ssembly trustees. A strong party appeared demanding
that the lot owners as a body should elect the trustees,--which meant
that the future of a great and growing educational institution should be
shaped not by a carefully selected Board under the guidance of two
idealists,--one of whom was at the same time a practical businessman, a
rare combination,--but by a gathering of lot-holders, not all of them
intelligent, and the majority people who were keeping boarding-houses
and were more eager for dollars than for culture. I remember a
conversation with the proprietor of one of the largest boarding-houses
who urged that the grounds be left open, with no gate-fees or tickets;
but instead a ticket-booth at the entrance to each lecture-hall, so
that people would be required to pay only for such lectures and
entertainments as they chose to attend! I could name some Assemblies
calling themselves Chautauquas, where this policy was pursued; and
almost invariably one season or at most two seasons terminated their
history.

Added to these and other perplexities was the ever-present question of
finance. The rapid growth of the movement caused a requirement of funds
far beyond the revenue of the Association. Its income came mainly from
the gate-fees, to which was added a small tax upon each lot, and the
concessions to store-keepers; for the prices obtained by the leasing of
new lots must be held as a sinking fund to pay off the mortgages
incurred in their purchase. There came also an imperative demand for a
water-supply through an aqueduct, a sewer-system, and other sanitary
arrangements made absolutely necessary by the increase of population. In
those years Mr. Miller's purse was constantly opened to meet pressing
needs, and his credit enabled the trustees to obtain loans and
mortgages. But despite his multitudinous cares and burdens, no one ever
saw Mr. Miller harassed or nervous. He was always unruffled, always
pleasant, even smiling under the most trying conditions. His head was
always clear, his insight into the needs not only of the time but of the
future also was always sure, and his spinal column was strong enough to
stand firm against the heaviest pressure. He knew instinctively when it
was wise to conciliate, and when it was essential to be positive. The
present generation of Chautauquans can never realize how great is their
debt of gratitude to Lewis Miller. The inventor and manufacturer of
harvesting machines at Akron and C