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Full text of "The Commons : a monthly record devoted to aspects of life and labor from the social settlement point of view"

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'CHICAGO COMMONS 

A Monthly Record of Social Settlement Life and Work. 



Vol. I. 



APRIL, 1896. 



No. 1. 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 

140 North Union Street. 

CHICAGO COMMONS is a Social Settlement 
located two doors from the southwest corner of 
Milwaukee avenue and North Union street. 

As explained in the second clause of the Arti- 
cles of Incorporation of the Chicago Commons 
Association, filed with the Secretary of the State 
of Illinois, 

" 2. The object for which it 
is formed is to provide a center 
for a higher civic and social 
life, to initiate and maintain 
religious, educational and 
philanthropic enterprises and 
to investigate and improve 
conditions in the industrial 
districts of Chicago." 

VISITORS, singly or in 
groups, are welcome at 
any time. Milwaukee 
avenue cable and trolley 
cars pass the door. The 
residents make special 
effort to be at home on 
Tuesday afternoon and 
evening, which are usu- 
ally busy and interesting 
occasions, exemplifying 
well the more formal 
and public work of the 
Settlement. 

RESIDENCE. All in- 
quiries with reference to 
terms and conditions of 
residence, permanent or 
temporary, should be ad- 
dressed to Graham Taylor, 
Warden. 




CHICAGO COfinONS. 

VIKW OF THE SETTLEMENT KESIDENOE. 



OUR PURPOSE AND SCOPE. 



We cannot better formulate our conception 
of the purpose and scope of the social settle- 
ment than in the words of the initial state- 
ment of them published when we entered 
into residence, verified by every phase of our 
life and work at the Commons and attested by 
the approving citations of settlement workers 
both in England and America: 

The purpose and constituency of the Settlement 
have gradually denned themselves. It consists of 
a group of Christian people who choose to live 
where they seem to be needed, for the purpose of 
being all they can be to the people with Avhom they 
identify themselves, and for all whose interests 
they will do what they can. It is as little of an 



organization and as much of a personal relation- 
ship as it can be made. It seeks to unify and help 
all other organizations and people in the neighbor- 
hood that will make for righteousness and brother- 
hood. It is not a church, but hopes to be a helper of 
all the churches. It is not a charity, but expects to 
aid in the organization and cooperation of all exist- 
ing charities. It is not an exclusive social circle, 
but aspires to be a center of the best social life and 
interests of the people. It is not a school, but pro- 
poses to be a source and 
agency of educational ef- 
fort and general culture. 
It is non-political, yet has 
begun to be a rallying 
point and moral force for 
civic patriotism. It is 
non sectarian, but avow- 
edly Christian, and open- 
ly cooperative with the 
churches. 

The most subtle 
temptation of the set- 
tlements is gradually 
and even unconsciously 
to substitute the easier, 
impersonal attitude 
and methods for the 
harder, personal con- 
secration and service. 
The elimination of per- 
sonality from "charity" 
and philanthropy, as 
from businesses one of 
the greatest curses of 
the age. It has made much of our industrial 
life inhuman, and not a little of our charity 
and philanthropy really such hard and harm- 
ful things that the very words have become 
hateful to those who are occasionally forced 
to depend upon them, or worse still to accept 
them as substitutes for social and indus- 
trial justice. The settlement movement will 
lose its motive should it ever be content to 
become institutionalized, or less than a corpo- 
rate personality- a ministering body of the 
Son of Man. 

"He who shall introduce into public affairs 
the principles of primitive Christianity will 
change the face of the world." Dr. Benj. 
Hush, 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[April, 



"NOT WHAT WE GIVE." 



" Lo, it is I, be not afraid! 
In many climes without avail, 
Thou hast spent thy life for the Holy Grail; 
Behold it is here this cup which thou 
Didst fill at the streamlet for me but now: 
This crust is my body broken for thee, 
This water His blood that died on the tree; 
The Holy Supper is kept, indeed, 
In whatso we share another's need; 
Not what we give, but what we share, 
For the gift without the giver is bare; 
Who gives himself with his alms feeds three, 
Himself, his hungering neighbor, and me." 

From The Vision of Sir Launfal, 
James Russell Lowell. 




THE KINDERGARTEN. 



The starting point and basis of the educa- 
tional effort, and also of the social redemp- 
tive work undertaken at Chicago Commons, 
is in the kindergarten. Its history, which 
we hope to tell with some detail in a later 
issue, is one of providential opportunity, of 
self-sacrifice and earnest devotion on the part 
of Hs workers, and of instant and unreserved 

ponse on the part of the neighborhood. 

;mt seventy little ones are enrolled, and 
the effect of the effort thus far upon the chil- 
dren and their homes is too obvious to be 
misunderstood or mistaken. The kindergar- 
ten takes advantage of the association with a 
large household in the work of the children 
for the house. Almost every day they prepare 
the vegetables for the Commons table, and as 
occasion arises they wash dish-cloths, scour 
pans, polish silverware and render other serv- 
ice in a blessed outgoing of happy and free- 
hearted helpfulness. In conducting the work of 
this kindergarten, Miss Bertha Hofer puts into 
practical effect, both for the children and for 
the young women who assist her, the princi- 
ples mastered in the Froebel-Pestalozzi house 
of Berlin, Germany, of which she is a graduate. 

OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CHURCH. 



The relations of the Settlement to the 
Church are peculiarly close and happy. 
While the Commons proposes to give all the 
help it can to all the churches of the neigh- 
borhood, its affiliation with one of them is of 
uniquely reciprocal value. The Tabernacle 



Church is five blocks west of us, at the cor- 
ner of Grand avenue and Morgan st. , and is 
the only English speaking congregation in the 
ward. Its pastor and his family have re- 
sided at the Commons from the beginning. 
Most of the residents attend its services. 
Sixteen of them have belonged to the church, 
ten are still in membership. One resident is 
Sunday-school superintendent. Another is 
the head of the Industrial Schools, the 
children' s Sunday evening service,and church 
visitation. Another teaches a week-night 
adult Bible class. Many members of the 
congregation frequent the Commons, and 
with the cooperation of the pastor and trustees 
a children's chorus of 350 voices is in 
excellent training at the church. So far 
from being what many suspect the settle- 
ments to be a proposed substitute for the 
churches Chicago Commons has no higher 
aspiration than to help the Church to become 
more of a social settlement in each com- 
munity for the social unification, the Christian 
neighborliness and the spiritual fellowship 
of all the people in that " righteousness, 
peace and joy in the Holy Ghost " in which 
the Kingdom of God consists. 



SANITARY WORK IN THE WARD. 

The interest of Chicago Commons in the 
sanitary conditions of its community is dis- 
played in the fact that the city's ward in- 
spectorship of streets and alleys is located at 
the Settlement, being held by Herman 
F. Hegner, a graduate of Chicago Seminary, 
who finds a social ministry in the practical 
evangelization of the menacing garbage boxes 
which line the streets and alleys, and require 
for their proper cleansing unceasing vigi- 
lance. Every day the inspector is required 
to cover his territory, reporting upon the 
faithfulness of the garbage contractor and 
his scavengers, and by tactful precept and 
counsel, and occasional exemplary firmness, 
urging the people to cleanliness and care. 
The result has been such that in the recent 
wholesale inspection and complaint by the 
Civic Federation, the Seventeenth ward was 
one of the few escaping criticism. 

In addition to the street and alley inspect- 
orship, five tenement house inspectorships 
are located with us. These are volunteer 
officers, and thus far the press of other 
duties has minimized the activity in this field, 
but plans are making for a more thorough 
pushing out along this line, and much it is 
needed. 



1896.] 



eov\ 
v.\ 




CHICAGO COMMONS 



INDUSTRIAL AND ECONOMIC UNION, 

No part of the week's activity at the Com- 
mons is more far-reaching or attracts wider 
interest and attention than the meeting held 
every Tuesday evening in the assembly room 
by the Industrial and Economic Union. 
Here, as brothers, individualist, socialist, 
anarchist, " single taxer," and others, repre- 
senting every shade of social and economic 
philosophy, meet for the discussion of the 
vital issues of the day. Space is not at hand 
for the extensive description of this work; 
suffice it to say that the interest and at- 
tendance constantly increase, and serious dis- 
cussion is the rule. Among the recent 
speakers and topics have been Clarence S. 
Darrow, on "The Social Outlook;" Dr. C. 
A. F. Lindorme, on ' ' The Scientific Basis of 
Equality;" O. A. Bishop, on "Socialism;" 
Mrs. Catherine Waugh McCulloch, on "Social 
Purity," William Howard, president of the 
Longshoremen' s Union, on " Duties of Labor 
Leaders;" F. M. Wilkes, on " Kelation of 
Socialism to the Single Tax," Stoughton 
Cooley, on "Proportional Representation," 
and John Loyd on "The Church and Social 
Reform." Topics in prospect are "Single 
Tax in its Relation to Socialism," "Hered- 
ity," "Intermarriage." 

CIVIC FEDERATION. 



In the year of its existence and activity, 
the Seventeenth Ward Council of the Civic 
Federation has more than excused its ex- 
istence. In many ways the moral tone of 
the ward shows the effects of its efforts. 
The chief feature of its history thus far, how- 
ever, has been its strong influence in the 
politics of the ward. In the aldermanic 
election a year ago the Federation, organized 
as a " citizens' party, "came within a scant 
margin of electing its independent candidate 
against the machine nominees, and the 
politicians of at least one party in the ward 
showed by their readiness to nominate a 
better man this spring their wholesome fear 
of the activity of this well organized and 
determined body of incorruptible citizens. 

In the campaign which is at its height as 
CHICAGO COMMONS goes to press, the Federa- 
tion, separately organized as a ward branch 
of the Municipal Voters' League, has in- 
dorsed the Republican candidate, Magnus 
C. Knudson, and is actively in the field to 
elect him, and to defeat the present alderman, 
whose official record is, to say the least, un- 
savory. 



THE WOMAN'S CLUB. 



The Chicago Commons Woman's Club, 
although of comparatively recent organiza- 
tion, is already a strong feature of the neigh- 
borhood life. The Club meets alternate 
Monday evenings for discussion and enter- 
tainment, and the membership is growing. 
The Club has heard addresses on important 
themes; for instance, Mrs. Cook on the pro- 
posed Bible reader for the schools, and Miss 
Wilson on Chicago architecture. The most 
original and far-reaching action of the Club 
thus far is a resolution addressed to the 
Seventeenth Ward Council of the Civic Fed- 
eration, asking what the Club could best do 
to fulfill its avowed purpose to improve and 
uplift the tone of the neighborhood. This 
resolution is in the hands of the Federation' s 
municipal committee, and it is expected that 
some real benefit will accrue through the co- 
operation of the two bodies. 



MUSIC IN THE SETTLEMENT. 



Chicago Commons bids fair to become a 
musical center in its community. In every 
possible way it is assisting to this end. In 
the kindergarten the piano is used to accom- 
pany games, marches and other exercises, and 
chords serve for signals in- place of the bell 
of the older school days. Every opportunity 
is improved of bringing good music into the 
clubs; sometimes the Italian boys, for in- 
stance, will gather solely for an evening of 
singing. Mrs. Cara Gregg teaches a num- 
ber of pupils on piano, mandolin and guitar, 
and by no means insignificant is the impres- 
sion of the hymns of the daily prayer service, 
and the vocal and piano music incident to the 
home life. 

The musical expression of the week cul- 
minates, however, in the People's Chorus, 
which meets on Thursday evenings, in the 
kindergarten rooms, for the study of the best 
choral music under the direction of Miss 
Mari Hofer. A concert was given recently 
with great success, and the chorus increas- 
ingly reaches the hearts that long for good 
music. 

OUR POPULAR PROPAGANDA. 



The public presentation of the cause for 
which Chicago Commons stands, in common 
with most other settlements, is a primary 
part of its work. The Warden, sometimes 



509808 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[April, 



accompanied by one or more of his fellow- 
residents, has met many large and eagerly 
inquiring gatherings for this purpose. Since 
January 1 the story of the settlement motive 
and movement has been told in many churches, 
colleges, clubs and social gatherings, in and 
out of Chicago, as far as Toledo, Ohio, where 
a course of four lectures was delivered; at the 
Michigan State Young Men's Christian Asso- 
ciation Convention, and in the Protestant 
Episcopal Cathedral of Cleveland. 

Large numbers of men, many from the in- 
dustrial classes, including some bodies of 
organized labor, attended these regular or 
special occasions and participated with em- 
ployers in freely and frankly discussing the 
vital interests at issue. One of the most in- 
teresting of these gatherings was held under 
the auspices of the Men's Club of the First 
Congregational Church of Elgin. The large 
chapel was filled with a fine body of men 
from the great shops, who, together with a 
few of the employing class present, dispas- 
sionately and most earnestly discussed the la- 
bor movement, the history and present signifi- 
cance of which had been presented. The 
church that thus mediates and educates is 
entering upon a new lease of power and service. 

In addition to work of this kind, every 
other opportunity is welcomed to foster the 
spirit of conciliation. The Sunday after- 
noon meeting at -the Central Y. M. C. A., 
conducted by the Warden, with the assistance 
of one of the residents, has this in mind, and 
" Christian Aspects of Current Issues" is a 
general topic whose applications to varying 
themes, representatives of many classes meet 
there to discuss. Important as is the local 
and neighborhood phase of our work, we feel 
that our mission calls us to every place where 
men are reaching out to attain unto the 
exemplification of brotherhood. 



CHICAGO COMMONS ASSOCIATION. 



The legal tenure of the little household 
property of the Commons is provided for, and 
the acquisition of the title-deed of our resi- 
dence is invited, by the incorporation, under 
the Illinois law, of The Chicago Commons 
Association. The personal and representa- 
tive character of the trustees is sufficient 
guarantee of the business management of the 
funds committed to our care. David Fales, 
Esq. (Lake Forest), and Prof. H. M. Scott 
(West Side) represent the Seminary board of 
directors and faculty; Thomas P. Ballard 
(Evanston) and Charles H. Hulburd (North 



Side) are also members of the City Mis- 
sionary society's board of directors; John 
S. Field (Knickerbocker Ice Co.) and J. H. 
Strong (U. S. Life Insurance Co.) represent 
Plymouth Church; E. Burritt Smith, Esq. 
(South Side), is an officer in the University 
Church, and a prominent legal represent- 
ative of the Civic Federation; Edward 
Payson (Oak Park) is treasurer and Graham 
Taylor (Professor of Christian Sociology, 
Chicago Theological Seminary) is president 
of the Association and resident Warden. 



OUR ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP. 



The support of Chicago Commons is to 
come, if at all, from the faith and free will of 
those who believe enough in what it stands 
for to sacrifice whatever its service may cost 
that the residents cannot pay. It has al- 
ready cost no little faith and sacrifice to 
stand in the breach financially, while this 
contributory constituency has been slowly 
rallying to the support of the work. But 
our associates in the settlement motive and 
service are already a widely scattered com- 
pany of people in all walks of life, in many 
different denominations, who have become 
interested in many ways and give many 
small amounts. Some of them constitute 
Sunday-school classes, Endeavor societies, 
men's and women's organizations, social 
clubs and churches who have taken out 
memberships in the name of their associa- 
tions. The contributions are both occasional 
and regular, the latter being paid in install- 
ments, monthly, quarterly and annually. 
Some of the contributions are given to the 
specific branches of the work in which the 
donors are specially interested, e. g., the 
kindergarten, the industrial training, the 
Christian work and consolation among the 
poor and insane at the Cook County Infirm- 
ary, the various branches of church work 
with which the residents cooperate. Upon 
these associate members we wholly depend 
for the $3,500 needed to maintain the work, 
having no endowments or funds from any 
other sources whatever. Not half of this 
sum has yet been guaranteed, the balance of 
the cost being carried by the Warden's per- 
sonal note at bank. Every dollar received 
by voluntary offering saves the time and 
strength which soliciting costs, to the actual 
work which needs every resident worker. 
No membership fee is named; each associ- 
ate being left free to offer whatever faith and 
free will prompt, 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



SCHOOL OF SOCIAL ECONOMICS. 



la the last week of April (27 to May 2, 
inclusive) is to be held the Spring session of 
the Chicago Commons School of Social Eco- 
nomics. The sessions will be held in the lower 
rooms of the Settlement residence. The gen- 
eral topic of the Spring session will be " The 
Social Function of Education," and a pro 
gram of rare excellence is preparing, as will 
be seen in the announcement that the list of 
speakers will include President George A. 
Gates, of Iowa College; President H. H. Bel- 
field, of the Chicago Manual Training School; 
Col. W. L. Parker, of the Cook County 
Normal school; Professors Albion W. Small 
and George H. Mead, of Chicago University; 
Miss Josephine Locke, of the Chicago schools; 
Miss Arnalie Hofer, of the Kindergarten 
Magazine; the Rev. D. M. Fisk, Ph.D., of 
Toledo, Professor W. B. Chamberlain, of 
Chicago Theological Seminary; Professor W. 
L. Tomlins, of Chicago, and others. 

Rarely will so brilliant a gathering of edu- 
cators discuss a more vital matter, and Chi- 
cago Commons ought to be a Mecca that 
week for all who are interested in the subject 
of education. The summer session of the 
school, last August, was characterized by an 
aggregate attendance approximating ],500, 
and including teachers, ministers and others 
who welcomed the privileges of the occasion. 

INTER-SEMINARY ECONOMIC CLUB. 

Students from five theological seminaries 
have welcomed the opportunity offered by 
the Commons to discuss economic and indus- 
trial topics, and twice a month have met in 
the kindergarten room, organized as the 
Interseminary Economic Club, to talk over 
these things with representatives of various 
interests. The attendance of students has 
varied from thirty-five to seventy-five, and 
most interesting and profitable have been 
such topics as " The Duty of the Community 
toward Arrested Boys," opened by Mark 
Crawford, warden of the Bridewell; "Rela- 
tion of the Minister to Social Purity," by 
Mrs. Catherine Waugh McCulloch; "What 
the Community has a Right to Expect of the 
Church," opened by William Howard, presi- 
dent of the Longshoremen's Union, O. A. 
Bishop and Dr. C. A. F. Lindoi-me; "Condi- 
tion of Some Unorganized Working People," 
by Mrs. Florence P. Kelley, State factory 
inspector; " Social Possibilities of the Settle- 
ment Movement," by Prof. Graham Taylor 
and other residents of the Commons. 



COMMONS NOTES. 

There is great need of more games for 
the boys- especially crokinole, which is un- 
ceasingly popular. 

A gift of several framed engravings, 

by Mrs. E. W. Blatchford, of Oak Park, is 
appreciated by residents and visitors alike. 

Our daily vesper service is greatly 
aided and enriched by the Century Com- 
pany's gift of GO copies of the Laudes Domini 
hymnal. 

Among our chief needs we count a 
flag staff and flag, by which, every day, we 
might give an object lesson in American 
citizenship and loyalty. 

--George M. Basford, of Oak Park, 
has interesting work ahead for his class of 
boys in the form of ambulance drill, modeled 
somewhat after the service on the English 
railroads. 

Many of our thoughtful visitors re- 
member us after they are at home again, and 
packages of games and magazines following 
upon their visit very practically bespeak their 
interest in our work. 

The beautiful Christmas gift of the 

Sistine Madonna by the residents of Hull 
House is an unfailing source of delight to us, 
not only for itself but for its significance of 
cordiality and fellowship in service. 

A sand pile in the rear yard is one of 
the things we need, and the children, even 
the older ones, look forward to the day of its 
being put there. A couple of good loads 
would do a great deal in this direction. 

As soon as the weather permits, the 

kindergartners mean to start a bit of a gar- 
den outside. This will perhaps be a be- 
ginning for the unbroken summer session of 
the kindergarten, now out of the question. 

A feature of home administration at 

the Commons is the volunteer " door serv- 
ice" by the residents, with a view of mak- 
ing the welcome at the threshold a personal 
one, representing the cordial greeting of the 
family. 

Friends of the Commons in various 

directions are promising us flowers in the 
summer. No one who has not lived amid 
entire absence of beauty can appreciate what 
flowers mean in the dingy river wards of 
Chicago. And we know where to put them 
to do much good. 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[April, 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 

A Monthly Record of Social Settlement Life and 

Work, especially in the Industrial Districts 

of the City of Chicago. 



SUBSCRIPTION PRICE 

Twenty-five cents per year. Single copies sent to any 
address upon application. For larger numbers, special 
terms may be obtained on application. 



ALL COMMUNICATIONS 

Relating to this publication should be addressed to the 
Editor, JOHN P. GAVIT, Chicago Commons, 140 North 
Union Street, Chicago, 111. 



VOL. I. CHICAGO, APRIL, 1896. No. t. 

The kindergarten owes much of its outside 
interest and support to the cordial endorse- 
ment and assistance of the Child Garden and 
Kindergarten Magazine. 

*** 

We extend greetings in advance to the new 
organ of the Christian Industrial League, 
Industrial Life, shortly to be issued under 
the editorship of the Rev. A. Lincoln Shear. 

* 

* * 

When manual training is in operation with 
us, the boy question, we expect, will be well 
nigh settled. Give a boy earnest work to do 
with his hands or his brain and you need not 
provide further against mischief -making. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

The first number of CHICAGO COMMONS is 
issued without promise for the future, except 
in the statement of our desire that it shall be 
helpful in explaining to those whom it may 
concern the motive and the progress of 
social settlements in general, and of Chicago 
Commons in particular. It is expected to 
issue in the first week of each month, and 
to present a view of work for the humanizing 
and uplifting of social conditions in the 
" river wards " and other industrial sections 
of Chicago, as well as in similar districts in 
other cities. It is our desire to have the 
paper reach the hands of those having 
sympathy with their fellow men of every 
class and condition, and especially those 
of every person who stands ready to help 
in the effort toward the betterment of the 
conditions of our common human life. 

Upon this platform we modestly come forth, 
the friend of every effort making to help men 
and women and children to be their best 



selves. We purpose to avoid controversy and 
yet reserve the right of comment and criti- 
cism upon those things obstructive of or 
hostile to the principles and purposes for 
which we stand. We ask the help and 
encouragement of our friends and the friends 
of our work, and will try, if not always to 
command success, yet always to deserve it. 



THE SETTLEMENT NAME. 



When in search for the Settlement's name, 
we groped for weeks after some title which 
had at its root, if not in its form, that good 
old English word common. For the idea of 
the sharing of what each has equally with all, 
and all with each, of what belongs to no one 
and no class, but to every one of the whole 
body, is the idea underlying not only this word 
and its equivalents in many tongues, but the 
very conception of that community and com- 
munion in which society and religion consist, 
and which constitute the essence of the set- 
tlement motive and movement. The baptis- 
mal day came, when the name had to be 
forthcoming, for strangely enough the 
"printer's devil" himself was at the door 
demanding it for official announcement in the 
annual statement of the Sociological depart- 
ment. A friend in need appeared indeed, as 
we alighted from an elevator on the top floor 
of a sky-scraper, on the afternoon of the last 
day of grace. In desperation we suddenly 
" held him up " with the demand for a name. 
But he was equal to this, as he had been to 
many another emergency; for he mused and 
mulled a moment over our preference for 
something qornmon, and, as he stepped into 
the car "going down," said, "Call it Chi- 
cago Commons." It was done, and bet- 
ter than that moment knew was the name 
builded. For its popular lineage was really 
behind it, woven through English history. 
As the freemen of the race organized in their 
early shires, municipalities and guilds, and 
later on combined to form one body repre- 
senting the whole people, so the represented 
people, without any primary distinction of 
class, came to be known as "the Commons." 
To this ideal of social democracy, the name 
adds the suggestion of those few patches of 
mother earth still unclaimed as private 
property, which at least afford standing room 
equally for all, irrespective of pecuniary cir- 
cumstances or social status. 

So we called our household and its home- 
stead " Chicago Commons," in hope that it 
might be a common center where the masses 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



and the classes could meet and mingle as 
men and exchange their social values in some- 
thing like a "clearing-house" for the com- 
monwealth; where friendship, neighborship 
and fellow-citizenship might form the per- 
sonal bonds of that social unification which 
alone can save our American democracy from 
disruption, cloven as it is under the increas- 
ing social stress and strain; and where that 
brotherhood of which we talk and sing may 
be more practically lived out and inwrought, 
as it must be if Christianity continues to be 
a living faith and its churches the people's 
fellowship. GRAHAM TAYLOR. 



* 
* * 



It would be difficult to overestimate the 
influence of the settlements in making public 
opinion in matters relating to industrial dis- 
turbances. Particularly has this been the case 
recently in relation to the strike of the garment 
workers in Chicago and in the general question 
of the sweating system. In this matter Hull 
House has been foremost, calling and through 
Miss Addams conducting the great anti-sweat- 
ing meeting of March 8 at Central Music Hall, 
and making a strong and telling appeal for 
arbitration in the clothing strike. Miss 
Addams' s address in favor of this arbitration, 
made before the Central Council of the Civic 
Federation, March 19, was admirable and 
fairly settled the question of the standing of 
the Federation in the matter. 

# 

* * 

A welcome addition to our residential and 
working force comes in the person of Dr. Mary 
Edna Goble, a graduate of the Illinois 
Training School for Nurses and of the medi- 
cal department of the University of Michigan. 
Dr. Goble will have charge of the tenement 
house inspection and of the instruction in 
household sanitation f first aid to the in- 
jured, etc. Through her medical skill the Set- 
tlement will come into more vital touch with 
its neighbors in their homes, and into closer 
co-operation with the Illinois Medical College 
in the Commons dispensary work for the 

poor. 

* 

# * 

The residents of Chicago Commons have 
decided upon Tuesday afternoon and evening 
as the weekly occasion upon which they will 
make special effort to be at home to their 
friends. This is not intended to restrict vis- 
itation to that day, for interested friends are 
always welcome, but in order that those com- 



ing from a distance may be reasonably assured 
of finding the residents at home and compar- 
atively at liberty. 

* 

* # 

Through the courtesy of N. H. Carpenter, 
secretary of the Art Institute, in cooperat- 
tion with Mr. French, the Institute's Direc- 
tor, the residents of the Commons have free 
access to the exhibitions and lectures at 
the Institute, a privilege which has been 
thoroughly availed of and appreciated. 

* 

* * 

We mean to regard as "preferred" names 
upon our mailing list, all settlements, and to 
send CHICAGO COMMONS as a matter of course 
to all such. In return, we ask for all reports, 
and, so far as possible, all printed matter 
issued by settlements in the course of their 
regular work. 

* * 

Canon Barnett's recent papers in the Fort- 
nightly Review and the Nineteenth Century, 
on social settlements, should be familiar to 
all our readers. Canon Barnett may fairly 
be called the Moses of the settlement move- 
ment, and his utterances on the subject are 
to be regarded as authoritative. 

# 

* * 

The schedule of classes and clubs in the 
Plymouth Winter Night College gives a good 
idea of the work which has been going on in 
the educational department of the settlement. 
It is now undergoing revision preparatory 
to the beginning of the new term of the 
college work. 

* * 

Christian Endeavor Societies in parties 
have been among our recent visitors, in- 
cluding two groups from Evanston and one 
from the Woodlawn Park Presbyterian 
Church. Couples and trios of Endeavorers 
are almost daily callers. 

* 

* * 

A four-page leaflet, bearing a picture of 
our residence, and describing our work some- 
what fully, has recently been published, and 
is on hand in sufficient supply. We will 
gladly furnish copies to any one upon appli- 
cation. 

* 

* * 

' ' The remedy for social discontent and 
dynamite bombs is Christianity as taught in 
the New Testament." Prof. R. T. Ely. 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[April, 



fln tbe Worlfc of Settlements 



THE GREAT SETTLEMENT NEED. 

It has been notable in the English Settlements 
that it has been possible to find men and women 
from the more prosperous classes who are willing to 
give their time and at least two or three years of 
their life to living among: the poor and working: for 
tin-in. In the rush of our materialistic civilization 
that time does not yet appear to have come in this 

city We have been obliged thus far to 

depend wholly on the student class for resident 
workers. It is the permanent factor which is most 
needed for the strong development of our work. 
Could three or four be found who would live at the 
Settlement for two years and then carry the interest 
which had been grounded during their residence, 
and use the knowledge and apprehension of con- 
ditions obtained at that time, we could accomplish 
the work of a generation." Report of University 
Settlement Society, New York City. 



THE CHICAGO FEDERATION. 



Many Chicago settlement workers were 
present at the last quarterly meeting of the 
Federation of Chicago Settlements at the 
University settlement, March 7. Eight 
settlements were represented by the total at- 
tendance of forty-three, and a most enjoy- 
able and profitable meeting was held. 

A tabulation of personal and vital statistics 
for the use of settlements was adopted to 
cover these points: Name, nationality, resi- 
dence, whether owner of home or tenants, 
occupation, industrial or trade organization, 
social affiliations (societies or clubs), edu- 
cational advantages, church or religious 
affiliation, remarks. A committee was ap- 
pointed to form a definition of a " Settle- 
ment" by which membership in the Federa- 
tion may be regulated. It was voted that 
each settlement appoint one representative 
to act upon a committee for the extension 
of the musical work. 

Much interest was displayed in Miss Julia 
C. Lathrop's report as chairman of the com- 
mittee on settlements, of the National Con- 
ference of Charities and Corrections, which 
is to hold its annual session at Grand Rapids, 
beginning June 9, and including one session 
or more on the subject of settlements. 

A committee to cooperate in arousing in- 
terest in the session was appointed, in- 
cluding Dr. Brown, Miss Stowe and Mrs. 
Helen Campbell. 

The secretary was directed to convey the 
sympathy of the Federation to Percy Al- 
den, of Mansfield House, London, in the 
loss which the recent tire there brought upon 
him in the destruction of his personal 
property and papers. 



There was a general discussion of the re- 
lation of the Settlements to ward and mu- 
nicipal politics, and a resolution was passed 
requesting Mr. Rosenthal, a member of the 
Federation, to accept the nomination which 
had been tendered him for the office of 
Alderman in the Seventh Ward. 

Miss Jane Addams declined re-election as 
president of the Federation, and the officers 
chosen are Graham Taylor, of Chicago Com 
mons, president; Miss Gertrude Barnum, of 
Hull House, secretary; Mrs. N. E. Sly, of the 
Northwestern University settlement, treas- 
urer. The next meeting will be held at the 
Elm street settlement in the latter part of May. 

FIRE AT MANSFIELD HOUSE. 



The sympathy of all settlement workers, 
and also of thousands of other American 
friends, goes out to the residents of Mans- 
field House, East London, upon learning 9f 
the fire which wrought grievous and irrepara- 
ble loss there a few weeks ago. The office 
of Percy Aldeu, the warden, was completely 
burned out by the flames, which destroyed, 
as the Mansfield House magazine reports, 
"all his books, papers, accounts, address 
books and a great and growing store of valu- 
able material relating to social movements; 
in short, all the results of the past ten years' 
work and more that could be committed to 
paper, and all the personal possessions that 
he cared, for." 

In a personal letter concerning the misfor- 
tune, Mr. Alden writes: 

Among the lost papers were my American notes 
and that which I value far more highly, the list of 
addresses of my many American friends. I shall be 
very grateful to these friends if they will kindly 
forward their addresses to me as soon as convenient 
so that 1 may be able to replace the destroyed list 
as completely and as early as possible. 

Let every one knowing of Mr. Alden's mis- 
fortune rally now to his aid, sending him 
copies of all printed matter, addresses of 
American friends and other information 
likely to be of use in filling the gap caused 
by the flames. Every aid extended to him 
is an aid to the Settlement movement and 
all that it involves. 



The purpose of the Gospel is to convert 
men from sin whether they live in heathendom 
or Christendom, America or India. Christi- 
anity is not apologizing for the sins of this 
country or any other country. It condemns 
them all, high and low, small and great. 
Chicago Advance. 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



9 



A SETTLEMENT_BIBLIOCRAPHY. 

" Where can I get information about social 
settlements?" is a question of almost daily 
repetition in the ears of settlement workers. 
" Is there no book on the subject ? To whom 
can I write for facts?" In compiling a 
" Bibliography of College, Social and Uni- 
versity Settlements," Miss M. Katherine 
Jones, Vice- President of the College Settle- 
ments Association, has gone far toward satis- 
factorily answering these queries. This 
Bibliography is now pretty well known 
among settlement workers, but many who 
are interested in the subject of settlements 
need to know of it, for it is the best, and 
indeed fairly the only, publication of its 
kind. All the settlements in the world then 
known to the compiler are mentioned, with 
address in each case, and in most instan- 
ces a bibliography of periodical literature 
referring to the work. As the Bibliography 
more thoroughly covers its field it will be- 
come even more valuable. The price is 10 
cents, and copies may be obtained of the 
Secretary of the College Settlements Associa- 
tion, Miss Caroline L. Williamson, 3230 Michi- 
gan Avenue, Chicago, 111. 



DELANCEY STREET'S GOOD REPORT. 



The .annual report of the University set- 
tlement at 26 Delancey street, New York 
city, is just at hand, and shows a good year's 
work complete. The report summarizes in a 
clear tabular form the satisfactory work of 
the various clubs, classes and other interior 
agencies, except in reference to the kinder- 
garten and library, which are fully reported. 

During the year, the settlement gave mate- 
rial aid in meeting the distressing conditions 
ensuing upon the great cloak-makers' strike, 
distributing wisely the funds subscribed for 
relief, acting with real, earnest friendliness 
toward the needy, studying the conditions 
with a scientific eye to discover the inherent 
cause of the troubles, and aiding as far as 
seemed possible toward the adjustment of 
more harmonious relations. An art exhibition 
in the spring lasted four weeks, and a total 
attendance is reported of 105.696, one ban- 
ner day alone scoring over 7,000. A strong 
part was played in the great battle for mu- 
nicipal reform, the headworker acting as a 
member of the famous Committee of Seventy. 
And in general, the University settlement of 
New York has striven earnestly and in many 
ways successfully to be the effective civic and 
moral center about which the people of its 



community might rally for social initiative 
and uplift. 

UNION SEMINARY SETTLEMENT. 



Among the newer settlements reported is 
the Union Seminary settlement, of New York 
city, recently established by the " Union 
Settlement Association," under the auspices 
of the Seminary Alumni Club. The consti- 
tution defines the object of the society to be 
"the maintenance of settlements in New 
York city for the assertion and application, 
in the spirit of Jesus Christ, of the principles 
of brotherhood along the lines of educational, 
social, civic, and religious well-being." The 
settlement has been located at No. 237 East 
One hundred and Fourth street, in a crowded 
neighborhood that is poorly supplied with 
educational, remedial, and religious agencies, 

The work of its firt>t few months, sum- 
marized by the Outlook of February 29, indi- 
cates a good grasp already upon the neighbor- 
hood. William E. McCord, of the Seminary 
Senior class, is the head worker. 



RESIDENTS OF THE COMMONS- 



Chicago Commons has thus far been dis- 
tinct among settlements in the continuous 
residence of families. At present there are 
three family groups including five young 
children. There are in residence eighteen 
adults, men and women being equally 
divided. The stability and continuity of the 
Settlement life and work are secured by the 
continuous presence of the nucleus of per- 
manent residents centering in the family 
groups of Professor Graham Taylor, the 
Eev. B. F. Boiler, and John P. Gavit, 
together with Misses M. Emerett Colman, 
Bertha Hofer and Ida E. Hegner, and Her- 
man F. Hegner. 

Other residents now at the Settlement 
include: Mi^s Jessie M. House, Robert E. 
Todd. the Rev. Morris W. Morse, Andrew 
Erickson, Mrs. Katharine Lente Stevenson, 
Miss Alice B. Cogswell. 

The following have been in residence for 
longer or shorter periods; Miss 'Alice M. 
Hunt, Jesse Kolmos. the Rev. Philip S. 
Matzinger, Mrs. C. K. Gregg, Miss Ruby 
Mertz, H. H. Stutson, Arthur B. Merriam, 
Clifford Snowden, Thomas Puggard, S. M. 
Cooper, Dr. and Mrs. F. C. Wellman, Dr. 
and Mrs. O. T. Robinson, Mr. and Mrs. Max 
West, Walter Vose Gulick, James Lee Reed, 
Frederick Tucker. 



10 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[April. 



among tbe Boofes 



SOCIOLOGICAL READING REFERENCES 



Such was the demand made upon us by 
correspondents all over the county for refer- 
ences to the best reading on Sociological 
lines, that we issued, more than a year ago, 
a little bibliography entitled "Books for Be- 
ginners in the Study of Christian Sociology 
and Social Economics." As the edition is 
exhausted and out of date, we propose to 
make CHICAGO COMMONS as helpfully valuable 
as we may to readers, students and field 
workers, by noting with brief comment the 
freshest contributions to social science which 
come from the periodical and book press, and 
by adding each month a list of references on 
some specific line of study which will at least 
afford a working equipment for its pursuit. 
We invite both inquiries and suggestions re- 
garding helpful titles from our fellow stu- 
dents all over the field. 

At the head of the new books should stand 
Giddings's " Principles of Sociology" (Mac- 
Millau, New York) by the eminent Columbia 
University professor who, perhaps, next to 
Lester F. Ward, is the most original and 
philosophical of American sociologists. 
Professor Patten's monograph, on "A Theory 
of Social Forces," (American Academy of 
Political and Social Science, Philadelphia,) 
takes high scientific rank from its very appear- 
ance. 

More popular but less thorough is Bas- 
com's "Theory of Social Order" (Thos. Y. 
Crowell, New York). Remarkable gatherings 
of facts have been made by Teuney in 
"Triumphs of the Cross" (Balch Bros., 
Boston), and Crafts in " Practical Christian 
Sociology," (Funk & Wagnalls Co.) which, 
though valuable contributions to the liter- 
ature, add nothing to the science of Society. 

Crawford's " The Brotherhood of Mankind, 
a Study Towards a Christian Philosophy of 
History " (T. & T. Clark) is a permanently 
valuable and very timely addition to the fun- 
damental discussions of Christian sociology. 



The relation of the sociological movement 
to modern missions, especially in foreign 
lands, is the theme of two courses of lectures 
recently delivered, one at Princeton, Auburn, 
and other seminaries, by Rev. Mr. Dennis, 
author of " Foreign Missions After a Cen- 
tury," the other by President C. D. Hart- 
rauft, of Hartford Theological Seminary. 
The first is soon to be published, and it is to 
be hoped the latter may be added to the 
series of "Vedder Lectures. 

The following valuable references for the 
study of Social Ethics are suggested by the 
Rev. D. M. Fisk, Ph. D., of Toledo, Ohio, 
and give evidence of the increasing emphasis 
laid by the greatest authorities in ethical 
science upon societary relationships: 

Seth. A Study of Ethical Principles. JAS. A. 
SETH. (Scribners.) 

Part I, Chap. 3. The Ethics of Personality, 

p. 193. 
Part II, Chap. 2. The Social Life, p, 283. 

Mackenzie. Manual of Ethics. (Clive,) London. 
Chap. 9. The Individual and Society, p. 153. 
Chap. 10. The Moral Order. Social imper- 
ative, etc. 

Hyslop. Elements of Ethics. JAS. H. HYSLOF. 
(Scribners.) 

Chap. 10. Theory of Rights and Duties. 

Smyth. Christian Ethics. NEWMAN SMYTH. 
(Scribners.) 

Part I, Chap. 5. Realization of Christian 

Ideal, p. 241. 
Part II, Chap. 3. Duties Toward Others, p. 

371. 
Part II, Chap. 4. The Social Problem, p. 441. 

Bowne. The Principles of Ethics. BORDEN P. 
BOWNE. (Harpers.) 

Chap. 10. The Ethics of Society, p. 247. 

Dorner. System of Christian Ethics. J. A. 
DORNER. (Scrib & Welford.) 

Christian Social Love, p. 504. 
The Organized World, p. 516. 
The State, p. 554. 

Martensens. Christian Ethics. (T. & T. Clark.) 
Vol. 3. Social Ethics. 



"Talk about the questions of the day: 
there is but one question, and that is the 
Gospel. It can and will correct everything 
needing correction." W. E. Gladstone. 

Every ray of sunlight brings a bit of joy 
into some life. Every smile helps to lighten 
the burdens of some heart- Sel. 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



11 



SEMINARY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY. 

As the Commons is related by a personal 
tie to the Sociological department of Chicago 
Seminary, the Warden of the one and the 
professor of the other may be warranted in 
counting upon the interest of the friends of 
both in notes from the class-room .and its 
''clinics" on the city-fields. 

The department room and alcoves in the 
library of the seminary are the center of 
growing interest, not only among the stu- 
dents who are required to do much original 
research there, but also among many min- 
isters and readers who come there to pursue 
special lines of investigation. 

A course in Biblical Sociology was insti- 
tuted this year for the first time in this or 
any other institution, so far as known. It 
was prescribed the first half of the year, but 
was elected by almost the entire Junior 
class the second half. The syllabi of this 
course will be revised and possibly printed 
for the students' use next year. An 
abridged course will be given in several 
summer schools. 

The elective class in Theories of Social 
Order spent most of the term in the study of 
socialism and the relation of Christianity to 
it. Ely ' s "Socialism and Social Reform" was 
used as a reference text-book, with collateral 
readings from Marx, Morris, the Fabian 
Essays and the more popular socialistic 
literature. Both in the class-room and at the 
Tuesday evening economic discussions at the 
Commons the students met those actively 
engaged in the Socialistic Labor Party for 
conference and discussion. An interest- 
ing debate was held on the question, " Re- 
solved, that the objections to Socialism out- 
weigh the arguments for it as a scheme for 
the reorganization of Society." 



Stoe 



Sfcetdbes 



THIS record of "The Little Maidens' 
Meeting," is given here verbatim: 

"The Club consisted of only five members: 
Their names were: Amy Bolten, treasurer, 
aged eleven; Clara Kirchoff, president, 
aged nine; Elsie Ryckoff, aged eleven; Rosa- 
lie Strehl, aged ten; Belle Phillips, aged 
eleven. Elsie Ryckoff was the secretary of 
the club, but because we had so few mem- 
bers, Amy Bolten and Clara Kirchoff do some 
of the secretary's work. We hope to have 
more members next year. Belle Phillips had 
the reason of not staying in our club because 
she did not like to work on Saturdays and 



could not read German well enough. She 
had her name canceled the end of March. 
Amy counted the money up and the sum is 
$2.60 cts." 

APROPOS of the kindergarten, these letters, 
received by Miss Hofer, are self-explanatory, 
and show the reflex action of the work, even 
at a distance, upon those who assist in it: 

My mamma has read me about the poor 
children's kindergarten in the Child Garden, 
and I send ten cents to help toward it. 

ROY 



Enclosed pleased find twenty cents, ten of 
it earned by a boy of five bringing up wood 
from the woodhouse, eight steps, to the 
kitchen, one cent a day; the other ten earned 
by a three-year-old sister waiting on her in- 
valid mother. They will send more as soon 
as they earn it. They had saved it for Christ- 



mas. 



s. s. B. 



MANY bright and breezy things come with- 
in the notice of the settlement workers, here 
and elsewhere so many, in fact, that most of 
them are forgotten. But now and then an 
unusually bright or funny saying sticks in 
mind. For instance, in one of the Italian 
boys' classes the story of the life of Wash- 
ington was being told, and the immortal 
episode of the hatchet and the cherry tree 
was among the particulars recalled. 

"And what did George's father say. to 
him," asked the teacher, "when he con- 
fessed that he had chopped down the tree?" 

The frugal mind of one of the boys arose 
promptly to the emergency, as he replied: 

"He say, ' Go pick up the wood.' ' 

AND speaking of " picking up wood " re- 
calls vividly to the minds of certain of the 
earlier residents of the Commons some 
examples of that industry which formerly 
were the despair of the neighborhood, the 
street department and the police. Most of 
the less prominent streets of central Chicago 
are paved with wooden blocks sections of 
round tree trunks, eight inches or so in length. 
It has been a source of great annoyance in 
summer days since the street was thus paved 
to have certain thrifty but less public-spirited 
persons dig up these blocks in considerable 
quantities for purposes of fuel. A part 
of the mission of the Commons, and particu- 
larly of its kindergarten, is to instil by ex- 
ample a higher sort of public spirit, and to 
teach people who do not now appreciate the 
fact, that the stealing of street pavement is 
neither public nor private economy. 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[April. 








Docker Bros, f ianos 







Arion Pianos 



233 STflTE STREET 
49-53 JACKSON STREET 



CHICAGO COMMONS 

A Monthly Record of Social Settlement Life and Work. 



Vol. I, No. 4. 



CHICAGO, JULY, 1896. 



16 Pages. 




THE SUMMER CAMPAIGN. 



Youngsters of the Chicago Commons Kindergarten Upon One of Their Picnic Trips to 

the Suburban Fields and Woods. 



IN ACCORDANCE with the request of many friends, this photograph from the May issue, which is 
now exhausted, is reprinted with its explanatory paragraph. The picture is a typical one, and 
the whole story is told in the explanatory headline. The occasion upon which the picture was taken 
was really the second outing of the spring, for in happy parties they had been once to Union 
Park, and had feasted with unmitigated delight for an hour upon beauties approximating in their 
minds those of Heaven. Imagine, then, the ecstacy of a whole day in the orchard of Mr. and Mrs. 
Belknap'a beautiful place at Oak Park ! Eighty-seven of these little ones enjoyed thus every hour of the 
12th of May, and marked it in memory as a " beginning of days." The kind friends who planned the 
outing furnished also transportation out and back, and a bountiful lunch in the midday hour, all of which 
contributed for the little folks a day of untarnished ecstacy. They came home with great armfuls of green 
weeds, in the effort to perpetuate thus one of the occasions, far too few for these little children of the city, 
when close to Mother Nature's heart they may drink in the sights and sounds of fairyland, and refresh 
their hungry souls through communion, such as only children and the childlike can know, with the great 
unwritten, unrestricted Word of God. For an infinitesimal cost it has been possible thus to do more toward 
the brightening of these lives than one day's time could do in almost any other way. This has been the 

(Continued on page 11.) 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[July, 



FOR 'A THAT! 



A prince can mak a belted knight, 

A marquis, duke and a' that; 
But an honest man's aboon his might; 

Gude faith, he mauna fa' that! 
For a' that, and a' that, 

Their dignities, and ' that, 
The pith o' sense and pride o' worth, 

Are higher ranks than a' that. 

Then let us pray that come it may, 

As come it will for a' that, 
That sense and worth, o'er a' the earth 

May bear the gree, 1 and a' that; 
For a' that, and a' that 

It's coming yet, for a' that, 
That man to man, the warld o'er 

Shall brothers be, for a' that. 

Robert Burns, last two verses of 

" Honest Poverty. 



Sear the gree be decidedly victor. 



THE SOCIAL PROPAGANDA. 



Field Notes of the Western Summer Schools and 
Chautauquas. 



Eager Audiences in Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa 
Discuss the Progress of Brotherhood Splendid 
Labor Meeting at Des Moineg. 



[BY THE WARDEN.] 

The growth of social consciousness and culture 
is nowhere more apparent than in the numerous 
summer assemblies for popular education. The 
attendance and attention given to classes for the 
study of the social teachings of the Bible and to 
courses of lectures on the Labor Movement and 
other branches of social economics are simply 
astonishing, even to one in constant personal con- 
tact with the growing interests in these directions. 
The new movement seems to be in solution every- 
where, needing only a point to precipitate upon. 
While prevalent among all classes, it is noteworthy 
that the women of the West seem to have a greater 
degree of social interest and intelligence than any 
other class of the population. This is largely due 
to the woman's clubs which have grown so rapidly 
even in the agricultural states, that they seem to 
be well-nigh omnipresent. For fifteen years the 
Woman's Social Science Club of Kansas has done 
a splendid educational and social work for the 
womanhood of that great commonwealth. When 
a bright woman was known to be living on some 
lonely ranch or in an isolated town she was invited 
to the meeting of this club, which, for wider use- 
fulness, though at the inconvenience of the major- 
ity of its members, has been held in every quarter 
of the state. When necessary, her traveling ex- 
penses were paid, that she might take part in dis- 
cussion or read her first paper. Thus there came 



to be little groups of women in every county, gath- 
ered around leaders who received their training in 
this way; so that when the State Club federated 
the local centers there were found to be quite a 
thousand members. Since women have the muni- 
cipal suffrage in Kansas the significance of this 
social training is great, and its effect is in plain 
sight. So effectually is the prohibitory law en- 
forced, for example, in Ottawa, and to so high an 
ideal has the social order been raised, that its pop- 
ulation of 8,000 people require but one policeman 
by day and another at night! The jail stands 
empty most of the time, and no grand jury has 
been necessary during ten years. 

DISCUSSING THE CHURCH'S MINISTRY. 

So great was the demand for teaching on social 
topics at the Chautauqua Assembly that the writ- 
er's eighteen appointments grew to thirty during 
the ten days of his visit, special conferences being 
requested by the young women college gradu- 
ates and undergraduates, by public school teach- 
ers and superintendents, by pastors, fifty of 
whom, representing various denominations, were 
present eagerly discussing the social aspects of 
their own and the Church's ministry. So many 
were the inquiries regarding the topics of each 
lecture that a question hour was held every even- 
ing, and drew nearly as many people as the lec- 
ture. One of the most interesting features of this 
experience was the conference with the men in the 
Santa F6 railway repair shops, where, at the noon 
hour, foremen, mechanics and laboring men, 
grouped around their great machines, listened to 
the discussion of the motive and the methods of 
the Labor Movement. The social spirit of the 
occasion found no more beautiful expression than 
in the noon concert given in these shops by the 
orchestra, who, as members of the Musicians' 
Union of Kansas City, volunteered this token of 
fraternity to their brother workingmen. Dr. Gun- 
saulus well exclaims, "Give me a Kansas audi- 
ence!" 

INTEREST IN NEBRASKA. " 

In Nebraska, at the Crete Assembly, the same 
interest manifested itself in similar ways. The 
note-books, the demand for bibliography, the refer- 
ences to books read, the study of Labor Commis- 
sioner Wright's Chautauqua text book, entitled 
" The Industrial Evolution of the United States," 
the intense interest in the story of the rise and pro- 
gress of the Labor Movement through the past six 
hundred years of English history, all bore evidence 
of the deepening social consciousness of the nation 
and the growing social intelligence of these great 
Western states. The tremendous moral earnest- 
ness with which social aspects of the coinage 
question were discussed, not only by such repre- 
sentative debaters as Hon. John P. Irish, the 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



effective advocate of the gold standard, and the 
brilliant Mr. Bryan, Presidential candidate of the 
silver sentiment, but also by all classes of the peo- 
ple themselves, was a revelation to an Eastern man. 
Whatever may be thought of the economic princi- 
ples involved, no man can gainsay the candor, 
ability, depth of conviction and manly spirit with 
which the contending views are held and discussed. 
The nation has little to fear from this great awak- 
ening of such a citizenship to active participation 
in its economic development and legislation. 

LABOR MEETINGS AT DBS MOINES. 

The large city constituency that Des Moines sup- 
plies to the new Iowa Midland Chautauqua was no 
exception to the prevailing popular interest in the 
same themes. The many appointments for their 
discussion on the grounds did not prove sufficient, 
and invitations poured from the city for the repe- 
tition of some of the addresses or presentation of 
other phases of the subject. Conferences were 
held with three churches, the social economic sec- 
tion of the Woman's Club and the Trades and 
Labor Assembly. 

On Sunday night the great Calvary Tabernacle 
held a large audience of workingmen and women, 
.among whom were many business and professional 
men, bankers and employers of labor, who seemed 
to listen with equal interest to the discussion of 
labor and religion and what was common to both. 
The following evening the invitation of working- 
men to meet them in their Trades and Labor As- 
sembly hall was accepted for the purpose of an 
informal conversational conference over the ways 
and means of making the most and the best of their 
labor unions. 

There, for three hours, the men listened to the 
plainest talk and the frankest criticism. They 
appreciated the best that the speakers had to offer 
And applauded the reading of Arnold Toynbee's 
most conciliatory pleadings. One of their number, 
an old English miner, made the most telling speech. 
Ridiculing the workingmen's subserviency to party, 
by which his old-countrymen had been kept crying 
to this Tory lord, " pick us up," and to that Liberal 
commoner, " pick us up," and by which American 
workingmen were still crying "McKinley, pick us 
up," "Bryan, pick us up," the " old-man-eloquent" 
thundered out, " It's time to pick ourselves up!" 
.and again, " The man that can't master the week's 
-wages he earns won't master the movement for 
more." The Tabernacle pastor, himself a gradu- 
ate from an English coal mine, and one of the 
most heroic of American city mission workers with 
Parkhurst in New York, alone in Omaha, and sin- 
gle-handed in Des Moines, made a rousing plea for 
the brain-power of the workingmen to be applied 



to the study of industrial economics and the history 
of the Labor Movement. 

BEGINING A NEW EPOCH. 

One of the leading editors of the city, who had 
been keenly interested throughout, declared it to 
have been one of the most enjoyable and profitable 
evenings he had ever passed, and predicted that 
this meeting would prove to have begun a new and 
inestimably important educational movement for 
the people of Des Moines. One of the trades 
unionists immediately turned his prophecy into 
history by moving that the first of a series of such 
meetings be held in two weeks, and that the editor, 
minister and the old miner be invited to address it. 
With a vim it was so voted, and with hand-shaking 
all around the new brotherhood adjourned to meet 
many a time thus to pray, 

" that come it may, 
As come it will, for a' that, 
That man to man, the war Id o'er, 
Shall brothers be for a' that." 



FOREIGN MISSIONS AT HOME. 



Resemblance of the Social Settlements to Missionary 
Homes in Heathen Lands. 



[It is in accordance with special request that we publish 
below the substance of an article by Rev. J. D. Davis, D.D., 
of Kyoto, Japan, originally printed in the Chicago Advance. 
Regretting that our limits of space prevent its quotation in 
full, we still believe that the gist of it will do much toward 
explaining and arousing interest in the social settlement. 
ED. CHICAGO COMMONS.] 

Never before was there a nation with so much 
foreign missionary work to be done within its 
own borders as our own; and unless it is done we 
shall not long remain a nation. It is only the 
fact that there are proportionally so many more 
to do this work at home than there are among 
the nations that know not Christ, that consti- 
tutes an unanswerable call to any workers to 
leave our own shores. 

But it is not alone the millions who have come 
to its shores from other lands who need to be 
touched and vivified with the love and life of 
Christ and made meet for citizenship in a free 
republic and in the kingdom of God on earth and in 
heaven. There are also within our borders millions 
who, though American born, are forgetful of, or 
estranged from, the great principles of Chris- 
tianity which are really the foundation of our 
nation. The sixty-five millions of the United 
States are divided today into two nearly equal 
parts; the church-goers, who are nearly all 
gathered into the church as members, and the 
non-church-goers, who are largely estranged from 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[July, 



the church, many of them even violent opposers 

of it. 

***** 

A prominent pastor of a large up-town church 
in a city not a thousand miles from Chicago, re- 
cently said to the writer, that, although his church 
was working in two mission Sabbath Schools in 
the deserted quarters of the city, there was not 
one-tenth enough work to keep his large church 
in a healthy condition. 

Is there not a more excellent way? May we 
not learn something from foreign mission meth- 
ods, and introduce them at home, especially in 
our large cities? The writer was profoundly im- 
pressed with the importance of doing this, during 
a recent visit to the Chicago Commons or social 
settlement of the Chicago Theological Seminary, 
at 140 North Union street, near Milwaukee avenue, 
of which Prof. Graham Taylor is warden. 

SIMILAR TO MISSIONS. 

I was particularly impressed with the similarity 
of methods in this settlement and those in foreign 
lands. Our foreign missionary boards do not 
send men and women simply to itinerate, to open 
mission schools on the Sabbath, or to preach here 
and there among the millions. 

All this has its value, but it is merely surface 
work as compared with the influence and the 
results which come from the establishment of a 
Christian home in the midst of the people, and 
the throwing of that home open to the people, 
inviting them into it, making them feel at home 
there, having nothing too nice or too sacred for 
them to see and touch. 

It took some grace for a lady of my acquaint- 
ance to have a chief, on one of the Micronesian 
Islands, come into the bright, new home of the 
missionary, being clothed in little else than a 
fresh coat of oil, and lie down to try the bed and 
leave the oily imprint of his form upon her new 
white counterpane; but such forbearance and love 
as that helped to win this chief and that island 

to Christ. 

***** 

Twenty years ago the writer entered the old 
capital city, Kyoto, in Japan; ours the first 
missionary family to live there. We were in the 
midst of a people who were bitterly opposed to 
Christianity. But our house was thrown open to 
them, and they were invited to come. Neither 
myself nor my dear companion was ever too 
busy to welcome them, talk with them and show 
them everything of interest in the house. They 
were always seated in our best chairs, in our best 
room. More than 2,000 came thus into our home 
during the first year we were in the city. Each 
of our three little children was a missionary, the 



center of interest and attraction to all who called. 
I have always regarded the influence of such a 
Christian home in Japan as worth more for the 
cause of Christ there than all the direct work 
which the missionary can do outside of it. 

THE NEEDED ADDITION. 

Why cannot more such missionary work as this 
be done among the masses in large cities? With- 
out remitting anything which is being done by 
visitation, by mission schools and mission churches, 
cannot this be added, and is not this necessary to 
make the other efforts succeed? Are there not 
those among the up-town Christians whom God is 
calling to move back down town, to form centers 
of Christian love and life, ganglia, as it were, 
which shall make more living and effective the 
weaker and more interrupted efforts? Are there 
not many thousands massed together in our great 
cities who are almost untouched by any influences 
from Christian homes, who regard the church as 
their enemy, and who can be reached in no other 
way so well, if at all, save as Christian families 
show them that they love them enough to come 
and put their homes and their hearts among them 
and win them, being willing to suffer with them, 
weep with them, rejoice with them, and thus put 
the heart of Christ, the Christ who is with us,, 
alongside of them and win them? Even our 
Savior ate with publicans and sinners. 
***** 

There are suburban towns round Chicago which 
are called " Saints' Rests." Should the saints rest 
in that way, while there are hundreds of thousand* 
massed together in the great city who come under 
the influence of no Christian homes? 

It is not necessary that all should move back 
down town. Not many are likely to feel and heed 
this call, at present. But when a few devoted 
hearts do feel and heed it, as Prof. Graham Taylor,, 
Mr. Adams of the Bohemian Mission, and 
others do, when they move their families with their 
children into the submerged sections of the city, 
shall they not be sustained by the prayers and 
sympathy of all who love the Lord? Shall the 
few hundred dollars needed to keep such a de- 
voted heart as that of Professor Taylor from being 
financially "ground to powder," be withheld? 
For he stands alone financially responsible for the 
Chicago Commons, and he must have help. It 
may be that he, and such as he, will move the 
world toward Africa and save it. Let us sustain 
him. 

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 
This is the first and great commandment. And a 
second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neigh- 
bor as thyself. Jesus Christ. 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



SUPPORT OF OUR WORK. 
The support of Chicago Commons is to come, 
if at all, from the faith and free will of those who 
believe enough in what it stands for, to sacrifice 
whatever its service may cost that the residents 
cannot pay. It has already cost no little faith and 
sacrifice to stand in the breach financially, while 
this contributory constituency has been slowly 
rallying in the form of Sunday School classes, 
Endeavor societies, men's and women's organiza- 
tions, social clubs and churches who have taken 
out memberships in the name of their associations, 
to which are to be added widely scattered individu- 



Wardeu's personal note at bank. Every dollar re- 
ceived by voluntary offering saves to the actual 
work which needs every resident worker, the time 
and strength which soliciting costs. No member- 
ship fee is named, each associate being left free 
to offer whatever faith and free will prompt. 



THE DRINKING TROUGH. 



Evident Need of a Fountain at the Busy Union Street 
Corner of Milwaukee Avenue. 



Wide interest was aroused by the paragraph in 
the May issue of CHICAGO COMMONS referring 
to the water trough in front of the saloon next door 




THE DRINKING TROUGH 
[showing Illinois Medical College and Chicago Commons Free Dispensary. 



als, young and old, and in every walk of life. The 
contributions are both occasional and regular, the 
latter being paid in instalments, monthly, quar- 
terly and annually. Some of the contribution* are 
given to the specific branches of the work in 
which the donors are specially interested, e. g., 
the kindergarten, the industrial training, the 
Christian work and consolation among the poor 
and insane at the Cook County Infirmary, the 
various branches of church work with which the 
residents co-operate. Upon these associate mem- 
bers we wholly depend for the $3,500 needed to 
maintain the work, having no endowments or 
funds from any other sources whatever. Scarcely 
half of this sum has yet been guaranteed, the 
balance of the cost having been carried bylhe 



to the Commons, which, every day, as was then 
stated, is thronged by the poor parched horses and 
thirsty men and children who can find no other 
public place in this whole section of the city to 
quench their thirst. In order to make more vivid 
the impression of this need, we have chosen as one 
of our illustrations a photograph showing the 
trough in the very act of use by a thirsty boy. 

We now hold in trust for this need about five 
dollars, in the words of the former appeal, "as a 
magnet to the humane instinct of many friends 
everywhere, who will, we believe, help us rear at 
the intersection of these three great thoroughfares 
a plain, substantial and ample fountain in His name 
who will one day say, ' I was thirsty and ye gave 
me drink.' " 



6 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[July, 



THE CRY OF THE CHILDREN. 



And well may the children weep before you! 

They are weary ere they run. 
They have never seen the sunshine, nor the glory, 

Which is brighter than the sun. 
They know the grief of man, without its wisdom ; 

They sink in man's despair, without its calm; 
Are slaves without the liberty of Christdom 

Are martyrs, by the pang without the palm; 
Are worn, as if with age, yet unretrievingly 

The harvest of its memories cannot reap; 
Are orphans of the earthly love and heavenly. 

Let them weep ! Let them weep ! 

They look up with their pale and sunken faces, 

And their look is dread to see, 
For they mind you of their angels in high places 

With eyes turned on Deity. 
1 How long," they say, " how long, O cruel nation, 
Will you stand, to move the world, on a child's heart- 
Stifle down with a mailed heel its palpitation, 

And tread onward to your throne amid the mart? 
Our blood splashes upward, O gold-heaper 

And your purple shows your path! 
But the child's sob in the silence curses deeper 
Than the strong man in his wrath. 

From " The Cry of The Children," 

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. 



Settlement anfc 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 

140 NORTH UNION STREET, AT MILWAUKEE AVE. 

(Via Milwaukee Ave. cable and trolley cars, or via Hal- 
sted St. or Grand Ave. cars, stopping at Austin Avenue 
and Halsted St.) 

Chicago Commons is a Social Settlement located two 
doors from the southwest corner of Milwaukee Avenue 
and North Union street. 

As explained in the second clause of the Articles of In- 
corporation of The Chicago Commons Association, filed 
with the Secretary of the State of Illinois, 

"2. The object for which it is formed is to provide a 
center for a higher civic and social life, to initiate and 
maintain religious, educational and philanthropic enter- 
prises and to investigate and improve conditions in the in- 
dustrial districts of Chicago." 

Visitors, singly or in groups, are welcome at any time, 
but the residents make especial effort to be at home on 
Tuesday afternoon and evening. 

Residence All inquiries with reference to terms and 
conditions of residence, permanent or temporary, should 
be addressed to Graham Taylor, Kesident Warden. 

Information, concerning the work of Chicago Commons 
is gladly furnished to all who inquire. A four-page leaflet, 
bearing a picture of our residence, and describing the work 
somewhat fully, is on hand in sufficient supply. Copies 
will be mailed to any one upou application. Please enclose 
postage. 



OUR PURPOSE AND SCOPE- 



We cannot better formulate our conception of 
the purpose and scope of the social settlement 
than in the words of the initial statement of them 
published when we entered into residence, verified 
by every phase of our life and work at the Com- 
mons and attested by the approving citations of 
settlement workers both in England and America: 

The purpose and constituency of the settlement have 
gradually defined themselves. It consists of a group of 
Christian people who choose to live where they seem to be 



needed, for the purpose of being all they can be to the peo- 
ple with whom they identify themselves, and for all whose 
interests they will do what they can. It is as little of an 
organization and as much of a personal relationship as it 
can be made. It seeks to unify and help all other organiza- 
tions and people in the neighborhood that will make for 
righteousness and brotherhood. It is not a church, but 
hopes to be a helper of all the churches. It is not a charity, 
but expects to aid in the organization and co-operation of 
all existing charities. It is not an exclusive social circle, 
but aspires to be a center of the best social life and in- 
terests of the oeople. It is n<'t a school, but purposes to be 
a source and" agency of educational effort and general 
culture. It is non-political, yet has begun to be a rallying 




VIEW OF THE SETTLEMENT RESIDENCE. 

point and moral force for civic patriotism. It is non-sec- 
tarian, but avowedly Christian, and openly co-operative 
with the churches. 

The most subtle temptation of the settlements is 
gradually, and even unconsciously, to substitute 
the easier, impersonal attitude and methods for 
the harder, personal consecration and service. 
The elimination of personality from " charity " and 
philanthropy, as from business, is one of the 
greatest curses of the age. It has made much of 
our industrial life inhuman, and not a little of our 
charity and philanthropy really such hard and 
harmful things that the very words have become 
hateful to those who are occasionally forced to de- 
pend upon them, or worse still to accept them as 
substitutes for social and industrial j ustice. The 
settlement movement will lose its motive and its 
power should it ever be content to become institu- 
tionalized, or less than a corporate personality a 
ministering body of the Son of Man. 



Since our suspension of the regular Sunday after- 
noon meeting, begun in May, a group of the more thought- 
ful men have continued to come at 4:00 o'clock Sunday 
afternoons and hear Dr. C. A. S. Lindorme's interesting 
talks upon various philosophical and ethical phases of social 
and industrial life. It is hoped to make the Sunday meet- 
ing one of the features of our life and work next winter, 
adding to the lectures by various leaders in moral thought, 
the attractions of music, ethical readings, etc. 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



SCHOOL OF SOCIAL ECONOMICS. 



Discussion of Social Reconstruction Postponed Until 
the Early Winter. 



In accordance with many requests it was de- 
cided to postpone the autumn session of the Chi- 
cago Commons School of Social Economics from 
the first week of September, when it was expected 
to be held, until early in October, when those who 
had been away from the city during the summer 
and who would be interested in the sessions of the 
school, might attend them. As the current politi- 
cal campaign draws on, it becomes increasingly 
evident that a calm discussion of the social status 
and of proposed remedies of existing evils will be 
more likely to be possible at some other time than 
in the closing weeks of a political campaign which 
every indication declares will be one of the most 
earnest and momentous in the history of the 
United States. 

For this reason it has been decided to postpone 
the session of the School at least until the latter 
part of November or early December, when every 
effort will be made to focus the best thought ob- 
tainable upon the subject of " Social Reconstruc- 
tion," with special reference to the question: " Do 
the principles of the Sermon on the Mount afford 
a sufficient basis?" It is impossible at this time 
to announce the names of speakers, but it is our de- 
sire to secure for our aid in this discussion the best 
available exponents of every school of social and 
religious philosophy and reform. We feel thatwe 
can safely promise an occasion of deep interest, a 
series of exceedingly valuable contributions to the 
study of social facts, forces and ideals, and that the 
sessions will be of unique value to all interested in 
the solution of the menacing social problems by 
which modern life is beset. Notice of dates and 
programmes will be given in later issues of CHIC- 
AGO COMMONS, and will be sent to those who regis- 
tered at the Spring Session, and to any others who 
apply with postage. 



THE KINDERGARTEN. 



Starting Point and I'.asis of Educational Effort 
Summer Session. 



The starting point and basis of the educational 
effort, and also of the social redemptive work un- 
dertaken at Chicago Commons, is in the kinder- 
garten. Its history, is one of providential oppor- 
tunity, of self-sacrifice and earnest devotion on the 
part of its workers, and of instant and unreserved 
response on the part of the neighborhood. About 
ninety little ones are enrolled, and the effect of the 
effort thus far upon the children and their homes 
is too obvious to be misunderstood or mistaken. 



The kindergarten takes advantage of the associa 
tion with a large household in the work of the 
children for the house. Almost every day they 
have prepared the vegetables for the Commons 
table, and as occasion arises they wash dish-cloths, 
scour pans, polish silverware and render other 
service in a blessed outgoing of happy and free- 
hearted helpfulness. 

THE SUMMER KINDERGARTEN. 

The experiment of carrying on our kindergarten 
throughout the summer has been more than suc- 
cessful. So sure were we that our friends would 
support this venture that we assumed the risk of 
the living board and room-rent of the two noble 
young ladies who on June 28 finished their hard 
winter's work in a public-school kindergarten in 
Wisconsin, and in the first week of July came to 
Chicago Commons to give their summer vacation 
without one cent of remuneration from any source, 
to the children of our neighborhood. Day after 
day, usually without the help of even a pianist, 
those two young women have given their lives for 
Christ's sake without hope of return, caring often 
for fifty children all the morning, and spending the 
afternoon calling in the homes of the children 
or making good times for the older ones. On 
Saturday morning they have conducted a sewing 
school for the girls, with a most satisfactory at- 
tendance. 

TO SUPPORT THE WORK. 

As to the support of this work, the response to 
our request was instantaneous and generous. But 
little is lacking to insure the amount needed for 
the bare living of these two earnest workers and 
for the small amount of materials needed in the 
work of the kindergarten. This is an effort whose 
results are immediately evident, and no better or 
more needed work has been or will be done by 
Chicago Commons than the summer kindergarten 
which keeps two-score of little folks off of the 
dirty, dangerous and degrading streets of Chicago. 
We feel sure that our friends will not compel the 
Settlement residents from their limited personal 
funds to bear this expense. 



Never was there a time, in the history of the 
world, when moral heroes were more needed. 
The world waits for such. The providence of God 
has commanded science to labor and prepare the 
way for such. For them she is laying her iron 
tracks and stretching her wires and bridging the 
oceans. But where are they? Who shall breathe 
into our civil and political relations the breath of 
a higher life? Mark Hopkins. 

Whosoever would save his soul shall lose it, and 
whosoever shall lose bis soul for my sake shall find 
it. Jesus Christ. 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[July 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 

A Monthly Record of Social Settlement Life and 

Work, especially in the Industrial Districts 

of the City of Chicago. 



SUBSCRIPTION PRICE 

Twenty-five cents per year, postpaid to any State or 
Country. Single copies sent to any address upon applica- 
tion. For larger numbers, special terms may oe obtained 
on application. The publishers will be glad to receive 
lists of church members or other addresses, to whom sam- 
ple copies may be sent. 

Changes of Address Please notify the publishers 
promptly of any change of address, or of failure to receive 
the paper within a reasonable interval after it is due. 

To Other Settlements We mean to regard as "pre- 
ferred " names upon our mailing list, all settlements, and 
to send CHICAGO COMMONS as a matter of course to all 
such. In return, we ask for all reports, and, so far as pos- 
sible, all printed or circular matter, however trivial, issued 
by settlements in the course of their regular work. 



ALL COMMUNICATIONS 

Relating to this publication should be addressed to the 
Managing Editor, JOHN P. GAVIT, Chicago Commons, 
140 North Union Street, Chicago, 111. 



Entered as Second Class Matter May 18, 1896, at the 
Post-Offlce at Chicago, 111. 



VOL. 



JULY, 1896 



No. 4 



' ' I J HAT I want of the young men and women 
W of the country," said Dr. H. C. Mabie at 
the Christian Endeavor Convention at Washington, 
" is that they be laid on God's altar without condi- 
tions." 



IN the sad and sudden death of Mr. I. N. Camp 
we of Chicago Commons lose a warm friend, 
who has taken several opportunities to help our 
work. To his stricken family we extend heartfelt 
sympathy. 

*** 

INDUCTIVE scholarly study by practical work- 
1 ers is greatly needed. The splendid literature 
of the social movements, increasing daily, offers 
great opportunities. Under the head " From Soci- 
ological Cla s s Rooms " we report this month an of- 
fer which should interest settlement workers. 



THE JULY ISSUE. 



It was the intention of the publishers of CHI- 
CAGO COMMONS to make the July and August issues 
of the paper of eight pages only, but the welcome 
accorded to the little publication has been so cordial, 
and the demand for sample and back numbers and 
for information about the Settlement so great, that 
we felt it wise to make our July issue a special 
number, both illustrating our Settlement work and 
suggesting the development possible for the paper 
in months to come if the present extraordinary de- 
mand is maintained. With a view of making this 
special issue of permanent value in the literature 
of the settlement movement, and as representative of 



our work as possible, we have published this montk 
a paper of sixteen pages, have reprinted certain 
distinctive articles and editorials from previous is- 
sues, now nearly or quite out of print, and have 
endeavored to make sure of a sufficient supply im 
order to begin new subscriptions for some time, 
when desired, with an issue quite fairly represent- 
ing the early numbers of the paper. 

With earnest gratitude to our friends who have so 
cordially aided us, with special acknowledgments 
to the Bible Class in the First Congregational 
Church of Evanston, conducted by Mr. Thomas P. 
Ballard, who have been standing behind us finan- 
cially in our venture, and without whose assur- 
ance we hardly would have dared to launch out, 
we issue now our fourth number, asking continued 
co-operation and leniency of judgment on the part 
of our friends. Only by the considerable and 
rapid growth of our circulation can we be assured 
against financial loss or in favor of the advertise- 
ments which will enable us to improve the paper 
as we desire. 

Furthermore we ask every person into whose 
hands a copy of the paper may fall, to do what he 
may to make new friends for it and increase its 
circulation. The subscription blank at the bottom 
of page 15 may be filled, torn out and mailed 
to us. The subscription price is so trifling that 
nearly anyone can afford the cost, and we hope 
that through our paper, with the aid of our friends 
and subscribers, many new hands and hearts may 
be enlisted in the work w love, here or elsewhere. 



MANUAL TRAINING. 



Those who deal with boys in settlement work or 
otherwise are unanimous in the belief that to set 
a boy's hands and eyes and brain at work is to 
solve the " boy problem." We of Chicago Com- 
mons, awake day and night, it might be said al- 
most literally, to the need of the great army of 
boys in the industrial districts of Chicago, feel that 
our greatest mission is to the boys of our own dis- 
trict, and that through some plan of manual train- 
ing is the solution of the problem to be reached. 
A good friend of our work has provided a sum 
sufficient for the initial expense, and now we be- 
speak the cooperation of all who are interested in 
the most important, because most dangerous, citi- 
zen of the commonwealth The Boy. Even the 
best equipped manual training class will not run 
itself, or live usefully upon interest of its own 
making. 

THE SETTLEMENT NAME. 

When in search for the Settlement's name, we 
groped for weeks after some title which had at its 
root, if not in its form, that good old English word 
common. For the idea of the sharing of what each 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



9 



has equally with all, and all with each, of what 
belongs to no one and to no class, but to every one 
of the whole body, is the idea underlying not only 
this word and its equivalents in many tongues, but 
the very conception of that community and com- 
munion in which society and religion consist, and 
which constitute the essence of the settlement 
motive and movement. The baptismal day came, 
when the name had to be forthcoming, for strangely 
enough the " printer's devil " himself was at the 
door demanding it for official announcement. 

A friend in need appeared indeed, as we alighted 
from an elevator on the top floor of a sky-scraper 
on the afternoon of the last day of grace. In des- 
peration we suddenly " held him up " with the 
demand for a name. But he was equal to this, as 
he had been to many another emergency; for he 
mused and mulled a moment over our preference 
for something common, and, as he stepped into the 
car " going down," said, " Call it Chicago Com- 
mons." It was done, and better than that moment 
knew was the name builded. For its popular 
lineage was really behind it, woven through Eng- 
lish history. As the freemen of the race organ- 
ized in their early shires, municipalities and guilds, 
and later on combined to form one body represent- 
ing the whole people, so the represented people, 
without any primary distinction of class, came to 
be known as "the Commons." To this ideal of 
social democracy, the name adds the suggestion of 
those few patches of mother eaith still unclaimed 
as private property, which at least afford standing 
room equally for all, irrespective of pecuniary cir- 
cumstances or social status. 

So we called our household and its homestead 
" Chicago Commons," in hope that it might be a 
common center where the masses and the classes 
could meet and mingle as men, and exchange their 
social values in something like a " clearing-house " 
for the commonwealth; where friendship, neigh- 
borship and fellow-citizenship might form the per- 
sonal bonds of that social unification which alone 
can save our American democracy from disruption, 
cloven as it is under the increasing social stress 
and strain; and where that brotherhood of which 
we talk and sing may be more practically lived out 
and inwrought, as it must be if Christianity con- 
tinues to be a living faith and its churches the 
people's fellowship. GKAHAM TAYLOR. 

ONE of our chief lines of work is the exposi- 
tion of the settlement idea and movement, 
and of various kindred phases of social life and 
progress. We hold ourselves ready to present the 
cause upon every opportunity, and are glad to hear 
of churches, schools, clubs and classes where what 
we have to offer will be helpful. An address or 
sermpn upon " The Settlement Idea " would add 
interest to the morning service one of these hot 



Sunday mornings and we hold ourselves ready to 
furnish such a feature or even a day's series of so- 
cial studies. A recent suburban pilgrimage of 
this sort included a Sunday morning address upon 
" The New Brotherhood," an afternoon men's 
meeting considering " The Call of the Times for 
Men," and an evening talk on " The Social Settle- 
ment; What it has to offer for the solution of so- 
cial problems." 

*** 

THE postponement of the Chicago Commons 
School of Social Economics will be regretted 
by none more than by those who have its arrange- 
ment in charge. But so desirous are we that the 
discussion of Social Reconstruction shall be calm, 
judicial and candidly truth-seeking, that we feared 
to jeopardize the best results of such a discussion by 
precipitating it in the heat of what promises to be 
the most heated campaign of recent years. Im 
view of the universally conceded fact that social 
conditions are very far from the ideal, it is self- 
evident that a conference regarding remedies 
should not be complicated by the presence of 
issues more or less purely partisan. We ask of our 
friends and the friends of the ultimate truth, the 
utmost of aid to make the coming session one of 
permanent value. 

gibe Htflbt Sketches 

MOST pathetic are some of the incidents in con- 
nection with our "fresh air" excursions. To most 
of the children " The Country" means a great place 
of mysterious delights, known only by a rarely 
privileged few. Some are afraid of what they see, 
and one little child was terribly frightened at sight 
of the grass waving in billows as the wind passed 
over it. She had never seen grass before, and she 
thought it was alive ! Another little girl, ten 
years old, was taken to the lake shore beach, and 
feared every breaking wave afresh. The sticks 
and dead insects and fish on the shore were things 
of terror, and not until she had been there a week 
or more could she be induced to wade in even the 
calmest water. A resident asked one little girl, 
just starting for Elgin : 

" Are you glad to go to the country, Mamie ? " 

" I I guess so." 

" Haven't you ever been to the country ? " 

" No, ma'am; what does it look like ?" 

THE watering trough next door has many uses 
beside that for which it is intended. Aside from 
the horses and men and women and boys and girls 
who drink out of it, there are heated passers-by 
who dip their heads in for a cooling. Now and 
then a man or boy tosses in his dog for a bath, 
and perhaps, next, some luckless urchin will be 
ducked there by his frolicsome playmates. To- 
ward evening the procession of horses becomes 
well nigh incessant, and the human drinkers 
scarcely get a chance, which sends many into the 
saloon instead. Now and then one will see beside 
the trough the not infrequent sight of a mother or 
father, bringing the children to the horse-trough 
to wash before supper. 



10 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[July, 



OUR ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Random Glimpses of Daily Life and Work About 
the Settlement Residence. 



It would hardly have been possible to select four 
illustrations more typical of the work of Chicago 
Commons, or of the life of the people among whom 
it stands. Especially is this true of the photo- 
graph of the "drinking fountain." The camera 
stood in front of the Settlement residence, on the 
west side of Union street (almost exactly at the 
spot marked by the head of the procession in the 
picture on this page) and looking northerly (to the 
right according to this picture) along Union 



the opening of the college in the spring. A busy 
space of city street is that in front of our windows. 
The illustration below shows not only the party of 
happy children, with busy grown-folks anxious for 
a propitious starting, but by means of the bulletin 
in front of the porch exhibits one of our ways of 
announcing the subjects of the Industrial and 
Economic Union meetings every Tuesday evening. 
This particular sign says: "Tuesday Night. The 
Referendum. The People Should Veto Bad Leg- 
islation. Several Speakers. Eight o'clock. All' 
Welcome!" But the children are not interested in 
economic topics; they are off for the country, and. 




OFF FOR A PICNIC. 



street across Austin and Milwaukee avenues. 
In the immediate foreground is one of our 
little girl friends, all unconscious of the steady 
gaze of the camera. Just back of her is the horse- 
trough, from which a sturdy specimen of " our 
boys" is about to drink. Further distant, at the 
left, is one of our Italian neighbors, coming home 
from market. Visible above the little girl's head, 
and yet more unconscious of the camera, is a bridal 
couple, just married in the Settlement parlor by 
Rev. Mr. Boiler, and now hastening to the trolley 
car which has been stopped for them. Other pass- 
ers go to and from their work, and the two young 
men on the opposite 'side of the avenue have just 
left the " Chicago Commons Dispensary " in the 
basement of the Medical College. The van in front 
of the college has brought the goods of students 
for this photograph was taken about the time of 



our large photograph of the youngsters under the- 
trees is the proof that they arrived there safely. 



OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CHURCH. 

The relations of the Settlement to the Church 
are peculiarly close and happy. While the Com- 
mons proposes to give all the help it can to all the 
churches of- the neighborhood, its affiliation with 
one of them is of reciprocal value. The Taber- 
nacle Congregational Church is five blocks west of 
us,atthe corner of Grand avenue and Morgan street,. 
and is the only English-speaking Protestant con- 
gregation in the ward. Its pastor and his family 
have resided at the Commons from the beginning. 
Most of the residents attend its services. Sixteen 
of them have belonged to the Church and ten are 
still in membership. One resident is Sunday- 
School superintendent. Another is the head of the 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



11 



Industrial Schools, the children's Sunday evening 
service, and. parish visitation. Another teaches 
a week-night adult Bible class. Many members 
of the congregation frequent the Commons, and 
with the co-operation of the pastor and trustees a 
children's chorus of 350 voices has been in 
excellent training at the Church. So far from be- 
ing what many suspect the settlements to be a 
proposed substitute for the Churches Chicago 
Commons has no higher aspiration than to help 
th.e Church to become more of a social settlement 
in each community for the social unification, the 
Christian neighborliness and the spiritual fellow- 
ship of all the people in that " righteousness, peace 
and joy in the Holy Ghost" in which the Kingdom 
of God consists. 



THE SUMMER CAMPAIGN. 

(Continued from 1st Page.) 

keynote of our summer campaign "Away from 
the city ! " 

And our friends in the suburbs have been rally- 
ing nobly to our help in this regard. The group 
of good friends in Dwight, 111., who welcomed one 
of our neighbors with her child in June have taken 
another, fresh from the Cook County Hospital, 
with her infant, and thus helped to restore hope 
and courage to a nearly despairing life. 

The Sunday School of the Congregational 
Church at Downer's Grove, under the direction of 
Rev. H. H. Rood, secured a farm house and a good 
woman to have charge of it, and have kept for a 
fortnight each, several groups of children. A score 
of young people will have been entertained at 
Elgin in small groups for a week or more at a 
time. These are only examples of a work growing 
in capacity and outreach, and showing a blessed 
awakening on the part of Christians in the coun- 
try to the need of their city brethren, and to the 
fact that " to have is to owe." Nothing has been 
said of the several picnics for a day apiece by 
groups of the boys and girls to suburban fields and 
woods, or of the outings enjoyed by the residents 
for one day or longer through the kindness of the 
friends of the Settlement and its work. 



THE VOTERS' MEETING. 

One of the best indications of what the Settle- 
ment may do and become as a center for efforts to- 
ward civic righteousness was the meeting held just 
after the giving away of the famous " Union Loop" 
franchise by the Chicago Common Council. Both 
of the Aldermen of the 17th Ward, including the 
one who was elected through the efforts of the 
better citizens of the ward, voted with the gang 
of " boodlers " in giving away the franchise, and 
the 17th Ward Council of the Civic Federation 
called a meeting to take action upon the mat- 



ter. The large assembly room of the Settlement 
residence was packed with the voters of the 
ward, and many stood outside in the yard, while 
the " reform " Alderman was explaining his vote. 
His explanation and pledges for the future were 
sufficiently satisfactory to avoid a vote of censure, 
but a committee of fifteen voters was appointed 
to confer with the Alderman and watch the prog- 
ress of events. 

It was an extraordinary occasion, and exhibited 
most satisfactorily the readiness of the rank and 
file of the 17th Ward voters to meet for the consid- 
eration of the interests of the ward. It was, in- 
deed, only one of the many indications, within the 
observation of this and other settlements, of the 
eagerness among every-day American citizens to 
help whenever the opportunity arises, in the work 
for social honesty and civic righteousness. 

CHICAGO COMMON^ ASSOCIATION. 
The legal tenure of the little household property 
of the Commons is provided for, and the ac- 
quisition of the title deed of our residence is in- 
vited, by the incorporation, under the Illinois law,, 
of The Chicago Commons Association. The per- 
sonal and representative character of the trustees is 
sufficient guarantee of the business management of 
the funds committed to our care. David Fales, E? q., 
(Lake Forest), and Prof. H. M. Scott, (West Side),, 
represent the Seminary board of directors and 
faculty; Thomas P. Ballard, (Evanston), and 
Charles H. Hulburd, (North Side), are also mem- 
bers of the City Missionary Society's board of 
directors; John S. Field, (Knickerbocker Ice Co.), 
and J. H. Strong, (U. S. Life Insurance Co.), 
represent Plymouth Church; E. Burritt Smith, 
Esq., (South Side), is an officer in the University 
Church, and a prominent legal representative of 
the Civic Federation; Edward Payson, (Oak Park),, 
is treasurer, and Graham Taylor, (Professor of 
Christian Sociology, Chicago Theological Semi- 
nary), is president of the Association and resident 
warden. 

COMMONS NOTES. 

The boys are already eagerly looking forward to the 

coming winter evenings, and the prospect of manual 
training. 

We shall be much in need of games in the coming 

year's work. Crokinole is by far the most popular, and we 
have but two sets. 

The Woman's Club continues its meetings through- 
out the summer, gaining in interest so much that increasing 
from fortnightly to weekly occasions, a good attendance 
has characterized the meetings of even the hottest Monday 
evenings. 

Plans are already making for the meetings of the 

Inter-Seminary Economic Club, which was of so great in- 
terest and value last winter, when students from five 
theological seminaries in Chicago welcomed the opportunity 
to discuss economic and industrial topics, and twice a 



12 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[July, 



month met to talk over these things with representatives 
of various interests. 

We shall need much help from good men of 
patience, tact and native wit to help us to cope with our 
" boy problem " next winter. 

The Girls' Progressive Club, composed of our work- 
ing-girl friends and a number of the Chicago graduates of 
women's colleges, has met during the summer months with 
notable sustenance of interest. Several outings have been 
enjoyed. 

The effort to keep green the bit of lawn in front of 

the Commons residence has been even more successful 
than we supposed possible. We have fairly worn out our 
100 feet of hose, and count a new supply among our imme- 
diate needs. 

Astonishing as the announcement may seem to 

many dwellers in ordinary city conditions, a very plague of 
mosquitoes has added wakeful nights to the usual trials of 
life in Union street. The wooden sidewalks of Chicago 
cover many a stagnant pool where the little pests are bred. 

A large number of magazines have been sent to the 

Settlement, but are not in use because, they being in full 
volumes, it is felt that it would be wasteful to have the num- 
bers scattered and worn out separately. Who will help 
us in this matter by paying for the binding of one vol- 
ume, or more? 

A score of needs, within the house, await the day of 
our ability to meet them. Some have to do with adorn- 
ment, some with mere utility. We scarcely know in which 
category to class, for instance, our dream of the day when a 
strip of cocoa matting will stretch from end to end of each 
of our long hall-ways! 

Especial attention is being given during the hot 
weather to the matter of sanitation. In the absence of 
Kev. H. F. Hegner, the ward inspection of alleys and scav- 
enger work is in the hands of Mr.Todd, and every endeavor 
is put forth to interfere effectively in all cases of unsani- 
tary conditions coming within our notice. 

Our "flower mission" work has been decidedly 

effective during the summer. Friends in neighboring sub- 
urban towns, and from even so far away as Iowa, have sent 
to us weekly, or oftener, cut flowers and plants, which it 
has been our pleasure to distribute as effectively as possible. 
The recipients have fully appreciated the service. 

The Tuesday evening meetings of the Industrial 
and Economic Union continue with unabated interest, the 
men refusing to hear of such a thing as a "summer inter- 
mission." The most notable thus far in the summer series 
was that addressed by John Turner, the English anarchist, 
whose address, heard by a large audience, gave rise to warm 
discussion and was the occasion of a second meeting, when 
his arguments were criticized by Deputy Factory Inspector 
Bisno. 

The work carried on by the Commons among the 

poor at the County Infirmary has gone on during the 
summer with undiminished faithfulness. By the coopera- 
tion of a number of Endeavor Societies of the county, 
insuring the support of Mr. Robert E. Todd, a resident of 
,the Commons, this ministry of friendship and Christian 
visitation has been maintained without a break. There is 
need of yet more extensive help in this matter, to assure 
the carrying on of the work without diminution. 

In addition to the summer school occasions in the 
"West where the Commons work has been described by the 



Warden, the cause has been presented more or less recently 
by other workers in the Settlement, at West Pullman, Fair 
View, Lake Forest, Oak Park, Ridgeland, and several 
churches within the city, and at Grand Rapids, Ludington 
and Manistee, Mich. The eager attention with which 
descriptions of this phase of social unification are heard 
promise equal interest for occasions in the future. 

The residential force at the Commons has not de- 
clined in numbers during the summer as we feared. Among 
the temporary residents, in addition to our kindergarteners, 
Miss Harriet Krause and Miss Leola Day, latterly of Hurley, 
Wis., there have come to us Mr. Walter Vose Gulick, a 
former Commons resident, more recently of Dwight, 111., 
Rev. Morrison Weimer.for six years pastor of the Congrega- 
tional church in Sedgwick, Kans., now in Chicago for two 
years of post-graduate seminary study; and others have 
taken part in our work for longer or shorter terms. 



Jrom Sociological Class IRooms, 



CLASSES FOR WORKERS. 



Courses by Prof. Henderson and Dr. Ayres at the 
University of Chicago. 



It is announced that the University of Chicago 
will offer in university extension for the fall 
quarter, two courses in sociology for the special 
benefit of those engaged in charity work. One of 
these courses will be given by Prof. Charles R. 
Henderson, the other by Dr. Philip W. Ayres. Dr. 
Henderson will consider especially the principles 
involved in poor relief, and will direct the work 
of his classes and set them to studying their own 
experiences, in the light of social laws. 

Dr. Ayres' courses will be on the problem of the 
poor in cities. This course will include a study of 
the homes of the poor, and of the causes of pov- 
erty, with some account of the practical measures 
adopted in American and foreign cities to improve 
the conditions and remove the causes. Some 
attention will also be given to experiments of 
municipal government at home and abroad, in the 
direction of better tenements, streets and parks. 
Dr. Ayres calls his courses "a practical course for 
workers." The settlements in Chicago and others 
interested have been asked to organize classes of 
friendly visitors and others interested in this kind 
of work to begin about October 1st. 

This kind of instruction is being regarded more 
and more as of importance for the complete furn- 
ishing of workers, and Dr. Ayres stands particulary 
for inductive inquiry in all social lines. Under 
his general direction a group of university stud- 
ents is spending the summer in Chicago, located 
at the settlements, and 'Studying at first hand city 
institutions and social conditions. The courses 
referred to above will be of great value to those 
desiring to follow up these kinds of study. 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



13 



IJn tbe OTorlfc of Settlements. 



THE ESSENTIAL OF HELPFULNESS. 



But before I seriously undertake to make of him 
[the poor man] an independent, Intelligent, strug- 
gling brother man, to wake him from his torpor, 
to set him on his feet, to kindle in his son 1 that fire 
which keeps my own soul full of light and warmth, 
I must have something more than the impulse of a 
wise economy. This needs a sympathy which makes 
his life, with all its needs and miseries, my own. It 
demands of me to wrestle with his enemies, to un- 
dertake a fight for him which he is not yet ready 
to undertake himself, to sacrifice myself that I may 
make his true self live. Phillips Broohs, Sermons, 
Vol. II. 

Believe it, 'tis the mass of men He loves, 

And, where there is most sorrow and most want, 

There most is He, for there is He 

Most needed. James Russell Lowell. 



MISS ADDAMS AT MANSFIELD HOUSE. 



Cordial Reception in Canning Town to the Head of 
Hull House. 



All settlement workers and their friends will be 
interested in the account of the visit of Miss Jane 
Addams to Mansfield House, thus reported in the 
July number of the Mansfield House Magazine: 

" One of the most interesting meetings ever held 
in Canning Town was the reception of Miss Jane 
Addams, of Hull House, Chicago, on Saturday, 
June 13. It was held in the Recreation Ground, at 
the back of the Boys' Club, generally known as 
Fairbairn House, and there were present Mr. J. 
Spencer Curwen, Mr. Keir Hardie, Mr. Alderman 
Ben Tillett, Mr. Trenwith, head of the labour 
party in the Victorian Parliament, Tom McCarthy, 
Herbert Burrows, and a large number of people 
interested in the labour movement. Refreshments 
were served, and the meeting was held in the open 
air. Miss Addams received a great ovation from 
the men and women of Mansfield House, three 
rousing cheers startling the neighbourhood for a 
considerable distance round the garden. A delight- 
ful spirit of comradeship and good-will seemed to 
pervade the whole meeting, and from the time 
when Randolph, at the request of the Warden, ex- 
tended a hearty welcome to Miss Addams, until 
Reason's speech, which closed the proceedings, the 
interest of the audience never flagged for one mo- 
ment. Miss Addams made a strong appeal to the 
leaders of the labour movement to assist all hon- 
est attempts put forth by the settlements, and the 
high tone of her remarks gave the key to the rest 
of the meeting. Miss Addams has, by this time, 
left England for the Continent, and we hope to see 
her again in September, before she sails for the 
States. She has the heartiest good wishes of every- 
body connected with Mansfield House." 



A CALIFORNIA SETTLEMENT. 



The annual report of the " Manse Settlement As- 
sociation," of West Oakland, Cal., comes to hand 
just as we go to press. The settlement, founded 
in February, 1895, by Rev. Frank E. Hinckley, is 
at 1730 Eighth street, West Oakland, and is known 
as "The Manse." Mr. Hinckley managed the work 
practically single-handed until last November, 
when he relinquished it to the association of ladies 
now in charge. While unconnected with institu- 
tions, and free from denominational control, this 
settlement " seeks to co-operate with all organiza- 
tions which aim at the good of the community and 
the advancement of the highest forces of society. 
It especially endeavors to promote civil, industrial, 
and individual justice and peace, and cordially wel- 
comes to its work and privileges all who desire to 
promote these objects or who respond to the spirit 
of mutual helpfulness." 

Among the social and educational departments 
already undertaken are: For both sexes, young 
people's social and literary union; lectures, recep- 
tions and art exhibits; for women, housekeepers' 
cooking class, lectures and women's club; for 
young women, reading circle, sewing club and 
singing class; for boys, boys' club and Sunday 
afternoon literary hour; for girls, sewing classes, 
kitchen garden and cooking class; and for young 
men, drawing and music classes. 

THE 

LEWIS INSTITUTE 

Will open September 21, 1896, with a full corps of instructors 
and courses in 

SCIENCE 
LITERATURE AND 



TECHNOLOGY 

The buildings located at the corner of West Madison 
and Eobey streets, have been erected at a cost of 



$230,000 



and are equipped with all necessary apparatus and 

appliances, including shops, laboratories 

and libraries. 

An endowment of over one million dollars enables the 
Institute to offer, at a nominal tuition, 

THE BEST POSSIBLE ADVANTAGES 
TO YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN 

who wish to equip themselves for the productive 

industries or for advanced 

university work. 



For circular of information, address, 

LEWIS INSTITUTE, CHICAGO 



14 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[July, 



among tbe 



A SHORT SOCIOLOGICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



Constantly are coming to us requests for guid- 
ance in the matter of reading upon the subjects 
connected with the great social movements of the 
race. So pressing has been this demand that a 
year ago Prof. Graham Taylor prepared and issued, 
through the Congregational Sunday School and 
Publishing Society, a little bibliography of avail- 
able books in the fields of Christian Sociology and 
Social Economics. The edition is exhausted and 
out of date, but the Bibliography is now undergo- 
ing revision, and pending its issue we publish a 
^selected list of references which will be useful to 
those desiring a more popular course. To those 
.asking for a very small list of books available for 
busy people we suggest the short list. The prices 
quoted are furnished by courtesy of A. C. McClurg 
& Co., by whom the books listed are for sale. In 
most cases, except where marked " net," a discount 
from list prices is allowed. 

SHORT LIST. 

The New Era, by Eev. Josiah Strong, D.D. The Baker & 

Taylor Company, New York. 75 cents ; paper, 35 cents. 
How the Other Half Lives, by Jacob Rlls. Scrlbners, New 

York. $1.25 net. 
*Rullng Ideas of the Present Age, by Eev. Washington 

Gladden, D.D. Houghton, Mifflln & Co., Boston. $1.25. 
*Social Meanings of Religious Experiences, by Rev. George 

D. Herron, D.D. T. Y. Crowell & Co., New York. 75 

cents. 
tThe Labor Movement in America, by Prof. Richard T.Ely. 

T. Y. Crowell & Co., New York. $1.50. 
tTools and the Man, by Rev. Washington Gladden, D.D. 

Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston. $1.25. 
Socialism and Social Reform, by Prof. Richard T. Ely. T. 

Y. Crowell & Co., New York. $1.50. 
Social Reform and the Church, by Prof. John R. Commons. 

T. Y. Crowell & Co., New York. 75 cents. 
JThe Kingdom of God, a Plan of Study, by Rev. F. Herbert 

Stead. T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh.' ls-6d net, 53 cents. 

LONGER SELECTED LIST. 

In the various fields of social and economic 
study the following list will be found sufficiently 
exhaustive for all popular purposes : 

Books to Arouse Interest. 

The New Era, Josiah Strong, D.D. The Baker & Taylor 

Company, New York. 76 cents; paper 35 cents. 
Social Aspects of Christianity, Prof. R. T. Ely. T. Y. 

Crowell & Co., New York. 90 cents. 
Philanthropy and Social Progress (Essays). T. Y. Crowell 

& Co., New York. $1.50. 
In Darkest England, General William Booth. Funk & 

Wagnalls Company, New York. $1.00; paper 50 cents. 
Prisoners of Poverty, Mrs. Helen Campbell. Roberts 

Brothers, Boston. $1.00. 
How the Other Half Lives, Jacob Riis. Scribners, New 

York. $1.25 net. 
Ruling Ideas of the Present Age. Rev. Dr. Washington 

Gladden. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. $1.25. 
Progress and Poverty, Henry George (especially the clos 

ing chapters) . John W. Lovell Company, New York. 

$1.00; paper, 50 cents. 
Wealth against Commonwealth, Henry Demarest Lloyd. 

Harper & Brothers, New York. $1.00. 

*t Choice between this and the other book marked with 
the same sign. 

$A plan of Bible study, alone and unsurpassed in its 
kind. 



On. the, General Social Outlook. 

The Social Horizon (anonymous) . Swann, Sonnenschein & 
Co., London. $1.00. 

Social Evolution, Benjamin Kidd. Macmillan & Co., New 
York. $1.50. 

Introduction to the Study of Society, Prof. Albion W. Small 
and George E. Vincent. American Book Company, Chi- 
cago. $1.80 net. 

The Americon Journal of Sociology, monthly; $2. Univer- 
sity of Chicago Press, Chicago. 

On the Family. 

The Family; an Historical and Social Study, Charles F. 

Thwing. Lee, Boston. $2.00. 
The History of Human Marriage, Edward Westermarck. 

Macmillan & Co., New York. $4.00. 

On Political Economics. 

Outlines of Economics, Prof. Richard T. Ely. Hunt & 

Eaton, N. Y. $1.25 net. 
Principles of Economics, Alfred Marshall. Macmillan & 

Co., New York. 2 vols., $3.00 per vol. net. 
Recent Economic Changes, David A. Wells. D. Appleton 

& Co., New York. $1.50, net. 

On The Labor Movement. 

The History of Trade Unionism, Sidney and Beatrice Webb. 
Longmans, Green & Co., London. $5.00. 

Conflicts of Labor and Capital (2d ed.), G. S. Howell. Mac- 
millan & Co., New York. $2.50. 

Trade Unionism, New and Old, same author. Scribner's, 
New York. $1.00 net. 

The Labor Problem; a Symposium, edited by W. E. Barns. 
Harper & Brothers, New York. $1.00. 

The Industrial Revolution in England, etc. (4th ed.), Arnold 
Toynbee. Longmans, Green & Co. $3.50. 

The Labor Movement in America, by Prof. Richard T. Ely. 
T. Y. Crowell & Co., New York. $1.50. 

The Evolution of Industry, Henry Dyer. Macmillan & Co., 
New York. $1.50. 

Hull House Maps and Papers, (Essays by Hull House resi- 
dents) . T. Y. Crowell & Co., New York. $2.50. 

Reports of the U. S. Labor Bureau. Address Commissioner 
of Labor, Washington, D. C. 

On Civics and Citizenship. 

The American Citizen. Charles T. Dole, D. C. Heath & Co. 
Boston. 90 cents net. 

The American Commonwealth, James Bryce, M. P, Mac- 
millan & Co., New York. 2 vols., $4.00 net. 

Civil Government in the United States, John Fiske. Hough- 
ton, Mifflin & Co., Boston. $1.00 net. 

Municipal Government in Great Britain. Albert Shaw. 
Century Co., New York $2.00. 

Municipal Government in Europe, ditto. $2.00. 
On Socialism, Pro and Contra. 

Looking Backward, Edward Bellamy. Houghton, Mifflin & 
Co., Boston. $1.00; paper, 50 cents. 

Socialism and Social Reform, Prof. Richard T. Ely. T. Y. 
Crowell & Co., New York. $1.50. 

Merrie England (pamphlet) . Robert Blatchford. Common- 
wealth Company, New York. 10 cents. 

Fabian Essays, by English Economists. Charles E. Brown 
& Co., Boston. 75 cents. 

On Charities and Correction. 
American Charities, Prof. Amos Warner. T. Y.'Crowell & 

Co., New York. $1.75. 
PunisJiment and Reformation, Fred'k Howard Wines. T. 

Y. Crowell & Co., New York. $1.75. 

An Introduction to the study of Dependent, Defective and 
Delinquent Classes, Prof. Charles R. Henderson. D. C. 
Heath & Co., Boston. $1.50. 

The Children of the Poor, Jacob Riis. Scribners, New York. 

$1.25 net. 
The Jukes, R. L. Dugdale. G. P. Putnam Sons, New York. 

Out of print; obtainable at most libraries. 
The Charities Review, monthly publication of New York 

Charity Organization Society. $2. 

On the Social Settlement Idea. 

Bibliography of College, Social and University Settlements. 
Miss M. Katharine Jones. (Address Miss Caroline L 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



15 



Williamson, 3230 Michigan Ave., Chicago.) 10 cents. 
Neighborhood Guilds, Dr. Stanton Colt. Swann, Sonnen- 

schein & Co., London. $1.00. 

Essays in " Philanthropy and Social Progress. "(See above). 
Hull House Maps and Papers. (See above.) 
CHICAGO COMMONS, monthly record of Social Settlement 

movement, 25 cents per year. 

On Social Aspects of Christianity. 

The World as the Subject of Eedemption, Canon W. H. 

Feemantle. Longmans, Green & Co. $2.00 net. 
Social Reform and the Church, Prof. John R. Commons. 

T. Y. Crowell & Co., New York. 75 cents. 
The Christian Society, Prof. George D. Herron, D.D. Flem 

ing H. Revell Company, Chicago. 75 cents. 
Social Meanings of Religious Experiences, Prof. Herron. 

T. Y. Crowell & Co., New York. 75 cents. 



Hand Book No. 2, Forward Movements. The Congrego^- 
tivnalist, Boston. 4 cents. 

The Kingdom of God, Rev. A. B. Bruce. Scribners, New 
York. $2.00. 

The Kingdom of God: a Plan of Study. Rev. F. Herbert 
Stead. T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh. ls-6d net; 53 cents. 



ALL THE BOOKS 



In the above list, and many others on Sociological Subjects 
may be procured, usually at a liberal reduction, from pub- 
lishers' prices, at the Congregational Book Store, 
175 Wabash avenue, Chicago. 

Their catalogue FREE on request. 



A. C. McCLURG & CO. 

BOOKSELLERS PUBLISHERS STATIONERS 



Offer a complete stock not only of the lighter books of the day, such as in FICTION, 

TRAVEL, BELLES LETTRES, etc,, etc,, but also take pride in their large 

and careful selections in such departments as 



Sociology, Economics, 

, 

Political Science and Finance 



The Books on Sociology, enumerated in the present number of CHICAGO COMMONS, can be 

obtained of 

A. C. McCLURG & CO., 



CHICAGO 



140 NORTH UNION STREET. 



.189- 



Publishers of CHICAGO COMMONS: 

Enclosed find $ , for which send copies of the CHICAGO 

COMMONS periodical for ... year , beginning with the issue of--- , 

to the following address: 

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CHICAGO COMMONS 

A Monthly Record of Social Settlement Life and Work. 



Vol. I. 



AUGUST, 1896. 



No. 5. 




A UNION STREET GLIMPSE. 

View of Chicago Commons from the Illinois Medical College looking southwest. Drinking trough at right of center. Tracks 

In the foreground run east and west on Austin Avenue; the trolley car at right is going northwest 

on Milwaukee Avenue. Union Street runs north and soutli . 



LABOR ISSUE. 



September Number of " Chicago Commons " to be of 

Value for Workingmen and to All Interested 

in t f ie Labor Movement Prof. Taylor's 

Labor Studies. 



The September issue of CHICAGO COMMONS, 
which will follow the August number as early in 
the month as possible, might be called our " Labor 
Day Issue," since it will contain much that will be 
of interest to the friends and observers of the 
Labor Movement. Its principal feature will be 
the first of a series of monthly studies on the 

SOCIAL CONDITION AND MOVEMENT Of 
LAKOR. 

The studies will be conducted by Professor Tay- 
lor, and are designed to be of the utmost possible 



popular interest and value. ' It is intended that 
each of the studies shall contain : 

1. Definite statement of the ground to be covered. 

2. Assignments of specific topics for individual 

original investigation and observation, and in 
historical, biographical, economic and statis- 
tical lines. 

3. Reading references. 

4. Appropriate excerpts, etc. 

ADDITIONAL FEATURES. 

In addition to these studies, the September issue 
will contain an unique account of the enforcement 
of the Golden Rule as the shop-ordinance in a 
western factory; a short bibliography of the 
labor movement; poetry and other selections of a 
timely character; in short, every effort will be 
made to insure for the September number of 
CHICAGO COMMONS an interested reading by the 
friends of the Labor Movement wherever it may 
circulate. 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[August, 



"LORD, MAKE US ALL LOVE ALL." 

Lord, make us all love all, that when we meet 
Even myriads of earth's myriads at thy bar, 
We may be glad as all true lovers are, 
Who, having parted, count reunion sweet. 
Safe gathered home around thy blessed feet, 
Come home by different roads from near and far, 
Whether by whirlwind or by flaming car, 
From pangs or sleep, safe folded round thy seat. 
Oh, if our brother's blood cry out at us, 
How shall we meet thee who hast loved us all, 
Thee whom we never loved, not loving him? 
The unloving cannot chant with seraphim, 
Bear harp of gold or psalm victorious, 
Or face the vision beatifical. 

Christina O. Rosxetti. 



SOCIOLOGY GAINS GROUND. 



Its Advent in the National Educational 
Association, 



Recognition in a Series of Notable Paper* at One 
of the Foremost Gatherings of Educators Ad- 
dresses by Commissioner Harris of the Bureau 
of Education, Professors Small and Barnes, 
President Hall of Worcester, and Others. 



The sociological class-room from which we hear 
this month is nothing less than the session of the 
National Educational Association at Buffalo, de- 
voted to the relation between education and soci- 
ology. The main paper was presented by Prof. 
Albion W. Small of the University of Chicago. It 
was an elaborate attempt to define philosophically 
the relationship between the new science and the 
old. Education, Professor Small maintains, con- 
sists in 

(1) Cultivating the powers of discriminating ob- 
servation. 

(2) Strengthening the logical faculties. 

(8) Improving the process and powers of com- 
parison. 

The analytic study of sociology includes 

(1) Man's natural environment, animate and in- 
animate. 

(2) Man himself as an individual in all his 
characteristics. 

(3) Man's associations or institutions. 

POINTS RY PROFESSOR SMALL. 

Some of the sparks flashed as follows: 
"The demand of sociology upon pedagogy is 
that teachers stop training one particular mental 
power and pay attention to all the powers; stop 
wet-nursing orphan mental faculties and bring the 
child into touch with what is and as it is, and the 
mind itself will do the rest." " The study of soci- 
ology should begin with the nursing bottle and 
should continue as long as social relations exist." 
" Sociology, like charity, should begin at home 



with the family and extend to the compass of the 
race." "The first studies in sociology should be 
of the society, next the school-house and the town 
in which we live." 

THE CHILD AS A SOCIAL FACTOR. 

Prof. Earl Barnes, of Leland Stanford, Jr., Uni- 
versity, followed with a briefer but suggestive 
paper, designed to answer these three questions: 

(1) What makes the child a social factor distinct 
from the adult? 

(2) How does society take advantage of this and 
use it for its own advantage? 

(3) How does the pupil react upon society and 
affect it? 

The child was declared to be naturally a great con- 
servative in the smaller affairs pertaining to itself, 
and they were relegated to habit. In the larger 
matters of religion, ethics, politics and art children 
tend to be radical and return to logical conclusions. 
This makes the pupil the great radical force of the 
world. The adult accepts expediency, necessity, 
or what he calls experience, as the basis of action. 
The child, accepts authority or the logical out-put 
of his own mind. 

Society tries to mould the pupil in its own like- 
ness, that he may safely bear along the accumu- 
lated treasures of civilization. To-day, society 
talks of educating a child for himself, but really, 
society, through the state, church, societies and in- 
dividuals, educates our children for Catholicism, 
Protestantism, American citizenship, temperance, 
or whatever other ideas may be in vogue. " In 
the larger freedom we are giving, lies our hope,' 
said Professor Barnes. 

PRESERVES THE RACE FROM EXTINCTION. 

The child tends to preserve the race from extinc- 
tion by constantly rejecting some part of the ac- 
cumulated civilization, thus enabling biological 
adjustment to keep pace with the advance in civil- 
ization. He also recalls each generation to the 
eternal ideals of the race, and thereby becomes the 
ever-renewed savior of society. Through imme- 
diate reaction upon the adults around him, the 
pupil retards the decadence of his elders. Society 
is coming to trust more and more in all the radical 
tendencies of childhood and to distrust all educa- 
tion that tends to emphasize the natural conserva- 
tism of children in small things, and in this society 
is wise. 

President Canfield, of Ohio State University, was 
prevented from presenting his paper on " The 
Teacher as a Social Factor," but the proceedings 
will doubtless contain it. 

The discussion was participated in by several of 
the most eminent members of the Association. 

Mr. J. M. Harper, inspector of superior schools, 
Quebec, Canada, emphasized individual ethics that 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



3 



inspires clean lines, as fundamental to social ethics, 
sociology and psychology. 

SOCIOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY. 

President G. Stanley Hall, of Clark University, 
Worcester, Mass., commented upon the marvelous 
development which sociology has had in this coun- 
try within the last few years. " The relations be- 
tween sociology and psychology," he said, "are 
getting exceedingly close and fruitful," and added, 
" I doa't exactly know where one ends and the 
other begins." The sociological results of heredity 
are explaining how the amalgamation of the masses 
made the strength of the present. Man is univer- 
salized. We have four, grandparents, eight great- 
grandparents, until, if we figure back to William I, 
we have 23,000,000 ancestors. 

United States Commissioner of Education, Mr. 
William T. Harris, closed with a fine emphasis 
upon " The Teacher as a Factor in Sociology." 
" Education," he said, " is the foundation of sociol- 
ogy, which is the science of civilization, the science 
of the combination of man into social wholes, the 
family, civil society, the state and the church. The 
teacher, with the exception of the clergyman, has 
the best opportunity to bring about the highest re- 
lation between the individual and the social whole. 
The teacher has the finest opportunity to lift his or 
her profession up to the point where it will >be 
recognized as a profession through the study and 
teaching of sociology." 



PERMANENT SOCIAL RESULTS. 



The Warden's Field Notes of His Pilgrimage to 
Northern Michigan Good Work of the Sf en's 
League at Petoskey Interest in the CoiDjnons 
Kindergarten. 



[BY THE WARDEN.] 

There has been no abatement of the intense in- 
terest found in Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa in the 
discussion of social phenomena as reported in the 
previous issue of CHICAGO COMMONS as the Ward- 
en's pilgrimage has carried the test into Michigan. 
Indeed, it would seem impossible to surpass the 
interest displayed, for instance, at Bay View; and 
no more grateful evidence of this fact could pre- 
sent itself than in the response made in practical 
effort to attain practical result in the local life of 
the neighboring city of Petoskey. 

Bay View is the great Chautauqua of the West. 
Its six university schools, presided over by Prof. 
John M. Coulter, of the University of Chicago, 
and manned by professors from the great educa- 
tional centers, east and west, include no less than 
thirty classes in the ancient and modern languages, 
literature, sciences, pedagogy, music, art, physical 
culture and elocution. Teachers and special stu- 
dents constitute most of the classes and pay for the 



opportunity to do the most thorough intellectual 
work of which they are capable. 

The popular platform courses, which command 
a most intelligent though most diverse audience, 
are strictly educational and have been given by 
some of the eminent educators of this and other 
lands. Around the large and handsomely equipped 
lecture halls, library and auditorium are grouped 
hundreds of cottages, overlooking, from charming 
terraces, the rarely beautiful scenery of Little 
Traverse Bay. Suburbs of this summer city dot 
the long arm of land which stretches a full half- 
circle around these bluest waters of the northland 
lake. 

THE WOKK AT PETOSKEY. 

The more significant and permanent social re- 
sults of the pilgrimage which we have been report- 
ing are well exemplified at Petoskey. Last sum* 
mer, under the personal, prompt and vigorous 
pastoral Lsadership of Rev. James Gale Inglis, 
formerly of Chicago and now for the second time 
pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Petos- 
key, a " Men's League " was organized. While com- 
posed chiefly of the men of his church, it includes 
those of the Jewish and Catholic faith, and of no 
avowed religious attitude. Its object is to promote 
the social and intellectual fellowship of the men, 
and to unite them in organized effort for extending 
the influence and power for good of the church in 
the community. Appropriately to its purpose, the 
discussion at its first meeting was upon the relation 
of the church to the community, which was vari- 
ously viewed from the standpoint of the business 
man, the lawyer, the physician and the politician, 
the mayor of the city speaking from the political 
viewpoint. 

THE LEAGUE'S MEETINGS. 

At subsequent sessions through the winter such 
points of practical relationship between Christian 
sentiment and community interests as these were 
discussed with free speech and variant view: 
" Early Closing of Our Business Houses Advan- 
tages, Difficulties and a Feasible Plan; " "The Ob- 
servance of Memorial Day Should it be Perpetu- 
ated? Its Abuses, its Relation to the G. A. R." (the 
local post being present); "The Liquor Police 
Law What it is," defined by a lawyer, its enforce- 
ment from the citizen's and saloon-keeper's points 
of view, and practical methods. 

The anniversary address this summer was keyed 
to the same note, struck last season at the initia- 
tory meeting the relation of the churches to the 
community in Petoskey. The discussion by the 
League and others who remained after the close of 
the Sunday evening service, earnestly emphasized 
the local applications of the theme. 

Refreshingly frank, free and fearless were the 
(Continued on page 7.) 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[August, 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 

A Monthly Record of Social Settlement Life and 

Work, especially in the Industrial Districts 

of the City of Chicago. 



SUBSCRIPTION PRICE 

Twenty-flve cents per year, postpaid to any State or 
Country. Single copies sent to any address upon applica- 
tion. For larger numbers, special terms may be obtained 
on application. The publishers will be glad to receive 
lists of church members or other addresses, to whom sam- 
ple copies may be sent. 

Changes of Address -Please notify the publishers 
promptly of any change of address, or of failure to receive 
the paper within a reasonable interval after it is due. 

To Other Settlements We mean to regard as " pre- 
ferred " names upon our mailing list, all settlements, and 
to send CHICAGO COMMONS as a matter of course to all 
such. In return, we ask for all reports, and. so far as pos- 
sible, all printed or circular matter, however trivial, issued 
by settlements in the course of their regular work. 



ALL COMMUNICATIONS 

Kelating to this publication should be addressed to the 
Managing Editor, JOHN P. GAVIT, Chicago Commons, 
140 North Union Street, Chicago, 111. 



Entered as Second Class Matter May 18, 1896, at the 
Post-Office at Chicago, 111. 



Vol. 1, No. 5. ~GTNa AUGUST, 1896. 



TO WHOM it may concern: The work of the 
settlements this winter will demand a great 
deal of non-resident help. Is this not a call to YOU 
to offer your services? 

* 

* * 

EIGHT pages this month signify only a tempo- 
rary reduction and a preparation for larger 
issues in the future. It is our desire to make this 
paper increasingly helpful, and we shall be under 
obligation for suggestions or other aid looking to 

that end. 

* 

* * 

TO THE many friends inquiring as to the pub- 
lication in permanent form of the Sociologi- 
cal Bibliography published in the July issue of 
CHICAGO COMMONS, we are glad to say that it is 
undergoing somewhat careful revision and amend- 
ment, with the idea of publication presently in 
leaflet form at a nominal price. 



A SETTLEMENT WARNING. 



In a recent symposium upon the settlement ques- 
tion it was well said by Miss Starr, of Hull House, 
that there is danger just now of the formation of a 
sort of " settlement cult," and that before long it 
may be necessary to bring into existence a new 
" Movement " with a new " Idea " to be spelled 
with capital letters and designed to correct and 
offset the blunders of the settlement Movement, 
Idea and Cult. This is a timely warning. Scarcely 
too often can it be insisted upon that there is upon 



the settlements no obligation to work for brother- 
hood, neighborhood, industrial justice, which binds 
not equally upon every man and woman in propor- 
tion to his or her ability and opportunity. 

Why are we who chance to have been called into 
this peculiar sort of life more bound to emphasize 
the Brotherhood of Man, to seek for and preach 
social democracy, than others, living elsewhere? 
Of what concern is it to us more than to you, O 
readers, that men and women and children are de- 
prived of the God-given rights of life, liberty and 
the pursuit of happiness? The social settlement 
is not an institution, manned by a peculiarly-con- 
stituted priesthood, and divinely ordained, in the 
division of human labor, to do what no others can 
do. It is rather a protest against neglect, a small 
recognition of the fact that society has left undone 
those things it ought to have done, and has done 
those things it ought not to have done; a rebuke to 
every man and woman who asks, " Am I my broth- 
er's keeper? " 

Let the social settlement be unction to no man's 
soul. Let no man be glad " that some one is found 
fitted to do this kind of work." The settlement is 
a miserable pittance, and only a pittance, paid on 
account against the unspeakable obligation of So- 
cial Justice. It is at its best only an acknowledg- 
ment of what every man owes to every other man. 
By no means should one take comfort in his own 
neglect of Justice because a few brethren have 
repented of theirs. 



THE sudden and most unexpected death of Mr. 
William H. Colvin, of Chicago, bereaves the 
whole settlement movement of one of its firmest 
friends and most intelligent and helpful co-oper- 
ators. He literally carried Hull House on his 
heart. Many of its more burdensome details he 
made his daily concern. Its success inspired his 
highest social hope and his most self-sacrificing 
civic effort. He not only gave generously what he 
had, but at greater cost though with greater joy, 
what he was. To have seen his quiet enjoyment 
of a " Jane Club " tea, and to have caught the zest 
of his earnest, manly converse with some working- 
man in the reception room was to have a new hope 
born in one's heart of the democracy of wealth. 



WITH all due regard to Professor Taylor's in- 
junction that his " Labor Studies," referred 
to in another column, should be announced " with- 
out adjectives," the editor of CHICAGO COMMONS 
feels it to be in the interest of simple truth-telling to 
say that these studies are sure to be of great value 
to all interested in the social phenomena of our 
time, and to prophesy for them a wide reading. 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



5 



Similar studies in Christian Citizenship, conducted 
by Professor Taylor in the Golden Rule and Young 
Men's Era, have been used by classes all over the 
country. We expect the coming " Labor Studies " 
to be of even greater value. 



WE CONGRATULATE both Epworth House, 
of this city, and Miss Harriet Krause, who 
has been in charge of the Chicago Commons sum- 
mer kindergarten, that Miss Krause is to be in 
charge of the Epworth House kindergarten during 
the coming winter. Miss Krause has made herself 
beloved by all with whom she came in contact dur- 
ing her stay at the Commons, and it is a matter of 
sincere rejoicing that she is to remain, for the 
present at least, in settlement service. 



Cl NOTHER glimpse of the Chicago Commons 
/ \ neighborhood is seen in the photograph 
which we republish this month. But it is not our 
intention to limit our camera's activity to our own 
neighborhood. We are preparing for a series of 
illustrated articles upon the settlements of Chicago 
and other cities, and hope to intersperse also por- 
traits and character sketches of prominent settle- 
ment workers. 



Sifce Xigbt 



PROBABLY nothing could be more significant of 
the good done by the country trips of our friends 
among the girls and boys of our neighborhood than 
such a letter as this, which relieved a very anxious 
Italian mother's heart. The little girl had never 
been away from home before, and the eagerness 
with which the entire family awaited the first tid- 
ings of her safe arrival was pathetic to see. Here 
is the letter, as nearly rt'i-lxitim et literatim as types 
can make it, omitting only names: 



St. 



ELGIN, ILL., Aug. 1C, 1896. 

Dear Mother I like to write you a few lines. I am in a 
good place I got a room for myself and I sleep along I alone]. 
I can eat all 1 want [ !] every day I can get fresh milk from 
the cows. Hi ere is a eirl as large as I am. and she has to 
[2] big sister and they like me and I am going to stay only 
for a week. Mother dont be mad over there I get nice 
f resli air I dount get stomache* no more. When I got out 
to Elgin a lady took us to the picnic and stay till 4 o'lck then 
the lady took me to the lady nouse and the lady is so nice 
and I and haveing a good time. I see lots of tiowes and 
trees there are peach trees apples trees pare trees Cherry 
trees, and I can have all I want and the little girl said that 
when I coming home she is going to give me lots of flowers. 
I play with the little girl all time I get fresh water from the 
ground I an going to the park all this week good by Mother 
aud all of yous. The number where I am staying for a week 

is street, Elgin, 111. 

From your loveing 
Dauter, 



Settlement anfc IReigbborboob. 



A BUSY SUMMER. 



Outline Sketch of the Work in the Settlement 
During the Heated Weeks. 



* Stomach-ache. This poor child is suffering from chronic 
catarrh of the stomach. 



The reports of the work in our own settlement 
are reduced this month to the minimum, partly to 
accord with our temporarily restricted space limits, 
partly because while even more personal and far- 
reaching than the apparently larger work of the 
winter season, the activities of the summer cam- 
paign are less susceptible of detailed description. 
A brief sketch will suffice to carry the story on 
where the reports of the July issue left it off. 

As has been indicated, the residential force, while 
materially reduced in numbers, has still been large 
enough for practical work, and by careful manage- 
ment all necessary duties have been provided for. 
In addition to the routfhe work, a very large num- 
ber of personal visits have been made, in houses 
extending over a widely radiating territory. These 
visits have not been impertinent intrusions, but 
have been made legitimate by the call for children 
in the fresh air work, by the distribution of the 
constant supply of beautiful flowers sent in by 
friends in the outlying country districts, and by the 
appallingly accelerating number of calls for mate- 
rial aid in these sad days of increasing unemploy- 
ment and consequent distress. 

KINDERGARTEN A SUCCESS. 

The summer kindergarten draws to its close as 
CHICAGO COMMONS goes to press, after a season of 
successful work, justifying beyond the possibility 
of a doubt the risk assumed at the outset. Upward 
of fifty little folks have enjoyed every day of the 
session, and have been kept from the degredation 
of the streets. Two noble young women have 
given their services in this good cause, sacrificing 
their hard-earned vacation " without money and 
without price," and have set a standard which 
would test the consecration of many a worker. 
The gifts of our friends for their subsistence while 
here have almost exactly balanced the cost of the 
work. 

TENEMENT HOUSE INSPECTION. 

A feature of the work during July has been the 
inspection and detailed description of typical 
crowded tenements in the ward. This work has 
been done by one of the residents in the direct be- 
half of the Committee of Fifty, but its results will 
prove of great value in the settlement experience 
and study. While the Seventeenth Ward is in 
the respect of crowded and unsanitary houses far 
from the worst in Chicago, there are several sec- 



6 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[August, 



tions of the ward in which the investigators found 
conditions belying the city's claim to civilization. 

THE FRESH AIR CAMPAIGN. 

In previous accounts the fresh air work has been 
quite fully described. About seventy-five children 
have been given outings of longer or shorter dura- 
tion; by the Christian Endeavorers of Elgin and 
the Congregational Sunday School of Downer's 
Grove several older persons have been helped at 
Dwight and elsewhere to vacations otherwise im- 
possible, and a series of picnics for a day at a time 
have been made possible, notably by the Margaret 
Circle of King's Daughters, of Berwyn, who " per- 
sonally conducted" several parties of boys to Riv- 
erside. Best of all, perhaps, is the outing brought 
about by this circle for an invalid member of the 
Girls'. Progressive Club. 

IN THE HOUSE. 

Of the regular work in the house, the Tuesday 
evening meetings of the Industrial Economic Un- 
ion have continued without interruption. The 
topic of chief interest in these meetings has been 
the silver question, at least three meetings having 
been given up to it, the principal speakers being 
H. L. Bliss, Col. J. C. Roberts, of the American 
Bimetallic Union, and Rev. Morris W. Morse, of 
California. 

The Woman's Club, meeting weekly, has consid- 
ered various topics of timely interest, has enjoyed 
an outing at Oak Park and is preparing for an ac- 
tive winter's campaign. The Girls' Progressive 
Club and the Wednesday Evening Club of younger 
girls, have also met without intermission. 

Hn the Worlfc of Settlements. 

CLEVELAND'S NEW SETTLEMENT. 



Hiram House and its Affiliation with the Young 
Men's Christian Association. 



The first announcement of " Hiram House," the 
new settlement in Cleveland, under the auspices of 
Hiram College, shows that the Young Men's and 
Young Women's Christian associations are to oc- 
cupy an important place in the college life of the 
institution. At the opening of the college year in 
1895 the Home Missionary class took up the study 
of sociological questions as outlined in the Y. M. 
C. A. Handbook, by Prof. Graham Taylor. This 
class grew until it became necessary to organize it 
into a club for sociological study. One of the first 
actions of the club was to organize a " Social Set- 
tlement Board," with President E. V. Zollars as 
chairman, and under the auspices of this board the 
settlement was founded at the corner of Washing- 
ton and Hanover streets, overlooking what is known 
as " The Island " or " The Triangle." It is not a 



criminal section, but a district of very poor homes. 
It has a kindergarten under the management of 
Misses Lida Gibbons and Carrie Goodrich. It will 
also have a day nursery, lecture courses, entertain- 
ments, reading rooms, etc., and will publish a 
monthly paper, Hiram House Bulletin, as a 
medium between the settlement and its friends 
and supporters. 

TRIBUTE TO HULL HOUSE. 



The August issue of the Arena contains an arti- 
cle by Annie L. Muzzey, entitled " A Social Settle- 
ment," and treating of Hull House in a style 
exhibiting a rare accuracy and clearness of dis- 
crimination as to the settlement idea in general 
and Hull House in particular. It is to be regretted 
that space is not available for a substantial quota- 
tion from the article. This brief extract must 
serve until the reader has opportunity to secure the 
article entire: 

The mission of Hull House is simply one of pure neigh- 
borliness. It assumes at the outset that there is to be an 
exchange of kindly offices and mutual benefits. It sits down 
in the midst of its humble neighborhood with the idea of 
sharing the influence of its larger opportunities with those 
whose lives are defrauded of the light and beauty that be- 
long equally to all. It has no cumbrous theories to which i t 
is bound to conform, but is ruled only by a loving intelli- 
gence that constantly seeks the best good of the community 
of which it has, by free choice, become an important and a 
responsible part. 



SAN FRANCISCO'S SECOND REPORT. 

An exceedingly attractive and well-printed little 
pamphlet is the second annual report of the San 
Francisco Settlement Association, just at hand 
and dated April, 1896. " Settlement House," as it 
is called, is at 15 South Park, and was opened Jan- 
uary 2, 1895. The residential force has never 
exceeded four persons, making thus a small and 
homogeneous group, more like a normal family 
than is possible in the case of a large settlement. 
The importance of this factor is recognized by 
the present report, in words which every settlement 
worker will do well to keep in mind: "It is well 
to remember that these informal and mutually 
helpfu-l relations between the Settlement and its 
neighbors are what constitute its distinctive char- 
acter." 

The work of the Settlement is of the usual sort, 
and its clubs and classes greatly increased during 
the past year. 



THE JULY ISSUE of CHICAGO COMMONS was designed 
not only to be representative of the earlier issues of 
the paper, and to exhibit the work of one particular settle- 
ment, but also and especially to explain the settlement idea 
in general. Among the general articles published with this 
in view are those on " Foreign Missions at Home Resem- 
blance of the Settlements to Missionary Homes in Heathen 
Lands," " Purpose and Scope of the Settlement," " In the 
World of Settlements (Department)," "A Short Sociologi- 
cal Bibliography," etc., etc. 

We will send any quantity, postpaid, at the rate of 
two cents per copy, or will mail them at that rate to any list 
of addresses sent to us. (Enclose stamps, check, post- 
office order or cash, at our risfe.) 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



PERMANENT SOCIAL RESULTS. 

(Continued from pages.) 

manly, though differing, expressions of opinion by 
layman and minister, church member and outsider, 
Democratic editor and Republican editor. The 
next evening a private meeting of the City Council 
was quietly held to discuss the moral situation of 
the city as it had been portrayed by the prominent 
citizens who had so plainly placed themselves on 
record regarding it. 

UNION CONFERENCE. 

The following Sunday evening a union mass 
meeting, in which several churches united their 
congregation?, was held at the Petoskey Opera 
House, at which addresses were made by Professor 
Taylor and others representing the .ministers and 
citizens of Petoskey, on the practical ways and 
means of promoting civic betterment. Thus the 
church exemplified its real relation to the com- 
munity by lifting the civic ideal, providing a free 
floor for a non-partisan discussion of the actual 
social condition, and initiating a practical move- 
ment for betterment, but stopping short of com- 
mitting itself to any scheme of procedure or 
identifying itself with any reform organization. 

INTEREST IN THE COMMONS. 

Interest in our kindergarten among the widely 
representative cottagers was marked, both last 
summer, when it was only a hope, and this season, 
when we had the story of the year's success to tell. 
Not only in the great auditorium did hundreds 
hear of its work for the child life of our ward, but 
the repetition of the tale was invited at Harbor 
Point, in the house of Mr. D. B. Gamble, of Proc- 
tor & Gamble, whose experiment in profit-sharing 
is widely known, and at Wequetonsing. The cot- 
tagers at the latter family resort added, to the gifts 
which a year ago enabled us to realize the hoped- 
for blessing upon our little neighbors, a generous 
share of the expense of its ensuing second year. 

The July issue of CHICAGO COMMONS was in 
great demand, especially because of its kindergar- 
ten pictures and its list of books on social sub- 
jects. 

BIBLE AND LABOR STUDIES. 

The themes upon which Professor Taylor has 
lectured in five summer assemblies are grouped in 
two courses. The first included the following 
eight studies on "The Social Teachings of the 
Bible": 

Social Teachings of the ttil>l<-. 

I. The Collective Terms of Scripture. 

II. The Formative Forces of Society. 

III. The World-View of the Prophet?. 

IV. The Social Significance of the Lil'c of the Son of 
Man. 

\ . The Social Results of the Coming of the Spirit. 



VI. St. Paul's Conception of the Church as a Social 
Orgauism. 

VII. Kingdom, Church, World. 

VIII. Personal and Corporate Means for Realizing the 
Kingdom of God on Earth. 

THE LABOR .MOVEMENT. 

The second course of seven lectures included 
the following lectures, showing the progress and 
stages of 

The Movement for the Emancipation of Labor. 
I. From Serfdom to Wages The Peasant Pioneers. 
II. From the Actual to the Ideal Commonwealth Sir 
Thomas More and the Utopias. 

III. From the Factory to Freedom of Woman and Child 
Factory Reformers. 

IV. From Legal Inferiority to Charter Rights Chart- 
ists and Churchmen. 

V. From the Chaos of Competition to the Organiza- 
tion of Industry Trades Unionists and Socialists. 

VI. From the Caste of Class to Social Democracy 
Arnold Toynbee and Social Settlements.. 

VII. From Ecclesiasticism to the Kingdom of God The 
Social Evangelists. 

JOTTINGS OF THE CAMPAIGN. 

Laboring men will hold a meeting this evening 
at Trades Assemby hall. It will be similar to the 
meetings held while Professor Taylor was in the 
city. Des Moines, Iowa, Daily News, August 3, 1896. 

The Courier, of Lincoln, Neb., for Saturday, 
August 8, reprints in full the warden's " field notes " 
from our July issue. 

THE 

LEWIS INSTITUTE 

Will open September 21, 1896, with a full corps of instructors 
and courses in 

SCIENCE 
LITERATURE AND 



TECHNOLOGY 

The buildings located at the corner of West Madison 
and Robey streets, have been erected at a cost of 



$230,000 



and are equipped with all necessary apparatus and 

appliances, including shops, laboratories 

and libraries. 

An endowment of over one million dollars enables the 
Institute to offer, at a nominal tuition, 

THE BEST POSSIBLE ADVANTAGES 
TO YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN 

who wish to equip themselves for the productive 

industries or for advanced 

university work. 



For circular of information, address, 

LEWIS INSTITUTE. CHICAGO 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 




v.<>x/> PLoya &&/P &&& Gk&x2 ek&/?> $-&/?> $VXA> $^^*&^$^&rf $*&/?$*&/?$>&/?>$-& 



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flManos .,. 










S.-5V/0 ^0,/y3 GL <V50 9v.<>X^ ^<>X^ Ck.<>XA> v.<V> 3^.<V/0 Pl^OXO fk<V/0 ^>&//) Gk^X^ ^XA> fk^X/3 Gk^ 



Decker Bros 



Arion JPiaxios 



23S STftTE STREET 
49-53 JflGKSON STREET 




The 
Desplaincs 

Press 

P. F. Pettibonc & Co. 
Chicago 




A MONTHLY RECORD OF 
SOCIAL SETTLEMENT 
LIFE AND WORK 



CHICAGO 




LET US remember, even in these mo- 
ments of depression, that there never 
has been a time when such union 
between classes has been so possible as it 
is to-day, or soon will become. For not 
only has the law given to workman and 
employer equality of rights, but education 
bids fair to give them equality of culture. 
We are all, now, workmen as well as em- 
ployers, inhabitants of a larger world ; no 
longer members of a single class, but fellow- 
citizens of one great people ; no longer the 
poor recipients of a class tradition, but heirs 
of a nation's history. Nay more, we are no 
longer citizens of a single nation we are 
participators in the life of mankind, and joint 
heirs of the world's inheritance. Strengthened 
by this wider communion, and ennobled by 
this vaster heritage, shall we not trample 
under foot the passions that divide, and pass 
united through the invisible portals of a new 
age to inaugurate a new life ? 

ARNOLD TOYNBEE. 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



A. C. McCLURG & CO. 

BOOKSELLERS PUBLISHERS STATIONERS 



O 



I G 



Offer a complete stock not only of the lighter books of the day, such as in FICTION 

TRAVEL, BELLES LETTRES, etc,, etc,, but also take pride in their large 

and careful selections in such departments as 



Sociology, Economics, 
Political Science and Finance 



The Books on Sociology, enumerated in the present number of CHICAGO COMMONS, can be 

obtained of 

A. C. McCLURG & CO., 



CHICAGO 



THE 

LEWIS INSTITUTE 

Will open September 21, 1896, with a full corps of instructors 
and courses in 

SCIENCE 
LITERATURE AND 



TECHNOLOGY 

The buildings located at the corner of West Madison 
and Kobey streets, have been erected at a cost of 



$23O,OOO 



TREES, 

FLOWERING 

SHRUBS, 

HARDY ROSES 

PERENNIAL 

PLANTS, 



and are equipped with all necessary apparatus and 

appliances, including shops, laboratories 

and libraries. 

An endowment of over one million dollars enables the 
Institute to offer, at a nominal tuition, 

THE BEST POSSIBLE ADVANTAGES 
TO YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN 

who wish to equip themselves for the productive 

industries or for advanced 

university work. 



Landscape Gardening. 



For circular of information,, address, 

LEWIS INSTITUTE, CHICAGO. 



PAYSON FAIR OAKS 



NURSERY, 

North Oak Park Avenue, 

OAK PARK, ILL, 



CHICAGO COMMONS 

A Monthly Record of Social Settlement Life and Work. 



Vol. I. 



SEPTEMBER, 1896. 



No. 6. 



A SOCIAL LABOR HYMN. 



Dedicated to Chicago Commons, by WILLIAM A. 
CHAMBERLAIN, Professor of Sacred Music, Chicago 
Theological Seminary. 

TUXE "Christmas" or ''Handel." 
A band of earnest brothers strong 

With loyal hearts and true, 
We join our hands, we raise our song. 
And friendship here renew. 

By common toil made one in heart; 

Each, part of greater whole; 
Alike we seek a higher art 

The life of mind and soul. 

The work that holds our hardened hands 

Shall not enchain the mind; 
We burst our soul-enslaving bands, 

In thought, one life to find. 

'Mid darkness, striving, toil and pain, 

One star of hope we see- 
One voice rings out a clear refrain : 
" The Truth shall make jou free.'' 

O, Carpenter of Galilee, 

Thou Brother of Mankind ! 
Our light, our hope, in thee we see, 

Our rest in thee we find. 



GOLDEN RULE IN BUSINESS. 



Almost Unique Evidence of the Practicability of 
Christianity in the Relations of Employer and 
Employed Kemarkable Letters from " The 
OflBce." 

So remarkable, alas! are the following letters 
from a Christian employer to his men, that we feel 
it necessary to assure our readers that they are 
genuine, bona fide letters, actually received by the 
employes in a well-known western factory. They 
are self- explanatory and seem to need no other 
comment than the statement of the fact that on the 
shop walls in large letters are these words: 
RULE GOVERNING THIS SHOP. 
"WHATSOEVER YE WOULD THAT MEN SHOULD DO 
UNTO YOU, DO YOU LIKEWISE UNTO THEM." 

A CHRISTMAS LETTER. 

Here is one of the letters received by each per- 
son in the company's employ: 

DECEMBER 24, 1895- 

Dear Friend: We enclose herein our check in your favor 

for the sum of $ , being 5 per cent, (five cents on each 

dollar) of the amount that has been paid to >ou in wages 



from this office from the beginning of the year, or the time 
that you entered our service, up to and including December 
31, assuming that you put in FULL TIME for the remaining 
days of the year, excepting, of course, Christmas day. 

We do this because we ought to try in every way that we 
can to carry out the spirit of the Golden Rule that we pro- 
fess to believe in. During the time that we have worked 
together it has been our effort to regard your interests as 
important as our own, and we are very happy to say that 
the interest you have shown in your work is the most con- 
clusive proof that you, too, believe that the Golden Rule is 
applicable to the affairs of everyday life. 

The " peace on earth and good will toward man " that 
was proclaimed first, to the lowly shepherds, who were 
common working people, by the angels on the night that 
Jesus the Savior of the world was born in the Bethlehem 
manger, can never fully come until everyone of us and " all 
people " to whom the glad tidings were sent, acknowledge 
Jesus as King and Savior, and live the Golden Rule every 
day. 

To try to carry out this rule is the purpose of this little 
division of the fruit of our labor together. Shall we begin 
to-day to do a little more to hasten the coming of this good 
time when all men will be brothers? If we do, not one dol- 
larnot one cent of this money will go into saloons or any 
other improper use. and let us be frank upon this point, 
and urge upon you this fact. With things as they are around 
you to-day, you can never hope for anything but daily toil, 
and you may consider yourself lucky if you get that, unless 
you save some of your earnings. If this is your only hope of 
emancipation from a life of toil, won't you make this little 
dividend a "nest egg" to begin on? If you decide to do 
this, you may keep this check in your possession for one 
year from date, at that time, or at any time prior to that, if 
your necessities demand the money, or you find an oppor- 
tunity to invest it, you may present it at this office and ex- 
change it for another check, to which we will add interest 
at the rate of 6 per cent, for the time for which you have 
held it. 

Bear in mind this one thing on this point: No one can 
help you so much as you can help yourself. In conclusion, 
the writer desires to cheerfully acknowledge the faithfulness 
with which you have done your work during the year that is 
past, and to thank you most earnestly for the kindly token 
of your good will, and to wish you and all of yours a " Truly 
Merry Christmas." Very faithfully yours, 



For the 



Co. 



WHAT BUSINESS IS FOR. 

This is a second remarkable letter sent by thi& 
firm to every employe : 

FEBRUARY 26, 1896. 

For a long time we have felt that it was necessary that 
there should be a more perfect understanding of the pur- 
poses of carrying on the business of the Company 

by all that are engaged in the work, in order to insure the 
success that will come to all of us if we each do our share 
toward it. In the first place, there is only one True and 
Right Reason why this or any other business should live a 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[September, 



minute, and that reason is to Do Gnml. No matter how much 
some may sneer at the statement, it is and always will be 
true, just the same. This business never has been, is not 
now, nor never will be run simply to make money for those 
in charge of it, otherwise called the owners. It has been 
run to do good, and God has blessed it in many ways. We 
have done good by making better goods In our line than 
were ever made before, as our rapidly increasing sales 
abundantly prove. We have tried to do justice to every 
man the men that do the work, the men that sell the goods 
and the men that use them. We think that all of you will 
agree to the truth of this statement, that we have at least 
tried. We are going to keep trying, because it is right that 
we should keep on trying to do right all the way to the 

cemetery, 710 matter how many others do wrong 

The Golden Eule will continue to hang on the wall, but 
don't forget that it is a double-acting rule and works both 
ways, and in writing these words to you we are carrying it 
out and doing to you just exactly as we would want you to 
do to us if we were working in the shop and you were work- 
ing In the office. The great labor leader, Eugene V. Debs, 
in a speech at Memorial Hall, where he addressed twelve 
hundred workingmen, and the writer was one of them, on 
the 20th of January last, gave them this advice: " Boys, 
buy books instead of beer, and you will be on the road to 
freedom from the slavery you are now in." We are going 
to hang these words on the wall of the shop beside the 
Golden Rule, and may God bless every one of you and help 
you to observe them. This Washington's Birthday is a good 
time to begin, and you have this afternoon as a half holiday 
with pay, as a token of our good will to help you start. 
Very faithfully yours, 



We add only the lament of the wealthy author 
of these letters that he had not built his fine new 
residence near his factory among the homes of its 
operatives. " What a social settlement of our own 
we could have had!" he regretfully exclaimed. 



SUMMER IN CITY SLUMS. 



Suffering in the Poor Quarters of Chicago New 
York's Good Work. 



That blistering fortnight in August, nearly un- 
precedented, gave the lie squarely to the popular 
notion that among those known as "the poor" the 
real suffering is limited to the winter time. Those 
who live and observe in the unprivileged sections 
of the great cities know that there scarcely could 
be greater suffering for human beings than in 
those breathless noons and nights when the ther- 
mometer's sluggish variations were between 95 
and 105 degrees; when the crowded quarters 
became unendurable and the dirty streets were 
fairly stifling with the stench of unclean garbage 
boxes and filthy outhouses. A tour at night through 
the streets of Chicago's crowded quarters exhib- 
ited conditions of suffering almost incredible in 
some parts of the Jewish and Polish sections 
the narrow streets were literally full of men, 
women and children lying upon the sidewalks, in 
the gutters and on the rotten wood-pulp which 
serves as "pavement," and gasping for the very 
breath of life. 

For the relief of this suffering Chicago, as a 



city, 'did almost nothing except to allow the 
people to lie upon the grass in the parks all night. 
Hundreds of dead horses lay in the streets several 
days, becoming a nuisance and menace to the 
health of the people. There were, however, sev- 
eral notable private efforts to help in the situa- 
tion, the Fresh Air Sanitarium of the Daily News 
at Lincoln Park especially proving a source of 
great blessing. 

In New York City the municipal authorities paid 
much attention to the welfare of the people during 
the heated term. The streets of the East Side, 
which, under Commissioner Waring's administra- 
tion, are habitually clean, were flushed daily from 
the city hydrants, the free baths were made access- 
ible at all hours of the night, and $5,000 were voted 
from the city treasury for ice to be given to the 
poor and sick. 

The experience, whose likelihood of recurrence 
is suggested by Australia's heated term last year 
with its maximum of 125 degrees in the shade, 
ought to teach Chicago something of the vital im- 
portance of the things we are neglecting parks 
for the people, playgrounds for the children, clean- 
liness and permanent repair of streets, abolition of 
unsightly and unsanitary garbage boxes, public 
baths and adequate health inspection. And in the 
meanwhile, the tax-dodger and the dishonest and 
lecherous political ringster delay the city in its 
progress toward the higher ideal of municipal life 
and service. 



SOCIAL LABOR HYMNS AND SONGS. 



Need of a ^Popular Hynmology for the New Social 
Meetings. 



At the spring session of our School of Social 
Economics attention was called to the songlessness 
of American labor meetings and popular gather- 
ings. Discussion demonstrated the entire want of 
both music and words well adapted to the social 
occasions and spirit characterizing working peo- 
ple's assemblies. The intensely individualistic 
nature of the hymnology in commonest use was 
conceded. While a subsequent search of church 
collections showed that their " we," " us " and 
" our " hymns bore a larger proportion to the " I,' 
" me " and " my " hymns than was at first supposed 
yet few of them transcended the sphere of a dis- 
tinctly limited experiential and church fellowship 
to move in the broader ranges of humanity's com- 
mon experiences, yearnings and aspirations, 
much less to express the sorrows and sympathies, 
claims and hopes of the working world. 

In song literature there seemed to be no larger 
provision for labor's heart hunger. Very signifi- 
cant is the failure of the Chicago Record to elicit a 
labor song worthy of the theme and adapted to 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



use, by the offer of a $1,000 prize for the words and 
another for the music. Although as many manu- 
scripts were received as dollars offered the 
very representative and competent judges rejected 
every one as below the required standard. In the 
English song books of the Salvation Army there 
are only a very few very inferior doggerels de- 
signed to elicit support of the social work by such 
couplets as: 

God bless and speed the Social Wing 

Ten thousand hearts exclaim- 
In faith an effort will be made 
The " Darkest England " plan. 

In song literature there seems to be no larger 
provision. 

We purpose to gather and publish the bibliogra- 
phy of whatever hymns and songs of labor we can 
find and invite the co-operation of our readers in 
this effort. Such collections as Ebenezer Elliot's 
" Corn Law Rhymes,'' the " Chants of Labor " pub- 
lished by the National Amalgamated Sailors' and 
Firemen's Union of Great Britain and Ireland 
(London, 1891), William Morris' " Chants for So- 
cialists," hymns of the Labor Church, " Pleasant 
Sunday Afternoon " service songs, etc., are what 
we seek. 

We will be grateful for the suggestion of such 
hymns as Elliot's " When Wilt Thou Save the Peo- 
ple, Lord? " Gladden's " Oh, Master Let Me Walk 
with Thee;" Whittier's "Dear Lord and Father of 
Mankind." The co-operation of friends in labor 
unions, social settlements and the fraternal associ- 
tions is especially invited in supplying us with 
copies both of song books and single songs or 
hymns. Original compositions will also be wel- 
come, if their authors will send postage for the re- 
turn of their manuscripts and concede our right to 
publish only such as our purpose and space de- 
mand. The social labor hymn printed in another 
column is the first response to this call. Others 
have been submitted to our judgment and are to be 
published elsewhere. 



The great mistake of the best men through gen- 
eration after generation has been that great one of 
thinking to help the poor by almsgiving, and by 
preaching of patience or of hope, and by every 
other means except the one thing which God 
orders for them JUSTICE. John Ruskin. 

The true calling of a Chrisian is not to do extra- 
ordinary things, but to do ordinary things in an 
extraordinary way. The most trivial tasks can be 
accomplished in a noble, gentle, regal spirit, which 
overrides and puts aside all petty, paltry feelings, 
and which elevates all things. Dean Stanley. 

Christian citizenship is more than reform it is 
regeneration. Wheelock. 

Pure democracy and pure theocracy are one. 

Prof. Herron, 



from Sociological Class IRooms. 



SOCIOLOGICAL TRAINING OF THE MINISTRY. 



At Chicago Theological Seminary Professor Tay- 
lor will have, in his " required " work, all the stu- 
dents, including those of the Swedish, Danish, Nor- 
wegian and German departments. The first half 
of the year is devoted to an inductive study of 
the social teachings of the Bible. The elective 
course is upon the " Social Condition and Move- 
ment of Labor," and deals with the industrial struc- 
ture of society, especially since the introduction of 
machinery and the factory system; and includes 
original investigations of labor organizations and 
legislation, child-labor and the sweating system, 
the standard of living and the living wage, strikes 
and industrial peace. The latter course will essen- 
tially follow the " Labor Studies," to be published 
in these columns through the issues of the entire 
year. Students will be brought into personal con- 
tact with representatives of organized labor and 
employing capital, both on their own ground and 
in the class-room. 

The second half of this seminary year is 
assigned in required work to sociology, involving 
the study of social phenomena for the nature, 
structure, design, progress, and dynamics of the 
social organism, and the fundamental relationship 
between society and the individual, the Kingdom 
and the church. Two elective courses offered are: 

1. Pauperism and poverty, public relief and pri- 
vate charity, charity organization methods, the 
function and agencies of the church in charity. 

2. Child saving. The private and public treat- 
ment of dependent, defective and delinquent child- 
ren, and the evils and restriction of child labor. 



INTERSEMINARY ECONOMIC CLUB. 



The first meeting for the winter of the Inter- 
seminary Economic Club will be held at Chicago 
Commons on Saturday afternoon, October 17, at 2 
o'clock. The discussion, which will be conducted 
by Prof. Graham Taylor, will be upon the subject, 
"The Social Extension of Christianity." These 
meetings last winter were a most delightful feature 
of the work of the Commons. Like those of most 
of the meetings at the Settlement, the name refers 
to an occasion rather than to a specific organiza- 
tion. The meetings are held fortnightly, on Satur- 
day afternoons, and are attended especially by 
the students of the theological seminaries of the 
city. They are open, however, to all interested in 
the relation of the church and ministry to social 
life and progress. 



The first comer is almost always an honest man, 
Victor Hugo. 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[September, 



MUTATION. 



Deep is the heart of human kind; 

Vain are the thinkers who would find 

A perfect symbol for its thought; 

Vainly the final word is sought. 

There is no line of human creeds 

But tells its tale of human needs, 

Yet still, from age to age, they change. 

The future to the past is strange, 

And the yearnings of each day, 

New doubts that stir, new hopes that sway, 

Shall be-embodied, endlessly, 

In creeds to be, and yet to be. 

Priscttla Leonard, in The Outlook. 




CHICAGO COMMONS. 

14O North Union Street, at Milwaukee Avenue. 

(Reached by all Milwaukee avenue cable and electric cars > 
or by Grand avenue or Halsted street electric cars, stopping 
at corner of Austin avenue and Halsted street, one block 
west of Union street.) 



CHICAGO COMMONS is a Social Settlement located 
on North Union street, two doors from the southwest cor- 
ner of Milwaukee avenue and the crossing of Union street 
upon Milwaukee and Austin avenues. 

Object. As explained in the second clause of the Articles 
of Incorporation of the Chicago Commons Association, filed 
with the Secretary of the State of Illino s: 

"2. The object for which it is formed is to provide a center for a 
higher civic and social life to initiate and maintain religious, educa- 
tional and philanthropic enterprises and to investigate and improve 
conditions in the industrial districts of Chicago." 

Or, as the explanatory circular of the settlement has ex- 
plained it: 

" As exemplified at Chicago Commons, the Social Settlement con- 
sists primarily of a group of people who choose to make their home 
in that part of the great city where they seem to be most needed, 
rather than where the neighborhood offers the most of privilege or 
social prestige." 

Support. The work is supported in addition to what the 
residents are able to pay for rent of rooms, by the free-will 
gifts of those who believe in what the work stands for. The 
gift of any person is welcomed, and the contributions are 
both occasional and regular, the latter being paid in in- 
stalments, monthly, quarterly and annually, at the conven- 
ience of the giver. 

Visitors, singly or in groups, are welcome at any time, 
but the residents make especial effort to be at home on 
Tuesday afternoon and evening. 

Residence All inquiries with reference to terms and 
conditions of residence, permanent or temporary, should be 
addressed to GRAHAM TAYLOK, Resident Warden. 

Information concerning the work of Chicago Commons 
is gladly furnished to all who inquire. A four-page leaflet, 
bearing a picture of pur residence, and other literature de- 
scribing the work will be mailed to any one upon applica- 
tion. Please enclose postage. 



It is often easier to send a few pennies to help 
the poor black boy in Africa than it is to show the 
Christ-like spirit to the little black boy just 
around the corner of the street. ./Sooner T. Wash- 
ington. 



Settlement anfc 



SOCIAL NEEDS AND AIMS," 



Subject of the School of Social Economics to be 
held December 7-12 Some of the Speakers- 
Shall We Publish? 



The postponed session of the Chicago Commons 
School of Social Economics will be held $t the 
Settlement residence, 140 North Union street, in 
the week beginning December 7. It is as yet im- 
possible to announce a complete programme, but 
every indication points to the fulfillment of our 
expectation that the sessions will be of somewhat 
remarkable importance in contributing to the dis- 
cussion of the social status and outlook, and of 
remedial theories and programmes. The formal 
subject of these discussions, as has been announced 
already, is to be that of Social Reconstruction, or, 
as we prefer to express it, "Social Needs and 
Aims," with a partic ular bearing upon the question 
whether the principles of the Sermon on the Mount 
afford, after all, a sufficient basis for the constitu- 
tion of rational civilized society. 

SOME OF THE SPEAKERS. 

The careful search for the speakers who will 
contribute most helpfully to the discussion is in 
progress, and it is hoped to have adequate repre- 
sentation of many schools of social philosophy 
and reform. We are hoping to have present, for 
instance, Rev. Dr. Washington Gladden, for whose 
final answer we are waiting. Mr. Henry Demorest 
Lloyd, author of " Wealth against Commonwealth," 
has promised to be with us, and the presence of 
Rev. B. Fay Mills depends upon the arrangement 
of some pending engagements. 

We propose that a distinguishing characteristic of 
these sessions, as it has been habitually of all meet- 
ings held under our roof, shall be absolute freedom 
of speech and debate, appreciating that useful dis- 
cussion of these great themes must depend upon 
the frank utterance .of every man's honest thought. 

SHALL WE PUBLISH? 

In this connection arises a question which many 
inquiries make an important one Shall the proceed- 
ings of this session be published in permanent form ? 
The reply to the question must depend almost 
wholly upon the assurance of financial support, for 
such an undertaking involves no small expense. 
With this in view, then, we request every reader of 
CHICAGO COMMONS, and others interested, under 
whose eye this paragraph may fall, to express, by 
means of a postal card or otherwise, willingness 
to co-operate in this work by the purchase of one 
or more copies of the proceedings at a price not 
exceeding, say $1.00. While such an expression 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



need not be binding upon anyone, it would afford 
us a basis upon which to judge whether the ven- 
ture in question would be wise. 



"CHICAGO COMMONS SUNDAY MEETING." 



Musical Service to be Held at the Settlement on 
October 18. 



It has always been a part of the settlement plan 
to have a popular Sunday afternoon meeting; a 
broadly religious service which should prove an 
uplifting influence to the everyday working people 
who surround the Commons. In the latter part of 
May such a meeting was begun, but it was found 
that not before the fall would the people for whom 
it was designed attend it, and the effort was sus- 
pended for the summer. 

On the 18th of October, at 4 p. M., the first 
"Sunday Meeting" of the winter season will be 
held. The feature of the occasion will be the 
vocal and instrumental music, for which arrange- 
ments are making, and a short and helpful address 
will be given. It is intended that this meeting 
shall be peculiarly the meeting of the Settlement, 
and will represent its best effort for the deeper life 
of the neighborhood. While it will never be di- 
dactically religious, nor with any view of proselyt- 
ing, its motive will always be to appeal to the 
fundamental religious being which exists in all 
normal men and women, and to be a restful and 
uplifting occasion for workers seeking a respite 
from the humdrum round of daily toil. 



MEDICAL COLLEGE GRADUATION. 



Close of the Second Successful Year. Work of the 
Chicago Commons Dispensary. 

Common interest allies the Settlement and the 
Illinois Medical College, located on an opposite 
street corner, to share the Settlement's privilege 
and opportunity for service. The residents of the 
Commons viewed with satisfaction the second 
year's good work, which closed early in the present 
month. The Secretary reports 78 students enrolled, 
of whom 92 per cent were school teachers. The 
graduating class of 1896 numbered 10. 

In the dispensary connected with the college, 
and known as the Chicago Commons Free Dispen- 
sary, Dr. Brown, its President, reports that nearly 
5,000 patients have been treated since March 10, 
the dispensary having proved itself a real blessing 
to hundreds who otherwise would be obliged to go 
to a considerable distance for free attendance or 
suffer for lack of it. Every effort is making to pre- 
vent the dispensary's being used by persons able 
to pay for the services of the resident physicians 

WANTED. A score of tactful men and women to give 
one evening a week at Chicago Commons this winter in con- 
ducting clubs for the boys and girls who look to the Settle- 
ment for almost their only healthful and uplifting recrea- 
tion. Almost any kind of talent can lind employment in 
his work. 



of the neighborhood, and more and more is the 
work of the institution being reduced to the neces- 
sary service of those absolutely unable to pay at 
all. 

The officers of the disp'ensary are: President 
Dr. H. H. Brown, Secretary of the College Faculty; 
Secretary, Prof. Graham Taylor; Treasurer, Her- 
man F. Hegner; Registrar, Dr. Mary Edna Goble. 
The last three are all residents of the Commons. 

Only the question of the expense of coal to heat 
the necessary rooms stands in the way of continu- 
ing the dispensary in operation throughout the 
winter. It is hoped that some arrangement can be 
made, for in the hard winter that is before us there 
will almost certainly be an increasing number of 
those needing medical aid and unable to pay for it. 



'THE TUESDAY MEETING.' 



The Tuesday evening meetings for wage earners 
have taxed the seating capacity of our largest 
room since the first of August, and bid fair to be- 
come the feature of Seventeenth Ward life during 
the winter. Of course the coinage question has 
been uppermost, and the intense interest in the 
presidential campaign has drawn people of all 
classes and shades of thought to the discussion. 
Every phase of the question has been presented 
and argued by the best speakers obtainable, from 
the Greenbacker to the Gold ultra-monometallist. 
The best of temper has prevailed, and no one 
attending the meetings could doubt that they are 
profitable, not only for the intelligent presentation 
of economic subjects, but also and perhaps more 
important, the inspiration and cultivation of a 
fraternity and mutual respect that is delightful to 
see and have part in, and that promises mightily 
for the peaceful solution of the vast problems of 
our time. 



COMMONS NOTES. 



The prospects for the opening of the Plymouth Winter 
Night College (under which name our educational work is 
organized) are must satisfactory, and every indication 
promises a good winter's work. The scope ot the depart- 
ment Is outlined in some detail in the advertisement on 
the inside of the back cover of this issue. 

The kindergarten opens for its winter session with its 

quarters renovated and in good repair, and with every evi- 
dence of increasing usefulness. The radius of the neigh- 
borhood from which children come to us grows daily wider. 

The labor bureaus of the various states have promptly 
responded to the request for files of their reports for our 
library. We are gathering at the Commons an increasingly 
satisfactory sociological library, and will be glad 9f addi- 
tions, whether of books, magazines, pamphlets or clippings. 

The removal of a partition has given us a large and 

highly convenient library, and affords one large front room 
for social and club gatherings. 

Wednesday evening is "Girls' Club Night" with us 
now, all the clubs of the younger girls meeting on that even- 
ing and closing with general exercises, calisthenics, etc. 

About $15 are now in hand for the drinking fountain, 

and we have also the generous offer of Winchester & Co., 
plumbers, of Chicago, to furnish labor free of charge 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[September, 




Vol. 1. No. 



September, 1896 



SUBSCRIPTION PRICK 

Twenty-five cents per year, postpaid to any State or 
Country. Single copies sent to any address upon applica- 
tion. For larger numbers, special terms may oe obtained 
on application. The publishers will be glad to receive 
lists of church members or other addresses, to whom sam- 
ple copies may be sent. 

Changes of Address Please notify the publishers 
promptly of any change of address, or of failure to receive 
the paper within a reasonable interval after it is due. 

To Other Settlements We mean to regard as " pre- 
ferred " names upon our mailing list, all settlements, and 
to send CHICAGO COMMONS as a matter of course to all 
such. In return, we ask for all reports, and, so far as pos- 
sible, all printed or circular matter, however trivial, issued 
by settlements in the course of their regular work. 

Advertisements First-class advertisements desired 
at reasonable rates, which will be furnished upon applica- 
tion. 



ALL COMMUNICATIONS 

Relating to this publication should be addressed to the 
Managing Editor, JOHN P. GAVIT, Chicago Commons, 
140 North Union Street, Chicago, 111. 



Entered as Second Class Matter May 18, 1896, at the 
Post-Office at Chicago, 111. 



THERE are dozens of eager small boys within 
call of Chicago Commons (and doubtless of 
every other settlement) simply waiting for you to 
come and organize them into a club. 



LABOR DAY IN CHICAGO. 



A remarkable spectacle was that presented at 
Sharpshooters' Park, Chicago, on the 7th of Sep- 
tember. In recognition of Labor Day, preparations 
had been made for an entertainment on a grand 
scale; games and sports of many kinds had been 
provided for, and it was expected that ten thousand 
men, women and children, more or less, should 
enjoy the day as a great public festival. But as a 
festival it was a failure. As a means of money-mak- 
ing for those in charge it missed fire altogether, 
inadequate ticket-collecting arrangements having 
resulted in a loss, it is said, of $1,000. 

But as an exhibition of the possibilities of dem- 
ocracy and of popular earnestness it was one of the 
most remarkable scenes ever witnessed upon this 
continent. The sports and games were neglected, 



the " picnic " features, usually so prominent, were 
fairly ignored, as that great mass of humanity de- 
voted itself to discussing and hearing the discus- 
sion of purely economic subjects. Men gathered 
in knots and earnestly argued pro and contra the 
great questions of the day, and one passing about 
among them must have noticed the almost entire 
absence of the ordinary chaffing and gossip, sub- 
stituted as it was by the earnest canvassing, with 
real intelligence, of questions long regarded as too 
abstruse for the minds of any but specialists. 

He must be indeed a pessimist who can view 
with anything less than hopefulness this earnest 
devotion of the masses of American workingmento 
the study of those economic and industrial subjects 
which so vitally concern their own future. As the 
Chicago Record well said in closing an editorial 
comment upon the remarkable scene of Labor Day: 

The problems of the' present day are very largely eco- 
nomic in nature, and an encouraging sign of the times is the 
interest shown by workingmen in the discussion of these 
subjects. An argument frequently advanced by working- 
men in favor of shorter hours is that they need more time in 
which to study matters affecting their general welfare and 
relating to their duties as citizens. The more disposition 
they show to make such use of their time the more sympa- 
thy will they have from the public in their agitation for 
shorter hours of toil. 



THE SETTLEMENT AND THE CAMPAIGN. 



An editorial in The Gongregationalist (Boston) re- 
cently contained the following: 

It would be interesting to find out the exact position in 
this campaign of pronounced social reformers, the men and 
women who work in college settlements and that increasing 
class of educated persons who in recent years have exhibited 
in various ways marked sympathy with manual toilers. 

We have seen thus far no reply to this question, 
and feel incompetent to make one, but it is timely 
for us to say that the opinions of settlement resi- 
dents, like those of other private individuals, differ 
upon this and other important questions concern- 
ing which honest men are divided. The settlement 
as an institution however, stands above all for one 
thing applicable to the present controversy the 
freedom of honest opinion and speech and the 
recognition by every man of the honesty and good 
faith of his neighbor. The settlement endorses 
very cordially the manly words of Mr. Talcott 
Williams, when he said, in The Independent, " No 
political issue is fully understood whose discussion 
implies that great masses of men are knowingly 
swayed by immoral motives." 

Chicago Commons, for one, has offered thus far 
in the campaign, and will continue to offer, a com- 
mon ground upon which those of opposed opin- 
ions may meet for candid argument, a neutral plat- 
form from which all sides may be presented with- 
out fear or favor; a friendly forum whose only and 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



cardinal rule is freedom of speech with the frank 
recognition of common human rights and unre- 
served belief in the final good sense of " all the 
people." 

SETTLEMENT SCHOLARSHIPS. 



It is becoming more and more frequent to find 
churches, literary and social clubs, young people's 
societies and other similar organizations looking 
about for some healthful activity in which to inter- 
est themselves. To such, as well aa to individuals 
who believe in our kind of social effort, we suggest 
again the feasibility of establishing a "scholarship " 
in one of the city settlements, supplying the funds 
necessary for the subsistence of a resident during a 
part or the whole of the winter. There are many 
persons eager to enter upon settlement residence 
and work, who cannot do so for lack of money with 
which to support themselves during residence. In 
not a few cases, only a part of the total sum would 
need to be raised, and even the total sum needed 
for such a purpose is suprisingly small. We 
should be glad to establish communication be- 
tween the parties to such an arrangement, and 
to afford opportunities for its fulfillment in our 
own residence and upon our own field. From 
the standpoint of scholarly investigation, this plan 
offers many advantages. Some rarely useful 
scientific work has been done for instance by 
" fellows " of the College Settlements Association. 

A WORD TO LABOR UNIONS. 



The present economic campaign has brought 
about one highly gratifying result the deep in- 
terest of all parties and classes in the discussion of 
topics hitherto supposedly closed to the ordinary 
mind. In consequence, meetings of all kinds where 
these things might possibly be discussed have been 
largely attended. This has been true of the labor 
meetings especially, and it is of this fact that a 
word may be said here. It has been a matter of 
nearly common knowledge, and of regret upon the 
part of those interested, that the meetings of many 
labor unions have been far less interesting and far 
less cordially attended than was to be hoped, in 
spite of many efforts to make them more spicy and 
attractive. For this problem the deep interest in 
the campaign suggests a solution that of devoting 
some part of the labor meetings to the discussion 
of industrial economics. If the labor union could 
become more of a school, its usefulness would be 
vastly increased, and the membership would be 
brought to appreciate their magnificent heritage 
and prospect of rights, responsibilities and power. 



THE Health Board's report, showing that Chi- 
cago's tainted water "supply" has killed 
thousands of babies during the summer months? 



ought to sound the doom of the corrupt politics 
and the vicious tax system which curse Chicago's 
municipal life. Perhaps it may require a fearful 
epidemic of disease to teach us in the matter of 
sanitation what we learned in 1871 concerning fire. 

* 
* * 

n TTENTION of all settlements andsimilar works 
/ V is called to the request at the head of our 
editorial column for all reports, and, so far as possi- 
ble, all printed or circular matter, however trivial, 
issued by settlements in the course of their regular 
work. We shall esteem it a kindness if we may be 
notified promptly of the establishment of any new 
settlements, the opening of new work in existing 
settlements, in short, to be informed of all matters 
involving the history of the settlement movement. 



Sifce 



Sfcetcbes 



MOST amusing and at the same time most pa- 
thetic are the questions asked and requests pre- 
ferred by neighbors and visitors at the Commons. 
From the New England man who inquired whether 
the "inmates" were "allowed to see visitors " to 
the neighbor who requested that we keep a couple 
of dogs for him; from the woman who desires us 
to send a refractory neighbor to jail, to the visitor 
who asked if the horde of seventy-two boys (whom 
she saw rollicking in the gymnasium) all lived with 
us, the queries vary, and each seems at the time to 
have capped the climax. There is the man who 
wants to see "the Gospel garbage inspector" or 
the "superintendent of swill"; the next, who 
wants us to get him a job on the police force; 
another whose chickens have been stolen; and yet 
another whose baby has swallowed a half-dollar. 
But a very large proportion of callers, God help 
them! are the men out of work hundreds of them 
whom we can only turn away; the women whose 
husbands are sick; the disabled and helpless, hope- 
less and incompetent, whom the fearful struggle 
for existence has crowded to the wall. A thousand 
opportunities for helpful, hopeful ministry open 
on every side, and we are very few! 



IT WAS at Grand Rapids that Mrs. Lucretia Will- 
lard Treat told of one of her early kindergarten 
experiences on the Levee in St. Louis, where after 
vainly trying to find something on which to base 
their teaching, the kindergarteners finally fell 
back upon "Light," the only thing which the 
children knew of. Each was to bring next day 
something illustrating " light." Some brought 
bits of candle, one brought an illustration of 
" Rising Sun " stove polish ! Another urchin 
proudly presented to the teacher an unspeakably 
obscene illustration a double-page newspaper 
picture, indescribably shocking. The teacher was 
in despair at this apparent failure of all her 
efforts, and the child, seeing something evidently 
wrong, passed over all the tilthiness of the sicken- 
ing picture, and planting his finger upon one 
corner, showed the only thing his innocence saw 
in it all through a tiny window, the crescent 
moon ! 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[September, 



1fn tbe Worlfc of Settlements. 



BE A CHRIST! 



" A new commandment give I unto you, that you 
love one another," is still, alas, a new command- 
ment in a world that is more or less avowedly 
dominated by the doctrine of Cain. The New Re. 
demption will come when that new commandment 
has cast out the Evil Spirit, the Prince of this 
world, whose watchword is, "Each man for him. 
self, and the devil take the hindmost." For it was 
the hindmost whom Christ came to save. 

For tliis New Redemption for which the world 
waits, there must come a new Catholicity, trans- 
forming and widening and redeeming the old. The 
neve religion, which is but the primitive essence of 
the oldest of all religions, has but one formula 
lie a Christ '. The new church which is already 
dimly becoming conscious of its own existence, 
under all kinds of ecclesiastical and dogmatic and 
agnostic concealments, is not less broad. What is 
the church? It is the Union of all who Love, in 
the Service of all who Suffer. 

Are you willing to help? If Christ came to your 
city would He find you ready? If so, you will not 
have long to wait. For "the least of these, my 
brethren," are a numerous tribe, and an hour will 
not pass before your readiness will be put to the 
test. And Christ will then see, in your case, " How 
the men, My brethren, believe in Me." William T. 
Stead in " If Christ Came to Chicago." 



A dream of man and woman, 
Diviner, but still human ; 
Solving the riddle old, 
Shaping the age of gold. 
The love of God and neighbor 
An equal-handed labor; 
The richer life, where Duty 
Walks hand in hand with Beauty. 



IN DEFENSE OF TOYNBEE HALL. 



Spicy Letter Reflecting an East London Settlement 
Controversy. 



An East London controversy of considerable 
interest is reflected by a recent letter from a 
London correspondent signing himself " E. P. B.", 
published in the Chicago Daily Record, under the 
title " Toynbee Hall." According to this article, it 
appears that Secretary Loch, of the London Char- 
ity Organization Society, together with others of 
like opinion, has passed criticisms upon Toynbee 
Hall upon the ground that its educational work is 
so purely classical as to be far above the heads of 
the neighborhood. These critics are quoted by 
this correspondent as saying, in effect, " The idea 
that the untutored classes of Whitechapel can ap- 
preciate or in any way profit by the Greek-and- 
Latin educational course of Toynbee Hall is ab- 
surd. The whole tone of the place is pitched 
above the capacities of the people whom it is seek- 
ing to help. Toynbee is all right in itself. Its men 
are of the best, in respect both to education and 



character, but they are spending themselves, their 
time and what money they can collect to arrive at 
results wholly incommensurate with the cost." 

The Record's correspondent is warm in defense 
of Toynbee's work. " These men," he urges, "are 
manifestly taking hold of the Whitechapel prob- 
lem at the right end, whatever may be the outcome. 
If they fail to redeem this fearful quarter, if at 
last the tide of commerce rolls over their walls and 
buries them from memory, still will they suffer a 
fate in no wise different from that of hundreds of 
missions, societies and homes that have gone be- 
fore. If pure blood, trained minds and triumphant 
wills, coming to dwell in the heart of the slums 
and to pour out their utmost power, cannot effect 
reformation, then the job may as well be left to 
the direct attention of God. It is beyond human 
instrumentality. 

"The records of Toynbee Hall, however, show 
that immense good has been accomplished in 

Whitechapel in the last ten years It 

is safe to say that the excellent moral influence of 
the institution has been felt to the uttermost re- 
cesses of these slums, and that if there were fifty 
Toynbee Halls instead of two or three among the 
million people of East London a definite impress 
might begin to be apparent on the frightful degre- 
dation of the place." 



TENEMENT HOUSE CHAPTER. 



Almost a settlement work is that of the Tene- 
ment House Chapter of the King's Daughters and 
Sons of New York City, for which Mrs. Louise S. 
Houghton and Jacob A. lliis have made an appeal. 
The Chapter rooms are at 77 Madison street, near 
Chatham Square, and the work includes several 
clubs, two sewing schools, a kindergarten and a 
library of 2,000 volumes; in the summer fresh air 
work. A visitor is employed all the year, who co- 
operates with the Charity Organization Society, 
investigating charity cases and distributing delica- 
cies, medicines and aid in general. The cost of the 
work is about $5,000 a year, of which three-fourths 
is raised by voluntary offerings. The present ap- 
peal has in view the fact that at this season of the 
year especially there is much suffering in the tene- 
ment houses. Miss Clara Field, 7 Madison street, 
New York, is treasurer. 



THE JULY ISSUE of CHICAGO COMMONS was designed 
not only to be representative of the earlier issues of 
the paper, and to exhibit the work of one particular settle- 
ment, but also and especially to explain the settlement idea 
in general. Among the general articles published with this 
in view are those on " Foreign Missions at Home Resem- 
blance of the Settlements to Missionary Homes in Heathen 
Lands," "Purpose and Scope of the Settlement," " In the 
World of Settlements" (Department), "A Short Sociologi- 
cal Bibliography," etc., etc. 

We will send any quantity, postpaid, at the rate of 
two cents per copy, or will mail them at that rate to any list 
of addresses sent to us. (Enclose stamps, check, post 
office order or cash, at our rtefc.) 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



9 



THE LABOR MOVEMENT 



First of the Studies Concerning; the Prog- 
ress and Social Condition of Labor. 



INTRODUCTORY SURVEY OF THE FIELD. 



Need and Value of Fuller Knowledge and Scope of 

the Studies Review of the Ground 

to be Covered.* 



[CONDUCTED BY PKOFKSSOU GRAHAM TAYLOR.] 



What is the Labor Movement? 

This question is raised at the outset because it is 
seldom squarely asked and rarely fairly answered. 
James Russell Lowell numbers it among those 
questions which come knocking at the door of every 
generation. " The porter always grumbles and is 
slow to open. 'Who's there, in the name of Beelze- 
bub ?' he mutters. Not a change for the better in our 
human housekeeping ever has taken place that wise 
and good men have not opposed it, have not prophe- 
sied, with the alderman, that the world would wake 
up with its throat cut, in consequence of it. The 
suppression of the slave trade, the abolition of 
slavery, trades unions at all of these, excellent 
people shook their heads despondingly and mut- 
tered ' Ichabod.' But trade unions are now de- 
bating instead of conspiring, and we all read their 
discussions with comfort and hope, sure that they 
are learning the business of citizenship and the 
difficulties of practical legislation." and Lowell 
reassures the excellent shakers of heads that 
" unless the household, like the Thane of Cawdor 
and his wife, have been doing some deed without a 
name, they need not shudder. It turns out at 
worst to be a poor relation who wishes to come in 
out of the cold," or as Mazzini introduces the dem- 
ocratic stranger, "a people struggling into the sun- 
shine." 

But those who thus withstand it because they 
know too little of it or, because of some practical 
experiences, think they know too much will learn, 
upon a broader view, that the Labor Movement is 
not yesterday's movement of some men against 
other?, of a few employes "on strike," or an em- 
ployer who has ordered a " lockout." For to the 
student of the history that has been making for the 
past six hundred years it seems more like the 
movement of Man. Classes and crafts are moved 



*The second Study, to be published in the October issue 
of CHICAGO COMMONS, will follow in outline the historical 
development of the Labor Movement from the events im- 
mediately preceding the Black Death (1348) to the establish- 
ment of the factory system (1844) or, " From Serfdom to 
Wages," 



by it, but it is the movement of the mass. Men 
and measures are its way-marks, but its progress 
marks the way which the common life is taking. 

NEED OF BROADE"R KNOWLEDGE. 

While among its adherents there are more who 
understand it to be nothing less than the struggle 
for a human standard of life, yet the Labor Move- 
ment suffers from nothing so much as the lack of 
the breadth that comes only from knowledge of the 
past and vision for the future, upon the part not 
only of the rank and file but of the leadership in 
its organizations. If more labor-union men were 
only aware how much better their predecessors 
builded than they knew, they themselves could 
build the better. If more knew the long train of 
events, complications, toils and sacrifices which has 
led the way to present situations, so many would 
not attempt or expect the impossible. If, on the 
other hand, what has been accomplished by the 
intelligent sacrifices of the few were not so un- 
known, the many now marshalled into the organ- 
ized army of industry would reap Jhe peaceful 
victories within their easier reach. 

So keenly is the lack of more thorough historical 
and economic knowledge felt by the most intelli- 
gent workingmen, that little groups of them are 
withdrawing from their unions to devote their time 
to the study of the mighty problem. But how 
much better would it be to devote more of the time 
and energy of the unions to more systematic educa- 
tional effort. Most of them can develop such per- 
sonal resources from within and can command 
enough supplemental help from outside to make 
the educational session as interesting as profitable. 

THE JURY OF PUBLIC OPINION. 

There is, moreover, a third party to the contro- 
versy between those who oppose and adhere to 
organized labor, who have a right to be heard, but 
need to be taught first. It is that great undecided 
jury the Public who know not what to think or 
do, and yet whose interests are more and more 
seriously involved, and upon whose attitude and 
action public safety and the progress of the whole 
Labor Movement in every last analysis depend. If 
once the facls could only be gotten before them 
they will agree upon a verdict which will neither 
be doubted nor disputed. But no public question 
is so little understood by the public as that of labor 
organization, so far are the masses of the people 
from understanding that the movement of labor is 
the upward struggle of the common life. 

The Labor Movement is therefore far more than 
any organization, programme, plan of action, or 
single issue. It is nothing less than the more or 
less concerted movement of the majorities of the 
world's workers for the recognition of human rights 
and personal wlws in the working'World; the 



10 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[September. 



more or less organized effort of fellow-crafts- 
men and the federated forces of all trades-unions 
to attain and maintain that standard of life or com- 
fort which makes it possible for " men to live the 
life of men." The general movement thus de- 
scribed includes such specific objects of pursuit as 
a living wage, upon less than which a man cannot 
live and be a man, and upon which the existence of 
home, its wifehood, motherhood, and childhood 
depend; a fairer share of leisure and privilege 
involving limitation of the hours of labor and ex- 
tension of the opportunities for relief from the 
monotony of subdivided toil; protection for the 
life, limb and health of the working man, wo- 
man and child; a tenable social status with the 
possibility of peace, progress and human brother- 
hood; and the legal recognition of the right to 
combine, and the freedom of speech and action in 
the promotion of these ends, limited only by the 
protection of personal liberty and public safety. 

PRACTICAL VALUE OF THE 8TDDY. 

If, as Arnold Toynbee urged, " Social problems 
of the present be borne in mind in studying the 
past," even that historical research which to too 
many seems remote from the solution of to-day's 
problems, will be fruitful in present values. Not 
the least important result to accrue to the advan- 
tage of labor is to make more widely known the 
fact that its movement has a history. Then it will 
more readily be believed that it both has made and 
is making history. Of just this dignity, in its own 
sight, no less than in that of others, organized 
labor stands in greatest need. 

Not until it is as self-conscious and as widely 
recognized in this country, as it has long since been 
in England, that it is part of the great race move- 
ment and has place in the literature of the lan- 
guage, and law of the land, will organized labor 
hold an equal footing here as there. Not until 
industrial differences are attributed in the public 
mind to other and higher causes than mere indi- 
vidual selfishness and personal antagonisms, will 
the movement to settle them rise higher than a 
more or less annoying quarrel. 

To emphasize only or chiefly the personal ani- 
mosities and class antagonisms as the causes of 
industrial differences is hopelessly to misconceive 
and needlessly to embitter a situation already so 
little understood and so complicated by "bad 
blood " as to be without any solution, perhaps, to 
the majority of men. The very first step toward 
solving "the labor problem," therefore, is an edu- 
cational effort to secure the acknowledgment that 
the differences which divide the industrial world 
are real, and have great general historical causes 
to account for the division, if not for the specific 
form of each several issue that arises into dispute. 

PRESENT CONDITIONS TRANSITIONAL. 

It is well nigh criminal to discuss such issues 
without premising the fact that civilization is still 
in the throes of an industrial revolution, which by 
the introduction of machinery and the subdivision 
of labor consequent thereupon, has wrought more 
radical and rapid changes to which the people 
"iave been obliged to adjust themselves, than the 
political or military revolutions to which it may be 
compared. Incalculable will be the practical value 
of the common understanding of historical ante- 
cedents, economic principles, social conditions and 
industrial forces to the promotion of industrial 



peace and social progress. If, for example, there 
could be a wider interchange of experience in the 
practical attempts to conciliate and arbitrate indus- 
trial disputes, how fast and far the most approved 
and successful of such methods would supplant 
the war measures that so universally prevail in the 
strike, lockout, boycott and blacklist. 

Above all, the intellectual necessity imposed by 
such study upon those representing contesting 
classes, to stand in each other's place, and to recog- 
nize, at least for the time being, certain common 
interests at stake, would play no small part in 
interpreting the majorities and minorities to each 
other. For as the elimination of the personal 
element from the relationship between employer 
and employe is so largely the dangerous factor in 
the present situation, no solvent can have highly 
practical value that does not make for the restora- 
tion of the bond of brotherhood. 

PURPOSE AND SCOPE OP THE STUDIES. 

These studies are undertaken at the prompting 
of the conviction that upon the calm, impartial 
interpretation of the social condition of labor, in the 
light of its past movements and present tendencies, 
our industrial peace and social progress depend. 
In the hope that these ends may be promoted by a 
definite plan of study, opening up easily accessible 
sources of information, and marking out practical 
methods for personal observation and considera- 
tion, or for the social discussion by friendly groups 
of the common workaday life, the following lines 
of inquiry are proposed for the co-operative pur- 
suit of our fellow students. 



The Movement of Labor. 

FROM SERFDOM TO WAGES the movement should be 
followed in an outline study of its historical development 
in England from the events immediately preceding the 
Black Death (1318) to the establishment of the factory sys- 
tem (1844). 

When the general course of events has thus been outlined, 
the following specific movements will, among others, invite 
special study: 

FROM INFERIORITY TO EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW: 
The evolution of English labor-legislation.from the " Statute 
of Laborers " (1350) to the repeal of the anti-combination 
laws (1824) and the factory acts (1844, 1847), etc., etc. 

FROM COMPETITION TO COMBINATION : The organization 
of labor, necessity for under the competitive system, rise of 
among agricultural laborers and in craft-guilds, promoted 
by the introduction of machinery, development of trade- 
unions, their relation to the old guilds, the new trade union- 
ism, the federation of labor and socialism. 

FROM ACTUAL CONDITIONS TOWARD IDEAL COMMON- 
WEALTHS: Literary Utopias, communistic experiments, 
democratic aspirations, socialistic propaganda, religious, 
social evangelism, etc., etc. 



THE ORGANIZATION OF LABOR: Continued necessity for 
under existing conditions, avowed aims of, principles of 
association; methods, by combination for brotherhood and 
benefits, by conflict with the-weapons of the boycott and of 
the strike, by intimidation, coercion and picketing, by con- 
ciliation and arbitration, by co-operation in productive in- 
dustry, profit and gain sharing, in distril>ution, co-operative 
stores, etc.; economic, political, ethical and religious aspects 
of the principles, methods and tendencies of organized 
labor. 

EXISTING LABOR LEGISLATION: Underlying varying 
principles, development of labor legislation in England since 
the acts of isi'4 and 1*47, and in the United States; attitude 
for and' against legislative interference; government labor 
officers, commissioners, factory inspectors, boards of con- 
ciliation, etc.; tendency toward the initiative, referendum 
and proportional representation. 

Social Condition of Labor. 

Present conditions in which the industrial class 
in general, and individual crafts or classes in par- 
ticular, are found to be, are to be not only com- 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



11 



pared with past conditions, e. g., wage earners 
with serfs and slaves, but contrasted with ethical 
ideals of what conditions should be and may 
become. From this point of view social conditions 
of labor may be observed and studied under the 
following topics: 

STANDARD OF LIFE AND THE LIVING WAGE. General 
economic aspect of as illustrated among the agricultural 
laborers and those of the several crafts and trades. 

PRESENT SPECIFIC CONDITIONS. Child-labor and ap- 
prenticeship, workingwomen their relation to men's work 
and family life, the sweating system, hours of labor and Sun- 
day rest, Idleness involuntary and voluntary, relief work 
for the unemployed, dealing with the tramp. 

RELATIVE STATUS OF THE INDUSTRIAL CLASSES. 
Educational ; compulsory schooling, industrial training. 
Municipal; the housing, sanitary provisions and recreation 
spaces of industrial districts in cities. Political; intelli- 
gence, freedom, affiliations and interests. Social : in- 
equality, power of initiative, common-ground for neighbor- 
hood co-operation, social unification, relation of social 
settlements to this status. Moral ; honesty. sobriety, social 
purity, ethical ideals. Religtous; attitude toward religion 
and toward the churches, relation of religion to industrial 
ethics, and of the churches to the social condition of labor. 

Biographical and Literary Studies. 

Supplemental to the historical and economic 
study of the Labor Movement, but vitally impor- 
tant to it, is acquaintanceship with the Jives and 
writings of its rarest personal exponents. Subjects 
for biographical and literary studies, with biblo- 
graphieal suggestions, will be indicated in connec- 
tion with the. successive periods or phases of the 
movement to be reviewed. 

For the sake of those who may prefer to select 
their lines of study in advance a list of biographi- 
cal and literary subjects is appended, which may 
be added to as our course proceeds: 

St. Francis and his Tertiary Order. 

John Wyclif and " The Kingdom of God." 

William Langland and " Piers Plowman." 

John Ball, the Preacher of the Peasant Revolt. 

Sir John Oldcastle. the Protector of the Persecuted. 

Erasmus and the " Christian Prince." 

Sir Thomas More and the " Utopia." 

John Wesley and the Social Results of the Wesleyan 
Movement. 

Robert Owen at New Lanark and New Harmony. 

Richard Oastler, the Child-Saver. 

The Seventh Earl of Shaftesbury. 

Carlyle and his " Signs of the Times," " Past and Pres- 
ent." 

Frederick Denison Maurice, his Life and Letters. 

Charles Kingsley and "Yeast" and "Alton Locke." 

Thomas Chalmers and "The Christian and Civic Econ- 
omy of Large Towns." 

Mazzini and his "Thoughts on Democracy" and "The 
Duties of Man." 

John Ruskin and " Fors Clavigera " (letters to working- 
men) , " Time and Tide," " Unto this Last." 

Arnold Toynbee and " The Industrial Revolution." 

William Morris and " The Dream of John Ball," " Signs 
of Change" and " News fromNowhere." 

Karl Marx and " The Bible of Socialism." 

Count Leo Tolstoi, the Nobleman Laborer. 

William and Catherine Booth "In Darkest England." 

Pestalozzi, Froebel and Horace Mann, the apostles of 
democracy in education. 



Literature of Labor. 

The literature of the Labor Movement is far 
richer, more varied and voluminous than is gener- 
ally supposed. Webb's Bibliography of Trades 
Unionism, which does not cover the many other 
phases of the literature, nor much of the American 
writing on that subject, contains nearly one thou- 
sand references, a large proportion of which are to 
rare original sources. But there is rapidly coming 
to be a hopefully accessible and popular literature, 
to which, for the most part, the practical design of 
these studies limits our reference. Bearing in 
mind also the two classes of readers likely to make 
use of these studies, we will suggest by the use of 



the asterisk(*) the books to be commended to those 
of limited time and means and then will add a 
longer list from which wider selection may be 
made.t 

BOOKS OF GENERAL REFERENCE, to which con- 
stant allusion will be made : 

* Trade Unionism, New and Old, G. S. Howell. Scrib- 
ners. New York. $1.00 net. 

* The Labor Movement in America. Richard T. Ely. T. 
T. Crowell & Co., New York. $1.50. 

[Comprehensive briefer treatments of English and 
American movements.] 

Conflicts of Labor and Capital (2d ed.). G. S. Howell. 
Macmillan & Co., New York. $2.50. [Showing the histori- 
cal, administrative, political, social, economic and industrial 
aspects of Englisa trade unions. 1 

History and Development of Guilds and the Origin of 
Trade Unions, Dr. Lujo Brentano. Triibner & Co., Lon- 
don. $1.25 net. [The first historical review of the religious, 
town or merchant, and craft guilds, and their relation 
to trade unions.] 

Six Centuries of Work and Wages. A History of English 
Labor, 1250-1833, J. E. Thorald Rogers. G. P. Putnam's 
Sons. $3.00. [Abridgement in Social Science Library. 
Household Publishing Co., New York. 25 cents.l 

History of Trade Unionism, Sidney and Beatrice Webb. 
Longmans, Green & Co. $5.00. [An exhaustive history of 
modern trade unions, denying their relation to the old 
guilds, and written from the socialist's point of view.] 

An Introduction to English Economic History and Theory 
(2d ed.), 2 vols., W. J. Ashley. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New 
York. 1st vol.. $1.50: 2d vol., $3.00. [A thorough, critical 
treatment of the Middle Age period, maintaining a conserv- 
ative and mediatory position between conflicting opinions 
on the more controverted historical and economic points.] 

*The Industrial Revolution in England (4th ed.), Arnold 
Toynbee. Longmans, Green & Co. $3.50. [The most sug- 
gestive historical and economic interpretation of the rise of 
the present industrial order, in the eighteenth century, from 
the social point of view.l 

*The condition of the Working Classes In England in 
1844, F. Engels (translated by Mrs. Florence Kelley). Scrib- 
ner, New York. $1.25. 

Democracy and Liberty, 2 vols., W. E. H. Lecky. Long- 
mans, Green & Co. $5.00. [Chapters VIII and IX are de- 
voted to a conservative's estimate of contemporaneous so- 
cialism and labor questions.] 

Classes and Masses; a Hand Book of Social Facts, W. H. 
Mallock. Adam and Charles Black, London. $1.25. [A de- 
tenseofthe present order and laisaez faire; attacking pro- 
posed reconstructions and legislatve interference.] 

Problems of Poverty; an Inquiry into the Industrial 
Condition of the Poor, J . A. Hobson. Methuen & Co., Lon- 
don. $1.00 net. 

The Evolution of Modern Capitalism; a Study of Ma- 
chine Production, J. A. Hobson. Scnbner, New York. $1.25. 

[The scientific analysis of existing conditions in these 
two volumes gives great weight to the author's forecast of 
"a coherent industrial organism," and his "interpretation 
of the tendencies visible In the development of modern 
industry.] 

* Outlines of English Industrial History, W.Cunningham 
and Ellen A. McArthur. Macmillan & Co., New York. $1.25 
net. 

*The Industrial History of England (3d ed.), H. De B. 
Gibbens. Metnuen & Co. $1.20. 

* English Social Reformers, H. De B. Gibbens. Methuen 
&Co. $1.00. 

[These two volumes are remarkably concise and compre- 
hensive, yet readable, popular expositions of the historical 
development of our modern industrial life.] 

* A Short History of the English People. J. R. Green. 
Harper & Brothers. $1.20. [Invaluable for its luminous 
glimpses of the common people's life and living at successive 
periods.] 

Life and Labor of the People in London, 7 vols., Charles 
Booth. Williams & Norgate. Vols. 1-4, $1.50 each; vols. 
1-7, $3.00 each. 

Pauperism and the Endowment of Old Age. Charles 
Booth. $1.50. 

Hull House Maps and Papers, by Hull House residents. 
T. Y. Crowell & Co. $2.50. 
[The three last named works are the results of most elab- 

t A somewhat extended bibliographical list of sociological 
works was published in the July issue of CHICAGO COM- 
MONS. 



12 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[September, 



orate and accurate statistical investigations of the condition 
of English and American industrial classes.] 

* Industrial Evolution of the United States, Carroll D 
Wright, U. S. Commissioner of Labor. The Chautauqua 
Press. $1.00. [The planting and growth of American me- 
chanical industries are described. The labor movement 
and the influence of machinery on labor are treated.] 

The Labor Movement the Problem of To-day, edited by 
George McNeil. The M. J. Hazen Co.. New York. Sub- 
scription, $3.75. [Containing historical sketch of the rise of 
the modern laborer, by Prof. E. J. James; discussions of 
various phases of the problem by Prof. F. H. Giddings, 
Henry George and others, and accounts of various trade or- 
ganizations and federations of labor, by their representa- 
tives.] 

* The Labor Problem, edited by William E. Barns. Har- 
per & Brothers, New York. $1.00. [Plain questions 
and practical answers by political economists, manufactur- 
ers, workingmen, divines, labor commissioners, journalists 
and others, with an historical consideration of the conflict.] 

* Tools and the Man Property and Industry under the 
Christian Law, Washington Gladden. Houghton, Mittiin & 
Co. $1.25. 

Ruling Ideas in the Present Age, Washington Gladden. 
Houuhton. Miftlin & Co. $1.25. 

[ The two books last mentioned treat the ethical and re- 
ligious aspect* of many principles and relationships involved 
in the industrial status.] 

Principles of Economics. Vol. I (3d ed. ) . Alfred Marshall, 
Professor of Political Economy in the University of Cam- 
bridge. Macmillan & Co. 2 vols., $3.00 per vol.. net. [In 
Book IV, on The Agents of Production Land. Labor, Cap- 
ital and Organization, the personal, ethical and social ele- 
ments receive stronger emphasis, and throughout (espe- 
cially pp. 46-49, 275-295. 594-598, 638-650, 755. 771-790) the rights 
of labor have more liberal recognition and advocacy than 
at the hand of any other economist.] 

Handy Book of the Labor Laws (3d ed.), George Howell. 
Macmillan & Co. $1.50. [A popular guide to existing English 
labor legislation.] 

Hand Book to the Labor Laws of the United States. F. 
J. Stimson. Scribners, New York. $1.50. 

*The Labour Annual: A year book of social, economic 
and political reform, second issue, 1896. Edited by Joseph 
Edwards; Clarion Company, Ltd., 72 Fleet street, London. 
Is., net. [Probably the oest existing compendium of infor- 
mation concerning the contemporary movement of labor 
and reform.] 

Reports of the United States Labor Bureau: 
Annual. 

1886. First. Industrial Depressions. 

1887. Second. Convict Labor. 

1888. Third. Strikes and Lockouts (18S1-1SS6). 

1889. Fourth, Working Women in Large Cities. 

1890. Fifth, Railroad Labor. 

1891. Sixth. Cost of Production I (one vol.) 

1892. Seventh. Cost of Production II (two vols.) 

1893. Eighth, Industrial Education. 

1894. Ninth, Building and Loan Associations. 

1895. Tenth, Strikes and Lockouts (1887-1894). 

Special. 

1889. First, Marriage and Divorce. 

1892. Second. Labor Laws of Various States and Terri- 

tories. 

1893. Third. Analysis and Index of State Labor Reports 

prior to November, 1892. 
1893. Fourth. Compulsory Insurance. 

1893. Fifth, The Gothenberg System of Liquor Traffic. 

1894. Seventh, The Slums of Great Cities (Baltimore, 

Chicago, New York. Philadelphia). 

1895. Eighth, Housing of the Working People. 

[The sixth and seventh annual reports on the "Cost of 
Production " are of unique value, containing as they do, ex- 
haustive inquiry into the incomes and. detailed expenditures 
of operatives, and affording information as to the life of 
working families not to be obtained elsewhere.] 

State Reports of Labor Bureaus and Factory Inspectors. 

Serial Publications and Proceedings: 

Social Science Journal. [Of the Am. Social Science As- 
sociation.] 

Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social 
Science. 

American Statistical Association. 

American Economic Association. 

American Journal of Sociology. 

All the Books in the above list, except government re- 
ports, may be obtained of A. C. McCLURG & Co., Wabash 
avenue and Madison street, Chicago. 



Hmona tbe Books. 



VALUABLE LABOR "BULLETIN.' 



Peculiarly Useful Features of the Labor Depart- 
ment's I i 1 1 M Issue. 



The value of the new Bulletin of the Department 
of Labor is made more evident by the importance 
of the contents of the fifth issue, now before us, 
though space limits preclude more than mention. 
There is a report upon the Department's recent 
investigations as to convict labor, supplementing 
its report of 1887; the fourth chapter of W. F. 
Willoughby's series of articles on Industrial Com- 
munities, describing the great Krupp iron and 
steel works at Essen, Germany; summaries of the 
recent reports of the labor bureaus of Maryland, 
Michigan and North Carolina; outline of the 
Massachusetts report upon the unemployed; the 
new Maryland sweat shop law for the protection 
of garment workers; recent labor decisions by 
courts, and a list of government contracts effecting 
labor. Most valuable of all, perhaps, because 
otherwise most inaccessible, are the abstracts of 
foreign statistical publications for instance, an 
exhaustive report upon the trade guilds of Austria; 
a report upon last year's strikes in France, and one 
upon strikes and lockouts in Great Britain and 
Ireland. 



REPORT ON STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS. 



Space is at hand for only a brief mention of the 
Tenth Annual Report of the United States Com- 
missioner of Labor. The report relates entirely 
to the strikes and lockouts occurring in the United 
States from January 1, 1887, to June 30, 1894. It 
thus supplements the Third Annual Report, of 
December, 1887, which reported strikes and lock- 
outs from January 1, 1881, to December 31, 1886. 
We have now a decidedly complete record of 
labor disturbances in this country from January 
1, 1881, to June 30, 1894. An improvement is 
made in this report in that experience and care 
have enabled the adoption throughout of the 
individual strike as unit of record, whereas the 
Third report made the establishment in which 
strikes or lockouts occurred, the unit. Twenty- 
six tables show with great exactness the number 
of strikes and lockouts by years, States and indus- 
tries, the number and sex of employes involved, 
thrown out of employment and retained; loss of 
wages and to employers, causes of trouble in 
each case, and whether the strike or lockout 
succeeded or failed. Address, Commissioner of 
Labor, Washington, D. C. 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



PLYMOUTH 
WINTER NIGHT 
COLLEGE 




AT 



OPENS For those who feel 

^^CTTC^BFR their education to be 

- insufficient, and who 

1 ST for any reason are 

unable to attend the regular Night Schools 



CHICAGO COMMONS 

140 NORTH UNION 

ST R E ET 



TUITION FEE 
25 CENTS FOR TERM OF TEN WEEKS 



CLASSES IN 
MATHEMATICS Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, etc., etc. 

ENGLISH Writing, Spelling, Beading, Grammar, Composition 
GEOGRAPHY Physical, Descriptive, Baces of Men 
HISTORY American, English, French, etc., etc. 

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE French. German, Latin 

DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ECONOMY Cooking. Sewing, 
Dressmaking, Home Nursing, First Aid to the Injured 

MUSIC Singing, Piano, Violin, Mandolin, Banjo 
People's and Children's Choruses for Study of Good Music 

ART Drawing, Needlework, Embroidery 

SCIENCE Natural History Club 
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Other Features of Chicago Commons 

Free Kindergarten for Little Children, open daily except Saturday and Sunday 

From 9 till 12 and throughout the year 
Clubs for Boys, Girls, Young Men, Young Women and Grown Folks 

Meeting tor Men and Women for discussion of industrial and economic subjects 
Every Tuesday evening at 8 o'clock. Admission FREE. Open to all 

Sunday Meeting, for Men and Women, opens October 18th 

Good music, helpful lectures. An uplifting, restful gathering for busy people 

Seventeenth Ward Council of the Civic Federation 

In which are united those interested in making the ward a clean, safe, happy place to live. All 
good citizens, regardless of politics, creed, color or sex, are invited to join 

Labor Studies. A class of the residents and others to study with Professor Taylor the history 

and outlook of the Labor Movement 
A School of Philosophy, independent of the Settlement, is accorded rooms at the Commons 

weekly, and is cpen to those interested 



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NX! 



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VOL. \ No. 7 



A MONTHLY RECORD OF 
SOCIAL SETTLEMENT 
LIFE AND WORK 

CHICAGO 



DINNER 



OCTOBER, 1896 



25 

Cents 

a 
Year 



THE universal blunder of this world is 
in thinking that there are certain 
persons put Into the world to govern 
and certain others to obey. Every- 
body is in this world to govern, and every- 
body to obey. There are no benefactors or 
beneficiaries in distinct classes. Every man 
is at once both benefactor and beneficiary. 
Every good deed you do, you ought to thank 
your fellow man for giving you the oppor- 
tunity to do, and he ought to be thankful 
to you for doing it. . . 

Feudalism had its vague shadow of duty 
and mutual service, but it soon gave place 
to the epoch of individualism. . . Now men are 
coming to see that beyond and above this 
individualism there is something highei 
/Mutualism. . . Don't you see that in this mu- 
tualism the world becomes an entirely dif- 
ferent thing? Men's dreams are after the 
perfect world of mutualism. AXen's follies 
may anticipate it. A\en will think of it in 
the midst of deepest subjection to the false 
conditions under which they are now living. 
This is new life, where service is universal 
law; is but the coming in of the life of God 
upon man; the coming into the inlets of our 
life of th.e. :i gtfe^.t ocean-life that lies beyond. 
PHILLIPS BROOKS. 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



WE DESIRE TO TREBLE 
OUR CIRCULATION 



AND 

WITHIN 
TWELVE 
MONTHS 

TO 
SECURE 



TEN THOUSAND 



READERS 



THIS WILL BE VERY EASY 

IF EVERYBODY HELPS 

IN ONE OF THE FOLLOWING WAYS: 



OF CHICAGO 
COMMONS, 



1. BY GETTING SUBSCRIBERS. 

To help this along, we will send six copies for one year to any one address, anywhere, for $1.25. 
This is a club rate of i2O cents -per copy, and will apply to any number of copies above six, 
sent to one address. 

2. BY SENDING US LISTS 

of church members, clubs, societies, or personal friends, in any number. We shall be glad to send 
sample copies to any persons upon application. Send us your church directory to-day. 

3. BY ADVERTISING. 

It is by cash receipts from advertising that we hope to make up the discrepancy between the low 
price of subscriptions and the cost of printing and delivering the paper. We will send rates upon 
application and allow a liberal commission upon desirable advertising secured for us. 

4. IN GENERAL, 

By interesting yourself and friends in Chicago Commons, and the cause of social brotherhood 
for which it stands and which it tries to aid. For instance, why not write a couple of letters to-day 
to some good friends, telling them about it, and sending them your copy of the paper ? We will 
send you another copy for every one you distribute in this way. 



WHEN YOU THINK, 

That in these ways, and others that may occur to you, you can assure the permanency, stability and 
constant development of the paper ; that thus you can be of material assistance in arousing interest 
in the work of social reform and rejuvenation, not alone in the social settlement, but in churches, 
societies and among individuals widely scattered in many parts of the world; 



YOU WILL GLADLY HELP. 



For sample copies, advertising rates and all information 
on the subject of the paper, address 



CHICAGO COMMONS, 



140 NORTH UNION STREET, 

CHICAGO, ILLS, 




A Monthly Record of Social Settlement Life and Work. 



Vol. I. 



OCTOBER, 1896. 



No. 7. 



TOWARD HUMANITY. 



If one might save 

Man from his curse, the whole wide world would share 
The lightened horror of this ignorance 
Whose sha low is chill fear, and cruelty 
Its bitter pastime. Yea, if one might save ! 
And means must be ! There must be refuge! Men 
Perished in winter winds till one smote fire 
From flint-stoues coldly hiding what they held, 
The red spark, treasured from the kindling sun. 
They gorged on flesh like wolves till one sowed corn, 
Which grew a weed, yet makes the life of man; 
They mowed and babbled till some tongue struck speech, 
And patient fingers framed the lettered sound. 
What good gift have my brothers, but it came 
From search and strife and loving sacrifice? 

Edwin Arnold, in The Light of Asia. 



SOCIAL WORK IN CLEVELAND. 



Hiram House and Its Great Opportunity Interest at 
Hiram College Social Awakening Among the 
Disciples. 

[BY THE WARDEN.] 

The presentation of the settlement motive and 
method, at a summer assembly three years ago by 
the Warden of Chicago Commons, sowed the seed 
of new life and effort in the heart of a student 
in General Garfield's old college at Hiram, Ohio. 
For two years it silently germinated, until his 
graduation, when, despite many things to the con- 
trary, and not a few deepest misgivings, it found 
what seems to be permanent rootage, first, in the 
heart of the college life, and then in one of the 
most neglected and needy of the industrial dis- 
tricts in the city of Cleveland. At 141 Orange 
street, in the heart of a predominantly Jewish pop- 
ulation, the Warden recently found seven resi- 
dents, three men and four women, all but one 
formerly students at Hiram College, comfortably 
located in two cottage-like frame buildings, flanked 
by a pretty lawn. 

A CONGESTED DISTRICT. 

After the summer work in another locality the 
settlement located there last September. The pre- 
liminary canvass of the district discovered 8,000 
inhabitants, 2,596 of whom are between the ages of 
six and twenty-one years. In the single block, on 
Orange street between Cross and Perry, in which- 
Hiram House is situated, there are no less than 



1,900 people, of whom 628 are between these ages. 
The response from the neighborhood has already 
been so great as to supply the kindergarten, day- 
nursery and evening educational classes with as 
many attendants as the residents can well take 
care of. The Cleveland General Hospital and its 
well-co ad acted dispensary are located upon the 
same block, and the very cordial and practical co- 
operation between it and the settlement, has al- 
ready proven to be of reciprocal value. 

INTEREST AT THE COLLEGE. 

As in the case of most other settlements, Hiram 
House is finding the reflex influence of its work 
upon its more resourceful and privileged constitu- 
ency to be not the least valuable element in the so- 
cial service rendered. This was impressively 
demonstrated to the writer by the settlement con- 
ference at Hiram College on a recent Sunday. The 
College church was thronged by faculty, students, 
and the old friends and neighbors of President 
Garfield, whose modest little one-and-a-half-story 
homestead is the only local monument standing to 
his early manhood, and is still the pride of the 
town. The eager interest in, and the manifest 
sympathy for every feature of the settlement 
movement, and the nobly generous response to the 
appeal for support in behalf of Hiram House were 
impressive evidences of the hold that this form of 
social service has already gotten upon the heart 
of college and town. It is the more significant in 
view of the fact that this unsectarian work has 
been inaugurated by, and is likely in large part to 
enlist the co-operation and fellowship of, the 
Disciples, who number 5,000 churches with 750,000 
members. 

THE SOCIOLOGICAL CLUB. 

The living link between the Settlement and Hi- 
ram College, is the "Hiram Christian Sociological 
Club," composed of college men and women, with 
the object of studying society in relation to the 
Kingdom of God, and to make practical efforts for 
the betterment of human social relations. The 
club has been in existence about two years and has 
discussed the sociological aspects of such present 
issues as " Immigration," "The Sphere of Volun- 
tary Organization," " The New Philanthropy as it 
Affects the Poor Women and Children in Fac- 
tories," " South Carolina Liquor Dispensary Law," 
" The Standard Oil Trust," with selections from 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[October, 



"Wealth Against Commonwealth," "Are Corpora- 
tions Subject to Moral Law?" "The Initiative and 
Proportional Representation," "The National Bank 
System," "The Church and the Working Classes," 
"An Account of a Visit to Hull House," etc. 

DISCIPLES' SOCIAL AWAKENING. 
The social awakening among the Disciples' 
churches is also manifest in Chicago not only in 
the work they have recently inaugurated in con- 
nection with the Peoples' Institute, but also more 
significantly in the broad social interpretation of 
scripture and church life by Prof. Willett, at the 
Disciples' Divinity House, connected with the 
University of Chicago. 



RECKPTION TO WOBK.INGMEN. 

Cleveland Y. M. C. A. Gives the Opportunity to Pre- 
sent the Laborer s Kight and Duty to Learn. 



The forces of labor, education and religion were 
rarely blended and focused on the evening of Octo- 
ber 12th at a reception given to the mechanics of 
Cleveland by the Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion in their great Christian club-house. Its audi- 
torium was filled by over a thousand working men 
who listened eagerly and with marked approval to 
the discussion of the question of " Laborers' Right 
and Duty to Learn." 

Copies of the Labor Issue of September of CHI- 
CAGO COMMONS were sought for and almost de- 
manded by men who thronged the platform for 
half an hour to secure a sample, with an earnest- 
ness which confirms the belief that there never has 
been a wider opportunity for practical educational 
efforts in the line of industrial economics than the 
present epoch-making period in American political 
and social progress. 



The parish priest of Austerity 

Climbed up a high churcli steeple 

To be nearer God, so that he miglit hand 

His Word down to the people. 

And In sermon script he daily wrote 

What he thought was sent from Heaven, 

And he dropped it down on the people's heads 

Two times one day in seven. 

In his age, God said ''Come down and die," 

And he cried out from the steeple, 

" Where art Thou, Lord? " and the Lord replied, 

" Down here among my people." 



Men are unjust because they are ignorant, and 
the cure for all injustice is humanitarian educa- 
tion. Let us clamor less for mere dollars and cents 
and make our claim for justice in the form of op- 
portunity for our children, for their mental and 
moral growth. JSo man can resist that appeal. 
Shall we have a new slogan of war and cry out for 
the real emancipation of the soul? Leduire News. 



GOLDEN RULE MEN. 



Further Testimony as to the Practicability of Christ's 

Principles in Daily Life Hull House's 

Tribute to Wm. H. Colvin. 



That "The Golden Rule in Business" is a theme 
of present day interest, and the question of its 
practicability one close to very many hearts, has 
been displayed in many ways to us since the pub- 
lication in the last i:-sue of CHICAGO COMMONS of 
the account of a practical application of those 
words of Jesus to the business relations of em- 
ployer and employe. In another form comes to us 
the evidence of another business man's effort to 
live unto his less fortunate fellows after an exalted 
ideal. The death of Mr. William H. Colvin, of 
this city, to which we have referred in a previous 
issue, is noticed by Hull House, of which he was a 
notably firm friend and supporter, in a warmly 
appreciative memorial, published with the Null 
House Bulletin, and presumably from the pen of 
Miss Jane Addanis. We have space for but a few 
selections: 

Few business men are able to retain a really sympathetic 
view of the lives and aspirations of working people. Even 
those who, like Mr. Colvin, have had the early struggle and 
training of the workiug boy, are apt to lose this sympathy 
In the years of business success. It is, then, a rare gift to 
the community when a man who has constantly grown 
larger in his sympathy, clearer in his insight and more for- 
bearing in his charity, Is able to devote the leisure or his 
middle lite to the higher interests ol the city, and with an 
enlightened conscience and trained ability insist that the 
best results of civilized life shall be secured for the benefit 
of working people. 

It is characteristic of Mr. Colvin that as 

chairman of the executive committee of the Municipal 
Voters' League, he insisted that a strong campaign should 
be made iu the wards occupied by workingmen, relying 
upon them for most valuable help, because they had a right 
to the education and the credit incidental to such a cam- 
paign, and because business men alone could not purify the 

city government He was too modest to realize 

how far his fait iful and able services contributed to a bet- 
ter city or Imw rare is sucli devotion. 

Mr. Colvin's helpful activity among working people was 
largely inspired by his conviction that the principle of the 
organization of labor must be sustained if the present in- 
dustrial order is to continue. TTe held to this conviction in 
times of stress and upheaval, when he was quite ready to 
admit that trades unions were making serious blunders. . 

Sentences of his are easily recalled. During a 

strike, when the insistence of Hull House for arbitration 
could so easily be misconstiued into partisanship, he said: 
"H.. 11 House can't afford not to stand for arbitration. In 
fif'y years from now the people who are not insisting upon 
arb.tration in this crisis will be looked upon with amazement, 
perhaps with contempt." 

The offer of a new building was once made to Hull House 
from a man who was notoriously corrupt in his business 
methods. ])u> ing the long and careful discussion of ethics 
and practical conduct which followed this offer, Mr. Colvin 
never wavered from his position. " It is better for working 
people to have less, than to grow more confused in their 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



notions of honesty," and he himself took back the message 
of refusal In so fair a spirit that he retained the man for his 

firm friend 

His children contemplate a memorial building at Hull 
House, which will be to the residents and to many of their 
nMgh'.)ors the memorial of a man "who did justly, who 
loved mercy and who walked humbly before his God." 

FROM THE "GOLDEN RULE" SHOP. 

Nothing thus far published in these columns has 
attracted so much attention or so unqualifiedly 
favorable comment as the account of the establish- 
ment of the Golden Rule as the shop rule in a 
western factory. Of the many letters received in 
reference to it, the most interesting is from the 
gentleman at the head of the establishment in 
question, to whom the publication was an entire 
surprise. The portion of his last letter given be- 
low, though written with no idea of its publication, 
is an important word of sequel to our first article: 

I feel somewhat diffident about being referred to as an 
exemplification of the fact that the Golden Rule Is applica. 
ble to every day affairs. I never said that we had attained 
the decree of perfection required to carry out that lofty 
standard. I have always said that we are " trying," simply 
trying to attain to It, and while I am painfully conscious of 
the fact that we corne far short, many times, of the practi- 
cal interpretation of it In our dealings with our fellows, It 
affords me great pleasure to say that our experience has 
been a very pleasant, happy and satisfactory one, and we 
are going to keep the old mle hanging on the wall, and try 
next year to come nearer to it than we have In the year 
that's past. 

The pleasure that I have in saying this is very greatly 
enhanced as I add. what simple justice would require that 
I should add, that is, that I have every reason to believe 
that the boys in the shop are trying just as earnestly to 
carry out their part of the rule as we are who are in the 
office. 

PROFIT SHARING AT IVORYDALE. 

In this connection reference may be made ap- 
propriately to the profit-sharing successfully car- 
ried on by the firm of Proctor & Gamble, makers 
of Ivory soap, at Ivorydale, Ohio, near Cincinnati. 
Reports of the seventeenth semi annual dividend 
meeting, of this year, and of former meetings, 
have been received. Space limits preclude more 
than the men lion that addresses were made by Dr. 
Washington Gladden an 1 H< n. Benj. Butterworth, 
and that the tone and spirit of the meeting was 
evidently one of the utmost sweetness and brother- 
liness. The address of Mr. James N. Gamble on 
the occasion of the sixth meeting, in May, 1890, a 
copy of which is also in hand, set a keynote for 
mutual respect and regard and fairness of dealing 
which could not well fail of its results. In that 
speech Mr. Gamble mentions incidentally that 
profits of $60,t ! 00 had been shared during the two 
and a half years since the experiment was begun. 
Pamphlets concerning the progress of the idea 
doubtless can be obtained by addressing Proctor & 
Gamble, Cincinnati, Ohio. 



COMMONPLACE LIVES. 



A commonplace life," we say, and we sigh, 

But why should we sigli as we say? 
The commonplace sun In the commonplace sky 

M ikes up the commonplace day. 
The moon and the stars are commonplace things, 
And the flower that blooms and the bird that sings. 
But dark were the world, and sad our lut, 
If the flowers should fail and the un shine not 
And God, who studies each separate soul, 
Out of commonplace lives makes his beautiful whole. 

Susan Coolidge. 



SOCIAL LABOR HYMNS 



Several Useful Collections in Response to Our Re- 
quest of Last Month. 



Our call for social labor hymns and songs seems 
to have struck a respoi sive chord in many minds 
and hearts. Since our last issue, we have received 
the results of several atttempts at original effort, 
and the suggestion of not a few striking lines and 
collections which prove to be valuable sources for 
the compilation which we hope may grow under 
our hand. It is a source of some surprise, indeed, 
to find so many collections, albeit most of them 
small and unpretentious, made with a view of 
supplying just such a need as ours. We had 
hoped to give some selections in this issue, but 
space is available for only a brief mention of some 
of the collections sent to us or referred to by 
interested correspondents: 

" Mansfield House Song Book," used in the Manstield 
House Pleasant Sunday Afternoon Service. Published for 
private use only. 

" The Social Gospelln Song for Religious Services," edited 
by Walter Walsh, Newcastle-on-Tyue; Andrew Reid, Sons 
& Co., London, Paternoster Row, E. C., 1891. 

" The Labour Church Hymn Book." Office of the Labor 
Prtrphet, London, 72 Fleet Street, E. C. Price, Id, paper; 2d, 
cloth. 

" Machine Room Chants," by the late Tom Maguire, with 
memorial note by J. Keir Hardie. London, 53 Fleet Street, 
E.G., 1895. 

" A Song Book for Socialists." London, William Reeves 
185 Fleet Street, E. C. Price, Id. 

"Songs for the Sons of God," by Griffith Dell. Man- 
chester, Labour Press Society, Limited, 57 and 59 Tib Street. 

"Labor Songs," compiled by Herbert N. Casson. Lynn 
Labor Press, 153 Oxford Street, Lynn, Mass. 

Several song books of the Salvation Army, containing 
some such hymns as we seek. 

Pending our further publication on this subject, 
we repeat our request for copies of, or references 
to song-books, single hymns, or poems, original 
or discovered, which will suit our purpose. As we 
said, in former reference to this subject, "original 
compositions will be welcome, if their authors 
will send postage for the return of their manu- 
scrip's and concede our right to publish only such 
as our purpose and space demand." 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[October, 



THE MAKING OF MEN. 



As the Insect from the rock 

Takes the color of its wing; 
As the boulder from the shock 

Of the ocean's rhymthic swing 
Makes itself a perfect form, 

Learns a calmer front to raise ; 
As the shell, enameled warm 

With the prism's mystic rays. 
Praises wind and wave that make 

All its chambers fair and strong; 
As the mighty poets take 

Grief and pain to build their song: 
Even so for every soul, 

Whatsoe'er its lot may be, 
Building, as the heavens roll, 

Something large and strong and free 
Tilings that hurt and things that mar 

Shape the man for perfect praise; 
Shock and strain and ruin are 

Friendlier than the smiling days, 

Rev. J. W. Chaawtish, in The Outlook. 



SOCIAL STUDY CLASSES. 



Interesting Work for the Winter Planned for a 
Grand Rapids Literary Ciub Programme for the 
Evanston Class, 



The Sunday School class in the Evanston Con- 
gregational Church, conducted by Mr. Thomas P. 
Ballard, to which we have several times referred, 
has a very notable programme of study set 
forth for the winter. In the explanatory circular 
just issued by Mr. Ballard we learn that the class 
"studies Bible truth as revealed in conduct. It 
seeks to understand living issues in the light of 
Christian law. There is but one permanent solu- 
tion of all problems affecting the individual, socie- 
ty, business, politics, and that is the Christian one. 
Christian life implies a zealous desire to develop 
character, both of the individual and of society, in 
loyalty to the Master. It is, therefore, more logic- 
ally a confession of defect, rather than a profession 
of virtue. The discussions are informal. Each 
one is free to take part or not, as he prefers. The 
class has been favored with instruction from Dr. 
Washington Gladden of Columbus, O., Dr. Josiah 
Strong, of New York City; Dr. Graham Taylor, 
Dr. J. F. Loba, Prof. J. Scott Clark and others." 
This class has supported liberally work at the Chi- 
cago Commons, more especially contributing gen- 
erously toward the support of this paper. The 
class meets every Sundiy at 12:10 in the pastor's 
study. From the programme for the winter we 
cull these suggestive titles: 

Octoberll " Whosoever shall lose 'his life for my sake 
shall find it." 

November 1 Responsibility of citizpnship. 

December 13 Karly Christianity. Kingsley's "Hypatia." 

December 20 Thy Kingdom come. 

December 27 Looking backward. The world's progress 
toward Christianity in isoc. 



January 17 Dr. Barnan'o's work in London. 

January 24 What is faith? 

January 31 Shall we give to beggars? " The Vision of 
Sir i aunfal." 

February 7 Browning's " Kabbi Ben Ezra. " 

February 14 Manstield House. London. 

February 21 Modern Pharisaism, or old enemies in new 
clothes, 

March 7 Mendelssohn. The Christian as musician. 

March 21 St. George's Episcopal Church, New York. 

March 28 Emerson's Essay on " Success." 

A GRAND RAPIDS CLASS. 

An exceedingly interesting outline of study is 
that sent us by Miss Emma Field, of Grand Rapids, 
which will be carried out this winter in the La- 
dies' Literary Club, of that city. The topics are 
highly suggestive, indicating the broad field to be 
covered. The method seems to be that of a series 
of studies or papers by members of the club. 
Dates and subjects: 

October 14th Social Science, Its Antiquity, Scope and 
Value. 

October 28th The Ascent of Man: " He Setteth the Soli- 
tary in Families." 

November nth Socialism: " Who is My Neighbor?" 

November 25th Dives and Lazarus. Distribution of 
Wealth. 

December 9th Individual Rights and Responsibilities; 
Interdependence. " Who did sin, this man or his parents, 
that he was born blind? " 

January 13th Industrialism vs. Militarism, Co-opera- 
tion, Governmental Aggression. 

January 27th Poverty and Her Daughter, Crime." 

February 'Oth To re-create or to degenerate? 

February 24th -Functions and Limits of Government. 
Centra lization; Civil Service and Unwisdom of Pensions. 

March 10th The Attitude of the State Toward Educa- 
tional Institutions. 

March 24th Nurture vs. Nature. " As a man purposeth 
in his heart, so lie is." 

April 14th The Ethical Factor The highest rule of life. 

April 28th The Law of Supply and Demand. 

May 12th The New Philanthropy. 

May 26th The Duty of Women's Clubs toward Public 
Questions. 

REFERENCE. 

The Bible, Plato's "Republic," More's " Utopia," Bella- 
my's " Looking Backward." Dr. Strong's " New Era," Prof. 
Ely's "Social Aspects of Christianity," Prof. F. H. Gid- 
ding's " Theory of Sociology " and " The Principles of Soci- 
ology," Lyman Abbott's " Evolution of Christianity," Amos 
G. Warner's. " American Cnarities;" Herbert Spencer's 
"Social Statics," Toynbee's "Industrial Revolution," 
American Journal of St>ciob>ay, Cluirit'ex Rtvu-.w, CHICA- 
GO COMMONS, report* of National Conference of Chanties 
and Corrections. (Keference to existing local conditions, 
causes and correctives will be made whenever practicable.) 



PLEA FOR NEGLECTED CHILDREN. 



A Principal Feature of the State Conference of 
Charities and Corrections. 



A valuable conference will be that of charities 
and corrections for the State of Illinois, to be held 
at Springfield, 111., November 12th and 13th, under 
the auspices of the State Board of Charities. Miss 
Jane Addatns, of Hull House, will present "The 
Settlement" on Thursday evening, her address 
being followed by discussion. Prof. Bamberger, 
of the Jewish Manual Training School of Chicago, 
will open the discussion on Friday morning of 
manual training for neglected children, and Dr. 
Julia Holmes Smith will make " A Doctor's Plea 
to the State in Behalf of Dependent Children." 
Other prominent features of the programme will 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



be the addresses, " How Shall We Care for Neg- 
lected and Dependent Children?" by Mrs. Lucy 
L. Flower, Trustee State University; "The Legal 
Status of the Dependent Child," by Judge Orrin 
N. Carter, of Chicago; "The Provisional Treat- 
ment of the Insane, and the Methods of Securing 
Legal Authority for their Restraint," by Dr. Sanger 
Brown, Member of the Board of Auxiliary Visitors 
for Cook County; "The Principle of Charity Or- 
ganization in Towns and Village?," by Rev. Dr. 
C. R. Henderson, University of Chicago; the exhi- 
bition by pupils from State School for Deaf and 
Dumb at Jacksonville. "State Care of the Insane " 
will be the subject of Dr. Clarke Gapen, of Kan- 
kakee, and " The Poor House from a Physician's 
Point of View," that of Dr. George F. Mead of 
Pinckneyville; "The County Jail" will be dis- 
cussed by Dr. Frederick Howard Wines; " State 
Care of the Wrong-doer," by Major McClaughry, 
Pontiac; the discus&ion of the latter to be opened 
by H. H. Hart, Secretary Minnesota State Board of 
Charities and of the National Conference of Chari- 
ties and Correction. 

A special rate of one fare and a third for the 
round trip is made by the railroads for those at- 
tending the conference. Any inquiries as to the 
programme and discussion of special subjects will 
be answered if addressed to Miss Julia C. Lathrop, 
Rockford, Ills. Correspondence regarding rail- 
road tickets, hotels, and boarding places should be 
addressed to George F. Miner, Secretary of the 
State Board of Charities, Springfield, Ills. 



CHRISTIAN FRATERNITY. 



Jesus does not claim that men in the world to-day 
are physiologically equal. There are the lame and 
halt. Nor are they mentally on an equality. There 
are men to whom one talent was given, and those 
to whom five and ten. Nor does Jesus so far fall 
into the class of nature philosophers as to teach 
that because men are to be brothers they are there- 
fore to be twins. The equality of fraternity does 
not consist in duplication of powers, but in enjoy- 
ment of love. 

According to the new social standard of Jesus 
two men are equal not because they have equal 
claims upon each other, but because they owe 
equal duties to each other. The gospel is not a 
new Declaration of Rights, but a Declaration of 
Duties. As to what equality shall consist in when 
the perfect social order is attained, Jesus gives us 
no clear teaching. But one can hardly doubt it 
would be little different. Men would then be 
brothers and society an all-embracing family, but 
individuality is not to be lost. And individuality is 
synonymous with personal inequalities. Prof. 
Shatter Matheit. 



Settlement ant> 




CHICAGO COMMONS. 

14O North Union Street, at Milwaukee Avenue. 

(Keached by all Milwaukee avenue cable and electric cars; 
or by Grand avenue or Halsted str< et electric cars, stopping 
at corner of Austin avenue and Halsted street, one block 
west of Union street.) 



CHICAGO COMMONS Is a Social Settlement located 
on North Union street, two doors from the southwest cor- 
ner of Milwaukee avenue and the crossing of Union street 
upon Milwaukee and Austin avenues. 

Object. As explained iiithe second clause of the Articles 
of Incorp'Tation of the Ohii-ago Commons Association, filed 
with the Secretary of the State of lllino s: 

"2. The object for which it is formed is to provide a center for a 
higher civic and social life to Initiate and maintain religious, educa- 
tional and philanthropic enterprises and to investigate and Improve 
conditions in the industrial districts of Chicago." 

Or, as the explanatory circular of .the settlement has ex- 
plained it: 

" As exemplified at Chicago Commons, the Social Settlement con- 
sists primarily of a group of people who choose to make their home 
In that part of the great city where they seem to be most needed, 
rather than where the neighborhood offers the most of privilege or 
social prestige." 

Support. The work is supported in addition to what the 
residents are able to pay for rent of rooms by the free-will 
gifts of those who believe in what the work stands for. The 
gift of any person is welcomed, and the contributions are 
both occasional and regular, the latter being paid in In- 
stalments, monthly, quarterly and annually, at the conven- 
ience of the giver. 

Visitors, singly or in groups, are welcome at any time, 
Init the residents make especial effort to be at home on 
Tuesday afternoon and evening. 

Information concerning the work of Chicago Commons 
is gladly furnished to all who inquire. A four-pHge leaflet, 
ben ring a picture of our residence, and other literature de- 
scribing the work will be mailed to any one upon applica- 
tion. Please enclose postage, 

Residence All Inquiries with reference to terms and 
conditions of residence, permanent or temporary, should be 
addressed to GRAHAM TAYLOR, Resident Warden. 



OUR SECOND BIRTHDAY. 



Woman's Club and Girls' Progressive Club Make 
Presentation to the Commons. 



The second birthday of Chicago Commons was 
observed on the evening of Monday, October 26, 
with great enjoyment. The first move toward a 
settlement in the Seventeenth waid was taken in 
May, 1894, when Mr. Hegner and other students 
of the Seminary began residence at 124 Erie street, 
boarding in a private house; but the present settle- 
ment residence was formally opened October 21, 
1894, and this was the date celebrated, by a largely 



6 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[ October, 



attended reception, under the auspices of the 
Womans' Club and the Girls' Progressive Club. 
Fully 200 persons were present. Mrs. Katberine 
Lente Stevenson, president of the Woman's Club, 
presided. A most interesting programme of music, 
recitations, etc., was presented under the direction 
of Organist Falk, of the Tabernacle Church. The 
united clubs presented to the Settlement a hand- 
some punch-bowl and glasses, the presentation 
speech being made by Mrs. Reocb, vice-pres- 
ident of the Woman's Club, and Professor 
Taylor responding. Remarks were made also by 
Mrs. Stevenson and Miss Richardson. Refresh- 
ments were served, and the evening was closed 
with the singing of " America." 



CHICAGO COMMONS LIBRARY, 



Increasingly I sct'ul Collection of Books and Other 
Material The Settlement Keading Koom. 



The library of Chicago Commons is as yet hardly 
more than a nucleus. In the personal libraries of 
the residents are most of the indispensable works, 
literary, scientific and economic, but an effort is 
making to gather a Settlement library, particularly 
of sociological and economic material, that shall 
remain and be available regardless of changes in 
personnel. 

The removal of a partition gives us a large front 
room for library purposes, and our shelf-space as 
yet considerably exceeds necessity. Yet the li- 
brary grows steadily and promises increasing use- 
fulness. To Mr. Henry D. Lloyd and Prof. Richard 
T. Ely we are indebted for complete sets of their 
works, and to Messrs. Ginn & Co. for a consider- 
able number of the more modern classical works 
recently published by them in popular form. 
Another friend has given a full set of the Encyclo- 
paedia Brittanica, and others have sent in from 
time to time valuable additions. 

SOCIOLOGICAL LITERATURE. 

Especial attention is given to the gathering of 
sociological literature and data. Files of the labor 
reports of the various states, as complete as possi- 
ble, have promptly followed our request to the 
labor commissioners. United States government 
statistical reports are received and filed, and from 
all manner of sources similar works are sought. 
In addition to this, a system of classification is in 
use by means of which is being accumulated and 
rendered easily available a mass of most valuable 
material of the more fragmentary and occasional 
sort clippings, pamphlets, circulars, magazine 
articles, reports, etc., relating to many subjects of 
sociological importance, particularly with reference 
to social and political conditions in Chicago; and 



a special effort is made to miss no important re- 
port, article or reference relating to the settlement 
movement in general or to any settlement in par- 
ticular. To this collection we cordially invite con 
tributions of all matter likely to be of permanent 
value. 

THE SETTLEMENT READING KOOM. 

By means of the kindly co-operation of several 
friends, especially Mr. W. A. Giles, the exchange 
list of CHICAGO COMMONS, and the sharing within 
the house of the papers and magazines received 
by individual residents, our reading room is sup- 
plied with a goodly list of American and foreign 
periodicals, which are in constant use by both resi- 
dents and neighbors. We now regularly receive 
upward of sixty periodicals, aside from the dailies^ 
the list including: 

Arena, American, American Journal of Sociology, Bulle- 
tin of the U. S. Labor Bureau, Christian Education, Cliris- 
tian World (London). Courier (Lincoln, Neb.), College 
Settlement News (Phila.). Christian Intelligent er, Coast 
Seamen's Journal, Children's Home tinder, Christian 
Evangelist, Christian Endeaveror. Child Garden. Charities 
Review. Cleveland Citizen, Cosmopolitan, Coming Nation 
(SocialisO, Deariinet-s' Advocate. The Dial, Eight-Hour 
herald, Economist. Fornm. Firebrand (AmuvhlM), Tne 
Farmer's Voice, (iolden Rule. Hull House Bulletin, Harper's 
"Weekly, Harper's Magazine, Hartlord Si-minary Review, 
Independent, "Justice" (London), Kindergarten Mauazine, 
Kingdom, Labour Leader (London), "L nd>n," Leud-a- 
Haml, Life, Leclaire News, Ma> sneld House Magazine 
(Kast London), McClure's. Men (Y. M. C. A.). Mirror (111. 
State Reformatory), Nation. National Bimetalhst, "The 
Nazarene" (organ of Minster St. Neighborhood Guild^ 
Philadelphia). Outlook, The People (Socialist), Puck, Pratt 
Institute Monthly. Railway Review. Review of Reviews,. 
Single Tax Courier, St. Nicholas, Sc.ibner s, Social Uaztte 
(Siivatloii Army. London). Telegrapher's Advocate, Union 
Signal, War Cry (Salvation Army), Weste'n Laborer, World 
Christian, Youth's Companion, Young People's Weekly. 

To this should be added occasional publications- 
of various kinds, and we shall be glad to add others 
contributed lor the benefit of those who use th& 
reading room. 

THE BOYS' LIBRARY. 

In this connection mention should be made of 
the boys' library, which is now being gathered 
with a view of interesting our boys in good read- 
ing. Good, live, interesting books of fiction, travel,, 
adventure, biography and history are especially 
desired for this purpose. It is purposed to open 
this library at least one day a week, after the first of. 
November. 



PLEASANT SUNDAY AFTERNOON. 



First of the Sunday Meetings at the Commons an 
Unqualified Success. 

Chicago Commons "Pleasant Sunday Afternoons" 
were started with eminent success October 18, and 
it instantly became evident that the occasion would 
fill a real need. The meeting was held in the 
large rear room of the Settlement basement, which, 
with our great flag, a piano lamp, a spreading palm 
and a rug or two, was made as attractive and home- 



1896. J 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



like as the bare whitewashed walls, the low rafters 
and great square posts along the middle would 
permit. The room was filled with a company 
mingling the very persons for whose better ac- 
quaintance the Settlement chiefly exists; the busy 
men and women of the neighborhood, and a num- 
ber of interested visitors from more distant parts 
of the city and suburbs. 

Prof. W. B. Chamberlain, of Chicago Seminary, 
had charge of the music, and brought with him an 
orchestra from Oak Park, whose music afforded 
great enjoyment. The programme opened wilh a 
"Pontifical March," by Gounod; other instrumental 
selections were the familiar " Traumerei " of Schu- 
mann, 'cello and trombone solos, the Intermezzo 
from " Cavalieria Rusticana," and Mendelssohn's 
"Priests' March." Professor Chamberlain sang two 
solos by Gounod, " Adore and be Still " and, with an 
original 'cello obligato, " Nazareth." His remarks 
upon " Music as a Socializing Force" were brief but 
deeply thoughtful and effective. Professor Taylor 
spoke of the possibilities of the Pleasant Sunday 
Afternoon, and the Twenty-third Psalm was read. 
Few who were present will forget the Moment of 
Silence in which each solemnly communed as best 
he would with that which to him was highest, 
and the Lord's Prayer was joined by all with 
unusual reverence and accord. 

The second occasion was honored by the pres- 
ence of Miss Jane Addams, of Hull House, who 
spoke of "The Social Conscience," recounting 
many evidences of the progress of social ideals in 
Europe, observed during her recent European 
journey. Mr. E. S. Osgood of the Seminary and 
Mit-s Taylor of the Commons played most accept- 
ably upon the violin and piano, respectively. 

As we go to press we are anticipa'ing the third 
of the Sunday meetings, when Dr. Philip VV. Ayres 
is to speak on " Friendship." 



SCHOOL OF SOCIAL ECONOMICS. 



Hull House'* Generous Offer to Co-operate in the 
Conferences. 



Everything thing seems conspiring to prosper 
the plans for the Chicago Commons School of 
Social Economics. With especial gratification we 
announce the kindly offer of co-operation on the 
part of Hull House, through Miss Jane Addams, 
an offer which we have been prompt to accept. 
As a result a part of the sessions of the conference 
will be held in the Hull House gymnasium, es- 
pecially those at which are expected larger audi- 
ences than the Commons residence will accom- 
modate. 

We hope to be able to announce in the next 
issue a substantially complete programme for the 



sessions but for this time must content ourselves 
with repeating what we have said already regard- 
ing the purpose and subject of the conference; 
that it will be held in the second week of Decem- 
ber 7th to 12th, and that the subject of discus- 
sion is to be "Social Reconstruction," with a par- 
ticular bearing upon the question whether the 
principles of the Sermon on the Mount afford, 
after all, a sufficient basis for the constitution of 
rational civilized society. 

We expect to be assisted by representatives of 
many schools of social philosophy and reform, 
among them Dr. Washington Gladden, Mr. Henry 
Demarest Lloyd, Mi.-s Jane Addams, Mr. Ernest 
Howard Crosby, of New York City, who will pre- 
sent the view of Tolstoi; and others of similar seri- 
ousness of mind, with whom correspondence is yet 
in progress. 

These sessions will be open to the public, and 
we cordially invite to them all persons of whatever 
shade of opinion who seriously desire to aid in the 
uplift or upgrowth of human society. 



COMMONS NOTES. 



We are still receiving flies of magazines, but have to 

file them away until by some means we can get them bound. 

Mrs. Thaddeus P. Stanwood of Evanston, addressed 

the Woman's Club at a recent meeting, speaking of the 
work of the Evanston Club. 

Mr. Benjamin Vartsibldian, a native Armenian stu- 
dent at the Seminary, anil resident of the settlement, 
recently addressed the Girls' Progressive and Woman's 
Clubs most thrillingly on the subject of the Armenian 
massacres. 

The boys' work begins in real earnest for the winter 
on Friday evening, October 30. Young people of the Evan- 
st >n Congregational Church arranged an entertainment. 
The snme young people are interesting themselves effect- 
ively in the boys' library project. 

The Brotherhood of Andrew and Philip, of the 
Tabernacle Church, are holding two meetings a week at the 
Commons at present, one of them, on Monday evening, 
being devoted to gymnastics under the direction of 
Mr. Guild, g>muasian director at the seminary. 

The Children's Chorus begins the winter with every 
prospect of interest and good work. Miss Marie Moferis 
again in charge, and already has nearly 20o children under 
Instruction every Thursday afternoon. Grown people of 
the neighborhood are added to the adult chorus every 
Thursday evening. They are learning the best choral 
music in the best way. 



On a voyage round the world, I had the oppor- 
tunity of seeing savage life in all conceivable con- 
ditions of savage degradation, and in this experi- 
ence of mine 1 found nothing more degrading, 
nothing so helpless nothing nearly so intolerably 
dull and miserable, as the life I had left behind in 
the East End of London. If the alternative were 
presented to me to choose the life of one of those 
people in the East End, or ihat of a savage, I would 
distinctly choose the latter. Prof. T. If. Huxley. 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[October, 




f 

Vol. J. No. 7 



A MONTHLY RECORD OF 
i, SOCIAL SETTLEMENT 
^ LIFE AND WORK * 




October, J896 



SUBSCRIPTION PRICE 

Twenty-five cents per year, postpaid to any State or 
Country. Single copies sent to any address upon applica- 
tion. For larger numbers, special terms may oe obtained 
on application. 'Hie publishers will be glad to receive 
lists of church members or other addresses, to whom sam- 
ple copies may be sent. 

Changes of Address Please notify the publishers 
promptly of any change of address, or of failure to receive 
the paper within a reasonable interval after it Is due. 

To other Settlements We mean to regard us " pre- 
ferred " names upon our mailing list, all settlements, and 
to send CHICAGO COMMONS as a matter of course to all 
such. In return, we ask for all reports, and, so far as pos- 
sible, all printed or circular matter, however trivial, issued 
by settlements in the course of their regular work. 

Advertisements First-class advertisements desired 
at reasonable rates, which will be furnished upon applica- 
tion. 



ALT, COMMUNICATIONS 

Relating to this publication should be addressed to the 
Managing Editor, JOHN P. GAVIT, Chicago Commons, 
140 North Union Street, Chicago, 111. 



Entered as Second Class Matter May 18, 1806, at the 
Post Office at Chicago, 111. 



WE desire to call attention to the tirst issue of 
the proposed series of Chicago Commons 
Leaflets, advertised elsewhere. In this series we 
plan to issue from time to time short articles, 
bibliographies, etc., of a sociological character, ap- 
pearing in our columns, likely to be useful or in- 
spiring in settlements and similar work. The 
price in every case will be as near as possible to 
the bare co.t of publication and postage. 



THE PURPOSE OF THIS PAPER. 
The reception accorded to this paper by all 
classes exceeds in cordiality our most hopeful 
expectations, and corroborates the belief with 
which we began the publication, that there was a 
field and a demand. We feel that it is timely to 
say a word in explanation of our purpose and 
scope. It should be understood that while our 
allegiance is chiefly to 1he Settlement whose name 
we bear, and whose interests we desire especially 
to subserve, and while we devote ourselves partic- 
ularly to the general improvement of industrial 
conditions in ihe "river wards" of Chicago, we 
stand for and desire to report, as fully as may be, 



the settlement movement in general. Most of all 
are we anxious to encourage and reflect the pro- 
gress of the social principles of justice and broth- 
hood among men. With this in view we have 
interested ourselves in all efforts to understand 
social conditions or to raise and extend social ideals. 
To all persons, in all countries, interested in these 
things we look for the support and continued ex- 
tension of the circulation of CHICAGO COMMONS. 
With an idea of affording opportunity for our 
friends to render help we make the clubbing pro 
positions to be found on page 2 of cover, to which 
we refer our readers, and unhesitatingly ask the 
aid of all friends in the encouragement and im- 
provement of the paper. 



CN EQUANIMITY. 



By the time this page reaches many of our readers 
the great question of the political campaign will 
have been settled, so far as the election is concerned. 
In either case a vast number of honest men will be 
disappointed, and in the minds of many there will 
be great anxiety lest the vote of the people involve 
a mighty injury to the nation's ultimate prosperity 
and to the cause of popular government. We feel 
it to be timely under these circumstances to recall, 
to all who feel thus, their faith in God and in their 
fellow men; to say as we said before, that it is im- 
possible that vast masses of men are either dishon- 
est in motive or altogether deceived in mind. Let 
us all possess our souls in peace and equanimity, 
knowing well that whatever the temporary fate of 
well-loved men or sacred causes, the Right and the 
Truth will triumph in the end. The man whose 
confidence in the ultimate sanity of the universe 
has thus far been corroborated by the progress of 
mankind, will be false to both experience and faith 
if, in what seems never so serious a blow to cher- 
ished beliefs and institution?, he sees aught but a 
more or less trivial incident in the march of man 
toward Righteousness and Justice. 



PLEASANT SUNDAY AFTERNOON. 



With unmixed gratification we announce the 
successful inauguration of the " Chicago Commons 
Pleasant Sunday Afternoon," and the hearty re- 
sponse accorded by the very people who it was 
hoped would enjoy the occasion. Ever since the 
opening of the Settlement it has been our wish to 
find just the right use for our building during 
Sunday afternoon. More than that, we have al- 
ways wanted by some means to minister to the 
deeper spiritual needs of the vast population of 
busy men and women surrounding us. In the 
Tuesday evening meeting economic and industrial 
questions of vital importance are discussed, some 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



9 



times with considerable heat; in the meetings of 
the Seventeeth Ward Council of the Civic Federa- 
tion the battle for good government is planned and 
waged; the Woman's Club affords for the women 
opportunity for interesting co-operation invaluable 
study and good work. But nowhere has there 
been an occasion for the quiet gathering of men 
and women seeking refuge from the cares of daily 
life, from toil and worry and temptation; for 
thoughtful and reverent meditation upon the deep 
things of life. Nowhere has there been an oppor- 
tunity for the emphasis upon the unity and sanct- 
ity of the family life which we feel to be in these 
days necessary. 

Such an occasion we have sought to offer in the 
Pleasant Sunday Afternoon. It will not be a place 
or a time for sectarian proselyting, or for the pro- 
mulgation of doctrines or theories concerning 
which men differ. Music, that tremendous social- 
izing force, under whose mysterious sway hearts 
melt together and aspirations ascend in common 
uplift of soul, will be predominant, and the very 
brief, informal heart-talks, for which we will in- 
vite the best and largest-souled men and women 
available to us>, will treat of the deep and truly re- 
ligious things which all men have and hold, the 
solidarity of the race, the common human interests 
of all nations and all souls. To these occasions we 
cordially invite all men and women interested in 
the welfare of humanity. 



WHATEVER the result of the present cam- 
paign, one thing is mightily sure: Nothing 
now can keep the American people from thought 
and action in the field of economics. The prob- 
lems of the future are industrial, and the American 
democracy is not only eager but able to cope with 
them. The people have entered the field of 
economic study and discussion TO STAY. It will 
be more and more difficult to deceive, to browbeat 
or to betray the people. And it is legitimate occa- 
sion for unmitigated thankfulness. 



WITH much satisfaction we report the com- 
pletion by CHICAGO COMMONS of its second 
year of existence as a settlement. The two years 
have been full and busy ones, and the results cer- 
tainly seem to justify every expenditure of money 
and time and effort. We enter upon the third 
year with courage and increased hope of doing 
really helpful service. 



MANY unavoidable causes have delayed this 
issue of CHICAGO COMMONS. We offer 
apologies and ask for leniency of judgment. 



FROM SERFDOM TO WAGES. 



Second Study of the Progress and Social 
Condition of Labor. 



WAY -MARKS, HISTORICAL, LITERARY, BIO- 
GRAPHICAL. 



Contract of the Status or Serf and Wage Earner 
(,'anscs of the Change Kefereiioes t<> Available 
Literature. 

[CONDUCTED BY I'KOFKSSOK GKAHAM TAYLOR.] 

"The brilliant though chequered career of trades 
unions" is declared by Prof. Alfred Marshall, of 
Cambridge University, England, the greatest of 
contemporary political economists, to be "more 
full of interest and instruction than almost any- 
thing else in English history." His high estimate 
upon the historical study of Trade Unionism is 
equally applicable to that of the broader move- 
ment of labor through the past six hundred years 
of English and American history, the outline 
sketch of which is the subject of this second study; 
Chequered indeed has its history been, with a class 
selfishness as abhorrent as that of any individual, 
yet also with as humane an unselfishness as gilds 
the progress of altruism. Chequered with strikes 
and violence? Yes, but also with the heroism of 
as sublime a patience, as brave a self-sacrifice, as 
serene a faith and as divine a hope as have glori- 
fied the Book of Martyrs. Chequered, be it sadly 
admitted, with cruel contempt of personal liberty 
and the awful injustice of the mob, but, be it not 
denied, with a consciousness of and conscience for 
justice, justifying its claim to be one of the pro- 
foundest ethical and religious movements passing 
through the nineteenth century into the twentieth. 

The master motive and final goal of this move- 
ment of common life for the emancipation of labor 
is, and ever has been, however unconsciously, in- 
dustrial democracy. 

SLAVERY AND SERFDOM. 

The slave labor of antiquity and the serf labor 
of the middle ages constitute the background for 
the story of the rise of the modern laborer. The 
glamour shed over antiquity by the literary study 
and hero worship of the classics, has obscured 
from sight the common life of the twelve slaves 
upon whose burden-bent backs every Greek or 
Roman freeman stood. The pathetic story of "The 
Ancient Lowly " has never yet been told. What 
data there may be awaiting some new Gibbon, 
whose birthright it will be to depict the life and 
labor of the people of antiquity, is indicated in the 
curious and laborious compilation, under the above 
title, which C. Osborne Ward, translator and libra- 
rian of the United States Department of Labor, at 



10 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[October, 



Washington, has gleaned for " A history of the 
ancient working people from the earliest known 
period to the adoption of Christianity by Constan- 
tine." 

"GOOD OLD TIMES" AND BETTER NEW ONES. 
. To understand the evolution of the better social 
conditions of labor, it is necessary on the one hand 
to contrast those of the medieval serf with the an- 
cient slave, and on the other to compare the stand- 
ard of the modern wage-earner's life with the status 
of the serf. The contrasts above suggested are far 
more favorable to the serf than to the average 
modern wage earner. For, while labor suffered uo 
such loss of all dignity and freedom under serfdom 
as under slavery, yet the gains of the wage system 
have never wholly compensated the wage-earners 
for some things they lost in ceasing to be serfs. The 
" cash nexus," against which Thomas Carlyle ful- 
minated the lightning of his " Past and Present," 
has in many respects been a sorry substitute for 
the more personal bond between lord and serf, 
however necessary the substitution is proving to be 
to the higher interdependent union which is being 
painfully evolved. But, if anyone is disposed to 
prefer "the good old times " to our present condi- 
tions, as upon the whole so far better than what we 
know to be bad enough, let him read Jessopp's de- 
scription of "An English Village Six Hundred 
Years Ago," and then answer the author's ques- 
tions, " Should we like to change with those fore- 
fathers of ours? Were the former times better 
than these? Has the world grown worse as it has 
grown older?" Far as the social conditions of our. 
labor are from what they ought 1o be and will be, the 
simple facts of the contrast compel acquiesence in 
the author's conclusion, that they " were living a 
life hugely below the level of yours. They were 
more wretched in their poverty; they were incom- 
parably less prosperous in their prosperity; they 
were woise clad, worse fed, worse housed, worse 
taught, worse tended, worse governed." 

REFERENCES*-'- The Ancient Lowly," C. O.Ward, 
Washington, I). C.; " Gesta Christi," C. L. Brace, 
A. C. Armstrong & Co., Chap. 5, 6, 9, 21; " English 
Economic History," VV. J. Ashley, Putnam, 2 vols.; 
" Outlines of English Industrial History," Cunning- 
ham, Macmillan, pages 1 to 68; "Industrial History 
of England," Gibbius, Methuen, pages 1 to 39. 

CAUSES OF THE CHANGE. 

Three classes of causes wrought the change from 
the serfdom of feudalism to the wages system of 
our individualistic era. 

1st economic forces were silently and grad. 
ually at work, in the leasing of the manor lands to 
the serf, who thereby became a tenant-farmer, 
with a looser bond of personal dependence upon 



* For full Bibliography, with prices and publishers see 
September issue of CHICAGO COMMONS. 



his lord ; in the commutation of personal ser- 
vice for money, and manumission by purchase, 
and in the principle of competition introduced 
by the lord's acceptance of a part of the wages 
earned elsewhere by his serf in lieu of personal 
service. 

2d. The disturbance of life and labor in 1348 by 
the pestilence of "The Black Death," which in 
two or three years cost England, as it had Europe, 
the lo,-s of from one-third to one-half of its popu- 
lation. While the harvests were rotting for the 
lack of reapers, labor, for the first time, really 
competed for wages in the open market of the 
world. Masters lost their men, serfs were loosed 
from the soil, landless men became "tramps." 
Opinions differ as to the economic influence of the 
" Black Death," Thorold Rogers magnifying, and 
Ashley minimizing, its effects upon the industrial 
transition. 

REFERENCES "The Black Death," J. F. C. 
Hecker, No. 67 in the Humboldt Library; " Short 
History of the English People," J. R. Green, page 
202; ''Economic Interpretation of History," Rogers, 
pages 29, 30; " English Economic History,," Ashley, 
vol. 2, page 264. 

THE PEASANT PIONEERS. 

Personal influences constitute the third class of 
causes which wrought emancipation from serfdom. 
The personal luxury of the lords, enhancing their 
demand for money above their claims for services, 
tended toward the liberty of labor. The serfs' 
growing personal independence of their lords, and 
interdependence upon each other, gave being to 
the spirit of social revolt for the first, time in En- 
glish history. In the first concerted movement of 
the working world, called " The Peasant's Revolt " 
(1331), labor came to self consciousness, found its 
voice in the song of a poor poet, heard its consci- 
ence in the preaching of "the proud, mad priest of 
Kent," and followed its first great leader into the 
field of public action, in what was the first great 
" strike " in English history. William Langland's 
"Piers the Plowman" is the first and almost the 
only great labor song in English literature. " On 
the eve of a great struggle between wealth and 
labor," the historian Green declares, " Langland 
stands alone in his fairness to both, in his shrewd 
political and religious common sense." The gospel 
which " Long Will " thus sang between the lines of 
clashing classes John Ball carried into the rapidly as- 
sembling camp of labor. Wyclif's bold, clear declar- 
ation of the rights of man had struck the key note of 
this poet's song, and gave the text for this preacher'^ 
rough and homely sermons. " Mad, as the land 
owners called him, it was in the preaching of John 
Ball," Mr. Green affirms, " that England first list- 
ened to the knell of feudalism and the declaration 
of the rights of man." 

That " knell," as it resounded over all Europe, 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



11 



had the same religious tone as in England. On the 
banners of the marching peasantry, in the valley 
of the Rhine, a serf kneeled before the crucified 
Christ, with the demand of "nothing but God's 
justice." The Schwabian peasants protested that 
they should not be held as serfs, "seeing that 
Ch ist hath bought us and redeemed us with His 
blood; we would have God as our Lord and know 
our brother in our neighbor; we would willingly 
obey our chosen rulers, but we have no doubt but 
they, as true and good Christians, will willingly 
free us from serfdom or prove to us from the gos- 
pel that we are serfs." 

THE FIRST STRIKE. 

The man of action was sure to follow such sing- 
Ing and preaching, and was equally sure to be fol- 
lowed. The blow which John Tyler struck at the 
head of the tax-gatherer, who threatened his little 
daughter's virtue, rang round the English peasant 
world. Soon a hundred thousand men, headed by 
Wat Tyler, m srched on London to demand of 
King Richard their rights in these immortal words 
of English liberty: " We will that you make us 
free, our heirs and our land, and that we be no 
more bond, nor so reputed." Whatever may be 
thought of the character of this peasant revolt, and 
of its effect upon industrial emancipation, the rea- 
sonableness of its demand and the patient trust- 
fulness of its peasants in their king, is in strong 
contrast with the perfidy and frightful severity 
with which the "pardoned" and pacified people 
were persecuted and remanded to the serfdom from 
which the very stars in their courses were fighting 
to set them free. 

When we come to study the development of 
English labor legislation we will need to remind 
ourselves of the fact which must be stated here, 
that, despite the enactment of the Statute of La- 
borers in 1350, and the long succession of acts re- 
enforcing its terrible penalties against those who 
received or gave wages higher than obtained before 
the pestilence, the progress of the working classes 
toward industrial freedom and economic independ- 
ence, went steadily forward. The Golden Age of 
the English laborer, in which his rate of wages 
bore a better comparison to the cost of living 
than ever before or since, was reached in the last 
quarter of the fifteenth and the first quarter of the 
sixteenth century. In 1601 there began to be real- 
ized the effect of the debasement of currency, the 
destruction of the craft gilds, the enclosure of 
common land by private ownership and the confis- 
cation of church funds, which reduced the English 
yeomen and craftsmen alike to abject poverty. By 
the substitution of charity for justice in the enact- 
ment of the Poor Laws, English free labor was 
degraded from the sorrows of poverty to the shame 
of pauperism. The dole of the poor rate met the 



deficit between the week's wage and the worker'^ 
subsistence. The two centuries of silent suffering 
which followed are monumental to the patience of 
the people's poor. 

R E KERENC ES Ash 1 ey's " Economic History," vol. 
2, chapters 4 and 5; Brace's " Gesta Christi," chap- 
ter 21; Green's "Short History of the English Peo- 
ple," pages 263-275; Gibbins' " Industrial History 
of England," pages 4U-75, and " English Social 
Reformers," pages 1 to 64; Cunningham's "Out- 
lines of English Industrial History," pages 78 to 
106; "The Rise of the Modern Laborer," by Prof. 
E. J. James, |in "The Lab-.r Movement, the 
Problem of To-day," edited by George McNeil : 
"The Dream of John Ball," William Morris, Hum- 
boldt Library No. 5. 

STATDS TO BE TESTED UY STANDARD. 

Hovering over the sinking status of the working 
masses was the rising ideal of the standard of a hu- 
man life. Wyclifri " Kingdom of God," Sir Thomas 
More's "Utopia," Erasmus' "Christian Prince,' 
appealed to the imagination with their ideal com- 
monwealths. The test by which the social status 
must, more and more, be found wanting or tenable, 
is its contrast or comparison with what ought and 
may be the ethical, not to say Christian, standard 
of laboring life. Not merely by how much better 
the social condition of labor is than it once was, 
but also by how much worse it is than it ought to 
be, are the discontent of some and the aspiration 
of all to be judged. Further effort to strike this 
balance must await our next study of the " Indus- 
trial Revolution of the XVIII Century." 



Did you ever sit down and sum up the cost of an 
arrest for an ordinary case of street brawling or 
drunkenness the salaries of the police, the cost of 
patrol wagons, station houses, police courts, prison 
board and trial? Experience proves it is cheaper, 
wiser and more pru.lent to rescue the children ere 
evil habits have become crystallized into evil char- 
acter, and ere an inherited tendency strengthened 
by evil surroundings launches forth upon the world 
a multitude of helpless paupers, hopeless criminals 
or degraded profligates, each and all of whom shall 
become sources of contamination to others, and so 
pass on to generations yet unborn the taint of 
pauperism, crime and vice. The Nazarene, Philn. 

Men may not know how fruits grow, but they do 
know that they cannot grow in five minutes. Some 
lives have not even a stalk on which fruits could 
hang, even if they did grow in five minutes. Some 
have never planted one sound seed of joy in all 
their lives; and others who may have planted a 
germ or two have lived so little in sunshine that 
they never could come to maturity. Drummond. 



We are rapidly getting to feel that no one can 
lay his head on his pillow at peace with himself 
who is not giving of his time and his sustenance to 
diminish the number of the outcas's of society, 
and to increase the number of those who can^earn 
a reasonable income and have Hie opportunity of 
living, if they will it. a noble life. Alfred MarsluiU. 



12 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[October, 



In tbe TOorfo of Settlements* 



THE RESIDENT. 



The Resident is the essential factor in a settlement, 
but he is In no sense a chief officer. His influence is 
that of a friend. After he has seen a family through 
trials and joys, he becomes indeed a neii/hbor, and 
is given the right to help toward a higher life. 
This is why a settlement made up of residents has 
a power that casual visitors or workers coming in 
from another side of life do not have. ...... 

The neighborhood residents hold different religious 
and social creeds, but they unite in a belief that 110 
class or neighborhood can live to itself, and that 
unless we love our brother whom we have seen we 
cannot love God whom we have not seen. There is 
also a hope among them that in some unconven- 
tional way the religious feeling may be crystallized 
into a form that will recognize that the life of 
Christ, if sincerely followed, will lead to social jus- 
tice and political purity. For the Kingdom of 
Heaven within will prove itself in making a King- 
dom of Heaven without. University /' Chicago Set- 
tlement Circular. 



THE LAW OF LOVE. 



Make channels for the streams of love, 

Where I hey may broadly run ; 
And love lias overflowing streams 

To fill them every one. 

But If at any time we cease 

Such channels to provide, 
The very founts of love for us 

Will soon be parched and dried. 

For we must share, if we would keep 

That blessing from above; 
Ceasing to give, we cease to have; 

Such is the law of love. 

R. C. Trench. 



SETTLEMENT FEDERATION. 



Largest Meeting of the Affiliated Settlements of 
Chicago The Question of Relief Miss Addams's 
Foreign Trip. 



The most largely attended meeting in the history 
of the Federation of Chicago Settlements was held 
at Chicago Commons on Saturday evening, October 
17, and was in some respects the best meeting yet 
held. About seventy-five persons represented all 
but one of the city settlements. The Kirkland Settle- 
ment appeared for the first time. The principal 
topic of discussion was the certainty that there will 
be great need of material relief in Chicago during 
the coming winter. It was manifest that to all the 
Settlements have come evidences of an approach- 
ing season of unparalleled distress, and there was 
an earnest discussion of ways and means. No final 
decision was reached as to the method of co-opera- 
tion> and the matter is still under advisement. 

Mr. Galwey, of the Clybourn Avenue Settle- 
ment, presented the report of the music commit- 



tee, and in accordance with its recommendations 
was made secretary of the committee, which will 
seek to encourage co-operation among the settle- 
ments in the way of music. It is proposed, for 
instance, to plan for a union of the settlement 
choruses, to give one or more general concerts; for 
a registration and more or less sharing of the 
musical assistance available for entertainments ; 
in short, for the highest possible degree of united 
effort in this direction. 

The feature of the evening was Miss Jane Ad- 
dams's account of her recent visitation of the for- 
eign settlements, and her study of the Labor Move- 
ment abroad. In her own graphic way she de- 
scribed the differing characteristics of the various 
settlements Toynbee with its educational im- 
pulse, Mansfield and its intimate alliance with the 
Labor Movement, Oxford and its high church affil- 
iations, Sussex and its work for the reclaiming and 
upbuilding of child life, and so on through the 
list. The Labor Movement in England was shown 
to be in many respects apparently far in advance 
of that in America; under better leadership, more 
powerful, and ready to follow up its progress thus 
far with further steps toward ideals. Miss Addams 
also touched briefly upon her interesting visit to 
Count Lyof Tolstoi, in Russia. 

A subsequent special meeting of the Federation 
was held to act upon the matter of relief, and as a 
result the question of a feasible plan of action is 
in the hands of a committee. 



LONDON SETTLEMENTS. 



We have received many inquiries from persons 
intending to visit London, concerning social settle- 
ments in that city, says the Outlook. A few words 
may be helpful to them and to others. The most 
prominent social settlements in London are Toynbee 
Hall, Oxford House, Mansfield House, and Brown- 
ing Hall. This is by no means a complete list, but 
it contains the ones which probably will be the 
most interesting to tourists. All except Browning 
Hall are in East London, and easily found from the 
directories. Toynbee Hall was the first of the 
settlements, but its work has somewhat changed. 
It is now a kind of university in the East End. It 
appeals more largely to the better class of the 
poor, especially to those who aspire to knowledge 
and are desirous of rising. It is doing a valuable 
work, but does not largely reach the laboring and 
outcast classes. Oxford House is located at Beth- 
nal Green, and represents the High Church party 
of the Establishment, its head worker is the 
Rev. Mr. Ingraham, and he is surely an enthusiast 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



13 



in his mission. This settlement has established 
many clubs. In a certain way it reaches the labor- 
ing people ; but more in providing them with 
amusement and pleasant and agreeable surround- 
ings than in otherwise influencing their life. It is 
quite as worthy of study as Toynbee Hall. 

To our mind more interesting still is Mansfield 
House, Canning Town, located in the vicinity of 
the Victoria Docks. Mr. Percy Alden is the head 
worker. This settlement has two departments 
one for men and one for women. Of the latter 
Miss Cheetham is the head worker. More than 
any other settlement, this reaches the lower strata 
of the laboring classes. It is peculiar in the hold 
it has upon men, and no one of all the settlements 
in London better repays careful study. The meet- 
ing which is held on Sunday evening for the dis- 
cussion of current events in their ethical relations 
is especially worth visiting. 

The latest of the prominent settlements in Lon- 
don is Browning Hall, of which Eev. F. Herbert 
Stead, a younger brother of Mr. W. T. Stead, is the 
head worker. Mr. and Mrs. Stead are peculiarly 
bright and able people. Few are more cultured, 
and few represent in themselves a finer type of 
life. Their settlement is in South London, in the 
midst of what Mr. Charles Booth has proved to be 
even more desolate than the East. Before entering 
this field Mr. Stead had been a pastor in Leicester, 
and for some years had edited the Independent. 
From what we know of the workers we should say 
that Toynbee Hall should be studied as an educa- 
tional center among the poor; Oxford House for 
its men's amusement clubs ; Mansfield House as 
the one which is doing most to reach and ennoble 
the laboring men, and to relieve present distress ; 
and Browning Hall as the one where there is prob- 
ably the most intelligent and wise study of the 
many phases of the social problem. 

Of the other settlements we will mention only 
that at Bermondsey, under the patronage of the 
English Wesleyans. This is also said to be doing 
an excellent work, but with it we are not person- 
ally familiar. Visitors are cordially welcomed at 
the various houses, but perhaps it ought to be said 
that care should be taken not to impose too much 
on the courtesy of the workers. There is danger, 
as the number of Americans interested in such 
studies increases, that their presence, instead of 
being a help, may become a burden on the hos- 
pitable and always courteous residents. 

CHICAGO COMMONS LKAFLETS. The article in 
the July issue of CHICAGO COMMONS reprinted from the 
Chicago Adrance. entitled " Foreign Missions at Home," and 
suggesting the putntfl of resemblance in scope and method 
between th.-* settlements and the foreign missionary stut ions, 
lias been issued as No. 1 in a proposed series of ThicHgo 
Commons Leaflets " It is a folder convenient for enclosure 
in a letter, and better than any other single arti le wo 
know of. explains the Settlement idea fiom this point of 
view. This Ipaflet may be obtained In any quantity at the 
rate of Jo for 5 cents, postage prepaid. 



MINSTER STREET GUILD. 

Interesting: Story of the Origin of n Philadelphia 
Settlement Work. 



No more interesting or valuable work of the set- 
tlement sort is carried on in this country than the 
quiet work of the Minster Street Neighborhood 
Guild at 618 Minster street, Philadelphia. Its 
sweet-toned little periodical publication, The Na- 
zarene, gives this month, in reply to inquiries, an 
account of its origin. The italics in the selection 
below are our own. They emphasize the peculiar 
fact in the history of the Minster street work: 

The originator is a college man and a graduate of two 
theological seminaries. Another member of the family is a 
graduate of the Normal School and another of the High 
School. Several years ago the originator [Rev. Chas. S. 
Daniel] wrote a book, "Ai," which I send you, and after- 
wards began this work on some xuch lines as are indicated 
in the hook. The hook is nut a history of the work, as it 
antedated this wwk. 

It differs from a college settlement In having a family 
instead of single persons as residents. The father votes 
down evils as well as talksagainst them. There are chil- 
dren and the normal life of a family is maintained. We 
believe a community ought so to be sweetened as to make 
family life tolerable. Every corner of a city ought to be a 
fit place for a refined and educated family to live in, in 
brotherhood with their neighbors, else there is something 
radically wrong with our civilization. It is not the camping 
ground for brave soldiers, who nevertheless expect soon to 
be relieved from duty, nor is it a hotel for bohemlan philos- 
ophers. 

Every settlement worker, by the way, ought to 
read Mr. Daniel's book, "Ai," which is one of the 
cleverest, most far- reaching social studies in fiction 
form within our knowledge. 



WEEKLY SUNDAY CONCERTS. 



Feature of Work at the University of Chicago Set. 
tie men t. 



The weekly Sunday concert is, for other settle- 
ments, the most suggestive feature of the 24-page 
pamphlet just issued by the University of Chicago 
settlement. Programmes both eacred and secular 
are presented, ranging from folk-song to oratorio, 
and the best work of the masters; for instance: 

COMPOSERS' DAYS. John Sebastian Bach. 1st 
programme: His life, vocal and piano selections. 
3d programme: The Fugue, with illustrations; 
"Chorale Vorspiel," "Vater Unses," Prelude and 
Fugue in F minor. WAGNER PROGRAMME: Story 
of Neibelungen King, with illustrations from "The 
Walkuf%." FOLK-SONG PROGRAMME: Russian 
Music, Irish Songs, Negro Melodies. 

In addition to the usual catalogue of clubs, 
classes, and other institutional features, the little 
pamphlet contains some unusually fine reflections 
upon various things touching settlement life and 
work, for which space is not at hand. "The Sa- 
loon," says the introduction, for instance " is really 



14 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[October, 



the clubhouse of the working men. At its hos- 
pitable tables ideas are exchanged, business 
transacted, Americanism interpreted, and poli- 
ticians trained. The women and children have no 
common meeting place, lacking even such a social 
center as the saloon. The settlement, accordingly, 
stands in the community as a Neighborhood 
House, a social meeting-place, where the families 
become known to each other and are associated 
together for the good of the whole neighborhood." 



KINCSLEY HOUSE, PITTSBURGH. 

Valuable Papers on the Settlement Idea included in 
the Annual Report. 



Kingaley House, Pittsburgh, Pa., issues its third 
annual report, and shows much occasion for con- 
gratulation. Six residents and about forty non- 
resident workers are listed. The various depart- 
ments of work are interestingly described. There- 
port includes two papers which are especially 
valuable additions to the literature of social set- 
tlements. Both are by Very Rev. George Hodges, 
D.D., dean of the Episcopal divinity school at 
Cambridge, Mass. Dean Ho Iges was the founder 
of Kingsley House, and his little eight-page 
pamphlet, "What Kingsley House is For," is a 
strong paper. The other pper, bound in as an 
appendix to the report, is the substance of Dean 
Hodges' remarkable address on " Religion in the 
Settlement," delivered at the National Conference 
of Charities atd Correction at Grand Rapids in 
June. We presume that copies may be obtained 
upon application. 



HULL HOUSE WORK. 

The importance and diversity of the con- 
tribution of Hull House to the life of ils neigh- 
borhood needs no better evidence than in the 
issue of the Bulletin of the Settlement, dated 
October 15, 1896. A rich and varied list of pub- 
lic entertainments is announced, including Tues- 
day evening lectures, Sunday afternoon concerts 
and entertainments in the gymnasium. The 
advanced, second iry and primary classes are of 
wide scope and evidence an eager request for edu- 
cational advantages. In the list of clubs and socie- 
ties meeting at Hull House is further indication of 
the Settlement's occupancy of an enviable place in 
the life of iis community. The review of the sum- 
mer's work shows that a great deal of out-of-door 
benefit has been given. The next issue of the 
Bulletin will appear in December. Copies can be 
obtained by addressing, with postage, Hull House, 
335 South Halsted street, Chicago. 



SETTLEMENT JOTTINGS. 



The successful vacation school carried on during the 
summer by the Northwestern University Settlement (Chi- 
cago) is reported by Mrs. Mary E. Sly, tlie head worker, in 
the Northwestern Christian Advocate. The mo-t hardened 
skeptic on the subject surely would be converted by this 
interesting story to belief in vacation schools and their 
blessing to the children in keeping them off the streets dur- 
ing the iong vacation. 

-'Ben Adhem House" is one of the newer settle- 
ments, reported as having been established at 24 Mall street 
in the Roxbury district of Boston. We have reports from 
several other new settlements, including Bowen House, at 
430 First street, and the University Settlement at 908 North 
Eighth street, Lincoln, Nebraska, each with two residents 
as a beginning. We hope to describe their work more fully 
in a future Issue. 



CHICAGO SETTLEMENTS. 
Directory of Addresses and Visiting: Days. 



NOTE. Where a " Visitors' Day " is mentioned, it indi- 
cates the day when the residents make an especial effort 
to be at home to receive callers, but the Settlements wel- 
come visitors at any time. 



Hull House, 335 South Hnlsted street, southwest corner of 
West Polk street. Opened September, 1889. Saturday. 

Northwestern University Settlement, 252 West Chicago 
avenue. Opened 1891. Mondays. 

Clybourn Avenue Settlement, 279 Clybourn avenue. 
Opened 1892. 

Maxwell Sireet Settlement, 185 West 13th street. Opened 
November, 1893. Tuesday, Saturday or Sunday after~ 
noun. 

University of Chicago Settlement, 4638 Ashland ave- 
nue. Opened January, 1894. The head resident is at 
home Thursday afternoon. 

Epworth House, 49 Pearce street. Opened March, 1894. 
Wednesday. 

Chicago Commonii, 140 North Union street (at Milwaukee 
avenue). Opened October, 1894. Tuesday. 

Medical Missionary College Settlement, 744 Forty- 
seventh street. Opened June, 1895. 

Helen Heath Settlement, 869 Thirty-third court. Opened 
October, 1895. Wednesday. 

Elm Street Settlement, 80 Elm street. Opened Novem- 
ber, 1895. 

Kirklaml Settlement, 334 Indiana street. Opened 1896. 
Monday. 

I myself having reached the ( ther shore, help 
others to cross the stream; I myself having at- 
tained salvation, am a saviour of others; being 
comforted, I comfort others and lead them to the 
place of refuge. Buddha. 



1896. J 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



ENOUGH. 

I will not ak my neighbor of his creed; 

Nor what lie deems of doctrine old or new; 
Nor what rites his honest soul may need 

To worship God the only wise and tine; 
Nor what he thinks of the anointed Christ; 
Nor with what baptism he has been baptized. 

I ak not what temptations have beset 
His human heart, now self-debased and sore; 

Nor by what wayside well the Lord he met; 
Nor where was uttered, " Go and sin no more.' 

Between his soul and God that business lies; 

Not mine to cavil, question, or despise. 

I ask not by which name, among the rest 
That Christians go by. he Is named or known ; 

Whether his t'aitli has ever been " professed," 
Or whether proven by his deeds alone; 

So there be Christhood in him, all is well; 

He Is my brother, and in peace we dwell. 

If grace and patience in his actions speak, 

Or fall iu words of kindness from his tongue, 
Which raise the fallen, fortify the weak, 

And heal the heart by sorrow rent and wrung; 
If he give good for ill, and love for hate- 
Friend of the friendless, poor, and desolate 

I find In him discipleship so true, 
So full, tn it nothing further I demand 

He may be bondman, freeman. Gentile, Jew, 
But we are brothers walk we hand in hand. 

In his white life let me the Christhood see; 

It is enough for him, enough for me. 



Jfrom Sociological Class IRooms. 



STUDYING ETHICS FROM LIFE. 



Interesting: Course of Study at Iceland Stanford 
Junior University. 



The department of Ethics in the Leland Stan- 
ford Junior University is devoted to the study of 
human activities, from the point of view of the 
individual life and its relation?. The aim is to 
find the laws which determine the development of 
the individual in relation to the universe, and to 
attain something of that higher wisdom of life 
which consists in the sympathetic understanding 
of the concrete situations in which ethical pro- 
blems are always presented. Ethics is thus 
regard* d as a branch of Science ; its aims and 
method* being those common to all science, with 
such differences only as are necessitated by the 
subject matter. The chief of these differences lies 
in the emphasis which must be placed on the 
development of sympathetic appreciation or ''wis- 
dom" in the study of the world of thought, 
emotion, and will. 

The material for study is human life and its 
expres-ious wherever found. This includes actual 
conduct, past and present ; the ideals embodied in 
history, literature, art and religion ; the concrete 



studies of ethical problems presented by literature; 
and the reflective studies of these given by phi- 
losophy. 

In two general lecture courses a tentative dis- 
cussion is given of the larger questions of the 
science of ethics and the art of conduct, with the 
aim of stimulating the student's thought and obser- 
vation, and of bringing a fuller recogniiion of the 
relations of great ethical problems to individual 
life. The second of these courses deals particu- 
larly with the ethics of personal life, including the 
problems of the vocation, the personal relations, 
the use of culture-aids, and the relation of self- 
culture to service. 

LITERARY AND BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Each year courses are given in Dante's "Divine 
Comedy " and Goethe's "Faust," as presenting for 
comparative study the most complete embodi- 
ments, respectively, of the mediaeval and modern 
ideals of life, and as giving masterly presentations 
of the fundamental problems which belong in all 
epochs. These works are studied openly and sym- 
pathetically, with no desire to read into them or 
out of them a preconceived philosophy of life. 

Autobiography furnishes one of the most direct 
and concrete bodies of material for the study of 
ethical problems. A course is given in the pro- 
blems of personal life as presented in autobio- 
graphic?, including Cellini's, Rousseau's, Goethe's, 
Tolstoi's and St. Augustine's. 

Two courses are given in Ethical Philosophy. 
Thete are regarded as accessory to the main work 
of the department. The first is devoted to modern 
English ethical philosophy, with Sidgwick and 
Spencer as a basis, and with side studies in Green, 
Martineau, Stephen and others. The second is 
given as a seminary course. Each year some one 
philosopher is selected and his works thoroughly 
studied, to determine his ethical theory, and its 
sources and value. For the present year the sub- 
ject is Plato. 

HISTORY OF MORALS. 

A second seminary course is devoted to special 
studies iu the history of morals. Some one period 
is selected and studied as exhaustively as possible 
through all the important expressions of its life, 
as action, literature, art, religion, etc. The object 
is a sympathetic understanding of the moral worth 
and meaning of the epoch. At present the Italian 
Renaissance is the epoch studied. 

EDWARD HOWARD GRIGGS. 



A hundred years hence what difference will it 
make whether you were rich or poor, a peer or a 
peasant? But what difference may it not make 
whether you did what was right or what was 
wrong? "Architects of Fate." 



16 CHICAGO COMMONS. [October, 




PLYMOUTH 
WINTER NIGHT 
COLLEGE 

AT. . . 

OPENED For those who feel f* i_i i ^* A /* /k <T* /-M\/I R/I /-MM e? 

OPTORFR theireducationtobe CHICAGO COMMONS 

^^ I WDC-n in8ufflci ent, and who 14O NORTH UNION 

1 ST for any reason are 

unable to attend the regular Night Schools 

TUITION FEE 
25 CENTS FOR TERM OF TEN WEEKS 



CLASSES IN 

MATHEMATICS Arithmetic. Algebra, Geometry, etc., etc. 

ENGLISH Writing, Spelling, Beading, Grammar, Composition 
GEOGRAPHY Physical, Descriptive, Kaces of Men 
HISTORY American, English, French, etc., etc. 

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE French. German, Latin 

DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND ECONOMY Cooking. Sewing, 
Dressmaking, Home Nursing, First Aid to the Injured 

MUSIC Singing, Piano, Violin, Mandolin, Banjo 

People's and Children's Choruses for Study of Good Music 

ART Drawing, Needlework, Embroidery 

SCIENCE Natural History Club 
SHORTHAND, MECHANICAL DRAWING, ETC., ETC. 




Other Features of Chicago Commons 

Free Kindergarten lor Little Children, open daily except Saturday and Sunday 

From 9 till 12 and throughout the year 
Clubs for Boys, Girls, Young Men, Young Women and Grown Folks 

Meeting lor Men and \V omen for discussion of industrial and economic subjects 
Every Tuesday evening at 8 o'clock. Admission FRKK. Open to all 

Sunday Meeting, for Men and Women, opens October 18th 

Good music, helpful lectures. An uplifting, restful gathering for husy people 

Seventeenth Ward Council of the Civic Federation 

In which are united those interested in making the ward a clean, safe, happy place to live. All 
good citizens, regardless of politics, creed, color or sex, are invited to join 

Labor Studies. A class of the residents and others to study with Professor Taylor the history 
and outlook of the Labor Movement 

A School of Philosophy, independent of the Settlement, is accorded rooms at the Commons 
weekly, and is upen to those interested 



OR APPLY CHICAGO COMMONS 

14O NORTH UNION STREET (At Milwaukee Ave.) 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



A. C. McCLURG & CO. 



BOOKSELLERS 



PUBLISHERS 



STATIONERS 



. O HIG 

Offer a complete stock not only of the lighter books of the day, such as in FICTION 

TRAVEL, BELLES LETTRES, etc,, etc., but also take pride in their large 

and careful selections in such departments as 



Sociology, Economics, 



Political Science and Finance 



The Books on Sociology, enumerated in the present number of CHICAGO COMMONS, can be 

obtained of 

/ A. C. McCLURG & CO., 



AVHJIMTLJE? ANID IVTJVIDISOINC 

CHICAGO 



P. F. PETTIBONE & Go. 



INCORPORATED 



PRINTERS 

STATIONERS 

BLANK BOOK MAKERS 



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Manufacturers of 

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FLAT OPENING BLANK BOOKS 



Commercial 
Lithographing 



and 5O Jackson Street 

CHICAGO 



Novelties in 
Stationery Articles 
Society Stationery and 
Engraving 



SPECIAL 
ATTENTION TO 
CHURCH 
WORK 



OPEN DISCUSSIONS 



OF QUESTIONS OF 



SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL 
ECONOMICS 



A FREE FLOOR 



FOR 
BOTH 



FREE SPEECH 



FOR 
ALL 
PARTIES 



NO FAVOR 



A meeting place and common 
neutral ground where folks 
of all classes and schools of 
thought 



MAY STRIKE HANDS 

AND TALK THINGS OVER 



EVERY TUESDAY EVENING 



CHICAGO COMMONS 

140 NORTH UNION STREET 

(3 Doors South of Milwaukee Ave.) 

For Earnest Men and Women. 

Everybody Welcome; Free Heading Room 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 




^K($K($H<$H($^ 
& 

(0 
r<$ 

uo, 




Docker Bros. P ianos 



r^*^* jp ^^^ 
Camp & Co. 



Arion Pianos 



233 STflTE STREET 
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THE 
DESPLAINES 

PRESS 

P, F. PETTIBONE te Co, 
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WITH SURRL.EMEINJT. 



r 



A MONTHLY RECORD OF 
SOCIAL SETTLEMENT 
LIFE AND WORK 

CHICAGO 



VOL. J No. 8 



DINNER 



NOVEMBER, J896 



25 
Cents 

a 
Year 



*Y 



B 



UT oh, the poor! the poor! the poor! 
That stand by the inward-opening door 
Trade's hand doth tighten ever more. 
And sigh their monstrous foul-air sigh 
For the outside air of liberty. 
Where Nature spreads her wild blue sky 
For Art to make into melody! 
Thou Trade! thou king of the modern days! 

Change thy ways. 

Change thy ways; 
Let the sweaty laborers file 

A little while, 

A little while, 

Where Art and Nature sing and smile. 
Trade! is thy heart all dead, all dead? 
And hast thou nothing but a head? 

****** 
And ever Love hears the poor-folks' crying, 
And ever Love hears the women's sighing, 
And ever sweet knighthood's death-defying, 
And ever wise childhood's deep implying, 
But never a trader's glozing and lying. 

And yet shall Love himself be heard, 
Though long deferred, though long deferred : 
O'er the modern waste a dove hath whirred : 
Music is Love in search of a word. 
SIDNEY LANIER, 

'The Symphony.''' 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



WE DESIRE TO TREBLE 
OUR CIRCULATION 



^ ^ HIP 



AND 

WITHIN 

TWELVE 

MONTHS 

TO 

SECURE 



TEN THOUSAND 



READERS 



THIS WILL BE VERY EASY 

IF EVERYBODY HELPS 

IN ONE OF THE FOLLOWING WAYS! 



OF CHICAGO 
COMMONS, 



1. BY GETTING SUBSCRIBERS. 

To help this along, we will send six copies for one year to any one address, any where, for $1.25. 
This is a club rate of 13O cents per copy, and will apply to any number of copies above six, 
sent to one address. 

2. BY SENDING US LISTS 

of church members, clubs, societies, or personal friends, in any number. We shall be glad to send 
sample copies to any persons upon application. Send us your church directory to-day. 

3 BY ADVERTISING. 

It is by cash receipts from advertising that we hope to make up the discrepancy between the low 
price of subscriptions and the cost of printing and delivering the paper. We will send rates upon 
application and allow a liberal commission upon desirable advertising secured for us. 

4. IN GENERAL, 

By interesting yourself and friends in Chicago Commons, and the cause of social brotherhood 
for which it stands and which it tries to aid. For instance, why not write a couple of letters to-day 
to some good friends, telling them about it, and sending them your copy of the paper ? We will 
send you another copy for every one you distribute in this way. 



WHEN YOU THINK, 

That in these ways, and others that may occur to you, you can assure the permanency, stability and 
constant development of the paper ; that thus you can be of material assistance in arousing interest 
in the work of social reform and rejuvenation, not alone in the social settlement, but in churches, 
societies and among individuals widely scattered in many parts of the world ; 



YOU WILL GLADLY HELP. 



For sample copies, advertising rates and all information 
on the subject of the paper, address 



CHICAGO COMMONS, 



140 NORTH UNION STREET, 

CHICAGO, ILLS. 



[SIXTEEN PAGES AND FOUR-PAGE SUPPLEMENT.] 

CHICAGO COMMONS 

A Monthly Record of Social Settlement Life and Work. 



Vol. I. 



NOVEMBER, 1896. 



No. 8. 



VOX POPULI. 



True Is the people's sturdy soul ; 

The pessimist, whose narrow dread 
Would yield them a reluctant dole 

Of power, may shrink to see instead 
In their wide hand the mighty whole, 

The sovereign crown upon their head. 

But he whose wiser, wider view 

Sees the sure struggle of his kind 
Toward the righteous and the true, 

Leaves, day by day, such doubts behind; 
Bests on the many, not the few, 

And deeply trusts the people's mind. 

Priscilla Leonard, in The Outloolt. 



TABERNACLE CHURCH. 



Its Notable History and Its Great Opportunity. 



Story of a Church in a Chicago River Ward Great 
Need of Workers and Financial Reinforce- 
ment Foundations for Future Work- 
Church and Settlement. 



To few churches in Chicago or elsewhere has it 
been given to command, in respect of site, a more 
important strategic position than that occupied by 
the Tabernacle Congregational church, illustra- 
tions of whose exterior and auditorium are given 
herewith. Almost in the center of the Seven- 
teenth Ward, on one of the important thorough- 
fares leading from the heart of the city to the out- 
lying territory, but a block or two from that greater 
artery of traffic, Milwaukee avenue, which carries 
a mighty stream of humanity back and forth, this 
church looks out upon, and is in a position to min- 
ister to, a community whose importance and need 
is scarcely to be overestimated. In the heart of a 
ward enclosing nearly 30,000 persons of many 
nationalities, the Tabernacle stands as the only 
English-speaking, Protestant church. 

A NOTABLE HISTORY. 

From its beginning in 1857, in a comparatively 
small Sunday school work under the direction of 
the First Congregational church, the history of 
the Tabernacle church has been a notable one; its 
part in the city's life and work one of usefulness 
and achievement. Its pastors have been for the 
most part men of especial ability and fitness for 
such a field, and from the outset the church has 
occupied a marked position in the Congregational 



fellowship, as one of peculiar service to the com- 
munity. For instance, during the distressing days 
just following the great fire of 1871, its pastor acted 
as one of the division superintendents on the West 
Side for the Aid and Relief Society, and the base- 
ment of the church served long as a supply depot. 
To the ministry and missionary force it has always 
been an extraordinary contributor; few churches 
anywhere have graduated so many young men 
into active Christian work. 

THE EXODUS TO THE SUBURBS. 

Beginning with a strong and brave constituency, 
this church like all others similarly situated, suf- 
fered early the effects of the exodus of the more 
resourceful folk to the suburban homes and 
churches, and of late years it has been an increas- 
ingly difficult problem how to do the work that 
needs to be done, weakened by the constant and 
ever accelerating outgo of the workers and 
financial supporters. While the resident mem- 
bership and average attendance upon the 
regular services have long shown far less of a 
permanent constituency than the church has been 
supposed to have, yet there has stood by, all through 
the years a " remnant" of the faithful, a kind of 
" Old Guard," who always could be counted upon 
in the darkest hours to be on hand and to do their 
best. The long-continued support of the First 
Congregational church and of the Chicago City 




THK TABKRNACLE CHURCH. 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[November, 



Missionary Society, which at present controls the 
property, is gratefully to be remembered as among 
the means by which the church has been kept alive 
through the years of financial insufficiency, and 
the aid of the Missionary Society to the Tabernacle 
church is to-day the chief bulwark between this 
great industrial district and the condition of utter 
churchlessness, so far as English- speaking Protest- 
antism is concerned. 

THE CHURCH'S GREAT NEED. 
The primary need of the church that it may do 
its work for the surrounding community is per- 
sonal resource, to strengthen and encourage the 
brave little nucleus still standing in the breach. 
Second only to this is the need which its former 
pastor, Rev. E. F. Williams, D.D., well stated in 
the Chicago Advance: 

"Could means be secured with which to replace the 
present edifice with a more commodious and more modern 
structure, it would seem as if there would be no limit to the 
good which here would be done. Here peoples of all nation- 
alities meet. They have a home feeling in the Tabernacle 
church. Often it is found that fifteen, even twenty, differ- 
ent nationalities are represented in the Sunday school. 
The population in spite of the constant change which is 
going on, is larger than ever. If there is less of a purely 
American element in the district than formerly, the foreign 
element has become even more accessible, and ready to 
assimilate American ideas, and to enter into the work of 
an American church. It would be difficult in all the coun- 
try to find a field which has been more faithful considering 
the amount of money and labor expended upon it, or which 
offers greater attractions to benevolence and consecration." 
Equally difficult is it to overestimate the in- 
fluence in such a locality of a well-equipped 
church, inspired with the idea of its mission to the 
community. A fine, well arranged building, which 
could also be a source of income to the church, 




would perhaps be the means of opening the way 
to the wider usefulness of which this church is 
capable, and may at least serve as the ideal toward 
which the friends of this work may begin to look. 

GOOD FOUNDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE WORK. 

The response of the community to every effort 
put forth by the church or in its name, is sufficient 
guarantee of the eagerness with which the largest 
work would be received. One needs only to know 
the environment to feel sure that there is the 
widest opportunity for a great working church on 
this field, toward which there are already upon the 
ground the good beginnings in the form of a large 
and growing Sunday school, daily kindergarten, 
young people's society, boys' and girls' brigades, 
junior endeavor society, industrial schools, a large 
band of young men, a flourishing women's organ- 
ization, and other long-established agencies. 

CHURCH AND SETTLEMENT. 

Toward no interest or group of the neighbor- 
hood has Chicago Commons felt the same peculiar 
affection as toward the Tabernacle church, and to 
none have the settlement residents contributed so 
large a measure of their time and strength. The 
pastor, Rev. B. F. Boiler, was, with his family, 
among the earliest residents of the settlement, and 
while exempted from settlement service, and de- 
voting all his time to the pastorate, has always 
given to the Commons his heartiest sympathy and 
endorsement. Indeed, the relations of the church 
and the settlement, since their mutual interests 
and obligations as regards their needy field began 
to be recognized, have been particularly warm and 
affectionate. The measure of the interest of the 
Commons residents in the work of the church may 
be inferred from the fact that of their number 
among the church workers two are deacons, one is 
superintendent of the Sunday school, one of the 
primary department, one of the infant department; 
two are teachers of Bible classes, several, of the 
classes in th3 main school; one is in charge of the 
industrial work at the chvirch; one, of the Girls' 
Brigade, and through the co-operation of the set- 
tlement, several other workers have been enlisted 
in the various departments. 

It is as resident members of this church, that 
the Chicago Commons household plead for all the 
aid and consecrated service which the Tabernacle 
needs to fulfill its great mission to this dense and 
cosmopolitan population. 



Under the direction of Mr. Eoy B. Guild, of Chicago 

Theological Seminary, the Tabernacle Brotherhood is hav- 
ing a most successful gymnastic class every week, once a 
month going to the seminary gymnasium for the more im- 
portant work, impossible in our restricted quarters. 



THE TABERNACLE CHURCH AUDITORIUM. 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



COD SAVE THE PEOPLE. 



When wilt Thou save the people? 

O God of mercy, when? 
Not kings and lords, but nations, 

Not thrones and crowns, but men! 
Flowers of Thy heart, God, are they; 
Let them not pass, like weeds, away, 
Their heritage, a sunless day. 
God save the people ! 

Shall crime bring crime forever. 

Strength aiding still the strong? 
Is it Thy will, O Father, 

That men shall toil for wrong? 
' No," say Thy mountains; "No," Thy skies. 
Man's clouded sun shall brightly rise 
And songs ascend, instead of sighs. 
God save the people ! 

When wilt Thou save the people? 

O God of mercy, when? 
The people, Lord, the people, 

Not thrones and crowns, but men ! 
God save the people; thine they are, 
Thy children, as thine angels fair; 
From vice, oppression and despair, 

God save the people ! 

Ebenezer EllioU. 



MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY. 



The Warden's Pilgrimage Thither Results in Steps 

Toward a Fellowship at the Commons 

Interest in Social Matters. 



[BY THE WARDEN.] 

The University of Michigan threw the doors of 
its heart as well as of its great hall wide open to 
the presentation of the settlement motive and 
movement, on Sunday, Nov. 1. At the invitation 
of the Students' Christian association, the Warden 
of the Commons was invited to address two mass 
meetings. In the morning at Newberry Hall he 
addressed the religious gathering of the students, 
on " The Social Significance of the Incarnation." 
In the evening, the large University Hall held a 
great audience of 2,500 persons, faculty, students 
and the united congregations of the several 
churches, whose pastors fraternally merged their 
evening services for the occasion. The theme of 
the address was, " The social significance of the 
university settlement movement." 

A UNIVERSITY FELLOWSHIP. 

At the close of the address Professors D'Ooge 
and Henry C. Adams warmly ratified the proposi- 
tion to establish a Michigan University fellowship 
at Chicago Commons, which will keep in residence 
at the settlement a graduate student not only to 
represent the University in the work for this great 
city center, but also to prosecute some original 
scientific investigations in social economics, the 
results of which shall be reported to the Univer- 



sity in an elaborate thesis. The suggestion thus 
lodged is under serious consideration, and will be 
carried out at once so far as to provide summer 
residence for one or more students during the next 
long vacation. The interest in practical social 
progress was still further evinced by the eager 
questions about settlement work following the in- 
formal social reception on Saturday evening and 
the address at the city Young Men's Christian 
Association Sunday afternoon, as well as by the 
attentive hearing given by the large audience at 
the Congregational Church to the Sunday morning 
sermon on, "The Social Extension of Christianity." 

SUNDAY SCHOOL SETTLEMENT STUDIES. 

At the latter service, the pastor announced that 
the young people's class of the Sunday school, 
which is taught by one of the University professors, 
would devote six of their studies to the work of 
social settlements in this country and abroad. In 
a very quiet and effective way the teacher of this 
class has for some time been exemplifying the 
subject of these studies, by residing in a neighbor- 
hood where the presence and neighborship of him- 
self and household are "doing the truth" from 
which " the light " will thus the more surely come 
to his scholars. The brief description of the class- 
room work in economics and sociology kindly con- 
tributed to this issue by Professors Adams and 
Cooley, will be read with interest. 



A SETTLEMENT TRIBUTE. 



Pleasant Words Which Testify of the Friendship 
Every Neighborhood Needs. 



Our non-resident associates all over the country 
will appreciate as fully as we do, the following 
words of one of our neighbors, at the birthday 
party given by the Girls' Progressive Club and the 
Woman's Club, to commemorate the second anni- 
versary of the opening of the house. Speaking for 
both clubs, the president of the latter thus voiced 
what we are glad to know is the common senti- 
ment of the neighborhood: 

" I have looked forward with so much eagerness 
to this meeting that I am almost at a loss for 
words to express the pleasure I now feel at the 
sight of so many friends on this eventful occasion. 
I am sure our presence here is the best token of 
our love for the Commons and its inmates. 

" Two years ago when some of us paid our first 
visit to the Commons, we had not the slightest 
conception of what it would become to us. Some 
of us had left homes in small country villages, 
where we knew every one, and every one knew us. 
We came to this large city and found ourselves 
shut up in our homes, as if they were jails. We 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[November, 



were afraid to speak with our neighbors, and our 
neighbors were afraid of us. When the Chicago 
Commons opened its doors and invited us to visit 
there, we hardly knew what it meant. But we 
called, and to our surprise found ourselves among 
friends, friends that were interested in us and in 
our daily lives. Its doors were open to us at any 
and all limes, with a sympathizing friend always 
ready to listen to us, encourage and help us amidst 
the trials and discouragements that come to all of 
us some time or other. Very soon we began to 
wonder how we ever managed to exist without the 
Commons. Now, through its instrumentality we 
do know and speak with our neighbors as our 
Woman's Club can testify. And I know that I but 
voice the thought of my sisters in the various clubs 
when I say, how much we appreciate the privilege 
of coming together here once a week, and how 
much we enjoy our meetings, both business and 
social. I am sure every one of you will join with 
me in asking God to bless the Commons and its 
workers, and give them long life and prosperity." 

After presenting the lemonade bowl and cups as 
the birthday gift of the clubs to the house, she 
added, "We hope you will not think us selfish in 
choosing the gift we have. It is true we hope to 
partake many times of its contents, but always 
with you and with many others yet to join us." 

No better expression of the aim and spirit of the 
Settlement movement has come to us than in these 
sincere words of our good friend and neighbor, 
from whose pencil and crumpled sheet of paper 
we have copied them. The motive of our whole 
movement lies in those last few words, " with you 
and with many." 



OUR BROTHER YET. 



Think gently of the erring one; 

Oh, let us not forget. 
However darkly stained by sin 

He is our brother yet. 

Heir of the same inheritance, 

Child of the self-same God; 
He has but stumbled in the path 

We have in weakness trod. 

Speak gently to the erring one; 

We yet may lead him back, 
With holy words and tones of love, 

From misery's thorny track. 

Forget not, brother, thou hast sinned, 

And sinful yet may'st be; 
Deal gently with the erring heart 

As God has dealt with thee. 

F. O. Lee. 



The Philadelphia College settlement has organized a 
general class for practical sociological study, which will 
pursue an orderly course, investigating poor relief and pre- 
ventive measures. One dollar will be charged for the course 
of about 17 lectures by well-known experts. 



CALL TO THE CHURCHES. 



44 Quiet Day" Looking Toward Social Vision. 



Evangelical Alliance Issues a Significant Letter to 
Pastors Recognition of Social Changes. 



That the signs of the times are being encourag- 
ingly discerned by the churches is in evidence in 
the remarkably significant call issued by the Evan- 
gelical Alliance to the pastors of the United States,, 
to convene the churches of each community No- 
vember 17, for a " quiet day " of prayer and confer- 
ence over " the perplexities, difficulties and dangers 
which characterize these closing years of the 
century." The letter, signed by Dr. Josiah Strong 
and others, is in large part as follows: 

The present is pre-eminently a period of transition and 
as such is characterized by a spirit of unrest, uncertainty, 
and anxiety. Such periods are crowded with great perils, 
and no less with great opportunities. The century now 
drawing to a close, and especially the latter half of it, has 
witnessed innovations in the industrial world which have 
wrought a revolution in the physical life of the nation and 
are having a profound and far-reaching influence on the 
nation's social, moral, and spiritual life. 

Futhermore, many are beginning to see that the churches 
must adopt new aims as well as new methods. With the 
organization of industry has come the closer organization of 
society, which has opened before the churches new oppor- 
tunities and laid on them hitherto unknown obligations, for 

" Xew occasions teach new duties." 

Society is gaining self-consciousness, which marks one of 
the most important steps in the progress of the race. We 
are beginning to see that society is an organization which 
lives one vast life, of which every man is a part. We are 
gaining what Walter Besant calls "the sense of humanity." 
We are discovering thatl ife is something larger and far- 
ther related than we had thought; and with this perception 
of wider and multiplied relations comes a new sense of so- 
cial obligation, the perception of new social duties. 

In the settlement of our vast domain, thousands of com- 
munities have sprung up, into which people have gathered 
of all races and from all lands. What were at first mere 
aggregations of human beings, most heterogeneous in 
character, are being transformed into social organisms, 
each having a life which may live on for many centuries, 
with boundless possibilities of good and evil to generations 
yet unborn. This process of transformation involves the 
creation of new moral obligations, which need to be denned 
and enforced by the churches. 

These great social changes which distinguish our times 
call on the churches to develop the social conscience, which, 
in most men is feeble and in many scarcely exists, and to 
lay on that conscience the social teachings of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. Unless, this is done, the close and multiplied rela- 
tions int9 which modern civilization is thrusting us will 
become simply intolerable, and society will at length degen- 
erate into a cage of wild beasts. 

As we are passing through a period of social reconstruc- 
tion or evolution, many are beginning to see that the 
churches have a mission to society as well as to the in- 
dividual. Churches are enlarging the scope of their activi- 
ties. They are taking a new .interest in social reforms, 
there is a quickened philanthropy, and a deeper concern for 
the physical well-being of men, all of which promises a 
larger sphere of usefulness and influence. 

Spiritual growth has not kept pace with the unpre- 
cedented material development of the century, and no mod- 
ern civilization is more materialistic than our own. 
Churches and ministers have not escaped the influence of 
materialism. 

A great spiritual quickening would dissipate doubt, would 
kindle enthusiasm, would open our eyes to the providential 
significance of changed conditions, would make us quick to 
discern the teachings of the Spirit concerning new social 
obligations, would subordinate all our activities to spiritual 
ends, would deliver us from the bondage of materiali>m, 
and more closely uniting us in the bonds of Christian fellow- 
ship, would prepare us for that large co-operation demanded 
by the magnitude of the redemptive work which awaits us, 
and make us and our churches " live more abundantly." 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



6 



JESUS THE CARPENTER. 



" ' Isn't this Joseph's Son?' " Aye, It is He, 
Joseph the carpenter, same trade as me. 
I thought as I'd find it, I knew it was here, 

But my sight's getting queer. 

" I don't know right where as His shed might ha' stood, 
But often, as I've been a-planing my wood, 
I've took off my hat just with thinking of He, 

At the same work as me. 

" He warn't that set up that He couldn't stoop down, 
And work in the country for folks in the town, 
And I'll warrant He felt a bit proud, as I've done, 

At a good job begun. 

" The parson he knows that I'll not make too free, 
But on Sundays I feel as pleased as can be. 
When I wears my clean smock and sets in a pew, 

And has thoughts not a few. 

" I think of how not the parson hissen, 
As is teacher and father and shepherd of men, 
Not he knows as much of the Lord in that shed, 

Where He earned His own bread. 

" And when I goes home to my missus, says she, 
4 Are you wanting your key? ' 
For she knows my queer ways and my love for the shed, 

(We've been forty years wed.) 

" So I comes right away by mysen with the Book, 
And I turns the old pages and has a good look, 
For the text as I've found as tells me as He, 

Were the same trade with me. 

" Why don't I mark it? Ah, many says so, 
But I think I'd as lief, with your leave, let it go, 
It do seem that nice when I fallen it sudden, 

Unexpected, you know. Anonymous. 



PICTURES FOR THE PEOPLE. 



"Christ-Child" Readings With An Art Purpose. 

l.iiu ii Picture Collections to be Added to the Work 
at Chicago Commons Help Needed. 



The first steps of an effort to get the best avail- 
able pictures before the less privileged people of 
Chicago will be taken on the afternoons of Satur- 
days, November 28 and December 5, when will be 
given a series of readings of the legends, stories 
and poems regarding the Christ-Child, to be illus- 
trated by stereopticon views from the paintings of 
the great masters, and interspersed with singing of 
carols. The readings will be by Mrs. Andrea 
Hofer Proudfoot, author of the now well-nigh 
famous " Child's Christ-Tales." The views have 
been prepared and the stereopticon will be operated 
by Mr. George Schreiber. 

The object of these " afternoons " is to raise a 
fund for the distribution of the beautiful pictures 
and stories of the Christ-Child among the little 
children of the crowded sections of Chicago, who 
seldom or never get a glimpse of the sweet things 
of life. It is hoped that a larger art movement may 
be developed from this as a beginning. In the words 



of the little circular sent out by those in charge of 
this matter: 

"These two afternoons are to be made impres- 
sive to the children, preparing them in the purest 
Christmas spirit for the beautiful season of giving 
and receiving loving gifts, and therefore we ask a 
small fee, that the children may in turn help send 
these exquisite pictures farther. It is hoped that 
all parents will co-operate in helping to a right 
appreciation of Christmas, which cannot begin too 
early in the season. The two parties will be given 
on the Saturday afternoons of November 28 and 
December 5, at two o'clock, in Eecital Hall, seventh 
floor of the Auditorium ( Wabash Avenue entrance). 
The price for tickets has been placed at fifteen 
cents each; two tickets for twenty-five cents. 
Tickets are on sale at the Child-Garden office, 
1400 Auditorium, Chicago. 



WANTED, LOAN PICTURE COLLECTIONS. 

In a number of the settlements throughout the 
country, a very successful feature of the work in 
needy neighborhoods has been the carrying on of a 
system of picture loan collections. That is, sets 
of a few good framed pictures are gathered and 
loaned for periods of two weeks each to the 
neighboring families, after the fashion of circulat- 
ing libraries. They have been invariably success- 
ful, the people welcoming the opportunity to have 
the best pictures in their homes, if only for a short 
time, and in many cases the results have been 
most remarkable. 

The residents of Chicago Commons will be very 
glad to introduce this work as a feature of the 
settlement's service to the neighborhood, and will 
be glad to receive from any source framed pictures 
for this purpose. It is absolutely necessary, how- 
ever, to the success and usefulness of the plan that 
the pictures should be of the highest artisticjnerit. 
The very purpose of the thing would be defeated 
by the distribution of inferior works. Photographs 
of the old masters, and of famous modern paintings 
are preferred, but very often there are beautiful 
and inspiring pictures of a more obscure sort which 
might well be made useful. In order that the 
quality of the pictures may be of the very best, 
Mr. George Schreiber, who now directs the art in- 
struction in the Commons and who has lately 
taken up his residence in the settlement, will be 
made judge of the fitness of the pictures for this 
purpose. In cases where persons interested in 
this branch of the settlement's service have no 
pictures at their disposal, but send cash for the 
purchase of pictures for the loan collections, Mr. 
Schreiber will be asked to oversee the selection. 
We are desirous of making this work truly useful 
and of placing at the disposal of our neighbors 
only the very best that can be obtained. 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[November, 



Settlement anfc meigbborboofc. 




CHICAGO COMMONS. 

14O North Union Street, at Milwaukee Avenue. 

(Beached by all Milwaukee avenue cable and electric cars; 
or by Grand avenue or Halsted street electric cars, stopping 
at corner of Austin avenue and Halsted street, one block 
west of Union street.) 

CHICAGO COMMONS is a Social Settlement located 
on North Union street, two doors from the southwest cor- 
ner of Milwaukee avenue and the crossing of Union street 
upon Milwaukee and Austin avenues. 

Object. As explained in the second clause of the Articles 
of Incorporation of the Chicago Commons Association, filed 
with the Secretary of the State of Illinois: 

"2. The object for which it Is formed is to provide a center for a 
higher civic and social life to initiate and maintain religious, educa- 
tional and philanthropic enterprises ami to investigate and Improve 
conditions in the industrial districts of Chicago." 

Or, as the explanatory circular of .the settlement has ex- 
plained it: 

" As exemplified at Chicago Commons, the Social Settlement con- 
sists primarily of a group of people who choose to make their home 
In that part of the great city where they seem to be most needed, 
rather than where the neighborhood offers the most of privilege or 
social prestige." 

Support. The work is supported in addition to what the 
residents are able to pay for rent of rooms, by the free-will 
gifts of those who believe in what the work stands for. The 
gift of any person is welcomed, and the contributions are 
both occasional and regular, the latter being paid in in- 
stalments, monthly, quarterly and annually, at the conven- 
ience of the giver. 

Visitors, singly or in groups, are welcome at any time, 
but the residents make especial effort to be at home on 
Tuesday afternoon and evening. 

Information concerning the work of Chicago Commons 
Is gladly furnished to all who inquire. A four-page leaflet, 
bearing a picture of our residence, and other literature de- 
scribing the work will be mailed to any one upon applica- 
tion. Please enclose postage, 

Residence All inquiries with reference to terms and 
conditions of residence, permanent or temporary, should be 
addressed to GKAHAM TAYLOR, Resident Warden. 



INDUSTRIAL TRAINING. 



Work for the Hands of Lively Boys and Girls Nor- 
mal Training for those Expecting: to Teach. 



Of great interest to all those who have to work 
with the restless boys and girls of any class will be 
the new departments of the Commons activity in 
the way of industrial training. It has become in- 
disputably apparent that the only way to make the 
work for the younger folks either comfortable in 
the doing or permanent in the result, is to base it 
in general upon the idea of manual training, of 
giving the restless hands and eyes something to 
do. Two of our residents have for several weeks 



been making a study of manual training methods 
in practical work and study under the direction of 
Miss Murray at the Agassiz public school, and 
have begun in the settlement the instruction of 
clubs of boys and girls in the various forms of 
handiwork available for the purpose, such as wood- 
carving, basket-weaving and chair-caning, sewing 
of various kinds, etc. This is in addition of course, 
to the regular Sloyd manual training, in which 
Misses House and Colman soon will be instructing 
several classes in the use of tools for wood working. 
In addition still to this, Miss Colman will have, 
every Saturday morning at 9 o'clock, a normal 
class in these things, for the benefit of those who 
do, or are expecting to do, work among the boys 
and girls to whom the handiwork of these kinds 
would be useful. The class has already begun, 
but persons may enter at any time. 



MR. SHELDON'S; VISIT. 



Reports of Good Pastoral Service in Topeka, Kan- 
sas Sermons in Stories. 



The residents of the Commons shared with the 
faculty and students of the Chicago Theological 
Seminary the privilege of entertaining Rev. Chas. 
M. Sheldon, of Topeka, Kansas. At the Seminary 
Conference he spoke on the question, " How to put 
yourself in another's place," in a rarely inspiring 
and helpful way, by describing his own experi- 
ment of living a week at a time among different 
classes in his own city neighborhood. His experi- 
ence in thus sharing the life of street car men, 
lawyers, doctors, railway workers, college students, 
the newspaper fraternity and the unemployed, was 
an object lesson which profoundly emphasized the 
necessity of cultivating the capacity to be touched 
by others, in order to possess the power of touch- 
ing them. 

In similar ways he has acquired the material for 
those serial sermon-stories which he has for years 
given, first to his Sunday evening hearers at the 
Central Congregational Church of Topeka, and 
then to the readers of the Chicago Advance, and 
the still wider constituency who not only have en- 
joyed but have felt the fact-fiction through which 
he has personally applied the social ethics of the 
gospel to the individual conscience under the titles 
" The Crucifixion of Philip Strong," " His Broth- 
er's Keeper," and " In His Steps." His fraternal 
participation in our Tuesday evening meeting, 
Brotherhood conference, household vespers and 
table-talk have constituted him a non-resident 
member of the inner fellowship at the Commons. 



The Seventeenth Ward Council of the Civic Federation 

is preparing for an active campaign during the winter. 
The date of the first meeting for the season will be an- 
nounced shortly. 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



THE BOYS' WORK. 



After a long season of rather anxious waiting 
and preparation and of comparative standstill for 
lack of the efficient help that is needed in such 
service, the boys' clubs are ready to do good and 
systematic work for this winter. Through the co- 
operation of a group of young people from the 
First Congregational church of Evanston, several 
clubs have been organized, and will at once begin 
to do some pleasant and profitable work in the way 
of scroll-sawing, basket-weaving, wood-carving, 
clay-modeling, varying this work with story-tell- 
ing, readings from good fiction, etc. In no depart- 
ment of the settlement is efficient help needed 
more than in this one of helping the boys of our 
neighborhood to spend at least one pleasant and 
profitable evening a week within doors. The sup- 
ply of boys is practically unlimited, and we know 
of no way in which young people can make their 
efforts tell to better advantage. 



COMMONS NOTES. 



A class of the residents is studying the social teach- 
ings of the Bible with Professor Taylor, on Sunday morn- 
ings. 1_ 

Dr. C. A. F. 'Lindorme is conducting a class in Mon- 
istic Philosophy on two evenings a week at the Commons. 
It is a private class, independent of the settlement. 

With regard to the fountain of which we have said so 

much, and for which our friends have sent us so many gifts, 
we are able to say that the time of the completion of the 
plan seems not so very far off owing to the interest of some 
good friends in Evanston, of whose aid iu this matter we 
shall be able to speak fully in our next issue. 

A " labor exchange " has been meeting every Wednes- 
day evening at the Commons of late, and is progressing. 
This is a plan of organizing industry upon a basis of the 
direct exchange of labor and commodities by means of 
labor checks. This organization is independent of the set- 
tlement, but is accorded room for its meetings. 

A practical opportunity to mitigate the barrenness of 

our long hallways is found in the idea of having made over 
into strips of floor-covering old ingrain carpets. Several 
skilled workmen in this industry are known to the Com- 
mons residents, and we shall be glad to receive pieces of 
old ingrain, however worn or soiled, for this purpose. 

Pending changes in the personnel of our household 

make it necessary for us to refurnish, completely, several of 
our rooms. Having no fund from which we may do this, we 
shall be glad to be assisted in this matter by friends of the 
settlement having unused furniture which can be spared 
for this purpose. We would suggest that those able to help 
in this matter correspond with the Warden before sending 
anything to the settlement, in order to avoid unnecessary 
duplication. 

Unabated interest marks the progress of the industrial- 
economic discussions held at the Commons on Tuesday 
evenings. The accommodations of the room are usually 
taxed by the attendance, and groups of visitors from the 
more distant parts of the city and suburbs are almost always 
present. Among the topics lately discussed have been, 
" Election Retrospect." opened by Rev. W. I). P. Bliss, of 
Boston; "Scientific Money," by Professor Edward W. 
Bemis; "Uses and Abuses of Corporations," by Mr. Henry 
D.Lloyd; "A Briton's Impressions of America," by Pro- 
fessor W. D. Mackenzie; " Social Feeling in Great Britain," 
by Ed ward B. Hooker, of Hull House; "The Social Out- 
look," by Professor Taylor, etc., etc. 

In addition to the beautiful 18-foot flag given to us by 

General and Mrs. Fit/simons, which we were loth to use 



upon all occasions in this destructively smoky atmosphere, 
we have received as the gift of Mr. Dorr A. Kimball, of 
Evanston, two others, of six and twelve feet respectively, 
affording us one for ordinary, every-day use, and a " storm 
flag "for bad weather, so that we have been able to fly 
"Old Glory "from the house-top every day since the rais- 
ing of the nag-staff. Speaking of flags, we have had in mind 
using as decorations in our great barn of a rear room, flags 
of all nations as fast as we could get them, and mention the 
matter now for the benefit of anyone having in hand flags of 
any kind not iu use and available for this purpose. 



CENSUS ON CRIMINOLOGY. 



First Volume of Dr. Wines's Report on Crime, 
Pauperism and Benevolence. 



A highly important and much-anticipated gov- 
ernment report has just come to hand in the form 
of the first volume of the Xlth Census on the sub- 
jects of Crime, Pauperism and Benevolence. Space 
is by no means at hand for more than a mere men- 
tion of the great scope of the report, whose inves- 
tigations were conducted by no less a person than 
Dr. Frederick Howard Wines, the distinguished 
author of the well nigh-famous work on " Punish- 
ment and Reformation" which is now used as a 
text-book in many classes. Very startling and in- 
structive are some of the tabulations in their modi- 
fication of popular theories, a?, for instance, in the 
matter of the relation between the native and the 
foreign birth and parentage with reference to crime, 
pauperism, and benevolence, the ratio being far 
less favorable to the native and far more so to the 
foreign than is popularly supposed. Especially 
valuable are the statistics with reference to the 
juvenile offenders and dependents, the light thrown 
upon the relation of idleness and lack of education 
to delinquency being exceedingly favorable to the 
claims of manual training. A very excellent 
feature of the report is the tabulation of cross- 
references by which a great amount of labor is 
saved for those who wish to make further com- 
parisons and analyses. 



SOCIOLOGY AND MISSIONS. 

Dr. Denny's Important Work to be Issued In the 
Spring- 



The sociological study of foreign missions which 
is being made by Dr. James S. Denny for a vol- 
ume to be entitled " Christian Missions and Social 
Progress," will be issued in the early spring, by 
Fleming H. Revell Company. Its publication has 
been delayed by the author's desire to make the work 
as comprehensive and accurate as possible. It 
will be an enlargement of lectures delivered before 
Princeton, Auburn, and Lane theological semin- 
aries. Fifty full-page illustrations will embellish 
the work, the literary material for which has al- 
ready cost the author fully $3,000. The publishers 
design it to be the most important work on mis- 
sions ever issued by their house. 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[November, 




r 

Vol. J. No. 8 



- November, 1896 



SUBSCRIPTION PRICE 

Twenty-five cents per year, postpaid to any State or 
Country. Single copies sent to any address upon applica- 
tion. For larger numbers, special terms may oe obtained 
on application. 'Ihe publishers will be glad to receive 
lists of church members or other addresses, to whom sam- 
ple copies may be sent. 

Changes of Address -Please notify the publishers 
promptly of any change of address, or of failure to receive 
the paper within a reasonable interval after it is due. 

To other Settlements We mean to regard as "pre- 
ferred " names upon our mailing list, all settlements, and 
to send CHICAGO COMMONS as a matter of course to all 
such. In return, we ask for all reports, and, so far as pos- 
sible, all printed or circular matter, however trivial, issued 
by settlements in the course of their regular work. 

Advertisements First-class advertisements desired 
at reasonable rates, which will be furnished upon applica- 
tion. 



AIX, COMMUNICATIONS 

Kelating to this publication should be addressed to the 
Managing Editor, .JOHN F. GAVIT, Chicago Commons, 
140 North Union Street, Chicago, 111. 



Entered as Second Class Matter May 18, 1896, at the 
Post- Office at Chicago. 111. 



THE supplement issued with this number con- 
tains the schedule of classes, clubs and lec- 
tures in Chicago Commons for the fall term. It is as 
complete as possible, and will serve to give a good 
idea of the character and scope of the work done, 
not only in this particular settlement, but in most 
others as well. We expect to keep it in type, and 
to issue it, corrected to date, from time to time. 



"THE BEST FOR THE NEEDIEST.' 



The whole settlement idea was stated in five 
words the other day by a settlement worker, in the 
phrase above, "The best for the neediest." If 
Chicago Commons were to select a motto to 
epitomize its motive and method, it might well be 
those five words. To put it very roughly, it would 
seem to make comparatively little difference, for 
the present, what sort of churches, what sort of 
preaching, what sort of music, what sort of art, 
what sort of schools, the folks who have always 
been privileged above their fellows may have; but 
it makes a great deal of difference what sort of 



service in these lines is given to those whom 
society seeks to rescue from conditions of neglect 
and misfortune. 

To judge merely from appearances one would 
have a right to assume that it was the rich and cul- 
tured and privileged who were regarded as the 
dangerous and needy class in society; for do we 
not surround such with all the safeguards, all the 
wholesome influences, all the parks, all the fresh 
air, all the clean streets, all the best service? What 
a safe and sturdy majority of society the poor dis- 
tricts of the great city must gather together, since 
we think it necessary to repay them for their un- 
relieved life and unremitting labor in the social 
cellar, with only the tag-ends of what the favored 
of creation do not want, with barely enough to 
keep body and soul together, with the wretchedest 
of pictures, the music only of the barrel organ and 
the little German band, with filth and foul air and 
no parks at all ! How do we prop up with extra- 
ordinary measures the supposedly strong places 
in the social fabric, and upon the weakest spots 
bestow the heaviest burdens! 

In any sphere of activity except the care of the 
lives and souls of men and women and children, 
the insanity of our course would be self-evident. 
The social settlement protests against this idiotic 
mismanagement with a new social idea; and it is 
this: " The best for the neediest." 



THE SAFETY OF FREE SPEECH. 



If any one thing has been more apparent than 
another in the campaign that is just past it has 
been the readiness of the people to grasp and deal 
with the problems of the national life. To those 
who have doubted the willingness and ability of 
the people to do their own thinking and to cope at 
first hand with the issues of the day, the spectacle 
of the past few months must come as a stinging 
rebuke. It ought to be one of the sources of 
thanksgiving this year that the people so readily 
seized the opportunity to study and discuss the 
questions of the hour; that a campaign of educa- 
tion should engross the minds of all for months 
and that when the election was over the result was 
accepted with the best spirit by all concerned. It 
would have been indeed a source for anxiety and 
doubt had it been impossible to arouse the people 
to an interest in the issues of the campaign, but 
no nation is in any permanent danger of decay or 
of enslavement while such a campaign as that just 
past is possible. 

Among the wicked and foolish things said by a 
few men during the campaign the wickedest and 
most foolish of all were expressions of disbelief 
in the honesty and good intentions of the people, 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



9 



and whatever a man may think of the issues in- 
volved, however elated or disappointed he may be 
at the result of the election, he must feel sure at 
least that the mass of the people meant to do 
right, meant to do the best thing for their country 
and for their loved ones, and that generally speak- 
ing they are not only willing but able to meet the 
emergencies of the national life. 

Moreover, it is too late in the day to doubt the 
ability of the people to manage their own affairs 
and to manage them honestly. If one should thus 
question the expediency of popular government it 
is nevertheless impossible to take any backward 
step in this regard. Popular government has come 
to stay, and the only course open to one who fears 
its dangers is to make it as safe as possible. But 
this safety needs no guarantee from any superior 
person who would assume to restrict the franchise 
or the powers of rulership to himself and a few 
others of his caste. Popular government is safe 
to-day, and the best service that the doubter can do 
to his fellows and to the nation in the matter is to 
keep his hands off and to give the popular will 
free play. 

The safety of our nation and its institutions may 
be insured only by the wider extension of the 
benefits of education. If we are to be ruled by 
our masters, the majority, our only safety lies in 
the better and better education of these our mas- 
ters, and there can be no education worth the name 
without free speech. Over-cautious people some- 
times raise the question whether the unrestricted 
freedom of expression, which is a characteristic of 
the meetings held at the Commons, is safe. And 
we always protest that nothing else would be safe. 
No boiler ever was kept from explosion by sitting 
on the safety valve. 



TWICE before, in issues of CHICAGO COMMONS, 
has been told the simple story of the found- 
ing and purpose of the settlement whose name we 
bear. In view of the fact that this issue of the 
paper will go into the hands of many to whom the 
whole settlement movement is more or less of an 
enigma, and that we are deeply anxious to have 
our position thoroughly understood by those of 
our own ward-neighbors to whom this paper must 
serve as their first introduction to the work and its 
purpose, we have thought it necessary again to tell 
the simple story of our coming into the Seven- 
teenth Ward and of what we are here for. On 
page 17 (Supplement) we have briefly explained the 
purpose and scope of the settlement, and hope the 
explanation will make friends not only for this one 
settlement but for all the others of whose work ours 
is more or less afac simile. 



ONE may seek long for a better or more appre- 
ciative suggestion of what every neighbor- 
hood in any large city needs, and of the thing that 
the settlements are intended more than anything 
else to supply, than the tribute paid by a neighbor 
to the Commons upon the occasion of the settle- 
ment's second birthday, and given in full in another 
column. We publish it, not because it is a tribute 
to the Commons, but because it testifies so clearly 
to the heart-hunger of the mass of the crowded 
city populations, and the instant response of the 
neighborhood to the smallest effort to supply the 
living bond whose absence is the most dreadful 
thing about those dreadful city deserts called 

slums. 

* 
* * 

THE story of the Tabernacle church work, told 
this month, is given with two purposes. 
Chief is the expression of the desire all we of 
Chicago Commons sincerely feel to do all in our 
power to arouse interest in what seems to us one 
of the most important church fields in the city. A 
further desire has been to emphasize the greatness 
of the opportunity before this church and to cheer 
our fellow-members standing with us in the breach, 
with a word of confidence as to the future. 



WE shall account it a favor if any subscriber 
will notify us promptly of failure to receive 
the copies of CHICAGO COMMONS. It is unavoidable 
that with so large a list as we now have, some 
errors should occur, but we are anxious to reduce 
the number of these to the minimum. And our 
subscribers must help to avoid unnecessary delays 
by advising us promptly also of changes of ad- 
dress. 



ABOUT CO-OPERATIVE DISTRIBUTION- 



Prof. Hi-mis and Others Contribute to the Sixth 
Issue of the Labor Bulletin. 



In the sixth issue of the Bulletin of the Depart- 
ment of Labor are, as usual, a number of exceed- 
ingly timely and interesting articles. W. F. Wil- 
loughby continues his series upon " Industrial 
Communities," with description 'of the "Familis- 
tere Society, of Guise, France"; Prof. Edward W. 
Bemis has a valuable contribution upon "Co- 
operative Distribution," including chapters on 
"The Co-operative Store," "Labor Exchanges," 
"Co-operative Shipping Associations" and a good 
summary of laws relating to co-operation. There 
are as usual summaries of the recent state labor re- 
ports, labor legislation, and important government 
contracts affecting labor interests. 



10 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[November, 



THE EVE OF THE 
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. 



THIRD STUDY of the LABOR MOVEMENT. 



Eighteenth Century Origin of Nineteenth Century 
Labor Problems. 



Domestic System of Industry. The Cry of the 

Factory Child and England's Response. 

Introduction of Machinery. 



BY PROFESSOR GRAHAM TAYLOR. 



The three greatest stages of modern progress 
have been marked by changes so rapid and radical 
as to be designated revolutionary. The Renais- 
sance and Reformation four hundred years ago 
were nothing less than an intellectual and religious 
revolution. Even the basis Bacon lays for the 
modern inductive method of thought has been 
aptly called the " Baconian Rebellion." The dem- 
ocratic movements two hundred years ago were 
politically revolutionary. The industrial upheav- 
als of one hundred years ago, though peaceful 
when compared with the violence attending the 
former movements, yet inaugurated a change in 
modern life so profound and far-reaching as justly 
to be called the " Industrial Revolution of the 
Eighteenth Century." But from the historical and 
psychological points of view the industrial move- 
ment was purely evolutionary, notwithstanding 
the suddenness of its beginning and the rapidity 
of its pace. To ascribe the vast social effects of 
such historic causes to personal thrift or thriftless- 
ness; to charge the industrial differences which 
divide and threaten to disrupt civilized peoples, to 
base or baseless class animosities; to hope to solve 
the " Labor Problem " solely by changing the 
seriously aggravating disposition of individuals, 
is surely, in view of the history under review, 
hopelessly to misconceive and needlessly to embit- 
ter a situation already so highly strained and so 
complicated by bad blood as to be without any so- 
lution to the majority of men. The very first step 
toward solving the " Labor Problem " is to ac- 
knowledge that the differences which divide the 
two great contending classes are real, and that 
they have great general historical causes to account 
for the division, if not for the specific form of each 
several issue that rises into dispute. 

THE DOMESTIC SYSTEM OF INDUSTRY. 

To realize the forces which broke up the found- 
ations of the great deep of English medieval so- 
ciety, and the change which almost unrecognizedly 
altered the very face of the whole earth, we must 
describe the conditions of industrial life which for 



half a century characterized the manufacturing 
population of England and the continent. To do 
so we must strike a balance between the very 
opposite descriptions drawn with artistic pictur- 
esqueness by historians of opposite points of view. 
All agree that the weaver's shop was his farmhouse 
or village home, and that his wife and unmarried 
daughters, assisted in some instances by a neigh- 
bor or two, were his helpers. So invariably was 
spinning the occupation of women that the distaff 
came to be the synonym of her very sex, and " spin- 
ster " still describes the unmarried girl. But here 
the historians differ in their pictures of the scene. 
Thus Caskell in 1836, in his volume on " Artisans 
and Machinery," throws a roseate light on the 
home industry, " So long as families were thus 
bound together by the strong link of interest and 
affection, each member in its turn, as it attained an 
age fitted for the loom, joined its labor to the gen- 
eral stock, its earnings forming part of the fund, 
the whole of which was placed at the disposal of 
the father or mother as the case might be; and 
each individual looked to him or to her for the 
adequate supply of its wants. No separate or dis- 
tinct interests were ever acknowledged or dreamed 
of. If any one, by superior industry or skill, earned 
more in proportion than another, no claim was 
made for such excess on the part of the individual. 
On the contrary, it was looked upon equally as a 
part of the wages of the family perhaps grate- 
fully and affectionately acknowledged, but leading 
to no other result. 

" The greatest misfortune the most unfavorable 
change which has resulted from factory labor is 
the breaking up of these family ties, the conse- 
quent abolition of the domestic circle, and the per- 
version of all the social obligations which should 
exist between parent and child on the one hand 
and between children themselves on the other. It 
is in these respects that the family of the factory 
laborer offers such strong contrasts and unhappy 
differences to their precursors in manufacturing 
industry." 

A CONTRASTING VIEW. 

Mr. Daniel Pidgeon, in his "Old World Ques- 
tions and New World Answers," casts a shadow on 
the scene: " If there was something idyllic about 
the picture of the old English weaver working at 
his loom with his family around him, carding or 
spinning wool or cotton for his use, that home of 
industry was very different in fact and fiction. 
Huddled together in a hut whose living and sleep- 
ing accommodations were curtailed, by the tools of 
his trade, to limits which left little room for 
decency, the weaver's family lived and worked 
without comfort, convenience, good food or good 
air. The children became toilers from their earli- 
est youth, and grew up quite ignorant, no one hav- 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



11 



ing yet conceived of education except as a luxury 
of the rich. Theft of materials and drunkenness 
made almost every cottage a scene of crime, want 
and disorder. The grossest superstitions took the 
place of intelligence, health was impossible in the 
absence of cleanliness and pure air, and such was 
the moral atmosphere of labor that, if some family 
with more virtue than common tried to conduct 
themselves so as to save their self-respect, they 
were abused or ostracized by their neighbors. It 
was under this system that there arose in England 
that pauper class, the reproach of civilization, 
which once created, continued to grow until a 
fourth of the national income scarcely sufficed to 
support the nation's poor." 

TRAVAIL OP THE TRANSITION. 

However favorably or unfavorably the social 
condition of labor under the domestic system may 
be compared or contrasted with that under the 
factory system, the change was so rapid and radi- 
cal as to be for a long while disastrous to the help- 
less .people and bewildering even to those who 
tried either to do business under the new order, or 
to philosophize upon it. Whole populations are 
described as having been literally torn up by the 
roots, and bursting over the legal restraints which 
for generations had restricted the liberty of move- 
ment, were swept from scattered country hamlets 
to eddy about rapidly growing towns, which rose 
in distant valleys and by secluded streams. There 
men found themselves without the warm attach- 
ments of previously abiding neighborliness, and 
conscious only of being living tools transiently in 
the hands of strangers. Whereas, despite the ill 
conditions previously existing, " masters and men 
were in general so joined together in sentiment 
and in love to each other that they did not wish to 
be separated if they could help it ; " now the em- 
ployers declared in the language of one of them, 
" there can be no union between the employer and 
employed because there is no reciprocity of feel- 
ing between them, and it is to the interest of the 
employer to get as much work done for the small- 
est sum possible." Thus was marked the entrance 
into laboring life of that new and all-pervasive 
principle of competition, which for the first time 
made labor a commodity on a world-wide market, 
the demands of which at times could not be sup- 
plied by the men, or by the women and men 
together, or even by men, women and their little 
children, all of whom in turn became drugs upon 
the market during those strangely new depressions 
of trade which with increasing frequency disturb 
modern industry. The very name " manufacturer" 
no longer applied to the actual weaver, but came 
to designate the owners of the new tools with 
which their " hands " wove. Even farmers be- 
came a class distinct from laborers, and " thrust 



them out of the farmhouse into a hovel." Chil- 
dren lost their childhood, women their wifehood 
and motherhood, and men their humanity in the 
early thraldom of the factory system. The new 
experiences of hurry and worry, of confusion and 
crowding, of commercial depression, irregularity 
in work and lack of employment, of rise in rents, 
and sudden fluctuation in the prices of the neces- 
saries of life, together with the industrial strikes 
and violent clash of classes, began to be universal. 

CRY OF THE FACTORY CHILD. 

It was the cry of the laboring child that awoke 
Richard Oastler, and through him the nation, to 
the fact that, for good or ill, England and the civ- 
ilized world were in the birth-throes of a new era 
of human life. This young Yorkshireman is de- 
scribed as one of the foremost of the abolitionists, 
just then taking up the anti-slavery cause, which 
was falling like the mantle of Elijah from the 
shoulders of Wilberforce upon the stout-hearted 
younger men of the next generation. The great 
Emancipator had five years before retired from the 
battle royal which for twenty years he had waged 
for the freedom of the slave. The parliamentary 
struggle, which issued in the " bill for the aboli- 
tion of slavery," was on, when Oastler was discuss- 
ing the situation with a friend who was the owner 
of a great mill. " I wonder," said the manufac- 
turer, "you have never turned your attention to 
the factory system." "Why should I? I have 
nothing to do with factories." " But you are very 
enthusiastic against slavery in the West Indies; I 
assure you that there are cruelties daily practiced 
in our mills, which, if you knew, you would try to 
prevent." In the Leeds Mercury, the next day, 
Oastler opened the people's campaign for the 
emancipation of women and children from the 
thraldom of the new system of industry. Michelet 
thus commented upon the situation which the 
young child-saver bravely confronted: "In the 
height of the great duel between France and Eng- 
land, when the English manufacturers represented 
to Mr. Pitt that the rise in the rate of wages inca- 
pacitated them from paying the taxes, he pro- 
nounced the terrible words, ' Take the children.' 
Those words weigh heavily upon England as a 
curse." Though it is doubtful whether the great 
statesman should be charged with that utterance, 
the children, nevertheless, were taken, and 

" The child's sob in the silence curses deeper 
Thau the strong man in his wrath." 

The facts had been unknown neither to the poor 
victim nor to parliament. But Oastler forced them 
out of the timid hearts of the poor, and the com- 
mittee rooms of the House of Commons, upon the 
attention of the nation. Twenty-five years before 
a Doctor Aiken had publicly noted " the surprising 
influence of inventions and machines to extend our 



12 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[November, 



trade, and also to call in hands from all parts, par- 
ticularly children, for the cotton mills." He was 
impressed by their " very tender age," and by the 
fact that they " were collected from workhouses and 
transported in crowds many hundreds of miles dis- 
tant, where they served unknown, unprotected and 
forgotten by those to whose care nature or the 
law had confided them, confined too long to work 
in close quarters." In 1815 a member of Parlia- 
ment, Homer by name, asserted that a gang of 
children had been put up for sale and advertised 
as part of a bankrupt's effects. Robert Blinco, 
quoted by Gibbins, recorded in his memoirs his 
observation of the regular systematic traffic in 
children which had sprung up between overseers 
of the poor and mill owners, through middlemen, 
who conveyed them in wagons and boats, herded 
them in cellars for inspection and "apprenticed'' 
them to work in relays for from sixteen to eighteen 
hours a day, to be lodged in filthy bothies, often 
without separation of the sexes, to be fed on the 
coarsest and cheapest fare, so that some fought 
with the swine for the refuse from their master's 
table, and when fugitives for their lives were cap- 
tured and returned to the mills by officers of the 
law, and compelled, even the young women among 
them, not only to work but to sleep in riveted 
chains. 

A STORY OF CHILD SLAVERY. 

No more impassioned and pathetic appeal to 
English manhood has ever been made than Oast- 
ler addressed to his fellow-countrymen for the 
freedom of the little factory slaves. " Take a lit- 
tle female captive six or seven years old," he ex- 
claimed; "she shall rise from bed at 4 A. M. of a 
cold winter's day, but before she rises she wakes 
perhaps half a dozen times, and says, ' Father, is it 
time? father, is it time? ' and at last when she gets 
up and puts her little bits of rags upon her weary 
limbs, weary yet with the last day's work, she 
leaves her parents in bed, for their labor, if they 
have any, is not required so early. She trudges 
along through rain and snow, mire and darkness 
to the mill, and there for thirteen, fourteen, six- 
teen, seventeen or even eighteen hours is obliged 
to work, with only thirty minutes interval for 
meals and play. Homeward again at night she 
would go when she was able, but many a time she 
hid herself in the wool in the mill, as she had not 
strength to go. And if she were one moment be- 
hind the appointed time, if the bell had ceased to 
ring when she arrived, with trembling, shivering, 
weary limbs at the factory door, there stood a 
monster in human form, and as she passed he 
lashed her. This [holding up an over-looker's 
strap] is no fiction; it was hard at work in this 
town last week. The girl I am speaking of died." 
In 1831 Mr. Sadler, a member of Parliament, de- 



clared to the House of Commons that the demand 
for children was so great as to place a premium 
upon marriage and parentage among the most 
dissolute and idle persons, and he voiced the con- 
science of all then and since who have not been 
seared by the hot iron of greed in these indignant 
tones of astonishment, " Our ancestors could not 
have supposed it possible, posterity will not be- 
lieve it true, that a generation of Englishmen had 
existed that would work lisping infancy of a few 
summers old, regardless alike of its smiles or 
tears, and unmoved by its unresisting weakness, 
twelve, thirteen, fourteen, sixteen hours a day, and 
through the weary night also, till in the dewy 
morn of existence the bud of youth faded and fell 
ere it was unfolded. Then, in order to keep them 
awake, to stimulate their exertions, means are 
made use of to which I shall not avert as a last in- 
stance of the degradation to which this system 
has reduced the manufacturing operatives of this 
country. Children are beaten with thongs pre- 
pared for the purpose; yes, the females of the 
country, no matter whether children or grown up 
and 1 hardly know which is the most disgusting 
outrage are beaten, beaten in your free market of 
labor, as you term it, like slaves, the poor wretch 
is flogged before its companions, flogged, I say, 
like a dog by a tyrant over-looker. We speak with 
execration of the cart-whip of the West Indies, 
but let us see this night an equal feeling rise 
against the factory town of England." 

The child's " sob in the silence," and the voice it 
found in the press and platform through Oastler's 
pen and speech, and on the floor of Parliament 
through Sadler's brave denunciations of those who 
were defended in general terms as "unimpeach- 
able for their humanity and kindness," and yet 
testified to dividends of hundreds and even thou- 
sand per cent, from child labor, were not without 
response from the heart and conscience of the na- 
tion. Although poor Oastler's reward at the hand 
of his own generation was persecution by impris- 
onment for debt, and worse still, a neglected old 
age, yet the public opinion aroused by him forced 
parliamentiary action to that beneficent factory 
legislation then instituted, which will be hereafter 
more particularly considered. But the astonishing 
fact remains that fifty years of this agony inter- 
vened between Dr. Aiken's first disclosure of its 
existence and the beginning of the really efficient 
legislation against child labor. Two historic mem- 
orials of the fearful struggle remain, sufficiently 
impressive it would seem to deter our own or suc- 
ceeding generations, especially in America, from 
repeating the dreadful injustice. One is the rise 
and triumph and enduring fame of Lord Ashley, 
the seventh Earl of Shaftesbury, the greatest 
champion of the weakest and most oppressed vie- 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



13 



tims of our modern industrial system. For, what 
individual conscience or national economy dare 
challenge the choice which he deliberately made 
in 1833, when, in the words of hia biographer, 
" On one hand lay ease, influence, promotion and 
troops of friends, and on the other an unpopular 
cause, unceasing labor midst every kind of oppo- 
sition, perpetual worry and anxiety, estrangement 
of friends, annihilation of leisure and a life among 
the poor." The other monumental witness to all 
generations against the inhumanity of money 
against man rises in English literature to over- 
whelm the reader's heart with the speechless 
pathos of mute suffering, and to strike the indi- 
vidual and national conscience with the conviction 
of sin in those words of Mrs. Browning's " Cry of 
the Children," that seem to reverberate from the 
judgment throne: 

" How long, they say. how long, oh cruel nation, 

Will you stand, to move the world, on a child's heart, 
Stifle down with a mailed heel its palpitation, 
And tread onward toward your throne amid the mart?" 

THE INTRODUCTION OP MACHINERY. 

The causes which produced this period of dire 
distress are to be found in the invention and the 
sudden introduction to the industrial world of the 
machinery which supplanted handcraft and almost 
inconceivably increased both the productivity and 
power of labor. Our next study will describe the 
first growths of machinery and balance its general 
and permanent advantage and the partial and tem- 
porary ill-effects in the working world. 

REFERENCES Descriptive of the Eve of the Industrial 
Eevolution: Toynbee, " Industrial Revolution," Address on 
"Industry and Democracy," pages 189 to 192; Carlyle, 
"Past and Present; " Walpole, "History of England," Vol. 
I, pp. 50 to 76; Caskell, " Artisans and Machinery," chap- 
ter 2; Pidgeon, chapter 15 (Harper & Bros.) ; Gibbins, 
"English Social Reformers," Chapter on the Factory Re- 
formers and his Industrial History of England, Chapter on 
the Eve of the Revolution, page 43; The Life of Lord 
Shaftesbury, by Edwin Hodder; Mrs. Elizabeth Barrett 
Browning's Poems, " The Cry of the Children." 



CRIMINOLOGY AND EDUCATION. 



Annual Report of the United States Commissioner 
School Laws and Statistics. 



A digest of the school laws of the various states 
of the union opens the second volume of the report 
of the United States Commissioner of Education 
for 1893-94, just issued, and is followed by a chap- 
ter on sanitary legislation affecting schools in the 
United States, by Hannah B. Clark, of the Univer- 
sity of Chicago. Chapter XIII gives a preliminary 
list of the learned and educational societies of the 
United States. A curious insertion in this report 
is a chapter, giving certain "Criminological Studies" 
of the case of a recently notorious murderer, and 
also one on " Psychological, Criminological and 
Demographical Congresses in Europe," both by 
Arthur MacDonald, specialist of the bureau. The 
report includes also an important array of statistics 
of various classes of educational institutions of 
the United States. 



In the TClorlfc of Settlements. 



SUGGESTION OF THE HOUR. 



The practical suggestion of the hour is for each 
great church in the family districts to found its social 
settlement and Christian center in some foreign dis- 
trict. Already our city has two orthodox social settle- 
ments that equal and probably surpass Toynbee Hall 
and Mansfield House, and these are models of institu. 
tioiis that should be reproduced a score vt times. In 
these settlements are many young men and women 
who give themselves on Sunday to moral instruction, 
to song and precept and the lifting up of noble 
idea s. On Monday they become friendly visit- 
ors, kindergartners, or work in the industrial school, 
with boys at the bench, or organize clubs for 
men for the discussion of social themes. The in- 
f .uenre of these settlements is simply regenerating 
the communities in which they work. In times of 
peril the friendly example and influence of one such 
institution will be worth a s- tanding army. Bibles are 
less expensive than bullets; they are also more effec- 
tive Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis, Central Church, 
Chicago. 

A SETTLEMENT PILGRIMAGE, 



Seminary Students at the Missionary Alliance Visit 
Hull House and the Commons. 



We have received no more significant visit than 
that of fully one hundred students from the Inter- 
Seminary Missionary Alliance, recently held at the 
University of Chicago. At the close of Professor 
Taylor's address before the Alliance on " The City 
and the Slums," he merely offered to conduct 
through the Commons and Hull House any of the 
visitors who desired to catch a glimpse of Chicago 
settlements. Although, on their crowded pro- 
gramme, Sunday morning was the only clear space 
at which hour they were assured that nothing of 
the settlement work could be seen, this body of 
men, representing seminaries scattered all over the 
country, appeared in the middle of the morning at 
the doors of the Commons. After the inspection 
of the residence, the motive and method of settle- 
ment work were explained, and many questions 
were answered. 

The passage of the black-frocked fraternity 
through the three river wards on their way to Hull 
House created an amusing local sensation. Miss 
Addams graciously received the party, and aided 
by Mrs. Florence Kelley described the work of 

CHICAGO COMMONS LEAFLETS The article in 
the July issue of CHICAGO COMMONS reprinted from the 
Chicago Advance, entitled " Foreign Missions at Home," and 
suggesting the points of resemblance in scope and method 
between the settlements and the foreign missionary stations, 
has been issued as No. l in a proposed series of "Chicago 
Commons Leaflets." It is a folder convenient for enclosure 
in a letter, and better than any other single article we 
know of, explains the Settlement idea from this point of 
view. This leaflet may be obtained in any quantity at the 
rate of 1O for 5 cents, postage prepaid. 



14 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[November, 



the settlement and the social condition of the sew- 
ing trades, which the latter's official factory in- 
spection has done so much to improve. 

The eagerness of the questions regarding the 
bearings of settlement work upon parish and mis- 
sionary effort manifested the alertness with which 
its suggestiveness for church work was appreci- 
ated. Their parting expressions of gratitude for 
the pleasure and profit of their visit mitigated our 
regret in being unable to provide upon so short 
notice against the loss of their dinner. 



LOUISVILLE "NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE." 



New Settlement in the Kentucky City Beginning 
with Good Prospects. 



"We are delighted to read over the familiar sig- 
nature of our friend and one-time temporary resi- 
dent, Mr. Archibald A. Hill, of Louisville, Ky., the 
letter head running thus, " Neighborhood House 
A Social Work, Northwest corner Preston and Jef- 
ferson Sts.," and off in the corner Prof. Ely's declar- 
ation, " Moral civilization consists in perfecting the 
duties and enlarging the circle of brotherhood." 
Mr. Hill regretfully disclaims having attained the 
settlement ideal, because as yet unable to secure 
permanent residents for the house, in which, how- 
ever, he himself spends twelve of each twenty-four 
hours, some of which friends share with him, in 
work for the needy people. 

While at first almost thwarted in securing a 
house by the prejudice of the Jewish neighbor- 
hood, his first rejoinder in offering the use of its 
rooms for a long desired Hebrew library went far 
to clear up their misunderstanding of his purpose 
and to bring them into neighborly co-operation 
with him. Clubs and classes, music and manual 
training are already under way, and the beginning 
has been most auspiciously made toward fulfilling 
the purpose of the devoted young founder of this 
work, to do what he can " to prepare the world for 
the time when society shall express the love of 
our common Father." 



"PUNCH" ON BROWNING HALL. 

Clever Parody Upon Robert Browning's 
Among the Ruins." 



1 Love 



A pamphlet entitled " The First Year of Robert 
Browning Hall " has been sent us by a friend in 
England. It contains a number of interesting 
illustrations, including portraits of Rev. and Mrs. 
F. Herbert Stead, and a photograph of the settle- 
ment residence, and reports much good work. A 
remarkable feature of the pamphlet is a poem on 
"Browning at Browning Hall" from London 
Punch. The poem is especially remarkable as a 



very serious-minded and reverent parody upon 
Browning's " Love Among the Ruins." Here are 
the last two of the twelve stanzas: 

Well, a Walworth chap may not quite grasp Sordello, 

Poor good fellow! 
But the author of Sordello hath the whim 

To grasp him, 
And for Hall and Settlement to bear his name 

He holds fame ! 

With this Eobert Browning Social Settlement 

I'm content, 
Over poverty, pain, folly, noise and sin, 

May they win. 
As I say, despite wit, wealth, fame and the rest, 

"Love is best.'"* 



*Last line of ' Love Among the Ruins." 



UNION SETTLEMENT BULLETIN. 



The first issue of the Union Settlement Bureau 
published by the Union Settlement Association, 
237 East 104th street, New York City, Includes a 
report of the work carried on by that settlement 
during the summer, and expresses the hope that a 
sufficient degree of interest will be aroused to in- 
sure the continuous publication of the Bulletin 
monthly or bi-monthly. The Bulletin is designed 
as a medium of communication between the settle- 
ment and its friends, and, " according to its ability, 
a promoter of all good movement among the 
people of the district." 



A NEW IOWA SETTLEMENT. 



We are glad to welcome to the fellowship of 
settlements, that which has been established 
recently by the King's Daughters of Des Moines, 
Iowa, at 722 Mulberry street, in that city. Their 
house was opened in September, and while not yet 
christened, is occupied by five residents, three of 
whom are women and two men. Their work opens 
with a day nursery, newsboys' club, cooking 
school, and kindergarten, and the usual neighborly 
ministries. 

SETTLEMENT JOTTINGS. 



Miss Isabel Eaton, Button Fellow '93 and '94, of the 

College Settlements Association, now holds the Association 
fellowship at the Philadelphia Settlement and is investigat 
ing there the industrial status of the negro people of that 
city. Her good work at Hull House and the New York 
Settlement has an enduring monument in her exhaustive 
study of " Receipts and expenditures of certain wage earn- 
ers in the garments trade," which though never given 
adequate publicity, will become a classic upon the subject 
of the sweating system. During the past year or so Miss 
Eaton has been at the head of a settlement in Hartford- 
Conn. 

The Settlement Bulletin, of the University of Chicago 

settlement, is about to resume publication In a new form, 
widened in scope, and enlarged. 

Mr. William E. George, well-known as the founder of 

the ' George Junior Republic " for boys, in New York state, 
spoke of his work at the Kirkland settlement. Chicago, 
recently, to an audience of greatly interested people. 



1896. J CHICAGO COMMONS. 15 

Social Economic Conference 



DECEMBER 7 to 12, 1896 

UNDER AUSPICES OF 



Chicago Commons and Hull House 

SOCIAL SETTLEMENTS 

SESSIONS AT 2:30 AND 8 P. M. 

December 7, 8, 9. At Chicago Commons, J40 N. Union St., (at Milwaukee Ave.) 
December 10, II, J2. At Hull House, 335 S. Habted St., (Cor. W. Polk St.) 



GENERAL TOPIC: "SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION 



SPEAKERS: 

DR. WASHINGTON GLADDEN, of Columbus, Ohio, will speak on the Social Basis afforded by the Sermon 

on the Mount. 

HON. ERNEST HOWARD CROSBY, of New York City, will present the Philosophy of Tolstoy. 
MR. HENRY DEMAREST LLOYD, author of "Wealth Against Commonwealth," will speak on "The 

Money of the New Conscience.' 

MISS JANE ADDAMS, of Hull House, will speak of "Ethical Impulses Working Toward Social Reconstruction." 
REV. THOMAS CUTHBERT HALL, D. D., of the Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, will have as his 

theme, " Christ's Words to His Disciples in the Matter of Reform." 
PROFESSOR JOHN DEWEY, of the University of Chicago, will make his topic "The Relation of Education 

to Social Reform." 

MRS. CHARLOTTE C. HOLT, of Chicago, will present the view of Individualism or Laissez Faire. 
PROFESSOR WILLIAM DOUGLAS MACKENZIE, of Chicago Theological Seminary, will present The 

Christian social ideal of the Kingdom of God. 

DR. JOHN GRAHAM BROOKS, of Cambridge, Mass., will speak of "The Fabian Movement." 
MR. CHARLES O. BORING, of Chicago, will speak of "Co-operation as Applied Christianity." 
MR. JOHN Z. WHITE, of Ghicage, will speak for the Single Tax. 
PROFESSOR GRAHAM TAYLOR will preside and introduce the general topic. 



OTHER PHILOSOPHIES AND PLANS OF SOCIAL REFORM AND AMELIORATION 
Will be presented by speakers with whom correspondence is yet incomplete. 



PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME 
At CHICAGO COMMONS 

Monday, December 7th. 2:30 p. m., Opening Address, Professor Taylor, Mrs. Holt. 8 p. m. t Dr. Gladden. 
Tuesday, December 8th. 2:30 p. m., Dr. Gladden. 8 p. m., Mr. Crosby. 
Wednesday, December 9th. 2:30 p. m., Mr. Crosby. 8 p. m. t Mr. Lloyd. 

At HULL HOUSE 

Thursday, December JOth. 2:30 p.m., Miss Addams. 8 p. m., Dr. Brooks. 

Friday, December \ 1th. 2:30 p. m., Dr. Dewey. 8 p. m., Dr. Hall. 

Saturday, December \ 2th. 2:30 p.m., Mr. Boring, Mr. White. 8 p.m., Professor Mackenzie 



Chicago Commons is reached by all Milwaukee Avenue cable and electric cars; or by Grand Avenue or Halsted Street 
electric cars, stopping at the corner of Austin Avenue and Halsted Street, which is one block west of Union Street. 
Hull i louse is passed by all Halsted Street electric cars, and by Van Buren Street cable line. 

NO CHARGE FOR ADMISSION EVERYBODY WELCOME 

For further information concerning the Conference address either Settlement. 



16 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[November, 



from Sociological Claee IRooms, 



COURSES IN SOCIOLOGY. 



Lectures, Classes and Studies at the University of 
Michigan. 



The backbone, so to speak, of the undergraduate 
work in sociology at the University of Michigan is 
a course consisting of three lectures and one quiz 
weekly which continue throughout the year. The 
work during the first semester is upon the princi- 
ples of sociology,' and aims at a systematic and 
comprehensive survey of the subject. The matter 
presented is arranged under the following heads: 
1. Human Nature as the Basis of Association. 2. 
The Family in Relation to the Social Order. 3. The 
growth of Population. 4. Organization. 5. Com- 
munication. 6. Social Thought and Feeling, 
[embracing the study of public opinion, vogue, 
tradition, 'etc.] 7. Social Institutions. 8. The 
Individual and the Social Order. 9. Competition. 
10. Social Classes. 11. Dependence and Crime. 
12. Progress. 

The second semester is taken up with a more 
detailed study of questions of the day. The topics 
treated are the following: The Laws of Popula- 
tion; Degeneration [embracing a study of heredity, 
drink and economic changes as causes of degenera- 
tion]; Poor-relief; Temporary Relief of the Unem- 
ployed, Tramps, Dependent Children; Nature and 
Causes of Crime; Treatment of Crime; Immigra- 
tion and Assimilation; The Problems of Great 
Cities; Social Settlements; Divorce and the Status 
of Women. 

Assigned reading and short essays on special 
topics are required of the students taking this 
work, and Warner's "American Charities" is used 
as a text-book in the study of poor-relief. 

During the first semester a one-hour-a-week 
course is given in the Theory and Practice of 
Statistics. 

GRADUATE STUDIES IN ECONOMICS. 

The graduate work consists of a two-hours-a- 
week seminary course extending through both 
semesters, conducted by Dr. Charles H. Cooley,and 
of a course called Critical Studies in Economics and 
Sociology occupying three hours a week through- 
out the year and given jointly by Prof. Adams, 
Prof. Taylor and Dr. Cooley. In the seminary 
each student chooses or is assigned a special topic 
upon which he reads, working out the bibliography 
chiefly for himself, and upon which he makes re- 
ports about once in two weeks. 

The sociological work stands in the closest pos- 
sible relation to that in Political Economy, Finance, 
Socialism, etc., conducted by Professors Adams 
and Taylor, to that in History and Administrative 
Law carried on by the historical department, and 
to the courses in Political Philosophy and Ethics 
offered by Professor Lloyd. Besides these the 
students had the benefit last year of a series of 
lectures relating chiefly to penology, provided by 
the State Board of Charities and Corrections. 

EAGEll INTEREST IN THE WORK. 

There cannot be the least doubt that there is an 
eager interest in sociological topics among the 
more thoughtful of the three thousand students 
assembled at Ann Arbor. This is evident partly 



by the large and increasing number who elect to 
study the subject in the class-room, but still more 
by the great demand for sociological literature at 
the library, by the large and eager audiences that 
greet Miss Jane Addams, Professor Graham Taylor 
and other leaders of " forward movements " when 
they speak here, and by such indications as the 
recent decision of the Students Christian Associa- 
tion to devote a part of its energies to the estab- 
lishment of fellowships to enable students to carry 
on social settlement work. 



Instruction in Political Economy begins with a 
study of the Industrial History of England from 
the thirteenth century to the seventeenth, and of 
England and the United States from the seven- 
teenth century to the present time. It is the design 
of this course to leave upon the mind of the 
student the impression that social and industrial 
conditions are historic products, and to explain 
how the law of property, the principles of liberty, 
and the organization of industry came to be what 
they are; for in no other way can the student pre- 
pare himself either for understanding economic 
principles or for judging respecting proposed social 
and industrial reforms. This course in Industrial 
History is followed by a course upon the Princi- 
ples of Economics, which in its turn is followed by 
a course upon Current Industrial Problems and 
the Science of Finance. Under the head of Cur- 
rent Industrial Problems a cursory analysis is made 
of such questions as emigration, commercial crises 
and depressions, the railway problem, free trade 
and protection, our more elemental principles of 
taxation and social and industrial reform. 

SPECIAL COURSES FOR ADVANCED STUDENTS. 

Besides the above four courses, which are in the 
main followed by all students taking economics, 
there are special courses, designated for advanced 
students, in Money and Banking, in The Transpor- 
tation Problem, in Socialism, which includes a 
study of the Agrarian Problem, in the Industrial 
History of the United States, in the History of 
Political Economy, besides seminary courses in 
Finance and Economic Theory. Provision is also 
made for strictly graduate instruction in which 
each of the three instructors in the department 
occupy six weeks of each semester in the examina- 
tion of some selected topic. These topics as 
arranged, provide for a three years course of in- 
struction,without repetition,so that any student who 
desires to take either of the advanced degrees 
offered by the University is furnished with new 
material for reading and analysis during the entire 
period of his residence. The interest shown in 
economics at the University is most encouraging. 
Although none of the work is required for the 
baccalaureate degree, it is a favorite subject of 
election by large numbers of students. 



The Fifth Biennial report of the Minnesota 
Bureau of Labor (Part I) is taken up with a dis- 
cussion of the question of the modern variation of 
the purchasing power of gold, and deals with the 
relation of this purchasing power to the prices of 
various agricultural commodities. The report has 
had not a little circulation as a campaign document, 
but will be useful when political issues have 
changed. The second part of the report will be 
upon the subject of factory inspection. 



1896. 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



17 



Supplement to Chicago Commons. 

November, 1896, 



IF I WERE A VOICE. 



If I were a voice, a persuasive voice, 

That could travel the wide world through, 

I would fly on tbe beams of the morning light, 

And speak to men with a gentle might, 
And tell them to be true. 

I'd fly, I'd fly, o'er land and sea, 

Wherever a human heart might be; 

Telling a tale, or singing a song 

In praise of the Right, m blame of the Wrong. . 



If I were a voice, a consoling voice, 
I'd fly on the wings of the air; ~ 

The homes of sorrow and quiet I'd seek,] 

And calm and truthful words I'd speak 
To save them from despair. 

I'd fly, I'd fly, o'er the crowded town, 

And drop, like the happy sunlight, down 

Into the hearts of suffering men, 

And teach them to rejoice again. 

If I were a voice, a convincing voice, 

I'd travel wiih the wind; 
And whenever I saw the nations torn 
By warfare, jealousy or scorn, 

Or hatred of their kind, 
I'd fly, I'd fly, on the thunder crash 
And into their blinded bosoms flash; 
And, all their evil thoughts subdued, 
I'd teach them Christian Brotherhood. 

If I were a voice, an immortal voice, 

I'd speak in the people's ear; 
And whenever they shouted " Liberty," 
Without deserving to be free 

I'd make their error clear. 
I'd fly, I'd fly, on the wings of day, 
Rebuking wrong on my world-wide way, 
And making all the earth rejoice, 
If I were a voice an immortal voice. 

C. Mackay. 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



What the Social Settlement Stands for. 



A Neighborhood Center and Clearing: House Sig- 
nificance of the Name. 



Chicago Commons is a social settlement located 
in the Seventeenth Ward of Chicago, at 140 North 
Union street, near Milwaukee avenue. It was 
founded in May, 1894, and consists of a group of 
people who could live elsewhere, but who choose 
their place of residence with a view of being 
where they seem to be needed rather than where 
the neighborhood offers the most of social prestige 
and privilege. They are there because they be- 
lieve in the sharing of life; that most of the mis- 
chief of the modern social situation arises from 
the distant separation of classes, of the educated 
and privileged from those whose conditions have 
always been those of unremitting and poorly re- 
warded toil; because they believe that none can 
permanently help or really be helped by another 
whom he does not know, the conditions of whose 
life he does not understand. 

To share the life of the neighborhood, its com- 
forts and discomforts, its privileges and its responsi- 
bilities, its political and civic and personal duties 
and pleasures, the little group at the Commons has 
established its home in the Seventeenth Ward. 



There was no idea of building up a n*>w institu- 
tion, a new kind of mission, or any substitute foi 
churches; no intention of making proselytes to 
any sect or denomination, but simply the heartj 
desire to make a home among homes, where the 
folks in it could share their lives with their neigh- 
bors without the artificial barriers of form thai 
separate man from man in the more conventional 
kinds of life. 

The Commons residents desired also to offer a 
place that should become a kind of social center, 
where the values of life could be shared, where the 
things of the daily toil could be laid aside for the 
time and man could meet with man and woman 
with woman upon the basis only of common hu- 
manity, where those whose homes are somewhat 
small and cramped could find opportunity for the 
social gatherings impossible in the smaller quarters. 

As to the name by which our house, ourselves 
and our work here with the neighborhood have 
become well-known not only in the vicinity but 
also throughout the country, and, indeed, in other 
lands, we can scarcely do better to make its mean- 
ing clear than to repeat the substance of the 
explanation of its selection given by Professor Tay- 
lor in a former issue of CHICAGO COMMONS: 

THE SETTLEMENT NAME. 

" When in search for the settlement's name, we 
groped for weeks after some title which had at its 
root, if not in its form, that good old English word 
common. For the idea of the sharing of what each 
has equally with all, and all with each, of what 
belongs to no one and no class, but to every one of 
the whole body, is the idea underlying not only 
this word and its equivalents in many tongues, but 
the very conception of that community and com- 
munion in which society and religion consist, and 
which constitute the essence of the settlement 
motive and movement. 

"A friend in need appeared indeed, as we 
alighted from an elevator on the top floor of a sky- 
scraper, on the afternoon of the last day of grace. 
In desperation we suddenly ' held him up ' with 
the demand for a name. But he was equal to this, 
as he had been to many another emergency, for he 
mused and mulled a moment over our preference 
for something common, and, as he stepped into the 
car ' going down,' said, ' Call it Chicago Commons.' 
It was done, and better than that moment knew 
was the name builded. For its popular lineage 
was really behind it; woven through English his- 
tory. As the freemen of the race organized in 
their early shires, municipalities and guilds, and 
later on combined to form one body representing 
the whole people, so the represented people, with- 
out any primary distinction of class, came to be 
known as 'the Commons.' To this ideal of social 
democracy, the name adds the suggestion of those 
few patches of mother earth still unclaimed as 
private property, which at leapt afford standing 
room equally for all, irrespective of pecuniary 
circumstances or social status. 

A SOCIAL CLEARING HOUSE. 

" So we called our household and its homestead 
' Chicago Commons,' in hope that it might be a 
common center where the masses and the classes 
could meet and mingle as men and exchange their 
social values in something like a 'clearing house' 
for the commonwealth, where friendship, neigh- 
(Continued on page 20.) 



CHICAGO COMM 



SCHEDULE OF 

CLASSES, CLU 

DEPARTMENTS OF STUDY. ..FALL 



ART... Drawing -from Casts and Still Life, Art Talks, Studies in Ruskiii and 
Morris, Painting 1 , Embroidery, Clay Modeling. 

MUSIC... choral Singing, Vocal Culture (Small Classes and Private Work) 
Piano, Mandolin, Violin, Guitar. 

ACADEMIC... German, French, Advanced Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, 
Mechanical Drawing, Elocution, Literature. 

BUSINESS... Bookkeeping, Stenography. 

DAILY. 

KINDERGARTEN (Except Saturday and Sunday) . Mrs. Bertha Hofer Hegner, Kindergartner, 9.OO till 12.OO a. m. 
HOUSEHOLD VESPERS (Neighbors .Welcome) 7.OO p. m. 

MONDAY. 

MANDOLIN Mrs. Cara Gregg (North Chicago School of Music) 3.OO p. m. 

VOCAL, CULTURE (Small Classes) Miss Grace Medary, 4.OO p. m. 

(Pupil of Ferdinand Seiber, Conservatory of Music, Berlin, Germany). 
ELOCUTION (Children) . ..... . . Miss Julia Davis (Columbia School of Oratory) 4.OO p. m. 

MANUAL TRAINING, '..-.'. . . . . . . Miss M. Emerett Colman, 4.OO p. m. 

COOKING (Girls) . . Mrs. C. O. Eichardson, 6.3O p. m. 

GERMAN, . . ....'. . . .-' Andrew Erickson, A. B. (Wheaton College) 7.15 p.m. 

ENGLISH READING FOR MEN AND WOMEN, . Frederick Nelson, A. B. (University of Wyoming), 7.3O p. m. 

WOOD CARVING, Miss Jessie M. House, 7.3O p. m. 

GIRLS' PROGRESSIVE CLUB Miss Belle Eichardson, President, 8.00 p. m. 

WOMEN'S CLUB, Mrs. Katherine Lente Stevenson, President, 8.OO p. m. 

GYMNASIUM DRILL, .... (Tabernacle Church Brotherhood of Andrew and Philip) 8.OO p. m. 

Directed by Eoy B. Guild, A.B., Physical Director (Chicago Theological Seminary). 
GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION, . . . . . Ernest B. Kent. A. B. (Iowa College) 8.15 p. m. 

TUESDAY. 

SEWING CLASSES FOR GIRLS , Misses House and Colman, 4.OO p. m. 

ROSETTE CLUB (Girls) Miss Ida E. Hegner (Milwaukee State Normal School), 6.3O p. m. 

HOME DRESSMAKING, . . Instructors, Mrs. Luther Conant, and Mrs. James Ward, . t 3.OO p. m. 

Assisted by Mrs. Geo. Shufeldt, Miss Lilian Cole, Mrs. Edward Martin; all of Oak Park. 1 7.3O p. m. 

DRAWING FROM CASTS AND STILL LIFE, George L. Schreiber, 7.30 p. in. 

(Extension Lecturer on Art, University of Chicago.) 

BASKET WEAVING Miss Colman, 7.3O p. in. 

COOKING, . . . . . . . . Miss Emma Heckenlively (Armour Institute) 8.OO p. m. 

PROFESSIONAL DRESSMAKING, Mrs. Adele Strawbridge (Cornwell System) 8.OO p. m. 

INDUSTRIAL-ECONOMIC DISCUSSION FOR MEN AND WOMEN, Prof. Graham Taylor, presiding, 8.OO p. m. 

WEDNESDAY. 

MANUAL TRAINING MiSS Colman, 4.OO p. m. 

DRAWING (For Children) Mr. Schreiber, 4.OO p. m. 

ELOCUTION (Girls over 13 years old) . . . Archie E. Turner (Columbia School of Oratory), 4.OO p. m. 

BOOKKEEPING, L. W. Wiltberger. A. B. (Beloit College) 7.OO p. m. 

GIRLS' CLUBS Little Women Club, Miss Ida E. Hegner, 7.15 p. m. 

Golden Rule Club, . . . . Miss Alice B. Cogswell. 

Mayflower Club. ..... Miss Florence E. Patrick. 

Violet Club, ...... Miss Sarah Ward. 

American Beauty Club. . Miss Louie Chester and Miss Alice Ormes. 

Pansy Club, ...... Miss Mabel Warner. 

Lily Club, ...... Miss Grace Dietrich. 

CALISTHENICS FOR UNIT BD GIRLS' CLUBS 8.15p.m. 

FRENCH (Elementary) E. S. Osgood, A. B. (Iowa College) 8.OO p. m. 

LABOR EXCHANGE 8.OO p. m. 

TUITION 25 CENTS FOR TEN LESSONS, EXCEF 

DR. MARY EDNA GOBLE, Resident Physician. 

Office Hours: 3 to 5 and 6:3O to 7:3O p. m. 



5, NOVEMBER, 1896. 



LECTURES. CHICAGO COMMONS 

140 NORTH UNION STREET 

1896... NEAR MILWAUKEE AVENUE. 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE... Professional Dressmaking, Home Dressmaking-, 

Cooking, Home Nursing. 

INDUSTRIAL TRAIN ING... Manual Training, Sewing, Basket Weaving, Wood 

Carving, Chair Caning. 

NIGHT SCHOOL STUDENTS... English Grammar and Composition, Spell- 
ing and Writing, Elocution, Arithmetic. 

OTHER BRANCHES WILL BE ARRANGED tor if there is sufficient dema nd 

for them. 
THURSDAY. 

MANDOLIN AND GUITAR, . ... * . t ^ . . . . . Mrs. Gregg, 3.00p.m. 

CHILDREN'S CHORUS, . . . . . . . . Miss Marl RuefHofer, director 4.OO p. m. 

PENNY PROVIDENT BANK, . . Miss Hefner, 5.3O p. m. 

FKENCH (Advanced) ............. Mr. Osgood, 7.OO p. m. 

VOCAL CULTURE (Small Class) . . Miss Hofer, 7.OO p. m. 

FIRST AID TO THE INJURED (For Boys) . Geo. M. Basford, Mechanical Editor Railway Review, 7.OO p. m. 

CHAIR CANING, Miss House, 7.3O p. m. 

DRAWING AND PAINTING, . Mr. Schreiber, 7.3O p. m. 

PEOPLE'S CHORUS Miss Hofer, 8.OO p. in. 

EMBROIDERY, . . . Miss Mary Tiffany (Decorative Art Department, Marshall Field & Co.) 8.OO p. m. 

MECHANICAL DRAWING, . Mr. Basford, 8.OO p. m. 

ENGLISH READING (For Italian Men) . Professor H. L. Boltwood, Principal of the High School, Evanston, 8.OO p. m. 

COOKING, . . . Miss Heckenlively, 8.OO p. m. 

READINGS IN TENNYSON, . . ,. . . i . ' Mr. Kent, 8.OO p. m. 

TABERNACLE CHURCH BROTHERHOOD OF ANDREW AND PHILIP, .... 8.OO p. m. 

FRIDAY. 

PIANO \ MiSS Marie Menefee (Berlin Conservatory), 3.OO p. m. 

' Miss Harriet Brown, " " 3.OO p. m. 

ITALIAN MOTHERS, Monthly, . . 3.OO p. m. 

CECILIAN CHOIR, i i .: . i . . . ....... Miss Brown, 4.OO p. m. 

MANUAL TRAINING . . Miss House, 4.OO p. m. 

ARITHMETIC Kosta D. Momeroff, B. 8. (Wheaton College) 7.OO p. m. 

ENGLISH READING FOR MEN AND WOMEN, '. Mr. Nelson, 7.3O p. m. 

BOYS' CLUBS, ...... 7.30 p. m 

STENOGRAPHY, . Miss Jessie Sherk, (Ferris Business College), 8.OO p. m. 

ALGEBRA, . . . . . .... . . . . . . . Mr. Momeroff, 8.OO p. m. 

UNITED STATES HISTORY, . . C. E. Baird, (Oberlin College) 8.OO p. m. 

MOTHER'S MEETING, ; ' , . .' . Mrs. Hegner, 8.OO p.m. 

(Alternate Fridays, English and German Speaking Mothers.) 

SATURDAY. 

NORMAL INSTRUCTION IN MANUAL TRAINING, . . ... . Miss Colman, 9.OO a. m. 

MANUAL TRAINING, . . . . . ; . . . . . . . . 1O.3O a. m. 

ART TALKS (Meets at the Art Institute) . ', . . . . . . Mr. Schreiber, 1.3O p. m., 3.15 p. m. 

PKIVATE ART CLASS FOR TEACHERS, .' . . . . Mr. Schreiber, 9.OO till 12.OO a. m. 

ELOCUTION, Miss Mary M. Mason (N. W. University School of Oratory) 7.OO p. m. 

INDUSTRIAL TRAINING FOK BOVS, . . . . . Misses House and Colman, 7.3O p. m. 

HOME NURSING .' .... Miss Emma Warren, M. D. 8.OO p. m. 

SPELLING AND WRITING, . . . . Mrs. Ida Smedley (Cook County Normal School) 8.OO p. in. 



TABERNACLE CHURCH INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL (Cor. Grand Ave. and Morgan Street) j ^ OT ^ 0y , S ' 

< For Girls, 2.3O p. m 

SUNDAY. 

BIBLICAL SOCIOLOGY (Resident's Class) . . . . , Professor Graham Taylor, 9.OO a. m. 

PLEASANT SUNDAY AFTERNOON, (An hour of Music, Song and Fellowship for Men and Women) 4.OO to 5.OO p. m. 

fOFESSIONAL DRESSMAKING, ART AND MUSIC. 

Further information about the classes can be obtained by writing or applying to 

HERMAN F. HEGNER, 

Resident in Charge of Educational Work, Chicago Commons. 

Office Hours 5.OO till 7.3O P. M., Except Wednesdays and Saturdays. 



20 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[November, 



(Continued from page 17.) 

borship and fellow-citizenship might form the 
personal bonds of that social unification which 
alone can save our American democracy from dis- 
ruption, cloven as it is under the increasing social 
stress and strain, and where that brotherhood of 
which we talk and sing may be more practically 
lived out and inwrought." 

There have grown up around this home-center a 
number of activities and interests in the way of 
educational classes, social clubs and friendly 
groups. A kindergarten meets every morning 
except Saturday and Sunday, and our offer to in- 
terest our more resourceful friends in teaching 
those who feel the need of further study has re- 
sulted in the gathering of classes in all branches 
of practical knowledge, including science, art, 
music and domestic economy. Two fine choruses, 
one of children and one of adults, are progressing 
well in the study and appreciation of good music. 
A weekly meeting of men and women represent- 
ing all classes discusses industrial and economic 
questions. The participation and interest of the 
residents of the settlement in the civic and polit- 
ical interests of the ward has resulted in the or- 
ganization of the Seventeenth Ward Council of the 
Civic Federation, which meets bi-weekly at the 
Commons. 

The schedule of classes, cluba and lectures, on 
the reverse side of this sheet, gives a good idea of 
the variety and scope of the work doing by, for 
and with the neighborhood at Chicago Commons. 



SUPPORT OF THE SETTLEMENT. 



Appeal To All Friends to Stand by the Work with 
Financial Help. 



The support of Chicago Commons, in addition to 
what the residents are able to pay for rent of 
rooms, comes from the free-will offerings of those 
who believe in what the work stands for. The 
financial stringency has brought many serious 
problems to the settlement, and it is hoped that 
substantial relief will come through the response 
to the following self-explanatory letter, which is 
being sent to friends of the settlement, and others 
likely to be interested: 

The successful inauguration of an effort to apply 
our common Christianity to social and civic life in 
one of the river-wards of down-town Chicago may 
not be without interest to you. For the lack of 
social centers whence higher ideal, stronger initia- 
tive, and personal help to self-help may be steadily 
applied to neighborhood life, these districts not 
only degrade those who live in them, but menace 
the peace and progress of our cities. The perma- 
nent residence of a little group, who will share 
their culture, influence and home-life with the 
people of these city centers, is proving to be the 
most effective means of supplying their needs. 

The work at Chicago Commons is partly shown 
by the schedule of appointments. Its progress is 
years in advance of what we expected. 

The response of our neighbors in this great in- 
dustrial district is indicated by over 1,000 regular 
attendances on 75 weekly appointments. Occas- 
ional attendances of visitors, students, groups 
and societies add 200 more from the more privi- 
leged but no less needy classes. To these attend- 
ances upon occasions at the settlement are to be 



added many more upon those at the industrial and 
Sunday schools, city and county institutions, etc., 
where our residents regularly serve. 

The resource most essential to such work and 
most difficult to obtain is personal. This is sup- 
plied by about twenty-five resident workers (most 
of whom receive no compensation and others only 
subsistence), and by upwards of thirty non-resident 
volunteers. A few of us not only give our own 
and family life to this cause but have borne the 
largest share of its financial burden. The most we 
ourselves can do, and our classes and clubs can 
pay, is not enough by about $3,500 per year. This 
sum will keep over fifty workers in service at the 
Commons, the Tabernacle Church, the County In- 
firmary at Dunning, and other fields among the 
densest populations of the city. 

To relieve us from spending in collecting this 
sum, time and strength which we should put into 
the work with this neglected population, we are 
seeking the assurance of some definite amount for 
its support during the coming year. 

Will you not associate yourself with us as a non- 
resident helper by subscribing something toward 
its maintenance and development, to be given by 
yourself or secured by you from others? Kindly 
inform me whether we may depend upon you for 
any help this year. 

In behalf of the residents, truly yours, 

GKAHAM TAYLOR, Resident Warden. 



A SETTLEMENT MONTHLY. 



CHICAGO COMMONS 



A MONTHLY RECORD OF 

SOCIAL SETTLEMENT LIFE AND WORK 
AT HOME AND ABROAD .... 



THE SOCIAL PROGRESS OF BROTHER- 
HOOD AMONG MEN .... 

AMONG ITS FEATURES: 

News from the Social Settlements. 

Sketches of Life in the Crowded City Centers. 

Outlines of Social Teaching in College, University 

and Seminary Class Rooms. 
Notes of Literature in the Social Field. 
The Social Work of the Churches. 
Comments on Current Life from the Settlement 

Point of View. 



PUBLISHED FOR CHICAGO COMMONS. A SOCIAL 
SETTLEMENT AT 140 N. UNION ST., CHICAGO. 



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SPECIAL 
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series of "Afternoons" in 

RECITAL HALL 

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To liHteii to READINGS of the LEGENDS and 
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(Saturday afternoons) 

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NUMBER. 



MONTHLY 
L SE 
AND WORK 

CHIGXGO 



SETTLEMENT 





i OR whosoever would save his life 
shall lose it; and whosoever shall 
lose his life for my sake and the gospel's 
shall save it. "Jesus Christ. 

For our sakes, He beggared Himself, 
that we, through His beggary might be en- 
riched. Paul. 

He, existing in the form of God, did 
not consider an equal state with God a 
thing to be selfishly grasped and held, but 
emptied Himself, and took the form of a 
slave, being made in the likeness of man. 
-Paul. 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



WE DESIRE TO TREBLE 
OUR CIRCULATION 




AND 

WITHIN 
TWELVE 
MONTHS 
TO 
-.SECURE 



TEN THOUSAND 



READERS 



THIS WILL BE VERY EASY 

IF EVERYBODY HELPS 

IN ONE OF THE FOLLOWING WAYS: 



OF CHICAGO 
COMMONS. 



1. BY GETTING SUBSCRIBERS. 

To help this along, we will send six copies for one year to any one address, any where, for $1.25. 
This is a club rate of 2O cents per copy, and will apply to any number of copies above six, 
sent to one address. 

2. BY SENDING US LISTS 

of church members, clubs, societies, or personal friends, in any number. We shall be glad to send 
sample copies to any persons upon application. Send us your church directory to-day. 

3 BY ADVERTISING. 

It is by cash receipts from advertising that we hope to make up the discrepancy between the low 
price of subscriptions and the cost of printing and delivering the paper. We will send rates upon 
application and allow a liberal commission upon desirable advertising secured for us. 

4. IN GENERAL, 

By interesting yourself and friends in Chicago Commons, and the cause of social brotherhood 
for which it stands and which it tries to aid. For instance, why not write a couple of letters to-day 
to some good friends, telling them about it, and sending them your copy of the paper ? We will 
send you another copy for every one you distribute in this way. 



WHEN YOU THINK, 

That in these ways, and others that may occur to you, you can assure the permanency, stability and 
constant development of the paper ; that thus you can be of material assistance in arousing interest 
in the work of social reform and rejuvenation, not alone in the social settlement, but in churches, 
societies and among individuals widely scattered in many parts of the world ; 



YOU WILL GLADLY HELP. 



For sample copies, advertising rates and all information 
on the subject of the paper, address 



CHICAGO COMMONS, 



140 NORTH UNION STREET, 

CHICAGO, ILLS 



CHICAGO COMMONS 

A Monthly Record of Social Settlement Life and Work. 



Vol. I. 



DECEMBER, 1896. 



No. 9. 



TEACH US, TODAY. 



fWIMTTKN FOR CHICAGO COMMONS. i:v KATHARINE 
LENTK STKVKNSOX.] 



Oh Thou, who with toil-hardened hands, 
Taught men, who toiled, the worth of life, 

Teach us, to-day; let our souls hear 
Thy words ring clearly o'er our strife. 

Speak once again:" Life's more than meat, 
The body more than raiment fair; 

The soul of service unto man 
Is more than creed, or psalm, or prayer." 

So much we have forgotten, Lord, 
We rear vast domes unto Thy name; 

We build our church-walls broad and high, 
They hide, from us, our deepest shame. 

Outside, the cowering people crowd; 

Outside, the wild tides ebb and flow; 
Outside, Thy manhood is debased 

By all that means Thy brother's woe. 

Daily, O Christ, Thou'rt crucified 
We fix the nails and point the spear; 

Wherever wrong is done to man, 
Oil man's own Man, Thou'rt needed there. 

And yet, again, we hear thee say: 
" Father, they know not what they do." 

Oh, heart of pity, infinite, 
Forgive us that these words are true. 

Open our eyes, that we may see; 

Unstop our ears, that we may hear; 
Quicken our soul's sense, till it grasps 

The scope of Thy life's purpose here! 

Then till us with Thy love's own might, 
" Peace and good will," help us to bring: 

Anew incarnated, O Christ, 
Thy Christmas song may all earth sing. 



BOULEVARD SETTLEMENTS. 



Extending the Idea Into the Upper Circles. 

Unique Sort of House-Warming in a Western City. 
Conference on the Charity Question in a Lake- 
Front Mansion. New Conception of the So- 
cial Function of a Beautiful Home. 



The possibility of extending the settlement idea 
to the extent of opening social centers in the more 
privileged parts of the cities has been strongly felt 
and notably illustrated by not a few of the wealthy 
and purposeful in various parts of Chicago and 
elsewhere, but of late one or two rather remark- 



able instances have come within our knowledge. 
This engraved invitation lies before the writer: 

Mr. and Mrs. S. M. Jones 
will be pleased to have you spend the 

evening of 

Wednesday, December twenty-third, 

with them at their home, 

No. 2339 Monroe Street, 

from 7.30 to 1 1 o'clock, 

to meet the workers of the 

Acme Sucker Kod Company. 

It means that Mr. and Mrs. Jones, upon the com- 
pl^tion of their beautiful new home in a fashion- 
able part of a western city, felt that it was a social 
trust in their hands, to be used not as their exclu- 
sive property, but for the benefit of those who 
have helped in the production of the wealth which 
built the house. No account of the gathering has 
as yet reached us, but it is fairly safe to say that 
those of the "upper" world who received and ac- 
cepted this invitation found that there is a func- 
tion of social converse of which far too little 
advantage has been taken, and that the graces of 
mind and heart which make for the enjoyment of 
social gatherings and the mutual inspiration of 
those who thus meet together, are by no means 
confined to, nor in the majority in, either any one 
class in society, or any one kind of district in the 
city. 

A CONFERENCE ON THE CHARITY QUESTION. 

Of somewhat similar significance was the con- 
ference, on a recent Sunday evening, at the beauti- 
ful home and under the initiative and direction of 
Mrs. John C. Coonley. A company representing 
many social interests and occupations gathered to 
hear the presentation of the subject of " The Social 
Value of Charity Organization," by Professor John 
Graham Brooks, of Cambridge, Mass. Professor 
Brooks is one of the best-informed men in the 
country on this subject, being at the head of the 
Cambridge Charity Organization and a close stu- 
dent of the question in all its bearings. Space is 
lacking for any account of the address, or of the 
brisk discussion from many points of view which 
followed. Suffice it to say that the occasion was a 
very profitable one in its bringing together of the 
representatives of many interests and view-points, 
and affording the opportunity of at least a begin- 
ning of progress toward mutual understanding. 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[December, 



SOCIAL ECONOMIC CONFERENCE. 



Earnest Men and Women Discuss the Needs and Aims 

of Society 

ASPECTS OF HUMAN PROGRESS FROM MANY POINTS OF VIEW, 



Important Gatherings under the Auspices of Chicago Commons and Hull House. Great Emphasis upon the 

Character of Jesus and the Christian Social Ideal. Practice and Philosophy of Tolstoy. 

Relation of Property to Human Life. Fabianism, the Single Tax, and 

44 The Money of the New Conscience." Ideals of 

Social Brotherhood. 



A sight to warm the heart of the most hopeless of 
pessimists was any one of the sessions of the Social 
Economic Conference, held by Chicago Commons 
and Hull House in the second week of December. 
To one stumbling unprepared upon the opening 
session in that back basement "assembly hall" of 
the Commons it must have seemed a strange sight 
indeed. That low room, so recently redeemed from 
a long life as a stable, made habitable only by con- 
stant and most assiduous cleaning and many coats 
of paint and whitewash, was filled to the utmost by 
as strange a gathering as has been seen in the land. 
The invitation to come to that old house and dis- 
cuss the question of " Social Reconstruction " had 
drawn together as diverse a company as one could 
wish to see. Every phase of social and economic 
thought was represented in the audiences which 
gathered day after day and joined thought and 
question upon the vital themes that were discussed. 
As one report of the meetings put it: 

" From distant states came students, pastors, 
farmers, manufacturers, and men and women en- 
listed in social service. From every part of the 
great city ministers of many faiths, professors and 
students of the great universities, deaconesses and 
nurses, in the plain habit of their orders; men 
from the banks, board of trade, exchanges and 
business offices, lawyers, doctors, school-teachers, 
editors, women from the parlors of " society," the 
counter of the store, the desk of the office, the 
quiet of the home; working people, from the 
trades, the docks, the shops, the trains, the ships, 
the streets, and more's the pity from the swell- 
ing ranks of the army of the unemployed; the rep- 
resentatives of almost every phase of economic 
thought and social ideal, individualists, socialists, 
communists, single taxers, co-operators, trades- 
unionists, collectivists, opportunists, Christians and 



Jews, Protestants, Catholics, and agnostics, some- 
how found their way to this bare but common floor, 
where 'free speech, fraternal tolerance, all sides and 
no favor ' had been announced to be the sole basis 
of frank and fearless discussion." 

So large was the response to the invitation that 
after the first session the meetings were transferred 
to the larger quarters of the Tabernacle Church 
and on the occasion of Mr. Henry D. Lloyd's ad- 
dress, even the ample accommodations of the 
neighboring Scandia Hall were required for the 
attendance. The sessions of the last part of the 
week were held in the Hull House gymnasium and 
once in the Ewing street church. 

QUESTIONS AND OPEN DISCUSSIONS. 

The method of conducting the conference was 
exceedingly simple, the undeviating rule of all the 
sessions being the absolute freedom of speech per- 
mitted to every person, whatever his views. Each 
paper or address was followed by a season of direct 
questioning of the speaker, in order to get his 
thought clearly before the audience. Then the 
question was thrown open for general discussion, 
remarks being limited to three minutes, unless the 
time was extended by vote of the meeting, which 
in many cases was done. The principal speaker 
was given the last ten minutes or so for rejoinder 
to the points brought out in the discussion. 

Professor Graham Taylor, of Chicago Theologi- 
cal Seminary, and Warden of the Commons, opened 
the discussion of the general theme of the con- 
ference with a short address in which he called 
attention to the many signs of change in social re- 
lations, especially the change from independ- 
ence to interdependence, and from competition 
to combination and cooperation. He com- 
mented vigorously upon the increasing inequality 
in the distribution of wealth and income, quoting 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



from Charles B. Spahr's new book, " The Present 
Distribution of Wealth in the United States," the 
figures, for instance, that 

"Less than half the families in America are p roper tyless; 
nevertheless, seven-eighths of the families hold but one- 
eighth of the national wealth, while one per cent of the 
families hold more than the remaining ninety-nine." 

Professor Taylor's address was a plea for the 
patient, tolerant, brotherly discussion of the things 
pertaining to the common welfare and to common 
justice, and the key-note which he struck thus was 
that of the conference, from beginning to end. 

JESUS THE CENTRAL FIGURE. 

It would be scarcely too much to say that the 
character, the claims upon men, the social author- 
ity, the teachings, of Jesus formed the principal 
topic of discussion throughout the conference. 
Again and again, in topics seemingly having little 
to do with the question of the life or teachings of 
Jesus, the whole discussion would halt for an in- 
terval of question or comment, or even somewhat 
heated debate, having at the root the entire 
matter of the practicability of real Christianity, 
and some of the most interesting passages of the 
conference were in the course of such discussion 
Some of the most surprising divisions of opinion, 
too, occurred at such times. This was especially 
true in the discussions which followed the papers 
of Mr. Ernest Howard Crosby, of New York City, 
who spoke twice upon " The Philosophy and Prac- 
tice of Count Tolstoy," and who was probably the 
most conspicuous if not the most distinguished 
participant in the conference. Mr. Crosby is a 
convert to the Tolstoyan philosophy, which is noth- 
ing more or less than a belief in the obligation and 
the practicability of an absolutely literal fulfill- 
ment of the commands of Jesus to his disciples. 
While serving in Egypt under the appointment of 
President Harrison as a member of the Interna- 
tional Court, Mr. Crosby fell by chance upon a 
French edition of Tolstoy's volume entitled "Life,'' 
and from that became an earnest student of the 
Russian's works. Returning to America, he turned 
his back upon a political career both brilliant and 
promising, upon a legal practice of no small di- 
mensions, and upon a position in metropolitan soci- 
ety assured by both the young man's own career of 
prominence in the cause of reform and that of his 
father (the late Rev. Dr. Howard Crosb\% formerly 
Chancellor of the University of the City of New 
York, and Dr. Parkhurst's predecessor in the pres- 
idency of the Society for the Prevention of Crime), 
and has set about the fulfillment as best he may of 
the commands of Jesus, which he insists upon in- 
terpreting with the same unquestioning literalness 
and with much the same conclusions, as does the 
Russian peasant nobleman, whose advice to him in 
Ms predicament of entanglement with the current 



order of society was, first of all, to speak the truth 
as he saw it with utter frankness, " For then," the 
old man said, "people will not suffer you to be 
inconsistent." 

THE TOLSTOYAN PHILOSOPHY. 

Mr. Crosby's two addresses were in reality two 
parts of one long paper, the first outlining the in- 
teresting history of the life of Count Tolstoy, and 
defining and discussing four of the five points 
which constitute the basis of Tolstoy's philosophy 
of life. These five points are given always in the 
words of the Gospels, and are in substance as fol- 
lows: 

I. " I say unto you that every one who is angry with his 
brother, [whether with cause or without], shall be in danger 
of the judgment,"etc. 

II. "I say unto you that every one that looketh on a 
woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her 
already in his heart." 

III. " I say unto you, swear not at all But let 

your speech be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay, for whatsoever is more 
than these is of the evil one." 

IV. " I say unto you, resist not him that is evil, but who- 
soever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the 

other also Give to him that asketh thee, and 

from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away." 

V. "I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for 
them that despitefully use you," etc. 

THE QUESTION OF NON-RESISTANCE. 

The second part of the paper was devoted to the 
discussion of the question of non-resistance, upon 
which Tolstoy places his chief emphasis, and which 
is, in fact, perhaps the distinctive tenet of the Tols- 
toyan philosophy. Absolute abstinence from re- 
course to force in any form whatever is emphasized 
by Tolstoy, even to the point of refraining from 
participation in any function of government, and as 
far as possible from the enjoyment of any benefit 
of government, on the ground that all government 
is maintained in the last analysis by force of armp, 
and that the use of force was expressly forbidden 
by Jesus to his followers. At no point did Mr. 
Crosby flinch from the application of this princi- 
ple, stoutly maintaining, for instance, that there 
could be no such thing, and never was such a 
thing, aa a " holy war," on the ground that all war 
is in the last resort an effort by two men to take 
each other's lives, and by no stretch of imagina- 
tion could such a state of affairs be taken to be 
due to love of each other. Moreover, he argued, 
however "holy " might be the motives of the man 
or men to whom the war was due in the first place, 
nobody could assure the same condition of affairs 
in the hearts of all the men taking part in the war, 
and no act could be Christian or Christ-like which 
had not at its root brotherly love. He could not 
believe that Christ would look with approval upon 
forcible intervention, even in Armenia to-day, and 
argued that slavery could have been suppressed, or 
rather removed, from this country without the 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[December, 



bloodshed, and at much less than the still unceasing 
cost, of the civil war. Few who heard it will ever 
forget the ringing words with which he closed the 
meeting at which his last address was delivered, 
when in reply to an attack, thinly disguised in a 
seeming tribute to Tolstoy, upon the character of 
Jesus, he gave reason for the faith that was in him, 
and warmly urged his hearers to study the life and 
character of Jesus as described in the best availa- 
ble translations of the Gospels. 

DR. GLADDEN ON SOCIAL SERVICE. 

Dr. Washington Gladden was, as always, the pic- 
ture of self-control and the voice of optimistic 
earnestness. He spoke twice, once upon the theme 
" The True Socialism," and then upon the basis 
afforded for social reconstruction by the principles 
of the Sermon on the Mount. Dr. Gladden dis- 
appointed two classes of hearers, the ultra radicals, 
because, while very severe in his denunciation of 
the present social conditions, he still seemed to 
think the existing system could be used as a basis 
for what he called the "true socialism," and the 
ultra-conservatives, because he spoke for what 
seemed to them very drastic changes in the status, 
especially in the matter of the control of the pub- 
lic franchises, and of the great producing monopo- 
lies which might fairly be called " natural." He 
parted company with the orthodox socialist, go far 
as present measures are concerned, at least, at the 
point of their demand for the socializing of the 
minor forms of private enterprise in production. 
Very high indeed was the standard set by this 
speaker for the ideal of social service. The public 
officer, he holds, is no more bound to view his office 
as a public trust than is the private citizen in his 
conduct of the branch of business in his charge- 
Every work that is proper to do at all is to be 
thought of in its social aspects. All work should 
be infused with the motive of rendering the larg- 
est service to fellow men. " From this point of 
view," said Dr. Gladden, " the scavenger who sees 
in his work a social service is a public benefactor, 
and the lawyer who cares only for himself is a 
public fool." He was especially unsparing in his 
denunciation of gamblers, " who produce nothing, 
distribute nothing, but make their living at the 
expense of the community." Whether they gam- 
ble in the cheap hells of the criminal sections of 
the great cities, or in the more " respectable " pre- 
cints of the stock exchange, the}' are all parasites, 
Dr. Gladden said, and so far as the social service is 
concerned are to be classed with the sneak thieves. 

PROPERTY OR HUMANITY MOST IMPORTANT? 

The second of Dr. Gladden's addresses, on the 
Sermon on the Mount, was not a Bible study, 
or an analytical examination of thie New Testa- 
ment account of the words of Christ. It dealt 



chiefly with the ideal of universal brotherhood, as 
derived from the Universal Fatherhood, and with 
the present conflict between property and human- 
ity. At the outset, the'speaker raised the question 
whether the relations of men to each other should 
be regarded as having only an economic basis. In 
his stirring appeal against the purely economic in- 
terpretation of society, Dr. Gladden argued that 
slavery was the natural outcome of such an inter- 
pretation. Said he, " The habit of regarding the 
separate possession of private property as the ulti- 
mate ideal of social life leads inevitably to the 
Cain-like saying, ' I have paid this man what was 
nominated in the bond; what more have I to do 
with him?'" For a full application of the princi- 
ples of the Sermon on the Mount to all social 
relations the speaker pleaded. Christianity, he de- 
clared, is not a lubricant for those parts of a heart- 
less machine which bind and squeak, but a law of 
social and individual existence, which is to be ap- 
plied to all the relations of human life. " Shall 
brotherhood be tributary to property, or property 
to brotherhood? " was a question which seemed to 
have but one possible answer. Dr. Gladden left no 
possible doubt as to his belief in the necessity of 
a new heart in the individuals of society. " You 
cannot make an altruistic result by the mere ad- 
dition of egoistic units," said he, "the only per- 
manent or tolerable socialism would be that based 
upon individual units inspired by an altruistic 
ideal, and co-operating on a basis, not of property, 
but of personality." 

" THE MONEY OF THE NEW CONSCIENCE." 

A very striking and altogether remarkable 
address was that of Mr. Henry Demarest Lloyd, 
the now famous biographer of the Standard Oil 
Company, and to-day the most formidable because 
the best informed and most fearless enemy of the 
great trusts and monopolies. Mr. Lloyd's topic 
was " The Money of the New Conscience." The 
novelty of the title, together with the assurance 
that Mr. Lloyd would speak of the question of the 
currency, attracted a large audience, perhaps the 
largest of the week. Those who expected a mere 
polemic were disappointed, for Mr. Lloyd's ad- 
dress was eminently constructive. On the point 
of the coinage, Mr. Lloyd expressed his belief 
that the money of justice could not be based upon 
either gold or silver, or any other single com- 
modity, whose price was variable, but upon the 
coinage of all commodities, so to speak, as has been 
practically done in times of financial distress by the 
issuance of clearing-house certificates and similar 
paper evidences of faith based upon securities of all 
kinds, and representing wealth of nearly all sorts. 
The need of money reform Mr. Lloyd conceded, but 
it seemed to him that none of the proposed methods 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



was adequate, or made possible the carrying out 
under it of the Golden Rule. There must be a 
reform all along the line, and it must be based 
upon the consideration of the best interests of all 
mankind. A new conscience must be brought to 
bear upon the problems of the time, and infused 
into all the relations of society. " The new con- 
science," said Mr. Lloyd, " is that in a man which 
rises up in him to protest against the things which 
are iu the interest of the things which ought to be." 
An adequate money reform, he thought, would go 
far to employ the idle labor of the world. " And if 
the idle labor of the world could be employed, if 
the idle soldiers of the world could be set to work, 
and if all the other idlers could be turned from 
their idleness, we could do anything in the world 
that we wanted to do. The first year, we could 
take the women and children out of the shops and 
factories and send them home, to stay home The 
second year, we could buy up all the monopolies 
and begin to administer them for the benefit of the 
people. The third year, we could rebuild the 
slums in all the cities of the world. The fourth 
year we could give to every child the beginnings 
of an education which could go on to college and 
university. The fifth year, by applying labor 
adequately to cleanliness and isolation and proper 
nursing,we could abolish all the contagious diseases. 
The sixth year, we could pay all the national 
debts of the world. And the seventh year 
"and the seventh year," he cried, with rising 
emphasis and eagerness, " the seventh year, we 
could do what we are told the Creator of the Uni- 
verse did after His six days' labor of creation. 
We could rest, and look upon our work and behold 
that it was good." 

Nobody who heard Mr. Lloyd without prejudice 
could fail to be impressed with his earnestness, or 
the high moral tone of his ideals. At least twice 
repeated, this sentiment of his was applauded to 
the echo: "Repudiation and Revolution are words 
which have no place in the vocabulary of a self- 
governing people." 

SOCIAL PROGRESS GROWTH OF HUMAN LIFE. 

Professor Charles R. Henderson, of the Univer- 
sity of Chicago, represented the more conservative 
side of the discussion in his paper under the title, 
" Social Reconstruction, a Growth of Human Life." 
Against violent catastrophes and the expectation 
of them, on the one hand, and against a mere 
laissez faire reliance upon the blind forces of 
" Nature " to bring about righteousness and justice 
in human conditions, on the other hand, Professor 
Henderson urges that these three things should be 
remembered; first, that social reconstruction is a 
vital process; second, and more than that, it is a 
Ii a mil it, vital process, involving not merely a bio- 



logical development, but the education of men. It 
was upon this point that Professor Henderson 
made his emphasis. The necessity and the oppor- 
tunity for intelligent control of this process he 
dwelt upon at length, showing that intelligence 
and morality must grow together " up to human- 
ity." A broad scope must be given to all adminis- 
trations. No one in all the conference was more 
insistent than Professor Henderson, upon the 
necessity for a social estimate of the stewardship of 
property, especially the property of an educative 
kind, as in the cases of art and literature. "Art is 
not safe," he said, for instance, "as the private 
possession of an individual or class of indivi- 
duals. Statues and other beautiful things are not 
a blessing when confined to'the mansions of the 
wealthy. The money of men must not be hoarded, 
or spent as the _selfish possession of the favored 
few. It must be spent for the benefit of the many. 
It must be spent for schools, and if it is not spent 
for schools, then it will be necessary to spend it for 
rifles and for soldiers, to kill." He thought it a 
cause for rejoicing that the workingmen were dis- 
contented, since it showed the infinite possibilities 
for progress. As to the church, in answer to a 
question, Dr. Henderson gave it a broad place in 
his economy of society, but thought it ought not to 
be expected to take the place of agencies better 
adapted to do many things required of it in the de- 
mands of some classes of its critics. Those who 
took chief exception to his view were the more 
radical anarchists, one of whom, agreeing with 
much that the professor had said, still maintained 
that while the processes of evolution might be 
slow, their climaxes were always swift and sudden, 
and in human affairs had always taken the world 
by surprise. 

MISS ADDAMS ON ETHICAL IMPULSES. 

Miss Jane Addams, of Hull House, spoke rather 
briefly but with great sweetness, as always, upon 
the theme, "Ethical Impulses Working Toward 
Social Reconstruction." Her practical mind found 
its utterance in her insistence that even the high- 
est moral ideas must have their basis in the con- 
crete relations of life, and yet the ethical standards 
must be those above, not those of our contempo- 
raries. Miss Addams was another who thought the 
progress of the world must be more or less slow, 
working step by step for the elevation of the 
masses of men, not so much by the upward leaps 
of the few favored individuals, as by the slow 
spirals gained by painful working on through 
average advance of the many. The church's mis- 
sion, she thought, was to adjust the lives of men to 
ideals and to conditions. 

Because there was no interval for discussion 
between Miss Addarns's paper and that of Mr. 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[December, 



Crosby, which immediately followed, many points 
which might have been instructive in further dis- 
cussion were overlooked. 

WHAT FABIANISM HAS DONE FOR SOCIALISM. 

It was hoped that Mrs. Florence Kelley would 
present the Marxian view of socialism, but she was 
unable to do so on account of pressing duties, and 
Professor John Graham Brooks, of Cambridge, 
Mass., reviewed briefly yet clearly the whole field 
of socialism under his lesser title of "The Fabian 
Movement." Very forcibly he presented the view 
of the practical problems which, as he said, had 
raised the issue between facts and the fine phrases 
of theory. Psychology is the question at the bot- 
tom of it all, Professor Brooks thinks, and in the 
meeting of social crises we must consider many 
things of soul and of society which some theorists 
are very loth to take into account. He laid em- 
phasis upon the service of the Fabian principles of 
deliberation, investigation and experiment in clear- 
ing the ground of false and useless issues. Espe- 
cial emphasis he placed upon the discovery through 
the Fabian method of an extra- economic element, 
a moral force, leading to the conscious regulation 
of the conditions of the struggle for existence, in 
order to make it as fair as possible. " I am tired," 
he said, " of the constant reference to the ' fight ' 
between individualism and socialism, as if it must 
be either one or the other. It is no longer a ques- 
tion of ' either, or,' but of both till the end of the 
chapter." Upon this duality of principle he dwelt 
with especial emphasis, seeking to show that both 
the principles of socialism and individualism were 
persistent conditions of human life and progress. 

A spicy discussion followed Mr. Brooks's address, 
for some of the workingmen pressed him closely 
for an answer to the question, Has the condition of 
the working classes improved in the competitive 
battle with labor-saving machinery? The stress of 
the evening came upon this question, for there 
were present several men of several classes in- 
cluding at least one employer of labor in manu- 
factures, who upon his unqualified affirmative, and 
statement that wages have beyond a doubt greatly 
increased, presented very strongly the view that 
while the wages of the men who are employed have 
doubtless risen, and while the condition of those 
who are able to purchase the fruits of the new ma- 
chinery has doubtless shown improvement, there 
is a vast and increasing class of those dislodged by 
machinery who never make up what they lose; and 
when the increase in the wages of those who have 
work is averaged with the pittance or the nothing 
of those whom machinery has thrown out of the 
ranks of skilled labor altogether, it will be found 
that the working classes have not profited, gen- 
erally speaking, by the encroachments of machin- 



ery. One of the workiugmen put this view very 
searchingly when he asked of Professor Brooks, 
" Isn't this Fabian Society purely a middle class 
movement?" And upon the affirmative reply, 
added, " Well, let the present trend of economic 
conditions continue but a very short time, and 
there will not be any middle-class left to carry on 
any such movement!" 

THE NEW EDUCATION. 

The tremendous forces which the new education 
is setting at work for the reforming of society were 
indicated with great power and discernment by 
Professor John Dewey, of the University of Chi- 
cago, who spoke on the topic, " The Relation of 
Education to Social Reform." The power of edu- 
cation for good or ill in both individual and social 
spheres is commonly admitted, but it is when a 
man like Professor Dewey analyzes the situation 
and points out the places where the real education 
begins the formation of character, that the import- 
ance of the subject is to some degree appreciated. 
For, as Professor Dewey said, it is education, even 
in the more formal sense of the deliberate training^ 
of the schools, that comes nearest and goes furthest 
down in making or marring the balance between 
the individual and the social forces that determine 
character. Education, in his view, might be de- 
fined as the concentration of all the best social 
resources so as rightly to shape and modify the 
individual character. It is therefore the chief and 
most important instrument of social progress. It 
was to the question of the needed reconstruction of 
educational methods themselves that Professor 
Dewey devoted himself chiefly, for as he said, if 
education is to become a means of social recon- 
struction it must itself be radically reformed. 
There must be more socialization and democrat- 
ization of the schools. The ideals must be less 
individualistic. They must be required to be and 
to do more what the home and the neighborhood 
used to do and to be. There must be less o! books 
and more of life. That is an ideal school in which 
society begins to organize itself. Thus the whole 
education should be an active industrial training, 
that it may be seen what the typical forms of life 
are in relation to the social value. Professor 
Dewey pleaded especially for tolerance toward the 
new methods on the part of the public, and that in 
press and speech, critics should refrain from de- 
nouncing as "fads" the things which were doing so 
much to socialize the forces of education. 

AS TO THE SINGLE LAND TAX. 

The fact that the problems of our day are more 
and more proving to be ethical at their root and in 
their bearing was nowhere better attested than in 
the reception accorded to Mr. Edward O. Brown's 



1896. J 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



able paper on the Single Tax. Mr. Brown pre- 
sented more particularly the economic aspects of 
the subject, but it was the question of the justice 
of the land tax, as a method of raising the revenue 
needed for the expenses of government, that 
attracted interett generally speaking more than 
casual. The conservative part of the audience 
criticised the proposed reform as too harsh in its 
effect upon existing values, and the more radical, 
believed that while the single tax might result 
practically in the nationalization of the land, the 
prop >sed method was too drastic to be accepted 
without a revolution by the powers that be in 
the world of finance and fiscal administration, 
and too moderate to make any part of a really 
acceptable platform of social reconstruction. Not a 
few there were in the audience who had never heard 
anything more than the name of the single tax, and 
to these the paper was deeply interesting, in that 
it presented the question of the possibility of 
practically abolishing the present system of taxa- 
tion upon industry, and substituting a tax system 
which should return to the community that part of 
the increase in the value of land which by its pres- 
ence as a community it alone creates, rather than to 
have all the " unearned increment " revert to the 
"owner" of the land, who does nothing to make it 
more valuable than it was before. 

CO-OPERATION AND THE LABOR EXCHANGE. 

Mr. Charles O. Boring represented more definite- 
ly than any other speaker on the programme the 
actual efforts toward practical co-operation which 
are making on the part of various people and corn- 
unities in these days. His topic was the proposi- 
tion, " Co-Opera 1 ion is Applied Christianity," and 
like most of the other papers of the conference his 
was an actual preaching of the gospel of brother- 
hood and love. Mr. Boring is one of the leading 
exponents of the theory of industrial co-operation 
in the United Slates, and is one of those who wel- 
comes everything that looks like a step in that 
direction, whatever its name, and whether it suits 
his own ideas as to detail or not. He drew strong- 
lessons from the success of the co-operative com- 
munities among the American aborigines before the 
intervention of "civilization " and the vices of the 
white man, and paid high tribute to the success of 
the Mormon form of co-operation in Utah, pictur- 
ing its magnificent results in redeeming the arid 
wastes and creating countless wealth, although 
much of the popular product was stolen by the 
aristocracy, the hierarchy and the priesthood. 

In connection with the address by Mr. Boring, 
the subject of the somewhat newly organized 
" Labor Exchange " was discussed as a practical 
carrying out into more or less successful operation 
of the idea of co-operation. Mr. Hanson, warden of 



the "St. Paul Commons," a settlement named after 
the Chicago Commons, and in which there -is the 
headquarters of a flourishing labor exchange, ex- 
plained its operation at some length and there was 
an animated and highly interesting discussion of 
its practicability and probable results, for a de- 
tailed account of which space is not here *available. 
The socialists among the audience were inclined to 
criticise the labor exchange on the ground that as 
soon as its product should come into competition 
with the great trusts and monopolies in the open 
market, as they must do in order to become a real 
factor in the industrial reorganization, they would 
be crushed to pieces, as far more powerful private 
concerns had always been crushed. But it was 
more generally conceded that the exchange offered 
at least a ray of hope that a practical way might be 
found to begin on a small scale to draw toward the 
day of the exchange of commodities on the basis 
of labor values. This discussion was probably the 
most practical of the conference from a standpoint 
regarding immediate measures. 

THE CAUTION TO THE DISCIPLES. 

The Christian ideal came up for discussion again 
in the strong and vivid address by Rev. Dr. Thomas 
C. Hall, of the Fourth Presbyterian Church of 
Chicago, who spoke of "Christ's Words to His 
Disciples in Matters of Reform." Dr. Hall is not 
held by the impression growing in some quarters, 
that Christ was in effect a socialist, He believes 
that very little that Jesus said can fairly be inter- 
preted as intended to teach a form of socialism. 
Far more important than either socialism or 
anarchism or any of the distinctions between them, 
in Dr. Hall's view, is the distinction which Jesus 
drew between those who desire righteousness and 
those who do not. It was to divide men into these 
two classes that Christ came, he said. Against 
idolatry, the worship of "isms" and definitions 
and names, as if even of single tax, or socialism, or 
any other mere form, Jesus raised the single issue 
of righteousness. It was this one thing, Right- 
eousness, that Dr. Hall emphasized throughout 
his address. As regards the church, he said, it is 
a piece of machinery, intended to incarnate in the 
world a spirit. It has made blunders, some very 
sad ones. It has turned to idols, of definition, and 
creed, of machinery and ceremonies. All these 
things are subordinate, however useful in their 
places, to righteousness. Jesus was no sooner gone 
than "orthodoxy" came into question. The im- 
portance of the one consideration, that of spirit, 
was lost sight of; the one great question, upon 
which Christ came to divide the world, " Do you 
(Continued on page 10.) 

*For further and detailed information regarding the 
Labor Exchange, address, "Secretary, Labor Exchange, I*. 
East Washington street, Chicago." 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[December, 



A MONTHLY RECORD OF 

SOCIAL SETTLEMENT 

LIFE AND WORK *. 




Vol. 1. No. 9 



December, 1896 



SUBSCKIPT1ON PRICE 

Twenty-five cents per year, postpaid to any State or 
Country. Single copies sent to any address upon applica- 
tion. For larger numbers, special terms may oe obtained 
on application. The publishers will be glad to receive 
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Changes of Address Please notify the publishers 
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To Other Settlements We mean to regard HS "pre- 
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to send CHICAGO COMMONS as a matter of course to all 
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Advertisements First-class advertisements desired 
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tion. 

AM, COMMUNICATIONS 

Relating to this publication should be addressed to the 
Managing Editor, JOHN F. GAVIT, Chicago Commons, 
140 North Union Street, Chicago, 111. 

Entered as Second Class Matter May 18, 1896, at the 
Post-Off^* at Chicago, 111. 

A HI NT of the blessed time of the prevalence 
of the conception of even a beautiful home 
as a social trust, " not your own," is given in the 
article on "Boulevard Settlements" in another 
column. 



IT IS in the settlements that the sombre side of 
the great festivals of the people are observed 
most clearly. Among the people who, by reason 
of unemployment, are without the necessaries of 
life, it is difficult to see undiminished the cheer of 
the Christmas. Nevertheless, the blessed minis- 
tries of the good friends of the Commons to those 
who in our neighborhood lacked the wherewithal 
to be merry, mitigated in a marked degree the sad- 
ness of the contrasts, and marked the beginnings 
of friendships full of promise. 



THE SOCIAL ECONOMIC CONFERENCE. 

Significant beyond tbe appreciation of the far- 
thest-seeing student of the times, startling in some 
of its aspects, hopeful bt-yond the dream of the 
most optimistic, the Social Economic conference 
just held under the auspices of Chicago Commons 
and Hull House, afforded an occasion of the deep- 



est interest for students of social phenomena. It 
was a marked sign of the times that the call for 
such a conference should bring out so diverse a 
gathering. Let no one doubt the presence of grave 
social issues or the consuming interest of all classes 
in these issues, let none suppose that the people 
are not ready to think and speak and act in mat- 
ters pertaining to the common interest, when under 
one roof and upon a common floor can be gathered 
twice a day for a full week a large audience, com- 
ing not to be amused or diverted, nor in the lower 
sense to be merely interested, but with great serious- 
ness of mind to look each other in the face and 
question together concerning the common interests 
of the race. Many men and women learned les- 
sons in that conference that will never be forgot- 
ten. Upon that floor minds of very differing kinds 
clashed together and learned each to respect the 
other. Men who had supposed themselves oppo- 
nents found that their quarrel had all the time been 
upon names rather than upon realities. Brethren 
who hitherto have regarded each other as rogues 
and villains unhung, discovered that their entire 
difference had been due to lack of acquaintance. 
The revolutionary socialist and the optimistic 
laissez faire found opportunity to explain them- 
selves each to the other. The agnostic and the 
disbeliever had their opportunity to express their 
opinion of Jesus and of the church, and the Chris- 
tian had occasion and took advantage of it, to give 
reason for the faith that is in him. It was inevi- 
table that some foolish things should be said, some 
very extreme things, some very false and mistaken 
things. And not all the foolish, or extreme, or 
mistaken, or false things, were said by either, or 
any one, side in the discussions. 

Some lessons were learned. All who saw and 
listened had opportunity to learn that no one side 
or school has a monopoly of the truth, that most 
men are honest and ready to be taught, that no 
point in an argument is ever gained by a man who 
cannot keep his temper, that nobody ever is con- 
vinced by abuse or epithets, that the way to bring 
men to see a thing is to show it to them, calmly 
and patiently and lovingly. Another thing that 
was learned by some who previously had doubted 
it, was the fact of which we have already spoken 
the safety of freedom of speech. This was a 
characteristic of the sessions, and it did everybody 
good, even in the cases wherein some person hith- 
erto entrenched in a casing of fancied infallibility, 
learned for the first time, with a shock, that things 
held by them as self-evident truths not to be ques- 
tioned or even discussed, were thought by men and 
women, equally honest, to be absurd. 

To us who are Christians, the most striking thing 
fcbout the sessions was the evidence constantly at 
hand of the continued authority conceded by me n 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



9 



of many opinions to the commands of Jesus. Even 
those who were most bitter in their denunciations 
of the church, in their ridiculing of all sorts of 
theological dogma, were ready to admit in the last 
analysis that they had no objection to the words or 
life or character of Jesus himself : indeed, the only 
thing they had to say against even the church, was 
that it had failed to live up to its own standard. 
Again and again it became evident that after all, 
the highest ideal of social service and character 
possible to the minds of even the most uncom- 
promising atheist of them all, was that offered by 
the service and character of Jesus. 

We turn from these sessions and look forward to 
those to come with the utmost confidence in their 
usefulness as an educative force, as an opportunity 
for folks of seemingly opposing thought to look 
into each other's faces and see truth and honesty 
in each other's eyes, as a time of truce between 
representatives of opposing, or apparently oppos 
ing, interests, as a means of peaceful outlook upon 
social life, as a kind of social safety-valve in these 
troubled and portentous times. 



THE ERA OF THE PEOPLE. 



One of the most pleasing signs of the new order 
of things, wherein the triumphs of industry and 
genius are to be regarded as above the achieve- 
ments of force or cunning, is to be noted in the 
designs of the new series of silver notes issued by 
the Treasury department. It ought to be occasion 
for rejoicing to all good men that the time has 
come when upon the currency of the nation 
the portraits and groups are not the mem- 
orials of the triumphs of nation over nation, scenes 
of battle, or even the heroes of international di- 
plomacy, but the waymarks of the nation's real 
prosperity. 

It has been remarked often that thus far, with a 
few marked exceptions, written history has been 
the account of wars and butcheries, of lewd and 
crafty kings and unscrupulous diplomatists, of 
aristocracies and oligarchies; that the real history 
of peoples has yet to be written. John Richard 
Green, in whose history of the " English people " 
was instituted nearly or quite the first rebellion 
against the former fashion of depicting only the 
transactions and alliances of the " upper classes," 
called notice to the fact that what we call Grecian 
history is only the history of the masters. The 
great mass of the Greeks were slaves, and we have 
no history of these. 

It is in this respect that the Hebrew history 
differs most remarkably from that of other nations. 
As a recent writer says, "the class of persons who 
in Greece are presented to us as the elect of society 
are denounced as Scribes and Pharisees and Hypo- 



crites, and they are accounted as more hopelessly 
immoral than the most abandoned classes in the 
community." The same writer says also that "the 
realization of an orderly and righteous democratic 
state for the human race will involve a reconstruc- 
tion of history." Of this reconstruction with regard 
to our own people there are a thousand evidences 
on all hands. This small matter of the pictures 
on the money-bills of the nation is only one; and 
all go to show that a new era has begun in which 
not the " great " man of the former history shall 
be accounted chief, but he who by skill of hand 
or mind or greatness of heart shall lead the people, 
all the people, into their inheritance of the earth. 



ABOUT the most insolent act of defiance of the 
public in the recent history of Chicago was 
the calm hold-up of the proposed four-cent fare 
for Chicago street railroads. It was as flagrant a 
case of bulldozing of a city government as could 
be imagined. When all the rapidly-accumulating 
evidence regarding street railroads is to the effect 
that at a three-cent fare the roads pay a good profit 
upon the investment, the threat of the Chicago 
officials to cut down in retaliation the wages of the 
employes, and the entire management by the com- 
panies of the campaign against the proposed re- 
duction was an insult to the intelligence and in- 
dependence of the citizens of Chicago. It is 
performances like this that are doing more than all 
the propaganda of socialists to hasten the day of 
the municipal management of the municipal trans- 
portation and communication. 



WE REJOICE to see the movement on foot to 
extend the enjoyment of art, or rather, the 
opportunity to enjoy art, into the settlement dis- 
tricts. The exhibition by Mr. and Mrs. Schreiber and 
Mrs. Proudfoot, of the "Christ-child pictures," for 
the benefit of a fund for art extension, is a move- 
ment in just the right direction, and should have 
the support of every one interested in the generous 
use of art privileges. The example of Mr. 
Schreiber, in devoting his art to the education of 
those who hitherto have not been thought to have 
any need of art, is one that might well be followed 
by many others. 

*** 

THE organization after long waiting, of a 
district of the Bureau of Charities to include 
the Eleventh, Seventeenth, Eighteenth and Nine- 
teenth wards of Chicago is cause for congratulation. 
It means a far more effective administration of the 
work in that district of the city, and an extension 
of the friendly visiting idea far beyond the point 
to which the settlements in the territory have thus 
far been able to carry it. It should have gener- 
ous support.. 



THE proportions of the several departments of 
our paper are sacrificed this month to the 
necessity of giving the fullest possible scope con- 
sistent with our space limits to the report of the 
Social Economic Conference. 



10 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[December, 



SOCIAL ECONOMIC CONFERENCE. 

(Continued from page 7.) 

want a divine order or are you satisfied with the 
present order?" was buried away in the dust of a 
host of other trivial questions, and it was in the 
blindness of these things that the church's blunders 
have been made. An immense amount of reform 
energy has been wasted while men have been cut- 
ting each other's throats in quarrels over non- 
essential matters. Very impressive and cordially 
applauded was Dr. Hall's warm emphasis upon the 
fact that there are more points upon which we can 
unite than there are upon which we can righteously 
separate. 

Jesus gave to his disciples very clearly, Dr. 
Hall declared, a method for their propaganda. 
The main thing was proclamation. "As ye go, 
preach, saying, ' The Kingdom of God is at hand.' 
And for this preaching, there were several matters 
of method. They were to know how to flee into 
another place, if unwelcome in one; they were not 
to seek martyrdom as a thing desirable for itself. 
They were to be wise as serpents and harmless as 
doves." In this connection Dr. Hall precipitated 
a further discussion of the matter of non-resistance, 
by declaring it as his opinion that Jesus did not 
intend to teach the extreme of non-resistance. It 
was the doctor's opinion that it was lawful to re- 
sist, even by violence, as far as it could be done 
without hating. Against sectarianism, and even 
denominationalism, the spirit of Jesus arose to 
recall his prayer, that " they may be one." 

THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD OP SOCIAL LIFE. 

Professor William Douglas Mackenzie, of Chi- 
cago Theological Seminary, closed the sessions of 
the conference with a memorable address on "The 
Christian Ideal in Social Reform." He struck the 
keynote for the sweet temper of his remarks, the 
night before the last, when he replied to a par- 
ticularly bitter attack upon the church. A work- 
ingman, discussing Dr. Hall's paper, had made 
what seemed to be an attack upon the character of 
Jesus, arraigning the church for many shortcom- 
ings, and Christianity for its failure to reform 
society. Professor Mackenzie, with characteristic 
sweetness and gentleness, turned the words back 
upon the speaker by showing that the very stand- 
ard by which he had judged the church and the 
Christianity it professed was the highest standard 
of which the mind of man was capable of thinking 
the standard of the life aud character of that 
same Jesus Christ! 

When he came to deliver his address, the fol- 
lowing evening, Prof. Mackenzie took up, as it 
were, the same thread of discourse, and his ad- 
dress was a fitting closing for the conference. 
Christians claim, said he, that Christ has brought 
nto the world the highest possible ideal of rational 



regular social progress. Such an ideal must be, 
first of all, universal. It must be definite, perma- 
nent, adaptable to every time and place and nation. 
It must be not only a sanction, but an inspiration, 
a command to life. To prove that despite the im- 
perfection of the obedience of those professing to 
obey the commands of Jesus, the Christian ideal 
had been of great actual influence in the world, 
Professor Mackenzie referred to three matters 
within common observation and knowledge. First, 
there is now such a phrase as " the rights of man." 
There was no such thing before Jesus Christ. He 
gave common human rights to the slave and the 
outcast equality of all men before God. When 
Jesus Christ said, " God is no respecter of persons," 
he shook every throne and every aristocracy. A 
second thing which Jesus Christ has done in the 
world is to make a beginning of the recognition of 
the honor of womanhood. The third thing to 
which the speaker referred was the spread of uni- 
versal education. " Along with the equal rights of 
man," said the professor, " goes the right of every 
child to have the best possible education. And 
education was first conceived of as a broad neces- 
sity of human life when the church wanted people 
to read the Bible. Universal education was never 
dreamed of till the Reformation." 

HOW SHALL THE IDEAL EXTEND? 

With regard to what the Christian ideal has 
yet to do in the world Professor Mackenzie 
would carry these points on into questions. " Does 
all Chicago yet believe in the universal equality 
of the rights of man? Does all Chicago yet honor 
womanhood? Does Chicago yet give equal oppor- 
tunity of education to every child? " There must 
be an extension of the ideas of the rights of man 
into the positive love of brother, exemplifying it- 
self in improved industrial relations and a reign of 
love among men. This can only be done from 
within the hearts of men. Mere smashing of ex- 
isting conditions can only create new problems, 
perhaps worse than those we have. The Christian 
ideal says that we can change society for the better 
only by changing the ideals in the hearts of men. 

AN EARNEST DISCUSSION. 

A very lively discussion followed Professor 
Mackenzie's address, but the professor proved him- 
self the equal of his interlocutors and critics. To 
one who declared that there was only a material 
bond between men, and that even the professor 
himself did not believe the things he had been 
preaching, but regarded it himself as a sort of 
" joke," he became sublime in eloquence. Amid 
the death-like silence in which the audience 
awaited his reply, he began: 

" Do you happen to know of a ' joke ' for which 
men will lay down their lives as men have laid 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



11 



down and will lay down for the Christian ideal? 
And as for the idea of human kinship which you 
have favored, that's the ideal that has made the 
world satanic, that has been the sum of all tyran- 
nies, and that has drowned brotherhood in rivers 
of blood !" 

The applause that followed this splendid out- 
burst was of long duration, and was again and 
again renewed. 

The professor was ready to admit to the socialist 
all that evil conditions may do to damage charac- 
ter, but said he, after all, character is what a man 
makes of himself in spite of his conditions when 
he masters his circumstances. In the question of 
the removal of the slums for instance, if conditions 
alter character, the 'problem will be how to get 
men to wish to change the conditions which are 
making their character. 

OPINIONS UPON THE CONFERENCE. 

After the conclusion of Professor Mackenzie's 
address, the audience remained to pass a vote of 
thanks to the settlements for the planning of the 
conferences, and for a short discussion of the gen- 
eral subject of the discussion of these topics. The 
criticisms passed at this time, taken together with 
those offered from time to time during the sessions 
and since, went far to attest the moderation from 
both points of view of those who spoke, and the 
probability that the questions were as concrete as 
the times permitted and as broad in scope as 
was consistent with a measure of timeliness, and 
that all sides had fair play. It was even amusing 
to find on the one hand, the more conservative 
among those who attended declaring that thediscus- 
sions were dangerously radical, and on the other, 
those of the revolutionary schools insisting that 
there was nothing in the entire conference that 
really faced the questions of the hour. One went so 
far as to declare the whole thing "dish-water." 
While on the one hand, those of agnostic and athe- 
istic tendencies felt that there had been "too much 
religion and Christianity" in the discussions, there 
were ministers who thought the Gospel had not 
been preached sufficiently. The vast majority of 
opinion, however, was that substantial progress to- 
ward mutual understanding and respect had been 
made, and that future conferences would be 
awaited with the assurance that they were well 
worth while, and were capable of being made occa- 
sions of great social value. 

For the next conference, which it is planned to 
hold in the late winter or early spring, no subject 
has yet been selected'. It is hoped that those in- 
terested will take occasion without reserve to send 
such suggestions as they may care to make, both 
as to subject and as to the manner of conducting the 
conferences, to the settlements, in writing. These 
suggestions may be addressed to Miss Jane Addams, 
Hull House; to Professor Graham Taylor, 140 
North Union Street, or to the editor of CHICAGO 
COMMONS. J. P. G. 



Settlement anfc 




CHICAGO COMMONS. 

14O North Union Street, at Milwaukee Avenue. 

(Reached by all Milwaukee avenue cable and electric cars; 
or by Grand avenue or Halsted str> et electric cars, stopping 
at corner of Austin avenue and Halsted street, one blocfc 
west of Union street.) 



CHICAGO COMMONS is a Social Settlement located 
on North Union street, two doors from the southwest cor- 
ner of Milwaukee avenue and the crossing of Union street 
upon Milwaukee and Austin avenues. 

Object. As explained in the second clause of the Articles 
of Incorporation of the Chicago Commons Association, filed 
with the Secretary of the State of Illinois: 

"2. The object for which it is formed is to provide a center for a 
higher civic and social life to Initiate and maintain religious, educa- 
tional and philanthropic enterprises and to Investigate and improve 
conditions in the industrial districts of Chicago." 

Or, as the explanatory circular of the settlement has ex- 
plained it : 

" As exemplified at Chicago Commons, the Social Settlement con- 
sists primarily of a group of people who choose to make their home 
in that part of the great city where they seem to be most needed, 
rather than where the neighborhood offers the most of privilege or 
social prestige." 

Support. The work is supported in addition to what the 
residents are able to pay for rent of rooms, by the f ree-will 
gifts of those who believe in what the work stands for. The 
gift of any person is welcomed, and the contributions are 
both occasional and regular, the latter being paid in in- 
stalments, monthly, quarterly and annually, at the conven- 
ience of the giver. 

Visitors, singly or in groups, are welcome at any time, 
but the residents make especial effort to be at home on 
Tuesday afternoon and evening. 

Information concerning the work of Chicago Commons 
is gladly furnished to all who Inquire. A four-page leaflet,, 
bearing a picture of our residence, and other literature de- 
scribing the work will be mailed to any one upon applica- 
tion. Please enclose postage. 

Residence All inquiries with reference to terms and 
conditions of residence, permanent or temporary, should be 
addressed to GRAHAM TAYLOR, Resident Warden. 



OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CHRISTMAS. 



Holiday Week of Simple but Enjoyable Observances 
by Old and Young. 



Our pleasant Sunday afternoon opened the quiet 
festivities of the holiday week with a delightful 
foretaste of Christmas song, story and spirit. At 
four o'clock the bare walls and white-washed floor- 
beams of our humble assembly hall encircled a 
throng of our neighbors and not a few friends of 
the house from distant parts of the city. When 
piano and violin had hushed all hearts and drawn 
them together, the " Reliques of the Christ," that 
modern poem which breathes so much of the med- 
ieval mysticism, was read by the chairman. Then 



12 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[December, 



the Chicago Commons adult chorus, reinforced by 
some kindly voices from the University of Chicago 
settlement, sang several sweet Christmas carols, 
interspersed among which were Hans Christian 
Anderson's story of " The Fir Tree," read by Miss 
Blood, president of the Columbian School of Ora- 
tory, and a sweet old German Christ-child legend, 
recited by Mrs. George L. Schreiber. The angel's 
song from St. Luke was read, and the violin called 
us to prayer by its sweetly solemn "Ave Maria." A 
moment of silence, broken by all voices in unison 
praying " Our Father," was followed by a few sim- 
ple words about the Word becoming our flesh, that 
about each one of us there might be "peace on 
earth and good will to men." Hearts blended as 
*very voice helped swell the chorus, "Home, Sweet 
Home," and with many a kindly greeting and ten- 
der pressure from hard hands our pleasant Sunday 
Afternoon closed. 

THE KINDERGARTEN FESTIVAL. 

The Women's Club Christmas week meeting was 
signalized by the kindly presence and gracious 
speech of Mrs. Ellen M. Henrotin, who urged upon 
responsive ears the advantages of the federation of 
all women's clubs. The kindergarten festival came 
next, and around the tree as happy a group of 
mothers and children gathered as can be described. 
Simple little presents which came from far and 
wide made each mother and child equally happy, 
and as a memento of the neighborly feast there 
was taken to each home a little copy of some great 
masterpiece portraying the Madonna and the Holy 
Ohild, each encircled by a bright frame-work 
woven by the fingers of the little ones themselves. 
A second time the Christmas tree glowed with its 
good cheer for the Girls' Clubs, who, with their 
young lady friends from Evanston, made merry, 
and, parting, each took a picture and story of the 
Christ-child, daintily bound, as their keepsake of 
the goodly fellowship. 

Then followed the time honored observances at 
the neighborhood church by the Tabernacle Sun- 
day School and the Industrial School, with their 
separate songs, gifts, stories and stereopticon pic- 
tures. 

DISTRIBUTING CHRISTMAS DINNERS. 

The pleasantest i'eature of the Christmas Day 
was the arrival from Oak Park of three wagon 
loads of provisions, with a company of young men 
under the command of Mr. Edward Payson, who 
distributed the goods to the needy families of the 
Commons neighborhood, thus not only making 
glad the hearts of many saddened by the prospect 
of passing the Christmas with empty stomachs, (as 
not a few would have had to do) but better than all 
that, 'learning the lesson of humar sympathy 
through actual contact with those whom they 
sought to help, and making the beginnings at least 



of friendships which will continue, and which are 
quite as valuable to those helping as to those 
helped. Through other friends this ministry to 
those who would have had no Christmas cheer was 
extended to still other neighbors with great success 
and enjoyment to all concerned. 

Yet in store for us are these three good things: 
The visit on December 28 of the Hull House 
Women's Club, Jane Club and Shakespeare Club 
to our Girl's Progressive and Women's Clubs ; the 
Christmas entertainment to be given at Central 
Music Hall on the afternoon of Dec. 30, in which 
the Christ-child will be portrayed in art and song 
by stereopticon pictures from the masters, and 
singing by children's choruses and eminent solo- 
ists, for the benefit of a fund for the extension of 
art and music among the people surrounding five 
Chicago Settlements; and, last but by no means 
least, the boys' New Year's Night. Somewhere in 
between, should there prove to be any "between- 
times," the Commons' household will be at home 
with each other. 



BEQUEST TO THE CHILDREN. 



Memorial of Miss Mary I.. Harmon in a Loving 
Gift to Little Ones Whom She Laved. 



Doubly precious to us is the gift of a much 
needed piano for the Chicago Commons kinder- 
garten. Almost the whole story is told by the in- 
scription on the piano, in gold letters: 

" This piano is the bequest of Miss Mary L. Harmon, of 
Chicago, for the use and benefit of little children whom the 
owner dearly loved." 

Miss Harmon's was one of those sweet lives 
which with possibilities of a bright career are 
nevertheless devoted voluntarily to the quiet minis- 
tries of home life and the enjoyment of the smaller 
circles of loving friends. She was the daughter of 
Isaac D. and Annie M. Harmon, of Chicago, and 
though born in Peru, 111., passed the larger part of 
her life, and died, in this city. Miss Harmon ob- 
tained her academic education at the famous 
school of Dio Lewis at Lexington, Mass. An ap- 
preciative sketch of her life, placed in our hands 
by one of her friends, gives us the facts above, 
pays tribute to her exceptional literary abilities, 
and adds these words of description which could 
not be true of any but a fine, sweet soul: "She 
could make flowers flourish where others failed; 
all dumb animals were her friends, she loved and 
had a wonderful control over them. She was one 
of the most humane of women, and to the utmost 
extent of her ability she succored the needy and 
distressed. In the- bequest of her piano to the 
'Commons' her wishes will be gratified, for she 
dearly loved little children and they loved her in 
return." 



1896.] 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



13 



Sifce Higbt Sketches, 



A LITTLE story that came to us in a roundabout 
way illustrates a number of things in which the 
settlements believe; not least the influence of the 
good music which it is a part of the work of the 
settlements to extend. During the morning exer- 
cises in one of the schools in a ward in which a 
settlement has influence, the children began to call 
for the song " Holy Night," and "The First Christ- 
mas." The teacher did not know the songs and 
asked where they had learned them. 

"Oh, at the singing class at the " Kindergarten/' 
(So the settlements are generally known in their 
neighborhoods). 

The result was that the children at the request 
of the teacher and pupils alike, stood up and sang 
the songs and since then have been teaching them 
to the school, to the great delight of all con- 
cerned. * 



No MORE impressive sight falls under the eye 
in the industrial districts of a great city than the 
mighty tide of human life that surges back and 
forth along some great thoroughfare on the way to 
and from the factories and shops. Such a sight 
may be seen twice a day by the residents of the 
Commons as the procession of the workers marches 
up and down Milwaukee avenue past the door. 
Five hundred men and women have been counted 
within three minutes passing the front windows of 
the Commons. Often has it brought to mind those 
stirring verses of Thomas Wentworth Higginson: 

From street and square, from hill and glen 
Of this vast world beyond my door, 

I hear the tramp of marching men, 
The patient armies of the poor. 

The halo of the city's lamps 
Hangs, a vast torchlight, in the air; 

I watch it, through the evening damps, 
The masters of the world are there. 

Not ermine clad, nor throned in state, 
Their title deeds not yet made plain; 

But waking early, toiling late, 
The heirs of all the earth remain. 

Some day, by laws as fixed and fair 
As guide the planets in their sweep, 

The children of each outcast heir 
The harvest fruit of Time shall reap. 

The peasant's brain shall yet be wise, 
The untamed pulse grow calm and still, 

The blind shall see, the lowly rise, 
And work in peace God's wondrous will. 

Some day, without a trumpet's call, 
This news shall o'er the world be blown; 

The heritage comes back to all. 
The myriad monarchs take their own ! 



THE FACTORY SYSTEM 



Fourth Study of the Movement and Social Con- 
dition of Labor. 



FIRST GROWTHS OF MACHINE PRODUCTION. 



Epoch-Making Inventions which Revolutionized the 

Industrial "World. Stealing a Silk Process 

from Italy. First American 

Machinery. 



[Bv PROFESSOR GRAHAM TAYLOR.] 

The evolutionary character of the " Industrial 
Revolution," which in the middle of the eighteenth 
century overthrew the domestic system of manu- 
facture and introduced the factory, is discoverable 
even where least observed. For even the startling 
inventions which about this time seemed to burst 
all at once upon the industrial horizon, and actually 
produced such a sudden overthrow of time-honored 
crafts and conditions in the working world, are 
upon closer view seen to be not without antecedent 
causes and genealogical descent. 

INVENTIONS ARE GROWTHS, NOT FLASHES. 

The four great inventions which revolutionized 
the textile art, the spinning-jenny, the water- frame, 
the mule, and the power-loom, were not, as is pop- 
ularly supposed, the sudden effects of a single idea 
flashing instantly upon a single brain. They grew 
Their growth was due to necessity of overcoming 
practical difficulties in the way of supplying one 
of the greatest wants of life. The weaver had 
woven far faster than the spinster could spin. 
John Kay's fly-shuttle invented in 1738, accelerated 
the weaver's natural pace by enabling one man to 
weave as fast and as much as two shuttle-throwers. 
But with John Wyatt's spinning contrivance which 
appeared the same year, the spinster started upon 
the brilliant spurt in the race, by which she dis- 
tanced the weaver. For by his more promissory 
than effective invention it was shown that the 
single pair of hands which had been spinning a 
single thread could multiply the product twenty, a 
hundred or a thousand fold. The failure of Wyatt's 
appliance only stimulated others to overcome the 
difficulties which he had failed to solve. Har- 
greaves, a poor handweaver finding the spinning- 
wheel of his wife Jenny overturned upon his cot- 
tage floor, caught from the continued revolution of 
the wheel the suggestion of the horizontal wheel 
and perpendicular spindles. And the spinning- 
jenny began to whirl in 1764. But his neighboring 
spinsters, not willing that one should do the work 
of eight, broke into his cottage and destroyed his 
machine, driving the inventor to Nottingham, there 



14 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



[December, 



to found its world-famous industry. His success 
in spinning the woof prompted Richard Ark- 
wright, a barber's assistant, to produce the 
warp. Notwithstanding the destruction of his 
models by his wife, and the deferring of his hopes 
by poverty, his water-frame completed the founda- 
tion of the new cotton industry in 1770. Six years 
later Samuel Crompton, another young weaver 
combined the jenny and the water-frame in his 
" mule," which increased the fineness of the fibre 
from 80 to 350 hanks of yarn to the pound, so that 
from one pound of cotton a thread 160 miles long 
could be spun. Thus the spinster had distanced 
the weaver, when Edmund Cartwright, a clergy- 
man, hearing that "so much cotton would be spun 
that hands would never be found to weave," re- 
plied, "that Arkwright must then set his wits to 
work to invent a weaving mill." Within three 
years, 1784, he had himself invented the power- 
loom. " The present spinning machinery, which 
we now use, is supposed to be a compound of about 
800 inventions. The present carding machinery, 
is a compound of about sixty patents." The steam 
engine through Watt's inventiveness in 1769 began 
to supply power to move the myriad looms which 
soon brought the weaver abreast of the spinster. 
Transportation and means of communication soon 
followed in the development of the canal system 
from 1777, in the improvement of the roads from 
1818, and in the construction of the first railway in 
1830. Mr. Greet e in his history of the English 
people, thus links this chain of progress together: 
" At the time when Hargreaves and Arkwright 
were struggling to make their inventions available, 
the enterprise of a duke and the ingenuity of a 
millwright, not only solved the problem of dis- 
tribution, which the trade of the country was forc- 
ing upon England, and which improved cotton 
machinery was sure to complicate, but they paved 
the way by constructing canals for the greatest 
application of the steam engine, which could not 
have played its part in establishing the factory 
system without means of distributing coal, and the 
system itself, without the steam engine, would have 
been a feeble institution." 

A CLOSE SECRET AND THE OPENING WORLD. 

The movement of life to open the world to every- 
one proved too strong for the effort of trade and 
national selfishness to keep inventive secrets close. 
But the way in which they were wrested and 
yielded, is a sorry comment on the ethics of com- 
merce. Two illustrations are characteristic of the 
process. Long after the silk industry had found 
lodgment in England, rumors of an unknown and, 
greatly improved method of manufacture in 
Italy began to be whispered, to account for the 
smuggling of foreign goods in large quantities into 
the country. The cocoons were said to be unwound 
by machinery resembling a great water-driven 
corn-mill, capable of producing an unlimited 
-quantity of the delicate tibre, so difficult to un- 
wind by hand. Three brothers named Lombe who 
were conducting the business of silk-throwers in 
London determined to discover, and if possible ap- 
propriate the process. The youngest of them, 
John, was sent to Leghorn for the purpose in 1715. 
In various disguises, and under different pretexts, 
and by generous use of his money he gained access 
to the factory, but failed to see the machinery. 



Ingratiating himself to the confidence of the priest 
who was the father confessor of the proprietor, he 
secured through him, for charity's sake a boy's 
place in attendance upon a spinning-engine, and 
was allowed to sleep in the mill. The secret was his. 
Piece by piece drawings of the machinery passed 
from him through the hands of the priest to the 
agents of the Lombe brother, hidden in bales of 
silk consigned to London. Great was the risk thus 
hazarded. The penalty prescribed for even attempt- 
ing to discover this art was death, and the lorfeit- 
uie of all goods, and the infamy of being painted 
in effigy on the outside of the prison walls hanging 
from the gallows by one foot. To escape with his 
life from the suspicions sure to be aroused by 
withdrawal from the mill, was the last act in this 
tragedy. No sooner was he missed than an Italian 
war vessel was dispatched in pursuit of the Eng- 
lish merchantman, which however, outsailed its 
pursuer and safely landed the bold " captain of in- 
dustry." The story runs that, " After Mr. Louibe's 
return to England, an Italian priest was much in 
his company, that the young man died at 29 years 
of ago, and that an Italian female sent to England 
with a commission to poison him, succeeded in so 
doing." The success of the experiment is said 
however, to have been satisfactory as "the modest 
little sum 120,000 pounds was made out of the un- 
dertaking." If this story from Knight's " Old 
England," Book 7, Chap. 2, is credible, Italy and not 
England, was the birthplace of the first factory, in 
the modern sense of the term. 

FIRST AMERICAN MACHINERY. 

The transference of machine production from 
England to America is well-nigh as striking. The 
English Parliament, between 1774 and 1781, had 
enacted the severest penalties against exporting to 
America textile machinery. The packing or ship- 
ping of any such implement, model or plan was 
outlawed and punished by forfeiture, fine and im- 
prisonment. The emigration of artisans was also 
interdicted. Smuggling or invention was the only 
recourse of the colonists, both being aided by an 
American boycott on English manufactured goods, 
and by heavy duiies laid upon importation. Sam- 
uel Slater won President Jackson's designation as, 
" The Father of American Manufacturers," after 
this fashion. At fourteen years of age he had 
been apprenticed to Arkwright's money partner, 
Mr. Strutt, at Milford, England. Accidently notic- 
ing in an American paper the offer of bounties for 
the production of cotton-machinery, he memorized 
the construction of the machinery then being set 
up under his supervision in a new mill in course 
of erection. Partly evading the law by carrying 
the plans, models and specifications in his head, in- 
stead of his hands, he nevertheless, out of his own 
head, and chiefly with his own hands reproduced 
the machinery and set it in operation for the first 
time in America in Pawtucket, R. I., December 20, 
1790. In 1814 the first factory in the world " in 
which all the processes involved in the manufac- 
ture of goods from the raw material to the finished 
product, were carried on in one establishment by 
successive steps mathematically considered under 
one harmonious system," was organized and 
operated by Francis C. Lowell of Boston in Wal- 
tham, Mass. " So," adds Mr. Carroll D. Wright, 
" America furnished the stone which completed the 



1896. J 



CHICAGO COMMONS. 



15 



industrial arch of the factory system of manufac- 
ture." 

FACTORY SYSTEM DEFINED. 

.No better descriptive definition of the factory 
system is known to us than that given by Commis- 
sioner Wright in the Tenth United States Census. 
"A factory is an establishment where several 
workmen are collected for the purpose of ob- 
taining greater and cheaper conveniences for 
labor than they could procure individually at their 
homes; for producing results by their combined 
efforts which they could not accomplish separately; 
and for preventing the loss occasioned by carrying 
articles from place to place during the several 
processes necessary to complete their manufacture. 
The principle of a factory is, that each laborer, 
working separately, is controlled by some associat- 
ing principle, which directs his producing powers 
to effect a common result, which it is the object 
collectively to attain. Factories are therefore the 
legitimate outgrowth of the universal tendency to 
association, which is inherent in our nature, and 
by the development of which all industrial suc- 
cesses have been gained; and from this principle 
springs the necessity for sub-division of labor with- 
out which the factory system would have met with 
but feeble growth. The minute sub-division of 
labor required an equally extensive power of com- 
bination, to unite the several parts so that their 
aggregate shall produce one harmonious result. 
The type-founder is never allowed to forget that 
he is working for the compositor: the compositor 
has constant reference to the pressman; the press- 
man to the folder, and the folder to the binder. The 
factory is therefore, in broad terms, an association 
of separate occupations conducted in one establish- 
ment in order to facilitate the combination of the 
processes into which most branches of manufac- 
turers are divided." 

It will thus be seen how naturally and neces- 
sarily the farmhouse workroom under the domestic 
system was supplanted by the mill and the factory 
town. The machinery simply required more space 
and strength of walls than the cottage could afford, 
and the country neighborhood could not supply the 
hands to run it, which nothing less than a large 
town or great city could gather and shelter. 

The philosophy of this industrial history is by 
no one better thought out and set forth, than by 
Hobson in his " Evolution of Modern Capitalism." 
While stoutly maintaining the evolutionary origin 
of machine production as against " the heroic 
theory," he admits that early in the eighteenth 
century a " vast acceleration in the invention 
of complex machinery applied to almost all 
industrial arts dates from that period, and the 
application upon an extensive scale of non-human 
motor powers, manifested itself then for the first 
time." Not more than three inventions during the 
three preceding centuries are to be compared with 
this group which mark the latter half of the 
eighteenth century. Nevertheless, as this authority 
shows, it does not make against the gradual growth 
of machinery, for as he graphically explains, " the 
pressure of industrial circumstances direct the in- 
telligence of many minds towards the comprehen- 
sion of some single central point of difficulty, the 
common knowledge of the age induces many to 
reach similar conclusions: that solution which is 
slightly better adapted to the facts, or ' grasps the 
skirts of happy chance,' comes out victorious, and 
the inventor, purveyor, or, in some cases, the rob- 



ber, is crowned as a great inventive genius." Thus, 
" an irregular and catastrophic appearance to the 
working of a force is given, which is in its inner 
pressure much more regular than in its outward 
expression. The earlier increments of a great in- 
dustrial invention make no figure in the annals of 
history because they do not pay, and the final 
increment which reaches the paying point gets all 
the credit, though the inherent importance and the 
inventive genius of the earlier attempts may have 
been as great or greater." This author marks out 
three periods of abnormal activity in the evolution 
of modern industry. First, 1780-1795, when the 
application of steam to machine industries ripened 
the fruits of early inventions. Second, 1830-1845, 
when stimulated by the cessation of war, and by 
steam locomotion, the new inventions were more 
widely utilized. Third, 1856-1860, when the con- 
struction of machinery by machinery became the 
settled rule of industry. 

The story thus told in barest outline to suggest 
more than it attempts to tell, leads up to our next 
study of the present effects of machine production 
upon labor, and of the imperative necessity laid 
upon ethics and economics to effect the better 
adjustment of these mightiest forces of modern 
civilization. This problem is the most portentous 
legacy which the twentieth century will inherit 
from the nineteenth. 

REFERENCES: Hobson" The Evolution of Modern 
Capitalism " (Scribner's) Chap. 3. Wright" Report on the 
Factory System of the United States in U. S. Tenth Census, 
Vol. on Statistics of Manufacturers. (Washington, 1883). 
Also the same authors, " Industrial Evolution of the United 
States." Chapters 10 to 14 (Chatauqua Press). Gibbins' 
" Industrial History of England," (Mathuen) pages 156 to 
166. "Factories and the Factory System," W. Cooke Tay. 
lor, LL.D. Walpole's "History of England." Vol. I, pp 
50-76 "Artisans and Machinery," P. Gaskell, Esq., 1836, 
Chapter 2. Knights of Old England, Book VII, Chap. 2. 



NEW ZEALAND LABOR BULLETIN. 



Valuable Publication Which is a Current Compen- 
dium of the Labor Interests of the World. 



One of the most interesting and valuable of the 
periodical publications that come to our hand is 
the Journal of the Department of Labour, issued 
under the direction of the Hon. the Minister of 
Labour, at Wellington, New Zealand. It is really 
a monthly compendium on the subject of labor in 
all countries. For instance, the issue for Novem- 
ber, just at hand, reports current local conditions, 
legal decisions during the previous month, the 
skilled labor markets of Europe and the United 
States, etc., and also has several very valuable arti- 
cles of a general character, such as " Factory Labor 
in India," "Sweating in Melbourne," "The Tele- 
phone A Comparison of Public and Private Sub- 
scription Rates in Many Countries," "The German 
Industrial Census,' "Some Greek Paybills," etc. 



"Dreamer of dreams, born out of my due time. 

Why should I strive to set the crooked straight? 
Let it siiflice me that my murmuring rhyme, 

Beats with light wing against the ivory gate, 

Telling ;i tale not too importunate 
To those who in the sleepy regions stay, 
Lulled by the singer of an empty day. 

" Folks say, a wizard to a northern king 

At Christmas-tide such wondrous things did show, 

That through one window men beheld the spring, 
And through another saw the summer glow, 
And through a third the fruited vines arow, 

While still, unheard, but in its wonted way. 

Piped the