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Show NEW KIND Of CillS F1 PROVES SUCCESS ! : Thousands Are Enjoying Remarkably Good Entertainment at Very Small j Cost Because Human Quality Is Keynote of Big Idea; Edward Bok, Founder and Guiding Spirit in Movement, Tells How Philadelphia Plan Can Be Applied to Every Community in America. f- ! 4r- PHILADELPHIA'S FORUM: Provides 7". entertainments lor its members for a $l.ri .yearly fee. Hrint a wholn operatic company com-pany to its rity to present opera for Forum members Conducts regularly current events, literature and civics eve-nlngs, eve-nlngs, in charge of men of national na-tional reputation Arranges ' for lectures and spe.e'.HH b w..r!d-famous men vnd women visiting America. Starts promptly at 8:30 p. m., and elcse.s doors at that time. I Limits speakers to one hour. Conducts a question box for half an hour after each speech or lecture-Presents Philadelphia Symphony orchestra, 0ga Samaroff, Josef Hofmann. the P.arh Choir and oth-r musical features of that class . Gives sl big dances, each attended at-tended by 300u people. Publishes and distributes a magazine mag-azine to its members. Does all of this with but one paid official. ih SEA Service. PHILADELPHIA. Dec. .. Olga. Samaroff was pluylng the piano on the stage. The great Academy of Mush tu Philadelphia was crowded to the- doors Three thousand persons were in the auditorium, and over ljO sat on the stage. Not a person in that ast audience as much as moved under the spell of the wizardry of the playing until at the close, and then as with one accord a perfect storm of applause echoed throughout the building. Player and audience were In perfect accord Only thc night before the same crowded house had greeted a demonstration demon-stration of radio, and two eenlnr3 previous Mark Sullivan, the "Washington "Washing-ton correspondent, had thrilled the audience with a talk on tho Turkish-Orecian Turkish-Orecian situation. A New Jfork ririn had come over, and as he sat In the great audience he said, i don't know but that this Is the greatest thing thai Edward Bok has done." And yet," said the friend at his side, "a year ago you said this could not be done In New York, let alone, Philadelphia." "I know It " was the answer, "and if 1 had not seen ,t 1 still would not believe it " YEAR PROVES ITS WORTH. It was the Philadelphia Forum In action! And yet a year ago. cen in Philadelphia, It wus believed It could not be done. And Edward Bok was! told so. But he merely smiled, got I four organizations together, "sold" them the idea partially if not fully, j prepared a program and within six j weeks the membership had leaped up , f ri nvpr four t h o 1 iv-i ti , I nnrt 1 Yin r, n - ,' nouncement went forth that no further fur-ther members could be received. For' the moment that the prepared budget ' I is covered b the memberships, the I books are closed for the season and I a waiting list for the following season lis started. I Last year was the first year. Four 'thousand flo hundred members were' ,.r EDWARD BOK. j received at $10 per year. for tho i budget was $45,000 This year tho budget was Increased to $ 7 2.0OO llu-membership llu-membership was raised to $15 per i year, and 3o0 reserved seats wero sold at $25 per year. Again the meni-I meni-I bershlp list was closed a few days after tho first lecture was given. There are 5 events given from October Oc-tober to May. so that each event costs a member 20 cents. A, varied program covering the entire range of an Intelligent In-telligent and well-ordered life Is given. In music for Instance, Olga Samaroff, Josef Hofmann. the Philadelphia orchestra, the San Carlo Grand Opera company, the Bach Choir are given. In literature, William Lyon Phelps gives seven talks on the books of tho day worth reading The foremost authors, like Sinclair Lewis. Hugh W olpole, Irving Bacheller, are all given. Mill ED PROGRAMS .i I S In civics, there Is a regular monthly month-ly current events evening, three by Mark Sullivan, three by Senator Popper. Pop-per. I.at year Yk President Coolldge had the current events evenings. A world figure like Clenienceau speaks before The Forum upon his American visit. The Mount Everest climbers will have their story told by ono of ' the climbers with moving pictures On 1 Armistice day. Sir Auckland Qeddes, I British ambassador, spoke. Tho birthdays birth-days of Lincoln, Washington, Lee and Roosevelt are each marked by a national na-tional speaker. Houdinl. the handcuff king, lectures before The Forum; Theodore Roosevelt Roose-velt Is to tell the story of the scrapped Ships; General Fries Is to tell what the new bombs are that will be used j In the next war. Newman's travel talks are given; a great horticultural : show is put on. and. most curious of I all in a Forum, six balls on a large scale, where 3000 people can dance at one time to the music of two orchestras. "Why dance In a Forum ."' was asked by Mr. Bok. "Because," was the instant answer, "I consider it just as civic for our young people to danco under thc right conditions as for them to hear Senator Pepper explain the latest bill before anate One Is just as Important as the other." Imagine 75 events on the standard of those cited above, all for $15 a year, and one can realize why It is that a young woman recently refuse! to leave Philadelphia for a position in New Tori: a-j u c-alary of $20 a week increase "bea.ue, " she said, i do not want te. lose th Philadelphia Forum. It Is like an education in my life " Not content with Its audiences of .1000 and more. tho Philadelphia Forum has just rledided to broadcast its principal events by radio, and an invisible audb neo of from 500,000 to BOO 500 persons will be added to tho opt 6f It? influence. "Can such a Forum ho establish, 1 In a smaller city?" Mr Bok was .isk. d "Why not?" he answered. "That is our final dream: the Philadelphia Forum as a center with six or seven branch Forums in th- smaller cities around Philadelphia, all supplied with llieir talent by the parent Forum. That is one way In which the smaller community can have a Forum where a larcre center is nearby and supplied by It " "Whore the help of such a laro city cannot be had then what?" was asked. n.M PLFR TOWNS I Si: PLATS ' Then a community can start a Forum of its own and cul Its cloth according to Its measure. Put it must have a definite policy fixed firs' Forum need not necessarily be a dls-cursiye dls-cursiye body'. Polks get tired of that. Let It be human and function In ev iry phase of a person's life and tastes. A Forum program should be so com-prehensl', com-prehensl', e as to supply a complete winter's entertainment to a young couple of moderate means. "Now, in a small community, yu cannot, of course, set up a program of 75 events, and It Isn't necessary. Begin with 10 or 15 events, but make thoin varied Let two or three of them be dances, so as to attract the young people. If you want to educate or uplift the people, as a Forum Jji'kj , should of course do. sujar-coat the. 'pin 1 ! "People don't want to be educated 1 or uplifted all the time. They want to be amused and - ntertained, an l ! the mission of making people laugh at clean, wholesome fun is just as nil great and nee, .-d as to inform them ; on the greal SVentS of tho day. Mix up your events and show that the pur- , i pose of the Forum Is human. I "Then." continued Mr. Bok "don't ! get up a s'-parate organization. We IK I have too many organizations now, and I halt of them do not function. Let ft community take three or four of the . I lorganizatloiis which already exist: lei Ithese combine to conduct the Forum fufl under their auspices by a committv of. say, two from each organization ' Get up a budget lhat the community jean raise, and then give as many of the best kind of entertainments at the rrJF lowest price as can be done ' Through the Forum Idea " con-cluded con-cluded .Mr Bok. "you can also teach jthe public certain vital truths. For , Instance, j Un duality. We begin sharp j at 8:30, when the doors are closed and late-edmers are refused admittance. This is a courtesy to your speaker. ' . We never allow a speaker to exceed 11) "If Monr. Then at 9:30 we have a IM ; half-hour cpiestion box. when anybody r''fr :ln the audienee r-in send up a que :- ') Ji' tion for the speaker to asnwer We lllel bave ushers go through tho audience wty with pads and pencils Then we close sharp at 10 o'clock. iy "We a!i;o make our tickets nontransferable, non-transferable, and put our members on I their honor to respect this point. Of j course, here and there you find a I man or n woman who is dishonest. ; but for the main part the contract Is respected'.' |