon free
trade in ideas.
Call For Free Speech
eve believe in free speech We deplore re-
preston. But want the truth. We respect
| the man who honestly holds views we disap
prove. 1t is in the spirit of these expressions
that We open the town hall.
| eff our representative institutions are to
be perpetuated, we must be vigilant in de-
vising methods by which the Individual citi-
zen may be kept informed as to the duties of
citizenship a d be stimulated in their per-
Torrance. But it is not now possible to gath
er together all of the citizens of republic in
one grand mass meeting. We cannot in this
age repeat the assemblies of the Greek states
or of the New England town. Some substi-
tute must be supplied
"And so we are establishing town hall
to keep alive the spirit of our ancestors and
as d contribution which will better enable us
to meet the vital, if not epochal, crises which
modern world conditions are bound to pro-
duce.
civ rIo Ho11 &Ln
need of this great city. 1t contains, however,
the germ of an idea, and we nope it will be
the model for other similar institutions not
only throughout this city, h1t also through
out the land
Mr. Taft was quite right when he said
| that one town hall is not enough. Several
| would not even be enough One on every
other block would scarcely be too many to
meet the Evolutionary needs of New Workers.
For with New Workers talking is an obses-
sion. More talking, prepared and impromptu,
goes on every night in New York than in
any other city in this country-public talk
ing, that is. Every high school auditorium
has it's lecturer; every club it's public dis
| cussion corner; nearly every church its civic
forum, and in addition the city is filled with
small halls whose platforms are never va
cant. Then there are several hundred thea
| tiers, many of which are used for lectures in
the mornings; and Madison Square garden,
which will hold almost whole borough at
one time and Cooper union, which is now
completely dominated by radicals Yet all of
these facilities are always so much in de-
mand that it is practically impossible for
new groups and societies to hire hall.
| Elegant Interior
| And the leagues town hall seats only
100. There is but one balcony with a row
of loges in front, and the doors of the foyer
open directly on the aisles of the lower floor,
so that there is no standing room. 1t is a
rather small and compact anu dainty town
hall. The architecture and interior furnish
ings are of the early colonial period. The
interior walls are of Caen stone in blocks,
very white, and the chairs and proscenium
arch are of the shade known as mulberry. At
the present time a gorgeous tapestry in pas
tel shades covers the moving picture screen
above the platform, but it may not be there
next week. 1t seems that it was loaned to the
hall during the opening week by large New
York interior decorating concern, evidently
in the hope that the league would decide to
buy it. But the league cannot afford any
| further extravaganza the hall already nav
ing cost over a million dollars
| The league intends to use the hall for its
own meetings during the morning hours, and
it will have it's club headquarters on the
| floor above the auditorium. The Economic
Club of New York, on account of the gem
erous gifts of it's members, will also be IA
vored in the use CT the hall, while the civic
| forum and the town hall club will occupy Of
fees in the building 1t is estimated now
| that the hall will be available for public
meetings about two afternoons and two eve
nings week.
| Speeches Wild
So far, nothing particularly startling in
| &Io 0f fron a OcPnTrl6