OTTAWA, KANSAS.
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.