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About The Omaha morning bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 1922-1927 | View Entire Issue (July 8, 1923)
iThcRcv_ n The Distinguished Lec ® turer, Clergyman and Philanthropist Explains What He Would Do to jrr Make Every Community, | Large or Small, a Place Where Vice Would Have No “Customers” _■ A cosmopolitan group of city children—types of the boys and girts who often go wrong because, as Dr. Con well points out, they “haven't been shown anything better to do” Tk* Dr. RoaseQ H. 1 An after noon tea in one of the play and educational centers for young and old which Dr. Conwell would open “> every neighborhood where I bootleggers thrive 1 ©«rVJ7b*f Vig tenement house boys learning to do , raffia work in a New York social settlement house ©*« MM wiw »•< 7 w A FEW weeks ago the Rev. Dr.' Russell H. Conwell was given the $10,000 award provided by Edward W. Bok, noted editor, to be paid each year to that citizen who had given the most outstanding service to the City of Philadelphia. Dr. Conwell is eighty years of age. He is the pastor of Grace Baptist Temple, the largest church of Its denomination in Philadelphia and one of the largest in the country, but he is chiefly known as the founder of Temple University and as the world’s most active lecturer. His most famous lecture, “Acres of Dia monds,’’ has been heard by millions in every part of the country and in many foreign lands. Throughout the United States interest has been aroused in the Philadelphia award by men and women who bad never heard of it through its being given to Dr. ConwelL In their opinion there could be no more fitting recipient, since for fully sixty years Dr. Conwell has *■ been devoting practically all of his time to expounding his ideals for the better ment of towns, cities and other commu nities. “Acre* of Diamond*,” as its title in dicates, is a word picture designed to show what can be accomplished by great vision. In many of his lectures valuable advice is given about the problems of modern civilisation that crop up in the cities. For these reasons and others that will appear Dr. Conwell was asked to give a specific outline of what he’would do to make every city in the nation a model one. He was asked also to explain what he thinks are the greatest evils at the present time in the municipal life of the United States, and how he would go about providing a remedy for them. It should be explained that, in spit* of his age, Dr. Conwell is still adhering to a lecture schedule that calls him to the platform 210 nights a year. In addi tion to that, he has undertaken to write the authorised biography of the late John ^ anamaker, who was his close per sonal friend. It will consist of three volumes, each containing 175,000 word* —a truly monumental work. “My program for any community," says Dr. Conwell, “is based on the Bibli cal injunction to overcome evil by good. “I am convinced that, since you cannot make people good by law or by any other form of force, the only way to do it is to make the good attractive. Vice could not exist in a model community. It would not have any customers. “Vision is the first essential in any pl*n of betterment, whether for the in dividual, the village or the city. It must be a large vision. It should look far into the future. It should take into consideration the needa and desirea of all claases of dtirens. It should be big —but it cannot be big unless it begins with little things. "Let me illustrate by an outline of the evils of modem civilisation as I see them. I do not intend to run over a list of the vices to which man falla victim. To my mind they are the effect, rather than the cause. The real evil is the shortsightedness and lack of common sense among men that permits such, things to be. "For thousands of years, in varying social conditions, man has been trying to correct effects by law. He has never succeeded. I do not mean to decry the value of laws, or to say anything that will be construed as advice against obe dience to law. But one becomes impa tient with the loss of money and valua ble effort in a futile undertaking. "The outstanding example is prohibi tion. Its lack of enforcement is one of the greatest evils to-day in American life, and one that does not seem to have abated in the least as the forces of enforcement have been increaaed and the funds available have grown.* Drink has been driven into the cellar. Jt has been surrounded with a certain glamour that it never had before for many men and women. "The way to kill the drink habit is not by law. The way to enforce prohibition is to make people temperate. "In my opinion, the government of the United States would make more effec tive headway against the bootleggers by spending its prohibition enforcement fund for the construction of civic cen ters. They are needed everywhere. The funds spent in trying to run down boot leggers could be better invested by giv ing the people something more attractive than illicit drinking. „ “To me it is a simple problem. I would build such centers in the neigh borhoods where the bootleggers thrive. I would have the government go into competition with theirC offering some thing better and of enduring worth. “Books, music, dancing, social affairs, clean entertainment, cheaper education, wider opportunities for all men and women, every boy and girl. Wherever they have been placed within the reach of the people those opportunities are snatched up; the institutions offering them are forced to turn the people away for lack of room. The bulk of all evil in the cities and elsewhere finds its suc cess among those who haven’t been shown anything better to do.’’ It should be explained at this point that, althou(,'i Dr. Conwell is a clergy man, he does not mean religion when he speaks of good. He makes that point clear at all times. To him the broadest religious doctrine is a doctrine of com mon sense. “Be reasonable,” is his pre cept to ministers of the Gospel and to all other religious workers. “Cranks do more harm to religion than is done by all of the forces of evil,” he continued. “They close the doors to millions who would come into the churches and religious institutions if they understood. The attitude of the crank who tries to make people good by law is taken as the attitude of all re ligion. "People become religious when they discover that tl)e doctrine of common sense is the most profitable and satisfy ing doctrine. And that is what the cities must do if they wish to attain an ideal. "There is nothing far-fetched about this program. Let us boil it down to es sentials. "It would probably be possible to find many cities where the grocers, for in stance, are at war with one another, tak ing every unfair advantage, a prey to suspicion and mistrust. The history of just such conditions rectified in a score of trades and industries in a thousand towns and cities shows that the solution to the problem is simple. "Let us suppose that those grocers could be brought together to discuss their problems in an atmosphere of mu tual good will, every man leaving his suspicions outside and agreeing to do his best to reach a settlement. It has never been impossible in a commercial Qwpuiv «V “ks»As aa a agreement, a field in which all could op erate. “The grocers could make terms and .rules. Such rules would be as binding as those in baseball, stating certain things that might not be done and leav mg open a tremen dous field in whjch ejch man could profit according to his ability and op portunity. There need be no stifling of competition. That element would be stronger than ever, but it would be in a spirit of fair play and good nature. “T h e history of commerce and indus try has shown that if such an agree ment is brought about in any one field It brings tremendous advan tages, far beyond the dreams of its origi nators. The whole country learns of what has been done. Business is attract ed. The spirit of fair play extends into other industries. “To make a model city it is necessary to have in mind that ideal of fair play. But it is not neces i sary for any com munity to wait until all its elements have adopted such rules of common sense. If it wants to grow it should call together its citizens for the purpose of planning its growth. "As the vision of the plan is extended to all classes of the population it will have the effect of a city-wide inspira tion. People and groups who had nevet thought of making rules for the conduct of their lives and business will get to gether. “The builders often overlook the force of inspiration. They are afraid to ex pand. But I do not know of any fail ures of such plans, even where they have been made on a scale that seemed too large. “If the citizens of a small town get together and make plans calling for ar tistic and beautiful use of future growth running five or six miles out into the country their town will grow to its vision, for it will attract men of courage *nc inspiration from outside. “The community problem is the prob lem of the individual magnified many times. Think of the growth of an indi vidual with the courage to set himself an ideal, and multiply that by the tre mendous force of the many in any town or city, and you will begin to catch a glimpse of the possibilities. “I would not have it thought that I believe in ignoring evils. But neither do I believe in advertising them. It does little good to preach against evil unless you offer something better. My idea of individual and community betterment is constructive. "I would not waste time in calling names. Think of tho awful waste of human brain power which, in attacking evil, In reality takes the defensive. I would have all that earnestness of pur poaejaifoted to the effort to create some BVUBCvivc. - Dr. uonwells own life furnishes an illustration of what he has in mind. It is estimated that he has earned more than $5,000,000 on the lecture platform, all of which has gone either to Temple .University or to pay the expenses of sending young1 men through college. During its lifetime Temple University has educated 125,000 young men. Each of them is carrying to others the Con well message of common sense and tol erance, of constructive accomplishment. But the real point of interest lies in the fact that if it had not been for Tem ple University few of those men and women would have had an education. It is the poor man’s college, the university of the worker. Various surveys have shown that 80 to 90 per cent of all its classes are working. Nearly every stu dent makes special arrangements as to his hours so as not to interfere with the work by which he must earn his living, for fully sixty years Dr. Conwell has Because he gave the great bulk of the wealth he earned from his lectures, books and in other ways, to the educa tion of needy but ambitious young men and women, the Rev. Dr. Conwell has long been known as the “penniless mil lionaire.” His greatest popularity was gained as a lecturer. There is hardly a town of any size in the United States in which he has not been heard at least once, and his lecture tours have also taken him into every part of the civilized world. Although he has discussed many topics during his fifty-four years on the lecture platform, the lecture the public liked best of all was the one called “Acres of Diamonds.” He has delivered this more than six thousand times, and from it alone has earned more than $4,000,000. The Rev. Dr. Conwell is a native of Massachusetts a#d a graduate of Yale. He saw active service during the Civil War and rose to the rank of ColoneL After the war he practiced law and later founded a newspaper in Minnesota. During the Franco-Prussian War he went to Europe as correspondent for “The New York Tribune” and obtained notable interviews with Bismarck and Emperor William I. He entered the ministry In 1879. After a few years at a church in Lex ington, Mass., he went to Philadelphia to begin what has proved one of the longest and most successful pastorates in the history of ^py denomination.