PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AT CHAUTAUQUA
(1905-1908)
THE notable event in the Assembly of 1905 was the fourth visit of
Theodore Roosevelt. He was the President of the United States, not now
by succession, but by direct vote of the people, for his first term,
after the death of Mr. McKinley, had been completed. He had promised to
maintain his predecessor's policies during the period for which Mr.
McKinley had been elected, and through that term he had initiated no new
movements. But his pledge having been kept and his administration
ratified by the popular vote, Mr. Roosevelt was now free to bring
forward his own plans. His address at Chautauqua on August 11th, five
months after his inauguration, was the first public announcement of his
principles and policies, and in its boldness, its candor, and its
originality was fairly startling. Mr. McKinley was a cordial, but a
reticent party leader. Everyone who talked with him was charmed, but no
one could recall any definite promise or statement that he had made.
Mr. Roosevelt was absolutely, unreservedly open; he would state to
anybody his opinion on every public question. Lyman Abbott once said,
"Mr. McKinley and Mr. Roosevelt were both great men and great statesmen,
but between the absolute reticence of the one and the absolutely
openness of the other, there is no half-way house."
The presidential party included his son Kermit, his nephew Paul
Roosevelt, his cousin Philip Roosevelt, Mr. Jacob A. Riis, and a number
of leading politicians, besides secret service men, and the inevitable
troop of newspaper reporters. They were met at Lakewood by Bishop
Vincent, his son the Principal, and representatives of the Chautauqua
Board. A breakfast was served to the party and to some invited guests in
Higgins Hall. I sat beside a prominent politician who said to me that on
the train and boat he was absolutely amazed at the knowledge of
President Roosevelt upon every subject, and his readiness to state his
views upon even the deepest matters of State. At the table I noticed Dr.
James M. Buckley sitting beside the President and in earnest
conversation with him. As we passed out of the Hall, I mentioned to Dr.
Buckley what the public man had told me of Mr. Roosevelt's outspoken
candor, and Dr. Buckley said that the President had answered every
question in utter frankness, evidently having nothing to conceal; and
Dr. Buckley could ask searching questions.
The adage, "It sometimes rains at Chautauqua," was verified that day by
a steady downpour, which with the umbrellas lifted over the moving
procession made every avenue, seen from an upper balcony, look like an
endless serpent with a series of bulging black knobs on his back. No
words can express the jam of people in and around the Amphitheater and
the breathless interest with which all listened to the President's
address, which came like a revelation, with its outspoken utterances
upon subjects hitherto held as State secrets. He talked of our relations
with nations abroad, and of problems at home, the trusts, questions of
capital and labor, and, indeed, every subject under discussion at that
time. A statesman once said, "Language was invented to conceal thought,"
but that was certainly not the use of language by one eminent American.
As Mr. Roosevelt was leaving the Amphitheater, he saw the Boys' Club
standing together, on guard, and he gave them a short, appreciative,
practical speech.
Some of the speakers at the Assembly of 1905 were District Attorney
William Travers Jerome of New York, Governor Joseph W. Folk of Missouri,
the Hon. Robert Watchorn, Commissioner of Immigration, President Charles
Cuthbert Hall of the Union Theological Seminary of New York, recently
home from giving addresses in India and China under the auspices of the
Parliament of Religion, President Rush Rhees of the University of
Rochester, President Herbert Welch of Ohio Wesleyan, Dean Charles D.
Williams--on his next visit to be a Bishop--and Dr. Richard Burton. Mrs.
Bertha Kunz Baker, Dr. S. H. Clark, Mr. Leland Powers, and others
entertained us with readings and impersonations; but it should also be
said that the leading elocutionists at Chautauqua made it a large part
of their task to acquaint us with great literature, both in poetry, in
prose, and especially in the drama.
In 1905 the Colonnade Building was built and became the business center
of Chautauqua. During this season Mr. Scott Brown, the General Director
under Principal George E. Vincent, called into the service of the
Chautauqua Institution, as assistant, a young man to become in a few
years his successor, Mr. Arthur E. Bestor. Mr. Bestor also began
lecturing upon the platform in a course on "Studies in American
Diplomacy."
In the report of the year 1906, I notice a custom that is mentioned for
the first time this year, though it may have been observed before. On
the opening night, June 28, signal fires were lighted at prominent
points around the lake, notifying the summer residents, whose cottages
by this year were girdling Lake Chautauqua, that the Assembly had now
begun for another season. This illumination has been followed every year
since 1906, and appropriately gives notice to every village between
Mayville and Jamestown that the light of Chautauqua has begun to shine.
The program of July we find as full as that of August. During the
earlier month were lectures and addresses by Professor F. Hyatt Smith on
"Eminent Englishmen of the Nineteenth Century"--Coleridge, Macaulay,
Carlyle, Matthew Arnold, and others; literary lectures by Leon H.
Vincent, who was now "Doctor of Letters," Mr. Henry Turner Bailey, head
of the Arts and Crafts, but lecturer on many subjects; Newell Dwight
Hillis of Plymouth Church, Brooklyn; Dr. W. J. Dawson, an English
preacher and author who had lately come to live in America, equally
great in the pulpit and in literature; Dr. S. C. Schmucker, one who
could make a scientific subject plain to the lay-mind; Dr. John T.
McFarland, head of the Sunday School work of the Methodist Episcopal
Church; Mrs. Donald McLean, President-General of the Daughters of the
American Revolution, and other speakers.
During August a most interesting course of lectures was given by Mr.
John Graham Brooks on "America Viewed by Outside People"--showing how
the estimates of our country, especially by English writers, had arisen
from almost contemptuous criticism (much of it deserved, it must be
admitted) to high appreciation. Mr. Griggs gave a new course of literary
lectures. Bishop Vincent gave a lecture on Martin Luther. Prof. Cecil F.
Lavell spoke on historical subjects. Sir Chentung Lieng Chang, the
Ambassador from China, graduate of an American college, Amherst, I
think--was a visitor and spoke in excellent English. Prof. Edward A.
Steiner, the great authority on immigration, lectured on "Our Foreign
Population," and told a remarkable story of a journey that he had made
through underground Russia, visiting nearly a hundred revolutionary
centers. Mr. Ernest Thompson Seton talked on wild animals, to the
enjoyment of both young and old.
On Recognition Day of the C. L. S. C., August 15, 1906, the new Hall of
Philosophy was dedicated.
In 1907 Professor George E. Vincent was made President of the Chautauqua
Institution. His father retained the title of Chancellor, but the active
duties of the management were now entirely in the hands of the
President. In the following year, Mr. Arthur E. Bestor was advanced to
the place formerly held by Mr. Scott Brown, that of Senior Director in
charge of all business administrations and assisting President Vincent
on the educational side.
A man who made his mark deeply on Chautauqua came this year for the
first time, Mr. Henry Turner Bailey of the Arts and Crafts School. He
could not only teach, but could lecture on art or history in a most
fascinating manner, all the time drawing pictures on the blackboard with
both hands at once. Under his care the Arts and Crafts shops were
assembled, grew into a village, and later found their home in a series
of fine buildings on College Hill. He continued with us year after year
until a new position in Cleveland, Ohio, compelled him to sever
relations with Chautauqua.
Two great conferences were held this summer. The first was on "The
Juvenile Problem," July 8th-13th. Speakers on the subject were Rev. W.
Byron Forbush on "The Knights of King Arthur," an order of which he was
the founder; Mr. W. R. George, on "The George Junior Republic"; Judge
Ben B. Lindsey of Denver on "The Juvenile Court." Mr. Melvil Dewey, Rev.
Crawford Jackson, Judge Willis Brown and Mr. E. B. DeGrott spoke on
"Public Playgrounds," "The Public Library," "The Child and the State,"
and kindred subjects.
The other conference was held July 29th to August 3d, on "The Social
Unrest." A few of the speakers and their topics were: Mr. John Graham
Brooks on "The Challenge of Socialism"; Mr. James Wadsworth, Jr.,
afterward U. S. Senator from New York, on "Politics"; Mr. R. R. Bowker
on "The Corporation"; Mr. Henry Clews on "Capital"; Mr. J. G. Phelps
Stokes and his wife, Rose Pastor Stokes, on "A Defense of Socialism";
Bishop Henry C. Potter, "The Church"; Mr. Charles Stelzle, "The Church
and the Classes"; Miss Jane Addams on "The Settlement Movement."
On the regular lecture platform appeared Governor Charles E. Hughes of
New York, Mr. William Jennings Bryan who had just returned from a trip
around the world and spoke on "The Old World and Its Ways," President G.
Stanley Hall a series on "Five Non-Christian Religions," President
George E. Vincent on "Utopias," a series describing the ideals of men
for the community and the state from Plato's _Republic_ to the Community
of Robert Dale Owen. Bishop Vincent also gave a lecture, the father and
the son speaking on different days from the same platform. My
recollection is that the Bishop spoke this summer on "Sidney Lanier and
His Poetry," and placed him high on the roll of American poets.
Another lecturer who pleased us all was the bright essayist, Samuel
McChord Crothers. His paper on "The Society for Polite Unlearning" was
heard by a crowd in the Hall of Philosophy. Most of the audience caught
the undertone of wisdom with the wit, but a few thought that it was only
funny, in which they were mistaken. Dr. Shailer Mathews, Dr. C. F. Aked,
and Bishop McDowell were among those who conducted the daily Devotional
Services.
Grand Army Day was a dramatic occasion in the fact that before an
audience of old Union soldiers, in their G. A. R. uniforms, the address
was given by Mrs. LaSalle Corbell Pickett, the widow of General George
Edward Pickett of the Confederate Army, who led the famous "Pickett's
Charge" in the battle of Gettysburg--an attack that stands in history
beside the "Charge of the Light Brigade," sung by Tennyson. Her story
of that great day, deciding the destiny of a continent, was listened to,
not merely with interest, but with outbreaking enthusiasm by an audience
of Union soldiers, who honored the memory of a soldier whom they looked
upon less as a foe than as a hero.
One little incident told by Mrs. Pickett we must make room for; in
substance it was this: On Lee's march through Pennsylvania, Pickett's
division passed a young girl who waved a United States flag, and then,
fastening it around her waist, cried, "Traitors! come and touch this
flag if you dare!" At this fierce challenge, a mingled stir of many
voices went through the long gray ranks and many a rifle shifted
uneasily. General Pickett rode in front of his men, and with true
southern chivalry saluted her flag. Then he turned and faced his men.
The soldiers followed his example, and as they passed by, every hat was
swung aloft in honor of the girl and her flag. The little maiden was so
overcome by this generosity that she cried out, "I wish I had a rebel
flag; I'd wave that too!"
In October, 1907, the Colonnade Building, which had been standing only
two years, was wholly destroyed by fire, causing a loss of $100,000,
with an insurance of about $55,000. The indirect loss is not easy to
estimate, for it included the contents of the stores and the issues of
the Magazine ready for mailing, with much other printed matter of the
Institution. This was the fourth fire which had occurred during the
thirty-four years of Chautauqua; a remarkable record when one remembers
how close together are many of the houses, and all built of wood. Plans
for rebuilding the Colonnade were taken up immediately, also the
beginning of a quadrangle of buildings for the Arts and Crafts
Department and the erection of a Post Office Building.
In 1908 the July program included the names of Professor J. E. McFadyen
of Knox College, Toronto, Principal James Robertson of Scotland, and Dr.
W. L. Watkinson of England; all these in the Department of Religious
Work, which was unusually strong that year. Dr. Watkinson looked the
least like an Englishman that could be imagined. Long and lank and lean,
he might have been taken for a Yankee of the Yankees, until he began to
speak. His oratory is indescribable, original thoughts expressed in
original language, with here and there a solemn witticism at which the
hearer wanted to laugh but hardly dared to. Bishop Vincent gave a
lecture on "An Old School House." Dr. H. W. Wiley, the food specialist
and foe of misbranded packages of food, gave an address. Norman Hapgood
of _Collier's Magazine_, Hon. Everett Colby of New Jersey, a leader in
political reform, Prof. Graham Taylor, a sociologist and social
reformer, were among the speakers.
In August of 1908, a notable English lady spoke on the Amphitheater
platform, Mrs. Philip Snowden, wife of a member of Parliament. It was
said that her husband owed his election to her power of public speaking,
and especially to her skill in answering "heckling" questions--a
political method quite common in England, though regarded as not quite
proper in America. In our country when one party holds a meeting, it is
not considered fair to interrupt the flow of oratory and disconcert the
orator by disagreeable questions from the other side; but in Great
Britain every political speaker must face such enquirers, and the one
who put them to little Mrs. Snowden generally got the worst of the
encounter. Though slight and seemingly fragile, speaking apparently
without effort, every syllable of her speeches on the question of
woman's enfranchisement could be distinctly heard from every seat in the
Amphitheater. Other speakers in August, 1908, were Lieut.-Governor
Chanler of New York, Edward Howard Griggs, Prof. Charles M. Cobern, an
authority on Biblical archaeology, Dr. Leon H. Vincent in a course on
"French Literary Celebrities," President J. D. Moffatt of Washington and
Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, Charles Stelzle on social rights and
wrongs, and George Riddle in some enjoyable recitations. Percy Alden,
M.P., spoke on "Social and Economic Questions" in England and Charles F.
Lavell gave a course on historical lectures. Dr. R. S. MacArthur and Dr.
J. Wilbur Chapman were among the preachers and leaders of the Devotional
Hour.
August 11, 1908, was Pennsylvania Day, with addresses in praise of the
Keystone State by Governor E. G. Stuart, Ex-Governor and General J. A.
Beaver, and others.