THE CHAUTAUQUA AS A PROPAGANDA 



MEDIUM 



By THOMAS ELMER WILL 



A\\ ( >l\l> a-^ to tin. 1 Chautauqua u- 

 a iiicdiuin through which to 

 reach the people with the truth 

 The American Forestry Association de- 

 sires to propagate. 



The Chautauqua Assembly was 

 founded in 1874. largely through the 

 efforts of Reverend, now Bishop, John 

 lleyl Vincent at Lake Chautauqua, 

 New York. 



Like many other good things, the 

 Chautauqua, both as an idea and an in- 

 stitution, grew. Chautauqua literary 

 and scientific circles were established 

 throughout the country. In these, 

 students pursued courses of reading, 

 culminating with academic degrees. In- 

 creasing multitudes made annual sum- 

 mer pilgrimages to the home of the 

 institution, Lake Chautauqua. 



\Yith the growth in numbers, how- 

 ever, came increasing difficulty for 

 Chautauqua patrons to avail themselves 

 of the advantages of the great parent 

 assembly. In time was born the idea 

 that, instead of making it necessary for 

 the mountain to come to Mohammed, 

 Mohammed should go to the mountain. 

 In other words, local Chautauqua as- 

 semblies wen- established at various 

 IK 'ints throughout the country. 



The writer well remembers attending 

 one of these little, local Chautauquas 

 which had pitched its tents and taber 

 nacles in a canyon of a pioneer settle- 

 ment in north central Nebraska about 

 iScjo. Distinguished clergymen, lec- 

 turers and teachers were- brought many 

 hundreds of miles, and gave to the 

 people there clustering on the very 

 edge <>f civilization the best though' 

 and highest inspiration of the more 

 jxipulous centers For a number of 

 \ears, this local Chautauqua was one 

 of the great features in the life of this 

 community, and was talked of from its 

 adjournment one year to its assembly 

 the following year. 

 3 



Such local Chautauquas multiplied. 

 They now flourish, especially, in the ter- 

 ritory l>etween eastern < >hio and Colo- 

 rado. Winconsin, Minnesota. h>\va, 

 Nebraska, Kansa-. and Missouri are 

 among the leading Chautauqua states. 



Local Chautauquas have, in cases, 

 organized permanently, bought land. 

 and erected tabernacles for assembly 

 purposes. Like theaters and schools, 

 they now constitute a regular feature 

 of the entertainment and educational 

 life of the communities in which they 

 are found. 



(J trite recently the Chautauqua has 

 made a new departure. Its organiza- 

 tion and ownership have become not 

 local but central ; instead of being fixed 

 to one spot, it travels, like a circus. 



The type of this latter form of Chau- 

 tauqua is the Redpath Chautauqua 

 System. It experimented with the new- 

 plan in the summer of 1907; it devel- 

 oped it to large proportions in the sum- 

 mer of 1908. During the past summer 

 the Redpaths maintained six Chautau- 

 qua outfits, each comprising a crew, 

 railway car. large assembly tent, and 

 smaller tents. The institution is owned 

 by the corporation known as the Red- 

 path ( 'hautanqua System. (Yew. car. 

 and tents were, in each ease, in charge 

 of a snperintcn lent. They went into a 

 town on Monday, operated sj\ smv 



sive days morning, afternoon, and e\ 



ing. and then moved by rail to another 

 town where they repeated the pro, 

 and. t<> a greater or les- extent, the same 

 program. ( 'crtain speakers and teachers 

 stayed \\ith a given tent through the 

 MIU. meeting practically the same 

 audience daily f . >r sj\ days. Another 

 type of speaker, however. sj>oke <>n 

 Tuesday at one Chautauqua. <m \Yed- 

 m-sdav at another, and so , ,n through 

 the week, oscillating back and forth 

 among the sj\ ( 'hautauquas. perhaps 

 for several weeks; in cases, throughout 



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