My knowledge of early twentieth century “movements” and causes is not what it should be. Consequently I’m not exactly certain what the “Men’s Forward Movement” actually was.

But they were meeting in the Hall of the Evangelical Church on 7 January 1912 at 2:30 in the afternoon in Warsaw, Hancock County, Illinois and they were going to discuss “Progress and Stagnation in the Development of Modern Society.” The opening of the discussion would be in German, but attendees would be welcome to speak in German or English.

Everyone was welcome to attend, including:

• socialists
• freethinkers
• Christians
• orthodox
• liberals

The only reason I located the document was that G. Trautvetter was a member of the committee. This G. Trautvetter is likely George Trautvetter (born in 1842 in Wohlmuthausen, Thuringen, Germany) who is known to have resided in Warsaw during the time this notice appeared in the newspaper. It’s possible that G. Trautvetter refers one of George’s two nephews of the same name, but they were not living in Warsaw during the time this event took place.

More research needs to be done. Searches of other newspapers for mention of the movement are in order as other mentions of the group may provide more detail.

This item was an advertisement for the event. It is possible that the Warsaw newspaper has an actual article about the event. That would be the best place to learn more about this specific debate. Searches of GoogleBooks and other print historical materials, journals, or studies may include additional background information on the “Men’s Forward Movement.”