05" A BUDGET OF SETTLEMENT NEWS NOTi 4*y ■***■ .(«^(»^*^ ? Stu&tes of tbe ^ ^ ^ ot jt ^ 'yr»)'fer»)^yr»)'fe»i'fe»S^yr»><«J!^<*^<«^(»^<»^^ LIFE'S RECOMPENSE. The longer ou this eartli we live And weigh the various qualities of men, Seeing how most are fugitives Or fitful sifts at hest, of now anj then, Wind wavered copse lights, daughters of the fen, The more we feel the high stem-featured beauty Of plain devotedness to duty. Steadfast and still, nor paid with mortal praise, But finding amplest recompense For life's ungarlanded expense In work done squarely and unwasted days. —J. R. Lowell INDUSTRIAL DEMOCRACY. IMPORl'ANT WORK BIT SIDNEY AND BEAT- RICE TVEBB. Unique Exaniiuation of Trades-Unionisin from the Democratic Point of View. The visit in this country of Sidney and Beatrice Webb, of London, and their stay in Chicago during the last part of May and the first of June, make especially timely and inter- esting some notice of the truly extraordinary work of which they are authors, just issued from the press of Longmans, Green & Co.* It is hardly too much to say that this is the most exhaustive and altogether the most remarkable recent contribution to the history of the labor movement. Not at all original to the writer of the present notice is the assertion that if one should familiarize himself with the contents of the two monumental works of these remarkable authors, he would know well-nigh enough of the contempoi'ary movement of organized la- bor, and would be in possession of material wherewith to scrutinize the past and forecast the future of the movement, so far at least as trades unions in the Anglo-Saxon race are concerned. And yet more. If one should say that the first book of these authors (" History of Trades- Unionism," published in 1894), and likewise the work at jiresent under review, deal almost exclusively with the labor movement in Cireat Bi'itain, nevertheless it should be urged that upon these lines, if not specifically in these detailed ways, the trades-union movement in all countries has made its way, and familiarity (Continued on page n.) *" Industrial Democracy," by Sidney and Beatrice Webb, in two volumes, pp. 929. Longmans, Green & (Jo., London, New York and Bombay. 10 THE COMMONS. [May, '(f50tt anil t\js people.** A MONTHLY RECORD DEVOTED TO ASPECTS OF LIFE AND LABOR FROM THE SOCIAL SETTLEMENT POINT OF VIEW John P. Gavit, Published on the last day of each month from Chicago Commons, a Social Settlement at 140 North Union Street, Chicago, 111. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE Fifty cents a year. (Two Shillings, English; 2.50 francs, French— foreign stamps accepted.) Postpaid to any State or Country. Six copies to one address for S2.50. Send check, draft, P. O. money order, cash or stamps, 7Wt above 5-cent denominations at our risk. Renewals— The change in the date on the address label will ordinarily serve as receipt for renewals. These changes are made once in two months. In accordance with custom, and the expressed wish of many subscribers, we continue The Commons to each address until notified to the contrary. Changes of Address— Please notify the publishers promptly of any change of address, or of failure to receive the paper withm a reasonable interval after it is due. Advertisements — First-class advertisements desired at reasonable rates, which will be furnished upon applica- tion. No. 25. CHICAGO. MAY 31, 1898. IN THE death of Edward Bellamy the world has lost a social prophet. It is probably true that few books have ever been written which stirred the hearts of more people, or stirred them more deeply, with ideals of hu- man justice and freedom than " Looking Back- ward" and "Equality." As a program maker for social reform Mr. Bellamy was Utopian and sometimes grotesque. As a prophet of social redemption and revelation, he had few, if any, equals, and surely no superiors. THE picturesque is what catches the imagi- nation, and in the stirring times of war one gets to feel that heroism is peculiarly the virtue of the soldier. But what of the heroism of peace? What of the tireman, risking life and limb in the burning building ; of the doctor, unhesitating in the face of contagious and revolting disease ; of the brave little woman facing the world in demand of a livelihood for her family after husband and father are gone ? What of the miner, crawling in among the fire- damp to avert peril for his fellows, or to save exposed lives? What of tUe simple life of truth and faithfulness amid temptation and discouragement ? Peace hath its heroes, far more than war, but we seldom crown them. They wear civilian clothes, and have no titles of distinction and promotion. WE SHOULD have supposed it impossible that anyone could read with regularity the utterances of this paper without coming to the distinct understanding that its editorial conviction would be always and unfalteringly opposed to war in any form or place or under any pretext. Letters from some of our friends, especially that of Ernest H. Crosby, published in another column, lead to the fear that we have been misunderstood. We are still opposed to war ; to this war, to any war. War is a relic of barbarism and sav- agery ; the most cruel, the most wasteful, the least convincing manner of deciding questions, however important, which could much better be decided by peaceful methods of arbitration. And since the question is asked directly, let us answer directly, that we regard war as abso- lutely and utterly incompatible and at diamet- ric variance with the gospel of the Prince of Peace. We protested with our feeble voice against the war before it was begun, and in the last issue of The Commons commented upon some of its dominant notes with what was surely intended to ba distinct condemnation and disavowal. NEYEETHELESS,we believe it is true that we are all " together in it." Mr. Crosby, to be sure, has for himself avowed his withdrawal so far as possible from the social order, and his denial of complicity in the present govern- mental action is well taken. But for the rest of us, we cannot thus escape responsibility. We have not thus withdrawn. We still partici- pate in American citizenship and government, voting for public officers, paying public ex- penses and claiming a voice in the control of public policy. We protest with shame and in- dignation against the well-nigh universal pub- lic corruption and mismanagement, and do what in us lies to raise a higher standard and proclaim the rights of the people. But, each in his place and to his measure, the shame and the offense and the sin of it are those of all of us. Together we share the sorrow and the suf- 1898.] THE COMMONS. 11 lering and the punisbment of it. So long as ■we partake of the benefit, such as it is; the pro- tection, from fire and flood and violence; the glory, of this our government, of this our com- mon nation and our common country, so long will the national acts be our acts, so long will be our very own the horror of shot and shell, of dynamite and bayonet, of hate and curses and destruction and desolation, of blood and agony and rotting corpses of brave men and beloved sons and brothers. WE CANNOT escape this responsibility. We are at once the sinners and the sufferers. When the bones of the wounded crunch and crack under the wheels of the galloping artillery, when the sons and fatbers and brothers are blown to pieces by boml)sheIls or mowed down like grass before the murderous belching of the machine-guns, the murder is ours, and the murdered brethren are ours. It is our own flesh and blood that we thus mutilate and des- ecrate. The shame is ours tha.t we can find no way but that of hate and violence to solve even a problem of human liberty in Cuba. And the worst of it is that those we kill and maim are beardless boys, peasants and laborers, against whom we have no grievance. Those who have maltreated and outraged and supped fat in Cuba feast still in luxury and gold lace, and when they have sacrificed the last poor life and spent the last poor peseta wrung by force and fraud from the blood-sweat of the poor, we shall do them honor and let them go their way, with " renewed assurances of distinguished consid- eration ! " War is a serio-comic business, as well as a hellish business. NONE can deplore more than we do the temper which this struggle develops from day to day. With the explosion of every bomb- shell we lower our estimate of the value of hu- man life. With the capture of every island or seajjort, we leave further behind us our world- wide declaration that this war is one of human- ity and not of territorial greed. The glitter of brass and gold lace blinds our eyes daily more hopelessly to the folly, the wastefulness, the barbarity of war. We are losing our sense of proi5ortion and justice and of the rights of ownership. As Herbert Casson, of the Lynn Labor Church, says in the Coming Nation, "We rush like noble heroes to free Cuba and at once begin instead to steal merchant vessels. We are knights errant in sentiment and pirates in practice." The starving Cubans whom we would rescue are starving still, and we are forgetting them in the dreams of commercial aggrandize- ment and in discussion of how we may keep and govern the Philippines, and the public mind has been diverted almost entirely from the consideration of the home topics of justice and freedom which were so near to action. Of course it would never do to suspect anyone of intentional diversion, but it is well to be roused from our "patriotic" hypnotism to a clear perception of the real aspects of the great forces, material and psychical, with which we are playing. ON THE other hand, the most consistent advocate of non-resistance can hardly fail to see that some good may come even out of this war. In one breath has been wiped out the rankling bitterness of section between North and South. The world has seen tor the first time in history, a war begun and carried into foreign waters, under the pretext, at least, of humanity. It is indeed by blunders of force and epochs of destruction that much of the world's progress, even toward spiritual enlight- enment, has been wrought, and we are pre- pared to believe that in the last analysis we may view with equanimity the coming and going of wars and rumors of wars, knowing that, at any rate, they can only hasten the progress of inevitable events. One Sunday morning's battle in the harbor of Manila flung us willy nilly into the maelstrom of Far-East- ern politics and diplomac.v, and it is but the merest child's play of prophecy to say that we shall not soon emerge. The United States has entered the international arena, to remain for good or ill until the times be fulfilled, and those of us who believe in the sane Purpose of Things may be sure in peace of mind that the more portentous the social movement may be- come, the nearer the great struggle for the su- IJremaoy of races and nations may draw, the more certain is it that the next great step of human progress and destiny is at hand. ALL settlement workers and others of Percy Alden's host of friends in this country learn with regret of his break-down in health, necessitating leaving his work at Mansfield House and sailing for a trip around the world. The tour will include India, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, and its one redeeming fea- ture is that it will probably bring Mr. Alden to this country and its settlements on his way home. "It is better,'' said President Tucker, "to really believe a half-truth than only to half- believe a real truth. 12 THE COMMONS. [May, INDUSTRIAL DEMOCRACY. (Contmued from page ;/.) ■with these very thorough treatises 'will afford a breadth of view over the iast two centuries of Anglo-Saxon labor history that will assure at least a fair foundation for thought and study and judgment upon the movement as a whole throughout the world. There will be points at issue. There are those who think the Webbs In error in their denial of trade-union paternity to the ancient trade guilds, for instance. There will be those who will resent the authors' open outlook for the labor movement toward socialism. There will be enthusiasts who will take umbrage at their candid criticism of the movement in which their participation has fitted them so well to be students at first hand. But none who thoughtfully, earnestly interprets the work will fail to see in it, whatever his point of view, a contribution of the utmost dignity and of the first importance to the literature of the labor movement. WHO THE AUTHORS AKE. The Webbs are evolutionary socialists. Mr. "Webb has been for some time one of the leading spirits in the Fabian Society, a writer of force and i3opularity upon current topics from the socialistic point of view, a member of the Lon- don County Council and in it a worker of wide influence and thoroughness, esjiecially in the matter of schools and educational jDrograms ; Mr. Webb has dedicated all his powers of mind and body to the service of the people's emanci- pation. Save for the actual political activity, the story of Mrs. Webb's life is practically similar. She is the daughter and granddaugh- ter of sturdy pioneer radicals, and has always been interested in matters of social reform. While still Miss Beatrice Potter, she was one of Charles Booth's most efficient assistants in his extraordinary investigation of the " Life and Labor of the People," and her work in social study and investigation has always been characterized by great thoroughness and sin- cerity. It is worthy of note that Herbert Spen- cer took an interest in her education and thought her well fitted for philosophical and social analysis and research. The methods by which these two great works have been accomplished are as important as the works themselves, for only by the most thorough and systematic work could so honest and exhaustive an enterprise be carried to completion. In the first j^lace, both these earnest souls are tremendously industrious and energetic. No pains have been too great for their service in this I'egard. They have joined in the labor organizations with the good will of the membership thereof. They have sat upon local boards and acted as execu- tive secretaries. They have shared the trials and perplexities of the actual life out of which these books have grown. One of the most in- teresting and valuable portions of the new work is the exijlanatory chapter at the begin- ning devoted to the description of the method of using and conserving the results of the Document, Personal Observation and the In- terview. CONTENTS OP THE WOBK. The first volume of "Industrial Democracy" relates to Trade Union Structure, and sets forth the outgrowth of modern unionism from primitive democracy into representative gov- ernment and interunion relationship. A sec- ond part of this volume begins the treatment of Trade Union Function, presenting aspects of mutual insurance, collective bargaining, ar- bitration, legal enactment as a means of labor reform, and the subjects of the standard rate of wages, normal day, sanitation and safety in industrial enterprises, new processes and ma- chinery, and continuity of employjnent. The second volume continues the discussion of Trade Union Function, having valuable chap- ters on the entrance to a trade and the right to a trade on the part of the individual workman, the "implications" and "assumptions" of trade unionism. "Trade Union Theory" occupies the third part of the work, and the last one hundred pages of the second volume. The classical economists of the late Manchester school and their following find small comfort or consider- ation at the hands of these virile observers, and their four strong chapters on "The Ver- dict of the Economists," " The Higgling of the Market," "The Economic Characteristics of Trade Unionism," and " Trade Unionism and Democracy," are worthy of the most thought- ful and respectful study. It is in this part of the work that the authors are strongest, most original and most instructive, apart from the purely historical material of the whole work. " HIGGLING OF THE MARKET." Prof. W. J. Ashley, author of "English Eco- nomic History," says of the chapter on " Hig. gling of the Market," that it is " the most orig- inal in the book. We are there shown that the phenomenon to which apologists for trades unionism since the time of Mill have been wont to point — the disadvantage at which the iso- 1898.J THE COMMONS. 13 lated seller of labor stands in relation to the buyer of labor— is true in varying measure of all sellers in relation to buyers ; of the manu- facturer in relation to the wholesale dealer, of the wholesale dealer in relation to the shop- keeijer, of the shopkeeper in relation to the ul- timate consumer. If there -were no combina- tion anywhere, and this pressure of the buyer were all pervading, every manufacturer and trader would make only that minimumof profit without which he could not stay in business, and the wage-earner would be reduced to bare subsistence wages. Not in this chapter, but elsewhere in the book, reason is given for be- lieving that suoh a state of things would not be for the good of the community. But it is idle to consider what might be, since, as a matter of fact, in every stage of industrial life barriers are thrown up by the several classesof producers or distributors to ward off this pressure. Most illuminating is the brief ac- count of the divers ways in which this is done by manufacturers and traders ; combinations and trusts being only two among many. We fail to realize their wide prevalence simply be- cause we have not yet began to subject the phenomena of the actual industrial world to scientific scrutiny. But the pressure for cheap- ness, transmitted and intensified as it passes through all the several stages of distribution and production, would fall at last with crush- ing weight on the manual worker." CI.INGINO TO CUSTOMAET STAND ABDS. " Instinctively the workmen seek to protect themselves," Prof. Ashley continues, in his re- view of the work in the Churchman, by cling- ing to certain customary standards of expendi- ture — their Standard of Comfort, as the econo- mists have long called it, their Standard of Life, as our authors name it. And trade union- ism is, at the bottom, nothing but an attempt by combination to maintain — and, if occasion offers, to raise — this level of livelihood. It is, in short, ' the Dyke of a definite Standard of Life.' " In this Standard of Life there are evidently several elements; but the rate of wages is clearly the most important. Hence it is that we find the Standard Kate of wages the point round which the discussion again and again turns, and to which our authors jjerpetually recur. It becomes the one clue to which they hold fast in all the perplexities of trade union policy. To every difliculty, whether as to the labor of women, or as to the boundaries be- tween the several trades; or as to the ijosition of skilled handicraftsmen competing with a new machine-industry, the advice of our auth- ors is always to fix and cling to a standard rate as long as may be; to leave the occupation altoi^ether rather than submit to a serious re- duction; and they demonstrate the tendency of a gradual rise of the standard rate to elevate the whole intellectual and technical level of business management. Writing the book piece- meal, as they have done, the authors have per- haps hardly realized how capable this princi- ple is of being made the pivot of their treatise. I must confess that I am not quite satisfied in every case of the complete cogency of their reasoning; but it certainly is very largely true, and always worth considering." SPHERE OF STATE INTERFERENCE. These authors find no bugbear in state inter- ference and regulation. While they havR com- paratively little confidence in compulsory ar- bitration, yet look for something in that direc- tion as time goes on, they do look to the state for regulation of the working day, the mini- mum of wage, more safety and sanitation, and they have no fear of the implied restriction of "liberty." The philosophic anarchist and in- dividualist, the laissez faire economist, and all of that ilk of thought, will look askance at the degree of forecasting of state regulation of con- ditions of labor, but Mr. and Mrs. Webb are consistent socialists throughout, though taking full cognizance of the necessity of building each new part of the industrial superstructure upon the experience and history of the past. THE PARADOX OF DEMOCRACY. One of the most striking passages in the en- tire work is the paragraph describing the para- dox of democracy. " In the democi-atic state," say our authors, "every imiividual is both master and servant. . . . It is the supreme paradox of democracy that every man is a ser- vant in respect of the matters of which he pos- sesses the most intimate knowledge, and for which he shows the most expert proficiency, namely, the professional craft to which he de- votes his working hours ; and he is a master over that on which he knows no more than any- body else, namely, the general intei-ests of the community as a whole. In this paradox, we sug- gest, lies at once the justification and the strength of democracy. It is not, as is commonly as- serted by the superficial, that Ignorance rules over Knowledge, and Mediocrity over Capacity. In the administration of society Knowledge and Capacity can make no real and durable progress except by acting on and through the minds of the common human material which it is de- sired to improve. It is only by carrying along 14 THE COMMONS. [May, with him the ' average sensual man ' that even the wisest and most philanthropic reformer, however autocratic his power, can genuinely change the face of things." VALUABLE PEATDRES OP THE WOBK. It is sincerely regretted that space is not available for a somewhat complete resume and criticism of these really great volumes. It must suffice that we repeat our estimate of both works of the Webbs as the most useful and most exhaustive of recent writings on the industrial movement, and of its title to a first place in the study of those who would understand, much more of those who would seek to influence, the labor movement in this country or in this day. Valuable appendices include not only an un. equaled bibliography, but shrewd examina- tions of the legal position of collective bar- gaining in England, the bearing of industrial parasitism and the policy of a national mini- mum wage upon the free ti-ade controversy, to- gether with a set of tables and diagrams bear- ing upon the relative movement of the mar- riage and birth-rates, pauperism, wages, and the price of wheat. An unusually exhaustive index cross-references the work. j. p. a. TARING'S SUPPRESSED REPORT. " Municipal AtFairs " Thwarts Tammany's Effort to Smother an Important Document. The June issue of Municipal Affairs is re- markable for its containing as a supplement a complete report of Commissioner VVaring's New York Street Cleaning Department. Towards the close of Mayor Strong's administration it was thought wise, owing to the excellent results achieved by Colonel Waring and his stalf in the Department of Street Cleaning, to publish a report showing what had been accomplished and what methods had proved successful. This report was prepared, put in type and made ready for the press. But the new Tammany adminis- tration refused to issue the report. The less said about the efficient administration which had just been superseded the better it would be for Tammany. When these facts became known, the Committee on Municipal Adminis- tration of the New York Beform Club decided that no more practical work could be accom- plished than to issue this report as a supple- ment to the June number of Municipal Affairs. The report is of inestimable value to every one interested in better city government. The low price — 50 cents — has placed it within reach of every one. Subscribers to Municipal Affairs — $1 per year — secure this report free of charge. " THE SERVICE OF GOD." CANON S. A. BARNETT'S NEW VOLUME OF SOCIAL ADDRESSES. Stirring Words of Inspiration and Encouragement From the Head of Toynbee Hall. •' -T-'I •HE Bible of the Social Settlement Move- ment " is'a name that has often been used a m o n g settlement folk in referring to the earlier volume of social essays, ser- mons and addresses by Canon Samuel A. and Henrietta O. Bar- ^ . ,. „ nett, under the title, CANON S. A. BARNETT. ' From the uutiouh. "Practicable Social- ism." No person living was better qualified to write a volume which should act as a bugle call to the settlement world than Canon Barnett, for it was to him that Toynbee came, in 1875, with all the enthusiasm of his young life to offer service among the poor of the Whitechapel parish of St. Jude's, and it was from him that the young social reformer got much of his inspiration and wise direction. As warden of Toynbee Hall, Canon Barnett has exercised a very great influence upon the settlement move- ment, and the entire fellowship of settlement folk may well listen as to an authoritative voice, a voice made authoritative by experience and in- tuitive perception, when Canon Barnett speaks of social service. That the service of man is the service of God is a principle.ot which the canon has been both a preacher and an example, and it is under this appropriate title that he comes anew before the world of social workers with a volume * in its way as striking as that for which we were all so grateful already. " The service of God is the service of men," is the first of the " texts " which head the chap- ters. " These chapters," says Mr. Barnett in his introduction, " pretend to no other unity, and they present words forced from the writer, not by the study of books, but by twenty-five years' experience of his fellow-men in East London. He has seen how manifold is the service ren- dered, how abundant the activities of philan- thropists, how great the doing ; but he has seen also how often the service has missed its * " The Service of G9d." a volume of sernious, essays and addresses, published by Longmans, Green & Co., London, New Yorlc, Bomoay, 346 pp., 12mo., cloth. 1898.] THE COMMONS. 15 mark, how often the doing has been ' deadly doing,' and how much of philanthropy is unin- spired and uncontrolled, how clearly godliness is necessary to good doing." Of this view the stirring volume is an ampli- fication. The addresses are in three groups. In Part I. some common relations which exist between men and classes are considered ; in Part II. the inner life of the individual is made the chief subject, and in Part III. some consti- tutional reforms are suggested. The ring of true prophetic sjjirit is audible in the writer's modest announcement that "in each Part the attempt is made to show bow good-will among men and peace within depends on the knowl- edge of God revealed in the signs of the times." Space is available for only a short and insuffl- cient outline of the book. Another difficulty preventing an adequate review in brief space is the deep spiritual tone of the addresses. "Practicable Socialism" was intense, practi- cal, vivid, detailed. The present volume is deep, wide, of spiritual scope, and not easily to be summarized. " Neighbors and Neighbors," " Christians and Christians," " The Citizens and the City," " Philanthropists and the Poor, the Sad. the Sick," "Teachers and Children," " Kich and Poor," " Employers and Employed," — these are some of the titles of the addresses of the first Part, each with its own peculiar strength. And a real treasury of mind is found in the collection of life-made texts at the chapter heads. For instance, " The prophet brings out of God's treasury coins new and old, but God's coinage has always the human stamp." "The limit of luxury is the power of sharing." " The faith which saves others is the enthusiasm of patience," " The religion which destroys class antagonism is that which humbles the man and exalts mankind." " God is better known be- cause Owen, Darwin, Browning and Tennyson have declared His works." " Christ overcomes strife, not by power nor by might, but by His spirit." A spirit of loving tolerance and progressive- ness infuses the part of the book devoted to the spiritual aspects of individual character. " A creed is dead if it is not growing," he says in the address on " X Living Creed," and drives the truth home with a marvelous directness. A clarion to the church is found in the four ad- dresses of the last part, which deal with speci- fic problems of reform. "Sunday Keform,'- "Church Reform," "Charity Reform" and "The Church's Opportunity," are the titles. No sweeping fulsome praise of each and every portion of the volume would be desirable, for it has its weaknesses. It is impossible to cover fully the subjects treated in so short space as Canon Barnett permits himself in the several essays. Thoroughness is sacrificed to brevity, concreteness to the necessity of generalization. Nevertheless, it is far within the lines of just- ice and impartiality to say that this is a book which should be in the hands of every social worker, of every servant who in the Master's fashion and spirit, desires to help his fellows. "SELFHOOD AND SERVICE." In " Selfhood and Service," (Fleming H. Ke- vell Co.) Rev. David Beaton, D.D., of Chi- cago, makes a strong plea for the consecration to the "social redemption" of the resource of property and person in the possession of Chris- tian people of this inclusive sort of " wealth." The sole hope of redeeming society, however, is held to be in the gifts of this wealth of a carefully cultured selfhood to public institu- tions, among which he includes with generous commendation, social settlements. Scant jus- tice or charity is shown for any of what he terms the " short-cut " theories of an improved social order which involve any restriction whatso- ever of individual accumulation and absolute personal disposition thereof. These are con- sidered anarchistic subversions of "natural law," Christianity and society. There is, how- ever, vigorous assertion of the claims of social Christianity upon the selfhood of private " wealth." James B. Reynolds, of the University Settle- ment in New York, contributes an important article on Industrial Insui'ance to a discussion of the subject in the .May issue of the Charities Review. Le&dir?gDepItiDepoT&-Any#erES&veryw)fflt' 16 THE COMMONS. \^HY •^^^ SUMMER BOARD WHEN YOU CAN OWN A O SUMMER HOME* The Great Thing is to find a place easily reached by a short sail at moderate fare. Then you want to be sure of LOW-PRICED LOTS. A pretty place, good air, good water, good people, and if you can add to that, good boating, good fishing, good sailing, and in the season, good hunting, coupled with easy access to the city and to all the necessaries of civilization, then you have the ideal place for your summer cottage. Such a place is waiting for you at Macatawa Park One night's ride by boat from Chicago. Address for particulars, THE MACATAWA PARK COMPANY, HOLLAND, MICH. i^ - The commons B ADontblv IRecort S)eToteti to Bspects of Xffs an& Sabot fcom tbe Social Settlement ^ofnt of View. Whole Number 26. CHICAGO. TUNE, 1898, -\ -T- -:-"■' • ♦' l-.... ^■.t ^ 4fe^it gl^- ^K ^ 'JT^ ^■::">.-^':ir';;v. w^^ Ipfj ^-^^1^1^ r*"^^^PW ' •' 1 s 'f"^" ik o- ii V 1^ ■•v^^^QS-V-^^^'^j^H^^^^RSfl ■ r I. ▼* 1 ON ^aiFFS^^ FARM. Typical Picture from One of the New York Summer Charities — Where the Dollars of the Givers Bear Fruit in Happy Faces. ONLY those who have to spend the yeur round in the midst of mean and dirty surroundings can appreciate what a country outing means to the youngsters of the crowded districts of modern cities. After the Hrst home- sickness is over, the green of the grass, the smell of the fields, the myriad of new experi- ences, the whirr of insects, the lowing of cat- tle, the incessant play in sand or stream or among the flowers, turns life into a fairy-land. It is becoming more and more common to make philanthropy take the form of summer outings for children and grown folk. This picture, loaned to us kindly by the Life Publishing Co., of New York City, gives vivid evidence of the fact that that clever and influential weekly has something in its mind beside fun and sarcasm. "Life's Farm" is now an institution of the metropolis, and this is a photograph of a newly arrived party of city children at the delightful place for a two-week's outing. D This picture is more than that. It is typical THE COMMONS. [June, of the experience of all the out-going parties of children from city centers anywhere. We asked the loan of the picture from Li/e because we have seen no picture lately which showed so obviously the spectacle of personified de- light embodied in the party of children upon their arrival at the " Farm." To our readers and friends we would suggest the reflection that every child in this picture, every sunny smile every happy eye-flash, is, as it were, the blossom of somebody's dollar or two, given to a fresh-air fund! Let us differ as we may about the means of subduing social wrongs, and the relation of philanthropy to industrial injus- tice, let us hesitate as we may over the ques- tion whether any amount of charity, in the ordinary sense, can do other tLan irritate the social situation, no man can question very long- before the spectacle in this picture as to the propriety of giving city children a country outing in the summer. It is one of the best ways to insure having a sturdy humanity upon which to try our later social experiments 1 INHERITANCE TAXATION. [CONTRIBUTED.] It seems strange that so little comment has been made, especially in tlie reform press, upon the extraordinary decision recently rendered by the Supreme Court of the United States in the Illinois inheritance tax cases, for while they merely restated after all a well-recognized principle of law, that principle, so restated, is of very notable signilicance, important, not only to persons of great wealth, but also to those who have little or nothing. Those who have been accusing the Supreme Court as an enemy of the people in favor of accumulated wealth may take note that once at least this court has drawn before such wealth a line — " Thus far and no farther." We have been accustomed to think of the American theory (not practice) of taxation as the proportional taxation of all property. This decision marks a radical departure from the theory of the equal taxation of property, by establishing the legality under the Constitu- tion of the United States of progressive or graduated taxes upon inheritances. The law in question provides for the taxation of certain gifts in contemi>lation of death, leg- acies and inheritances according to a gradu- ated scale; upon estates not exceeding $10,000, the rate being three per cent; upon those over $10,000 and not exceeding $20,000, four per cent; upon those over $2o,000 and not exceeding $50,000, five per cent; and upon all over $50,000, six per cent. There are also certain exemp- tions and certain differences on account of va- riation in degrees of relationship. Those opposed to the law contended that it denied to citizens the equal protection of the laws; that if the State were allowed to tax in- heritances unequally, it might in certain cases take all ; that to permit of any variation in the rate would enable the many who have small estates to enrich themselves through forms of taxation at the expense of the few who have large estates; that under the Constitution all must be taxed at an equal rate. On the other side, it was conceded that a progressive or graduated general property tax would be unconstitutional, but it was claimed and the Court held that " An inheritance tax is not one on property, but one on succession. The right to take property by devise or descent is the creature of the law and not a natural right— a privilege -and therefore the author- ity which confers it may impose conditions upon it — may tax it unequally, may take a greater percentage in cases of large estates." Individual self-interest and the influences of the established order of things, lead us often to forget that the "right "of individual own- ership of property is grounded mainly upon expediency, and that this "right "is subject to the superior rights of the community to regu- late and control it. This decision is an im- portant reminder from our highest judicial au- thority, that if the majority will, they may make great changes in the holdings of proper- ty, at least as often as once every generation. Prevalent dissatisfaction as to the acquisi- tion and holding of property is likely to lead to considerable legislation in the field of grad- uated taxation. Congress in the recently adopt- ed war legislation has provided for inheritance taxes graduated as high as fifteen per cent. F. M. THE MINISTRY OF FLOWERS. Distributing the Posies Sent to the Settlements from tiie Country Districts. The picture herewith, from a settlement arti- cle printed in Leslie's Magazine, and loaned to us by courtesy of the Church Review in Hart- ford, shows how one of the commonest and most useful of settlement ministries is carried on. From all parts of the neighboring country within a radius of thirty miles or more come baskets and boxes of blossoms, which the set- tlement residents prepare and distribute. Flow- 1898. J THE COMMONS. era, however beautiful, will not take the place of bread upon the family table, or clothing upon the family back, and they cannot give work to the unemployed, but many a home in the city crowding is made brighter by the presence of a posy from the settlement; many a man, woman or child, who cannot get away to the country, has the country thus brought to him. And by the same token, many a loving heart and hand in rural districts can partici- pate happily in the work of helping folks. Flowers may be sent free without charge to cial one, tor with the boys go appetites of large calibre. The camp is in a pretty grove near the Fox river, just north of Elgin, about thirty miles from Chicago. Four tents and a tiny cook- house under the trees are visible from the high- road, along which extends the farm, with as thriving a lot of potatoes, corn, cabbages, to- matoes, squash and pumpkins, and smaller " truck " as is to be found on any farm in the State of Illinois. In the September issue of The Commons we PREPARING THE POSIES. [From Le^lk the settlements from any point within one hun- dred miles of Chicago, through the kindness of the express companies in co-operation with the Chicago Flower Mission. For the necessary tags, etc., address the Chicago Flower Mission at the Athenneum Building, Chicago. CAMP GOODWILL, ELGIN. Boys of The Commons Neighborhood Haviii Time in the Fields and Woods and on Farm— The Financial Problem. S a Great the " Camp Goodwill" is a distinguished success. We hope to be able in the summers to come to insure it as a permanent feature of the settle- ment's activity. The only problem is the finan- Magaziiie,] shall publish an account of the camp experi- ment, with illustrations from life. It is enough now to pay our tribute to the faithfulness of Mr. Weeks, who alone and single-handed has conducted the camp, with from ten to twenty boys on hand to cook for and guide, both in conduct and farming. Disajipointed in the help he was expecting from a friend who was to pass the summer with him, he still has fought the battle out alone, and the first glance of those who know the boys at home is convin- cing enough of the real profit of the enterprise in terms of character to these needy boys. The present problem is financial. We shall need $100 more to carry the camp through to the first of October. There must be friends who will stand behind this enterprise and en- THE COMMONS. [June, courage the brave fellow who is planting so deep for citizenship and for social safety in the lives of street boys whose possibilities may now be turned — perhaps by the experience of this one summer — for good or ill. Contribu- tions sent to the Commons for this purpose will be promptly forwarded. CHICAGO ARTS AND CRAFTS SOCIETY. Unique lid Valuable 1 uection [iucational Enterprise i ith Hull House. One of the best features of the Hull House activity during the past winter has been the work of the Chicago Arts and Crafts Society, organized there in October. The object of the society is sevenfold: (1) To cultivate in its members and through them in others a just sense of beauty. (2) To extend the apprecia- tion of the possibility of beauty in articles of every-day iise. (3) To influence the present movement toward manual training and art edu- cation. (4) ' To influence sources of design and decoration. (5) To encourage handicraft among the members. (6) To consider indus- trial conditions with a view of emancipating the workman from undue subserviency to his machine. (7) To hold exhibitions and main- tain centers of activity and propaganda. The meetings have been held alternate Fri- days at Hull House, and a paper dealing with some special craft has been read and discussed at each meeting. Henry D. Lloyd gave a paper on William Morris; Mrs. Yale-Wynne read a charming paper on "Silver Work," ending with a poem upon the silversmith. The latter so won the hearts of the members that it was fol- lowed b.v a relation of their various experiences with silver, copper, brass, etc. A conference opened by Miss Addams and Mrs. O'Sullivan upon "the Artisan and the Factory," closed with a description of the Japanese artisan, by Mr. W. H. Noyes. The first exhibition of this society at the Art Institute was attended by upward of 17,000 people, and was a success in everyway. It was given in connection with the exhibition of the Architectural Club, and showed most interest- ing and valuable handiwork in metal, wood, leather and pottery. There will be no more regular meetings until October. All communications for the Arts and Crafts Society should be addressed to the sec- retary, Mr. G. M. E. Twose, Hull House. A new life of the Prince of Wales has just been published. Whether it will be allowed to pass through the mails is what is puzzling a good many. — CoramonweaWi. "HET LEIDSCHE VOLKSHUIS." Prof. Vander Vlugt Outlines the Plan for the Settle- luent in Leyden. Prof. W. Vander Vlugt writes to The Com- mons from Leyden, under the date of May 5th, concerning the plan for the new settlement there, " Het Leidsche Volkshuis," referred to briefly in a recent issue. Of the work he says it is still "in statu nascendi. W^e have bought a spacious house with its adjacent garden. The house's front is in the principal street of our populous quarter, the only one in this deserted- looking seat of learning where you may regu- larly observe some working people passing by. The garden's-back is on the Rhine embank- ment, as the building cannot be made use of for the destination we have in view. It will as soon as possible be demolished and a new set of buildings will take its place. The street front will be formed by five pretty looking shops, the rent of which will have to bear the annual cost of our enterprise. The chief en- trance to the Volkshuis will separate two of the shops, while its ' corps de batement ' is on the Rhine side. Beneath, there will be a library with a reading and a playing room, two spa- cious halls for gymnastics and for lectures and a kitchen for the ladies who intend to teach factory girls and workingmeu's daughters the art of cookery. The Brst and second stock will for the greater part contain the music hall, where the most popular lecturers may address their audience and workingmeu's association celebrate, if they choose, their annual feasts. The rest of the space will be devoted to the keeper's home and club rooms. " Now the achievement of the new building is not to be counted upon before the midst of next year, most probably the opening will not take place before the winter of 1899-1900. All we have done on Toynbee lines until now and all we shall endeavor to do on the same lines till then; reading room lectures, with and without dissolving views, clubs of ladies and factory girls, clubs of students and working- men, is, to the greater achievement in view, only provisional." It is nobler far to do the most commonplace duty in the household or behind the counter, with a sin- gle eye to duty, simply because it must be done — nobler far, I say, than to go out of your way to attempt a brilliant deed, with a double mind, and saying to yourself not only, " This will be a bril- liant deed," but also, "and it will pay me, or raise me, or set me ofl into the bargain." Heroism knows no " into the barsrain." — Charles Kingsley. There are now over 200 agricultural co-opera- tive production associations in Ireland. 1898. J THE COMMONS. i j^ '^ Current Comment =^ ^ | SOCIAL UNDER-TOW OF THE WAR. THE etfect of the war with Spain on social progress in America is the most per- manently important issue involved. Its most noticeable immediate result is the temporary diversion of the rapidly growing interest in and increasingly effective effort toward the so- lution of the problems pressing upon our in- dustrial and municipal life. A EE FLUENT current is unquestionably perceptible in the hitherto advancing tide of social feeling, thought and action. It is as observable in Kansas as in Chicago. The social issues which have so long held public attention and dictated political action in that great state are already eclipsed by the excite- ment of recruiting and parting from the troops, and more by the scramble for a full share of the speculative prices in wheat. And yet the col- lapse of the Leiter deal and the failure of that young Napoleonic gambler in the people's breadstuffs was i^ublicly applauded as a well- deserved Waterloo. In Chicago it is becoming diflicult to maintain the thoroughly aroused popular interest in and support of the all but victorious struggle against the conspiracy of street franchise-grabbers and the "gang" in State legislature and city council. If their re- newed attacks upon public Interests, now trea- sonably being made under cover of the nation's brunt of battle with a foreign foe, are defeated, it will be due to the vigilance of the mayor, the incorruptible fidelity of the minority in the city council to their pledges to the Municipal Voters' League, and to a handful of public- spirited citizens whose patriotism is too large to be diverted from the threatened half century of dishonor and plunder of the people's rights in their own streets. IT IS to be feared that organized labor may yield here and there to the teiaptation which the war brings to its leaders. Opposed on humanitarian principles to the war, and for good reason without enthusiasm for the issues which victory may bring upon .American labor, the trades unions may be tempted to take un- due advantage of industrial emergencies to press the claims of labor, if not unjustly, yet beyond the limit that present business condi- tions can bear or public opinion will justify. Any resort to violence in strikes will surely be charged up to traitorous presumption upon the absence of the army and the demoralization of the militia occasioned by the war. THE effects of victory and the conquest of Spanish possessions, virtually involved therein, upon our industrial progress and social unification are also dubious. The addition of a vast population of mongrel race, long accus- tomed to subject labor and incapable of indus- trial organization, may well be feared by American labor as a menace to its standard of living and living-wage. Such an extension of the area for euterprise will make a long, strong pull upon American capital, which, even if it shares with labor the immense temporary gains possibly to accrue from a governmental coloni- zation policy, is sure to secure permanent ad- vantage in the availability of so much more unorganizable labor. THE sudden assumption of responsibility for the government and well-being of vast mixed multitudes whose customs and faiths are alien to our own not only, but to each other's, is, to say the least, a dangerous experi- ment for a nation which had felt compelled to restrict immigration in order to protect itself from the menace of an already too heterogene- ous population. WITH the inevitable intrusion of interna- tional politics "Jingoism " will soon be as recognized a political force in America as in England. This continent will soon be too limited an area for the application of our Mon- roe Doctrine. The Western Hemisphere will be all too narrow a sphei-e for its new preten- sions. Despite the warnings of Professor Von Hoist, our greatest living historian, nothing less than the balance of power in European politics and in naval and military prowess will satisfy our Jingo politicians and their wigwam braves. Professor Von Hoist's exclamation is timely, " The United States can protect itself from its enemies, but God defend it from its patriots ! " THE humanitarian, ethical and even re- ligious disguises in which the hideous inhumanities of war are being veiled make its anti-social tendencies all the stronger and more insidious. Wild adventure masquerades as pa- triotism. Bald aggression stalksabout as chiv- alry. Our college students are assured by the Chief Justice of a New England State that war is to be welcomed as the means of developing the manhood of our country's young meu. With General Sherman's assertion that " war is hell" THE COMMONS. [June, staring lis in tlie face, we are solemnly cer- tified from our pulpits that it is the divine advance agent of our missionary pi'opaganda for the conversion of the heathen to heavenly ways. To " overcome evil with good," " love your enemies and do good to them that despite- fiilly use you," trusting to "faith, hope, love" as the abiding and greatest forces in the world — this gospel of the Prince of Peace is now being interpreted as entirely consistent with all the killing, widowhood, orphanage and woes of poverty which thirteen-inch guns, supple- mented by endless war debts, can inflict upon others and ourselves. How long it will take to counteract this virus with which the young blood of the nation is being systematically inoculated only the in- finite and long-suffering patience of the Father of us all can tell. DESPITE all this subversion of ethical ideals, stultification of the moral sense, and wide-spread social disintegration, the war may prove to be the occasion from which a larger movement for social unification and prog- ress can take its date and point of departure. For if it opens the way for a pact of peace be- tween England and America, the united Eng- lish speaking race could surely wield the bal- ance of power abroad for the mediation of the world's ijeace. If the principle of arbitration were thus enthroned over the international re- lationships of the peoples, it would soon sup- plant the arbitrament of industrial war as the final court of appeal for the fraternal settle- ment of the fratricidal strife which now men- aces the peace and progress of every people. Graham Taylor. FORGOTTEN INDUSTRIAL EXPERIMENT. Reniinisoence of the " Working Girl's I' topia " at Indian Orchard. A charming description of a glint of the in- dustrial millenium which transfigured Indian Orchard, Mass., between 1854 and 1861, is given by Sarah A.. Underwood in the New England Magazine for July. It was a " Working Girl's Utopia," which appears like a last protest of the "transcendental" spii'it, incarnated in " Brook Farm," against the degeneracy in the condition of the American factory girl, the higher level of whose life had been glowingly described by Dickens in his " American Notes." The " fine gold " of these Christianly human relations between overseers and operatives, and the chivalrous courtesy of the company toward tliese women workers became dim under the cloud of the panic of 1857. Yet it shone, never so brightly, through the sorrowful sympathy of the employers and the tears of the employes attending the " shut-down " of that year. But it became brass, iron, dull lead and dirty clay under the fierce competition following the civil war, and the "French-Canadian immigration in- duced thereby, until " Indian orchard became like other New England factory villages." HULL HOUSE IN LOCAL POLITICS. Mrs. Kelley's Ringingr Declaration of the Chicago Settlement's Faithfulness. The work of Hull House for its neighborhood has never been more ably or thoroughly dis- cussed than by B'lorence Kelley in her finely illustrated article in the New England Magazine for -July. Of the foredoomed defeat of the for- lorn hope led by the House against the com- bined forces of ijolitical and commercial cor- ruption in the last aldermanic election, she writes with a clarity of ethical ideal and a robustness of moral conviction that refresh one who is weary of the stultifying dualism so widely prevalent in certain pretentious circles. " Will Hull House accept defeat and withdraw from politics?" she asks, to answer thus roundly, " That would be to accept the conventional ethics of too many existing powerful institu- tions, teaching formulie of morality, but main- taining profitable truce with things as they are ; growing, perhaps, and waxing fat while uttering sterile jjrecepts not meant for applica- tion at election time. Bather than thus con- fuse the civic sense of the young seekers after righteousness, it would be better to leave the field to the frank cynicism of the corporations who buy the Council and the voters, but at least do not pretend to inculcate ideals while they do it. True to its avowed object ' to pro- vide a center for a higher civic and social life,' Hull House entered the campaign in 1896 and 1898 to make its protest on behalf of municipal honesty, and from that task it cannot turn back." President Smith, of the Louisville A Nashville Railroad, speaking before the Interstate Commerce CommissluD, on the question of car couplers, pre- dicted that "the time was couiing when the people of this country would demand the government ownership of railroads." Poor little king of Spain ! At twelve years of age, when a boy ought to be playing marbles or spinning tops or roller-skating, he is blasphemously "betrothed" to a girl three years older than him- self, the daughter of a reprobate and probable sui- cide ! How long are the fictions and the crimes of royalty and dynasties and all that sort of thing to endure in a reasonable world? — New York World. 1898.J THE COMMONS. "(Bob ttttb ttje people.'* A MONTHLY RECORD ASPECTS OF LIFE AND LABOR FROM THE SOCIAL SETTLEMENT POINT OF VIEW John P. Gavit, Published on the last day of each month from Chicago Commons, a Social Settlement at 140 Noi tli Union Street, Chicago, 111. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE Fifty ceuts a year, (Two shillings, Kn^lish; *2.r>0 francs, b'rencli— foreign staiii)is acce|ited.) Postpaid to any State or Country. Six copies to nne address for SJ.SO. Send clieek, draft. P. O. money order, cash or stamps, not at}tive 5-ceut deuttmiiiatii>iit< at ouu kisk. Renewals— The change in tlie date on the address laliel will ordinarily serve as receipt for renewals. These changes are made unci' m two m mtlis. In accordance with custom, and the expressed wish of many subscriliers, we continue The Commons to each address until notified to the contrary. Changres of Address- Please notify the publishers fironiptly of any change of address, or of failure to receive he paper with.n a reasonabli' mterval after it is due. Advertisements — First-class advertisements desired at reasonable rates, which will be furnished up(m applica- tion. CHICAGO. JUNE 30, 1898. AN NOUNCE iVI ENT. Partly as a measure of economy, but chiefly because we would rather have a small amount of matter read during vacation than double the amount laid by till fall unopened, we reduce the size of Thk. Commons for the issues of .June, July and August to eight pages. Beginniiig with the issue of September, we shall return to our former size, and feel safe in promising our friends a more interesting and more valu- able publication during the months of the win- ter than ever before. EVEiiy reader of The Commons contributes this mouth, in spite of himself, to the work of the playgrounds in Chicago Tublic School yards, through the work of the editor as secretary of the Playgrounds Committee. The countless details of correspondence and preliminary arrangements have consumed many hours which would otherwise have been given to the prompt issue of the paper. The July number will not be delayed. ONE of the patriotic organizations of this country, which usually gets little credit for that aspect of it.s labors, is the League of American Wheelmen, the national organization of bicycle riders which works patiently and constantly for extension of good roads. No single agency within the people's grasp w ould do so much to ameliorate social isolation in rural districts as adequate roads. It would hasten the extension of the postal system to country regions, and would go far to strengthen social bonds and make lor social progress. THE leading article this month on " Inher- itance Taxation" is contributed to Tur. CoMM0^8 by one amply familiar with the as- pects of the Supreme Court decision. The fact that the bequest of propert.v is a privilejiC granted by the State ujion the basis of expedi- ency rather than a riglit inherent in ownership is a legal point very little understood by the average man. In these days of the increasing tyranny of accumulated wealth, it is surely re- freshing to hud a clear statement from so high an authority even as the Supreme Court of the United States that there are limits to the " sanctity " of property. AVe cordially urge our readers, especially those who maintain that no remedy for plutocratic aggression is to be sought within the law, to study this decision of the highest tribunal of the land. IT IS well to take some summer hours to lay- ing out the fall financial campaign. Settle- ments that have to live from hand to mouth, and to work up a tinanclal support from many hundreds of friends widely scattered, may well employ some summer time in laying down the lines of attack and management. THE July issue of The Commons will con- tain among other interesting matter some account of the strike of the Chicago newspaper stereotypers, one of the most extraordinary manifestations of organized labor in recent years. " At last," said a young shoemaker the other evening, " I have found out the difference be- tween my employer and his workmen ! When the workmen are sick it is said they were drunk, but when the master is drunk they say he is sick." — Commonwealth. THE COMMONS. [June, GUicago Goniinons Kindergarten Training Sctiooi Year Opens . October 3, 1898 . Two years' course in Kindergarten Theory and Practice. A course in Home Making. Industrial and Social Development Emphasized. Also a Mothers' Class. INSTRUCTORS Bektha Hofer Hegner, . . . Theory and "Mother-Play" Frederica Beard, . .Theory of Gifts and History of Education Miss P. H. Davis, Studies in Expression Mari Ruef Hofer, Music and Physical Culture Mr. Geo. L. Schreiber, . . Drawing, Color Work and Design Mrs. John P. Gavit, .... Home Making and Occupations Prof. Graham Taylor, Social Function of Education Specialists on Psychology and Nature Study There will be other LECTURES on Special Subjects during the year. For Circulars and particulars, address, BERTHA HOFER HEQNER, 140 North Union Street, CHICAGO Leading DcffilDepcT5-Ani/«t?eit§Everywte? "AIVIEHIGRN CO-OPERATIVE NEWS" Organ 01 the Co-Operative Union ot America iM.i:i.i:8:I.HiH p)'l(] HI»liO-[vDiaUP0MSf.[0UI^VItl[PMmAY ( (g The Direct Line BETWKtSX Chicago Indinnapolis Qincimiati L/afayette *nd all POINTS LtOuisville south THROUGH SLEEPERS TO CINCIMNATI AND WASHINGTON DAILY Subscription Price - 50 Cents a Year. Qub rate, when ordered ■with " The Coimnons." Both Magazines, one year, 75 cents. FRANK J. REED, G. P. A. CITY TICKET OFFICE, 232 CLARK ST. CHICAGO. LIBRARY UNIVEHSITVol ILllNUij THE COMMONS B Aontblv IRccorB a)evoteS to Bspccts of Xlfc anS Saboc from tbe Social Settlement point of View, \7iioIe Number 27. CHICAGO. JULY, 1898. THE DIALOGUE OF THE SPIRITS. Says the Spirit of To-day to the Spirit of All Time, " Have you seen my big macliines V My fire steeds, thiinder-shuttleeocl'4it»)'fe»>'^r»)''fe**??.(»^.(«^(*T^.<«^(«% AN INTERNATIONAL PICNIC. Nearly Two Hundred Neighbors of the Commons Have an Outing: at Evanston. One of the pleasantest of the outings which the people of the Commons and its neighbor- hood have enjoyed was one at Evanston, which a cordial group of the people there arranged and carried out in the last week of July. Two cars of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul rail- road carried 175 mothers and children up in the morning to Central avenue, whence they walked to the pleasant lake shore grounds of Mr. Edward Henderson. Nearly every national- ity represented in the district about the Com- mons had its delegates in that visitation ujjon the suburbanites, and each displayed its own manner of life and thought to advantage. The Evanston friends had made everj' possible pro- vision for comfort, bodily wants and enjoy- ment, and every soul had a happy time. It is a pleasure to mention the names of the good friends who had the matter in charge : Mr. and Mrs. F. H. McCulloch, Mrs. C. H, Moore, Miss Ella Moore, Miss Morrill, Mrs. Charles Whittemore, Miss Bowman, Mrs. Kel- logg, Mrs. J. Kellogg, Mrs. Beesou, Miss Hose Beeson, Mrs. McDonald, Mrs. Docy, Mrs. Kice, Mrs. Peterson, Mrs. Hewitt, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. J. G. Orchard, Misses Isa and Elsie Orchard, Mrs. King, Mrs. Charles Klein, Mrs. Frank Klein, Mrs. Ingraham, Mrs. and Miss Hanchett, Miss Howell, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Henderson, Miss Mary Stevens, and Miss Hahn. The group of residents who hold the fort during the summer vacation have an occasional picnic or outing themselves to compensate for the hot days of life in the dirty city. Miss Alice Hunt, formerly of the residents of Chicago Commons, is to be kindergartner at Hiram House, Cleveland, during the coming year. The settlement issues an attractive an- nouncement reviewing the work of the past year. THE COMMONS. [July, fl MONTHLY BECOBD DEVOTED TO ASPECTS OF LIFE AND LABOR FROM THE SOCIAL SETTLEMENT , POINT OF VIEW. John F. Gavit, Published on the last day of each month from Chicago Commons, a Social Settlement at 140 North Union Street, Chicago, 111. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE Fifty cents a year. (Two shillings, English; 2.50 francs, French— foreign stamps accepted.) Postpaid to any State or Country. Six copies to one address for S2.B0. Send check, draft, P. O. money order, cash or stamps, not ahave 5-cent denominations at our kisk. Renewals— The change in the date on the address label will ordinarily serve as receipt for renewals. These changes are made once In two months. In accordance \vith custom, and the expressed wish of many subscribers, we continue The Commons to each address until notified to the contrary. 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. Advertisements — First-class advertisements desired at reasonable rates, which will be furnished upon applica- tion. CHICAGO. JULY 31, 1898. THE saving element in war is the revelation of character. The most unswerving non- resistant of us all must thrill in the blood at news of deeds like that of Hobson and his crew of heroes. The pity of it is that souls like these could not be put to better use than those of hate and butchery. There is a larger call for heroism of just that quality in the pursuits of the Kingdom of God than in the emergencies of even the least objectionable war. IN AN article on " Equality " in the July Cen- tury, J a.mea Bryce, M. P., author of "The American Commonwealth," while sensibly dis- criminating between the obvious equalities and inequalities, strangely omits all reference to the nub of the whole contemporary discussion of the matter, viz., the equality of opportunity, economic and social. The " natural" inequal- ities on which the plea for deference to distinc- tion is here again based, are justly determina- ble only when tested by opportunity as nearly equal as can be opened to all. While the pas- sion for social equality may everywhere be " less strenuous " than formerly, even in France and the United States, it is perhaps deeper seated than ever not only among the great dis- inherited masses, but also even more among the socially privileged, yet isolated and there- fore discontented, classes of all lands, notably of Kussia. If the evidence that "the longing for fraternity has also declined " lies in the fact of being " seldom named, except in relig- ious addresses," then the religion which finds its widest expression in the demand for human brotherhood is more prevalent than ever before and gives good hope of the emergence of this longing " from the field of aspiration into that of reality." No sign of the times is more hope- ful than that the struggle for social and indus- trial democracy is deepening into a religious movement. G. T. THE most searching diagnosis of the present apathy in church life, which is far more widely felt than acknowledged, is made by Rich- ard Heath in the Contemporary Review for May under the title " The Waning of Evangelical- ism." To our readers the most significant fea- ture of his fearlessly friendly criticism is that he traces to a social source both the cause of and the remedy for the serious situation. To that "blindness to the great social sunrise which has lit up the whole century and is grad- ually leading to the emancipation of the labor- ing classes in Europe and America," he charges the loss to the evangelical church not only of the opportunity "to be the herald of the great salvation to them and all the world," but also its hold on the masses and on "so many of the more conscientious and finer souls in Europe and America." This blindness to the new dawn he attributes to the fact that Evangelicalism came into exist- ence " under an extremely individualistic and competitive order of things," and "has seen nothing in the Gospel but a plan of individual salvation." Of "the common salvation," of "the unity of mankind in Christ," of "the mu- tual responsibility of all men," of the fact that the " Divine Helper was in the world," he claims it has had little idea, and " failing to compre- hend this " has "never understood the age in which it has run its course." Placing its dependence uj)on the support of the great middleman class, "whose sole idea of life was to struggle upwards, let the rest of 1898. J THE COMMONS. mankind sink as they might," it was thus led to " shut its eyes more closely than ever to the great social revolution which, commencing in the last century, is still going on." It is due, he affirms, to this indifference to truth {e.g. that "God was in the Reformation but not in the Revolution ") when truth interferes with prejudice and interest, that so much harm has come to Evangelicalism. Evangelicalism has scarcely waned either numerically or ethically as much as the critic thinks. The precursors of its "new waxing" are already sufficient to suggest some other issue than that implied in his final question, " What remains but the teaching of catas- trophe?" But differ as we may about the facts or the future, none can deny either the need of this stein "recall to reality" in religion, "to be really what you profess to be," or that the church's response will be expressed in social and economic terms, indicating a radically changed attitude toward human life in all its earthly relationships. G. T. BE his ideas concerning war what they may, he is a poor specimen of man who could view with equanimity so magnificent a display of incompetency and mismanagement as that involved in the entire conduct of the Santiago campaign. It is doubtful if there is to be found in histury, civilized or otherwise, a parallel to that saturnalia of gross favoritism, politics, aimless inefficiency and incomparable bung- ling. The individual American soldier emerges from the cloud of battle, the dust or mud of the camp and the* march or the uncomplaining suf- fering of the " hcspital," with thrice-assured glory. His quality of hero stutf is attested be- yond question forever. Regimental and com- pany officers, some brigadiers and a very few generals come forth from the campaign with credit. But the rest is ignominy. Consider the appointment of a 300-pound leader for that tropical campaign |!] over the head of the com- manding general of the army. Consider the selection of camps upon sites inaccessible, unsanitary, and ridiculously unsuitable — to which, however, ran railroads whose owners or managers had friendly relations with the head of the War Department. Consider the wretched BtutE that most of the troops had to eat, driv- ing them in several instances to open mutiny. Consider the archaic equipment of most of the volunteers. Remember the miserable, pur- poseless bungling of the embarkation of the expedition of invasion at Tampa, the equally bungling arrangements for landing at Baiquiri. Recall the irresolute siege of Santiago, with victory barely filched upon the eve of retreat. Of the horrors of the treatment of the sick and wounded, of the incredible lack of medical stores, even after thirty day^ of unavailing appeal and clear understanding of the situa- tion, the murderous neglect in the shipment of scores of convalescents in foul transports without food, medicines or doctors, the less said the better. Even to the final selection of the site for the quarantine camp at Montauk Point, 150 miles from stores of supplies and in a place where even artesian wells were of doubtful possibility — every detail of the War Department's conduct of the campaign smells to heaven of irresolution, bungling, politics and incompetency. It would be far to seek a finer example of the results of the modern com- mercial system in its application to the con- duct of a great enterprise. The lives of scores of the best and bravest men who went from the ranks of industry to the front in what they believed a righteous cause are forfeit to the miserable system of private contracts in public service and of the award of positions of great responsibility to the personal and business friends of the administration without regard to fitness or experience. It is alike our hope and our prophecy that when the people under- stand the inside history of the Spanish War, there will be Trouble. And possibly there may be derived a lesson of value for the future. J. P. G. THE commanding position of the labor move- ment in English thought is indicated by the fact that the April issues of the Edinburgh, Nineteenth Century and Quarterly reviews con- tain, respectively, long and labored articles on " The State and Conditions of Labor," " A Study in Trades Unionism " and " Trades Unionism in Practice and Theory "—all inspired by the recent great strike of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers. Questions of rents and tenements, of hours and wages, are religious questions, having to do directly with the spiritual welfare of men. To expect sound spiritual life while these matters are under regulation of greed and competition and the devil, is like expecting health of a body in a house built in a malarial swamp. — Eei). Br. George Hodges. The Christian Social Union has offered prizes of $100 and $.50 for the best and second best essays on "The Duty of a Christian Minister in delation to Social Problems." None but students of theologi- cal schools will be eligible to compete. Particulars can be obtained from the Secretary of the Union, Diocesan House, Boston. THE COMMONS. [July, 5 ^ ^ Current Comment ^ .^ | THE CHICAGO NEWSPAPER STRIKE. THE spectacle of a great American city lor nearly a week without an English news- paper, without a reliable news bulletin, while all of its people were frantic for tidings of a great battle in which were at stake the lives of thousands of husbands, sons and brothers, is unparalleled in modern times. Newsboys who made $200 to $500 a week selling four-page abortions printed on hand-presses, or early editions of papers from cities 300 miles away, are not likely to be seen again in this country soon. Yet that was the state of affairs in Chi- cago the first week of July. Considering the number of men involved, and the circumstances generally, the strike and lookout of the stereotyping departments of the Chicago daily newspapers was doubtless the most extraordinary the city has ever seen. Moreover, it illustrated very completely some of the ways in which a strike should not be conducted. It is not essential that to do its work of warfare and education a strike should succeed. Many a strike which, so far as its main contention is concerned, entirely failed, has achieved its essential purpose by display- ing the issues clearly before the public and winning the people's sympathies, while it brought clearly before them the sufferings of the workers. This strike was not of that order. TO BEGIN with, the plea of the stereotypers was probably entirely a just one. Their daily toil is tremendously exacting and fatigu- ing. A trade requiring a high degree of tech- nical knowledge and skill, its performance sub- jects the workers to hours of strenuous labor in proximity to highly heated pots of type- metal, and in an atmosphere which on hot days of summer is hardly tolerable. In warm weather it is a common thing for men to be overcome and seriously affected by the tem- perature. In Boston and New York the stereo- typers receive the prices asked for in the schedule which was the immediate issue of the strike — $4.00 per diem minimum, 75 cents an hour for overtime, and a working day or night of seven hours. STEREOTYPERS' Union, No. 4, like the other typographical unions in the Chi- cago newspaper trade, has worked under a yearly renewed contract with the associated publishers, establishing the rate of wage, hours, etc., and providing for adequate notice on the part of either party, of a desire to mod- ify the agreement in any respect. In accord- ance with the terms of this contract, the stereo- typers' union filed due notice of a desire to open the question at the end of the contract year, and the publishers prepared to meet the demands which should be tiled. It is quite likely that the demands of the men would have been acceded to, or at any rate that an increase would have been secured, but the union made a grievous series of blunders, and their fat was in the fire in a jiffy. IT IS probably a fact that, with possibly three exceptions, the daily newspapers of Chi- cago have barely made expenses— if even so much^for a number of years. They could not afford a conflict with their employes, and as the demands of the stereotypers involved a total increase for the whole city of only about $40 a day, a well-managed pressure on the part of the union would almost certainly have brought about at least a material increase if not an entire concession. THE battle of Santiago was the match to the powder. While the negotiations were in progress there came the tremendous crisis in the Spanish war. Extras of all the papers were issued with frequency, the bulletin boards were thronged by anxious crowds, and hourly the stress increased. It was at this juncture that the stereotypers lost their heads, and their cause. It was comparatively simple to argue from the great public anxiety for news of that campaign to the publishers' necessity of get- ting out a paper at any cost, and since a strike is war, and in war the best tactics are to catch your enemy unawares when he is in his tightest corner and least prepared for defense, it is not to be wondered at that the leaders of the stereo- typers' union felt that the opportunity of their lives was at hand. Ignoring even the formal- ities required by their own charter and by- laws, they took the bit in their teeth, as it were, and made a headlong runaway. They gave the papers short shrift that anxious even- ing, and the negotiations closed with the thi'eat of immediate strike. THAT is exactly where the tactical blunders began. For, as the issue proved, it was just as projiitious an occasion for a lock-out as for a strike, and the closely-united publishers at once took full advantage of it and closed their offices with startling suddenness and 1898.J THE COMMONS. unanimity. Economic necessity made strange bed-fellows that evening, and on the basis of an agreement, displaying very clearly what will become of the differences of " moral prin- ciple " between capitalistic newspapers when the great labor struggle comes to the issue, the righteous limes-Herald joined hands with the detested Inter Ocean, the Republican Trib- une with the Democratic Chronicle ; the con- scientious Record and Daily News locked arms with the unscrupulous Dispatch, and the " yel- low" tyoM)-?iaJ and the immaculate and aristo- cratic Evening Post made common cause against a handful of over-worked laborers and locked them and the public out. The counting-room had achieved its final victory in the generation- long battle with the editorial department, and news and bulletins alike closed up tight for nearly a week. TO ADD to the discomfiture of the stereo- typers, the typographical union refused to endorse the strike or support the strikers. So also did the pressmen, and the strike sig- nally failed. It may be needless to inquire whether the typographical union would have stood so stoutly for strict legality in strikes if there had been any chance for victory, but the fact remains that upon one side at least a dis- tinct lesson has been learned. Not soon again will a labor uniou be likely to lose its head and take advantage of a crisis to ignore all that has been gained in favor of orderly and courteous dealings between the parties to a contract. On the other hand, the typographical union has well shown the conservative jjower of a strong labor organization, and has reflected credit upon the cause by its insistence upon adher- ence to contract solemnly and voluntarily made. THE weakness of the employers' position is clearly displayed in the fact that while none of the strikers have been restored, an ex- ception was made, willy nilly, in favor of the foreman in each office, for he alone had the secret of the paste-process upon which good and economical stereotyping depends. The solidification of the business interests of the newspapers is to be regretted. The newspapers of Chicago have never been over-scrupulous about truth-telling, as was finely illustrated in the carnival of falsehood which characterized the days of the Pullman strike. But their rivalry and mutual hatred were some guarantee of the truth leaking out unbeknownst. It will be a simple matter now for the business office combination to misrepresent and supijress, and the truth will be more easily stifled in cases of an economic nature in which the interests of the combination or the friends of any member of it are at stake. All in all, the strike was a very great misfortune, and the net result to the cause of labor may be set down as a loss. N. E. T. That dreadful Michigan anarchist, Pingree, has broken loose again. His latest political heresy is the dogma that every one should be made to pay his just share of taxes. — Chicago Journal. 'In His Steps'^ A Story by REV. CHARLES M. SHELDON, of Topeka, Kan. ONE OF THE FEW STORIES IN WHICH THE SOCIAL SETTLEMENT PLAYS A PART. Order through " The Commons." Paper Covers, - - - 25 cents. Cloth Covers, - - - 75 cents. "The Commons" for a year, and " In His Steps," in cloth covers, >p * "UU P. F. Pettibone & Co. INCOKPOBATED PRINTERS STATIONERS BLANK BOOK MAKERS Chicago Manufacturers ol PATENT FLEXIBLE FLAT OPENING BLANK BOOKS Commercial Litbograpblng 48 and 50 Jackson Street CHICAGO Novelties in Stationery Articies Society Stationery and Engraving: SPECIAL, ATTENTION TO OHCRCH WORK THE COMMONS. [July, GDlCjOO Gommons Klndergarien Traioing School Year Opens . October 3, 1898 . Two years' course in Kindergarten Tiieory and Practice. A course in Home Making. Industrial and Social Development Emphasized. Also a Mothers' Class. INSTRUCTORS Bertha Hofer Hegner, . . . Theory and "Mother-Play" Frederica Beard, . . Theory of Gifts and History of Education Miss P. H. Davis, Studies in Expression Mari Ruef Hofer Music and Physical Culture Mr. Geo. L. Schreiber, . . Drawing, Color Work and Design Mrs. John P. Gavit, .... Home Making and Occupations Prof. Graham Taylor, Social Function of Education ^^^^^^^^^ ' Specialists on Psychology and Nature Study There will be other LECTURES on Special Subjects during the year. For Circulars and particulars, address, BERTHA HOFER HEGNER, 140 North Union Street, CHICAGO LeBdir?g Denlhl DepoT&-Ani/wkre§Every*tee' "fllWEHlGflH CO-^PERflTlVE HEWS" Organ ol the Co-Operative Union of America. Subscription Price - 50 Cents a Year. Club rate, when ordered ■with " The Commons." Both Magazines, one year, 75 cents. MDNDN ROUTE g ))(HltA60.|K0IA»IAP0tlSf-|01H5VlllE|}MITOV (f t) THe Direct L/Inb KETWEEy Chicago India^napolis Cincinimti I^afayottG LfOuisvillG AND ALL POINTS SOUTH THROUGH SLEEPERS TO CINCINNATI AND WASHINGTON DAILY FRANK J. REED, G. P. A, CITY TICKET OFFICE. 232 CLARK ST. CHICAGO. UNIVErSIU fi III! THE COMMONS a e Doing her very best To lead the little city folks Away from her nest. And. oh, the flocks of blackbirds, And pretty siiuirrels, too!"— Jack: "O, pa! I heard a g'at big fog Say, 'Wer-oo! Wer-oo! Wer-oo!' Julia: "And we saw lots of fishes Swimming in the brook! It made us feel like watling. So we children took All our shoes and stockings ofE "- Jack: "Oh, pa! Isawa'nake!" Julia: "Oh, yes! he caught a teeny frog, And then he tried to make His dinner from him, but we got A big long stick and threw "— Jai-k : " Pa, pa, I heard a g'at big fog Say, ' Wer-oo! Wer-oo! Wer-oo!'" Mamma: " I saw the happy little folks Having their vacation. And I heard the glad noises Of tlieir jubilation. Tlien I thought of papa working In the stifling shop; Of ten thousand other men With no time to stop; Of ten thousand motliers Gasping in the heat; Twice ten thousand children Scorcliing in tlie street— Tlien the proverb handed From our fathers down, ' God made the country, Man made the town,' In my mind kept running. While I hoped the day Soon would dawn when every one Would liave time to play With their wives and children. In the country, too." Jack: " O, pa! I heard a o'nt liiij fog Say, 'Wer-oo! Wer-oo! Wer-oo! BOYS' CAMP CLOSING. Saecessfal Sammer's Work .Attested by One Char. acteristic Incident — Girls at the Camp Enjoy Theiuselves. Just as The Commons goes to press for this issue, Camp Goodwill, at Elgin, is coming to a close. The last two weeks have been enjoyed by a party of the girls of the Chicago Commons neighborhood, nearly a score going out under the charge of Miss Carrie M. Clawson, of the settlement. They have enjoyed the camp fully as much as did the boys, and went swimming with as much zest, though it is but fair to add, with rather less freedom of dress! One incident of the last days of the boys' stay at camp will serve to answer the many- times-repeated question, " Has this camp busi- ness any real effect uj^on character? Would the boys behave themselves there any better than they do iu the city if there was no one w.atehing them?" It has been the custom of the camp since its founding in May to have a simjjle vesper service every evening after sup- per, consisting of two or three familiar hymns, like " Abide With Me," " Now the Day Is Over," and " The Shadows of the Evening Hour," a chapter from the Bible and a short prayer. The boys have seemed to enjoy the service greatly. A fortnight before the last of boys left, it was necessary for Mr. Weeks to spend one night in Chicago, and with some misgivings he left the camp somewhat to its own devices, one older boy who had been most helpful being left in charge. This letter from Mr. Weeks upon his return to the camp is self-explanatory: My Dear : If I needed any further proof th.it the camp work really was accoiuplishitig something, I have it now. The report when I returneii this morning was all oue could wish. Things went just as if I had been liere. Ed conducted the vesvier service just as usual. Hereportsthat no boy made the least trouble, and that everything went as smoothly as possible. Nothing could have given me more satisfaction than to find that 1 can trust tlie boys so much more than I had thought possible. But I don't believe it could have been done a month ago. I credit it to the influ- ence of the camp. Let this be the report to our friends who have helped us conduct the camp, with regard to the investment of their gifts! It is only men collectively that live the life of man. — Goetlie. THE COMMONS. [August, £ J- Si5e=:Xlgbt Sftetcbes ^ * lFob the commons.] CHILDREN IN SUMMER, Slimmer lias come. List to the hum ! Bees, birds, ami butterflies, sweet-scented breeze, Clover-blooms bending, and fruit-iaden trees. Blossoms and grasses refreshed by the showers. Old-fashioned gardens run-over with flowers, Wheat-Belds all golden, and hay-mows all sweet, Cool plashing brook, for the small, dimpled feet, Uwh are the children, in Sunnner. .Summer has come. List to the liuni ! Rumbling of trucli-wheels and traflie and cries; Fetid and stifling the odors that rise; Gaunt little children are swarming the street. Keeking the shadows, to liide from the heat. Pitiful waihugs of babies in pain. In pestilent rooms, where the Fever hath lain. Doomed are the children, in Summer. Mrs. McVean-Adams. THE CLOTHES AND THE CATSUP. THIS very commonplace line of clothes, witli the barrels underneath them, was the oc- casion of one of those serio-comic incidents that add zest to the life in settlement neigh- borhoods. Upon a day in August a most ex- traordinary row was> heard in progress a bit down the street from the settlement, and as its noise grew momently louder and the shrill cries of women in deadly peril or unrestrained anger rose higher and higher the llesident whose work by his window was thus disturbed ran hastily down the street to do what might be possible to save life or at least restore the peace. The scene upon which he arrived was one not soon to be forgotten. IN THE midst of a large open court between the piano factory and the row of crowded ten- ements at the end of the block was a howling, fighting, frantic lot of women, distinctly divis- ible into two nationalities, Irish and Italian, and while the Irish women shrieked and cursed at the " Dagoes " in rich, broguef ul profanity and vituperation, the Italians returned as good in their own soft language, which can become anything but soft under stress of violent emo- tion. And they .were pounding, scratching, biting, pulling and hauling, as they fought, while under foot and torn between strviggling hands was a heterogeneous collection of clothes, most of which were generously smeared with a thick red substance which might have been the THE CLOTHES AND THE CATSUP. 1898.J THE COMMONS. brains of some vanquished Amazon, but wliioh in reality was sometliing quite different. AT THIS season of tlie year it is tlie custom of the Italians to uialje a sort of tomato cat- sup, which they spread upon boards, and set in the sun to dry. It is a common sight in the tenements of Chicago to see large numbers of these red-smeared boards lying in the sun on garbage - boxes, steps and in windows. And there could be no more j^ropitious place in which to dry a large area of catsup than in the yard between the piano factory and the tene- monts aforesaid. tory fails to record whether an Italian house- wife looked out and found the wet Irish clothes in her precious catsup, or whether an Irish laundress was first to find the nasty red stuff to be the landing-place of her clean laundry. Concerning this detail witnesses fail to agree. But there is no dispute about the fact that within twenty seconds after the discovery there was war. The Resident, who made the reck- less hazard of attempting to be jjeacemaker in this riot of the races and the industries, was never able to form a judgment as to the com- parative indignation of the Irish because their clothes were soiled and the Italians because of A SCHOOL-YARD PLAYCiKOUND GLIMPSE. Boys Using Some of the Turn Verein Apparatus. BUT it chances that Irish women live also upon the environs of that yard, and it is their custom to hang their wash out from their windows upon lines stret-^hed between the buildings. It has been for years the usual thing to find upon August afternoons long lines of drying clothes hanging in the sun, and just underneath, upon the tojis of barrels and boxes, rows of square boards plastered with the far more palatable than attractive-looking red catsup-paste. UPON this day in question the proximity was fatal. For it chanced that a breeze blew through the yard, and some weak strand in the Irish clothes-line pi-oved recreant, His- the wreck and waste of their winter's catsup. But the battle was a mighty one, and it re- quired persuasion, threats, some force, and a general use of extraordinary diplomacy to re- store peace. The Resideut ttnally smoothed matters over by helping the laundresses to re- store their broken clothes-lines, and the house- wives to scrape up and rescue such of their catsup as was not irrevocably lost. This pho- tograph was taken only about an hour before the battle. That one man should die ignorant who had a ca- pacity for knowledge, this I call a tragedy. — C'ar- lyle. THE COMMONS. [August. GUflO comons Kindergarien Trainliifl scnooi Year Opens . October 3, 1898 . Two years' course in Kindergarten Theory and Practice. A course in Home Making. Industrial and Social Development Emphasized. Also a Mothers' Class. INSTRUCTORS Bertha Hofer Hegner, . . . Theory and "Mother-Play" Frederica Beard, . .Theory of Gifts and History of Education Miss P. H. Davis, Studies in Expression Mari Ruef Hofer Music and Physical Culture Mr. Geo. L. Schreiber, . . Drawing, Color Work and Design Mrs. John P. Gavit, .... Home Making and Occupations Prof. Graham Taylor Social Function of Education Specialists on Psychology and Nature Study There will be other LECTURES on Special Subjects during the year and particulars, address. For Circulars BERTHA HOFER HEGNER, 140 North Union Street, CHICAQO L?adir!gDwtolDepoI&-Any>»terE§Ewryw)i«e' "AlVIEHIGflH GO-OPERflTlVE KEWS" Organ ol the Co-Operative Union of America Subscription Price - 50 Cents a Year Club rate, when ordered with " The Commons." Both Magazines, one year, 75 cents. iM.I!l.l!l:l.lliii f^jjQiicAoo.|»iOH«*poiiSf loui^vmtP3i»!w((3 Thb IDireot Line SETWEEy Chicago Irtdinnapolis CincinnaLti L,afayGtto Louisville AND ALL POINTS SOUTH THROUGH SLEEPERS TO CfNCINNATr AND WASHINGTON DAILY FRANK J. REED, G. P. A. CITY TICKET OFFICE, 232 CLARK ST. CHICAGO. MISS ADDAMS ON "THE COLLEGE WOMAN AND THE FAMILY CLAIM." - ■***■ A MONTHLY RECORD DEVOTED TO ASPECTS OF LIFE AND LABOR FROM THE SOCIAL SETTLEMENT POINT OF VIEW. VOL. in, NO. 5. CHICAGO, SEPTEMBER, J 898. PHASES OP LIKE IN CROWDED CITY CENTERS PROGRESS OP MANY ENDEAVORS IN HUMAN SERVICE STUDIES OK THE LABOR MOVEMENT NEWS OK THE SOCIAL SETTLEMENTS SOCIAL WORK OK THE CHURCHES GROWTH OK THE IDEAL OK BROTHERHOOD AMONO MEN FROM EUCHIDAS. They set within Diana's fane a simple stone to say Who ran to Delphi and returned within a single day. A gallant course ! who would not wish for strength and skill so tried? For loyalty and will to keep the path until he died? For power so disciplined to do the hests of strong desire ? And, best of all, to run for man and carry sacred fire? — y. J. O' Conner. FIFTY CENTS A YEAR— SINGLE COPIES, TEN CENTS. tnttred in Cnicagu fost-uttic CHRISTIAN MISSIONS AND SOCIAL PROGRESS GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME I. I. The Sociological Scope of Christian Missions. II. The Social Evils of the non-Christian World. IIL Ineffectual Remedies and the Causes of their Failures. IV. Christianity, the Social Hope of the Nations. VOLUME n. V. The Dawn of a Sociological Era in Missions. VL The Contribution of Christian Missions to Social Progress. Appendix L Statistical Survey of Foreign Missions throughout the World. 1. Evangelistic. 5. Philanthropic and Reformatory. 2. Educational. 6. Cultural. Missionary Training Institutions. Literary. 4. Medical. Native Ori,'^anization Appendix II. Directory of Foreign Mission Societies in All Lands. Appendix HI. Bibliography of Recent Literature on Missions. Index. In addition, each Lecture is provided -with a special Bibliography. EARLY NOTICES. ALD." REV. E. E. STRONG, D. D., I.N THE "MISSION "A brief Study of this volume reveals its great value. The theme is a fresh one, and its treatment clear and vivacious. The chapter upon the ' Social Evils of the non-Christian World " is a masterly presentation of society in unevangelized lands, and it is followed by an equally powerful chapter on the failure of the ethnic religions and the adequacy of the Gospel as a remedy for these evils. Christianity, and Christianity alone, is able to restore society to its proper order. This is not an abstract discussion, but an argument founded on facts, which are admirably marshalled for the purpose. We congratulate the Revell Company upon this notable addition to its long list of missionary publications." REV. F. S. DOBBINS, IN "THE EXAMINER."' "1 am sure that 1 am not mistaken in esteeming it as the greatest missionary book of the century." PPES. CHAS. CUTHBERT HALL, IN "THE E.VPOSITOR." "The educational value of this book to ministers, theological students, and laymen, can hardly be overstated. The bibliography appearing in connection with each lecture is tjeyond praise." PROF. GRAHAM TAYLOR. "The most helpful contribution toward a Christian Sociology that has yet been made, and the most important work for the future of foreign missions that 1 have ever seen." " It should be emphasized that this book deals with the heathenism of to-day, not with that of twenty, forty, fifty years ago, like some works of reference now superannuated but still popular in missionary meetings. We do not hesitate to pronounce it the best book on the subject, and to commend it most highly to missionary students of all classes." — The Standard, Sociological Study f oreidii IHissions REV. J^ J- J- JAMES S. DENNIS D.D. Jt jt J, Author oi ••FOREIGN MISSIONS AFTER A CENTURY.' WITH Jt Jt ^ FIFTY FULL-PAGE REPRODUCTIONS ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS. 2 Vols., 8vo, Qoth, Gilt Tops, Each, $2.50 VoL L Ready. Sent Post fm on Receipt Of Price FLEMING H. REVELL CO., Publishers NEW YORK Jt CHICAGO J* TORONTO The commons B flDontblie IRccorft EienoteB to Bspects of Xifc an& Xalioc from tbe Social Settlement (oint of View, Whole Number 29. CHICAGO. SEPTEMBER, 1898. THE GIFT OF LOVE. It is Id loTinp:. not in being loved, TliP liPuri is lilpst; It is in givinj;. not in seeliing gifts. We liud our quest. If tlinuart luingry. Iarl anit tire people.** The Commons H flDonlbls 1Recor6 ScvotcS to aspects of life an6 Sabot from tbe Social Settlement {point of ItHcw. John P. Gavit, Pul)]ished on the last day of each month from Chicago Commons, a Social Settlement at no North Union Street, Chicago, 111. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE Fifty cents a year. (Two shillings, English; 2.50 francs, French— foreign stamps accepted.) Postpaid to any State or Country. Six copies to one address for .$2.50. Send check, draft, P. O. money order, cash or stamps, »w)t abiree 5-cent deiiominatioTn at our kisk. Renewals— The change in the date on the address laliel will ordinailly serve as receipt for renewals. These changes are made ouch id two mmths. In accordance with custom, and the expressed wish of many subscriliers, we continue The Commons to each address until notified to the contrary. Changres of Address— Please notify the publishers promptly of any change of address, or of failure to receive the paper within a reasonabli' interval after it is due. Advertisements — First-class advertisements desired at reasonable rates, which will be furnished upon applica- tion. CHICAGO. SEPT. 30, IS "/->0 OPEKATION is tbe peace of industry, V^ tlie opposite of competition, which is the war of industry." — Henry D. Lloyd. M'" ISS ADD.AMS' article in this issue, on The College 'Woman and the Family Claim," we cordially recommend to the earnest attention of every parent of a keen-minded daughter. THE editor of The Commons returns to his post in time to sa.y that a four weeks' vaca- tion was possible for him this year only through the kindness of Professor Taylor in assuming, in addition to his already crowding duties, practically all of the burden of preparing this issue for the press. FOR six months Mr. Percy Alden, warden of Mansfield House, Canning Town, East Lon- don, has pursued a leisurely journey around the world to secure a much-needed rest and recre- ation. In Australia, India, New Zealand, China, Japan and America he has quietly made those social observations which he is so well quali- fied to take and with which he will regale his friends for years to come. At many points on his way across our continent he has been wel- comed in not a few settlements and private homes, as not only an honored guest, but a cherished personal friend. He sails from New York October 1st to re-enter his great and re- sponsive held of work with renewed health and strength, carrying with him the godspeids of all of us who know him to be worthy of old Homer's tribute, " He was a friend of man, and lived in a house by the side of the road." IT IS with sincerest regret that we note the close of the Clybourn settlement, Chicago, on August 31et. For five years its neighbor- hood work has been so effective as to command the hearty co-operation of its neighbors not only, but the respect of all the settlements and the many other friends of the social move- ment. Its success has been specially marked in the hold the Day Nursery work took upon family life as represented by the children cared for, and also in the inspiration and energy given to the movement of associating day nurseries in Chicago and other places by its head worker, Kev. N. B. W. Gallwey. His in- telligent and stirring addresses on child-saving have been among the best delivered before the Mothers' Congress and the Day Nursery Asso- ciation. He has made a brave but losing strug- gle to provide the support for the rnpidly growing work of the settlement without having a sufUcieutly large or well enough organized con- tributary constituency behind him. There is no more responsive held for settlement service anywhere than in the district centering at Cly- bourn avenue and Halsted street, and we are glad that two churches, whose pastors and members have been more or less interested in the work which has been prosecuted there, are determined to attempt the continuance of some of its features. BENEATH the univ;ersal horror and indigna- tion justly aroused by the assassination of the Empress of Austria, there are surely facts which furnish food for calm reflection as well as incentive toward a profounder fathoming of the social situation. That the deed was done by a man who had been an anarchist ever since his thirteenth year of age, under a conviction of "duty" which rendered him not more re- gardless of his victim's life than his own, and as an act of loyalty to a theory of social order, with which thousands of people in all lands would supplant " burgeois society," at least challenges thoughtful attention. While with 1898. THE COMMONS. organized labor and all friends ot the social movement, we not only abhor the crime and la- ment the backset which all such violence gives to progress, we yet insist upon the necessity of a wider and more thorough uuderatauding of the conditions which occasion, if they do not cause, such acts. Only this more accurate knowledge of and modifying personal contact with the men, who are being carried to such extremes of social fanaticism, can possibly meet tlie evil. It thrives and alarmingly prop- agates itself, when and wherever met only with repressive legislation, and police or mili- tary force. A direct, able, continuous and pro- gressive educational propaganda for social uni- fication, with open economic discussion pro- viding for liberty of thought and freedom of speech, is the only available means of eventu- ally undermining and counteracting the in- tensely active, desperately earnest, wholly self- sacrificing, and increasingly wipread prop- aganda, which the anarchists are making, through their literature, public meetings and personal work in the name of iudividiial liber- ty. Something of the philosophy and more of the calibre of two of the greatest anarchist leaders may be gleaned from the Atlantic Monthly for September. The character and career of Prince Kropotkin are sketched by Robert Krskine Ely, prefacing tbe first part of his autobiograpby. Elisije Heclus, colaborer with Kropotkin both in scientific pursuits and and in the piopagauda of anarchism, also con- tributes an incisive article on " I'he Vivisec- tion of China." There can be no better meas- urement of the kind and quality of ability re- quired to controvert or modify the anarchistic propaganda than the sheer strength of the character, cultivated capacities and convictions of these greatest champions of voluntary asso- ciation as the substitute for government by law. 'I'he promotion of social justice and the equality of economic opportunity will most surely and speedily rid the earth of those frightful resorts to extremity which root back in resentment against actual injustice, or even the exaggeration of oppressive conditions. But to be really happy you must have some- one to share your joy; one can bear grief, but it takes two to be glad. — The Philistine. The great cause of revolutions is this — that while nations move onward constitutious stand still. — Macauki/. Fairer wreatlis are due. though never paid, To those w'lio, posted at the shrine of Truth, Have fallen In her defense.— Cuwper. WAYMARKS OF THE SOCIAL MOVEMENT. It is surely a sign of the new times at hand when a little suburban club of the heads of neighboring homes plan to discuss, around their firesides, such questions as tbese, which constitute their docket for the coming winter : "The priaciples cif just distrlbutlou cif wealth." " Eco- nomic comlitlons nf the past coinpired with those of tlie pre-^eut."" Economical habltsof living— effect up. in national wealth," "Training children in the use of money." "Sym- po~iuni— Proper proportions ot income to be applied to various uses." " Some of the causes of and r-'inedies for the holding by Idlers of unearned wealth," " Economic status of women," "Simeof the causes of and remedies tor pov- ert5"," " Some financial temptations and how to overcome them," "Symposium— Uemen every d ly going back and forth, and who have done this tor a score of years in the serv.ce of the coinp my. Let them pi-ovide a fund out of which ju-t claims and compensation could be paid, instead of making the men sign a paper eleariuL' the company of all responsibility and turning them away without a cent. Let them provide a hospital in Pullman where our sick 12 THE COMMONS. September, could get medical and surgical aid (instead of tlie hot-water cure Klw«ys reci'nunended by siime) at little cost. Let tlieni further reduce the still exorbitant rents (house and water). Let them j;ive the hundreds who still owe back rent (caused by ihe strike) a receipt in full. This back reut alone keeps us down. Let them shorten the working hours, and. last but not least, advance the wages they have so cunningly reduced from time to time. Pullman, Aug. 20. A Cabinf.t.maker. SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE. Committee Arran^iii§r for an Important Meeting i Mr. Eobert A. Woods, of South End House, Boston, Miss Jane Aildams, of Hull House, Chi- cago, and Vr. Jane E. Bobbins, formerly head of the \ew York ( ollege Settlement, are the committee arranging for a general Settlement Conference, to be held in Chicago May 1.5 next. Just what the program will be is not decided. The committee is preparing a preliiuinary call for the conference, to be sent to each settle- ment, asking for suggestions as to topics and spt-akers, and a provisional program will fol- low. The conference is looked forward to with interest by all settlement folk. CHORUSES BEGINNING. Bright Outlook for Musical WotU at the Commons th s Year. No part of the activity centering at the Com- mons haH done more for the social life of our community than the Choral Club, which has its opening social for the year on October i-'. It is made up almost entire y of hard.working people to whom the weekly evening of song is a treat and a recreation. Cnder the direction for the four years since its founding, of Miss Mari K. Kofer, who was assisted last year by Miss Katharine Crawford, the chorus has stud- ied some of tl]^ best music, and has given sev- eral concerts, which have become leatures of the neighborhood life. Last year the compo- sitioTS most thoroughly worked and given for the enjipyment of the club's irietids, were Long- fellow's " WrecK of the HesperuH," as inter- preted in music by Auderton; Fanning's "The Vikinjr," Kipling's •' Hecessional " (music by DeKoven), and a number of line part songs. ( oncerts were given in February and June. Local organization will make the social out- reach more effective this year, and the pro- -gram for the winter's work is very attractive anri inspiring. Hardly second in value is the children's chorus, which meets Thursday afternoons and does quite as much in its way for the study of good music as the adult chorus. It has as- sisttd at several of the concerts, and played its pait well in the Christmastide ■' Christ Tales" entertainment at Central Music Hall. Its work this year will be further fostered by scholarships for study by promising singers and by prospect of participation in the period- ical concerts. GOOD-WILL CAMP. Mr. WeeiiB Summarizes the Results of His "Work Willi the Boys. Mr W. H. Weeks, of the Commons resident force, thus outlines iu retrospect his own view of the work at whose head he was during the summer, in the camp of the Good- Will Club at Elgin, to which frequent reference has been made : In planning the summer work for the boys two objects were sought: first, to remove the boy from his usual surroundings to a more helpful environment; seconil, to bring him un- der the constant influence of our workers for some length of time. Through the kindness of friends of the work, one of whom placed at our disposal a tract of laud admirably suited to our piirpnse, others supplying necessary support, we were enabled to gain these two ends. The Good Will Camp opened the latter part of May on the Frazier f«rm, just outside Elgin. Our farm had already been planted, and the boys who went out at the start busied them- selves with caring for that and preparing the camp for the larger groups which were to come lati r. Uy July our full equipment of three tents and a cook house was ready for the rest of the boys. The camp was kept open for twelve weeks for the boys and two for the girls, during which time fifty boys imd sixteen girls enjoyed its privileges for periods varying from one to ten weeks. Our city boys and girls entered into the camp life and work even better than we had expected. The care of the camp, the assistance in the cooking and the working of the farm were cheer- fiilly and faithfully done. .An interest and pride in the camp and farm as, in a way, be- longing to them, made it easy to secure their CO op-ration in all its work. For recreation the river and crt-ek furnished abundant oppor- tuniiy for swimming and fishing, the woods and fields gave space for all the sports of boy life, while our box of books and games provided amusement for tlie hottest hours and rainy days. RESULTS ON HEALTH AND CHAKAOTER. In its results the work came fully up to our expectations. Most apparent, perhaps, was its efii-ct on the health of the boys. The fresh air of the country, habits of cleanliness, and the plain, substantial food brought large improve- ment in many cases. Hut no less apparent to the workers was the effect on c ndui-t. The very freedom of country life gave outlet for the b yish spirits in harmless enjoyment. The daily application to work in which he was in- terested had its steadying influence on the boy. In addition to the influence which might be exerted by the workers through word and ex- ample, we bi gan in camp a more direct teaching of the elements of character. his took the form of an evening service of song, scripture and prayer. The boys entered into this ser- vice heartily and reverently, and with consid- erable interest. On one point we found we 18i>8.J THE COMMONS. 13 could all agree, tbat the life and teachinff of Jesus furnlslied the highest standard oi char- acter. Starting from this common ground, we tried in our vesper services to learn something of that standard, and how we might make our lives conform more nt-arly to it. Both through this St-rvice and in the daily work we wought especially to overcome two faults, profanity and selfishness, displayed in the constant seeking of some advantage over the others. We feel that iu both of these re- spects we were to a very large extent success- ful. A marked change came over the language of the boys after a few weeks in camp, while a spirit of helpfulness and kindness steadily grew up in place of the quarrelsome, self-seek- ing spirit wliich was so general at Urst. Especially gratifying was it to liud as the season ailvanced how much more we could trust the boys. Where, early in the summer, there wiis need of constant supervision over work and play, it later became possible to leave them quite to themselves. Even when left to manage the camp over night, they proved their trustworthiness even to the extent of carrying on the vesper service as usual. Our experience of the summer added one mor^ proof of the value of the country life in the settlement work. So well satisfied are we with thif hi St trial, that we plan to continue it on a larger scale in the summers to come, making it a permanent feature of settlement activity. We hope that the time is not far dis- tant when we may be able to secure as a part of our equipment a farm where we may center all of our summer work with its camps for the boys and the girls, its cottages for the young ladies' and women's clubs. With such a per- manent center, this work on which we have made a successful start could be far more etiectively developed into a powerful influence in raising to a higher pline the lives of those among whom we live and labor. SUMMER SOCIAL GATHERINGS. Two Pleasant Recepti) by the Residents of the The settlement has never exercised its social functions to better purpose or more pleasure than on two recent occasions. When the offi- cers of the neighboring Tabernacfe church, with tiie ladies of their household, spent the evening socially with their pastors and the other residents in the cheery parlors at the Commons, new inspiration and courage came to each for the hard, but surely succeeding strtiggle, to save their old church home for its ministry to all the people of this great com- munity. .\n afternoon reception, given to many guests from many walks in life, rallied a large and interesting group of men and women from all parts of the city to meet Prof. Casper Rene tiregi^ry, of the University of Leipsic, and Mr. I'erey Akieu, warden of Mansfield House, East London. The former bears the distinc- tion of being one of only two Americans in German university professorships. It is as significant as it was refreshing to tiud this eminent scholar in New Testament criticism so widely informed and thoroughly en rapport with the social movement, both in Germany and America His interpretation of the "Na- tional Social Union," which under the brilliant leadership of Pastor Naumann is beginning to be a distinct political force in the fatherland, was both illuminating and profoundly sug- gestive. Mr. Alden graphically described what he has recently seen of the introduction of the factory system into .Japan, which is producing there the same inilustrial revolution which England experienced in the laht century. He has promised to give to our readers, in an early issue of 'I'HB Commons, his personal impress- ions of the social progress being made in Aus- tralia, New Zealand and Japan. ORIGINAL SOCIAL S fUDIES. Forces at War AVithin Our Ward— Social Function of the *4aloon. Two of our student residents have made orig- inal summer studies of the ueighboruood life, reporting the results of their observations to the settlement in carefully prepared papers. One classified the " Social Forces of the Ward," and included an annlysis of the population by nationalities, a tabulation of church organiza- tions, services and attendances, a census of the schools and their several departments, and a classification of the deteriorating forces of the ward. The other paper presented the re- sult of the author's investigation of " The So- cial function of the Saloon ' in an attempt to account lor its persistent existence. His con- cliisiou is as follows : " There are iu the heveu- teenth Ward eighty saloons, which pay $)t)0 each for license, makin}< in all $ie,iiU'P, drawn almost exclusively Irom the pockets of the poor each year. Add to this an equal sum to represent the saloonkeepers' profits, although double the amount would come nearer the actual case. We have now $-ii,(iciii spent annu- ally by the destitute poor of a siUKle ward to provide places for recreation lunches and so- cial opportunities. Were this sum expended wisely in pursuit of the same entls, what might these people not enjoy! If the tlir«-e great pil- lars upon which we have endeavored to show the saloon rests, viz., the need of a dispensary of cheap food, the craving for stimulant and the reasonable demand for a soirial center, are taken to support a more worthy institution, the darkened structure will fall from lack of support and bury in its ruins the evil it produces." COMMONS NOTES. The Epworth League of the Berwyn (111.) M. E. t'hurch conducted a uu i.ber of pic- nics for the settlement children and young people. The kindergarten mo hers had a de- lightful excursion at the invitation of the Ber- wyn ladies. The autumn session of the Woman's Club opened auspiciously under the chairmanship of its new president, Mrs. L. I'onant who has long been one of our most faithful and efficient non-resiiient workers from Oak Hark. The hour of meeting has been changed from the 14 THE COMMONS. [September, former evening appointment to Friday after- noon, the attendance thus far justifying the change. The Open Chu>ck Magazine for -July had an interesting illustrated deseription of the work of Westminster House, Buffalo. If the government can send a written letter to its destination satisfactorily, would it pro- duce anarchy to have it send a telegraph letter? — Cleveland Citizen. The Kew Time magazine, having passed through a very serious peried of financial crisis, ]S now upon its feet through the gen- erosity of a rich Toronto rudical, r. J. McBride, and shows signs of new life. It is still under the editorsljip of Frederick U. Adams, and is no longer connected with the publisliing busi- ness of Charles H. Kerr & Co. Miss Mary M. Kingsbury, head of the New York College Settlement, at 95 Kiviugton St., is the author of a striking pamphlet in the Chribtian social Union series, on "Socialism as an Educative and Social Force on the East Side." It pays high tribute to the value for popular education of the socialist ;igitation amonfj the Jews of the dense East Side of Mew York City. I he personnel of the Commons household this season includes fifteen women and eight men residents, representing istates as distant as Colorado on the west and Connecticut on the east. The difliculty iu proviiling accom- modation for the most desirable applicants for residence, and more still in making comfort- able those who are received, emphasizes the imperative necessity of pmmpt and vigorous effort to secure an adequate new building to shelter the workers and their ever-growing work. The Kindergarten Training Class proved so successful last year that the settlement resi- dence can no longer accommodate all of those desiring to combine settlement experience with their training for kindergarten service. Jo meet the demand for accommodations this year, Mrs. Hertha Hofer Hegner has been obliged to provide home quarters for many of the young ladies within her own family circle under an- other roof. This new "Home l lub" promises to be a permanent feature of our kindergarten enterprise. The summer kindergarten at Chicago Com- mons closed on Friday, Aug. 26. It has been the most satisfactory vacation work that has been done ia this department since the settle- ment, at the suggestion of Mrs. Lucretia Wil- lanl Treat, first called for volunteers to work for room and board at the expense of their vacation, among the children of this needy district. About forty children have been cared for, and it is only a simple fact to say that Miss Bessie Koberts, of Postville, Iowa, and Miss Mary L. Morse, of Milbury, Mass., have been getting fat with the sheer happiness of work among the dear children who flocked to their presence. Miss Boberts is to have kin- dergarten work in Edgewater, 111., this winter, and Miss Morse at the Chicago Kindergarten Institute, of which both are graduates. 9 iRotes ot tbe ^ ^ .^ ^ | I ^ ^ ^ Social Settlements s AN AMERICAN DEDICATION. Mi88 Hay Opens the Garden at Robert Browning HaU on Independence Day. American ties in London are strengthened by the enthusiastic feeling reported from Wal- worth, South London, toward the Idea of an Anglo-American alliance. It found strong ex- pression on the Fourth of July, when Miss Hay, daughter of Col. John Hay, the American Am- bassador to England, dedicated with appropri- ate ceremonies the little garden In the rear of Kobert Browning Hall, opened for the use of the neighborhood. The yard was formerly a cemetery, but Is now redeemed from the uses of the dead to those of ministry to the living. The exercises were in the nature of an Ameri- can celebration, and the most cordial feeling was shown. Kev. Horace L. Strain, fellow of 1896 at Halle, Germany, of the Chicago Theological Semin- ary, spoke at Browning Hall Pleasant Sunday afternoon the following Sunday, and reports an enthusiastic applause following the slightest reference to the International good-fellowship, even before the audience knew that he himself was an American. SETTLEMENT NOTES. At the reopening reception of the new Gad's Hill settlement, Chicago, for its second winter's work, the speakers represented other settle- ments, the Y. M. C. A., and the neighborhood churches. The Commons extends Its congratulations, not too late at least for the honeymoon, to Mr. and Mrs. George Albert Bellamy, of Hiram House, Cleveland, and Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Condit, of Chicago Commons. The librarian of Public Library of Cleve- land, Ohio, reports that of the monthly circu- lation of its ten branches "Hiram House contributes over half, and shows so far that the books are thoroughly appreciated." Ten of their boys studied Latin and two Greek last season. During the summer six hundred pack- ages of seed were distributed In the neighbor- hood, and prizes await the best window box and garden. 'J'he warden and residents of the house gave a very pleasant luncheon recently 1o its co-operating committee and representa- tives of Goodrich House, at which Prof. Graham 'Taylor, of Chicago Commons, was also a guest, and spoke of the promising outlook for the work of this settlement. 1898.] THE COMMONS. 15 In the American Journal of Sociology for Sep- tembfr Prof. Charles Zeubliu has an admirably suggestive article ou "Municipal Playgrounds." Its graphic illustrations appeal powerfully to the eye. In the absence of the editor of The Commons, we make bold to quote this well- merited sentence : " It is not invidious to men- tion here that the success of the playgrounds is largely due to the initiation of the movement by Miss Sadie American, the symj^athy of Mayor Harrison, and the invaluable services of Mr. J. P. Gavit, of The Commons, chairman of the playground committee, and Mr. W. H. Noyes, of the Henry Booth House. This does no in- justice to the thirteen faithful attendants and the other members of the committee." Miss -American writes on " The Movement for Small Playgrounds" in the same number of the Journal, instituting a very fair contrast be- tween the more ample provisions made in Eu- ropean cities, and also in a few of the Eastern States. 1 he irksomcness of labor in relation to tbe iuKtinct of workmanship is suggestively treated by Thorstiue Veblen. The noblest task that any individual can aspire to is to be ihe seed of a new truth or a beneticent reform. — Herbert N. Ciisxon. LeodifigDePltl Depoi&-An!^«1?ere§Everyw)?flC' "RIVIEHICRN CO-OPERATIVE NEWS" Organ ol the Co-Operative Union ot America Subscription Price - 50 Cents a Year. Qub'rate, when ordered with ''The Gjmmons." Both Magazines, one year, 75 cents. 'In His Steps ^^ A Story by REV. CHARLES M. SHELDON, of Topeka, Kan. ONE OF THE FEW STORIES IN WHICH THE SOCIAL SETTLEMENT PLAYS A PART. Order through " The Commons." Paper Covers, - - - 25 cents. Qoth Covers, - - - 75 cents. "The Commons" for a year, and " In His Steps," in cloth covers, >P > .UU In a new edition of " Social Evolution," Mr. Benjamin Kidd replies at some length to his many critics. Over 100,000 copies of this vol- ume have been sold in America, 25,000 in Eng- land. He is now at work upon a new volume, in which he proposes to give a more scientific formulation of his thought upon social prog- ress, which he treated more popularly under the above title. Henry D. Lloyd, in his new book on " Labor Co-partnership" (Harper & Brothers), has ren- dered a distinct service to the cause of indus- trial peace and progress. In grajihic style, constructively critical spirit and to the most practical purpose the author describes his visit to the co-operative workshops, factories and farms in England, Ireland and Scotland. The emphasis of the volume is laid upon co- partnership as tbe latest, most fundamental and promising development of industrial co- operation, in which employer, employe and consumer share as partners in the ownership, management and results of productive indus- try. In its careful balance between the profit and loss involved ; its brief but brilliant bio- graphical and historical sketches: its clear and firm emphasis upon the ethical impulse and even religious sentiment requisite to the suc- cess of the co-operative movement, and in its courageously encouraging tone, practical sug- gestiveness and high-hearted enthusiasm over the ultimate triumph of brotherhood in indus- try, the volume is a notable contribution to the most helpful literature of social progress. Il- lustrations illuminate the letterpress and give ocular demonstration of the otherwise well- nigh incredible statistical statement of the success of this most inspiring phase of the whole co-operative movement. 16 THE COMMONS. The Labour Annual^ JOSEPH EDWARDS, Editor and Publisher. FOURTH YEAR OF ISSUE. ^ A Year Book for Social and Political .... Reformers J* ^ CONTENTS FOR 1898 J- J- ARTICLES . Great Battle of Labour. Labour Legislation. Chronology of Social and Political Progress, etc. BIOGRAPHIES . . . Of forty-seven Reformers and Workers for Humanity. DIRECTORIES . . . World's Reform Press, Reform Societies, Useful Addresses for Reform Work, Trades' Council Secretaries, Reform Books and Reference Books of the Year, Social Settlements. PORTRAITS . . . Separate portraits of forty-five Reformers and Groups of ninety-two others. REPORTS . . . Of all the Principal Advanced Reform Societies of England. Beside numerous other striking and useful features, with advertisements of the Principal Reform Agencies and Periodicals of the World. THE '* CLARION" Company, ^^ptet street, e. c. order through THE COMMONS. Prices: Paper covers, 30 cents; cloth covers, 60 cents, postpaid. P. F. Pettibone & Co. INCOKPORATED PRINTERS STATIONERS BLANK BOOK MAKERS Chicago Manufacturers of PATENT FLEXIBLE Commercial FLAT OPENING BLANK BOOKS lilthograplimg 48 and 50 Jackson Street CHICAGO Novelties In SPECIAt Stationery Articles ATTENTION TO Society Stationery and CUDRCH Engraving WORK i;i'IJI.i;i:Mliii g))(lHCAG0.|MDIA»AP0ll^f-|0IIISUlUP/UtWAV ((^ The Direot Line BET WEES Chicago Indinnapolis Cincinnati I^afayotte '''*° ••^■^ POINTS IwOUiSVillO SOUTH THROUGH SLEEPERS TO CINCINNATI AND WASHINGTON DAILY FRANK J. REED, G. P. A. CITY TICKET OFFICE, 232 CLARK ST. CHICAGO. The Desplaines Press P. r. Pettibone & Co- Cfiicago STORY OF THE CHRISTIAN COMMONWEALTH IN GEORGIA. »y ■♦♦♦■ •fi* w> tt^ A MONTHLY RECORD DEVOTED TO ASPECTS OF LIFE AND LABOR FROM THE SOCIAL SETTLEMENT POINT OF VIEW. VOL. Ill, NO. 6. CHICAGO. OCTOBER, 1898. fl^^.. FIFTY CENTS A YEAR— SINGLE COPIES, TEN CENTS. Entered in Chicago Post-Office a> Second-Class Matter. Notice Especially "PUBLISHER'S COLUMN" on Page 9— Of Interest to Every Reader of The Commons. THE COMMONS. GDlGago conimons Kindergamn Training sonooi Year Opened . October 3, 1898 . Two years' course in Kindergarten Tiieory and Practice. A course in Home Making. Industrial and Social Development Emphasized. Also a Mothers' Class. INSTRUCTORS Bertha Hofer Hegner, . . . Theory and " Mother-Play " Frederica Beard, . . Theory of Gifts and History of Education Miss P. H. Davis, Studies in Expression Mari Ruef Hofer Music and Physical Culture Mr. Geo. L. Schreiber, . . Drawing, Color Work and Design Mrs. John P. Gavit, .... Hotne Making and Occupations Pkof. Graham Taylor Social Function of Education Specialists on Psychology and Nature Study There will be other LECTURES on Special Subjects during the year. For Circulars and particulars, address, BERTHA HOFER HEQNER, 140 North Union Street, CHICAGO Sex and Religion A series of papers on the important relation of the two in national, family and individual life BY DR. LUTHER GULICK, Physical Difector, International Y. M. C. A. Training School, Springfield, Mass., in successive issues of '*The Association Outlook" LUTHER GULICK, Editor and Manner, Springfield, Mass. Subscription Price, - - $J.OO per year. WHAT IS A SOCIAL SETTLEMENT? The best single publication on the subject is a 65-page pamphlet, "Social Settlements and the Labor Question" . ♦ . TEN PAPERS BY LEADERS IN SETTLEMENT WORK ON VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE QUESTION. Single Copies, postpaid, - - - 25 cents. Three to One Address, - - - 50 cents. SIX FOR ONE DOLLAR. Address, Editor of THE COMMONS, 140 North Union Street, Chicago, III. The commons H /Dontblv IRecor!) S)evote» to Bspects of %itc tmb Xaboc from tbe Social Setttement point of View. Whole Number 30. CHICAGO. OCTOBER, 1898. THE CONSERVATIVE. Tlie garden beds I wandered liy One bright and clieerful morn. When I found a new-fledged butterfly A-sitting on a tliorn ; A l)lack and crimson butterfly. All doleful and forlorn. I thought that life could have no sting For infant butterflies. So I gazed on this unhappy thing With wonder and surprise, While sadly with his waving wing He wiped his weeping eyes. Said I, " What can the matter be? Why weepest thou so sore? Willi garden fair and sunlight free And flowers in goodly store? " But he only turned away from me And burst into a roar. Cried he. " My legs are thin and few Where once I had a swarm ! Soft, fuzzy fur— a joy to view— Dnce liept my body warm. Before these flapping wing-things grew. To hamper and detorm." At that outrageous bug I shot The fury of mine eyes; Said I. in scorn all burning hot. In rage and anger high: " You ignominious idiot ! Those wings were made to fly ! " • I do not want to fly." said he, " I only want to squirm ! " And he dropped his wings dejectedly. But still his voice was firm. ' I ilo not want to fly ! " he said, '• I want to be a worm ! " O. yesterday of unknown lack ! To-day of unknown bUss ! I left my fool in red and black. The last I saw was this— The creature madly cUmbing back Into his chrysalis. —Charlotte Perlfiiis Stet.'<( CHRISTIAN COMMONWEALTH. [BY GEORGE HOWAKD GIBSON.] " Glory to God in tbe highest." The heavens declare it in the infinite complexity and per- fect harmony of countless worlds and systems. " And on earth peace." To bring in the or- der of heaven, to unite the warring, striving, self-centered, self-seeking families of earth, Christ came. He taught that Humanity ia one. And this perfecting truth and glory of creation, with its moral obligation and wisdom, shall put an end to strife, shall show to all men the folly of self-seeking and win them to the life of love. The idea of human brotherhood is coming to be wiili mau.v not simply a senti- ment, or theory, or beautiful dream, but an open gateway to all good. All the evils in the world grow out of division. All the boundless good of life must be found in union. It has seemed necessary for mankind to know evil first, in order that they might know good. Our greatest mistake has been made in sup- GEOKGE HOWARD GIBSON. Tresident of the Christian Commonwealth. posing power to be of greatest worth, power to command service, power to get without giv- ing. The delusion that power is better than aught else has been the first cause of every war, the incentive to every act of despotism; it has arrayed man against man, and created castes and classes, kings and subjects, masters and slaves, the rich and the poor. But the idea of brotherhood is removing and shall re- move all this. There is a stress of outward circumstance and inward longing which presses brotherhood upon us. In the last hundred years labor-sav- ing inventions have done away with handicraft THE COMMONS. [ October, production. Modern machinery in the hands of the selfish has socialized production and separated the great body of producers from any controlling interest in the means of subsist- ence. The majority of men can no longer inde- pendently support themselves. Capitalists will employ them only to secure a net profit out of them. More than half the people are land- less and must pay rent. All who borrow money must pay usury. Freeholders and others must also pay tribute to trusts and railroad mag- nates, iron, oil and lumber kings, and many others. The result of all this is, that the peo- ple who need are powerless to buy back out of the markets as much as they produce. So trade is dull, the demand cannot equal the supply, there are periodical gluts in the mar- kets, and the producers of wealth in great numbers are thrown out of work. By means of the inequitable net profit system of capitalism wealth is being poured into the hands of the few, and poverty is spreading among the many. With the passing away of independent indi- vidualism, the practice of individual Christian- .lOHX CHIP-MAN. Civil Engiueer, Rockwell. Fla. ity has also necessarily ended. Keligious days and hours remain in which Love is worshiped with the lips, and the Cross of Calvary is de- clared the cure of sin ; but between times self- ishness seems to be universally believed in by those who are free. Keal faith has not ceased upon the earth, but the individual is helplessly entangled in and a part of the commercially organized, selfishly ruled circles of production and distribution. These commercial units or circles through which one's subsistence must come, must be saved from selfish action as wholes, or the manhood and Christianity of the individual parts must be given up. We must PKOF. W. C. DAMON. A. M., Superintendent Orchard and Gardening Department. have the Christianity of brotherhood, or we can have none at all. We must move forward into brotherhood, or backward into barbarism. The present organization of society cannot stand the strain between the increasing selfish- ness of wealth and the increasing desperation of poverty. It was a thoughtful consideration of all this which led to the Christian Common- wealth movement. Its leaders touched life, and saw its needs and trend. They returned to the social teachings of Jesus, and were read- ers of the early fathers, also of Francis, Kings- ley, Tolstoy, Howells, Marx, Bellamy, Booth, Helen Campbell, Kiis, Ely, Lloyd, Strong, Her- ron, and others. And observing, reading and thinking there came to them the vision of a brotherhood that must now be realized. HOW THE AGITATION BEGAN.* The agitation for a simple brotherhood organ- ization was begun by the writer in the columns of The Wealth Makers (a paper published at Lincoln, Neb.) in 1894. In response to his call *Tlie sub-headings are inserted in this article by the editor, without Mr. Gibson's knowledge.— Ed. The Com- mons. 1898. J THE COMMONS. a conference of Christian Co-operators was held in Lincoln Dec. 16, 17 and 18 of that year. This conference resulted in an organization called " The Christian Corporation," which was in- corporated under the laws of Nebraska, Feb. 16, 1895. It was a common property brother- hood organization in the fullest sense, with the following statement of faith : " We believe in God our infinite father; in Christ our perfect brother ; and in the law of equalizing love expressed in the command, Thou Shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Some months later a thousand miles away, a movement was planned for and known as " The izer of the Willard Colony, which led to the more radical later movement. THE CALLS OF 1895 AND 1896. n the ^ov. 29, 1895, issue of The Kingdom (published at Minneapolis, Minn.), Mr. John Chipman, of Tallahassee, Florida, appealed to all Christians to unite in a brotherhood organ- ization, in which each should contribute all his property and power of service, the combined common projierty to be deeded to Christ and used just as he would use it. This letter brought Mr. Chipman, Mr. Albertson and the writer into communication, and it was deter- \ IKW nF THK l»I.l) I'l.ANTATI People's University." It was never organized, but in a circular sent out by its chief promoter. Rev. Ralph Albertson, of Ohio, were these grand words : "We believe that the political economy taught and lived by .Jesus Christ is practicable, that the love and brotherhood of the Kingdom of Heaven may be realized on earth. We be- lieve in the possibility and practicability of unselfishness, and we want to pi'ovide for the education of young people in an atmosphere free from greed. We. pray 'Thy Kingdom come ■ and we propose to live in that Kingdom on Earth ourselves and teach others so." The Peojjle's University movement was also strongly supported by the experienced edu- cator. Prof. W. C. Damon, who was the organ- IDISE, CiMlMONWKAl.TH, 'i.\ mined to issue another call signed by these and other leaders, and combine movements, which was accordingly done. From this later call, sent out in June, 1896, I quote below : " To all who pray. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, to all who desire above all things that this prayer be answered and earth become like heaven, and who are therefore ready to turn away from self-seeking, as Christ and his disciples did. Greeting : " We, children of the King, followers of Christ, believers in the wisdom, the order, and subduing power of love, and that there is a necessity laid upon us to love our neighbor as ourself, have determined from this time forth to be governed by heaven's law, that we may do THE COMMONS. [October, our part in working out God's great purposes for man. "But two ways of living are possible, viz.: the each-for-himself rule, now followed in the Industrial and commercial world, from which all evil flows, and God's law of love, by obedi- ence to whicu all good must come. " To love as the sons of God we must give all, pour out, distribute as Christ and the early disciples did. Love begins as an accepted duty, and becomes instantly more and more a joy. Love is the gi-eat leveler, equalizer, up- lifter. They who will love cannot cease to labor for and share with all till all suffering ceases, till all needs are met and all good comes to all. " We shall make our labor the free expression and measure of our love, and so exalt our work into worship, into fellowship, into a sacrament that shall convey the Divine life and love to one another, to each and all. " We plan for the visible Kingdom of God on earth, for a holy land, to be redeemed by pur- chase out of the hands of the selfish and given to the meek. We plan to build Christian fac- tories, mills, machine shops, etc., that all who come to us may have permanent places to labor and produce all useful and beautiful things for human need. We plan for the life-long educa- tion of our children and ourselves, so that we may have perfect bodies, skillful hands, intel- lects furnished with the most advanced knowl- edge of the forces of nature, of discovery and invention ; and hearts to appreciate the love, the wisdom, the harmony, the vastness, variety and grandeur of God's unfolding works. "As a body we recognize one God over all ; one law, of love, labor, outpouring; one perfect ex- ample of right living — Christ. But dead divi- sive dogmas, intellectual oiDinions regarding infinite, incomprehensible, or unrevealed mys- teries we shall not require assent to. Intellect differences shall not debar from membership any who are prepared to do the will of God. The one simple duty is to love and labor for one another." ALL POUNDED ON LOVE. In organizing the Christian Commonwealth no reliance was placed on force, or on anything but the knowledge of love and the spirit of love. The sum and substance of the constitu- tion adopted was the law (not made, but recog- nized; of supreme love to God and equalizing love to our neighbor. The organization de- clared itself to be an educational and religious society whose purpose is to obey the teachings of Jesus Christ in all matters of life and labor and the use of property. Its members bear one another's burdens. Each is expected to give all he has, to do all he is able to do; and each receives according to his need. In seeking to serve, instead of to gain, they are ruled by a spirit the opposite of the spirit of the business world, the world of buyers and sellers and pri- vate property-seekers. They see that the sin of the world is the selfishness of the world. which manifests and measures itself chiefly in business, in commercial relations, in property- seeking and property divisions, in seeking place and power. They therefore preach re- pentance of all this, and show brotherhood life as the way of salvation. Repentance of selfish- ness they show to be the actual pouring out of everything in self-forgetful services. They teach that to be self-centered is the way of death, while to be all-centered is the way of life. THE LAND UNDER FOOT. A land basis for this brotherhood movement was provided by Mr. Chlpman, who purchased a tract of land on the Central Kailroad of Georgia, in Muscogee county, Geoi-gia, and families from Nebraska, Washington, Califor- nia, Massachusetts, Ohio and other States im- mediately settled upon it. The official ser- vants of the organization, elected annually or oftener, are a president, vice-president, secre- tary, treasurer, corresponding secretary, gen- eral labor director, and superintendents of the departments of agriculture, building, lumber- ing, orchard and nursery, gardening, educa- tion, extension, poultry, dairy and housekeep- ing. Some of the families live together in one big house; others live by themselves in separ- ate cottages. All work hard and live frugally, on the same level. A business meeting is held every Monday evening, or oftener if called. A postofflce and railroad station have been se- cured on the Colony land. A thirty-five acre orchard of the best peach, plum, pear, apple, cherry, prune, fig, apricot and quince trees was set out a year ago. Considerable additions to the orchard have been made this year. The Colony has besides in nursery 8,500 budded and grafted Japanese plum trees and about 4,000 peach seedlings. It has also planted fifteen bushels of peach seed, which is comingup well. A vineyard of considerable size is well started. A sawmill has been erected and runs part of the time. We have a Colony public school in which the common and higher branches are taught, and the lessons of brotherhood be. sides. We are in no respects a peculiar people, ex- cept that we really believe in brotherhood, and in a vicarious industrial Christianity. We be- lieve it is morally obligatory to love without reservation, with everything we have; and we keep open gates. The poor, the tramps and the outcast can come to us, share all we have, and live as we do. We are not being reduced to uniformity, but are as strong as ever in our individuality, in 1898. THE COMMONS. our God-made diversity of individual gifts aud helpful differences. ALL THE LIFE REHGIOUS. We do not separa e life into secular and re- ligious portions. Our work is worship and fel- lowship, because it is the activity of love — love for all. But in what are known as " religious" matters we somehow do not divide. We have forgotten that we were once Congregational- ists, Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Uni- versalists, etc. Brotherhood in daily life makes brotherhood on Sunday entirely natural and easy. Sect divisions of a religious sort have died out at Commonwealth. Love has lifted us to a common ground that is above mere creeds, opinions, forms and sacramental signs. We have a prayer and fellowship meeting every Thursday evening, a kind of family gath- ering, with " our Heavenly Father in the midst." On Sundays we have sermons, talks, Bible studies, select readings and informal dis- cussions of what brotherhood requires. We do not drop into conventional ways in our meetings, but encourage each to communicate all he has of truth and love, the sisters as well as the brothers. We have a fuller intellectual life here than most of us could have as divided families. Our libraries are common, or communized, and give each a much wider range of reading than he would be likely otherwise to cover. In addition to the school for those of school age, we have Shakespeare, etymology, logic, art and music classes for old and young. We have had poverty to test our faith. We have had trials with false and imperfect breth- ren, with one another. Most of us have much to learn yet. But this we know; it is right to love; it is safe to love. We have neither the right nor the desire to turn from the brother- hood life to the old life of self-seeking. In every pinch of economic trial the faith of the entirely devoted has held the victorj'. They were sure the brotherhood life they had entered upon is right, and nothing could shake their confidence that God would fulfil 1 His promises and supply necessities. No such serenity could they have had, had they been in and a part of the sinfully selfish system of com- petition. They sought " first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness," the righteousness of brotherhood; and the promise of God has been wonderfully and graciously fulfilled. THE MEANS OF PROPAGANDA. Since February, 1898, the Christian Common- wealth has published The Social Gospel, a .32- page monthly magazine, through which it bears the good news of brotherhood to all parts of the world. Its message is being read in America, Canada, England, France, Switzer- land, Germany, Hungary, Kussia, Japan, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The news of love embodied, socially, in brotherhood form, is the best news iu all the world. The whole groan- ing creation waits for it. The preaching of brotherhood when backed by actual living ap- peals to every man's conscience. We have God's present word to those who have a sur- plus, and to those who suffer; to those with power, and to those oppressed. We have God's solution of the social problem. We have be- RKV. RALPH ALBERTSON, Siiljeriutenilent Department of Extension. gun to organize the Brotherhood of Man, and in the economy of God's Kingdom we can find a place for every believer in love. To reach and make room rapidly for those who have nothing but labor strength, we need and call for the help of those who have a stored- up surplus. We ask not for separate gifts, but for men to come with their gifts, with which to build up in their own sight the Kingdom of Christ, the Christian organization of industry. They are needed, as well as we, by Christ, to provide good tidings of good for the poor, to release those who are bound by oppression, to help make for all God's robbed and landless children a perpetual Year of Jubilee. Our near- est needs, to provide permanent work for more [Coiitintted on page lo.] THE COMMONS. October, '•®i>& tttt^ tlj« people." The Commons H flnontblip 1Recor6 SevotcS to Hspccta of life ant labor from the Social Settlement point of Iflew. John P. Gavit, Published on the last day of each month from Chicago Commons, a Social Settlement at 140 North Union Street, Chicago, 111. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE Fifty cents a year. (Two shillings, English; 2.50 francs, French— foreign stamps accepted.) Postpaid to any State or Country. Six copies to one address for $2.50. Send check, draft, P. O. money order, cash or stamps, iwt above 5-cent dennminations at our risk. Renewals— The change in tlie date on the address label will ordinarily serve as receipt for renewals. These changes are made once in two months. In accordance with custom, and the expressed wish of many subscribers, we continue The Commons to each address until notified to the contrary. Changes of Addiress- 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. Advertisements — First-class advertisements desired at reasonable rates, which will be furnished upon applica- No. 30. CHICAGO. OCT. 31, 1898. THE BEATITUDES IN PRACTICE. A MOST extraordinary experience lias been vouclisafed to certain groups of eager souls in Chicago during the past lew weeks, in the presence of George Howard Gibson and Balph Albertson, of the Christian communist colony at Commonwealth, Georgia, the story of whose founding and present status is pub- lished on other pages of this issue of The Com- mons. >fot a few good men and women have been brought face to face, tor the first time in their lives, with an instance of taking Jesus seriously. The colony of everyday folk at Common- wealth have dared to assume that the teachings of the Master are to be taken at their literal face value. They exemplify the application of the preposterous assertions of the Beatitudes to the social and economic relations of men in civilized society. They not only hold all their property in common, as did the Christians in those first blessed days when the dew of the Spirit's presence was fresh upon their aspira- tion and mutual confidence; but they hold their doors open to every comer, whatever his social status or condition. The penniless tramp and the still relatively prosperous fugitive from the impending peril of agrarian ruin are equally welcome upon "their own" property, and the only law of that singular community is the Savior's Law of Equal Love. The story is a fascinating and unique one, refreshing to the weary heart in these sordid days of atheistic money-grabbing, and we earnestly urge our readers to give it thoughtful attention. SIGNS OF THE SPIRIT'S PRESENCE. IT IS impossible to meet these brethren from that outpost of the Kingdom of God with- out being assured beyond doubt of their fine spiritual sense and Christian spirit, or to avoid the recollection of those marvelous days of the Outpouring upon the first Christians, when they were all together in one place, of one heart, and had all things in common. It is the reality of the thing that gives these men the right to talk with authority to us, and not as the perennial scribes, who have confined our belief in the wisdom of the economic teachings of Jesus to inexpensive volubility. There is not upon the face of the earth to-day an economist or philosopher who knows whether communism could be practiced universally in society or not. When it has been practiced in communities with a religious motive it has ordinarily been of great economic success, and the writings of the early church for several centuries permit no doubt that communism and individual poverty were the habits of the Christian church. Let those who are so glibly ready with reference to that cruelly overworked "collection for the poor saints at Jerusalem " recall that the collection was made among communist societies for the church at Jerusa- lem, made poor not by communism but by per- secution. But the economic success is not the main question. The fact to be remembered with joy concerning this object lesson (thus far a notable economic success in spite of Christ- like recklessness of the financial morrow) is that somewhere upon the earth there is in ex- istence, in these times, a genuine attempt to realize the Kingdom of God, in the flesh of human life, among ordinary folk. " Who made me a divider among you ? " de- manded Jesus of those who would make him the arbiter of their clear brotherly duty. Thus also these brethren of Commonwealth refuse to define the obligation of those who would place their property in trust for the world of Brother- hood. They recognize the divine opportunity before the conscience of every man to make de- 1898.] THE COMMONS. cision himself as to his stewardship. It is not related in the record of the Pentecostal com- munism by what means the socialized property ■wasdisposed of or dispensed. But its clear teach- ing is that, in that day, as in all the days since until now, whenever the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon an individual, a church, or a nation, immediately there passed away, not necessarily the institution, but the incompati- ble spirit of private property, and before God and man, no one of them has ever said again that aught of that which he possessed was his own, but in the spirit of love he, or they, as in the words of the Commonwealth associates' pledge, accepted as the law of life Christ's law, " that I shall love my neighbor as myself. I will use, hold, or dispose of all my property, my labor and my income according to the dic- tates of love for the happiness of all who need. I will not withhold for any selfish ends aught that I have from the fullest service that love inspires." GEOKGE E. ■WAKING, whose death in New- York City is announced as we go to press, was one of the greatest servants of the people in municipal office in recent years. He and his work are unanswerable proofs of what may be done in the way of efficiency and economy when the city does its own work by direct em- ployment, without the interference of partisan considerations. His administration as com- missioner of street cleaning in Xew York City •will be a perennial object lesson in faithful service of the people. IF YOU owned The Commons and controlled its policy and management, what would you do to make it more interesting, more in- spiring, more true to the cause of human brotherhood, for which it endeavors faithfully to stand ? That is a fair question, and you can spare a few minutes to-day for a kindly letter to the editor, with a fair answer. We really want to hear from you, and kindly criticism will perhajDS be more valuable than commenda- tion. TO THE Publisher's Column on the opposite page we call especial attention this month. We have not burdened our readers with many items of business, and careful reading of that column in this issue will go far to remove the necessity of further reference to the business end of the publication. THE COMMONS, from its beginning (three early naiubers missing) till and including April, 1899, for SI. '^5. Write to the publisher about this offer. TO READERS OF "THE COMMONS." PUBLISHER'S COLUnN. I I A red oi- lilue mark in this space indicates that your subscription has expired with this issue. I I and that you can best help The Commons and tlie cause for whicli it stands by using tlie enclosed subscription blank to-day for renewal. This will save you the annoy- ance ot a further reminder, and us the time and money that a letter and postage would cost, and that might better be used in the direct extension of our work. Let US be brotherly in our business relations. Treat the publisher of The Commons as you would wish to be treated in his place. Remem- ber that the people concerned in the carrying on of the publication of the paper have also a score of duties in the direct activity of the Chicago Commons settlement, and that every moment you can save them by prompt renewal is so much directly gained for the service of the settlement. Moreover, mistakes will happen, even in the best regulated newspaper offices. Sometimes subscriptions fail to be entered propei'ly, some- times errors of other kinds creeji in; sometimes letters go astray. If you receive a notice of ex- piration when you have only recently paid your subsci'iption, be assured that we shall need only a line to that effect to set the matter right. We will always take your word about your subscription. Moreover, money, stamps and checks are sent at our risk. If you say you sent it, that ends the matter, for we are so con- fident of the general human honesty that we are willing to stake our business on it. We do not want to lose one subscriber. People stop their subscription usually for one of three reasons: Either (1) they do not like the paper, or (2)have lost interestjin the cause for which it stands, or (3) they cannot well afford the price of subscription. With these possible reasons in mind, we ask, as a certain sort of right, that if you do not like the paper you will say so, and tell us frankly and hon- estly what sort of changes in its general policy or details you would suggest. This will give us the oiDportunity at least to consider whether, without sacrifice of vital principle, we cannot make the publication pleasing also to you. If you have lost interest, you can at least say so, and let us do what we can to make our cause more interesting in its presentation to you. If you cannot afford the price, nothing would give us greater pleasure than to send you the paiier a year without charge, for brotherhood's sake. We can better afford to lose for the time being 10 THE COMMONS. OL-tober, the small amount involved in the subscription than we can to lose your ■well-informed interest in the work for which we stand. People who subscribe for The Commons help to aocomjilish several ends. For one thing — and that is perhaps most important of all — they enable us to keep the settlement motive and method before a large, widely scattered and in- creasing number of intelligent people, for out of every 50 cents that is sent to us we are able to reserve a little for the propaganda, to send the paper to some who cannot well afford to pay the price themselves. The regular reader keeps himself informed of the general movement toward social democracy for which the settlements stand, and even if he does not fully agree with us in every detail of policy, helps us to spread the settlement spirit abroad in a hundred ways and directions. Let us help each other. We are grateful for all that you and each of you have done to aid our cause during the three years of the exist- ence of this paper, and we look forward with joy to the times before us in which we shall help each other more and more to go forward toward the standard of loving brotherhood to which our fellow-men are calling us out of their need, and for which our Master is bidding us to labor. TWO VOLUMES t-'OMPLKTE. We have left a limited number of complete tiles of Volume Two of The Commons, which we should be glad to put into the hands of friends of The Commons. For this purpose we will be pleased to send volumes Two and Three com- plete to any address for Seventy-five Cents. This will afford an easy way for new subscrib- ers to get an important series of articles relat- ing to the settlement movement, or for old subscribers to secure back numbers and the numbers to come until May, 1899. Volume Two included such important articles as those of Prof. Graham Taylor on " The Com- petitive System " ; Prof. Herron on " The Enjr- lish Labor Movement," and on " The Christian Teachings on Property " ; Clarence Gordon on " The Church and the Settlement" ; Rev. W. E. Taylor, of Rochester, (a sermon) on the Labor Movement ; accounts of Passmore Edwards Settlement, London ; Kingsley Hall, Tokyo ; Goodrich House, Cleveland ; Chicago Com- mons and other settlements ; John P. Gavit on " Ethical Aspects of the Labor Movement," and on " Missions and Settlements " ; Ethelbert Stewart's addresses on "Disintegration of Fam- ilies Under the Competitive System " ; Sadie American on " Vacation Schools," etc., etc. We have also a few slightly broken sets (three numbers missing) of tlie first volume of The Commons, which we will be glad to dispose of at fifty cents, until the edition is exhausted. We will send The Commons to any address from its beginning until and including April, 1899, for .f 1.25, as long as the editions of vol- umes One and Two hold out. THE CHRISTIAN COMMONWEALTH. [Continued from page ?.] people who wish to come, are a planing mill, a ten or twelve horse-power steam engine, a steam laundry outfit, a brick manufacturing plant, and a greatly enlarged printing plant. Afterward we can invest in a water power not far distant and start manufactures on a larger scale. THE VOLUNTARY COVENANT. We have now, scattered in twenty-three states, about one hundred families who are one witli us in expressed desire and purpose, most of them having^signed the following Christian Commonwealth Covenant: " I accept as the law of my life Christ's law, that I shall love my neighbor as myself. I will use, hold or dispose of all my property, my labor and my income, according to the dictates of love, for the happiness of all who need. I will not withhold for any selfish ends aught that I have from the fullest service that love inspires. As quickly as I may be able I will withdraw myself from the selfish competitive strife and devote myself to the co-operative life and labor of a local Christian Commonwealth. As a member of this organization 1 will work according to my ability in labor together with God for the production of goods for human happiness." Some of these will come to Commonwealth, others will organize branch societies. In the future, as men and means come to us, we can organize one industry after another, and con- tinuously widen the circle and blessings of brotherhood. Labor and love will do every- thing. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand — within your reach. Commonwealth, Ga. The Social Gospel may be ordered through The Commons, at 50 cents a year, or in club rate with The Commons at 75 cents for both. 'In His Steps ^^ A Story by REV. CHARLES M. SHELDON, of Topeka, Kan. ONE OF THE FEW STORIES IN WHICH THE SOCIAL SETTLEMENT PLAYS A PART. Order through " The Commons." Paper Covers, - - - 25 cents. Cloth Covers, - - - 75 cents. "The Commons" for a year, and " In His Steps," in cloth covers, >P > •UU 1898. J THE COMMONS. 11 ilHotes of tbe ot ^ ^ ^ J I ^ ^ ^ Social Settlements £ SETTLEMENT FEDERATION. Opening Meeting for the Winter of the Organization of Chicago Settlements. A large attendance, representing practically all of the Chicago settlements, characterized the first meeting for this winter of the Federa- settlement might be able to make for the bet- terment of municipal conditions respectfully submits the following recommendations : " That each settlement, by means of its edu- cational classes and clubs, its dissemination of literature and personal influence, and its pro- vision for public addresses and discussions, shall endeavor to secure : "(1) The assumption by the Board of Educa- tion of the establishment, maintenance and management of kindergartens, playgrounds, vacation schools, and of parental schools for derelict children. ZZ "(•2) The establishment of a separate court and place of detention for juvenile delinquents, and an appropriation for whatever is needed to put to immediate use, under separate manage- COMMONWE.\LTH SfHOOI., SHOWI.M: TEAC HEHS ANIl tion of Chicago Settlements, held at Hull House on Saturday evening, October 29. The resignation of the President of the Fed- eration, Eev. N. B. W. Gallwey, of the lately- suspended Clybourn avenue settlement, was accepted with the greatest regret, and Mrs. M. E. Sly, of the Northwestern University settle- ment, vice-president, was elected to succeed him, Mrs. Van Der Vaart, of Neighborhood House, being elected vice-president in her stead. The committee appointed at the last meeting to outline a program for settlement propaganda in Chicago reported as follows: "The committee appointed by the Federa- tion to suggest such concerted effort as the ment, the recently erected boys' dormitory of the House of Correction. "(3) The improvement, codification and pub- lication of the building and sanitai'y laws and ordinances and those providing for the better housing of the people. The establishment and maintenance by the city of public baths, small parks, and places of public comfort. Larger provision for music in the parks, especially in the most densely populated districts. Provis- ion for the cost of repaving the streets from funds raised by general taxation or special assessment laid upon the entire city. The abolition of the contract system in public work. Legal provision for the municipal own- ership and operation of public utilities." Professor Taylor, Miss Addams, Mrs. Stevens, of Hull House, Mr. A. M. Simons, of the Uni- versity of Chicago settlement, were continued 12 THE COMMONS. [October, as a committee to take further steps to make the recommendation effective. A most interesting discussion occupied the latter half of the meeting, during which a vast amount of settlement " compunction " was brought to view and aired. Mr. Aylmer Maude, of England; Rev. Ralph Albertson, of Common- wealth, Ga., and a large number of settlement folk, discussed various aspects of the question of the thoroughness of settlement work, the obligation to take part in industrial life, etc. It was voted hereafter to hold the meetings of the Federation, for convenience's sake, at Hull House. BOSTON SUMMER PHILANTHROPIES. ILincoln House Review Reports a Useful liist of Suc- cessful Activities. The Lincoln House Review, supplanted in its local field by the Lincoln House Monthly, issues its last number dated October, and will be suc- ceeded, so far as Lincoln House is concerned, by a series of pamphlets on practical settle- ment work. These will be announced in The Commons in due time. "Boston Summer Philanthropies" is the topic of this closing "special number," and it affords an interesting and suggestive list of the vacation schools, playrooms, j^laygrounds, sum- mer camps, vacation houses and other agencies, public baths, floating hospitals and ice-water fountains. It is a most interesting list, and will afford suggestions to other places for next summer's work. TOLSTOYAN VISITOR. Mr. Ayluier Maude in Aiuerica on Behalf of Perse- cuted Russians. Mr. Aylmer Maude, an Englishman, for many years a prosperous i«nporter in Moscow, but who became an intimate friend of Count Tolstoy, and, convinced of the truth of his teachings, renounced his business and recently removed with his family to a colony in Essex, England, the members of which live by the labor of their own hands, and in other ways lead a life of early Christian simplicity combined with intellectual activity and moral zeal, has been visiting Chicago, a guest of Hull House. Mr. Maude is returning from Canada, where he has arranged for the colonization of the Doukhobortsi, a religious sect in the Caucasus, who, because of their refusal to enter military service, are persistently pei-secuted by the Russian government. Probably no man who has ever been in America is so well qualified by a long and inti- mate friendship with Tolstoy, and also by pro- found conviction, to speak of the great Russian teacher, and his several talks and lectures were interesting and impressive. SETTLEMENT NOTES. A handsomely jirinted report is that for 1897-8, sent us by the Goodrich social settle- ment at Cleveland, Ohio. An article on the settlement work of Grace Church, New York, appears in the November issue of the Charities Review. Notes from Henry Booth House, in The Cause for October, show that the new Chicago settle- ment of the Ethical Society has already a dozen activities in progress for the neighborhood. .J. Stitt Wilson, of the Social Crusade, is issu- ing from the Northwestern University Settle- ment the Social Crusader, an interesting and inspiring monthly paper in the cause of the crusade. The workers in some of the New York settle- ments and those in Brooklyn have been hold- ing a conference on the first Sunday afternoon in the month, meeting at the different settle- ments in turn. The Working Girls' Free Library, of St. Louis, has now developed into a full-fledged settle- ment, at 2501 South Second street, and issues a report for 1895-6-7, covering a varied series of club and educational work. The prettily - printed report of Lawrence House, Baltimore, shows that boys and girls have had the best kind of a time there during the last year. Clubs and classes have occupied every evening except Sunday, seventy helpers assisting in the work. The Forward Movement, of Chicago, whose settlement at 219 South Sangamon street has just been enlarged by the addition to the set- tlement equipment of the building adjoining on the south, issues a large two-page outline of work for the winter, covering many fields of endeavor. The most interesting feature of the year-book of the pro-cathedral, in New York (130 Stanton street), is the report of the kindergarten, which is one of the most readable we have seen, and gives a very good idea of the atmosphere of brightness and love that is preparing the spir- itual lungs of the children of that neighbor- hood for brotherhood. Socialists are often asked if they believe in the private ownershij] of anything. They do. They sympathize with the little boy with the measles, who, on being asked whether he had taken his measles from his little brother, re- plied : "No, Willie's got his and I've got mine." — American Fabian. 1898.] THE COMMONS. 13 I ^ Cbicago Commons <^ \ CHICAGO COBOIONS 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. Information concerning the work of Chicago Commons Is gladly furnished to all wiio inquire. A tour-page leaflet, bearing a picture of our residence, and other hterature de- scribing the work will be mailed to any one upon applica- tion. P\ta»tencXoii,postagt. Residence.— All inquiries with reference to terms and conditions of residence, permanent or temporary, should be addressed to Graham Taylor, Resident Warden. " Feeding the Birds," Madame Le Brun and Child, "In the Country," by La Bolle ; " Chil- dren and Bird," by Van Bremen ; Landseer's " The Hat," and photographs of the cathedral group at Pisa, and of St. Mark's at Venice (this in colors), and of the great sphinx of Gizeh. These photographs will be loaned for periods of two weeks to responsible members of the settlement clubs. The collection is under the direction of Miss Elizabeth V. Meyers, who made the selections, and who, it need hardly be said, will be delighted to administer other sums, for the collection will not be nearly large enough to meet the demand upon it. The only \W :\I1LL IN Ol'KKAl I PICTURE LOAN COLLECTION. Fine Lot of Farmed Prints for tlie Commons Ctub Members. The Commons loan collection of pictures is at last a fact. Through the kindness of Mr. Frank Jayne, of Tarrytown, N. Y., and Miss Queene Ferry, of Detroit, Mich., we have had $20 to invest in pictures, and fine prints and photographs of the following pictures are now in the collection : Sistine Madonna, Alba Madonna, a third madonna by Murillo, Breton's " Song of the Lark," Watts' " Sir Galahad," Murillo's "St. John and the Lamb," Venus de Milo, Millet's infallible rule of selection i.s that the pictures must be good ones. OUR FOURTH BIRTHDAY. Commons Woman's Club Celeljrates tlie Anniversary of tlie Settlement's Founding:. The fourth anniversar.v of the founding of Chicago Commons was observed delightfully on Friday evening, Oct. 21, under the direction of the Chicago Commons Woman's Club. Many friends of the settlement from the neighbor- hood and from outlying suburbs, as well as the districts between these extremes, were present to join in the happy occasion. Mrs. Luther 14 I'HE COMMONS. [October, Conant, president of the club, presided with grace and wit, and short addresses were made on behalf of the settlement, the neighbors and the visitors. Music and refreshments varied the programme, and the club presented to the settlement an anniversary gift in the form of a ■ handsome set of knives and forks. MUSICAL OCCASIONS. Choral Club and Children's Chorus Begin the Year with Enthusiasm. The two choruses at the settlement, the Choral Club, of adults, and the Thursday after- noon children's chorus, begin their year's work with enthusiasm, and a concert in the early winter is being prepared for. Th e ad ult choral club is, in the absence of Miss Mari Hofer, its founder and leader from the beginning, under the direction of Mr. E. ^X. Freeman, of Irving Park, and the enthusiasm of the children is in constant increase under the inspiration of Miss Anne H. Stewart, who directs also the chil- dren's choruses at the Northwestern and Chi- cago university settlements. EDUCATIONAL CLUBS. Experiments in a New Form of Organized Study Through Neighborhood Groups. The educational activity at the Commons or- ganizes rather slowly this fall, owing to some changes in the manner of conducting the work. This year the effort is being made to substitute for the more formal educational classes of for- mer years a series of educational clubs, groups of kindred minds socially gathered about a clever and congenial leader with educational purpose incidental to the friendly gathering. The first of these clubs to be organized is the Shakespeare Club, meeting Saturday evenings under the leadership of Kev. Horace L. Strain. An interested group has begun work and there is every indication of a most profitable winter's study. A club to study American history is now being gathered, and other groups will form as time passes. In addition to these clubs, there are still classes for our friends of the immediate neighborhood in common branches, art and music. COMMONS NOTES. The number of depositors in the penny prov- ident bank of the settlement is constantly in- creasing, and now numbers about 2iin. The opportunity of thus saving pennies against a rainy day is being extended into all the clubs. The boys have organized a chess club, which meets Tuesday evening. The "blue ticket" Good Will Club grows in numbers and enthusiasm, and is now having three courses of study — current events, civics, American history. The club consists of neigh- borhood boys from nine to thirteen years of age, and now numbers about thirty. The settlement has agaiu contributed Pro- fessor Taylor to the cause of municipal reform in this city by cordially sharing interest if not actual service with him in his participation in the efiort to select from the list of candidates for assessors and board of review a selelction of honest men for whom a self-respecting citizen might vote ! The work concluded with a report published in the daily press. PRACTICABLE CIT^ REFORMS. Mayor .Jones, of Toledo, Sets an Immediate for the City's Service. Mayor Samuel M. Jones, of Toledo, an old friend of The Commons and its readers, pre- sents in his annual report for this year some practicable reforms within the reach of every municipality, if public opinion could be aroused to demand them. He advocates the establishment of a plant for manufacturing fuel gas, the control and operation by the city of the electric-lighting plant, the establishment of civil-service in all departments of the mu- nicipality, the enactment of laws that will give the city such a measure of home rule as will enable it to bring out "the best that is in its own people," no grant or extension of fran- chises to private enterprises without the ap- proval of the taxpayers, the abandonment of the contract system in public work, such as paving, etc., the compilation and publication of the city directory by the municipality itself, the establishment of kindergartens as a part of the public school system, a larger appropria- tion for street improvement, the sprinkling of the streets by the city itself, a larger appro- priation for the parks, an appropriation for music for the parks, the establishment of play- grounds for the children, the establishment of public baths, improved facilities for those who trade in Toledo, the revision of the city license laws and the repeal of the ordinance licensing employment agencies in Toledo. IF ALL the arrears on subscriptions to The Commons were paid to-morrow, we could run the paper for six months without another dollar. 1898. J THE COMMONS. 15 MILLIONAIRE'S BROTHER. innocent Child l>e8erted and Starv of a Great City. tlie Slums A very vivid and startling presentation of a great trutli is thus made by Prof. Frank Par- sons of Boston in the Kingdom : Suppose the paper came out with headlines, an inch or two in height, " A Vanderbilt Baby Born and Brought up in the Slums." " Little Brother of William K. Vanderbilt Heartlessly Left to a Miserable Existence in a Filthy Tene- ment." " Appalling Neglect, Brother of a Mil- lionaire Resigned to the care of Paupers and Criminals," etc. Would iieople believe it? No, not even if they saw it in the New York Journal. And yet babies are born and brought up in the slums, and we say we are all brothers; and millionaires go to church and read the Bible and pay tine ministers to preach the brother- hood of man. We are not brothers. We ought to be, and our saying we are is a very encour- aging sign, because it shows our ideals, and where our ideals are we shall be some day. But we are not brothers now. Our actions belie our words. Ima<;ine, il you can, a mil- lionaire allowing his baby brother to be raised In the slums by the most degraded men and women in the land. Even a millionaire as stingy as Russell Sage would not do it, let alone a respectable millionaire, or an ordinary work- ing man. Imagine a baby in the slums with a dozen millionaires for brothers and sisters, all of whom knew he was there, and was their law- ful brother in direst need and sore distress. Imagine a baby in slum life with brothers and sisters worth sixty-flve billions of property ! You can't do it. Yet that's what the brothers and sisters of every baby in the slums of this country possess, according to the brother- hood of man and the census of 1890— nearer seventy-live or eighty billions probably, but it might as well be zero as far as the average slum baby is concerned. It doesn't do any good to be born into Uncle Sam's family, if he is a billionaire, and a multi-billionaire at that, for most of the family won't acknowledge the relationship except with wind. ANY'BODY who doubts the God-given mis- sion of the United States to govern aud evangelize the heathen in all the remote cor- ners of the earth, need only familiarize himself with the history of the dealings of this gov- ernment with the Chippewa Indians, leading up to the recent bloody outbreak in Minnesota of that hitherto conspicuously peaceful tribe ! See, for instance, the statement of Rev. .7. A. Oilfillan, for years a missionary among the Chippewas, as reported at the Mohonk Confer- ence this year, and reprinted in the Outlook of October 22. It makes one almost ashamed to be an American. THE DISAPPOINTED. There are songs enough for the hero Who stands on the heights of fame, I sing for the disappointed — For those who missed their aim. I sing with a cheerful cadence. For one who toils in the dark. And knows that his last, best arrow Has bounded back from the mark. I sing for the^breathless runner, The eager, anxious soul. Who falls in the race exhausted. Almost in the sight of the goal: For the hearts that break in silence. With a sorrow all unknown — For those who need companions, Yet walk their way alone. There are songs enough for the lovers Who share love's tender pain, I sing for the one %vhose passion Is given, and in vain; For those, whose spirit comrades Have missed them on the way. I sing with heart o'erflowing This minor strain to-day. — alia Wheeler Wilcox. LITERARY NOTES. Read the Publisher's Column on page 9, "Christ in the Industries" is the title of a little book, published by Kurtz & Jennings. Herbert Casson, founder of the American Labor Church at Lynn, Mass., has been re- ceived into the co-operative colony at Ruskin, Tenn., as leader and editor of their weekly paper. The Coming Nation. We congratulate our Y'. M. C. A. contempora- ry. Men, on its improved appearance as an octavo, and think that its change to monthly publication is undoubtedly in the line of the times as well as of economy of effort. The Fleming H. Revell Company announce an ethical series, edited by Prof. W. Douglass MacKenzie. The volume on " The Ethics of Citizenship " is to be prepared by Dr. Charles Cuthbert Hall, President of Union Theological Seminary, New York. MacMillan announces for publication this fall the following interesting titles : " The Distribution of Wealth," by J. B. Clark, Pro- fessor of Political Economy, Columbia Univer- sity, New York, whose earlier work, on "The Philosophy of Wealth," was written from so broad a sot-ial and high an ethical point of view as to create the highest expectancy and stand- ard of judgment regarding the forthcoming volume. "Elements of Sociology," by Franklin H. Giddings, Professor of Sociology, Columbia University, New Y'ork, in which he will give to the public his long-promised primer in that science. " The Teachings of .Jesus and Modern Social Problems," by Francis G. Peabody, Pro- fessor of Christian Ethics, Harvard University, will be one of the " New Testament Series," edited by Professor Shailer Mathews, of the University of Chicago. We axk every reader of this month's COMMONS tp give especial attention to tlie Publisher's Columu on page 9. It will give you an idea of the spirit in which we naean to do onr business, and of your opportunity to reciprocate. 16 THE COMMONS. Leading DenW DepoTs-Any^eregEvery w)?fl?' "fliyiERlGflN CO-OPEHflTlVE KEWS" Organ of the Co-Operative Union of America. Subscription Price - 50 Cents a Year. Club' rate, when ordered with "The Commons." Both Magazines, one year, 75 cents, ARE you m mtmm citizen? The war with Spain has placed the United States in the front rank of the nations of the world. It has proven the patriotism of the American people. Its results will mean progression in all lines. It is the duty of every patriotic citizen to assist in making our government the best under the sun. He should be posted on our laws, both national and municipal, and should studysocial evils. I'he way to become posted, easily and quickly, is to study our new course in CIVICS, POLITICAL ECONOMY AND SOCIOLOGY Prepared by Leading: Authorities of the World Among the many contributors are: Prof. Richard T. My. University of Wisconsin; Prof, John A. Hobson. Oxford University, England: Prof. H. H. Powers. Leland Stanford University; Prof. F. S. Baldwin, Boston University; Prof. j. R. Commons. Syracuse University; Prof. Jesse Macy, Iowa College; Dr. Charles D. Spahr, editor Outlook; Prof. Graham Taylor; Prof. Catherine Coman, Wellesley College; W. F. VVilloughby. Department of Labor, Washington; Hon. W. P. Reeves, M. P.. London, hngland, etc., etc. OVER 1,000 LAKGK QUARTO PAGES FULLY ILLUSTRATED Issued in twelve m Sample copy and full an THE UNIVERSITY flSSOGIflTlON Association Building, CHICAGO. P. F. Pettibone & Co. INCORPORATED PRINTERS STATIONERS BLANK BOOK MAKERS Chicago Manutacturert at PATENT FLEXIBLE Commercial FLAT OPENING BLANK BOOKS Lithographing 48 and 50 Jackson Street CHICAGO Novelties in SPECIAL Stationery Articles ATTENTION TO Society Stationery and CHURCH Engraving WOKK MDNON ROUTE p)) ^IICAC0.|NPIAN«P0tlSf-|0UISHm|{AIUWY (f j The Direct Line BETWEEN Chicago Irtdinnapoli^ Cincinna^ti I^afayottG L^oui^ville AND ALL POINTS SOUTH THROUGH SLEEPERS TO CINCINNATI AND WASHINGTON DAILY FRANK J. REED, G. P. A, CITY TICKET OFFICE, 232 CLARK ST. CHICAGO. The Desplaines Press: P. F. Pettibone 4. Co.. Chicago LIBKApy Ot I HI UNIVEl-fSlTr oi 111 i^iOis Chicago Commons Number— 1898, A MONTHLYREeORD DEVOTED TO __ ASPEerS OF LIFE AND LABOR' FROM THE'SOeiAL SETTLEMENtj POINT OF VIEW. VOL. Ill, NO. 7. CHICAGO. NOVEMBER, 1898. Fimr CENTS A YEAR— SINGLE COPIES, TEN CENTS. Entered in Chicago Post-Office aa Second-Claaa Malter. THE COMMONS. [November. CONCERNING CO-OPERATION. Your Town Will Learn the Facts, Whether You Tell Them or Not. "If your municipality , the State, or the Nation was responsible for the storeTteeping inyour town, there would be just as many stores as there are post-offices." That truth will, ^^•itbin the next year or so, become apparent to every one. The first store in any community, intelli- gently organized and unselfishly conducted, under ideally co-operative conditions, must, sooner or later, absorb all of the distributive business of the place. That merchant, in any community, who is first to realize what folks will do when they begin to understand about competitive waste and co-operative economy, and who is first to begin spreading the truth, will, if he goes about the matter with vigor, enthusiasm and ■wisdom, become, for a while at least, the fore- most man of his town. His purpose for tell- ing his townfolks the plain truths about co- operation and competition may be inspired by nothing but selfishness — and in the outset every one acquainted with his past life and real character may suspect his motives, but the Truth is True, no matter who utters it, and its persistent statement and re-statement, especially when it has an economic basis and bearing, must finally gain for it, and for him who promulgates it, public attention and ap- proval. To deny this, throws reason out of court. To admit the force of what has been said leaves no excuse for inaction. When a majority or even an influential minority of any community begin to calculate ■what it costs them to maintain one unneces- sary store for one year, and see what, when measured by human toil, the awful waste of many unnecessary stores for many years means to them, they will be sure to ask the merchants of that place some very pointed questions — uncomfortable questions, like these : SOME "CNCOMFOKTABLE QUESTIONS. " Why have you not told us, your neighbors and fellow-to^nnfolks, that if we owned one store co-operatively, we would have saved as a community what it has cost to maintain all of the other stores?" " How long have you known these facts'?" '< How much money have you made each year by not telling us ?" " How does that amount compare with what we, your neighbors, whom you ■were serving professionally, have unknowingly been de- prived of ?" "If you had told us the facts, would not we have willingly paid you, each year, more to manage a co-operatively owned store than the net income of your privately owned business?" " In what way has God, your heavenly Father, and we, His other children, your brothers and sisters, been benefited by your having lived ?" Bear in mind the advantages of co-operation to yourself and your community and the inev- itable consequences which will follow if some . one else forestals your initiative. Keep thinking steadily, and it •n'on't be long before you will be able to look into a mirror and see the reflection of a man determined to do the heroic thing, no matter how many diffl- culties seem to stand in the way. THREE POSSIBLE ATTITUDES. You may be staggered by the immensity of the problem, you may be puzzled by thoughts about yoiir business, your property, yourself, you may seek excuse on the what-can-one-man- do plea, but when you sum up the whole situ- ation you must choose to be governed by what one of these three words stand for : Inditfer- ence, Opposition or Obedience. With the wel- fare of your community and that of the rest of the world, j'our own self-respect and your right relationship "n'ith God in the balance awaiting your action, we believe your choice will be obedience. The Eight Relationship League is a Na- tional organization tor social service. Eecog- nizing the fearful ■waste which attends the competitive system of distribution, it has formulated plans which will help retail mer- chants change their stores from private to co-operative o^wnership. It has been thought wise not to print the plans, but any retailer •who gives evidence of an honest purpose to make his business co-oi^erative may obtain full details, ■without cost, by visiting E. K. L. head- quarters at Chicago. Before coming, each mer- chant should correspond about the matter, and arrange the time of his visit so as to suit the convenience of the " League." Remember that merchants from all over the country are corresponding and arranging for interviews. Remember, also, that members of the League Council make no charge for their time or advice. They receive no salaries for their work. They are willing to help you serve your community for conscience sake. Annual auxiliary members of the Eight Re- lationship League (you are invited to become one) pay one dollar a year, but the one dollar will be more than offset by printed leaflets issued from time to time, all of which you will receive post-paid if you become a one-dollar auxiliai-y member. Right Relationship League. Rooms 903, 905 and 907, 237 Filth Ave., Chicago. The commons H flDontbl? IRccorS SevotcB to Hspccts of life am Uaboc from tbe Social Settlement point of View, Whole Number 31. CHICAGO. NOVEMBER, 1898. DECEMBER 15, 1898.— SPECI AI. CHICAGO'S GREAT CRISIS. Earnest Action in tlie Sev the Threatened Outr Railroad Co ^nteentli Ward Against ige by the Street mpaiiies. Tliat one of the congested river wards can be relied upon to take a stand for municipal right- eousness whenever the issue is clearly pre- sented, has been splendidly attested by the attitude of the citizens of the Seventeenth Ward of Chicago toward the ordinances intro- duced under the Allen Law for the extension of the franchises of the Chicago street railroad companies for fifty years. As the campaign against this nefarious measure progresses, it becomes more and more evident that the peo- ple of the poorer districts are unalterably op- posed to the confiscation by these corporations of the rights of an unborn generation to equi- table terms of street trausjiortation. A joint meeting was called on Friday even- ing, December 9, by the residents of Chicago Commons, of the Seventeenth Ward council of the Civic Federation and the Men's Neighbor- hood League, and under their joint auspices a mass-meeting of the citizens of the ward was held in Aurora Hall on Sunday afternoon, De- cember H. This meeting, though hastily sum- moned, was largely attended and unmistakably showed the temper of the people to be not only very strongly against the long-time extension of the street-car franchises, but to be quite surprisingly ready for municipal ownership and operation. Eesolutiona demanding the re- peal of the Allen Law were passed, municipal ownership was favored, and a committee was appointed to convey to the aldermen of the ward the sense of the meeting. In addition to this action, it is probable that a permanent civic club will be formed in the ward, for the organization of the progressive element, and for action in directions looking to the betterment of municipal conditions un- der a definite municipal i^rogram. As The Commons goes to press wo are able to record the defeat of the boodlers in their tlrst skirmish In the City Council, and to express our great satisfaction in the fact that the in- itiative in the move which resulted in their defeat was offered by Alderman James Walsh, of the Seventeenth Ward, whose election ihe settlement and its friends worked hard to ac- complish. Mr. Walsh receives the hearty con- gratulations of the citizens of the ward. STORY OF CHICAGO COMMONS. BY JOHN P. GAVIT. People almost always ask, when we try to tell them the simple story of the founding and progress of the social settlement called Chi- cago Commons, how the neighbors received us. "Do the people among whom you live welcome your efforts in their behalf and ap- preciate what you are doing for them, or do they regard you with suspicion as Interlopers?" And the very asking of the question shows how far we have drifted from the old-time spontaneity of neighborly relations and mutual human confidence, and how hard it is for well- to-do folk to think of their poorer brethren of the crowded quarters as having the same feel- ings and imijulses as themselves. When Professor Taylor first visited the two brothers who controlled the renting of the great house in which the settlement is now located, an odd conversation took place. " Now, Professor," said one of them, " before we can lease this property to you, a few matters mnst be understood. There are some purposes for which this property cannot be used." Anybody can be a " Professor," nowadays in Chicago, and the brothers had no means of THE COMMONS. [November, knowing whether the tall, black-clpthed man of inscrutable countenance with whom they talked was a professor of boot-blacking, hair- cutting, dancing, tight-rope walking, or the mixing of drinks. "Indeed?" responded the Professor, "and what are the purposes tabooed ? " The house was used at that time, the front part for a Ger- man sailors' boarding-house, the rear as densely- packed Italian tenement. " Well, you must not open a saloon there." " No, I don't want it for a saloon." " Nor ft dance-hall " " No, I shall not open a dance-hall." "Nor for a gambling-house." " I have no intention of opening a gambling- bouse." " A. hospital, perhaps ? " " No, I don't want to open a hospital." " Well, what are you going to use it for ? " "To live in." " Yes, but how are you going to make your money out of it ? " " Don't expect to make money out of it." " I mean, how are you going to get your ex- pense back?" "Don't expect to get it back." " What is there in it for you, then ? " " Nothing — except a home." " Do you mean that you are going to live tliere?" " Exactly." " Do you mean to say that you people, who could live on Ashland Boulevard, are going to make your home deliberately down here among the Italians and Polacks, in this dirt and Bmoke ?" " That is precisely what I mean." " And not to have any home but this ?" " That exactly." The young man looked at the Professor a long time, and then, turning to his brother, exclaimed; "Well, brother, there are such people in the world, I suppose, but this is the first one I ever saw ! " And with the neighborhood it was precisely the same. It was inconceivable to the aver- age person that a group of people, having had some advantages of education and social privi- lege, and having something of cash power to separate them from the fellow-humans who had been denied those privileges, should of their own free will and accord ignore ordinary social distinctions and deliberately choose their place of residence among the congestion of the disinherited. That any man who could live where there are good air, clean streets, green lawns, well-dressed passers-by, should voluntarily share humble surroundings and the pressure of municipal misrule and admin- istrative discrimination, m-iking his home, his citizenship, his neighborship and fellowship his gift to the community where he could con- tribute what he had and was to those to whom he chiefly owed it, was so utterly in opposition to ordinary ways of doing and ordinary human motive that it must be prompted by some sort of hypocrisy, and must cover some kind of trickery. These people must have some de- sign upon their money, their children, or their faith. When they did come to appreciate that " these people"' who had come among them desired only their friendship and their confidence; that they had no proselyting propaganda, no money-mak- ing scheme, no chance to be anything but fel- low-men, fellow-citizens, neighbors, the re- sponse was unreserved and more than could have been asked. By scores the people came, and from being merely a home in the midst of a crowded and needy neighborhood, the settle- ment became truly a social center for the com- munity, and such it is increasingly to this day. HOW IT V AS STARTED. It had long been a cherished desii-e of Pro- fessor Graham Taylor, who had come from Hartford to Chicago Theological Seminary to be professor of Christian Sociology and the English Bible, to establish a settlement upon lines similar to those of Hull House, where his students should be able to study life at first hand, and where classroom theory and letter could be applied in spirit and in practice. To a much larger and more democratic life it has grown under his hand. Beginning with a group of two or three students under the direction of Mr. Herman F. Hegner, then a seminary stu- dent, now past6r of Bethany Church, detailed for the work, the settlement first found root in the home of an Irish-.\mericau citizen of the Ward on West Erie street, the relationships of the group grew and widened until, by the time of its removal to the present building in 1894, there was a good nucleus for the present work. GATHERING THE CHIIiDREN. The first steps were with the children, so far as the present institutional work is concerned. Miss Bertha Hofer, now Mrs. Hegner, made one voyage of discovery and invitation for the kin- dergarten, and none since. At 6.30 the follow- ing morning, a horde of youngsters of every nationality and shade of cleanliness were sit- ting and howling and clamoring at the doorstep for the kindergarten. Then it was a very small group; now it is all but a hundred in number. 1898. J THE COMMONS. overflowing from one room where it began, to flU all the basement. Then there were a hand- ful of assistants from a distant kindergarten training school; now the settlement kindergar- ten is the object lesson of a t'liicago Commons kindergarten training school, over which Mrs. Hegner presides with unexcelled excellence of theory and practicability of method. FOR THE MOTHEHS; Once the children had come it was an easy matter to bring in the mothers. Friday even- ings are devoted to mothers' meetings, and no feature of the work of the Commons is more etfective. In the kindergarten room they gather — usually in two circles, of English and German speaking mothers. There are practical talks, by folks who know, on child-management and the thousand perplexing details of motherhood. Then they gather for a "general exercise" of kindergarten games, songs, simple calisthenics, and other things which the mothers can put to immediate use in the homes. WJien it is re- membered that many of these mothers were all but playless in their childhood ; that in dozens of cases their mothers never sang them a song or told them a story, it will be seen how much these evenings must mean to the simple- hearted women of the tenement houses about the Commons. THE woman's club. But there are many women of the settlement neighborhood who have had larger opportuni- ties for culture and outlook, and for these there is the Woman's Club, a department of the set- tlement activity second to none in importance. Topics of general civic and social interest are discussed, and some of the best speakers in Chicago address the Woman's Club. These more robust exercises are interspersed with social occasions, which are among the most en- joyable incidents of the settlement's life. One feature of the club's activity is its an- nual celebration of the settlement's birtUday. Three times this festival has called together a happy company of the settlement's friends and neighbors to join in celebration of the comple- tion of a year of mutual love and service. Usually upon these occasions the club has made some useful present to the resident group. FOR THE TOUNO WOMEN. Almost at the founding of the settlement was the beginning of the Girl's Progressive Club, and it has been one of the strong arms of the settlement's work all the time. It has increased in membership from a scant half-dozen to nearly a hundred, and a rare and sisterly fel- lowship exists. In It are organized working girls of the Commons neighborhood, and sbt- eral of the settlement residents help In the self-culture effort of the club. The last of the club's delightful socials was a New England party in celebration of Thanksgiving. We had hoped to give pliotographs of that jolly group, but the plates were spoiled. PROF. GRAHAM TAYLOR. Founder and Resident Warden, Chicago CommonJ, THE GOOD WILL CLUB. The boys, who used to be the settlement's greatest problem, are now one of its greatest sources of pride; organized into groups under assisting workers, all subsidiary to the " blue ticket" Good Will Club, for membership in whose autonomous body, with its studies ol electricity, civics and American history, the boys strive in terms of cleanliness and good behavior. This club meets on Thursday nights, the groups on Friday, with two or three small clubs meeting during the week. One novel feature of the boys' department is the chess club, made up of boys who once were irrepressible embodiments of perpetual motion and sleepless mischief, but who now spend often an hour or more at a time in silent study over a game of chess. This club meets on Tuesday evenings. Much space has been given in The Commons to the Good Will farm-camp, near Elgin, in which the boys and girls of the clubs had vary- ing periods of summer life. Plans are making 6 THE COMMONS. [November, for the next year's work, but expansion of that matter would just now be premature. GROUPS OP GIRLS. Wednesday evening the house is full of girls, Whom the resident kindergartners, with assist- ance of non-resident workers, give the pleas- antetst sort of an evening of games, songs, stories, sewing, and the like. The girls and boys alike enjoy the privileges of a growing circulating library, increased from time to time by gifts of books or money. The girls share with the boys also the manual training, and have now two deeply interested classes, learning to use their hands with tools for sim- ple construction. A branch of the children's club work, slowly Federation maintains its organization, and again and again proves its vitality, vigor and usefulness as a factor in the politics of the ward for civic betterment. It is likely that a general municipal club will be organized shortly, and it will be described in these col- umns. There is proposed also a strictly neigh- borhood social club of the men, to be organized early in the year. EDUCATIONAL CLUBS. In the educational work of the settlement this year, it has been the policy to emphasize greatly the social aspect of the work. We have found that our neij;hbors are unable, for vari- ous reasons, to respond to offers of formal edu- cational classes, and the acceptance of such as IN THE Soap shot glimpse of spreading to other departments, is the penny provident bank, in which there are now upward of 200 depositors listed, with every prospect of increasing usefulness. WHEN THE MEN MEET. The most difficult work the settlement has to "tackle " is that of competing for young men vith the theater, the pleasure club, and the similar attractions of popular life. At this point the settlement is weakest, but in its min- istry to the older and more purposeful men, it has succeeded well. On Tuesday evenings there is a variable but usually large audience of earnest men in the big basement room to discuss social and economic topics. The Seventeenth Ward Council of the Civic CHESS CLUB. a series of exciting games. we have had has been, as in other settlements, more largely by residents of other neighbor- hoods than our own. 'To meet this condition we have, to a large extent, defaulted in our strictly educational work, and are devoting ourselves to the organization of social clubs, only incidentally educational. Themost suc- cessful of these thus far is our Shakespeare reading circle, meeting on Saturday evenings. An American history study club is in prospect for the opening year, and other clubs will form as efficient leaders (most difficult to find) ap- pear. In addition to these clubs, we are making available resources of art and literature, through the loan picture collection, referred to in the last issue of The Commons, and also by means 1898. THE COMMONS. of the traveling library, kindly placed at our disposal by tlie Parmelee Library Co. The success of this feature will be dilated upon in a later issue. AN ETHICAL GATHERING. Beginning with the second Sunday in .January •we shall resume our " Pleasant Sunday After- noon," intermitted so as to give fair start to the " People's Hour " evening service at the Taber- nacle. Every effort will be made to make this s social hour for ethical uplift, presenting, ■with all the aid of music and other auxiliary ice as pastor, and Eev. Henry J. Condit, his associate, is, with Mrs. (/Ondit, resident in the settlement. The resident group continues its contribution of an efficient contingent of work- ers in the church activity. A later issue of The Commons will report upon the work in greater detail. COMMONS NOTES. ■ Miss Abbott, of Oak Park, will organize a millinery class the first week in January. The illustrations for this issue were made THE KINDEKGARTEN THANKSGIVING. Flash light of the simple feast, taken under disadvantages of light and perpetual motion. attractions, and with rigid avoidance of contro- versial and sectarian or otherwise divisive vocabulary, great moral and spiritual truths for incarnation in daily life. In this connection, it is proposed also to con- centrate also in Sunday afternoon and evening gatherings of the boys and girls for quieter and, perhaps, more purposeful thought than is possible in the week-day meetings. RELATION WITH THE TABERNACLE. Space is available only for the briefest refer- ence to our continued cordial relation with the neighboring Tabernacle Church. Professor Taylor continues his gratuitous, friendly serv- hurriedly and under difBculties, but they are sufficient to give glimpses of the settlement work. A group of friends interested in the study of co-operative movements meets at the settle- ment every ^atiJrday evening for reading and conference. Miss Haskell and Miss Wallace, of the kindergarten training class, are leaders of the "junior club. " for children just out of the kin- dergarten, which meets in the kindergarten rooms after school Friday. Miss Ida E. Hegner, one of the first resi- dents of the settlement, still conducts her suc- cessful club of girls from 12 to 16 years old, meeting now on Thursday evenings. Two fine (Continued on page ii.) TQE COMMONS. ' November, ioti cm& tltc ^ecrple.*' The Commons H /Bontbls 1RCC0V6 ScvotcS to Sspccta of life an£> labor from tbc Social Settlement point of Wiew. John P. Gavit, Published on the last day of each month from Chicago Commons, a Social Settlement at 140 Noith Union Street, Chicago, 111. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE Fifty cents a year. (Two shillings. English; 2.50 francs, French— foreign stamps accepted.) • Postpaid to any State or Connlry. Six copies to one address fni- S2.5n. Send check, draft, P. O. money order, cash or stamps, not above 5-cent devomivatuni!^ at our risk. Renewals— The change in the date on the address label will ordinarily serve as receipt for renewals. These changes are made once in two months. In accordance with custom, and the expresi-ed wish of many snhscrlliers, we continue The Commons to each address until notified to the contrary. Changes of Address— Please notify the publishers promptly of any chani-'e of address, or of failure to receive the paper within a reasonable interval after it is due. Advertisements — l^'irst-class advertisements desired at reasonable rates, which will be furnished upon applica- tion. No. 31. CHICAGO. NOV. 30, 189S. THE space available for communications is limited in The Commoks, but we shall endeavor to find room in the next issue for some comment of a good friend upon utterances of this paper with reference to communism in the early church. THE letter of Mr. Alex. Allan, published in another column, is of timely interest as the forcible utterance of a man who finds con- firmation in literal Bible prophecy of the beliefs and actions of men who have wrought economic brotherhood. We refer it to the prayerful attention of those who are so ready to quote Scripture in defense of the present order of society. OF ALL the obstacles to social regeneration, none is more disheartening than the grewsome ignorance, indifference and all but wilful blindness to the most obvious social facts, of men whose position of prominence or responsibility would seem to imply their at least elementary knowledge of the situation. Now the president of the Illinois H\imane So- ciety proposes to eradicate hoodlum crime with the whipping post ! We shall expect next to hear it proposed to cure measles and whooping cough by spanking, and to treat appendicitis by applying court-jjlaster to the lelt great toe I The young city hoodlunj is the legitimate and inevitable fruit of the slum, and as long as- slums exist, and the conditions which create and perpetuate them, the hoodlum, young and old, will exist, and corporal punishmeut,or any other kind of punishment, will have about as much effect upon juvenile crime, or any other- kind of crime, as the prayers of a Hottentot sor- cerer would have on the botany of the other side of the moon. The economic conditions of the city of Chicago produce in any. one week of tha year more hoodlums and juvenile criminals, than could be whipi^ed into good citizens ia the life-time of the Humane Society. THIS issue of 'The Commons is devoted largely to the interests of the Chicago> Commons Settlement. We find justification in this since this paper is the only organ of the settlement with which it can reach its friends, and since it .has always borne the major share of tlie expense and responsibility for the publi- cation. Moreover, it may not be unfair to re- gard Chicago Commons as one of the most representative of the settlements, in that it manifests nearly if not quite all of the phases of settlement work both direct and indirect. It has seemed wise to us to assume that some at least of our readers are unfamiliar with the history of the settlement, and to outline its- progress as well as its present work. At the same time we have no desire to take advantage of the fact that the paper circulates so largely among the friends of other settlements to draw- attention and sympathy to our own work. We should be very greatly gratified to find that our appeal and comment in this one case had served to obtain for every settlement the sup- port and confidence of those who by territorial location or other facts should properly be re- garded as their " constituency." TIIEKE are no conceivable terms upon which iTcouiirbe'justifi'ecrtire grant of "a franchise to the Chicago street railroads for fifty years. No negotiations whatever would be tolerable under the nefarious Allen law, but, be the law never so good, the man does not live upon earth today who can fix conditions of compensation oTfares for fifty or'eveiTtwenty'years. Within th"at"time meanTof transit or conditions of city life may have changed so that even one cent fare would be exorbitant. For ourselves, we are opposed to granting these companies long- 1898. J THE COMMONS. time (even twenty-year) franchises upon any terms. The time has come for large cities to o-wn and operate their own street railroads, and the only terms of agreement to which we should give endorsement would be such as clearly con- templated the assumption by the city, upon terms of equity, of the whole business of power traffic upon its own streets. Already the city is owner of the major portion of what the rail- roads claim as their " property," in the form of the strip of its own street which the cor- porations have coolly capitalized as their own. The people of Chicago, are paying interest to the street railroads upou the uncompensated use of their own property ! It is largely to be decided by the street railroads themselves, at this time, whether they shall derive a profit- able and creditable business from their present negotiations with the city of Chicago upon a basis of fair dealing and right outlook upon the future, or whether, upon their forcing their criminal will upon the people through the de- bauchery of public servants, the alleged " con- tract " shall within a few years be nullified and abrogated, like any other one-sided " agree- ment" obtained by force or fraud. No man is under obligation of either law or equity to re- gard a nefarious bargain made by bribery be- tween a burglar and his own unfaithful watch- man. "QRIDGET'S FRIEND" contributes to this Lj issue some rather searching questions on the " servant girl jsroblem " which we print without comment. Domestic service is the black spot in the labor situation today, and the chief cause of the impossibility of getting good domestic servants is the iniquitous con- ditions in which domestic labor is usually per- formed. One of the best proofs of the inherent nobility and dignity of the human race is the fact that self-respecting girls are averse to be- coming barely-tolerated aliens in a kitchen- domain whose life and status are somewhere between those of a slave and a domestic animal. THE striking communication of the newly- founded Eight Relationship League, printed upon our cover, should have the ear- nest rending of every reader of The Cohmons interested in the cause of co-operation. It is not in the ordinary sense an advertisement, but is printed with full editorial endorsement and confidence. If our readers write to the League headquarters for information we shall be glad to have them mention their seeing the communication in The Commons. PUBLISHER'S CORNER. nA red or V>Uie mark in tliis space indicates that your subscription has expired with this issue, anil that you can best lieip The Comjions and the cause for wliicli it stands by using tlie enclosed subsiTiptioo blauic to-day for renewal. This will save you the annoy- ance of a further reminder, and us the time and money that a letter and postage would cost, and that might better be used in the direct extension of our work. I StuMes ot tbc ^ ^ J- j^ ^ ^ I j» ^ ^ ^ Xabor /IDovement c WHITHER ? [to a dlRL.] Whither, whither, pretty child? The world Is not yet open ! Oh, see. how (piiet it is all around! 'Tis before daybreak, the streets are mute. Whither, whither do you hurry? 'Tis now good to sleep. And. do you see. the flowers are still adreamtng, Every bird's nest Is still silent. Whither, pray, are you driven now? Whither do you hurry, tell me, and what to do? — "To earn a living!" Whither, whither, pretty child, walking so late at night?' Alone through the darkness and cold! And everything is at rest, the world is silent. Whither does the wind carry you? You will yet lose your way! Scarcely has day smiled on you. How can the night help you? For it is mute anil deaf and blind. Whither, whither, with e.isv mind? —"To earn a living!" -Morris Boje>i/eW, in " Songs of the Ghetto." THE SERVANT GIRL PROBLEM. A student of the domestic servant question has prepared for The Commons the following servant girl catechism, with a view of assisting in solving the everlasting question of domestic service, and we sincerel.y hope that every reader of The Commons who has faced this mighty problem will examine these questions, and fairly answer them, not " out loud " neces- sarily, but in honest self-examination of his own conscience. And it might not be a bad idea to get Bridget's opinion on these points. CATECHISM. 1. Do you " keep a girl ?" 2. What is her last name ? 3. What do you call her ? What does she call you ? 4. What is your estimate of her character ? Is she conscientious, faithful, industrious and efficient ? 5. What is her estimate of your character ? Does she regard you as conscientious, faithful, industrious and efficient ? 10 THE COMMONS. [November, 6. Are you her superior ? In what respects ? Why? 7. Are you better educated than she ? Why V 8. Is she respectful to you ? Are you re- spectful to her ? Do you expect her to treat you better than you treat her, or differently ? 9. Does she love you ? Why should she ? 10. Do you love her ? Why shouldn't you ? 11. Where is her room ? How big is it ? Did you ever sleep there ? Would you ? 12. How much do you charge her for it? "Would you pay that for the room ? Suppos- ing you had to do it or starve ! 13. Does she like her place ? 14. Would you like to work in her place, and under identical conditions ? Why ? 15. How many hours does she work every day ? How many days a week ? 16. What do you pay tier ? For how many hours would that be fair pay ? 17. Would you work so many hours at such •work for such jjay ? 18. What is the difference ? Suppose she should refuse and you could not fill her place ? 19. How many hours of the day are her very own ? 20. How does she spend them ? 2i. Do you prescribe the hour of her return upon her " evenings out?" 23. Does your employer control your time evenings, or prescribe your bedtime V 23. How many Sundays has she at liberty in the month ? 24. How many have you ? 25. Would you like to live in the midst of your own daily work so that you could never escape from it ? 26. Suppose your husband lived in his office? 27. Is Bridget a member of your family cir- cle ? Why ? 28. If not, why do you expect her to take a loyal Interest in that in which she has no part ? 29. Does she eat with the family V Why ? 30. Is her food as good as yours ? As hot and fresh and nicely served ? Why ? 31. How would you like to live in a strange family with no part in its life, living by your- self, eating by yourself — an alien, whose king- dom was the kitchen and the cellar ? 32. What is her social life ? Does she share yours ? Why ? 33. Does she read ? What does she read ? Where does she get it ? 34. Is she ever lonesome ? Does she ever sit with you in the evening ? 35. Did you ever spend an evening sitting alone in the kitchen ? 36. Did you ever sit with her and talk about her girlhood, her friends, hopes, fears, ambi- tions ? 37. Does she love music ? Do you ever take her to a concert, or driving with you, or walk- ing with you ? 38. Does she love your children ? Why should she ? 39. Will your child ever have to do menial service, perhaps for hers ? How do you know? 40. Would you like to have your child sleep in Bridget's room, eat Bridget's food, wear Bridget's clothes, live Bridget's life ? Why not? 41. Are you, or is your child, made of differ- ent flesh than hers, or do you feel more keenly? How do you know ? 42. Are you taking thought of her mind and intellectual culture ? 43. What do you care about Bridget except for what you can get out of her for the least possible money ? 44. Why should she care anything about you except to get the biggest possible pittance for the least amount of service ? 45. Wherein is Bridget, after all, better than a slave ? 46. How much more do you give her than her food, clothes and shelter ? Could she freely escape from service to you or someone like you, or worse ? 47. Shall you support her in old age and helplessness ; pay for her medical attendance ; keep her when she breaks down, and bury her when she dies ? 48. Would not a slavemaster do that ? 49. Does she get from you fellowship and personal affection in return for the addition of her personality to your family ? 50. After all, what have faithfulness, loy- alty, respect, love, cheerfulness, mutual con- sideration, equal rights and duties, brotherly or sisterly fellowship to do with your hard bar- gain with Bridget ? Bridget's Friend. I have looked at this claim by the light of his- tory and my own conscience, and it seems to me so looked at to be a most just claim, and that resist- ance to it means nothing short of a denial of the hope of civilization. This, then, is the claim : It is right and necessary tbat all men should have work to do which shall be worth doing, and be of itself pleasant to do, and which should be done under such conditions as would make it neither over-wearisome nor over-anxious. Turn that claim about as I may, think of it as long as I can, I can- not find that it is an exorbitant claim ; yet again I say if society would or could admit it, the face of the world would be changed ; discontent and strife and dishonesty would be ended. — William Morris. 1898. J THE COMMONS. 11 COMMONS NOTES. (Contimied jrum iniiic ~.\ cooking classes have been I'onuecl from tliis club, and there are more to follow. r Miss Thayer, of the resident force, with the assistance of Miss Edith Conaut of Oak Park, is conducting cooking classes for the girls, and will shortly txtend this work for the benefit of neighborhood women. r During the absence in the East of Miss Mari Hofer, who has from the beginning con- ducted the settlement choruses for adults and children, the t horal Club has been conducted by Mr. E. W. Freeman, ui Irving Park, and the children's chorus with notable success by Miss 80. From all parts of the city, and from many of its suburbs, a long succession of noble friends, to the number of fifty or more, each year, have joined their self-sacrificing efforts with our own in the service of the common cause. Others in more distant towns or coun- try places have co-operated with us by throw- ing their quiet homes open to our sick or weary neighbors with unwearied hospitality. During the past year perhaps the gravest financial crisis the settlement has been obliged to pass through was met as resolutely as gen- erously by the individual gifts and efforts of our trubtees and a tew other friends. In that "MISS ALICE " AND "MISS FAITH." Twj Kindei-gwtQers with their Uaited Group o£ Neighborhood Children. Anne Stewart, who conducted the music teach- ing in the Montefiore vacation school during the summer. A PERSONA!. STATEMENT. Prof. Graham Taylor's Word of Cheer and Appeal to the Friends of Chicago Conauions. To THE Friends of Chicago Commons : Chicago Commons enters upon its fifth year with grateful memories of the past and bright hopes for the future. Our faith has been ful- filled, for we believed that it a few of us could stand in the breach long enough, sufficient re- source, both personal and financial, would rally to maintain and develop the work. It has been union of willing hearts and hands thare was proven to be the strength sufficient unto our day ever since, for, without public appeal, and with very few personal solicitations, which the pressure of work would not have allowed the writer to make, the increasing but still modest needs of our ever-growing work have been all the while a little more than met. Closing our fiscal year without debt, we can on this account more confidently and encouragingly appeal for the $6, noil which, if entrusted to us, we can safely and effectively invest in the social service of the common life. What we have re- ceived hitherto has come to us through the faith and free will of nearly a thousand givers 12 THE COMMONS. [November, scattered all over the country, from the Rocky Mountains to the Ne-w England coast. The largest gift received from a single individual during the year was $500, which was offered without solicitation. Tlie balance, as in former years, came to us in a large number of small contributions from self-sacrificing friends of meager means. Very sacred to us is the trust of such offers, and very serious are the obliga- tions under which they place us. All we can offer is the gratuitous service of our own lives, in endeavoring to render the utmost service ■which these offerings enable us to attempt. This issue of The Commons will be followed by a brief personal plea to all who have ever thus co-operated with us to continue to do so. "With the three or four thousand other readers of The Commons we will simply leave this statement of the current need of our work. The most serious problem facing the devel- opment and even perpetuation of the work of Chicago Commons, however, remains to be solved. The expiration of the five-year lease of our present residence is so near at hand as to make it imxDerative that a movement be initiated at once to provide permanent quar- ters for the work which may fairly claim to have been recognized as a permanent feature of Chicago's life and service. Upon this prob- lem both trustees and residents are hard at work, trying to decide upon the best strategic site of the neighborhood, the plans for the most suitable building, and the means of securing Fifty Thousand Dollars ($ (i,Oi'0) to endow the work, either with an interest-bear- ing fund or with a building which will provide it with both shelter and revenue. Yours, in the service of the Kingdom and its Christian social order, Graham Taylok. [FOR THE COMMONS.] "THY KINGDOM COME." BY EMMA PLATTER SEABl'RV. While men elinib, trampling others 'neath their hpel. While gold supplants the truth, while right is dumb. Till justice gains ihe grace to think and feel, Fruitless the prayer, "Lord, thy kingdom come." [FOR THE COMMONS.] LOOK UP! BY EMMA I'LAYTER SEABURY. We hear the merry Chrismas chimes, We hear "Peace and good will to meu;" We echo back " Disjointed times, O send the Christ child here again; Thy people starve, they pray and plead. The world is out of tuue to-day. And thy disciples go their way Bent down with woes, with feet that bleed. And hearts rent for this lumian need. " From surpllced choirs the anthems ring. Outside the aged heg instead, And little children their wares sing To whi.a single crust of bread. ' Good will to men ! ' peals out inside, ' And glory to our Lord on high ! ' And He, alas, is passing by With crown of thorns and pierced side, Nor can his Comforter abide." Have faith, you prophets of to-day Who stagger 'neath your neighbors' lo.nd; Denounce the wrong, but see ihe ray That leads into a better road ! Be sure that be it near or far. The Lord his promise shall tnlflil, That He is in his temple still; That wrong nor sin can never mar The Magi's glorious guiding star. Look up to catch Ihe gleam of dawn. Be first to see the little gains. Have Moses' faith, who plodded on When his weak cravens prayed for chains; Oh, lake the yoke ot Christ to bear The blindness and the siu and wrong, The weary woikl still rolls along. For gladness hfts its crushing rare, Till silent voices burst to song. "OLD SKINFLINT." BY EDWARD T. KETES. Years ago John Skinner came to our village^ from nobody knows where. Everybody tried to find out, of course, but no one succeeded. A couple of weeks after his arrival he bought a store building and stock of goods from a mer- chant who wanted to retire. The second story of the building he had pur- chased had been partitioned for housekeeping purjjoses. As soon as he took possession of 1898.] THE COMMONS. 13 thi! property he employed mechanics to Ht the looms with every modern convenience. Uoth inside and outside blinds were made for all the windows. A.hen everything had been fixed to his liking he moved his personal belongings from the hotel, and from that moment to the day he died, no human being but himself ever entered that part of tlie premises. He did all of his own housework, including conuing, washing, ironing and mending. In the store he had one clerk to help him. He had advertised for a middle-aged assist- ant, and when this man applied tor the posi- any circumstances, nor sell goods for a single cent less than the authorized price. " You must never present customers or their children with anything taken from stock, not even a stick of candy. " You will have two weeks vacation each year, one week in January and one in July, with full pay alloweii. If absent at any other time your salary will be docked. " Fourth, when on duty and there are no cus- tomers waiting, your post will be near the store entrance, miue will be at the rear. I wish to avoid waiting upon patrons, except when you are too busy to give them attention. OFF FOR A PIC.Vlr. Some of the Settlement CliiUlreu start tor Fields and \\"T)ods— A Mkisummer Scene. tion Skinner told him he might have the place, as long as he lived, if he would agree to the conditions. "First, you must never address one word to me upon any subject not connected with the conduct of the store. " Second, when anyone attempts to make me the subject of conversation, you are to politely but firmly discourage them. " Third, you are to open the store every morn- ing at 6. I will give you an hour off at noon. The store will be closed for the night at 7 p. m. You must never return to the store or enter it except between 6 a. m. and 7 p. ii. week days, lou must never give credit to any one under " Fifth, you must not under any circum- stances attempt to enter my apartments up- stairs There is a bell and sjieakiDg-tube in the back room; ring the bell and tell me through the tube what you wish, anti I will direct what is to be done, but remember you are not to speak to me ui^on any topic except it be in reference to the conduct of the business." For thirty-one years the store was run in ac- cordance with these rules. At first the village folks tried to discover why Skinner lived as he did, and several who were kindly disposed sought to draw him from his seclusion. Like all else in life which is, but which is not understandable, he was left to "gang his ain 14 THE COMMOMS. [November, gait," as " Sacdy Dodge," the Scotch ditch- digger of the i^lace, recommended he be per- mitted to do. Skinner was scrupulously exact in his deal- ings, always paying the odd penny and de- manding same from others. He was never known to give anything to anybody. He was believed to be very rich. At Christmas time, when other merchants responded to the "Merry Christmas" greetings of children by some trifling gift. Skinner simply thanked the little folks, and, with a smile, wished them a " Merry Christmas." The minister, in commenting upon these traits, said his name should have been "Skin- flint," and gradually folks called him that, until few remembered his right name. Men and women with generous natures are to be found everywhere. There were many such persons, no doubt, within a ^tone's throw of old "Skinflint's " store. This seems likely, because when " Hughey Coregan," who lived around the corner, was going with consump- tion, and his wife, who supported the family by taking in washing, couldn't afford to buy the kinds of food which the doctor recommended, some Samaritan, every now and then, brought a basket of good things and left it in the shed at the rear of the house where Mrs. Coregan couldn't help finding it. "Maybe the Doctor did it," said Aunt Kitty Martin, when she heard of it, and because of that suggestion Mrs. Coregan washed for the Doctor with a lighter heart than she would have done, until she worked out what she owed him. But it was in winter, about Christmas time, that these good souls were most active. ■\Vhen Widow Boyd was recovering from pneumonia and hadn't money to buy warm woolens for herself, because she had spent every cent she had in trying to clothe her little ones comfortably, she found a package at the back door containing what she most needed. When Josiah Eckert and two of his children were down with small-pox, and no one seemed willing to take care of them, and Mrs. Eckert wasnearlydead herself from overwork, a trained nurse came from the city and said : " Some- body in town, she didn't know who, had Sent money to the hospital she worked in, enough to pay her salary for three weeks and for her ticket both ways." One Christmas, Willie Scott, who was hump- backed, and who had never walked since he got the white swelling, got a chair in which he could wheel himself about. It came by express addressed to " Willie." His mother wrote to the makers, thinking there must be some mis- take, but they wrote back it was all right. They said, " Money to pay for the chair accom- panied the order." "Deafy," Widow Jensen's deaf and dumb boy received a scholarship at a school celebrated for its work for those afflicted with loss of speech and hearing. A serviceable trunk con- taining two suits of clothes and other wearing apparel came by express, with a letter promis- ing that from time to time other necessary things would be sent to the boy, provided he gave his teaoht- r evidences of a desii-e to better himself. No name was signed. " Old Daddy Price," the wood sawyer, had by scrimi^ing and pincl ing saved up enough money to send his motherless grandchild away to school. The money which was to pay her tuition had finally, been taken from the bank, and the old man and his darling were to leave next day for the academy. Some one broke into the house that night and stole the school fund. A few weeks later some other body wrote an anonymous letter expressing sympathy and enclosing about what had been stolen. 'Ihe night before Christmas, 189-, was bit- terly cold. There had been a driving snow- storm all day, then the wind veered to the northwest and blew the snow into great drifts. Few people ventured out that night. The next day while making his way through one of the back streets, Mr. Kodd, the black- smith, stumbled upon something in a great drift of snow. It was the body of " Old Skin- flint." Not far from where he lay was a basket, and in the basket a box bearing the words, " Merry Christmas," and the name of a sick child, the only daughter of a drunken, dissolute charac- ter who lived a short distance farther down the street. The box and its wrappings were exactly like others which had been left at dwellings of many poor families that night. The basket was of peculiiir construction. Mrs. Coregan told Aunt Kitty Martin it was the counterpart of those which used to be left in the back shed when " Hughey ' was going with consumption. Widow " Jensen " and Widow " Boyd," " Uaddy Price " and scores of villagers came to view the remains and to examine the box and basket. It had never occurred to any of them that it was " Old Skinflint " who befriended them. The funei-al was held in the apartments over the store. One of the rooms indicated its long use as a workshop. It contained a bench and 1898. THE COMMONS. 15 tools of every sort. There were two or three unfinished baskets and boxes. Skinner's clerk conducted the simple service, telling his hearers in a broken voice of some things he knew about, and others which he strongly suspected. Note.— We can furnish copies of this little Btory, in booklet form, in any quantity, for one cent each, and believe that the story, rightly distributed among Sunday school classes and other people, young and old, would inspire much giving of a quiet kind. And we might remark, also, in passing, that the Commons, and indeed any of the settlements, would be very glad to be the agent of any amount of judicious giving of this kind in behalf of those who desire to keep their left hand in ignorance of the doings of their right. I HEAR IT WAS CHARGED AGAINST ME. I hear it was charged against me that I sought to destroy institutions. But really I am neither for nor against insti- tutions, (What indeed have I in common with them ? or what with the destruction of them ?) Only I will establish in the Mannahatta and in every city of these States inland and sea- board. And in the fields and woods, and above every keel, little or large, that dents the water. Without edifices or rules or trustees or any argument. The institution of the dear love of comrades. — Walt \yhitman in " Leaves of Grass." BROTHERHOOD AND PROPHECY. Editok of The Commons. Dear Sir: — The October number of your neat little monthly is received and read with much interest. My eyes and ears are ever on the alert for indica- tions of the fulfilment of that time when " the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High." — (Dan. 7:27.) I notice by yoxir paper that the year 1896 marks the time when the Christian Commonwealth was effectually or- ganized. That year was also, according to Bible chronology, the end of the lease of power granted to the Gentile nations " until He comes whose right it is to reign. " We read that "the powers that be " are or- dained of God, yet this caonot prove that these powers are by any means a good thing, unless perhaps to give us that experience ot evil in order we may appreciate the good. Indeed, the national powers which began with Nebuchad- nezzar are characterized in scripture as terri- ble beasts, and from the way that they have devoured the poor widows and oi'phans it is clear that they are of the carnivorous type. The times of the Gentiles are generally con- ceded by chronologists to be a period of 2,520 years, beginning with the King of Babylon, " the head of gold," to whom God " gave the power, and strength, and glory" of the typical Kingdom of God under the kings of Judah, just eighteen years before Israel was carried away captive to Babylon for seventy years. They were afterwards liberated in the first year of Cyrus, 5.38 B. C. If we add 18-70-536 B. C. to 1896 A. D. we have 2,520 years, or the length of the time that the right to rule was ^iven over to the Gentiles. .As the typical kingdom ex- isted in dead form for eighteen years before their utter destruction, we may reasonably in- fer that the end of these powers that are now will, perhaps, prolong their allotted period through various hypocritical concessions to the cries of the laborers who have reaped down their fields while defrauded of their hire.— Jas. 5: 4. These truths should claim interest from every one who is praying from the heart " Thy kingdom come." And I hail with joy that which seems to be the small beginning of a realization of the answer to " Thy will be done on the earth." From scripture we learn that the Lord will break in pieces these beastly kingdoms in order to set up His kingdom. It is not surprising that these changes are both going on at the same time; it is the time foretold when "the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed." — (Amos 9:13.) Our Lord has given us the everlasting prin- ciples of true government. Any organization thus founded will stand the fiery test of God's wrath because the principle is everlasting — " love never fails." Some men say communism is a good thing and according to the spirit of Christ, but it is not practicable by men in the flesh. If this ai-gument is sound, then the work of the Spirit is a failure. Should the fact that we cannot live up to the law of liberty perfectly be a pretest for self-agrandizement ? As well say because we cannot be holy as He (God) is holy, we should become incarnate devils. These good people say we can only approxi- mate to the holiness of God. How far would they go to api^roximate the spirit of Christ ? If communism is too far, where will they mark the danger line? Perhaps where it touches their pocket-book or their social standing. There is no doubt what .Jesus had reference to when he said "that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom." Peter knew what he meant by this, for he said, "Lord, we have for- saken all to follow Thee, what shall we have therefor?" In modern language, our Lord's words would be: a rich man shall hardly be- come a Christian. If communism is not here understood, our Savior's words are meaning- less, for notice that He had just told a certain rich man to sell all that he had and distribute it to the ijoor. This is where the shoe pinches the rich man, so the gospel in the Ajjostle's time drew " not many wise men after the flesh (shrewd in business), not many mighty, not many nol^le," just as you find it among com- munists. Yours under the law of liberty, Alex. Allan. MOKRIS, 111., Nov. 28, 1898. A 3 0112 061695562 16 THE COMMONS. SCHEDULE OF EEGULAR APPOINTMENTS FOR CLUBS AND CLASSES AT Chicago Commons Social Settlement, 140 North Union Street, Chicago. WINTER OK 1S9S-1899. DAILY All day — House open for neighbors and friends. 9:00-12:00 a. m.— Kindergarten (except Saturday and Sunday). 2:00-5:00 p. m. — Kindergarten Training Classes. 7:00 p. m. — Family Vespers (except Saturday). SDJ^DAY 2:30 p. m.— Boys' and Girls' Sunday Clubs. 3:30 p. m.— Pleasant Sunday Afternoon. 7:30 p. m, — Boys' Sunday Club. MONDAY 4:00 p. m.— Manual Training (Girls). 4:i p. m. — Bo) s' Clubs. 4:00 p. ni. — Penny Provident Bank. 4:00 p. m.— Cliildreu's Drawing Class. 7:30 p. ni.— Boys' Club. 8:00 p. m.— English Reading (Scandi- navians) 8:00 p. m. — Girls' Progressive Club. 8:00 p. m. — Library and Picture Loan- ing. TUESDAY 4:00 p. m.— Cooking Class. 7:00 p. ni. — Cooking Class. 7:00 p. m. — Heading Room. 7:30 p. m.— Boys' Chib. 7:30 p. m.— Chess Club. 8:00 p. m.— Choral Club (Adult). 8:15 p. m. — Industrial Economic Dis- cussion. Other^ Appointments for Clubs, Study-Classes, Social Gatherings, etc., are made from ' i I I time to time and for special occasions. WEDNKSDAY 4:00 p. m. — Manual Training (Boys). 7:30 p. m.— United Girls' Clubs. 7:30 p. m.— Boys' Club. 7:30 p. m. — Library. THURSDAY 4:00 p. m. — Cooking Class. 4:00 p. m. — Children's Choral Club. 7:00 p. m.— Arithmetic. 7:30 p. in. — Penny Provident Bank. 7:30 p. m. — Cooking Class. 7:30 p. m.— Girls' Club. 7:30 p. m.— Buys' Club. 7:30 p. m.— Go id Will Club (Boys). FRIDAY 2:00 p. in.— AVoman's Club. 2:00 p. m. — Penny Provident Bank, Lib- rary and Picture Loaning. 4:00 p. m. — Manual Training (Girls). 7:80 p. m. —United lioys' Clubs. 7:30 p. m. — Penny Provident Bank, Lib- rary ami Picture Loaning. 8:00 p. m.— Mothers' Meeting. SATURDAY 9:00 a. m. — ^Manual Training (Boys). 2:0i) p. m. — Manual Training (Boys). 6:30 p. ni. — Residents" Meeting (for Residents only). 8:00 p. m. — Shakespeare Club. 8:00 p. m. — Co-operative Conference (Independent). For further Information address or call personally upon .John P. Gavit, Resident in charge of Club and Educational AppoiDtments, Chicago Commons. OtBce Hours: 5:00 lo7:bO p. m. dally.