By the time that this reaches the readers of THE CHAUTAUQUAN the
Inter-State Assembly of Kansas and Missouri will be in session at its
home in Forest Park, in the city of Ottawa, Kansas. No other assembly
is entertained with such hospitality, for the people of Ottawa throw
open to it their public park, in the limits of their city, on the banks
of the historic Marais du Cygne, “The Swamp of the Swan,” celebrated
by Whittier’s pen in the border days of Kansas. Among the orators
whom they expect to hear are many whose names are well known to all
Chautauquans, as Wallace Bruce, Dr. Henson, Robert Nourse, Dr. Tiffany,
Sau Ah-brah, and our own Chancellor, Dr. Vincent. Indeed, it will be
quite a transplanting of the Chautauqua Idea to the western prairie,
for as at “the Mecca of us all,” we shall hold daily a Round-Table; the
Commencement service will be fulfilled, the Chancellor will deliver the
address to the graduating class and confer the diplomas of the C. L. S.
C.; Prof. Sherwin will wave the baton before the chorus on the platform;
Prof. Holmes will teach the Normal class; Sculptor Spring will instruct
the class in clay modeling; and the general Superintendent of Instruction
will be Dr. J. L. Hurlbut.
Last year, the C. L. S. C. interest showed a great increase. In 1883,
the number of C. L. S. C. members who clasped hands around the camp-fire
was twenty. In 1884, it was nearly ninety, and if we could count those
who joined before the close of the Assembly it would reach a hundred.
We look for twice as many on Tuesday evening, June 30, when we expect
to be entertained with stereopticon pictures of “Sights and Insights
at Chautauqua” by the Rev. O. S. Baketel, of New Hampshire, and at the
close of the lecture, march in procession to the camp-fire, and sing and
talk together. We expect also a great day on July 1st, which is given
to the “Grand Army of the Republic.” Perhaps no other State went into
the war with quite the enthusiasm of Kansas; certainly no other has as
large a proportion of veterans settled within its borders. Every year
the Assembly recognizes these old heroes, and “Old Soldiers’ Day” always
draws a multitude. We shall have a concert of war songs in the morning,
and a lecture by General O. O. Howard, U. S. A., in the afternoon, when
the Governor of Kansas is expected to preside.
No gathering in Kansas is complete without a Temperance meeting, for
Kansas is the banner State in constitutional prohibition. Let it be said,
all stories to the contrary notwithstanding, that there is no defection
in the ranks of the prohibition army, and no retreat. The cause is as
strong as ever, and no one thinks of rescinding or re-submitting the
Amendment. We hold “Temperance Day” on July 2, when Dr. Philip Krohn
and Col. Geo. W. Bain will speak, and various conferences on different
aspects of the work will be held.
The Ottawa Assembly extends a welcome to all Chautauquans who may enter
its gates, and gives its assurance that they will find themselves at home.