Evening star., 1925-08-20
RADIO IMPERILS
ALL CHAUTAUQUAS
By Robert T. Small.

There is sad news from the prov
| inces. The Grand old American Chau-
| tauqua, mainstay during the Summer
of the INDECENT American statesman, is
| threatened. Already 1t has been cur
| tailed, but its very life would seem to
be at stake.
Golden-tongued Senators and spell
| binding Representatives have learned
! to their regret and the further deple-
| ton of their visible means of support
| that the radio is cutting in" on the
| Chautauqua to such an extent that the
| hackers Of various Summer circuits
are thinking of withdrawing their sup
port and yielding the field of enter
tanning the plain people to the en-
croachments of modern science.
The radio, 1t would seem, Is giving
to the people precisely the line of
| stuff" they used to travel miles to
hear under the Chautaqua canvas.
| 1t is giving 1t to them at home, and 1t
| is giving it to them free, whereas in
| the olden times 1t was customary to
pay out good, hard money for a series
of season tickets.
The automobile Is another factor
which is playing hob with the grand
| old Chautauqua- The farIner-and
every one has an auto-puts himself
and his family on wheels when he has
| a little time TO spare and goes touring
| the country or visiting some new Eli
dorado where lots are selling like hot
cakes and paper fortunes are being
| made over night.
X
The farmer, thirsty for knowledge
and shut away from the world during
most of the Winter, was the backbone
Of the Chautauqua circuits. Now
| that he possesses high-poWered re-
ceiving sets and all manner of trans
portation from the lowly flivver to the
imported Rolls Royce. the Chautau-
qua has lost much of it's appeal.
Many Chautauqua orators, accus.
toned to having long Summers OF
Chautauqua work, found themselves
| out of a Job this season, because or
the curtailment of circuits and pro
grams In most instances the radio
encroachment was given as an ex-
cuse to the disappointed spellblnders,
| who had carefully prepared new ana
devious ways of making the eagle
scream and of twisting the lions tai.
to the delight of the rural populace.
The farmer this Summer Is either
on tour when he can get away from
| the crops, or is sitting home evenings
| tuning-in on programs FAR more
varied than the Chautauqua In his
vicinity was able to offer. Over the
ether he can get his politics, his scien-
tific lectures, his daily or weekly ex-
plantations of the situation at Wash
| ington and throughout the world.
His advice from the Department OF
Agriculture, both State and Federal:
his concerts, his base ball scores and
| lust about all in the amusement or
the educational lines that his heart
desires.
The farmer finds also that his daily
paper brings him far more informa-
ton and entertainment than 1t did in
the old days when the Chautauqua
first began to flourish, so that alto
gether he can lead a very comfortable
and contented life at home.
The same conditions apply to the
residents of tfe small villages and
| towns. They also used to flock TO the
| Chautauqua tents, but are being
weaned away from the old style of
entertainment. They can hear their
Swiss bell ringers now over the radio;
they can listen in TO the sextet from
| Lucia or the quartet from "Rigo-
| letto" and hear better artists than 1t
was possible in the older days to in
duce to go on the Chautauqua plat
form.
The dear old statesmen are the ones
hardest hit by the radio defections
from the Chautauqua. Perhaps that
is why so many of them have braYed
the Summer in Washington this year.
Perhaps that is why also there is an
embargo on the radio in Congress.
Undoubtedly the Chautauqua is IN
peril and the question is who will
save it?"