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font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The house on Henry Street, by Lillian D. Wald</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The house on Henry Street</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Lillian D. Wald</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Illustrator: Abraham Phillips</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: July 17, 2022 [eBook #68546]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HOUSE ON HENRY STREET ***</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_i"></a>[i]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp53" id="fp01" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp01.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The House on Henry Street</span></p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_ii"></a>[ii]</span></p> - -<p class="titlepage larger">THE HOUSE ON<br /> -HENRY STREET</p> - -<p class="titlepage"><span class="smaller">BY</span><br /> -LILLIAN D. WALD</p> - -<p class="titlepage">With Illustrations from Etchings and Drawings by<br /> -Abraham Phillips and from Photographs</p> - -<div class="figcenter titlepage illowp62" style="max-width: 6.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/holt.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="titlepage"><span class="smaller">NEW YORK</span><br /> -HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_iii"></a>[iii]</span></p> - -<p class="titlepage smaller"><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1915,<br /> -BY<br /> -HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY</span></p> - -<p class="center smaller">November, 1938</p> - -<p class="titlepage smaller">Printed in U. S. A.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_iv"></a>[iv]</span></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="gothic">TO</span><br /> -THE COMRADES<br /> -WHO HAVE BUILT THE HOUSE</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_v"></a>[v]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE</h2> - -</div> - -<p>Much of the material contained in this book -has been published in a series of six articles -that appeared in the <i>Atlantic Monthly</i> from -March to August, 1915. And indeed it was -due to the kindly insistence on the part of the -editors of that magazine that more permanent -form should be given to the record of -the House on Henry Street that the story was -published at all.</p> - -<p>During the two decades of the existence of -the Settlement there has been a significant -awakening on matters of social concern, particularly -those affecting the protection of children -throughout society in general; and a -new sense of responsibility has been aroused -among men and women, but perhaps more -distinctively among women, since the period -coincides with their freer admission to public -and professional life. The Settlement is in -itself an expression of this sense of responsibility, -and under its roof many divergent groups -have come together to discuss measures “for -the many, mindless, mass that most needs -helping,” and often to assert by deed their -faith in democracy. Some have found in the -Settlement an opportunity for self-realization<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_vi"></a>[vi]</span> -that in the more fixed and older institutions -has not seemed possible.</p> - -<p>I cannot acknowledge by name the many -individuals who, by gift of money and through -understanding and confidence, through work -and thought and sharing of the burdens, -have helped to build the House on Henry -Street. These colleagues have come all -through the years that have followed since -the little girl led me to her rear tenement -home. Though we are working together as -comrades for a common cause, I cannot resist -this opportunity to express my profound personal -gratitude for the precious gifts that have -been so abundantly given. The first friends -who gave confidence and support to an unknown -and unexperimented venture have remained -staunch and loyal builders of the House. -And the younger generation with their gifts -have developed the plans of the House and -have found inspiration while they have given it.</p> - -<p>In the making of the book, much help has -come from these same friends, and I should -be quite overwhelmed with the debt I owe -did I not feel that all of us who have worked -together have worked not only for each other -but for the cause of human progress; that is -the beginning and should be the end of the -House on Henry Street.</p> - -<p class="right"> - -<span class="smcap">Lillian D. Wald.</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_ix"></a>[ix]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CONTENTS</h2> - -</div> - -<table> - <tr> - <td class="tdr smaller">CHAPTER</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdpg smaller">PAGE</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">I.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">The East Side Two Decades Ago</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">II.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Establishing the Nursing Service</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">26</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">III.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">The Nurse and the Community</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">44</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">IV.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Children and Play</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">66</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">V.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Education and the Child</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">97</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VI.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">The Handicapped Child</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">117</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VII.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Children Who Work</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">135</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VIII.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">The Nation’s Children</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">152</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">IX.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Organizations within the Settlement</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">169</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">X.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Youth</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">189</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XI.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Youth and Trades Unions</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">201</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XII.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Weddings and Social Halls</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">216</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XIII.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Friends of Russian Freedom</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">229</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XIV.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Social Forces</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">249</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XV.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Social Forces</span>, <i>Continued</i></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">270</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XVI.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">New Americans and Our Policies</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">286</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"></td> - <td><span class="smcap">Index</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#INDEX">313</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_x"></a>[x]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xi"></a>[xi]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> - -</div> - -<table> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdpg smaller">PAGE</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">The House on Henry Street</span></td> - <td class="tdpg smaller"><a href="#fp01"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">Etching by Abraham Phillips</td> - <td class="tdpg"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Lillian D. Wald and Mary M. Brewster in Hospital Uniform</span>, 1893</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp02">6</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">With Prayer-shawl and Phylactery</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp03">22</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">Etching by Abraham Phillips</td> - <td class="tdpg"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">The Nurse in the Tenement</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp04">28</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">A Short Cut over the Roofs of the Tenements</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp05">52</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">And their Ecstasy at the Sight of a Wonderful Dogwood Tree</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp06">78</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">It Has Been Called the “Bunker Hill” of Playgrounds</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp07">82</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">The Children Play on Our Roof</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp08">82</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">The Kindergarten Children Learn the Reality of the Things they Sing About</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp09">90</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Uses of the Back Yard in One of the Branches of the Henry Street Settlement</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp10">162</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Here and There Are Still Found Reminders of Old New York</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp11">170</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">Etching by Abraham Phillips</td> - <td class="tdpg"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Esther</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp12">182</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">Drawing by Esther J. Peck</td> - <td class="tdpg"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">The Neighborhood Playhouse</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp13">186</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">Drawing by Abraham Phillips</td> - <td class="tdpg"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">In a Club-room</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp14">192</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">Drawing by Abraham Phillips</td> - <td class="tdpg"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">After the Long Day</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp15">204</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">Drawing by Abraham Phillips</td> - <td class="tdpg"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">An Incident in the Historical Pageant on Henry Street, Commemorating the Twentieth Anniversary of the Settlement</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp16">214</a><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xii"></a>[xii]</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">The Older Generation</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp17">218</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">Etching by Abraham Phillips</td> - <td class="tdpg"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Prince Kropotkin</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp18">234</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Babuschka, Little Grandmother</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp19">242</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">The Synagogues Are Everywhere—Imposing or Shabby-looking Buildings</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp20">254</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">Etching by Abraham Phillips</td> - <td class="tdpg"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">A Mother in Israel</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp21">268</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">Etching by Abraham Phillips</td> - <td class="tdpg"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">The Dramatic Club Presented “The Shepherd”</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp22">272</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">A Region of Overcrowded Homes</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp23">298</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">At Ellis Island There is a Stream of Inflowing Life</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp24">308</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">Photograph by Louis Hines</td> - <td class="tdpg"></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_1"></a>[1]</span></p> - -<h1>THE HOUSE ON HENRY STREET</h1> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE EAST SIDE TWO DECADES AGO</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>A sick woman in a squalid rear tenement, -so wretched and so pitiful that, in all the -years since, I have not seen anything more appealing, -determined me, within half an hour, -to live on the East Side.</p> - -<p>I had spent two years in a New York training-school -for nurses; strenuous years for an -undisciplined, untrained girl, but a wonderful -human experience. After graduation, I supplemented -the theoretical instruction, which -was casual and inconsequential in the hospital -classes twenty-five years ago, by a period of -study at a medical college. It was while at -the college that a great opportunity came -to me.</p> - -<p>I had little more than an inspiration to be -of use in some way or somehow, and going -to the hospital seemed the readiest means of -realizing my desire. While there, the long -hours “on duty” and the exhausting demands<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_2"></a>[2]</span> -of the ward work scarcely admitted freedom -for keeping informed as to what was happening -in the world outside. The nurses had no -time for general reading; visits to and from -friends were brief; we were out of the current -and saw little of life save as it flowed into the -hospital wards. It is not strange, therefore, -that I should have been ignorant of the various -movements which reflected the awakening of -the social conscience at the time, or of the birth -of the “settlement,” which twenty-five years -ago was giving form to a social protest in England -and America. Indeed, it was not until -the plan of our work on the East Side was well -developed that knowledge came to me of other -groups of people who, reacting to a humane or -an academic appeal, were adopting this mode -of expression and calling it a “settlement.”</p> - -<p>Two decades ago the words “East Side” -called up a vague and alarming picture of -something strange and alien: a vast crowded -area, a foreign city within our own, for whose -conditions we had no concern. Aside from its -exploiters, political and economic, few people -had any definite knowledge of it, and its literary -“discovery” had but just begun.</p> - -<p>The lower East Side then reflected the popular -indifference—it almost seemed contempt—for -the living conditions of a huge population.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3"></a>[3]</span> -And the possibility of improvement seemed, -when my inexperience was startled into -thought, the more remote because of the dumb -acceptance of these conditions by the East -Side itself. Like the rest of the world I had -known little of it, when friends of a philanthropic -institution asked me to do something -for that quarter.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp75" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus01.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Remembering the families who came to -visit patients in the wards, I outlined a course -of instruction in home nursing adapted to their -needs, and gave it in an old building in Henry -Street, then used as a technical school and now -part of the settlement. Henry Street then as now -was the center of a dense industrial population.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_4"></a>[4]</span></p> - -<p>From the schoolroom where I had been giving -a lesson in bed-making, a little girl led -me one drizzling March morning. She had -told me of her sick mother, and gathering from -her incoherent account that a child had been -born, I caught up the paraphernalia of the -bed-making lesson and carried it with me.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus02.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>The child led me over broken roadways,—there -was no asphalt, although its use was -well established in other parts of the city,—over -dirty mattresses and heaps of refuse,—it -was before Colonel Waring had shown the possibility -of clean streets even in that quarter,—between -tall, reeking houses whose laden fire-escapes, -useless for their appointed purpose, -bulged with household goods of every description. -The rain added to the dismal appearance -of the streets and to the discomfort of the crowds -which thronged them, intensifying the odors<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5"></a>[5]</span> -which assailed me from every side. Through -Hester and Division streets we went to the end -of Ludlow; past odorous fish-stands, for the -streets were a market-place, unregulated, unsupervised, -unclean; past evil-smelling, uncovered -garbage-cans; and—perhaps worst of all, where -so many little children played—past the trucks -brought down from more fastidious quarters -and stalled on these already overcrowded -streets, lending themselves inevitably to many -forms of indecency.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp60" style="max-width: 25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus03.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>The child led me on through a tenement -hallway, across a court where open and unscreened -closets were promiscuously used by<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6"></a>[6]</span> -men and women, up into a rear tenement, by -slimy steps whose accumulated dirt was augmented -that day by the mud of the streets, -and finally into the sickroom.</p> - -<p>All the maladjustments of our social and -economic relations seemed epitomized in this -brief journey and what was found at the end -of it. The family to which the child led me -was neither criminal nor vicious. Although -the husband was a cripple, one of those who -stand on street corners exhibiting deformities -to enlist compassion, and masking the begging -of alms by a pretense at selling; although the -family of seven shared their two rooms with -boarders,—who were literally boarders, since -a piece of timber was placed over the floor for -them to sleep on,—and although the sick -woman lay on a wretched, unclean bed, soiled -with a hemorrhage two days old, they were -not degraded human beings, judged by any -measure of moral values.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="fp02" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp02.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Lillian D. Wald</span> - <span class="smcap spacer">Mary M. Brewster</span></p> - <p class="caption">In hospital uniform, 1893</p> -</div> - -<p>In fact, it was very plain that they were -sensitive to their condition, and when, at the -end of my ministrations, they kissed my hands -(those who have undergone similar experiences -will, I am sure, understand), it would have -been some solace if by any conviction of the -moral unworthiness of the family I could have -defended myself as a part of a society which<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>[7]</span> -permitted such conditions to exist. Indeed, -my subsequent acquaintance with them revealed -the fact that, miserable as their state -was, they were not without ideals for the family -life, and for society, of which they were so -unloved and unlovely a part.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp67" style="max-width: 28.125em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus04.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>That morning’s experience was a baptism of -fire. Deserted were the laboratory and the -academic work of the college. I never returned -to them. On my way from the sickroom -to my comfortable student quarters my<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>[8]</span> -mind was intent on my own responsibility. To -my inexperience it seemed certain that conditions -such as these were allowed because -people did not <i>know</i>, and for me there was a -challenge to know and to tell. When early -morning found me still awake, my naïve conviction -remained that, if people knew things,—and -“things” meant everything implied in the -condition of this family,—such horrors would -cease to exist, and I rejoiced that I had had a -training in the care of the sick that in itself would -give me an organic relationship to the neighborhood -in which this awakening had come.</p> - -<p class="tb">To the first sympathetic friend to whom I -poured forth my story, I found myself presenting -a plan which had been developing almost -without conscious mental direction on my part. -It was doubtless the accumulation of many -reflections inspired by acquaintance with the -patients in the hospital wards, and now, with -the Ludlow Street experience, resistlessly impelling -me to action.</p> - -<p>Within a day or two a comrade from the -training-school, Mary Brewster, agreed to share -in the venture. We were to live in the neighborhood -as nurses, identify ourselves with it -socially, and, in brief, contribute to it our citizenship.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>[9]</span> -That plan contained in embryo all the -extended and diversified social interests of our -settlement group to-day.</p> - -<div class="figleft illowp50" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus05.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>We set to work immediately to find quarters—no -easy task, as we clung to the civilization -of a bathroom, and according -to a legend current -at the time there -were only two bathrooms -in tenement houses below -Fourteenth Street. Chance -helped us here. A young -woman who for years -played an important part -in the life of many East -Side people, overhearing -a conversation of mine -with a fellow-student, gave me an introduction -to two men who, she said, knew all about the -quarter of the city which I wished to enter. I -called on them immediately, and their response -to my need was as prompt. Without stopping -to inquire into my antecedents or motives, or to -discourse on the social aspects of the community, -of which, I soon learned, they were -competent to speak with authority, they set -out with me at once, in a pouring rain, to scour -the adjacent streets for “To Let” signs. One -which seemed to me worth investigating my<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a>[10]</span> -newly acquired friends discarded with the explanation -that it was in the “red light” district -and would not do. Later I was to know -much of the unfortunate women who inhabited -the quarter, but at the time the term meant -nothing to me.</p> - -<p>After a long tour one of my guides, as if by -inspiration, reminded the other that several -young women had taken a house on Rivington -Street for something like my purpose, and perhaps -I had better live there temporarily and -take my time in finding satisfactory quarters. -Upon that advice I acted, and within a few -days Miss Brewster and I found ourselves -guests at the luncheon table of the College Settlement -on Rivington Street. With ready hospitality -they took us in, and, during July and -August, we were “residents” in stimulating -comradeship with serious women, who were -also the fortunate possessors of a saving sense -of humor.</p> - -<p>Before September of the year 1893 we found -a house on Jefferson Street, the only one in -which our careful search disclosed the desired -bathtub. It had other advantages—the vacant -floor at the top (so high that the windows -along the entire side wall gave us sun and -breeze), and, greatest lure of all, the warm -welcome which came to us from the basement,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>[11]</span> -where we found the janitress ready to answer -questions as to terms.</p> - -<p>Naturally, objections to two young women -living alone in New York under these conditions -had to be met, and some assurance as -to our material comfort was given to anxious, -though at heart sympathetic, families by compromising -on good furniture, a Baltimore heater -for cheer, and simple but adequate household -appurtenances. Painted floors with easily removed -rugs, windows curtained with spotless -but inexpensive scrim, a sitting-room with pictures, -books, and restful chairs, a tiny bedroom -which we two shared, a small dining-room -in which the family mahogany did not -look out of place, and a kitchen, constituted -our home for two full years.</p> - -<p>The much-esteemed bathroom, small and -dark, was in the hall, and necessitated early -rising if we were to have the use of it; for, as -we became known, we had many callers anxious -to see us before we started on our sick -rounds. The diminutive closet-space was divided -to hold the bags and equipment we -needed from day to day, and more ample store-closets -were given us by the kindly people in -the school where I had first given lessons to -East Side mothers. Any pride in the sacrifice -of material comfort which might have risen<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>[12]</span> -within us was effectually inhibited by the constant -reminder that we two young persons -occupied exactly the same space as the large -families on every floor below us, and to one -of our basement friends at -least we were luxurious beyond -the dreams of ordinary -folk.</p> - -<div class="figright illowp40" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus06.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>The little lad from the -basement was our first invited -guest. The simple but -appetizing dinner my comrade -prepared, while I set the -table and placed the flowers. -The boy’s mother came up -later in the evening to find -out what we had given him, -for Tommie had rushed down with eyes bulging -and had reported that “them ladies live -like the Queen of England and eat off of solid -gold plates.”</p> - -<p>We learned the most efficient use of the fire-escape -and felt many times blessed because of -our easy access to the roof. We also learned -the infinite uses to which stairs can be put. -Later we achieved “local color” in our rooms -by the addition of interesting pieces of brass -and copper purchased from a man on Allen -Street whom we and several others had “discovered.”<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13"></a>[13]</span> -His little dark shop under the elevated -railway was fitfully illuminated by the -glowing forge. On our first visit the proprietor -emerged from a still darker inner room -with prayer-shawl and phylactery. He became -one of our pleasant acquaintances and lost no -occasion of acknowledging what he considered -his debt to the appreciative customers who had -helped to make him and his wares known to a -wider circle than that of the neighborhood.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus07.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="tb">The mere fact of living in the tenement -brought undreamed-of opportunities for widening -our knowledge and extending our human -relationships. That we were Americans was -wonderful to our fellow-tenants. They were -all immigrants—Jews from Russia or Roumania. -The sole exception was the janitress, -Mrs. McRae, who at once dedicated herself and -her entire family to the service of the top floor. -Dear Mrs. McRae! From her basement home<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14"></a>[14]</span> -she covered us with her protecting love and -was no small influence in holding us to sanity. -Humor, astuteness, and sympathy were needed -and these she gave in abundance.</p> - -<div class="figleft illowp46" style="max-width: 15.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus08.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>It was vouchsafed us to know many fine personalities -who influenced and guided us from the -first few weeks of residence in the friendly college -settlement through -the many years that -have followed. The two -women who stand out -with greatest distinction -from the first are this -pure-souled Scotch-Irish -immigrant and Josephine -Shaw Lowell. Both, if -they were here, would -understand the tribute in -linking them together.</p> - -<p>Occasionally Mrs. McRae would feel impelled -to reprove us for “overdoing” ourselves, -and from our top story we were hard pushed -to save visitors from being sent away when she -thought we needed to finish a meal or go to -bed. Cautious as we were not to make any -distinctions in commenting upon the visitors -who came to see us, she made her own deductions. -At whatever hour we returned, she -would be at the door to welcome us and to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>[15]</span> -report on the happenings during our absence. -“So-and-so was here”: shrewd descriptions -which often enabled us to identify individuals -when names were forgotten. “Lots of visitors -to-night,” she would report. “Were messages -left, or names?” we would naturally inquire. -“No, darlints, nothing at all. I know sure -they didn’t bring you anything.”</p> - -<p>The key to our apartments, usually left with -her, was one day forgotten, and when, upon -unlocking the door, we saw a well-known society -woman seated in our little living-room, -we were naturally puzzled to know how she -had arrived there. Mrs. McRae explained that -she had taken her up the fire-escape!—no -slight venture and exertion for the inexperienced. -We suggested that other ways -might have been more agreeable and safer. -“Whisht,” said Mrs. McRae, with a smile and -a wink, “it’s no harm at all. She’ll be havin’ -lots of talk for her friends on this.”</p> - -<p>When her roving husband died at home, -the funeral arrangements were given a last -touch by Mrs. McRae, who placed on the casket -his tobacco and pipe and ordered the procession -to pass his tenement home twice before driving -to the cemetery, “So he’d not think we were -not for forgivin’ him and hurryin’ him away.”</p> - -<p>Her first love went to my comrade, whose<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>[16]</span> -beauty and humor and goodness captured her -Celtic heart. During our second year in the -tenement Miss Brewster was taken seriously -ill, and one evening we had at last succeeded -in forcing Mrs. McRae to go home and had -locked the door. Unknown to us the dear -friend remained on the floor outside all through -the night, trying to catch the sound of life -from the loved one.</p> - -<p>Bringing up a large family, with no help -from the “old man,” and with stern ideals of -conduct and integrity, was not easy. Some -of her children, endowed with her character, -gave her solace, but she was too astute not -to estimate each one properly.</p> - -<p>When we moved from the tenement to our -first house Mrs. McRae and her family gave up -the basement rooms, which were rent free because -of her janitor service, in order to be near -us, and she spread her warmth over the new -abode. When, some years later, she was ill and -we knew that the end was near, one close to -me in my own family claimed my attention. -Torn between the two affections, I was loath -to leave the city while Mrs. McRae was so -ill. She guessed the cause of my perturbed -state and advised me to go. “Darlin’, you -ought to go. You go. I promise not to die -until you come back.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>[17]</span></p> - -<p>Letters kept up this assurance and the -promise was fulfilled.</p> - -<p class="tb">Times were hard that year. In the summer -the miseries due to unemployment and rising -rents and prices began to be apparent, but the -pinch came with the cold weather. Perhaps -it was an advantage that we were so early -exposed to the extraordinary sufferings and the -variety of pain and poverty in that winter of -1893-94, memorable because of extreme economic -depression. The impact of strain, physical -and emotional, left neither place nor time -for self-analysis and consequent self-consciousness, -so prone to hinder and to dwarf wholesome -instincts, and so likely to have proved an -impediment to the simple relationship which -we established with our neighbors.</p> - -<p>It has become almost trite to speak of the -kindness of the poor to each other, yet from -the beginning of our tenement-house residence -we were much touched by manifestations of it. -An errand took me to Michael the Scotch-Irish -cobbler as the family were sitting down to the -noonday meal. There was a stranger with -them, whom Michael introduced, explaining -when we were out of hearing that he thought -I would be interested to meet a man just out<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>[18]</span> -of Sing Sing prison. I expressed some fear of -the danger to his own boys in this association. -“We must just chance it,” said Michael. “It’s -no weather for a man like that to be on the -streets, when honest fellows can’t get work.”</p> - -<p>When we first met the G⸺ family they -were breaking up the furniture to keep from -freezing. One of the children had died and -had been buried in a public grave. Three times -that year did Mrs. G⸺ painfully gather together -enough money to have the baby disinterred -and fittingly buried in consecrated -ground, and each time she gave up her heart’s -desire in order to relieve the sufferings of the -living children of her neighbors.</p> - -<p>Another instance of this unfailing goodness -of the poor to each other was told by Nellie, -who called on us one morning. She was evidently -embarrassed, and with difficulty related -that, hearing of things to be given away at a -newspaper office, she had gone there hoping -to get something that would do for John when -he came out of the hospital. She said, “I drew -this and I don’t know exactly what it is meant -for,” and displayed a wadded black satin “dress-shirt -protector,” in very good condition, and -possibly contributed because the season was -over! Standing outside the circle of clamorous -petitioners, Nellie and the woman next her<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>[19]</span> -had exchanged tales of woe. When she mentioned -her address the new acquaintance suggested -that she seek us.</p> - -<p>Nellie proved to be a near neighbor. There -were two children: a nursing baby “none so -well,” and a lad. John, her husband, was “fortunately” -in the hospital with a broken leg, for -there were “no jobs around loose anyway.” -When we called later in the day to see the -baby, we found that Nellie was stopping with -her cousin, a widower who “held his job -down.” There were also his two children, the -widow of a friend “who would have done as -much by me,” and the wife and two small -children of a total stranger who lived in the -rear tenement and were invited in to meals because -the father had been seen starting every -morning on his hunt for work, and “it was -plain for anyone with eyes to see that he never -did get it.” So this one man, fortunate in having -work, was taking care of himself and his -children, the widow of his friend, Nellie and -her children, and was feeding the strangers. -Said Nellie: “Sure he’s doing that, and why -not? He’s the only cousin I’ve got outside of -Ireland.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. S⸺, who called at the settlement a few -days ago, reminded me that it was twenty-one -years since our first meeting, and brought<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20"></a>[20]</span> -vividly before me a picture of which she was a -part. She was the daughter of a learned rabbi, -and her husband, himself a pious man, had -great reverence for the traditions of her family. -In their extremity they had taken bread from -one of the newspaper charities, but it was evidently -a painful humiliation, -and before we arrived -they had hidden the loaf in -the ice-box. My visit was -due to a desire to ascertain -the condition of the families -who had applied for this -dole. Both house and people -were scrupulously clean. -It was amazing that under -the biting pressure of want -and anxiety such standards -could be maintained. Yet, -though passionately devoted -to his family, the husband refused advantageous -employment because it necessitated work on -the Sabbath. This would have been to them -a desecration of something more vital than -life itself.</p> - -<div class="figright illowp37" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus09.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>We found that winter, in other instances, -that the fangs of the wolf were often decorously -hidden. In one family of our acquaintance -the father, a cigarmaker, left the house<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>[21]</span> -each morning in search of work, only to return -at night hungrier and more exhausted by his -fruitless exertions. One Sabbath eve I entered -his tenement, to find the two rooms scrubbed -and cleaned, and the mother and children prepared -for the holy night. Over a brisk fire fed -by bits of wood picked up by the children two -covered pots were set, as if a supper were being -prepared. But under the lids it was only water -that bubbled. The proud mother could not -bear to expose her poverty to the gossip of the -neighbors, the humiliation being the greater -because she was obliged to violate the sacred -custom of preparing a ceremonious meal for -the united family on Friday night.</p> - -<p>If the formalism of our neighbors in religious -matters was constantly brought to our -attention, instances of their tolerance were also -far from rare. A Jewish woman, exhausted by -her long day’s scrubbing of office floors, walked -many extra blocks to beg us to get a priest for -her Roman Catholic neighbor whose child was -dying. An orthodox Jewish father, who had -been goaded to bitterness because his daughter -had married an “Irisher” and thus “insulted -his religion,” felt that the young husband and -his mother were equally wronged. This man, -when I called on a Sabbath evening, took one -of the lights from the table to show the way<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>[22]</span> -down the five flights of dark tenement stairs, -and to my protest,—knowing, as I did, that -he considered it a sin to handle fire on the -Sabbath,—he said: “It is no sin for me to -handle a light on the Sabbath to show respect -to a friend who has helped to keep a family -together.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp53" id="fp03" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp03.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">With Prayer-shawl and Phylactery</span></p> -</div> - -<p>There was the story of Mary, eldest daughter, -as we supposed, of an orthodox family. When -we went to her engagement party we were surprised -to see that the young man was not of -the family faith. The mother told us that -Mary, “such a pretty baby,” had been left on -their doorstep in earlier and more prosperous -days in Austria. “The Burgomeister had made -proclamation,” but no one came to claim her, -and the husband and wife, who as yet had no -children of their own, decided to keep her. -“God rewarded us and answered our prayers,” -said Mrs. L⸺, for many children came afterward; -but Mary, blonde and blue-eyed, was -always the most cherished, the first-comer who -had brought the others. When she was quite -a young girl she was taken ill—a cold following -exposure after her first “grown-up” party, -for which her foster-mother had dressed her -with pride. It seemed that nothing could save -her, and the foster-mother in her distress -thought with pity of the woman who had borne<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23"></a>[23]</span> -this sweet child. Surely she must be dead. No -living mother could have abandoned so lovely -a baby. And if she were dead and in the Christian -heaven, she would look in vain there for -her daughter. “So I called the priest and told -him,” said Mrs. L⸺, “and he made a prayer -over Mary, and said, ‘Now she is a <i>Krist</i>.’ The -doctor, we called him too, and he said to get -a goat, for the milk would be good for Mary; -and she get well, but no so strong, as you see, -and that is why she don’t go out to work like -her brothers and sisters. We lose our money, -that’s why we come to America, and Mary, -now she marry a <i>Krist</i>.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp78" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus10.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>[24]</span></p> - -<p>Gradually there came to our knowledge difficulties -and conflicts not peculiar to any one -set of people, but intensified in the case of our -neighbors by poverty, unfamiliarity with laws -and customs, the lack of privacy, and the frequent -dependence of the elders upon the children. -Workers in philanthropy, clergymen, -orthodox rabbis, the unemployed, anxious parents, -girls in distress, troublesome boys, came -as individuals to see us, but no formal organization -of our work was effected till we moved -into the house on Henry Street, in 1895.</p> - -<p>So precious were the intimate relationships -with our neighbors in the tenement that we -were reluctant to leave it. My companion’s -breakdown, the persuasion of friends who had -given their support and counsel that there was -an obligation upon us to effect some kind of -formal organization without further delay, -finally prevailed. As usual the neighborhood -showed its interest in what we did; and though -my comrade and I had carefully selected men -from the ranks of the unemployed to move our -belongings, when all was accomplished not one -of them could be induced to take a penny for -the work.</p> - -<p>From this first house have since developed -the manifold activities in city and country now -incorporated as the Henry Street Settlement.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>[25]</span></p> - -<p>I should like to make it clear that from the -beginning we were most profoundly moved by -the wretched industrial conditions which were -constantly forced upon us. In succeeding chapters -I hope to tell of the constructive programmes -that the people themselves have -evolved out of their own hard lives, of the ameliorative -measures, ripened out of sympathetic -comprehension, and, finally, of the social legislation -that expresses the new compunction of -the community.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp88" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus11.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a>[26]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II<br /> -<span class="smaller">ESTABLISHING THE NURSING SERVICE</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>When I first entered the training-school my -outpourings to the superintendent,—a woman -touched with a genius for sympathy,—my -youthful heroics, and my vow to “nurse the -poor” were met with what I deemed vague -reference to the “Mission.” Afterwards when -I sought guidance I found that in New York -the visiting (or district) nurse was accessible -only through sectarian organizations or the -free dispensary.</p> - -<p>As our plan crystallized my friend and I -were certain that a system for nursing the sick -in their homes could not be firmly established -unless certain fundamental social facts were -recognized. We tried to imagine how loved -ones for whom we might be solicitous would -react were they in the place of the patients -whom we hoped to serve. With time, experience, -and the stimulus of creative minds our -technique and administrative methods have -naturally improved, but this test gave us vision -to establish certain principles, whose soundness<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>[27]</span> -has been proved during the growth of the -service.</p> - -<p>We perceived that it was undesirable to condition -the nurse’s service upon the actual or -potential connection of the patient with a religious -institution or free dispensary, or to -have the nurse assigned to the exclusive use of -one physician, and we planned to create a -service on terms most considerate of the dignity -and independence of the patients. We -felt that the nursing of -the sick in their homes -should be undertaken -seriously and adequately; -that instruction -should be incidental -and not the primary -consideration; that the etiquette, so far -as doctor and patient were concerned, should -be analogous to the established system of private -nursing; that the nurse should be as -ready to respond to calls from the people themselves -as to calls from physicians; that she -should accept calls from all physicians, and with -no more red-tape or formality than if she were -to remain with one patient continuously.</p> - -<div class="figright illowp93" style="max-width: 15.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus12.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>The new basis of the visiting-nurse service -which we thus inaugurated reacted almost immediately -upon the relationship of the nurse<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>[28]</span> -to the patient, reversing the position the nurse -had formerly held. Chagrin at having the -neighbors see in her an agent whose presence -proclaimed the family’s poverty or its failure -to give adequate care to its sick member was -changed to the gratifying consciousness that -her presence, in conjunction with that of the -doctor, “private” or “Lodge,”<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> proclaimed -the family’s liberality and anxiety to do everything -possible for the sufferer. For the exposure -of poverty is a great humiliation to -people who are trying to maintain a foothold in -society for themselves and their families.</p> - -<p>My colleague and I realized that there were -large numbers of people who could not, or -would not, avail themselves of the hospitals. It -was estimated that ninety per cent. of the sick -people in cities were sick at home,—an estimate -which has been corroborated (1913-14) -by the investigation of the Committee of Inquiry -into the Departments of Health, Charities, -and Bellevue and Allied Hospitals of -New York,—and a humanitarian civilization -demanded that something of the nursing care -given in hospitals should be accorded to sick -people in their homes.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp53" id="fp04" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp04.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Nurse in the Tenement</span></p> - <p class="caption">Ninety per cent. of the sick of the city remain at home</p> -</div> - -<p>We decided that fees should be charged when<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>[29]</span> -people could pay. It was interesting to discover -that, although nominal in amount compared -with the cost of the service, these fees -represented a much larger proportion of the -wage in the case of the ordinary worker who -paid for the hourly service than did the fee paid -by a man with a salary of -$5,000, who engaged the full -time of the nurse. Our plan, we -reasoned, was analogous to the -custom of “private” hospitals, -which give free treatment or -charge according to the resources -of the ward patients. -Both private hospitals and visiting -nursing are thereby lifted out of “charity” -as comprehended by the people.</p> - -<div class="figleft illowp50" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus13.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>We felt that for economic reasons valuable -and expensive hospital space should be saved -for those for whom the hospital treatment is -necessary; and an obvious social consideration -was that many people, particularly women, -cannot leave their homes without imperiling, -or sometimes destroying, the home itself.</p> - -<p class="tb">Almost immediately we found patients who -needed care, and doctors ready to accept our -services with probably the least amount of friction<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30"></a>[30]</span> -possible under the circumstances; for those -doctors who had not been internes in the hospitals -were unfamiliar with the trained nurse, -whose work was little known at that time outside -the hospitals and the homes of the well-to-do.</p> - -<p>Despite the neighborhood’s friendliness, however, -we struggled, not only with poverty and -disease, but with the traditional fate of the -pioneer: in many cases we encountered the inevitable -opposition which the unusual must -arouse. It seems almost ungracious to relate -some of our first experiences with doctors. No -one can give greater tribute than do the nurses -of the settlement to the generosity of physicians -and surgeons when we recall how often paying -patients were set aside for more urgent non-paying -ones; the counsel freely given from the -highest for the lowliest; the eager readiness to -respond. Occasionally sage advice came from -a veteran who knew the people well and -lamented the economic pressure which at times -involved, to their spiritual disaster, doctors as -well as patients.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp78" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus14.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>The first day on which we set out to discover -the sick who might need a nurse, my comrade -found a woman with high temperature in an -airless room, more oppressive because of the -fetid odor from the bed. Service with one of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31"></a>[31]</span> -New York’s skilled specialists had trained the -nurse well and she identified the symptoms immediately. -“Yes, there was a Lodge doctor.—He -had left a prescription.—He might come -again.” With fine diplomacy an excuse was -made to call upon the doctor and to assume -that he would accept the nurse’s aid. My colleague -presented her credentials and offered to -accompany him to the case immediately, as she -was “sure conditions must have changed since -his last visit or he would doubtless have -ordered” so-and-so,—suggesting the treatment -the distinguished specialists were then using. -He promised to go, and the nurse waited patiently<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32"></a>[32]</span> -for hours at the woman’s bedside. -When he arrived he pooh-poohed and said, -“Nothing doing.” We had ascertained the -financial condition of the family from the evidence -of the empty push-cart and the fact that -the fish-peddler was not in the market with his -merchandise. Five dollars was loaned that -night to purchase stock next day.</p> - -<p>My comrade and I decided to visit the patient -early the next morning, to mingle judgments -on what action could be taken in this serious -illness with due respect to established etiquette. -When we arrived, the Lodge doctor and a “Professor” -(a consultant) were in the sickroom, -and our five dollars, left for fish, was in their -possession. Cigarettes in mouths and hats on -heads, they were questioning husband and -wife, and only Dickens could have done justice -to the scene. We were not too timid to allude -to the poverty and the source of the fee, and -felt free when we were told to “go ahead and -do anything you like.” That permission we -acted upon instantly and received, over the -telephone, authority from the distinguished -specialist to get to work. We were prudent -enough to report the authority and treatment -given, with solemn etiquette, to the physician -in attendance, who in turn congratulated us -on having helped him to save a life!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33"></a>[33]</span></p> - -<p>Not all our encounters with this class of -practitioner were fruitful of benefit to their -patients. Heartbreaking was the tragedy of -Samuel, the twenty-one-year-old carpenter, and -Ida, his bride. They had been boy and girl -sweethearts in Poland, and the coming to -America, the preparation of the clean two-roomed -home, the expectation of the baby, -made a pretty story which should have had -happy succeeding chapters, the start was so -good. Samuel knocked at our door, incoherent -in his fright, but we were fast accustoming ourselves -to recognize danger-signals, and I at -once followed him to the top floor of his tenement.</p> - -<p>Plain to see, Ida was dying. The midwife -said she had done all she could, but she was -obviously frightened. “No one could have -done any better,” she insisted, “not any doctor”; -but she had called one and he had left -the woman lacerated and agonizing because -the expected fee had been paid only in part. -It was Samuel’s last dollar. The septic woman -could only be sent to the city hospital. The -ambulance surgeon was persuaded to let the -boy husband ride with her, and he remained at -the hospital until she and the baby died a -few hours later.</p> - -<p>Here my comrade and I came against the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34"></a>[34]</span> -stone wall of professional etiquette. It seemed -as if public sentiment ought to be directed by -the doctors themselves against such practices, -but although I finally called upon one of the -high-minded and distinguished men who had -signed the diploma of the offending doctor, I -could not get reproof administered, and my -ardor for arousing public indignation in the -profession was chilled. Later, when I heard -protests from employers against insistence by -labor organizations on the closed shop, it occurred -to me that they failed to recognize analogies -in the professional etiquette which -conventional society has long accepted.</p> - -<p>However, many friendly strong bonds were -made and have been sustained with a large -majority of the doctors during all the years -of our service. We have mutual ties of personal -and community interests, and work together -as comrades; the practitioners with high -standards for themselves and ideals for their -sacred profession comprehend our common -cause and strengthen our hands. It is rare -now, although at first it was very frequent, -that the physician who has called in the nurse -for his patient demands her withdrawal when -he himself has been dismissed. He has come -to see that although the nurse exerts her influence -to preserve his prestige, for the patient’s<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35"></a>[35]</span> -sake as well as his own, nevertheless, emotional -people, unaccustomed to the settled relation of -the family doctor, may and often do change -physicians from six to ten times in the course -of one illness. The nurse, however, may remain -at the bedside throughout all vicissitudes.</p> - -<p>The most definite protest against the newer -relationship came from a woman active in many -public movements, who was a stickler for the -orthodox method of procuring a visiting nurse -only through the doctor. To illustrate the importance -of freedom for the patients, I cited -the case of the L⸺ family. A neighbor had -called for aid. “Some kind of an awful catching -sickness on the same floor I live on, to the -right, front,” she whispered. A worn and haggard -woman was lifting a heavy boiler filled -with “wash” from the stove when I entered; -on the floor in the other room three little children -lay ill with typhoid fever, one of them -with meningitis. The feather pillows, most -precious possession, had been pawned to pay -the doctor. The father dared not leave the -shop, for money was needed, and all that he -earned was far from enough. The mother, -when questioned as to the delay in sending for -nursing help, said that the doctor had frightened -her from doing so by telling her that, if -a nurse came, the children would surely be<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36"></a>[36]</span> -sent to the hospital. No disinfectant was found -in the house, and the mother declared that no -instructions had been given her.</p> - -<p>The nurse who took possession of the sickroom -refrained from mentioning the hospital; -but when the mother saw the skilled ministration, -and the tired father, on his return from -work, watched the deft feeding of the unconscious -child, they awoke to their limitations. -The poor, unskilled woman, bent with fatigue, -then exclaimed, “O God, is that what I should -have been doing for my babies?” When the -nurse was about to leave them for the night -the parents clung to her and asked her if a hospital -would do as much as she had done. -“More, much more, I hope,” she said. “I -cannot give here what the little ones need.” -Late at night three carriages started for the -children’s ward of the hospital; the father, the -mother, the nurse, each with a patient across -the seat of the carriage.</p> - -<p>Said the critic when I had finished my story: -“I think the nurse should have asked permission -of their doctor before she granted the request -of the parents.”</p> - -<p>All the social agencies combined have not -been able to dislodge permanently the quack -who preys upon ignorance and superstition. -One day a teacher in a nearby school asked us<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37"></a>[37]</span> -to visit a pupil who was highly excited and uncontrollable. -The mother, when questioned, -confessed that she had employed the “witch -doctor” to exorcise the devil, who, he said, had -taken possession of the girl. In our efforts to -free the girl from this man’s control I invoked -the aid of the parish priest, suggesting that -his powers were being usurped. The County -Medical Society finally secured conviction of -the “doctor” on the charge of practicing without -a license.</p> - -<p>In the Italian quarter this species still preys -upon the superstitious fears of some of the people, -and the secrecy involved in his “treatment” -makes permanent riddance extremely difficult. -The people on the whole, however, give remarkable -response to the “American” custom of -employing a regular practitioner and the visiting -nurse.</p> - -<p class="tb">In this country, unfortunately, we have little -data on morbidity. Statisticians desirous of -obtaining figures for study have found interesting -material in our files, and it has been possible -to make comparison of the results of -hospital and home treatment. Those who -are familiar with the discussion upon papers -presented by children’s specialists in recent<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38"></a>[38]</span> -conferences on the saving of child life have -had their attention drawn to the disadvantage -of institutional treatment. Discussion of this -subject is recent, and the laity do not always -know that certain complications incident to the -hospital care of children are obviated by keeping -them at home. Among these are cross-infections, -while the high mortality among infants -in hospitals has long been recognized and -deplored as unavoidable.</p> - -<p>We soon found that children’s diseases, particularly -those of brief duration, lent themselves -most advantageously to home treatment. -Our records show that in 1914 the Henry -Street staff cared for 3,535 cases of pneumonia -of all ages, with a mortality rate of 8.05 per -cent. For purposes of comparison four large -New York hospitals gave us their records of -pneumonia during the same period. Their combined -figures totaled 1,612, with a mortality -rate of 31.2 per cent. Among children under -two—the age most susceptible to unfortunate -termination of this disorder—the mortality rate -from pneumonia in one hospital was 51 per -cent., and the average of the four was 38 per -cent., while among those of a corresponding -age cared for by our nurses it was 9.3 per cent.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp40" style="max-width: 23.4375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus15.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Doctors and nurses highly trained in hospital -routine are apt to be hospital propagandists<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39"></a>[39]</span> -until they learn by experience that there -is justification for the resistance, on the part of -mothers, to the removal of their children to institutions, -and that even in homes which, at -first glance, it seems impossible to organize in -accordance with sickroom standards, the little -patients’ chances for recovery are better than -when sent away. Diseases requiring climatic<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40"></a>[40]</span> -or operative treatment, or peculiar apparatus, -must usually be excluded from home care.</p> - -<p>In a letter written to a friend more than -twenty years ago I find this account of one of -our patients:</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Peter had pneumonia, complicated with -whooping-cough. He is a beautiful yellow-haired -boy, and even if the hospital could have -admitted him, or his mother would have agreed -to his removal (which she wouldn’t), I should -not have liked to send him. The sense of responsibility -for the sick child seemed a force -that could not be spared for rousing an erring -father. He is, apparently, devoted to the child, -but had been drinking, and there was not a -dollar in the house. The child, desperately ill, -clung to him, calling upon him with endearing -names. During the illness he worked all day -(he is a driver) and sat up all night, and I -think he will never forget his shame and remorse. -The doctor had ordered bath treatments -every two hours. These I gave until -eight o’clock and the mother continued them -after my last visit, but when the temperature -was highest she was worn out, and active night-nursing -seemed imperative. This Miss S⸺ -willingly undertook—a service more difficult -than appears in the mere telling, for the vermin<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41"></a>[41]</span> -in these old houses are horribly active at -night, and this sweet girl ended her first vigil -with neck and face inflamed from bites. Yet -the people themselves were clean, and in this -were not blameworthy. There is nothing -harder to endure than to watch by a night sick-bed -in these old, worn houses and see the -crawling creatures and the babes so accustomed -to them that their sleep is scarcely disturbed. -Peter has had a beautiful recovery, rewarding -his nurses by a most satisfactory return to a -normal state of good health.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus16.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">Convalescent Home—“The Rest.”</p> -</div> - -<p>The staff, which in the beginning consisted -of two nurses, my friend and myself, has been -increased until it is now large enough to answer<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42"></a>[42]</span> -calls from the sick anywhere in the boroughs -of Manhattan and the Bronx, and the calls in -the year 1913-14 came from nearly 1,100 more -patients than the combined total of those -treated during the same period in three of the -large hospitals in New York—a comparison -valuable chiefly as measuring the growing demand -of the sick for the visiting nurse.</p> - -<p>The service, though covering so wide a territory, -is capable of control and supervision. The -division into districts, with separate staffs for -contagious and obstetrical cases, may be compared -to the hospital division into wards. -Like the hospital, it has a system of bedside -notes, case records, and an established etiquette -between physicians, nurses, and patients. -Those that can best be cared for in the -hospitals are sent there, the sifting process -being accomplished by the doctors and nurses -working together. Approximately ten per -cent. of our patients are sent to the hospitals.</p> - -<p>Serious nurses are gratified that the former -casual and almost sentimental attitude of the -public toward them and their work has been -replaced by a demand for standards of efficiency.</p> - -<p>Enthusiasm, health, and uncommon good -sense on the part of the nurse are essential, -for without the vision of the importance of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43"></a>[43]</span> -their task they could not long endure the endless -stair-climbing, the weight of the bag, and -the pulls upon their emotions.</p> - -<p>There has been an extraordinary development -of the visiting-nurse service throughout -the country since we began our rounds, and -the practical arguments for sustaining such -work would seem irresistible. It requires -imagination, however, to visualize the steady, -competent, continuous routine so quietly performed, -unseen by the public, and its financial -support is the more precarious because there -can be no public reminder of its existence by -impressive buildings and monuments of marble.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44"></a>[44]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE NURSE AND THE COMMUNITY</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>The work begun from the top floor of the -tenement comprised, in simple forms, those -varied lines of activity which have since been -developed into the many highly specialized -branches of public health nursing now covering -the United States and engaging thousands of -nurses.<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> - -<p>In trying to forestall every obstacle to the -establishment of our nursing service on the -East Side, it seemed desirable to have some -connection with civic authority. Through a -mutual friend I met the President of the Board -of Health and, I fear rather presumptuously, -asked that we be given some insignia. Desirous -of serving his friend and tolerant of my -intense earnestness, he sanctioned our wearing -a badge which had engraved on its circle, “Visiting -Nurse. Under the Auspices of the Board -of Health.”</p> - -<p>As it transpired, we did not find it necessary<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45"></a>[45]</span> -or always felicitous to utilize this privilege, -but our connection with the Board of Health -was not a perfunctory or merely complimentary -one. We found from the beginning an inclination -on the part of the officials of the department -to treat us more or less like comrades. -Every night, during the first summer, I wrote -to the physician in -charge, reporting the -sick babies and describing -the unsanitary -conditions Miss -Brewster and I found, -and we received many -encouraging reminders -that what we were -doing was considered -helpful.</p> - -<div class="figright illowp64" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus17.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>In the new activity for the promotion of public -health many campaigns have been waged -to popularize the study of social diseases. Education -is the watchword, and where emphasis -is laid upon the preservation of health rather -than upon the treatment of disease, the nurses -constitute an important factor. Appreciation -of this is recorded by the Commission which -drafted the new health law for New York -State (1913). “The advent of trained nursing,” -says its report, “marks not only a new<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46"></a>[46]</span> -era in the treatment of the sick, but a new era -in public health administration.” This Commission -also created the position of Director -of the Division of Public Health Nursing in -the state department of health.</p> - -<p class="tb">I had been downtown only a short time when -I met Louis. An open door in a rear tenement -revealed a woman standing over a washtub, a -fretting baby on her left arm, while with her -right she rubbed at the butcher’s aprons which -she washed for a living.</p> - -<p>Louis, she explained, was “bad.” He did -not “cure his head,” and what would become -of him, for they would not take him into the -school because of it? Louis, hanging the offending -head, said he had been to the dispensary -a good many times. He knew it was -awful for a twelve-year-old boy not to know -how to read the names of the streets on the -lamp-posts, but “every time I go to school -Teacher tells me to go home.”</p> - -<p>It needed only intelligent application of the -dispensary ointments to cure the affected area, -and in September I had the joy of securing the -boy’s admittance to school for the first time in -his life. The next day, at the noon recess, he -fairly rushed up our five flights of stairs in the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47"></a>[47]</span> -Jefferson Street tenement to spell the elementary -words he had acquired that morning.</p> - -<p>It had been hard on Louis to be denied the -precious years of school, yet one could sympathize -with the harassed school teachers. The -classes were overcrowded; there were frequently -as many as sixty pupils in a single -room, and often three children on a seat. It -was, perhaps, not unnatural that the eczema -on Louis’s head should have been seized upon -as a legitimate excuse for not adding him to -the number. Perhaps it was not to be expected -that the teacher should feel concern for -one small boy whom she might never see -again, or should realize that his brief time for -education was slipping away and that he must -go to work fatally handicapped because of his -illiteracy.</p> - -<p>The predecessor of our present superintendent -of schools had apparently given no -thought to the social relationship of the school -to the pupils. The general public, twenty years -ago, had no accurate information concerning -the schools, and, indeed, seemed to have little -interest in them. We heard of flagrant instances -of political influence in the selection -and promotion of teachers, and later on we -had actual knowledge of their humiliation at -being forced to obtain through sordid “pull”<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48"></a>[48]</span> -the positions to which they had a legitimate -claim. I had myself once been obliged to enter -the saloon of N⸺, the alderman of our district, -to obtain the promise of necessary and -long-delayed action on his part for the city’s -acceptance of the gift of a street fountain, -which I had been indirectly instrumental in -securing for the neighborhood. I had been -informed by his friends that without this attention -he would not be likely to act.</p> - -<p>Louis set me thinking and opened my mind -to many things. Miss Brewster and I decided -to keep memoranda of the children we encountered -who had been excluded from school for -medical reasons, and later our enlarged staff -of nurses became equally interested in obtaining -data regarding them. When one of the -nurses found a small boy attending school -while desquamating from scarlet fever, and, -Tom Sawyer-like, pulling off the skin to startle -his little classmates, we exhibited him to the -President of the Department of Health, and I -then learned that the possibility of having -physicians inspect the school children was -under discussion, and that such evidence of its -need as we could produce would be helpful in -securing an appropriation for this purpose.</p> - -<p>I had come to the conclusion that the nurse -would be an essential factor in making effective<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49"></a>[49]</span> -whatever treatment might be suggested for -the pupils, and, following an observation of -mine to this effect, the president asked me to -take part, as nurse, in the medical supervision -in the schools. This offer it did not seem wise -to accept. We were embarking upon ventures -of our own which would require all our faculties -and all our strength. It seemed better -to be free from connections which would make -demand upon our energies for routine work -outside the settlement. Moreover, the time did -not seem ripe for advocating the introduction -of both the doctor and the nurse. The doctor -himself, in this capacity, was an innovation. -The appointment of a nurse would have been -a radical departure.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus18.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>In 1897 the Department of Health appointed -the first doctors; one hundred and fifty were -assigned to the schools for one hour a day at<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50"></a>[50]</span> -a salary of $30 a month. They were expected -to examine for contagious diseases and to send -out of the classrooms all those who showed -suspicious symptoms. It proved to be a perfunctory -service and only superficially touched -the needs of the children.</p> - -<p>In 1902, when a reform administration came -into power, the medical staff was reduced and -the salary increased to $100 a month, while -three hours a day were demanded from the -doctors. The Health Commissioner of that administration, -an intelligent friend of children, -now ordered an examination of all the public -school pupils, and New York was horrified to -learn of the prevalence of trachoma. Thousands -of children were sent out of the schools -because of this infectious eye trouble, and in -our neighborhood we watched many of them, -after school hours, playing with the children -for whose protection they had been excluded -from the classrooms. Few received treatment, -and it followed that truancy was encouraged, -and, where medical inspection was most thorough, -the classrooms were depleted.</p> - -<p>The President of the Department of Education -and the Health Commissioner sought for -guidance in this predicament. Examination by -physicians with the object of excluding children -from the classrooms had proved a doubtful<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51"></a>[51]</span> -blessing. The time had come when it -seemed right to urge the addition of the nurse’s -service to that of the doctor. My colleagues -and I offered to show that with her assistance -few children would lose their valuable school -time and that it would be possible to bring -under treatment those who needed it. Reluctant -lest the democracy of the school should -be invaded by even the most socially minded -philanthropy, I exacted a promise from several -of the city officials that if the experiment were -successful they would use their influence to -have the nurse, like the doctor, paid from public -funds.</p> - -<p>Four schools from which there had been -the greatest number of exclusions for medical -causes were selected, and an experienced -nurse, who possessed tact and initiative, was -chosen from the settlement staff to make the -demonstration. A routine was devised, and the -examining physician sent daily to the nurse all -the pupils who were found to be in need of -attention, using a code of symbols in order that -the children might be spared the chagrin of -having diseases due to uncleanliness advertised -to their associates.</p> - -<p>With the equipment of the settlement bag -and, in some of the schools, with no more than -the ledge of a window or the corner of a room<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52"></a>[52]</span> -for the nurse’s office, the present system of -thorough medical inspection in the schools and -of home visiting was inaugurated. Many of -the children needed only disinfectant treatment -of the eyes, collodion applied to ringworm, or -instruction as to cleanliness, and such were returned -at once to the class with a minimum -loss of precious school time. Where more -serious conditions existed the nurse called at -the home, explained to the mother what the -doctor advised, and, where there was a family -physician, urged that the child should be taken -to him. In the families of the poor information -as to dispensaries was given, and where -the mother was at work, and there was no one -free to take the child to the dispensary, the nurse -herself did this. Where children were sent to -the nurse because of uncleanliness, the mother -was given tactful instruction and, when necessary, -a practical demonstration on the child -himself.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp95" id="fp05" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp05.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">A Short Cut over the Roofs of the Tenements</span></p> -</div> - -<p>One month’s trial proved that, with the exception -of the very small proportion of major -contagious and infectious diseases, the addition -of the nurse to the staff made it possible to -reverse the object of medical inspection from -excluding the children from school to keeping -the children in the classroom and under treatment. -An enlightened Board of Estimate and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53"></a>[53]</span> -Apportionment voted $30,000 for the employment -of trained nurses, the first municipalized -school nurses in the world, now a feature of -medical school supervision in many communities -in this country and in Europe.</p> - -<p>The first nurse was placed on the city payroll -in October, 1902, and this marked the beginning -of an extraordinary development of the -public control of the physical condition of children. -Out of this innovation New York City’s -Bureau of Child Hygiene has grown.</p> - -<p>The Department of Health now employs 650 -nurses for its hospital and preventive work. -Of this number 374, in the year 1914, were -engaged for the Bureau of Child Hygiene.</p> - -<p>Poor Louis, who all unconsciously had -started the train of incidents that led to this -practical reform, has long since moved from -his Hester Street home to Kansas, and was -able to write us, as he did with enthusiasm, -of his identification with the West.</p> - -<p class="tb">Our first expenditures were for “sputum cups -and disinfectants for tuberculosis patients.” -The textbooks had said that Jews were practically -immune from this disease, and here we -found ourselves in a dense colony of the race -with signs everywhere of the white plague,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54"></a>[54]</span> -which we soon thought it fitting to name -“tailors’ disease.”</p> - -<p>Long before the great work was started by -the municipality to combat its ravages through -education and home visitation, we organized -for ourselves a system of care and instruction -for patients and their families, and wrote to the -institutions that were known to care for tuberculosis -cases for the addresses of discharged -patients, that we might call upon them to leave -the cups and disinfectants and instruct the families.</p> - -<p>Since 1904 the anti-tuberculosis movement -has been greatly accelerated, and although it is -pre-eminently a disease of poverty and can -never be successfully combated without dealing -with its underlying economic causes—bad -housing, bad workshops, undernourishment, -and so on—the most immediate attack lies in -education in personal hygiene. For this the -approach to the families through the nurse and -her ability to apply scientific truth to the problems -of human living have been found to be -invaluable.<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> - -<p>Infant mortality is also a social disease—“poverty<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55"></a>[55]</span> -and ignorance, the twin roots from -which this evil springs.” There is a large -measure of preventable ignorance, and in the -efforts for the reduction of infant mortality the -intelligent reaction of the tenement-house -mother has been remarkably -evidenced. -In the last analysis -babies of the poor are -kept alive through -the intelligence of the -mothers. Pasteurized -or modified milk in -immaculate containers -is of limited value -if exposed to pollution -in the home, or if it is fed improperly and -at irregular periods.</p> - -<div class="figleft illowp62" style="max-width: 15.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus19.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>The need of giving the mother training -seemed so evident that, in the course of lessons -given on the East Side antedating our nursing -service, I had demonstrated with a primitive -sterilizer a simple method of insuring “safe” -milk for babies.</p> - -<p>The settlement established a milk station in -1903, when one of its directors began sending -milk of high grade from his private dairy. Following -our principle of building up the homes -wherever possible, the modification of the milk<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56"></a>[56]</span> -has always been taught there. The nurses report -that it is very rare to find a woman who -cannot learn the lesson when made to understand -its importance to her children.</p> - -<div class="figright illowp75" style="max-width: 15.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus20.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Children under two years who show the -greatest need are given the preference in admission -to our clinic. -Excellent physicians -practicing in the -neighborhood have -contributed their services -as consultants, -and conferences are -held regularly. In -1914 the number of -infants cared for was -518 and the mortality 1.8 per cent. The previous -year, with 400 infants, the mortality was -one-half of one per cent.</p> - -<p>The Health Commissioner of Rochester, -N. Y., a pioneer in his specialty, founded municipal -milk stations for that city in 1897. He -states that the reduction of infant mortality -that followed the establishment of the stations -was due, not so much to the milk, but to the -education that went out with the milk through -the nurse and in the press.</p> - -<p>In 1911 New York City authorized the municipalization -of fifteen milk stations, and so<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57"></a>[57]</span> -satisfactory was the result that the next year -the appropriation permitted more than the -trebling of this number. A nurse is attached -to each station to follow into the homes and -there lay the foundation, through education, -for hygienic living. A marked reduction in -infant mortality has been brought about and, -moreover, a realization, on the part of the city, -of the immeasurable social and economic value -of keeping the babies alive.</p> - -<p>The Federal Children’s Bureau in its first -report on the study of infant mortality in the -United States showed that, in the city selected -for investigation, the infant death rate, in those -sections where conditions were worst, was more -than five times that in the choice residential -sections.</p> - -<p>This report constitutes a serious indictment -of society, and should goad civic and social -conscience to aggressive action. But there are -evidences (and, indeed, the existence of the -Bureau is one) that the public is beginning to -realize the profound importance in our national -life of saving the children that are born.</p> - -<p class="tb">Perhaps nothing indicates more impressively -our contempt for alien customs than the general -attitude taken toward the midwife. In<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58"></a>[58]</span> -other lands she holds a place of respect, but in -this country there seems to be a general determination -on the part of physicians and departments -of health to ignore her existence -and leave her free to practice without fit preparation, -despite the fact that her services are -extensively used in humble homes. In New -York City the midwife brings into the world -over forty per cent. of all the babies born there, -and ninety-eight per cent. of those among the -Italians.</p> - -<p>We had many experiences with them, beginning -with poor Ida, the carpenter’s wife, and -some that had the salt of humor. Before our -first year had passed I wrote to the superintendent -of a large relief society operating in -our neighborhood, advising that the society -discontinue its employment of midwives as a -branch of relief, because of their entire lack -of standards and their exemption from restraining -influence.</p> - -<p>To force attention to the harmful effect of -leaving the midwife without training in -midwifery and asepsis free to attend women -in childbirth, the Union Settlement -in 1905 financed an investigation under the -auspices of a committee of which I was chairman.</p> - -<p>A trained nurse was selected to inquire into<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59"></a>[59]</span> -and report upon the practice of the midwives. -The inquiry disclosed the extent to which habit, -tradition, and economic necessity made the -midwife practically indispensable, and gave -ample proof of the neglect, ignorance, and -criminality that prevailed; logical consequences -of the policy that had been pursued. The -Commissioner of Health and eminent obstetricians -now co-operated to improve matters, and -legislation was secured making it mandatory -for the Department of Health to regulate the -practice of midwifery. Five years later the -first school for midwives in America was established -in connection with Bellevue Hospital.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus21.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Part of the duty assigned to nurses of the -Bureau of Child Hygiene is to inspect the bags<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60"></a>[60]</span> -of the midwives licensed to practice, and to -visit the new-born in the campaign to wipe out -<i>ophthalmia neonatorum</i>, that tragically frequent -and preventable cause of blindness among -the new-born.</p> - -<p>These are a few of the manifestations of -the new era in the development of the nurse’s -work. She is enlisted in the crusade against -disease and for the promotion of right living, -beginning even before life itself is brought -forth, through infancy into school life, on -through adolescence, with its appeal to repair -the omissions of the past. Her duties take her -into factory and workshop, and she has identified -herself with the movement against the -premature employment of children, and for the -protection of men and women who work that -they may not risk health and life itself while -earning their living. The nurse is being socialized, -made part of a community plan for the -communal health. Her contribution to human -welfare, unified and harmonized with those -powers which aim at care and prevention, rather -than at police power and punishment, forms -part of the great policy of bringing human -beings to a higher level.</p> - -<p>With the incorporation of the nurse’s service -in municipal and state departments for the -preservation of health, other agencies, under<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61"></a>[61]</span> -private and semi-public auspices, have expanded -their functions to the sick.</p> - -<p>I had felt that the American Red Cross Society -held a unique position among its sister -societies of other nations, and that in time it -might be an agency that could consciously provide -valuable “moral equivalents for war.” The -whole subject, in these troubled times, is revived -in my memory, and I find that in 1908 -I began to urge that in a country dedicated to -peace it would be fitting for the American Red -Cross to consecrate its efforts to the upbuilding -of life and the prevention of disaster, rather -than to emphasize its identification with the -ravages of war.</p> - -<p>The concrete recommendation made was that -the Red Cross should develop a system of visiting -nursing in the vast, neglected country -areas. The suggestion has been adopted and -an excellent beginning made with a Department -of Town and Country Nursing directed -by a special committee. A generous gift -started an endowment for its administration. -Many communities not in the registered area -and remote from the centers of active social -propaganda will be given stimulus to organize -for nursing service, and from this other medical -and social measures will inevitably grow. It -requires no far reach of the imagination to visualize<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62"></a>[62]</span> -the time when our country will be districted -from the northernmost to the southernmost -point, with the trained graduate nurse entering -the home wherever there is illness, caring -for the patient, preaching the gospel of -health, and teaching in simplest form the essentials -of hygiene. Such an organization of national -scope, its powers directed toward raising -the standard in the homes without sacrifice of -independence, is bound to promote the social -progress of the nation.</p> - -<p class="tb">In the year 1909 the Metropolitan Life Insurance -Company undertook the nursing of its -industrial policyholders—an important event in -the annals of visiting nursing. I had suggested -the practicality of this to one of the officials -of the company, a man of broad experience, -and he, immediately responsive, provided opportunity -for me to present to his colleagues -evidence of the reduction of mortality, the -hastening of convalescence, and the ability to -bring to sick people the resources that the community -provides for treatment through the institution -of visiting nursing.</p> - -<p>The company employed our staff to care for -its patients, and the experiment has been extended -until a nursing service practically covers<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63"></a>[63]</span> -its industrial policyholders in Canada and the -United States. The company thereby gave an -enormous impetus to education and hygiene in -the homes and treatment of the sick on the -only basis that makes it possible for persons -of small means to receive nursing without -charity—namely, through insurance.</p> - -<p>The demand for the public -health nurse coming from all -sides was so great that for a -time it could not be adequately -met. Women of initiative -and personality with -broad education were needed, -for much of the work required -pioneering zeal. Instructive -inspection, on the nurse’s part, -like other educational work, -requires suitable and sound -preparation, a superstructure of efficiency upon -woman’s natural aptitudes.</p> - -<div class="figright illowp40" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus22.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>The Henry Street Settlement and other -groups with well-established visiting nursing -systems responded to the need by offering opportunities -for post-graduate training and experience -in the newly opened field of public -health nursing, and sought co-ordination with -formal educational institutions for instruction -in social theories and pedagogy. In 1910 the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64"></a>[64]</span> -Department of Nursing and Health was created -at Teachers College, Columbia University, embracing -in its completed form the Department -of Hospital Economics established there in -1899 by the efforts of training-school superintendents. -This department is in affiliation with -the settlement. At least four important training-schools -for nurses are now working under -the direction of universities, and other provision -has been made to give education supplementary -to the hospital training.</p> - -<p>Nurses themselves have taken the initiative -in securing the means for equipping women in -their profession to meet the new requirements. -They are providing helpful literature and finding -stimulating associations with others enlisted -in similar efforts for human welfare. I -had the honor to be elected first president of -the National Organization for Public Health -Nursing. At the conference held in 1913 (less -than a year after the formation of the society) -an assemblage of women gathered from all -parts of the country to seek guidance and inspiration -for this work, and something that was -very like religious fervor characterized their -meetings.</p> - -<p>The need of consecration to the sick and the -young that has touched generation after generation -with new impulse was manifested in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65"></a>[65]</span> -their eagerness to serve the community. From -the root of the old gospel another branch has -grown, a realization that the call to the nurse -is not only for the bedside care of the sick, -but to help in seeking out the deep-lying basic -causes of illness and misery, that in the future -there may be less sickness to nurse and to cure.</p> - -<p>A pleasant indication that the academic -world reached out its fellowship to the nurses -in their zeal for public service was given some -months later when Mt. Holyoke College, at -the commemoration of its seventy-fifth anniversary, -honored me by conferring on me the -LL.D. degree.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66"></a>[66]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV<br /> -<span class="smaller">CHILDREN AND PLAY</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>The visitor who sees our neighborhood for the -first time at the hour when school is dismissed -reacts with joy or dismay to the sight, not -paralleled in any part of the world, of thousands -of little ones on a single city block.</p> - -<p>Out they pour, the little hyphenated Americans, -more conscious of their patriotism than -perhaps any other large group of children that -could be found in our land; unaware that to -some of us they carry on their shoulders our -hopes of a finer, more democratic America, -when the worthy things they bring to us shall -be recognized, and the good in their old-world -traditions and culture shall be mingled with -the best that lies within our new-world -ideals. Only through knowledge is one fortified -to resist the onslaught of arguments of the -superficial observer who, dismayed by the -sight, is conscious only of “hordes” and “danger -to America” in these little children.</p> - -<p>They are irresistible. They open up wide -vistas of the many lands from which they<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67"></a>[67]</span> -come. The multitude passes: swinging walk, -lagging step; smiling, serious—just little children, -forever appealing, and these, perhaps, -more than others, stir the emotions. “Crime, -ignorance, dirt, anarchy!” Not theirs the -fault if any of these be true, although sometimes -perfectly good children are spoiled, as -Jacob Riis, that buoyant lover of them, has -said. As a nation we must rise or fall as we -serve or fail these future citizens.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp60" style="max-width: 25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus23.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68"></a>[68]</span></p> - -<p>Their appeal suggests that social exclusions -and prejudices separate far more effectively -than distance and differing language. They -bring a hope that a better relationship—even -the great brotherhood—is not impossible, and -that through love and understanding we shall -come to know the shame of prejudice.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus24.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Instinctively the sympathetic observer feels -the possibilities of the young life that passes -before the settlement doors, and sincerity demands -that something shall be known of the -conditions, economic, political, religious, or, perchance, -of the mere spirit of venture that -brought them here. How often have the conventionally -educated been driven to the library -to obtain that historic perspective of the people<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69"></a>[69]</span> -who are in our midst, without which they cannot -be understood! What fascinating excursions -have been made into folklore in the effort -to comprehend some strange custom unexpectedly -encountered!</p> - -<p>When the anxious friends of the dying Italian -brought a chicken to be killed over him, -the tenement-house bed became the sacrificial -altar of long ago; and when the old, rabbinical-looking -grandfather took -hairs from the head of -the sick child, a bit of -his finger-nail, and a -garment that had been -close to his body, and -cast them into the -river while he devoutly -prayed that the little -life might be spared, he declared his faith in -the purification of running water.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp75" style="max-width: 15.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus25.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>It is necessary to spend a summer in our -neighborhood to realize fully the conditions -under which many thousands of children are -reared. One night during my first month on -the East Side, sleepless because of the heat, I -leaned out of the window and looked down on -Rivington Street. Life was in full course there. -Some of the push-cart venders still sold their -wares. Sitting on the curb directly under my<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70"></a>[70]</span> -window, with her feet in the gutter, was a -woman, drooping from exhaustion, a baby at -her breast. The fire-escapes, considered the -most desirable sleeping-places, were crowded -with the youngest and the oldest; children -were asleep on the sidewalks, on the steps of -the houses and in the empty push-carts; some -of the more venturesome men and women with -mattress or pillow staggered toward the riverfront -or the parks. I looked at my watch. It -was two o’clock in the morning!</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp83" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus26.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Many times since that summer of 1893 have -I seen similar sights, and always I have been -impressed with the kindness and patience, sometimes -the fortitude, of our neighbors, and I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71"></a>[71]</span> -have marveled that out of conditions distressing -and nerve-destroying as these so many -children have emerged into fine manhood and -womanhood, and often, because of their early -experiences, have become intelligent factors in -promoting measures to guard the next generation -against conditions which they know to be -destructive.</p> - -<p>Before I lived in the midst of this dense child -population, and while I was still in the hospital, -I had been touched by glimpses of the life revealed -in the games played in the children’s -ward. Up to that time my knowledge of little -ones had been limited to those to whom the -people in fairy tales were real, and whose games -and stories reflected the protective care of their -elders. My own earliest recollections of play -had been of story-telling, of housekeeping with -all the things in miniature that grown-ups use, -and of awed admiration of the big brother who -graciously permitted us to witness hair-raising -performances in the barn, to which we paid admittance -in pins. The children in the hospital -ward who were able to be about, usually on -crutches or with arms in slings, played “Ambulance” -and the “Gerry Society.” The latter -game dramatized their conception of the famous -Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children -as an ogre that would catch them. The<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72"></a>[72]</span> -ambulance game was of a child, or a man at -work, injured and carried away to the hospital.</p> - -<p>Many years’ familiarity with the children’s -attempts to play in the streets has not made -me indifferent to its pathos, which is not the -less real because the children themselves are -unconscious of it. In the midst of the push-cart -market, with its noise, confusion, and jostling, -the checker or crokinole board is precariously -perched on the top of a hydrant, constantly -knocked over by the crowd and patiently -replaced by the little children. One tearful -small boy described his morning when he -said he had done nothing but play, but first the -“cop” had snatched his dice, then his “cat” (a -piece of wood sharpened at both ends), and -nobody wanted him to chalk on the sidewalk, -and he had been arrested for throwing a ball.</p> - -<p>A man since risen to distinction in educational -circles, whose childhood was passed in -our neighborhood, told me how he and his companions -had once taken a dressmaker’s lay figure. -They had no money to spend on the -theater and no place to play in but a cellar. -They had admired the gaudy posters of a melodrama -in which the hero rescues the lady and -carries her over a chasm. Having no lady in -their cast, they borrowed the dressmaker’s lay -figure—without permission. Fortunately, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73"></a>[73]</span> -accidentally, they escaped detection. It is not -difficult to see how the entire course of this -boy’s career might have been altered if arrest -had followed, with its consequent humiliation -and degradation. At least, looking back upon -it, the young man sees how the incident might -have deflected his life.</p> - -<p>The instruction in folk-dancing which the -children now receive in the public schools and -recreation centers has done much to develop a -wholesome and delightful form of exercise, and -has given picturesqueness to the dancing in the -streets. But yesterday I found myself pausing -on East Houston Street to watch a group of -children assemble at the sound of a familiar -dance from a hurdy-gurdy, and looking up I -met the sympathetic smile of a teamster who -also had stopped. The children, absorbed in -their dance, were quite unconscious that congested -traffic had halted and that busy people -had taken a moment from their engrossing -problems to be refreshed by the sight of their -youth and grace. For that brief instant even -the cry of “War Extra” was unheeded.</p> - -<p class="tb">Touching as are the little children deprived -of opportunity for wholesome play, a deeper -compassion stirred our hearts when we began<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74"></a>[74]</span> -to realize the critically tender age at which -many of them share the experiences, anxieties, -and tragedies of the adult. I cannot efface from -my memory the picture of a little eight-year-old -girl whom I once found standing on a chair to -reach a washtub, trying with her tiny hands -to cleanse some bed-linen which would have -been a task for an older person. Every few -minutes the child got down from her chair to -peer into the next room where her mother and -the new-born baby lay, all her little mind intent -upon giving relief and comfort. She had been -alone with her mother when the baby was born -and terror was on her face.</p> - -<p>I think the memory never left her, but it may -be only that her presence called up, even after -the lapse of years, a vision of the anxious little -face inevitably contrasted in my mind with the -picture of irresponsible childhood.</p> - -<p>At about the same time we made the acquaintance -of the K⸺ family, through nursing one -of the children. The mother was a large-framed, -phlegmatic, seemingly emotionless -type, although she did show appreciation of our -liking for her children. The father was only -occasionally mentioned. We assumed that he -was away seeking work, a common explanation -then of the absence of the men of the families. -One afternoon I stopped at their house to make<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75"></a>[75]</span> -arrangements for the children’s trip to the country. -Early the next morning, awakened by -a pounding on the door, I opened it to find little -Esther beside herself with excitement, repeating -over and over, “My mother she die! My mother -she die!” Following fast, it was not possible -to keep pace with her. When, breathless, I entered -their rooms it was to see the mother’s -body hanging from a doorway. She had been -brooding over a summons to testify in court that -morning against her husband, who had been arrested -for bigamy, and this was her answer to -the court and to the other woman.</p> - -<p>The frightened little children were scattered -among different institutions. From one of these -Esther was sent West, to a home that was -found for her. Possibly she was so young -that the terrible picture faded from her mind. -At least there was no mention of it in the first -letter which she wrote, announcing that her -new home was a farm and that they had “six -cows, eighty chickens, eleven pigs, and a -<i>nephew</i>.” The nephew Esther eventually married.</p> - -<p>In the first party of children that we sent to -the country were three little girls, daughters of -a skilled cobbler. The mother, a complaining, -exacting invalid, spent a large proportion of her -husband’s earnings for patent medicines. Annie,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76"></a>[76]</span> -not quite twelve, was the household drudge, -and the coming of the settlement nurse lifted -only part of her burden. The new friends, determined -to get at least two weeks of care-free -childhood for the little girls, procured an invitation -for them, through a Fresh-Air agency, -from a farmer in the western part of the state. -It was necessary to secure the mother’s admission -to a hospital during the time the children -would be absent from home—not an easy task, -as she was not what is termed a “hospital -case.” When we met the children at the railroad -station on their return, their joyousness and -bubbling spirits attracted the attention of the on-lookers; -but as Annie neared home its responsibilities -fell like a heavy cloud upon her, and -before we reached the tenement she was silent. -Her quick eye discerned the absence of the -brick which had kept the front hall door open, -and in a second she had darted into the yard -and replaced it. Before we left, with sleeves -rolled up she was beginning to wash the pile -of dishes that had accumulated in her absence. -Gone was the gayety. The little drudge had -resumed her place. Later, when the child swore -falsely to her age, and the notary public, upon -whose certificate employment papers could at -that time be obtained, affixed his signature to -her perjury, the position she secured as cash<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77"></a>[77]</span> -girl in the basement of a department store was, -to her, emancipation from hateful labor and an -opportunity for fellowship with children.</p> - -<p class="tb">Recalling early days, I am constantly reminded -of the sympathy and comprehension of -those friends who, though not stimulated as my -comrade and I were by constant reminders of -the children’s needs, from the beginning promoted -and often anticipated our efforts to provide -innocent recreation. We had not thought -of the possibility of giving pleasure to large -groups of children in picnics and day parties, -when a friend, a few days after our arrival in -the neighborhood, asked us to celebrate his sister’s -birthday by giving “fun” to some of our -new acquaintances. I yet remember the thrill -I felt when I realized that this gift was not for -shoes or practical necessities, but for “just what -children anywhere would like.”</p> - -<p>Two memories of this first party stand out -sharply: the songs the children sang,—“She’s -More to be Pitied than Censured,” and “Judge, -Forgive Him, ’Tis His First Offense,”—painfully -revealing a precocious knowledge, and their -ecstasy at the sight of a wonderful dogwood -tree. Now, when the settlement children go -on day parties, they have another repertory, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78"></a>[78]</span> -the music they learn in the public schools reflects -the finer thought for the child.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus27.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>During the two years that Miss Brewster and -I lived in the Jefferson Street house we frequently -made up impromptu parties to visit the -distant parks, usually on Sunday afternoons -when we were likely to be free. After a while -it was not difficult to secure comradeship for -the children from men and women of our acquaintance, -and the parties were multiplied. In -the winter, rumors of “a fine hill all covered -with snow” on Riverside Drive would be a -stimulus to secure a sled or improvise a toboggan, -and we found that, given opportunity and -encouragement, the city tenement boys threw -themselves readily into venturesome sport.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp75" id="fp06" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp06.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">And their Ecstasy at the Sight of a Wonderful -Dogwood Tree</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Happily some of the early prejudice against -ball-playing on Sunday has vanished. We were -perplexed in those days to explain to the lads -why, when they saw the ferries and trains convey -golfers suitably attired and expensively<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79"></a>[79]</span> -equipped for a day’s sport, their own games -should outrage respectable citizens and cause -them to be constantly “chased” by the police. -The saloons could be entered, as everybody -knew, and I remember a father, defending his -eight-year-old son from an accusation of theft, -instancing as proof of the child’s trustworthiness -that “all the Christians on Jackson Street -sent him for their beer on Sundays.”</p> - -<p>In our search for a place where the boys -might play undisturbed, one of the settlement -residents, a never-failing friend of the young -people, invoked the Federal Government itself, -and secured for them an unused field on Governor’s -Island.</p> - -<p>Now, in summer time, many of the organized -activities of the settlement are removed from -the neighborhood. Early in the season the -“hikers” begin their walks with club leaders. -I felt a glow of happiness one Sunday morning -when I stood on the steps of our house and -watched six different groups of boys set off for -the country, with ball and bat and sandwiches, -each group led by a young man who had himself -been a member of our early parties and -had been first introduced to trees and open -spaces, and the more active forms of healthful -play by his settlement friends.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus28.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>The woeful lack of imagination displayed in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80"></a>[80]</span> -building a city without recognizing the need of -its citizens for recreation through play, music, -and art, has been borne in upon us many times. -New Yorkers need to be reminded that the -Metropolitan Museum of Art was effectually -closed to a large proportion of the citizens until, -on May 31, 1891, it opened its doors on Sundays. -It is interesting to recall that of the -80,000 signatures to the petition for this privilege, -50,000 were of residents of the lower East -Side and were presented by the “Working People’s -Petition Committee.” The report of the -Museum trustees following the Sunday opening -notes that after a little disorder and confusion -at the start the experiment proved a success; -that the attendance was “respectable, law-abiding, -and intelligent,” and that “the laboring -classes were well represented.” They were<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81"></a>[81]</span> -also obliged to report, however, that the Sunday -opening had “offended some of the Museum’s -best friends and supporters,” and that -it had “resulted in the loss of a bequest of -$50,000.”</p> - -<p class="tb">When we left the tenement house we were -fortunate to find for sale, on a street that still -bore evidences of its bygone social glory, a -house which readily lent itself to the restorer’s -touch. Tradition says that many of these fine -old East Side houses were built by cabinetmakers -who came over from England during -the War of 1812 and remained here as citizens. -The generous purchaser allowed us freedom to -repair, restore, and alter, as our taste directed. -Attractive as we found the house, we were even -more excited over the possibilities of the little -back yard. Our first organized effort for the -neighborhood was to convert this yard and one -belonging to an adjacent school, with, later, the -yard of a third house rented by one of our residents, -into a miniature but very complete playground. -There was so little precedent to guide -us that our resourcefulness was stimulated, and -we succeeded in achieving what the President -of the National Playground Association has -called the “Bunker Hill” of playgrounds.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82"></a>[82]</span></p> - -<p>Along the borders we planted bright-colored -flowers—which were not disturbed by the children. -An old wistaria vine on a trellis covered -nearly a third of the playground, and two ailanthus -trees, usually regarded with contempt by -tree lovers, were highly cherished by those who -otherwise would have lived a treeless life. Window-boxes -jutted from the rear windows of the -two houses controlled by the settlement, and in -one corner, shaded by a striped awning, we put -the big sand-pile. Joy-giving “scups” (the -local name for swings) were erected, and some -suitable gymnastic apparatus, parallel bars and -overhead ladder placed. Baby hammocks were -swung, their occupants tenderly cared for by -little mothers and little fathers. Manual training -was provided by a picturesque sailor from -Sailors’ Snug Harbor, who, at a stretching -frame, taught the making of hammocks.</p> - -<p>In the morning under the pergola an informal -kindergarten was conducted, and in the afternoon -attendants directed play and taught the -use of gymnastic apparatus. Later in the day -the mothers and older children came, and a -little hurdy-gurdy occasionally marked the -rhythm of the dance. So interested in the playground -were the household and their visitors -that at odd moments an enthusiast would rush -in from other duties and give the hurdy-gurdy<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83"></a>[83]</span> -an extra turn, to supplement the entertainment. -At night the baby hammocks and chairs were -stored away and Japanese lanterns illuminated -the playground, which then welcomed the -young people who, after their day’s work, took -pleasure in each other’s society and in singing -familiar songs.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="fp07" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp07.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">It Has Been Called the “Bunker Hill” of Playgrounds</span></p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="fp08" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp08.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Children Play on Our Roof</span></p> -</div> - -<p>On Saturday afternoons the playground was -used almost exclusively by fathers and mothers, -but it was a pretty sight at all times, and the -value placed upon it by those who used it was -far in excess of our own estimate. It was something -more than amusement that moved us -when a young couple, who had been invited to -one of the evening parties, stood at the back -door of the settlement house and gazed admiringly -at the little pleasure place. Gowned in -white, we awaited our guests, and as I rose from -the bench under the pergola to cross the yard -and give them welcome, the young printer said -with enthusiasm, “This must be like the scenes -of country life in English novels.”</p> - -<p>It was a heaven of delight to the children, -and ingenuity was displayed by those who -sought admittance. The children soon learned -that “little mothers” and their charges had -precedence, and there was rivalry as to who -should hold the family baby. When (as rarely -happened) there was none in the family, a baby<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84"></a>[84]</span> -was borrowed. Six-year-olds, clasping babies -of stature almost equal to their own, would -stand outside, hoping to attract attention to -their special claims. Once, when the playground -was filled to capacity, and the sidewalk -in front of the house was thronged, the Olympian -at the gate endeavored to make it clear -that no more could enter. One persistent small -girl stood stolidly and when reminded of the -condition said, “Yes, teacher, but can’t I get -in? I ain’t got no mother.”</p> - -<p>There was much illness, unemployment, and -consequent suffering the next winter. One day, -when I visited a school in the neighborhood, -the principal asked the pupils if they knew me. -She doubtless anticipated some reference to the -material services which the settlement had rendered, -but the answer to her question was a glad -chorus of, “Yes, ma’am, yes, ma’am, she’s our -scupping teacher.” “Teacher” was a generic -term for the residents, and nothing that the settlement -had contributed to the life of the neighborhood -impressed the children as had the playground. -It is worth reminding those who are -associated with young people that the power to -influence is given to those who play with, -rather than to those who only teach, them. Our -children on the East Side are not peculiar in -this respect. To this day I receive letters from<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85"></a>[85]</span> -men and women who try to recall themselves to -my memory by saying that they once played in -our back yard.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp56" style="max-width: 23.4375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus29.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>An organized propaganda for outdoor gymnasia -and playgrounds crystallized in 1898 in the -formation of the Outdoor Recreation League, -in which the settlement participated. The tireless -president of the League eventually succeeded -in obtaining the use of a large space in -our neighborhood, originally purchased by the -city, during a brief reform administration, for a -park. Some very undesirable tenement houses<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86"></a>[86]</span> -had been destroyed, and when a Tammany administration -returned to power a hot summer -was allowed to pass with nothing done to accomplish -the original purpose. Unsightly holes, -once cellars, remained to fill with stagnant -water, amputated sewer- and gas-pipes were -exposed, and among these the children played -mimic battles of the Spanish-American War, -then in progress.</p> - -<p>The accident that the Commissioner of -Health, a semi-invalid, felt gratitude to a -trained nurse who had cared for him, gave me -an opportunity to approach him on the subject. -He promised (and he kept his promise) to use -his influence to get an appropriation on the score -of the menace to the health of the city. The appropriation -was sufficient to fill in the space and -surround it with a fence, and the Outdoor Recreation -League was able to demonstrate the value -of playgrounds. In 1902 the Board of Estimate -and Apportionment of Mayor Seth Low’s -reform administration, at its first meeting, appropriated -money for the equipment and maintenance -of Seward Park, as it was named,—the -first municipal playground in New York City. -So much interest had been aroused in this phase -of city government that two city officials left -the board meeting while it was in progress to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87"></a>[87]</span> -telephone to the settlement that the appropriation -had been passed.</p> - -<p>Many friends of the children combined to -urge the use of the public schools as recreation -centers, and in the summer of 1898 the first -schools were opened for that purpose. Those of -us who had practical experience helped to start -these by acting as volunteer inspectors. The -settlement then felt justified in devoting less -effort to its own playground, and deflected some -of the energies it required to meet other pressing -needs.</p> - -<p class="tb">It is a delight to give the children stories -from the Bible and the old mythologies, fairy -tales, and lives of heroes, and we mark as -epochal Maude Adams’s inspiration to invite -our children and others not likely to have the -opportunity to see Peter Pan. She has given -joy to thousands, but it is doubtful if she can -measure, as we do, the influence of “the everlasting -boy.” Through him romance has -touched these children, and not a few of the -letters spontaneously written to Peter Pan from -tenement homes have seemed to us not unworthy -of Barrie himself. Protest against -leaving the big, familiar farmhouse at one of -our country places, when an overflow of visitors<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88"></a>[88]</span> -necessitated a division of the little ones at -night, was immediately withdrawn when the -children were told that the annex, perched on -high ground, was a “Wendy House.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus30.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>The need of care for convalescents was early -recognized, and the settlement’s first country -house was for them. It was opened in 1899, -and its maintenance is the generous gift of a -young woman, a member of the early group -that gathered in the Henry Street house. We -soon felt, however, that it was essential that -children and young people as well as invalids -should have knowledge of life other than that -of the crowded tenement and factory; and from -the time of the establishment of our first kindergarten -we longed to have the children know<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89"></a>[89]</span> -the reality of the things they sang about, the -birds and animals which so often formed the -subject of their games. A little girl in one of -the parties taken to see Peter Pan turned to her -beloved club leader when the crocodile appeared -and asked timidly if it was a <i>field-mouse</i>! A -recent lesson had been about that “animal.” It -seems almost incredible that the description, -probably supplemented by a picture, should not -have made a more definite impression upon the -child’s mind; but I am inclined to think that -little children can form no accurate conception -of unknown objects from pictures or description. -A neighborhood teacher took her class to -the menagerie in Central Park just after a lesson -on the cow and its “gifts”—milk, cream, -butter. She hoped that the young buffalo’s resemblance -to the cow might suggest itself to -the children who, of course, had never seen a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90"></a>[90]</span> -cow. In answer to her question an eager little -boy gave testimony to the impression the lesson -had made on his mind when he answered, -“Yes, ma’am. I know it. It’s a <i>butterfly</i>.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus31.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>We value the “day parties” for incidental -education as well as for the pleasure they afford. -Each year as spring approaches a census is -taken of the surrounding blocks, that the new -arrivals may be included in the excursions. The -most treasured invitations for these parties -come from friends whose country estates are -near enough to offer hospitality, and to whose -gardens and stables the children are taken. -The larger parties, composed of women and -children, usually go to the seashore in chartered -cars, and these excursions, purely recreative, -compete, and not unsuccessfully, with the clam-bakes -and outings of the old-time political -leaders.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="fp09" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp09.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Kindergarten Children Learn the Reality -of the Things They Sing About</span></p> -</div> - -<p>The beautiful country places presented to the -settlement for vacation purposes, and the comparative -readiness with which money for equipment -and maintenance for non-paying guests -has been given, indicates the favor with which -this development of neighborhood work is -regarded. Opportunities for confidence and -mutual understanding, not always possible in -the formal relationships of clubs and classes, -are afforded by the intimacy of country-house<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91"></a>[91]</span> -parties. The possibility of giving direction at -critical periods of character-formation, particularly -during adolescence, and of discovering -clews to deep-lying causes of disturbance, makes -the country life a valuable extension of the organized -social work of the settlement. “Riverholm,” -overhanging the Hudson; “Camp -Henry,” on a beautiful lake; the “House in the -Woods,” “Echo Hill Farm,” and a commodious -house in New Jersey, lent by friends during -the summer months, give us the means whereby -some of the plans we cherish may be carried -out.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp93" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus32.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp93" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus33.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“House in the Woods.”</p> -</div> - -<p>It would be inconsistent with settlement -theories if these country places did not express -refinement and beauty,—the beauty that belongs -to simplicity,—not only in the buildings, but<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92"></a>[92]</span> -also in the service and housekeeping. It has -seemed to us, therefore, worth the additional -expenditure of effort to have small, distinct -household units wherever practicable. People -who live in crowded homes, walk on crowded -streets, ride on crowded cars, and as children -attend crowded classrooms, must inevitably acquire -distorted views of life; and the settlement -is reluctant to add to these the experience -of crowded country life. Valuable training in -housekeeping is possible in a household even -of from fifteen to twenty-five persons,—a small -unit according to New York standards,—and -tactful direction can often be given toward acquiring<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93"></a>[93]</span> -those manners generally recognized as -“good.” Many of the children who come to -us know only foreign customs and foreign table-manners; -and the extreme difficulty of maintaining -orderly home life in the tenement makes -it important to supplement the home-training -or to supply what it can never give. Indeed, -we recognize in this desire to protect our children -from being marked as peculiar or alien -because of non-essential differences the same -reason that urges the careful mother to insist<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94"></a>[94]</span> -on “manners,” that her children may not be -discredited when they mingle with the fastidious.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp48" style="max-width: 20.3125em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus34.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>The ideal of limitation as to numbers cannot -always be carried out, and naturally it does not -apply to the camp, where a freer and less conventional -life attracts and satisfies boys and -young men.</p> - -<p>The older members of the settlement, who -are earning money, use the camp and country -places as clubs, paying for the privilege and -conforming to the regulations which they have -had a share in establishing.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus35.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Those who have promoted the various Fresh-Air -agencies throughout the country may not -realize that physical benefit is not all that has -been secured. We are persuaded that opportunity -to know life away from the city is in -part the explanation of the increasing number<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95"></a>[95]</span> -of city boys who elect training in agriculture -and forestry. Formerly, when careers were -discussed, the future held no happiness unless -it promised a profession—law or medicine.</p> - -<p>If I appear to lay too much stress upon the -importance of play and recreation, it may be -well to point out that it is one way of recognizing -the dignity of the child. The study of -juvenile delinquency shows how often the young -offender’s presence in the courts may be traced -to a play-impulse for which there was no safe -outlet.</p> - -<p>Perhaps nothing more definitely indicates the -changed attitude toward children and play than -the fact that last summer (1914) the police officers -of the precinct called to enlist our co-operation -in carrying out the orders of the city -administration that during certain hours of the -day traffic was to be shut off from designated -streets, that the children might play there. The -visit brought to mind years of painstaking -effort to secure the toleration of harmless play, -and the hope we had dared to express, despite -incredulity on the part of the police, that some -day the children might come to regard them as -guardians and protectors, rather than as a fear-inspiring -and hated force. One captain of the -precinct, at least, had proved the practicability -of our theory, and when he was transferred we<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96"></a>[96]</span> -lost a valuable co-worker. The Governor of -New York, campaigning for re-election in the -fall of this year (1914), advocated that public -schools should be surrounded by playgrounds -at “no matter what cost.”</p> - -<p>Tremendous impetus has been given to the -playground movement throughout the entire -country by individuals and societies organized -for the purpose. Wise men and women have -expounded the social philosophy of play and -recreation, pointing out that these may afford -wholesome expression for energies which might -otherwise be diverted into channels disastrous -to peace and happiness; that clean sport and -stimulating competition can replace the gang -feud and even modify racial antagonisms. The -most satisfactory evidence of this conviction is, -of course, the recognition of the child’s right to -play, as an integral part of his claim upon the -state.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus36.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97"></a>[97]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V<br /> -<span class="smaller">EDUCATION AND THE CHILD</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>Perhaps nothing makes a profounder impression -on the newcomer to our end of the city -than the value placed by the Jew upon education; -an overvaluation, one is tempted to think, -in view of the sacrifices which are made, particularly -for the boys,—though of late years the -girls’ claims have penetrated even to the Oriental -home.</p> - -<p>One afternoon a group of old-world women -sat in the reception-room at the settlement while -one of the residents sang and played negro -melodies. With the melancholy minor of “Let -My People Go,” the women began crooning a -song that told the story of Cain and Abel. -The melody was not identical, but so similar -that they thought they recognized the song as -their own; and when a discussion arose upon -the coincidence that two persecuted peoples -should claim this melody, the women, touched -by the music, confessed their homesick longing -for Russia—for Russia that had dealt so unkindly -with them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98"></a>[98]</span></p> - -<p>“Rather a stone for a pillow in my own -home,” said one woman on whom life had -pressed hard. “Would you go back?” she was -asked. “Oh, no, no, no!” emphasizing the -words by a swaying of the body and a shaking -of the head. “It is not poverty we fear. It is -not money we are seeking here. We do not -expect things for ourselves. It is the chance -for the children, education and freedom for -them.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp60" style="max-width: 25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus37.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99"></a>[99]</span></p> - -<p>The passion of the Russian Jews for intellectual -attainment recalls the spirit of the early -New England families and their willingness to -forego every comfort that a son might be set -apart for the ministry. Here we are often witnesses -of long-continued deprivation on the part -of every member of the family, a willingness -to deny themselves everything but the barest -necessities of life, that there may be a doctor, a -lawyer, or a teacher among them. Submission -to bad housing, excessive hours, and poor working -conditions is defended as of “no matter because -the children will have better and can go -to school—maybe college.” Said a baker who -showed the ill-effects of basement and night -work and whose three rooms housed a family -of ten: “My boy is already in the high school. -If I can’t keep on, the Herr Gott will take it -up where I leave off.”</p> - -<p>A painful instance was that of a woman who -came to the settlement one evening. Her son -was studying music under one of the most -famous masters in Vienna, and she had exiled -herself to New York in order to earn more -money for him than she could possibly earn at -home. Literally, as I afterwards discovered, -she spent nothing upon herself. A tenement -family gave her lodging (a bed on chairs) and -food, in return for scrubbing done after her<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100"></a>[100]</span> -day’s work in the necktie factory. The Viennese -master, not knowing his pupil’s circumstances, -or, it is possible, not caring, had written -that the young man needed to give a -concert, an additional demand which it was -utterly impossible for her to meet. She had -already given up her home, she had relinquished -her wardrobe, and she had sold her -grave for him.</p> - -<p>One young lad stands out among the many -who came to talk over their desire to go through -college. He dreamed of being great and, this -period of hardship over, of placing his family -in comfort. I felt it right to emphasize his -obligation to the family; the father was dead, -the mother burdened with anxiety for the numerous -children. How reluctant I was to do -this he could not realize; only fourteen, he had -impressed us with his fine courage and intelligence, -and it was hard to resist the young -pleader and to analyze with him the common-place -sordid facts. He had planned to work all -summer, to work at night, and he was hardly -going to eat at all. But his young mind -grasped, almost before I had finished, the ethical -importance of meeting his nearest duties. -He has met the family claims with generosity, -and has realized all our expectations for him -by acquiring through his own efforts education<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101"></a>[101]</span> -and culture; and he evinces an unusual sense of -civic responsibility.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp53" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus38.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Those who have had for many years continuous -acquaintance with the neighborhood have -countless occasions to rejoice at the good use -made of the education so ardently desired, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102"></a>[102]</span> -achieved in spite of what have seemed overwhelming -odds. New York City is richer for -the contributions made to its civic and educational -life by the young people who grew up -in and with the settlements, and who are not -infrequently ready crusaders in social causes. -A country gentleman one day lamented to me -that he had failed to keep in touch with what -he was pleased to call our humanitarian zeal, -and recalled his own early attempt to take an -East Side boy to his estate and employ him. -“He could not even learn to harness a horse!” -he said, with implied contempt of such unfathomable -inefficiency. Something he said of the -lad’s characteristics made it possible for me to -identify him, and I was able to add to that unsatisfactory -first chapter another, which told of -the boy’s continuance in school, of his success -as a teacher in one of the higher institutions -of learning, and of his remarkable intelligence -in certain vexed industrial problems.</p> - -<p>Such achievements are the more remarkable -because the restricted tenement home, where the -family life goes on in two or three rooms, -affords little opportunity for reading or study. -A vivid picture of its limitations was presented -by the boy who sought a quiet corner in a busy -settlement. “I can never study at home,” he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103"></a>[103]</span> -said, “because sister is always using the table -to wash the dishes.”</p> - -<p>Study-rooms were opened in the settlement in -1907, where the boys and girls find, not only -a quiet, restful place in which to do their work, -but also the needed “coaching.” The school -work is supplemented by illuminating bulletins -on current topics, and the young student is provided -with the aid which in other conditions is -given by parents or older brothers and sisters. -Such study-rooms are now maintained by the -Board of Education in numerous schools of the -city,—“Thanks to the example set by the settlement,” -the superintendent of the New York -school system reported.</p> - -<p>The settlement children are given instruction -in the selection of books before they are old -enough to take out their cards in the public -libraries. Once a week, on Friday afternoon, -when there are no lessons to be prepared, our -study-room is reserved for these smallest -readers. The books are selected with reference -to their tastes and attainments, and fairy tales -are on the shelves in great numbers. Of course, -no settlement could entirely satisfy the insatiable -desire for these.</p> - -<p>One day when the room was being used for -study purposes a wee neighbor sauntered in and -said to the custodian, “Please, I’d like a fairy<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104"></a>[104]</span> -tale.” Although reminded that these books -were not given out excepting on the special -day, the child lingered. She saw a boy’s request -for “The Life of Alexander Hamilton” -and a girl’s wish for “The Life of Joan of -Arc” complied with. Evidently there was a -way to get one’s heart’s desire. The child went -out, reappeared in a few moments, and with an -air of confidence again addressed the librarian, -this time with, “<i>Please, I’d like the life of a -giant</i>.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus39.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>It is easy to excite sympathy in our neighborhood -for people deprived of books and learning. -One year I accompanied a party of Northern -people to the Southern Educational Conference. -We were all much stirred by the appeal of -an itinerant Southern minister who told how<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105"></a>[105]</span> -the poor white natives traveled miles over -the mountains to hear books read. He pictured -vividly the deprivation of his neighbors, who -had no access to libraries of any kind. When I -returned to the settlement and related the story -to the young people in the clubs, without suggestion -on my part they eagerly voted to send -the minister books to form a library; and for -two years or more, until the Southerner wrote -that he had sufficient for his purpose, the clubs -purchased from their several funds one book -each month, suited to different ages and tastes, -according to their own excellent discrimination.</p> - -<p class="tb">The first public school established in New -York City (Number 1) is on Henry Street. -Number 2 is a short distance from it, on the -same street, and Number 147 is at our corner. -Between their sites are several semi-public and -private educational institutions, and from -School No. 1 to School No. 147 the distance is -not more than three-quarters of a mile.</p> - -<p>It is not unnatural, therefore, that the school -should loom large in our consciousness of the -life of the child. The settlement at no time -would, even if it could, usurp the place of -school or home. It seeks to work with both -or to supplement either. The fact that it is<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106"></a>[106]</span> -flexible and is not committed to any fixed programme -gives opportunity for experimentation -not possible in a rigid system, and the results -of these experiments must have affected school -methods, at least in New York City.</p> - -<div class="figleft illowp100" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus40.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Intelligent social workers seize opportunities -for observation, and almost unconsciously develop -methods to meet needs. They see conditions -as they are, and become critical of systems -as they act and react upon the child or fail to -reach him at all. They reverse the method of -the school teacher, who approaches the child -with preconceived theories and a determination -to work them out. Where the school fails, it -appears to the social workers to do so because -it makes education a thing apart,—because it -separates its work from all that makes up the -child’s life outside the classroom. Great emphasis -is now laid upon the oversight of the -physical condition of children from the time of -their birth through school life; but the suggestion<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107"></a>[107]</span> -of this extension of socialized parental control -did not emanate from those within the -school system.</p> - -<div class="figright illowp50" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus41.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Cooking has been taught in the public schools -for many years, and the instruction is of great -value to those who are admitted -to the classes; but -appropriations have never -been sufficient to meet all -the requirements, and the -teaching is given in grades -already depleted by the -girls who have gone to -work, and who will perhaps -never again have -leisure or inclination to -learn how to prepare meals for husband and -children,—the most important business in life -for most women.</p> - -<p>The laboratory method employed in the -schools never seemed to us sufficiently related -to the home conditions of vast numbers of the -city’s population; and, therefore, when the settlement -undertook, according to its theory, to -supplement the girls’ education, all the essentials -of our own housekeeping—stove, refrigerator, -bedrooms, and so on—were utilized. But -neither were single bedrooms and rooms set -apart for distinct purposes entirely satisfactory<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108"></a>[108]</span> -in teaching domestic procedure to the average -neighbor; and the leader finally developed out -of her knowledge of their home conditions the -admirable system of “Housekeeping Centers” -now sustained and administered by a committee -of men and women on which the settlement -has representation.</p> - -<p>A flat was rented in a typical Henry Street -tenement. Intelligence and taste were exercised -in equipping it inexpensively and with -furniture that required the least possible labor -to keep it free from dirt and vermin. Classes -were formed to teach housekeeping in its every -detail, using nothing which the people themselves -could not procure,—a tiny bathroom, a -gas stove, no “model” tubs, but such as the -landlord provided for washing. Cleaning, disinfecting, -actual purchasing of supplies in the -shops of the neighborhood, household accounts, -nursing, all the elements of homekeeping, were -systematically taught. The first winter that the -center was opened the entire membership of a -class consisted of girls engaged to be married,—clerks, -stenographers, teachers; none were -prepared and all were eager to have the homes -which they were about to establish better organized -and more intelligently conducted than -those from which they had come. When -one young woman announced her betrothal,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109"></a>[109]</span> -she added, “And I am fully prepared because -I have been through the Housekeeping -Center.”</p> - -<p>Other centers have been established by the -committee in different parts of the city. Dr. -Maxwell, Superintendent of Schools, always -sympathetic and ready to fit instruction to the -pupils’ needs, has encouraged the identification -of these housekeeping centers with the schools. -Whenever an enterprising principal desires it, -the teachers of the nearby housekeeping center -are made a part of the school system. Perhaps -we may some day see one attached to every -public school; and I am inclined to believe that, -when institutions of higher learning fully -realize that education is preparation for life, -they too will wonder if the young women graduates -of their colleges should not, like our -little girl neighbors, be fitted to meet their great -home-making responsibilities.</p> - -<p>Out of the experience of the originator of -the housekeeping centers “Penny Lunches” -for the public schools have been inaugurated, -and provide a hot noonday meal for children. -The committee now controlling this experiment -has inquired into food values, physical effects -on children, relation to school attendance, and -so on.</p> - -<p>The schools in a great city have an additional<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110"></a>[110]</span> -responsibility, as many of the pupils are deprived -of home training because of extreme poverty -or the absence of the mother at work, and -a measure of failure may be traced to an imperfect -realization of the conditions under -which pupils live, or to a lack of training on -the part of some of the teachers. The Home-and-School -Visitor, whose duties are indicated -in her title, is charged to bring the two together, -that each may help the other; but there -are few visitors as yet, and the effect upon -the great number of pupils in attendance -(over 800,000 in New York) is obviously -limited.</p> - -<p>We are not always mindful of the fact that -children in normal homes get education apart -from formal lessons and instruction. Sitting -down to a table at definite hours, to eat food -properly served, is training, and so is the orderly -organization of the home, of which the -child so soon becomes a conscious part. There -is direction toward control in the provision for -privacy, beginning with the sequestered nursery -life. The exchange of letters, which begins -with most children at a very early age, the -conversation of their elders, familiarity with -telegrams and telephones, and with the incidents -of travel, stimulate their intelligence, resourcefulness, -and self-reliance.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111"></a>[111]</span></p> - -<div class="figleft illowp50" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus42.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Contrast this regulated domestic life with the -experience of children—a large number in New -York—who may never have been seated around -a table in an orderly manner, at a given -time, for a family meal. Where the family is -large and the rooms small, -and those employed return -at irregular hours, its members -must be fed at different -times. It is not uncommon -in a neighborhood such as -ours to see the mother lean -out of the fourth- or fifth-story -window and throw -down the bread-and-butter -luncheon to the little child -waiting on the sidewalk below—sometimes to -save him the exertion of climbing the stairs, -sometimes because of insufficient time. The -children whose mothers work all day and who -are locked out during their absence are expected -to shift for themselves, and may -as often be given too much as too little money -to appease their hunger. Having no more discretion -in the choice of food than other children -of their age, they become an easy prey -for the peddlers of unwholesome foods and candies -(often with gambling devices attached) -who prowl outside the school limits.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112"></a>[112]</span></p> - -<div class="figright illowp62" style="max-width: 15.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus43.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Even those students who are better placed -economically, or who have the perseverance to -go on into the higher schools, may have had -no experience but that of a disorganized tenement -home. Emil was an instance of this. He -supported himself while -attending school by -teaching immigrants at -night. We invited him -to a party at one of our -country places and instructed -him to call in -the morning for his -railroad ticket. He -failed to appear until -long after the appointed -hour, not realizing that trains leave on schedule -time. Apparently he had never consulted -a time-table or taken a journey except with -a fresh-air party conducted by someone else. -Next morning he returned the ticket, and -I learned that he had not reached the farm -because he did not know the way to it from -the station. Somewhat disconcerted to learn -that he had taken fruitlessly a trip of something -over an hour’s duration, I asked why he -had not telephoned to the farm for directions. -This seventeen-year-old boy, in his third year -in the high school, had not thought of a telephone<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113"></a>[113]</span> -in the country. Moreover, he had never -used one anywhere.</p> - -<p>Happily, there is a growing realization among -educators of the necessity of relating the school -more closely to the children’s future, and it is -not an accident that one of the widely known -authorities on vocational guidance has had long -experience in settlements.<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p> - -<p class="tb">A friend has recently given to me the letters -which I wrote regularly to her family during -the first two years of my life on the East -Side. I had almost forgotten, until these letters -recalled it to me, how often Miss Brewster -and I mourned over the boys and girls who -were not in school, and over those who had -already gone to work without any education. -Almost everyone has had knowledge at some -time of the chagrin felt by people who cannot -read or write. One intelligent woman of my -acquaintance, born in New York State, ingeniously -succeeded for many years in keeping the -fact of her illiteracy secret from the people with -whom she lived on terms of intimacy, buying -the newspaper daily and making a pretense of -reading it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114"></a>[114]</span></p> - -<p>We had naïvely assumed that elementary -education was given to all, and were appalled -to find entire families unable to read or write, -even though some of the children had been -born in America. The letters remind me, too, -of the efforts we made to get the children we -encountered into school,—day school or night -school, public or private,—and how many different -people reacted to our appeals. The Department -of Health, to facilitate our efforts, -supplied us with virus points and authority to -vaccinate, since no unvaccinated child could be -admitted to school. We gave such publicity as -was in our power to the conditions we found, -not disdaining to stir emotionally by our -“stories” when dry and impersonal statistics -failed to impress.</p> - -<p>Since those days, New York City has established -a school census and has almost perfected -a policy whereby all children are brought into -school; but throughout the state there are communities -where the compulsory education law -is disregarded. The Federal Census of 1910 -shows in this Empire State, in the counties -(Franklin and Clinton) inhabited by the native-born, -illiteracy far in excess of that in the counties -where the foreign-born congregate.</p> - -<p>Wonderful advance has been made within -two decades in the conception of municipal<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115"></a>[115]</span> -responsibility for giving schooling to all children. -Now the blind, the deaf, the cripples, and the -mentally defective are included among those -who have the right to education. When in -1893 I climbed the stairs in a Monroe Street -tenement in answer to a call to a sick child, I -found Annie F⸺ lying on a tumbled bed, -rigid in the braces which encased her from -head to feet. All about her white goods were -being manufactured, and five machines were -whirring in the room. She had been dismissed -from the hospital as incurable, and her mother -carried her at intervals to an uptown orthopedic -dispensary. A pitiful, emaciated little -creature! The sweatshop was transfigured for -Annie when we put pretty white curtains at -the window upon which she gazed, hung up a -bird-cage, and placed a window-box full of -growing plants for her to look at during the -long days. Then, realizing that she might live -many years and would need, even more than -other children, the joys that come from books, -we found a young woman who was willing to -go to her bedside and teach her.</p> - -<p>Nowadays children crippled as Annie was -may be taken to school daily, under the supervision -of a qualified nurse, in a van that calls -for them and brings them home. One of these -schools, established by intelligent philanthropists,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116"></a>[116]</span> -is on Henry Street; the instructors are engaged -and paid by the Department of Education. -There are also classes in different sections -of the city equipped for the special needs of -cripples, to give them industrial training which -will provide for their future happiness and economic -independence.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117"></a>[117]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE HANDICAPPED CHILD</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>Educators have only recently realized the existence -of large numbers of pupils within the -schools who are unequal to the routine class-work -because of mental defects. It was one of -our settlement residents, a teacher in a Henry -Street school, who first startled us into serious -consideration of these children. In the year -1899 she brought to us from time to time reports -of a colleague, Elizabeth Farrell, whose -attention was fixed upon the “poor things” -unable to keep up with the grade. She had, our -resident declared, “ideas” about them. We -sought acquaintance with her, and we felt it a -privilege to learn to know the noble enthusiasm -of this young woman for those pupils who, to -teachers, must always seem the least hopeful.</p> - -<p>The Board of Education permitted her to -form the first class for ungraded pupils, in -School Number 1, in 1900, and the settlement -gladly helped develop her theory of separate -classes and special instruction for the defectives, -not alone for their sakes, but to relieve -the normal classes which their presence retarded.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118"></a>[118]</span> -We provided equipment not yet on the -School Board’s requisition list, obtained permission -for her to attend children’s clinics, secured -treatment for the children, and, finally, and not -least important, made every effort to interest -members of the School -Board and the public -generally in this class of -children.</p> - -<div class="figleft illowp62" style="max-width: 15.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus44.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>The plan included the -provision of a luncheon. -For this we purchased -tables, paper napkins, -and dishes. The children -brought from home -bread and butter, and a -penny for a glass of milk, and an alert principal -made practical the cooking lessons given to -the older girls in the school by having them -prepare the main dish of the pupils’ luncheon—incidentally -the first to be provided in the -grade schools. Occasionally the approval of -the families would be expressed in extra donations, -and in the beginning this sometimes -took the form of a bottle of beer. Every day -one pupil was permitted to invite an adult -member of his family to the luncheon, which led -naturally to an exchange of visits between -members of the family and the teacher.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119"></a>[119]</span></p> - -<p>Among the pupils in this first class was Tony, -a Neapolitan, impossible in the grade class because -of emotional outbursts called “bad temper,” -and an incorrigible truant. When defects -of vision were corrected the outbursts became -less frequent, and manual work disclosed a -latent power of application and stimulated a -willingness to attend -school. Tony is now a -bricklayer, a member of -the union in good standing, -and last spring he -and his father bought a -house in Brooklyn.</p> - -<div class="figright illowp50" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus45.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Another was Katie. -Spinal meningitis when -she was very young had -left her with imperfect -mental powers. Careful -examination disclosed impaired control, particularly -of the groups of smaller muscles. She -has never learned to read, but has developed -skill in clay-modeling, and sews and embroiders -very well. She makes her clothes and is a -cheerful helper to her mother in the work -about the house. Last Christmas she sent to -the school warm undergarments which she had -made, to be given to the children who needed -them. Her intelligent father feels that but<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120"></a>[120]</span> -for the discriminating instruction in the ungraded -class her powers would have progressively -deteriorated and Katie “would be in -darkness.”</p> - -<p>The teacher who thus first fixed our attention -upon these defective children has long been -a member of the settlement family. She has -carried us with her in her zeal for them, and -we have come to see that it is because the -public conscience has been sluggish that means -and methods have not been more speedily devised -toward an intelligent solution of this -serious social problem.</p> - -<p>From the small beginnings of the experimental -class in Henry Street a separate department -in the public schools was created in 1908, -and this year (1915) there are 3,000 children -throughout the city under the care of specially -trained teachers who have liberty to adapt the -school work to the children’s peculiar needs. -All these ungraded classes are under the direction -of Miss Farrell.</p> - -<p>Looking back upon the struggles to win formal -recognition of the existence of these children, -who now so much engage the attention -of educators and scientists, we realize that our -colleague’s devotion to them, her power to excite -enthusiasm in us, and her understanding of -the social implications of their existence, came<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_121"></a>[121]</span> -from a deep-lying principle that every human -being, even the least lovely, merits respectful -consideration of his rights and his personality.</p> - -<p>Much is required of the public school teachers, -and many of them rise to every demand; but -naturally, in so great a number, there are some -who do not recognize that theirs is the responsibility -for discovering the children who are not -normal. Harry sits on our doorsteps almost -every day, ready to run errands, and harmless -as yet. Obviously defective, a “pronounced -moron,” he was promoted from class to class, -and when one of his settlement friends called -upon the teacher to discuss Harry’s special -needs, the teacher, somewhat contemptuous of -our anxiety, observed that “all that Harry -needed was a whipping.”</p> - -<p>From one-half of one per cent. to two per -cent. of children of school age are, it is estimated, -in need of special instruction because of -the quality or the imperfect functioning of their -mental powers. The public school has the -power, and should exercise it, to bring within -its walls all the children physically and mentally -competent to attend it. If children are -under intelligent observation, departures from -the normal can in many instances be recognized -in time for training and education according to -the particular need. Long-continued observation<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_122"></a>[122]</span> -and record of the child are essential to intelligent -treatment of abnormalities concerning -which there is even -now very little accurate -information. -Cumulative experience -and data, such -as can be obtained -only through the -compulsory attendance -at school of the -multitudes of children -of this type, -will finally give a -basis for scientific -and humanitarian action -regarding them.</p> - -<div class="figleft illowp37" style="max-width: 15.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus46.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Up to a certain period -the child’s helplessness -demands -that every opportunity -for development -be given him, -but that is not the whole of society’s responsibility. -The time comes when the child’s own -interests and those of the community demand -the wisest, least selfish, and most statesmanlike -action. Society must state in definite terms -its right to be protected from the hopelessly<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123"></a>[123]</span> -defective and the moral pervert, wherever -found. This constitutes the real problem of -the abnormal. At the adolescent period those -unfit for parenthood should be guarded—girls -and boys—and society should be vested with -authority and power to accomplish segregation, -the conditions of which should attract and not -repel.</p> - -<p>Because so much needs to be said upon it, if -anything is said at all, I am loath to touch -upon the one great obstacle to the effective -use of all the intelligence and the resources -available for the well-being of these children, -the most baffling impediment to their and the -community’s protection, namely, the supreme -authority of parenthood, be it never so inefficient, -avaricious, or even immoral.</p> - -<p class="tb">The breaking up of the family because of -poverty, through the death or disappearance of -the wage-earner, was, until comparatively recent -years, generally accepted as inevitable.</p> - -<p>In the first winter of our residence on the -East Side we took care of Mr. S⸺, who was -in an advanced stage of phthisis; and we daily -admired the wonderful ability of his wife, who -kept the home dignified while she sewed on -wrappers, nursed her husband, and allowed<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124"></a>[124]</span> -nothing to interfere with the children’s daily attendance -at school. When her husband died it -seemed the most natural thing in the world -to help her to realize her own wishes and to -approve her good judgment in desiring to keep -the family together. The orphan asylum would -doubtless have taken the children from her, leaving -her childless as well as widowed, and with -no counterbalancing advantage for the children -to lighten her double woe. A large-minded -lover of children, who gave his money to -orphans as well as to orphanages, readily agreed -to give the mother a monthly allowance until -the eldest son could legally go to work. It was -our first “widow’s pension.”</p> - -<p>Our hopes in this particular case have been -more than realized. The eldest boy, it is true, -has not achieved any notable place in the community; -but his sisters are teachers and most -desirable elements in the public school system -of the city,—living testimony to the worth of -the mother’s character.</p> - -<p>In no instance where we have prevented the -disintegration of the family because of poverty -have we had reason to regret our decision. Of -course, the ability of the mother to maintain a -standard in the home and control the children -is a necessary qualification in any general recommendation -for this treatment of the widow and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_125"></a>[125]</span> -orphan, and competent supervision is essential -to insure the maintenance of these conditions.</p> - -<div class="figright illowp62" style="max-width: 15.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus47.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>At the famous White House Conference on -Children, held at the invitation of President -Roosevelt, there was practical unanimity on -the part of the experts -who gathered -there that institutional -life was undesirable -and that wherever possible -family life should -be maintained. Testimony -as to this came -from many sources; -and keeping the family -together, or boarding -the orphan with a normal family when -adoption could not be arranged, became the -dominant note of the conference.</p> - -<p>The children, in this as in many other instances, -led us into searching thought many -years ago. Forlorn little Joseph had called upon -me with a crumpled note which he reluctantly -dragged from a pocket. It was from the admitting -agent of an orphanage, explaining that -Joseph could not be taken into the institution -until his head was “cured”; and it gave some -details regarding the family, the worthiness of -the mother, and her exceeding poverty. The<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_126"></a>[126]</span> -agent hoped that I might relieve her by expediting -Joseph’s admission.</p> - -<p>I tried to make the child’s daily visit to me -interesting. The treatment was not painful, but -the end of each visit—he came with patient regularity -every day—left me as dolorous as himself. -One day I tried, by promise of a present -or of any treat he fancied, to bring out some -expression of youthful spirit—all unavailingly. -“But you must wish for something,” I urged; -“I never knew a boy who didn’t.” For the -first time the silent little lad showed enthusiasm. -“I wish you wouldn’t cure my head, so I -needn’t go to the orphan asylum.”</p> - -<p>Unscrupulous parents, I am well aware, often -try to shift the responsibility for their children -upon public institutions, but there are many -who share Joseph’s aversion to the institutional -life, and we early recognized that the dislike -is based upon a sound instinct and that a poor -home might have compensating advantages -compared with the well-equipped institution.</p> - -<p>There have been great changes in institutional -methods since I first had knowledge of them, -and much ingenuity has been shown in devising -means to encourage the development of individuality -and initiative among the orphans. The -cottage plan has been introduced in some institutions -to modify the abnormal life of large<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_127"></a>[127]</span> -congregations of children. But at best the life -is artificial, and the children lose inestimably -through not having day by day the experiences -of normal existence. Valuable knowledge is -lost because the child does not learn from experience -the connection between the cost of necessities -and the labor necessary to earn them. -It was somewhat pathetic, at another conference -on child-saving, to hear one of the speakers -explain that he tried to meet this need by having -the examples in arithmetic relate to the cost -of food and household expenditures.</p> - -<p>The lack of a normal emotional outlet is of -consequence, and as a result astute physiognomists -often recognize what they term the -“institution look.” Maggie, an intelligent girl, -who has since given abundant evidence of spontaneity -and spirit, spent a short time in an excellent -orphanage. She told me the other day, -and wept as she told it, that she had met no -unkindness there, but remembered with horror -that when they arose in the morning the “orphans” -waited to be told what to do; and -that feeling was upon her every hour of the -day. In fact, Maggie had stirred me to make -arrangements to take her out of the institution -because, when I brought her for a visit to the -settlement, she stood at the window the entire -afternoon, wistfully watching the children play<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_128"></a>[128]</span> -in our back yard, and not joining them because -no one had told her that she might.</p> - -<p>One is reluctant to speak only of the disadvantages -of institutional life, for there are -many children rescued from unfortunate family -conditions who testify to the good care they -received, and who, in after life, look back upon -the orphanage as the only home they have -known. For some children, doubtless, such care -will continue to be necessary, but the conservative -and rigid administration can be softened, -and the management and their charges delivered -out of the rut into which they have fallen, and -from the tyranny of rules and customs which -have no better warrant than that they have -always existed.</p> - -<p>Perhaps these illustrations are not too insignificant -to record. Happening to pass -through a room in an asylum when the dentist -was paying his monthly visit, I saw a fine-looking -young lad about to have a sound front -tooth extracted because he complained of toothache. -No provision had been made for anything -but the extraction of teeth. An offer to -have the boy given proper treatment outside -the institution was not accepted, but it needed -no more than this to insure better dentistry in -his case and in the institution in future. The -reports stated that corporal punishment was not<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_129"></a>[129]</span> -administered. When a little homesick lad displayed -his hands, swollen from paddling, a request -for an investigation, and that I be privileged -to hear the inquiry, put a stop, and I am -assured a permanent one, to this form of discipline. -These are the more obvious disadvantages -of institutional life for the child. The -more subtle and dangerous are the curbing of -initiative and the belittling of personality.</p> - -<p>An intelligent observer of the effects of institution -life on boys, a Roman Catholic priest, -established a temporary home in New York to -which they could come on their release from the -institution until they found employment and -suitable places to board. His insight was shown -by his provision for the boys during their brief -sojourn with him of a formal table service, and -weekly dances to which girls whom he knew -were invited. As he astutely observed, the boys -often went into common society, or society -which made no demands, because, from their -lack of experience, they felt ill at ease in a circle -where any conventions were observed.</p> - -<p>Where life goes by rule there is little spontaneous -action or conversation, but the children -occasionally give clews to their passion for -personal relationships. In an institution which -I knew the children were allowed to write once -a month to their friends. More than one child<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_130"></a>[130]</span> -without family ties took that opportunity to -write letters to an imaginary mother, to send -messages of affection to imaginary brothers and -sisters, and to ask for personal gifts. They -knew, of course, that the letters would never -leave the institution.</p> - -<p>An unusual instance of intense longing for -family life and the desire to “belong” to someone -was given by Tillie, who had lived all her -life in an orphan asylum. Sometimes she -dreamed of her mother, and often asked where -she was. When she was ten years old the wife -of the superintendent told her that her mother -had brought her to the asylum, but that all she -could remember about her was that she had -red hair. From that day the child’s desire to -re-establish relations with her mother never -flagged. In the files of the asylum a letter was -discovered from an overseer of the poor in an -upstate town, saying that the woman had wandered -there. At Tillie’s urgent request he was -written to again, and after a search on his -part it was learned that she had been declared -insane and taken to the hospital at Rochester. -The very day that Tillie was released from the -orphan asylum she secured money for the trip -and went to Rochester. The officials of the hospital -received her kindly and took her into the -ward where, although she had no memory of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_131"></a>[131]</span> -having seen her, she identified her mother—doubtless -by the color of her hair. The mother, -alas, did not recognize her. Two years later -the girl revisited the hospital and found her -mother enjoying an interval of memory. Tillie -told me that she learned “two important -things”—that she had had a brother and my -name. How I was connected with the fortunes -of the family the poor, bewildered woman could -not explain, and I have no recollection of her. -Tillie followed these clews, as she has every -other. She has learned that the brother was -sent West with orphans from an Eastern institution, -and that he has joined the army. The -devoted girl is making every effort to establish -a home to which she can bring the mother -and brother, utterly regardless of the burden -it will place on her young shoulders.</p> - -<p>We must turn to the younger countries for -testimony as to the wisdom of the non-institutional -care of dependent children. In Australia -the plan for many years in all the provinces -has been to care for them in homes, and in -Queensland and New South Wales the laws -permit the children to be boarded out to their -own mothers. It is encouraging to note the -increasing number of responsible people in -America who are ready to adopt children. It -may not be possible to find a sufficient number<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_132"></a>[132]</span> -of suitable homes to provide for all who -are dependent; but once the policy of decentralization -is established, other methods will -be evolved to avoid large congregations of boys -and girls. Two of my colleagues and I have -found much happiness -in assuming responsibility -for eight -children. Quite apart -from our own pleasure -in taking to ourselves -these “nieces” and -“nephews,” we believe -that we shall be -able to demonstrate -convincingly the practicability -of establishing -small groups of -children, without ties -of their own, as a family -unit. Our children -live the year round in -our country home, and are identified with the -life of the community; and we hope to provide -opportunity for the development of their individual -tastes and aptitudes.</p> - -<div class="figleft illowp43" style="max-width: 10.9375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus48.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">On the Farm</p> -</div> - -<p>Education and the child is a theme of widest -social significance. To the age-old appeal that -the child’s dependence makes upon the affections<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_133"></a>[133]</span> -has been added a conviction of the necessity -for a guarded and trained childhood, that -better men and women may be developed. It -is a modern note in patriotism and civic responsibility, -which impels those who are -brought in contact with the children of the -poor to protect them from premature burdens, -to prolong their childhood and the period of -growth. Biologists bring suggestive and illuminating -analogies, but when one has lived many -years in a neighborhood such as ours the children -themselves tell the story. We know that -physical well-being in later life is largely dependent -upon early care, that only the exceptional -boys and girls can escape the unwholesome -effects of premature labor, and that lack -of training is responsible for the enormous proportion -of unskilled and unemployable among -the workers.</p> - -<p>The stronghold of our democracy is the public -school. This conviction lies deep in the -hearts of those social enthusiasts who would -keep the school free from the demoralization -of cant and impure politics, and restore it to -the people, a shrine for education, a center for -public uses.</p> - -<p>The young members of the settlement clubs -hear this doctrine preached not infrequently. -Last June the City Superintendent, addressing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_134"></a>[134]</span> -a class graduating from the normal school, -made an appeal for idealism in their work. He -spoke of the possibilities in their profession for -far-reaching social service, and named as one -who exemplified his theme the principal of -a great city school, once one of our settlement -boys.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus49.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_135"></a>[135]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII<br /> -<span class="smaller">CHILDREN WHO WORK</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>Bessie has had eight “jobs” in six months. -Obviously under sixteen, she has had to produce -her “working papers” before she could -be taken on. The fact that she has met the -requirements necessary to obtain the papers, -and that her employer has demanded them, is -evidence of the advance made in New York -State since we first became acquainted with the -children of the poor. Bessie has had to prove -by birth certificate or other documentary evidence -that she is really fourteen, has had to -submit to a simple test in English and arithmetic, -present proof of at least 130 days’ school -attendance in the year before leaving, and, -after examination by a medical officer, has had -to be declared physically fit to enter shop or -factory.</p> - -<p>No longer could Annie, the cobbler’s daughter, -by unchallenged perjury obtain the state -sanction to her premature employment. Gone -are the easy days when Francesca’s father, defying -school mandates, openly offered his little<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_136"></a>[136]</span> -ones in the labor market. Yet we are far from -satisfied. Bessie, though she meets the requirements -of the law, goes out wholly unprepared -for self-support; she is of no industrial value, -and is easily demoralized by the conviction of -her unimportance to her “boss,” certain that -her casual employment and dismissal have -hardly been noted, save as she herself has been -affected by the pay envelope. Her industrial -experience is no surprise to her settlement -friends, for she is a type of the boys and girls -who, twice a year, swarm out of the school and -find their way to the Department of Health -to obtain working papers. Bessie’s father is a -phthisis case; her mother, the chief wage-earner, -an example of devotion and industry. The -girl has been a fairly good student and dutiful -in the home, where for several years she has -scrubbed the floors and “looked after” the children -in her mother’s absence.</p> - -<p>Tommy also appeared at the office with his -credentials and successfully passed all the tests, -until the scale showed him suspiciously weighty -for his appearance. Inquiry as to what bulged -one of his pockets disclosed the fact that he -had a piece of lead there. He had been told -that he probably would not weigh enough to -pass the doctor. Talking the matter over with -Mrs. Sanderson, I learned that the immediate<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_137"></a>[137]</span> -reason for taking Tommy out of school was -his need of a pair of shoes. The mother was -not insensitive to his pinched appearance. A -few days later Tommy was taken to visit our -children at the farm, and it was pleasant to -see that the natural boy had not been crushed. -He devoured the most juvenile story-books and -was “crazy” about the sledding. The self-respecting -mother was not injured in her pride -of independence by a little necessary aid carefully -given; and though I have not seen Tommy -recently, I am sure that neither he nor his employer -lost anything because of the better physical -condition in which he entered work after -his happy winter at the farm.</p> - -<p>This attempt to cheat the law by the very -children for whose protection it was designed, -and the occasional disregard of the purposes of -the enactments by enforcing officials, suggest -Alice’s perplexity when she encountered the -topsy-turvy Wonderland.</p> - -<p>It was about twelve years ago that a group -of settlement people in New York gathered to -consider the advisability of organizing public -sentiment against the exploitation of child -workers. The New York Child Labor Committee -thereupon came into existence, under -the chairmanship of the then head of the University -Settlement, and that committee has<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_138"></a>[138]</span> -since been steadily engaged in advancing standards -of conditions under which children may -work. Through legislative enactment and publicity -it has endeavored to form public opinion -on those socially constructive principles inherent -in the conservation of children.</p> - -<p>Of necessity child labor laws approach the -problem from the negative side of prohibition. -To meet the problem positively, the Henry -Street Settlement established in 1908 a definite -system of “scholarships” for children from -fourteen to sixteen, to give training during what -have been termed the “two wasted years” to as -many as its funds permitted.</p> - -<p>A committee of administration receives the -applications which come from all parts of the -boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx, and -preference is given to those children of widows -or disabled fathers whose need seems greatest. -Careful inquiry is made by the capable secretary -to discover natural inclinations or aptitudes, -and these are used as guides in determining -the character of the instruction to be -given. Three dollars a week—somewhat less -than the sum the children might have been -earning—is given weekly for two years, during -which time they are under continual supervision -at home, at school, and through regular -visits to the settlement. They are looked after<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_139"></a>[139]</span> -physically, provided with occasional recreation, -and, in the summer time, whenever possible, a -vacation in the country. The committee keeps -in close touch with the educational agencies -throughout the city, gathers knowledge of the -trades that give opportunity for advancement, -and, to aid teachers, settlement workers, parents, -and children, publishes from time to time -a directory of vocational resources in the -city.<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></p> - -<p>Approval of this endowment for future efficiency -comes from many sources, but no encouragement -has been greater than the fact -that, while the plan was still in its experimental -stage, my own first boys’ club, the members of -which had now grown to manhood, celebrated -their fifteenth anniversary by contributing -three scholarships; and that the Women’s -Club, whose members feel most painfully the -disadvantage of the small wage of the unskilled, -have given from their club treasury or by -voluntary assessment for this help to the boys -and girls.</p> - -<p>The children who show talent and those<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_140"></a>[140]</span> -whose immaturity or poverty of intellect makes -their early venture into the world more -pitiful, have equal claim upon these scholarships.</p> - -<p>Pippa was one of the latter. She was scorned -at home for obvious slowness of wit and “bad -eyes”; her mother deplored the fact that there -was nothing for her to do but “getta married.” -Pippa’s club leader’s reports were equally -discouraging, save for the fact that she had -shown some dexterity in the sewing class. At -the time when she would have begun her patrol -of the streets, looking for signs of “Girls -Wanted,” the offer of a scholarship prevailed -with the mother, and she was given one year’s -further education in a trade school. After a -conference between the teachers and her settlement -friends, sample-mounting was decided -upon as best suited to Pippa’s capacities. She -has done well with the training, and is now -looked up to as the one wage-earner in the -family who is regularly employed.</p> - -<p>One of the accompanying charts compares -the wage-earning capacity of the boys and girls -who have had the advantage of these scholarships -with that of an equal number of untrained -young people whose careers are known -through their industrial placement by perhaps -the most careful juvenile employment agency -in the city.<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> The deductions that we made from -the experience of the Henry Street children -were corroborated by an inquiry made by one -of our residents into the industrial history of -one thousand children who had applied for -working papers at the Department of Health. -The employment-record chart was compiled -from data obtained in that inquiry.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_141"></a>[141]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus50.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">Comparative Weekly Wages of 72 Children Who Have Worked Four Years without Previous -Training, from the Record of ⸺ Employment Bureau; and of Scholarship -Children Who Have Had Two Years of Vocational Training.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_142"></a>[142]</span></p> - -<p>Our connections in the city enable us occasionally -to coax opportunities for those boys -and girls for whom experience in the shop itself -would seem best. Jimmy had lost a leg “hooking -on the truck,” and his mother supposed that -“such things happen when you have to lock -them out all day.” In the whittling class the -lad showed dexterity with the sloyd knife, and -he was thereupon given special privileges in the -carpentry and carving classes of the settlement. -When he reached working age, one of our -friends, a distinguished patron of a high-grade<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_143"></a>[143]</span> -decorator, induced the latter to give the boy -a chance. Misgivings as to the permanency of -his tenure of the place were allayed when -Jimmy, aglow with enthusiasm over his work, -brought a beautifully carved mahogany box and -told of the help the skilled men in the shop -were giving him. On the whole, he concluded, -“a fellow with one leg” had advantages over -other cabinetmakers; “he could get into so -many more tight places and corners than with -two.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus51.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">The Typical Employment Record of One Child between the Ages -of 14 and 16.</p> -</div> - -<p>Bessie and Jimmy and Pippa and Esther and -their little comrades stir us to contribute our -human documents to the propaganda instituted -in behalf of children. In this, as in other experiments -at the settlement, we do not believe<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_144"></a>[144]</span> -that what we offer is of great consequence unless -the demonstrations we make and the experience -we gain are applicable to the problems -of the community. On no other single interest -do the members of our settlement meet with -such unanimity. Years of concern about individual -children might in any case have brought -this about, but irresistible has been the influence -exercised by Mrs. Florence Kelley, now -and for many years a member of the settlement -family. She has long consecrated her energies -to securing protective legislation throughout -the country for children compelled to labor and, -with the late Edgar Gardner Murphy, of Alabama, -suggested the creation of the National -Child Labor Committee. In its ten years’ existence -it has affected legislation in forty-seven -states, which have enacted new or improved -child labor laws. On this and on the New -York State Committee Mrs. Kelley and I have -served since their creation.</p> - -<p>Though much has been accomplished during -this decade, the field is immensely larger than -was supposed, and forces inimical to reform, not -reckoned with at first, have been encountered. -Despite this opposition, however, we believe -that the abolition of child labor abuses in -America is not very far off.</p> - -<p>In Pennsylvania, within a very few years,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_145"></a>[145]</span> -insistence upon satisfactory proof of age was -strenuously opposed. Officials who should have -been working in harmony with the committee -persisted in declaring that the parent’s affidavit, -long before discarded in New York -State, was sufficient evidence, despite the fact -that coroners’ inquests after mine disasters -showed child workers of ten and eleven years. -The Southern mill children, the little cranberry-bog -workers, the oyster shuckers, and the boys -in glass factories and mines have shown that -this disregard of children is not peculiar to -any one section of the country, though Southern -states have been most tenacious of the -exemption of children of “dependent parents” -or “orphans” from working-paper requirements.</p> - -<p>In the archives at Washington much interesting -evidence lies buried in the unpublished -portions of reports of the federal investigation -into the work of women and children. The -need of this investigation was originally urged -by settlement people. One mill owner greeted -the government inspectors most cordially and, -to show his patriotism, ordered the flag to be -raised above the works. The raising of the -flag, as it afterwards transpired, was a signal to -the children employed in the mill to go home. -In the early days of child labor reform in New<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_146"></a>[146]</span> -York the children on Henry Street would -sometimes relate vividly their experience of -being suddenly whisked out of sight when the -approach of the factory inspector was signaled.</p> - -<p>It is perhaps unnecessary to mention the -obvious fact that the child worker is in competition -with the adult and drags down his -wages. At the Child Labor Conference held in -Washington in January, 1915, a manufacturer -in the textile industry cited the wages paid to -adults in certain operations in the mills as -fourteen cents per hour where there were prohibitive -child labor laws and eleven cents an -hour where there were none.</p> - -<p>The National Child Labor Committee now -asks Congress through a federal bill to outlaw -interstate traffic in goods produced by the -labor of children. Such a law would protect -the public-spirited employer who is now obliged -to compete in the market with men whose business -methods he condemns.</p> - -<p class="tb">Sammie and his brother sold papers in front -of one of the large hotels every night. The -more they shivered with cold, the greater the -harvest of pennies. No wonder that the white-faced -little boy stayed out long after his cold -had become serious. He himself asked for admission<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_147"></a>[147]</span> -to the hospital, and died there before -his absence was noted. After his death relatives -appeared, willing to aid according to their -small means, and the relief society increased -its stipend to his family. At any time during -his life this aid might have been forthcoming, -had not the public unthinkingly made his -sacrifice possible by the purchase of his papers.</p> - -<div class="figright illowp50" style="max-width: 15.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus52.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Opposition to regulating and limiting the -sale of papers by little boys on the streets is -hard to overcome. A juvenile literature of more -than thirty years ago glorified the -newsboy and his improbable financial and social -achievements, and interest in him was -heightened by a series of pictures by a popular -painter, wherein ragged youngsters of an -extraordinary cleanliness of face were portrayed -as newsboys and bootblacks. In opposition -to the charm of this presentation, the -practical reformer offers the photographs, taken -at midnight, of tiny lads asleep on gratings in -front of newspaper offices, waiting for the early<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_148"></a>[148]</span> -editions. He finds in street work the most -fruitful source of juvenile delinquency, with -newsboys heading the list.</p> - -<p>I am aware that at this point numerous -readers will recall instances of remarkable -achievements by the barefoot boy, the wide-awake -young news-seller. We too have known -the exceptional lad who has accomplished marvels -in the teeth of, sometimes because of, great -disadvantages; but after twenty years I, for -one, have no illusions as to the outcome for the -ordinary child.</p> - -<p>When the New York Child Labor Committee -secured the enactment of a law making it -mandatory for the schoolboy who desired to -sell papers to obtain the consent of his parents -before receiving the permissive badge from the -district school superintendent, we sent a visitor -from the settlement to the families of one hundred -who had expressed their intention to secure -the badge. Of these families over sixty -were opposed to the child’s selling papers on the -street. The boy wanted to “because the other -fellows did,” and the parents based their objections, -in most cases, on precisely those grounds -urged by social workers,—namely, that street -work led the boys into bad company, irregular -hours, gambling, and “waste of shoe leather.” -Some asserted that they received no money<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_149"></a>[149]</span> -from the children from the sale of the papers. -On the other hand, a committee of which I -was chairman, which made city-wide inquiry -into juvenile street work, found instances of -well-to-do parents who sent their little children -on the streets to sell papers, sometimes in violation -of the law.</p> - -<p>The three chief obstacles to progress in protection -of the children are the material interests -of the employers, many of whom still -believe that the child is a necessary instrument -of profit; a sentimental, unanalytical feeling of -kindness to the poor; and the attitude of officials -upon whom the enforcement of the law -depends, but who are often tempted by appeals -to thwart its humane purpose. A truant officer -of my acquaintance took upon himself discretionary -power to condone the absence of a -little child from school on the ground that the -child was employed and the widowed mother -poor. Himself a tender father, cherishing his -small son, I asked him if that was what he -would have me do in case he died and I found -his child at work. Oddly enough, he seemed -then to realize for the first time that those who -were battling for school attendance for the -children of the poor and prevention of their -premature employment, even though the widow -and child might have to receive financial aid,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150"></a>[150]</span> -were trying to take, in part, the place of the -dead father.</p> - -<p>To meet cases where enforcement of the new -standards of the law involves undeniable hardship, -another form of so-called “scholarship” -is given by the New York Child Labor Committee. -Upon investigation a sum approximating -the possible earnings of the child is furnished -until such time as he or she can legally -go to work. An indirect but important result -of the giving of these scholarships has been -the continuous information obtained regarding -enforcement of the school attendance law. Inquiry -into the history of candidates disclosed, -at first, many cases in which, although the -family had been in New York for years, -some of the children had never attended -school, and perhaps never would have done -so had they not been discovered at work -illegally. The number of these cases is now -diminishing.</p> - -<p>Allusion to these two forms of “scholarships” -should not be made without mention of -one other in the settlement, known as the “Alva -Scholarship.” The interest on the endowment -is used to promote the training of gifted individuals -and to commemorate a beloved club -leader. The money to establish it was given<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_151"></a>[151]</span> -by the young woman’s associates in the settlement, -and small sums have been contributed -to it by the girls who were members of her -own and other clubs.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp90" style="max-width: 9.375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus53.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_152"></a>[152]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE NATION’S CHILDREN</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>Few people have any idea of the extent of -tenement-house manufactures. There are at -present over thirteen thousand houses in -Greater New York alone licensed for this purpose, -and each license may cover from one to -forty families. These figures give no complete -idea of the work done in tenements. Much of -it is carried on in unlicensed houses, and work -not yet listed as forbidden is carried home. To -supervise this immense field eight inspectors -only were assigned in 1913. Changing fashions -in dress and the character of certain of the seasonal -trades make it very difficult for the Department -of Labor to adjust the license list. -This explains, to some extent, the lack of -knowledge concerning home work on the part -of officials, even when the Department of Labor -is efficiently administered. Nevertheless, home -work has greatly decreased.</p> - -<p>Twenty years ago, when we went from house -to house caring for the sick, manufacturing was -carried on in the tenements on a scale that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_153"></a>[153]</span> -does not exist to-day. With no little consternation -we saw toys and infants’ clothing, and -sometimes food itself, made under conditions -that would not have been tolerated in factories, -even at that time. And the connection of remote -communities and individuals with the -East Side of New York was impressed upon -us when we saw a roomful of children’s clothing -shipped to the Southern trade from a tenement -where there were sixteen cases of measles. -One of our patients, in an advanced stage of -tuberculosis, until our appearance on the scene, -sat coughing in her bed, making cigarettes and -moistening the paper with her lips. In another -tenement in a nearby street we found children -ill with scarlet fever. The parents worked as -finishers of women’s cloaks of good quality, evidently -meant to be worn by the well-to-do. -The garments covered the little patients, and -the bed on which they lay was practically used -as a work-table. The possibility of infection is -perhaps the most obvious disadvantage of home -work, and great changes have been wrought -since the days when we first knew the sweatshop; -but we are here discussing only its connection -with the children.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp65" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus54.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>When work is carried on in the home all the -members of the family can be and are utilized -without regard to age or the restrictions of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_154"></a>[154]</span> -factory laws. One Thanksgiving Day I carried -an offering from prosperous children of my -acquaintance to a little child on Water Street -whose absence from the kindergarten had been -reported on account of illness. He had -chicken-pox, and I found him, with flushed face, -sitting on a little stool, working on knee pants -with other members of the family. They interrupted -their industry long enough to drag -the concertina from under the bed and to join -in singing Italian songs for my entertainment,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_155"></a>[155]</span> -but the father shrugged his shoulders in dissent -from my protest against the continuance -of the work.</p> - -<p>Examination of the school attendance of children -who do home work bears testimony to its -relation to truancy. Josephine, eleven years -of age, stays out of school to work on finishing; -Francesca, aged twelve, to sew buttons on -coats; Santa, nine years old, to pick out nut -meats; Catherine, eight years old, sews on -tags; Tiffy, another eight-year-old, helps her -mother finish; Giuseppe, aged ten, is a deft -worker on artificial flowers.</p> - -<p>It is painful to recall the R⸺ family, who -lived in a basement, all of the children engaged -in making paper bags which the mother sold -to the small dealers. Something, we know not -what, impelled one of the five children to come -for help to the nurse in the First Aid Room -at the settlement. His head showed evidence -of neglect, and when our nurse inquired of -him how it had escaped the school medical -inspection, the fact was disclosed that he had -never been in school. Immediate inquiry on -our part revealed the basement sweatshop and -the fact that none of the children, all of whom -had been born in America, had ever been to -school. When the mother was questioned, she -answered that she did not like to ask for more<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_156"></a>[156]</span> -aid than she was already receiving from the -relief society, and when we reproved the other -children in the tenement for not having drawn -our attention to their little neighbors, they answered -that they themselves had not known -of the existence of the R⸺ children because -“they never came out to play.” The stupidity -of the mother and the circumstances of the -family have continually tested the endurance -of their well-meaning friends; nevertheless, at -this writing the eldest boy is in high school -and supporting himself by work outside school -hours at a subway news-stand.</p> - -<p>What I have written thus far has been in -large measure confined to the lower East Side -of New York; but it may not be amiss to remind -the reader that through the nursing service and -other organized work our contact with the -tenement home workers extends over the two -boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. The -settlement has never made a scientific study -of work done in the homes, but our information -regarding it is continuous and current. -This cumulative knowledge is probably the -more valuable because it is obtained incidentally -and naturally, and not as the result of a -special investigation, which, however fair and -impartial, must be somewhat affected by the -consciousness of its purpose.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_157"></a>[157]</span></p> - -<p>In 1899 a law was passed in New York State -licensing individual workers in the tenements -for certain trades. In 1904 this law was superseded, -primarily at the instigation of the settlement, -by one licensing the entire tenement -house, thus making the owner of the house responsible. -In 1913 a law recommended by the -New York State Factory Investigating Commission -was passed by the legislature; this law -brought under its jurisdiction all articles manufactured -in the tenements, prohibited entirely -the home manufacture of food articles, dolls or -dolls’ clothing, children’s or infants’ wearing -apparel, and forbade the employment of children -under fourteen on any articles made in -tenements.</p> - -<p>All our experience points to the conclusion -that it is impossible to control manufacture in -the tenements. Restrictive legislation (such as -the law forbidding the employment of children -under fourteen) is practically impossible of enforcement, -for it is a delusion to suppose that -any human agency can find out what manufactures -are going on in tenement-house homes. -The inspectors become known in the various -neighborhoods; and at their approach the word -is passed along, and garments on which women -are working may be hidden, or the work taken -from children’s hands. The more painstaking<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_158"></a>[158]</span> -and conscientious the attempts at enforcement, -the more secretive the workers become, and -one is forced to the conclusion that the only -practical remedy is to prohibit this parasitic -form of industry outright. More of the men -in these families would go to work if it were -not so easy to employ the women and children; -and many of the women would be able -to work regular hours in establishments suitably -constructed for manufacturing purposes -and under state inspection and supervision. -During the period of transition, suffering will -doubtless come to some families whose poor -living has been maintained by this form of -industry, and relief measures must carry them -over the time of adjustment. Most families -working at home are already receiving aid from -societies, which thus indirectly help to support -the parasitic trade.</p> - -<p class="tb">In 1913, 41,507 children of Greater New York -secured working papers. But the record for -1914 shows a decrease of about 10,000 in the -applications for papers, and consequently so -many more children in school, because of the -amended statute which raised the minimum educational -requirement. A public sentiment which -keeps boys and girls longer in school emphasizes<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_159"></a>[159]</span> -the need of more educational facilities -adapted to industrial pursuits. The children -least promising in book studies may often become -adepts in manual work, and respond -readily to instruction that calls for exercise of -the motor energies. The armies of children -who go to work immature, unprepared, uneducated -in essentials, with no more than a superficial -precocity, are likely to be thrown upon -the scrap-heap of the unskilled early in life, -and yet many of these have potentialities of -skill and efficiency.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp67" style="max-width: 28.125em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus55.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>It is not surprising that with increasing -knowledge of the children’s condition plans for -their guidance, training, and reasonable employment -should have made advance in the last<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_160"></a>[160]</span> -decade. The settlement is now interested in -promoting an inquiry for New York City that -should lead to the establishment of a juvenile -bureau intended to combine vocational guidance -and industrial supervision,—a bureau associated -with an educational system and dissociated -from the free employment exchanges -which as yet do not inquire into the character -of employment offered.</p> - -<p>One outcome of this inquiry has been the formation -of a society of employers designed to -bring about scientific consideration of the -present misemployment of children and adults, -underemployment, and other wastes of industry.</p> - -<p>We believe that continuation schools are necessary -for all boys and girls engaged in shop -or factory work, and that expert vocational -guidance and educational direction should be -offered those who leave school to become wage-earners. -It is inevitable that to people at all -socially minded close contact with many children -should exercise the humanities. The stress -that we lay on the enforcement of these protective -measures comes from a conviction that -the children of the poor, more than all others, -need to be prepared for the responsibilities of -life that so soon come upon them.</p> - -<p>The great majority of the boys and girls<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_161"></a>[161]</span> -accept passively the conditions of the trade or -occupation into which chance and their necessities -have forced them. The desire for something -different seldom becomes articulate or -strong enough to impel them to overcome the -almost insuperable barriers. Occasionally, however, -the spirit of revolt asserts itself. “I work -in a sweatshop,” said a young girl who brought -her drawings to me for criticism, “and it -harasses my body and my soul. Perhaps I -could earn enough to live on by doing these, -and my brother bids me to display them”; -and she added, “I could live on three dollars -a week if I were happy.” The drawings were -promising, and the temperamental young -creature, in answer to my questioning, admitted -that she had illustrated <i>David Copperfield</i> for -pastime and had “given David a weak chin.”</p> - -<p>The difficulty of proper placement in industry -experienced by the ordinary boy and girl is -intensified in the case of the colored juveniles. -It is now nine years since a woman called at -the Henry Street house and almost challenged -me to face their problem. She was what is -termed a “race woman,” and desired to work -for her own people. It was not difficult to -provide an opening for her. The devoted -daughter of a man who had felt friendship for -the colored people made it possible for us to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_162"></a>[162]</span> -establish a branch of the settlement on the -west side of the city in that section known -as San Juan Hill. At “Lincoln House,” with -the co-operation of representatives of the race -and their friends, a programme of social and -educational work adapted to the needs of the -neighborhood is carried on. To find admirably -trained and efficient colored nurses was a comparatively -simple matter; and the response of -the colored people themselves in this respect -was immediately encouraging. Necessity for -patient adherence to the principle of giving -opportunity to the most needy children, that -they may be better equipped for the future, is -emphasized in the case of the colored children -in school and when seeking work; but difficulties, -mountainous in proportion and testing the -most buoyant optimism, loom up when social -barriers and racial characteristics enter into -individual adjustments. The restricted number -of occupations open to them discourages ambition -and in time reacts unfavorably upon character -and ability; and thus we complete the -vicious circle of diminishing opportunities and -lessening vigor and skill. Colored women are -often conspicuously good and tender mothers, -and when I have watched large groups of them -assembled in their clubrooms, exhibiting their -babies with justifiable pride, I have felt a wave<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_163"></a>[163]</span> -of unhappiness because of the consciousness of -the enormous handicap with which these little -ones must face the future.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="fp10" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp10.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Uses of the Back Yard in One of the Branches of the Henry Street Settlement</span></p> -</div> - -<p>A distinguished musician told me not long -ago that he gave specially of his time and talent -to the colored people of New York because of -a debt he owed to a gifted colored neighbor. -When he was a boy, his attempts to play the -violin attracted the man’s attention; the latter -offered his services as instructor when he -learned that the boy could not afford to take -lessons. The colored man had great talent and -had studied with the best masters in Europe, -but when he returned to America he was unable -to obtain engagements or procure pupils, and -in order to earn his living was obliged to learn -to play the guitar. Discouraging as was his -experience, there is, I believe, relatively freer -opportunity for the exceptionally gifted of the -colored race in the arts and professions than -for the ordinary young men and women who -seek vocational careers.</p> - -<p class="tb">Experience in Henry Street, and a conviction -that intelligent interest in the welfare of -children was becoming universal, gradually -focused my mind on the necessity for a Federal -Children’s Bureau. Every day brought to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_164"></a>[164]</span> -the settlement, by mail and personal call,—as -it must have brought to other people and -agencies known to be interested in children,—the -most varied inquiries, appeals for help and -guidance, reflecting every social aspect of the -question. One well-known -judge of a children’s -court was obliged -to employ a clerical staff -at his own expense to -reply to such inquiries. -Those that came to us -we answered as best we -might out of our own experience -or from fragmentary -and incomplete -data. Even the available -information on this -important subject was -nowhere assembled in -complete and practical form. The birth rate, -preventable blindness, congenital and preventable -disease, infant mortality, physical degeneracy, -orphanage, desertion, juvenile delinquency, -dangerous occupations and accidents, -crimes against children, are questions of enormous -national importance concerning some of -which reliable information was wholly lacking.</p> - -<div class="figleft illowp40" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus56.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Toward the close of President Roosevelt’s administration<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_165"></a>[165]</span> -a colleague and I called upon him -to present my plea for the creation of this -bureau. On that day the Secretary of Agriculture -had gone South to ascertain what danger -to the community lurked in the appearance of -the boll weevil. This gave point to our argument -that nothing that might have happened -to the children of the nation could have called -forth governmental inquiry.</p> - -<p>The Federal Children’s Bureau was conceived -in the interest of all children; but it was fitting -that the National Committee on which I serve, -dedicated to working children, should have become -sponsor for the necessary propaganda for -its creation.</p> - -<p>It soon became evident that the suggestion -was timely. Sympathy and support came from -every part of the country, from Maine to California, -and from every section of society. The -national sense of humor was aroused by the -grim fact that whereas the Federal Government -concerned itself with the conservation of material -wealth, mines and forests, hogs and lobsters, -and had long since established bureaus -to supply information concerning them, citizens -who desired instruction and guidance for -the conservation and protection of the children -of the nation had no responsible governmental -body to which to appeal.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_166"></a>[166]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp68" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus57.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Though the suggestion was approved by -President Roosevelt and widely supported by -press and people, it was not until the close -of President Taft’s administration that the -Federal Children’s Bureau became a fact, and -the child with all its needs was brought into -the sphere of federal care and solicitude. The -appointment of Miss Julia Lathrop, a woman -of conspicuous personal fitness and adequate -training, to be its first chief was a guarantee -of the auspicious beginning of its work. In -the brief time of its service it has had continuous -evidence that the people of these United -States intelligently avail themselves of the opportunity<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_167"></a>[167]</span> -for acquiring better understanding of -the great responsibility that is placed upon -each generation.</p> - -<div class="figright illowp57" style="max-width: 15.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus58.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>The Federal Children’s Bureau would not -fulfill the purpose of its originators if its service -were limited to the -study and record of the -pathological conditions -surrounding children. Its -greatest work for the nation -should be, and doubtless -will be, to create -standards for the states -and municipalities which -may turn to it for expert -advice and guidance. With the living issues -involved it is not likely to become mechanical.</p> - -<p>The Children’s Bureau is a symbol of the -most hopeful aspect of America. Founded in -love for children and confidence in the future, -its existence is enormously significant. The -first time I visited Washington after the establishment -of the Bureau I felt a thrill of the -new and the hopeful, and I contrasted its bare -office with the splendid monuments that had -been erected and dedicated to the past. Some -day, I thought, a lover of his country, understanding -that the children of to-day are our -future, will build a temple to them in the seat<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_168"></a>[168]</span> -of the Federal Government. This building will -be more beautiful than those inspired by the -army and navy, by the exploits of science or -commemoration of the dead. As my imagination -soared I fairly visualized the Children’s -Bureau developed, expanded, drawing from all -corners of the land eager parents and teachers -to learn not only the theory of child culture, but -to see demonstrations of the best methods in -playgrounds, clinics, classes, clubs, buildings, -and equipment. The vision became associated -with a memory of the first time I saw the Lucca -della Robbias on the outer wall of the Florentine -asylum and felt the inspiration of linking -a great artist with a little waif. But those -lovely sculptured babes are swathed. Some -day, when the beautiful building of the Federal -Children’s Bureau is pointed out in Washington, -I have it in my heart to believe that -the genius who decorates in paint or plastic -art will convey the new conception of the child,—free -of motion, uplooking, the ward of the -nation.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_169"></a>[169]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX<br /> -<span class="smaller">ORGANIZATIONS WITHIN THE SETTLEMENT</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>The settlement, through its preservation of -several of the fine old houses of the neighborhood, -maintains a curious link with what, in -this city of rapid changes, is already a shadowy -past. The families of some of the residents -once lived nearby, and recall, when they visit -us, the schools and churches they attended, their -dancing classes, and the homes where they were -entertained. One visitor told of the scandal -in the best society, more than half a century -ago, at the extravagance of a proud father, -then an occupant of one of the settlement -houses, who gave his young daughter a necklet -of pearls on the day of her “coming-out” -party. Old men and women for whom the -names of the streets evoke reminiscences delight -to revive the happy memories of their -youth and to identify the few buildings, -greatly altered as to their uses, that still remain.</p> - -<p>Cherry Street and Cherry Hill, a short distance -away, call up traditions of a great orchard -to which we owe their names, its beauty in the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_170"></a>[170]</span> -blossoming time, the quaint, clean houses, each -in its garden, all the pleasant, comfortable life -of a bygone time. There is nothing pleasant -or comfortable about Cherry Street to-day. -Legends of the daring deeds of the Cherry Hill -gang lend a dubious glamour to some parts of -it, but for the rest it is dingy and dull.</p> - -<p class="tb">We met Lena in one of the dull houses where -we had been called because of her illness. The -family were attractive Russians of the blond -type, and the patient herself was very beautiful, -her exceeding pallor giving her an almost -ethereal look. The rooms were as bare as the -traditional poor man’s home of the story-books, -but the mother had hidden the degradation of -the broken couch with a clean linen sheet, relic -of her bridal outfit.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="fp11" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp11.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Here and There Are Still Found Reminders of Old New York</span></p> -</div> - -<p>After convalescence Lena was glad to accept -employment and resume her share of the family -burden. One day she rushed in from the tailor’s -shop during working hours, and, literally upon -her knees, begged for other work. She could -no longer endure the obscene language of her -employer, which she felt was directed especially -to her. The story to experienced ears signaled -danger, but to extricate her without destruction -of the pride which repelled financial aid was -not simple. Readjustments had to be made to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_171"></a>[171]</span> -give her a belated training that would fit her -for employment outside the ranks of the unskilled. -Fortunately, the parents needed little -stimulus to comprehend the humiliation to their -daughter, and they readily agreed to the postponement -of help from her, although they were -at a low tide of income.</p> - -<p>The very coarseness of this kind of attack -upon a girl’s sensibilities I have learned in -the course of years, makes it easier to combat -than the subtle and less tangible suggestions -that mislead and then betray. Sometimes these -are inherent in the work itself.</p> - -<p>A girl leading an immoral life was once sent -to me for possible help. She called in the -evening, and we sat together on the pleasant -back porch adjoining my sitting-room. Here -the shrill noises of the street came but faintly, -and the quiet and privacy helped to create an -atmosphere that led easily to confidence.</p> - -<p>It was long past midnight when we separated. -The picture of the wretched home that -she had presented,—its congestion, the slovenly -housekeeping, the demanding infant, the ill-prepared -food snatched from the stove by the -members of the family as they returned from -work,—I knew it only too well. The girl herself, -refined in speech and pretty, slept in a -bed with three others. She had gone to work<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_172"></a>[172]</span> -when she was eleven, and later became a demonstrator -in a department store, where the display -of expensive finery on the counters and -its easy purchase by luxurious women had evidently -played a part in her moral deterioration. -Her most conscious desire was for silk underwear; -at least it was the only one she seemed -able to formulate! And this trivial desire, infinitely -pathetic in its disclosure, told her -story. As I stood at the front door after -bidding her good-night, and watched her down -the street, it did not seem possible that so -frail a creature could summon up the heroism -necessary to rise above the demoralization of -the home to which she was returning and the -kind of work open to her.</p> - -<p>During that summer she came each day to the -settlement for instruction in English, preliminary -to a training in telegraphy, for which she -had expressed a preference. Nothing in her -conduct during that time could have been criticised, -but subsequent chapters in her career -have shown that she was unable to overcome -the inclinations that were the evil legacy of -her mode of life.</p> - -<p>The menace to the morals of youth is not -confined to the pretty, poor young girl. The -lad also is exposed. I could wish there were -more sympathy with the very young men who<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_173"></a>[173]</span> -at times are trapped into immorality by means -not so very different, except in degree, from -those that imperil the girl. The careless way -in which boys are intrusted with money by -employers has tempted many who are not naturally -thievish. I have known dishonesty of -this kind on the part of boys who never in -after life repeated the offense.</p> - -<p>An instance of grave misbehavior of another -character was once brought to me by our own -young men, three of whom called upon me, evidently -in painful embarrassment. After struggling -to bring their courage to the speaking -point, they told me that L⸺ was leading an -immoral life, and they were sure that if I -knew it I would not allow him to dance with -the girls. They had been considering for some -time whether or not I should be informed. -Heartily disliking the task, one of the young -men had consulted his mother and she had -made it plain that it was my right to know. -Fortunately the district attorney then in office -had from time to time invoked the co-operation -of the settlement in problems that could not -be met by a prosecutor. A telephone message -to him brought the needed aid with dispatch. -When all the facts were known, I felt that the -young man had been snared exactly as had been -the young girl who was with him. Both were victims<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_174"></a>[174]</span> -of the wretched creature whose exile from -New York the district attorney insisted upon. -The three had met in a dance-hall, widely advertised -and popular among young people.</p> - -<p>The inquiry of the famous Committee of -Fifteen, as New Yorkers know, was given its -first impetus by the action of a group of young -men of our neighborhood, already distinguished -for the ethical stand they had taken on social -matters, and every one of them members for -many years of clubs in another settlement and -our own. They comprehended the hideous cost -of the red-light district and resented its existence -in their neighborhood, where not even the -children escaped knowledge of its evils.</p> - -<p>Although in the twenty-one years of the organized -life of the settlement no girl or young -woman identified with us has “gone wrong” -in the usual understanding of that term, we -have been so little conscious of working -definitely for this end that my attention was -drawn to the fact only when a woman distinguished -for her work among girls made the -statement that never in the Night Court or -institutions for delinquents had she found a -girl who had “belonged” to our settlement.<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_175"></a>[175]</span></p> - -<p>I record this bit of testimony with some hesitation, -as it does not seem right to make it -matter for marvel or congratulation. One does -not expect a mother to be surprised or gratified -that her daughters are virtuous; and it -would be a grave injustice to the girls of character -and lofty ideals who through the years -have been connected with the settlement if we -assumed the credit for their fine qualities.</p> - -<p>But as in ordinary families there are diversities -of character, of strength, and of weakness, -so in a large community family, if I may so -define the relationship of the settlement membership, -these diversities are more strongly -marked; and it is a gratification that we are -often able to give to young girls—frail, -ignorant, unequipped for the struggle into -which they are so early plunged—some of the -protection that under other circumstances -would be provided by their families and social -environment.</p> - -<p>All classes show occasional instances of girls -who “go wrong.” The commonly accepted -theory that the direct incentive is a mercenary -one is not borne out by our experience. The -thousands of poor young girls we have known, -into whose minds the thought of wrong-doing -of this kind has never entered, testify against it.</p> - -<p>However, a low family income means a poor<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_176"></a>[176]</span> -home, underfeeding, congestion, lack of privacy, -and lack of proper safeguards against the emotional -crises of adolescence for both boys and -girls. Exhaustion following excessive or monotonous -toil weakens moral and physical resistance; -and as a result of the inadequate -provision for wholesome, inexpensive recreation, -pleasures are secured at great risk.</p> - -<p>In the summer of 1912 a notorious gambler -was murdered in New York, and the whole -country was shocked by the disclosure of the existence -of groups of young men organized for -crime and designated as “gunmen.” There is -not space here for a discussion of this tragic result -of street life. It is probable that the four -young men who were executed for the murder -were led astray, in the first place, by their -craving for adventure. They were found to -have been the tools of a powerful police officer, -and it was generally believed that they were -mentally defective, and were thus made more -readily the dupes of an imposing personality. -They had not suffered from extreme poverty, -nor had they been without religious instruction. -Two of them, in fact, came from homes of -orthodox strictness; but it was plain from their -histories that there had been no adjustment of -environment to meet their needs. There was -no evidence that they had at any time come<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_177"></a>[177]</span> -in contact with people or institutions that recognized -the social impulses of youth.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus59.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>At the time of the murder I was in the -mountains recovering from an illness. The -letters I received, following the disclosure of -the existence of the “gunmen,” particularly -those from young men, carried a peculiar -appeal. Our own club members urged the need -of the settlement’s extending protection to -greater numbers of boys. Some of the young -men wrote frankly of perils from which they -had barely escaped and of which I had had no -knowledge. They all laid stress upon the importance -of <i>preventing</i> disaster by the provision -of wholesome recreation which, as one correspondent -wrote, “should have excitement also.” -Their belief in the efficacy of club control is -firmly fixed. A few evenings ago one of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_178"></a>[178]</span> -young men of the settlement conversant with -conditions, speaking to a new resident, defined -a “gang” as “a club gone wrong.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus60.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Mothers from time to time come to the Henry -Street house for help to rescue their erring -sons. They come secretly, fearing to have their -sons or the police trace disclosures to them. A -poolroom on a nearby street, said to have been, -at one time, a “hang-out” of the gunmen, and -its lure evidently enhanced by that fact, was -reported to us as “suspicious.” The police and -a society organized to suppress such places told -me that the evidence they could secure was -insufficient to warrant hope of conviction. -Mothers who suspected that stolen property -was taken there, made alert by anxiety for their -sons, furnished me with evidence that warranted -insistence on my part that the Police -Commissioner order the place closed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_179"></a>[179]</span></p> - -<p>Formal meetings with parents to consider -matters affecting their children are a fixed part -of the settlement programme, and the problems -of adolescence are freely and frankly discussed. -An experienced and humane judge, addressing -one such meeting, spoke simply and directly -of the young people who were brought before -him charged with crime, showing his understanding -of the causes that led to it and his -sympathy with the offenders as well as with -their harassed parents. He begged for a revival -of the old homely virtues and for the -strengthening of family ties. A mother in the -group rose and confessed her helplessness. She -reminded the judge of the difficulty of keeping -young people under observation and guarding -them from the temptations of street life when -the mothers, like herself, went out to work. -Ordinary boys and girls, she thought, could -not resist these temptations unaided; and speaking -of her own boy, who had been brought -before him, she summed up her understanding -of the situation in the words: “It’s not that my -son is bad; it’s just that he’s not a hero.”</p> - -<p class="tb">I do not know who originated the idea of a -“club” as a means of guidance and instruction<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_180"></a>[180]</span> -for the young. Our inducement to organize -socially came from a group of small boys in -the summer of 1895, our first in the Henry -Street house. We had already acquired a large -circle of juvenile friends, and it soon became -evident that definite hours must be set aside -for meeting different groups if our time was -not to be dissipated -in fragmentary visits. -When these -boys of eleven and -twelve years of age, -who had not, up to -that time, given any -evidence of partiality -for our society, -called to ask if they -could see me some -time when I “wasn’t busy,” I made an appointment -with them for the next Saturday evening, -whereupon the club was organized.</p> - -<div class="figright illowp75" style="max-width: 15.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus61.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>It is still in existence with practically the -original membership; and the relationship of -the members of this first group to the settlement -and to me personally has been of priceless -value. Many of its members have for -years been club leaders. They contribute generously -to the settlement and in a variety of -ways enter into its life and responsibilities.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_181"></a>[181]</span> -Clubs formed since then, for all ages and almost -all nationalities, have proved to be of great -value in affording opportunity for fellowship, -and, during the susceptible years, in aiding the -formation of character; and the continuity of -the relationship has made possible an interchange -of knowledge and experience of great -advantage to those brought together.</p> - -<p>The training of club leaders is as essential -as the guidance of the club members. Brilliant -personalities are attracted to the settlement, -but it can use to good purpose the moderate -talents and abilities of more ordinary people -whose good-will and interest are otherwise apt -to be wasted because they find no expression -for them.</p> - -<p>Given sincerity, and that vague but essential -quality called personality, in the leaders, we -do not care very much what the programme of -a club may be. I have never known a club -leader possessing these qualifications who did -not get out of the experience as much as it -was possible to give, if not more. An interest -in basic social problems develops naturally out -of the club relationship. Housing conditions, -immigration, unemployment, minimum wage, -political control, labor unions, are no longer -remote and academic. They are subjects of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_182"></a>[182]</span> -immediate concern because of their vital importance -to the new circle of friends.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus62.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">A Settlement Interior.</p> -</div> - -<p>The leaders of the clubs meet regularly for -inspiration and guidance. Their conferences -might be likened to serious faculty meetings, -only here the social aspects of life and individual -problems are discussed. We ask them -to bear in mind the necessity of encouraging -the altruistic impulses inherent in normal -human kind, but, like other faculties, needing -to be exercised. Where the material needs -challenge the sympathies one must be reminded -that “where there is no vision the people<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_183"></a>[183]</span> -perish.” In our neighborhood there are traditions -among the people that readily lend themselves -to the reaffirmation of this message.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp48" id="fp12" style="max-width: 28.125em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp12.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Esther</span></p> -</div> - -<p>The girls’ and children’s department has long -had the inspiration of a gifted young woman -who, though a non-resident, has contributed -in equal measure with those who have found it -possible to detach themselves sufficiently from -their family obligations to reside in the settlement. -Among the leaders are young men and -women who themselves have been members of -the clubs, some of them now occupying positions -of trust and authority in the city.</p> - -<p>The classes have more definite educational -programmes, but in the settlement they are interrelated -with the clubs and made to harmonize -with their purpose. For children attending -school the manual training is planned to demonstrate -the value of new experiments or to -supplement the instruction the school system -affords. The art classes are limited and informal, -and without studio equipment as yet, but -interested teachers have given their time to -students who show inclination or ability, and -effort is made to bring out not conventional, -imitative work, but the power to see and to -portray honestly the things about us. All the -settlement family felt that for this reason, if -for no other, it was fitting to have the story<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_184"></a>[184]</span> -of “The House on Henry Street” illustrated -by one who had found his art expression there.</p> - -<p class="tb">The dramatic instinct is very strong in the -Jewish child, and musical gifts are not uncommon. -With encouragement -a high degree of -talent is often developed. -Perhaps the most impressive -evidence of this -has been given in the -cycle of Hebrew ritual -festivals, poetical interpretations -of the ceremonies -cherished by the -Henry Street neighborhood. -The value of -these is not limited to -the educational effect -upon the young people. They interpret anew -to the community the rich inheritance of our -neighbors, and the parents of those who participate -give touching evidence of their appreciation.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp45" style="max-width: 18.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus63.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>When a beautiful pageant based on the incident -of Miriam and her maidens was in -rehearsal an intractable small boy was dismissed -from the cast. In the evening his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_185"></a>[185]</span> -father, a printer, called and expressed the hope -that if his son’s behavior was not unforgivable -we would take him back. He wished the boy -might carry through life the memory of having -had a part in something as beautiful as this -festival. After a performance a woman who -had suffered bitterly in her Russian home -blocked for a moment the outgoing crowd at -the door while she stopped to say how beautiful -she thought it, adding with deep feeling, “I -thank most for showing respect to our religion.”</p> - -<p>The dramatic club has attempted serious -work, and “The Shepherd,” by Olive Tilford -Dargan, and Galsworthy’s “Silver Box” were -two of their performances given at Clinton -Hall that, in the judgment of the critical, -reached a high level of excellence.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp68" id="fp13" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp13.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Neighborhood Playhouse</span></p> -</div> - -<p>The Neighborhood Playhouse, opened in -February, 1915, is the outcome of the work of -the festival and dramatic groups of the Henry -Street Settlement. For nine years gifted -leaders have devoted themselves to this interest, -and the building of the well-appointed little -theater was necessary for the further development -of the work. In addition to the education -incident to performing parts in good plays under -cultured instructors, and the music, poetry, -and dance of the festival classes, the playhouse<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_186"></a>[186]</span> -offers training in the various arts and trades -connected with stage production. Practically -all the costumes, settings, and properties used -in the settlement performances have been made -in the classes and workshops.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp80" style="max-width: 25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus64.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>“Jephthah’s Daughter,” a festival, opened -the playhouse. We were pleased to believe -that the performance gained in significance because -the music, the dance, and the color were -a reminder of the dower brought to New York -by the stranger. Seventy-eight young people -were in the cast, and many more had a share -in the production. Children belonging to the -youngest clubs in the settlement pulled the -threads to make the fringes; designers and -makers of costumes, craftsmen, composers,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_187"></a>[187]</span> -painters and musicians, seamstresses, directors, -and producers, all contributed in varying degrees, -showing a community of interest, service, -and enthusiasm only possible when the purpose -lies outside the materialist’s world.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp75" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus65.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">From “Jephthah’s Daughter.”</p> -</div> - -<p>It is our hope that the playhouse, identified -with the neighborhood, may recapture and hold -something of the poetry and idealism that belong -to its people and open the door of opportunity -for messages in drama and picture and -song and story. In its first brief season, beside -the productions of the groups for whose development<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_188"></a>[188]</span> -the theater was constructed, there -have been special performances for the children -at which famous story-tellers have appeared. -Important anniversaries have been impressively -celebrated. Ellen Terry, of imperishable charm, -gave Shakespearean readings on the poet’s -birthday, and Sarah Cowell Le Moyne gave the -readings from Browning on his day. Ibsen and -Shaw and Dunsany have been interpreted, and -distinguished professionals have found pleasure -in acting before audiences at once critical -and appreciative.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp50" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus66.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_189"></a>[189]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X<br /> -<span class="smaller">YOUTH</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>We remind our young people from time to -time that conventions established in sophisticated -society have usually a sound basis in -social experience, and the cultivation of the -minor morals of good manners develops consideration -for others.</p> - -<div class="figleft illowp57" style="max-width: 15.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus67.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>We interpret the -“coming-out” party as -a glorification of youth. -When the members of -the young women’s -clubs reach the age of -eighteen, the annual -ball of the settlement, -its most popular social -function, is made the -occasion of their formal -introduction and -promotion to the senior -group. As Head Resident I am their hostess, -and in giving the invitations I make much -of the fact that they have reached young<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_190"></a>[190]</span> -womanhood, with the added privileges, dignity, -and responsibility that it brings.</p> - -<p>Intimate and long-sustained association, not -only with the individual, but with the entire -family, gives opportunities that would never -open up if the acquaintance were casual or the -settlement formally institutional. The incidents -that follow illustrate this, and I could add many -more.</p> - -<p>Two girls classified as “near tough” seemed -beyond the control of their club leader, who -entreated help from the more experienced. On -a favorable occasion Bessie was invited to the -cozy intimacy of my sitting-room. That she -and Eveline, her chum, were conscious of their -exaggerated raiment was obvious, for she -hastened to say, “I guess it’s on account of -my yellow waist. Eveline and me faded away -when we saw you at dancing class the other -night.” It was easy to follow up her introduction -by pointing out that pronounced lack -of modesty in dress was one of several signs; -that their dancing, their talk, their freedom of -manner, all combined to render them conspicuous -and to cause their friends anxiety. Bessie -listened, observed that she “couldn’t throw -the waist away, for it cost five dollars,” but insisted -that she was “good on the inside.” An -offer to buy the waist and burn it because her<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_191"></a>[191]</span> -dignity was worth more than five dollars was -illuminating. “That strikes me as somethin’ -grand. I wouldn’t let you do it, but I’ll never -wear the waist again.” So far as we know, -she has kept her word.</p> - -<p class="tb">Annie began to show a pronounced taste in -dress, and gave unmistakable signs of restlessness. -She confided her aspirations toward the -stage. The young club leader, with insight and -understanding, used the settlement influence to -secure the coveted interview with a manager.</p> - -<p>Promptly at the appointed hour on Saturday, -when the girl’s half-holiday made the -engagement possible, Miss B⸺ went to the -factory to meet her. In the stream of girls that -poured from it Annie, who had dressed for -the occasion, was conspicuous. It required -some fortitude on the part of her settlement -friend to adhere to their original programme, -but they rode on the top of a Fifth Avenue -stage, ate ice cream at a fashionable resort, -and finally met the theatrical authority, who -gave most effectively the discouragement -needed.</p> - -<p class="tb">When Sophie’s manner and dress caused -comment among her associates, her club leader, -who had been waiting for a suitable opportunity,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_192"></a>[192]</span> -called to see her on Sunday morning, -when the girl would be sure to be at home. -Sitting on the edge of the bed in the cramped -room, they talked the matter over. As for -the paint,—many girls thought it wise to use -it, for employers did not like to have jaded-looking -girls working for them; and as for the -finery,—“Lots of uptown swells are wearing -earrings.”</p> - -<p>Contrasted with the girl’s generosity to her -family the cost of the finery was pathetically -small. She had spent on an overcoat for her -father the whole of the Christmas gratuity given -by her employer for a year of good service, and -her pay envelope was handed unopened to her -mother every week.</p> - -<p>Sophie finally comprehended the reason for -her friend’s solicitude, and at the end of their -talk said she would have done the same for a -young sister.</p> - -<p>It is often a solace to find eternal youth expressing -itself in harmless gayety of attire, -which it is possible to construe as evidence of -a sense of self-respect and self-importance. It -is, at any rate, a more encouraging indication -than a sight I remember in the poor quarter -of London. I watched the girls at lunch time -pour into a famous tea-house from the nearby -factories, many of them with buttonless shoes,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_193"></a>[193]</span> -the tops flapping as they walked; skirts separated -from untidy blouses, unkempt hair,—a -sight that could nowhere be found among working -girls in America.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp53" id="fp14" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp14.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">In a Club-room</span></p> -</div> - -<p>The settlement’s sympathy with this aspect -of youth may not seem eminently practical, but -when Mollie took the accumulated pay for many -weeks’ overtime, amounting to twenty-five dollars, -and “blew it in” on a hat with a marvelous -plume, we thought we understood the -impulse that might have found more disastrous -expression. The hat itself became a white -elephant, a source of endless embarrassment, -but buying it had been an orgy. This interpretation -of Mollie’s extravagance, when presented -to the mother, who in her vexation -had complained to us, influenced her to refrain -from nagging and too often reminding the girl -of the many uses to which the money might -have been put.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp56" style="max-width: 23.4375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus68.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>At the hearing of the Factory Investigation -Commission in New York during the winter -of 1914-15 a witness testified regarding the -dreary and incessant economies practiced by -low-paid working girls. This stimulated discussion, -and an editorial in a morning paper -queried where the girls were, pointing out that -the working girls of New York presented not -only an attractive but often a stylish appearance.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_194"></a>[194]</span> -I asked a young acquaintance, whose -appearance justified the newspaper description, -to give me her budget. She had lived on five -dollars a week. Her board and laundry cost -$4. She purchased stockings from push-cart -venders, “seconds” of odd colors but good -quality, for ten cents a pair; combinations, -“seconds” also, cost 25 cents. She bought -boys’ blouses, as they were better and cheaper. -These cost 25 cents. Hats (peanut straw) cost -10 cents; tooth-paste 10 cents a month. Having<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_195"></a>[195]</span> -very small and narrow feet, she was able to -take advantage of special sales, when she could -buy a good pair of shoes for 50 cents. Her -coat, bought out of season for $7, was being -worn for the third winter. Conditions were exceptional -in her case, as she boarded with -friends who obviously charged her less than -she would otherwise have been compelled to -pay; but there was practically nothing left for -carfares, for pleasure, or for the many demands -made upon even the most meager purse; and -few people, in any circumstances, would be -able to show such excellent discretion in the -expenditure of income.</p> - -<p class="tb">In the tenements family life is disturbed and -often threatened with disintegration by the -sheer physical conditions of the home. Where -there is no privacy there is inevitable loss of -the support and strength that come from the -interchange of confidences and assurance of -understanding. I felt this anew when I called -upon Henrietta on the evening of the day her -father died. The tie between father and -daughter had been close. When I sought to -express the sympathy that even the strong and -self-reliant need, so crowded were the little -rooms that we were forced to sit together on<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_196"></a>[196]</span> -the tenement-house stairs, amid the coming and -going of sympathetic and excited neighbors, -and all the passing and repassing of the twenty -other families that the house sheltered. It -would have been impossible for anyone to offer, -in the midst of that curious though not ill-meaning -crowd, the solace she so sadly needed.</p> - -<p>Emotional experiences cannot be made public -without danger of blunting or coarsening the -fiber of character. Privacy is needed for intimate -talks, even between mother and daughter. -The casual nature of the employment of the -unskilled has also its bearing upon the family -relationship. The name or address of the place -of employment of the various members of the -family is often not known. “How could I -know Louisa was in trouble?” said a simple -mother of our neighborhood. “She is a good -girl to me. I don’t know where she works. I -don’t know her friends.”</p> - -<p>And the wide span that stretches between the -conventions of one generation and another -must also be reckoned with. The clash between -them, unhappily familiar to many whose experiences -never become known outside the family -circle, is likely to be intensified when the -Americanized wage-earning son or daughter -reverses the relationship of child and parent -by becoming the protector and the link between<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_197"></a>[197]</span> -the outside world and the home. The service -of the settlement as interpreter seems in this -narrower sphere almost as useful as its attempts -to bring about understanding between separated -sections of society.</p> - -<div class="figright illowp68" style="max-width: 15.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus69.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>One evening an eloquent speaker addressing -a senior group dwelt upon the hardships of -the older people and -the obligations of -their children to -them. The young -women lingered after -the speaker had -gone, discussing the -lecture and applying -it to themselves. -Though sensitive to -the appeal, they were -loath to relinquish -their right to self-expression. One girl thought -her parents demanded an impossible sacrifice -by insisting on living in a street to which she -was ashamed to bring her associates. The parents -refused to leave the quarter where their -countrymen dwelt, and although the daughter -willingly gave her earnings and paid tribute -to her mother’s devotion and housekeeping skill, -she said she felt irritated and mortified every -time she returned to her home.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_198"></a>[198]</span></p> - -<p>Quite naturally it came about in the beginning -of our understanding of the young people -that we should take some action to protect -them from the disastrous consequences of their -ignorance; for it is difficult for the mothers to -touch upon certain themes of great import. -They are not indifferent, but rather helpless, -in the face of the modern city’s demands upon -motherhood. Rarely do they feel adequate to -meet them. Yet they desire that their girls, -and the boys too, should be guarded from the -dangers that threaten them.</p> - -<p>Years ago we invited the school teachers of -the neighborhood to a conference on sex problems -and offered them speakers and literature. -The public has since then become aroused on -the subject of sex hygiene, and possibly, in -some instances, the pendulum has swung too -far; but we are convinced that this obligation to -the young cannot be ignored without assuming -grave risks. Never have I known an unfavorable -reaction when the presentation of this -subject has been well considered. It is impossible -to give directions as to how it should -be done; temperament, development, and environment -influence the approach. The girl -invariably responds to the glorification of her -importance as woman and as future mother, -and the theme leads on naturally to the miracle<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_199"></a>[199]</span> -of nature that guards and then creates; and -the young men have shown themselves far from -indifferent to their future fatherhood. Fathers -and mothers should be qualified, and an increasing -number are trying to take this duty upon -themselves; but where the parents confess their -helplessness the duty plainly devolves upon -those who have established confidential relations -with the members of the family.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus70.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">At Riverholm.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_200"></a>[200]</span></p> - -<h3>WHITHER?<br /> -<span class="smaller">(To a Young Girl)</span></h3> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Say whither, whither, pretty one?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The hour is young at present!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">How hushed is all the world around!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Ere dawn—the streets hold not a sound.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">O whither, whither do you run?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Sleep at this hour is pleasant.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The flowers are dreaming, dewy-wet;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The bird-nests they are silent yet.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Where to, before the rising sun</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The world her light is giving?</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“To earn a living.”</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">O whither, whither, pretty child,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">So late at night a-strolling?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Alone—with darkness round you curled?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">All rests!—and sleeping is the world.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Where drives you now the wind so wild?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The midnight bells are tolling!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Day hath not warmed you with her light;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">What aid canst hope then from the night?</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Night’s deaf and blind!—Oh, whither, child,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Light-minded fancies weaving?</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“To earn a living.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="right">[<i>From “Songs of Labor” by Morris Rosenfeld, translated<br /> -by Rose Pastor Stokes and Helena Frank.</i>]</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_201"></a>[201]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI<br /> -<span class="smaller">YOUTH AND TRADES UNIONS</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>The portrayal of youth in a neighborhood such -as ours cannot be dissociated from labor conditions, -and it was not incongruous that some -of the deeper implications of this problem -should have been brought to us by young -women.</p> - -<p>In the early nineties nothing in the experience -or education of young people not in -labor circles prepared them to understand the -movement among working people for labor -organization. Happily for our democracy and -the breadth of our culture, that could not be -so sweepingly said to-day. Schools, colleges, -leagues for political education, clubs, and associations -bring this subject now to the attention -of pupils and the public.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus71.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Our neighbors in the Jefferson Street tenement -where we at first lived had, like ourselves, -little time for purely social intercourse. With -the large family on the floor below we had established -a stairway acquaintance. We had remarked -the tidy appearance of a daughter of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_202"></a>[202]</span> -the house, and wondered how, with her long -hours of work, she was able to accomplish it,—for -we knew our own struggle to keep up a -standard of beauty and order. We often saw -her going out in the evening with books under -her arm, and surmised that she attended night -school. She called one evening, and our pleasure -was mingled with consternation to learn -that she wished aid in organizing a trades union. -Even the term was unknown to me. She spoke -without bitterness of the troubles of her shop-mates, -and tried to make me see why they -thought a union would bring them relief. It -was evident that she came to me because of -her faith that one who spoke English so easily -would know how to organize in the “American”<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_203"></a>[203]</span> -way, and perhaps with a hope that the -union might gain respectability from the alliance. -We soon learned that one great obstacle -to the organization of young women in the -trades was a fear on their part that it would -be considered “unladylike,” and might even -militate against their marriage.</p> - -<p>The next day I managed to find time to visit -the library for academic information on the -subject of trades unions. That evening, in a -basement in a nearby street, I listened to the -broken English of the cigarmaker who was -trying to help the girls; and it was interesting -to find that what he gave them was neither -more nor less than the philosophic argument -of the book I had consulted,—that collective -power might be employed to insure justice for -the individual himself powerless.</p> - -<p>The girls had real grievances, for which -they blamed their forewoman. One or two -who tried to reach the owner of the factory -had been dismissed,—at the instance of the -forewoman, they believed. It was determined -to send a committee to present their complaints -and to stand by the girls who were appointed -on it.</p> - -<p>The union organized that night did not last -very long, for the stability of the personnel of -the trades union, particularly among women,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_204"></a>[204]</span> -cannot always be reckoned on. People as yet -step from class to class in America with ease -as compared to other countries, and this has -obvious democratic advantages; but it is not -so fortunate for the trade organizations or for -the standardization of the trade itself, which is -thus continually recruited from the inexperienced. -There is a flux among the workers, the -union officials, and the employers themselves. -Among women, the more or less ephemeral -character of much of their work, their frequent -change of occupation, and marriage, all -operate against permanency. The girl who -knocked at our door that night, to invite us -to our first trades union meeting, is now in a -profession.</p> - -<p>Later, when we moved to Henry Street, -Minnie, who lived in the next block, enlisted -our sympathy in her efforts to organize the -girls in her trade. She based her arguments for -shorter hours on their need of time to acquire -knowledge of housekeeping and home-making -before marriage and motherhood came to them, -touching instinctively a fundamental argument -against excessive hours for women.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp53" id="fp15" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp15.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">After the Long Day</span></p> -</div> - -<p>We invited Minnie to a conference of philanthropists -on methods for improving the condition -of working girls, in order that she might -give her conception of what would be advantageous.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_205"></a>[205]</span> -Representatives of the various societies -reported on their work: vacations provided, -seats in stores, religious instruction, and so on. -“We are the hands of the boss,” said Minnie -when her turn came. “What does he care for -us? I say, Let our hands be for him and our -heads for ourselves. We must work for bread -now, but we must think of our future homes. -What time has a working girl to make ready -for this? We never see -a meal prepared. For -all we know, soup grows -on trees.”</p> - -<div class="figleft illowp75" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus72.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Minnie, who was headlined -by the press during -a strike as a Joan of Arc -leading militant hosts to -battle, had no educational preparation for leadership; -no equipment beyond her sound good -sense and her woman’s subtlety. Speaking once -of the difficulty of earning a living without -training, she told me that her mother could -do nothing but sell potatoes from a push-cart -in the street, “among those rough people.” -Then, repenting of her harshness, “Of course, -some of those people must be nice, too, but it -is hard to find a diamond in the mud.”</p> - -<p>Frequent and prolonged conferences at the -settlement with Minnie and Lottie, her equally<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_206"></a>[206]</span> -intelligent companion, and with many others, -inevitably led to some action on our part; and -long anticipating the Women’s Trades Union -League, we took the initiative in organizing a -union at the time of a strike in the cloak trade. -The eloquence of the girl leaders, the charm of -our back yard as a meeting-place, -and possibly our -own conviction that only -through organization -could wages be raised and -shop conditions improved, -finally prevailed, and the -union was organized. One -of our residents and a brilliant -young Yiddish-speaking -neighbor took upon -themselves some of the -duties of the walking delegate. -When the strike -was settled, and agreements -for the season were about to be signed -by the contractors (or middlemen) and the -leader of the men’s organization, I was invited -into a smoke-filled room in Walhalla Hall -long after midnight, to be told that the girls -were included in the terms of the contract.</p> - -<div class="figright illowp40" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus73.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Though its immediate object was accomplished, -this union also proved to be an<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_207"></a>[207]</span> -ephemeral organization. For years I held the -funds, amounting to sixteen dollars, because the -members had scattered and we could never -assemble a quorum to dispose of the money.</p> - -<p>When, in 1903, I was asked to participate in -the formation of the National Women’s Trades -Union League, I recognized the importance of -the movement in enlisting sympathy and support -for organizations among working women. -To my regret I cannot claim to have rendered -services of any value in the development of the -League. It was inevitable that its purpose, as -epitomized in its motto—“The Eight-hour -Day; A Living Wage; To Guard the Home”—should -draw to it effective participants and -develop strong leaders among working women -themselves. Those who are familiar with factory -and shop conditions are convinced that -through organization and not through the -appeal to pity can permanent reforms be assured. -It is undoubtedly true that the enforcement of -existing laws is in large measure dependent -upon watchful trades unions. The -women’s trades union leagues, national and -state, are not only valuable because of support -given to the workers, but because they make it -possible for women other than wage-earners to -identify themselves with working people, and -thus give practical expression to their belief<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_208"></a>[208]</span> -that with them and through them the realization -of the ideals of democracy can be advanced.</p> - -<p class="tb">The imagination of New Yorkers has been -fired from time to time by young working -women who have had no little influence in helping -to rouse public interest in labor conditions. -My associates and I, in the early years of the -settlement, owed much to a mother and daughter -of singularly lofty mind and character, both -working women, who for a time joined the settlement -family. They had been affiliated with -labor organizations almost all their lives. The -ardor of the daughter continually prodded us -to action, and the clear-minded, intellectual -mother helped us to a completer realization of -the deep-lying causes that had inspired Mazzini -and other great leaders, whose works we -were re-reading.</p> - -<p>More recently a young capmaker has stimulated -recognition of the public’s responsibility -for the well-being of the young worker. Despite -her long hours, she found time to organize -a union in her trade, not in a spurt of enthusiasm, -but as a result of a sober realization that -women workers must stand together for themselves -and for those who come after them.</p> - -<p>The inquiry that followed the disastrous fire -in the factory of the Triangle Waist Company<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_209"></a>[209]</span> -in March, 1911, when one hundred and forty-three -girls were burned, or leaped from windows -to their death, disclosed the fact that the -owners of this factory, like many others, kept -the doors of the lofts locked. Hundreds of -girls, many stories above the streets, were thus -cut off from access to stairs or fire-escapes because -of the fear of small thefts of material. -The girls in this factory had tried, a short time -before the fire, to organize a union to protest -against bad shop conditions and petty tyrannies.</p> - -<p>After the tragedy, at a meeting in the Metropolitan -Opera House called together by horrified -men and women of the city, this young -capmaker stood at the edge of the great opera-house -stage and in a voice hardly raised, though -it reached every person in that vast audience, -arraigned society for regarding human life so -cheaply. No one could have been insensitive to -her cry for justice, her anguish over the youth -so ruthlessly destroyed; and there must have -been many in that audience for whom ever after -the little, brown-clad figure with the tragic -voice symbolized the factory girl in the lofts -high above the streets of an indifferent -metropolis.</p> - -<p>Before the fire the “shirt-waist strike” had -brought out a wave of popular sympathy. This<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_210"></a>[210]</span> -was due in part to the youth of a majority of -the workers, to a realization of the heroic sacrifices -some of them were making (an inkling of -which got to the public), and in part also to -disapproval of the methods used to break the -strike. Fashionable women’s clubs held meetings -to hear the story from the lips of girl -strikers themselves, and women gave voice to -their disapproval of judges who sentenced the -young strikers to prison, where they were associated—often -sharing the same cells—with -criminals and prostitutes. Little wonder that -women who had never known the bitterness of -poverty or oppression found satisfaction in picketing -side by side with the working girls who -were paying the great cost of the strike. Many, -among them settlement residents, readily went -bail or paid fines for the girls who were arrested.</p> - -<p class="tb">Cruel and dramatic exploitation of workers -is in the main a thing of the past, but the more -subtle injuries of modern industry, due to overstrain, -speeding-up, and a minimum of leisure, -have only recently attracted attention. It is -barely three years (1912) since the New York -Factory Law was amended to prohibit the employment -of girls over sixteen for more than -ten hours in one day or fifty-four hours a week.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_211"></a>[211]</span> -The legislation reflected the new compunction -of the community concerning these workers, -though unlimited hours are still permitted in -stores during the Christmas season.</p> - -<div class="figleft illowp30" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus74.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Few people realize what even a ten-hour day -means, especially when the -worker lives at a distance -from the shop or factory -and additional hours must -be spent in going to and -from the place of employment. -And in New York -travel during the rush hours -may mean standing the entire -distance.</p> - -<p>Working girls, in their -own vernacular, have “two -jobs.” Those who have -long hours and poor pay -must live at the cheapest -rate. Often they are not -able to pay for more than -part use of a bed, and however generous may be -the provision of working girls’ hotels, the low-paid -workers are not able to avail themselves -of these. The girl who receives the least wage -must live down to the bone, cook her own -meals, wash and iron her own shirt-waists, attend -to all the necessary details for her home<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_212"></a>[212]</span> -and person, and this after the long day. The -cheapest worker is also likely to be the overtime -worker, a fact that is most obvious to -the public at Christmas time.</p> - -<p>The Factory Investigating Commission, appointed -after the Triangle fire to recommend -measures for safety, was continued for the -purpose of inquiry into the wages of labor -throughout the state and also into the advisability -of establishing a minimum wage rate. -The reports of the commission, the public -hearings, and the invaluable contributions to -current periodicals are enlightening the community -on the social perils due to giving a wage -less than the necessary cost of decent living; -and as the great majority of employees concerning -whom this information has been gathered -are young girls, the appeal to the public -is bound to bring recommendations for safety -in this respect. The dullness of life when pettiest -economies must be forever practiced has -also been well pictured in the testimony brought -out by the commission.</p> - -<p class="tb">In these chapters I have sought to portray -the youth of our neighborhood at its more conscious -and responsible period, when the age of -greatest incorrigibility (said to be between thirteen -and sixteen) has been passed. Labor discussions<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_213"></a>[213]</span> -and solemn conferences on social problems -may seem an incongruous background for -a picture of youth. Happily, its gayety is not -easily suppressed, and comforting reassurance -lies in the fact that recreation has ever for -the young its strong and legitimate appeal; -that art and music carry their message, and -that the public conscience which recognizes the -requirements of youth is reflected in the increasing -provision for its pleasures. “Wider use of -school buildings,” “recreation directors,” “social -centers,” “municipal dances,” are new -terms that have crept into our vocabularies.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp75" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus75.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Though the Italians have brought charming<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_214"></a>[214]</span> -<i>festas</i> into our city streets, it was not until I -admired the decorations that enhance the picturesque -streets of Japan, and enjoyed the sight -of the gay dancers on the boulevards of Paris -on the day in July when the French celebrate, -that it occurred to me that we might bring -color and gayety to the streets—even the ugly -streets—of New York. For years Henry Street -has had its dance on the Fourth of July, and -the city and citizens share in the preparation -and expense. The asphalt is put in good condition -(once, for the very special occasion of -the settlement’s twentieth birthday, the city -officials hastened a contemplated renewal of the -asphalt); the street-cleaning department gives -an extra late-afternoon cleaning and keeps a -white uniformed sweeper on duty during the -festivity; the police department loans the -stanchions and the park department the rope; -the Edison Company illuminates with generosity; -from the tenements and the settlement -houses hang the flags and the bunting streamers, -and the neighbors—all of us together—pay -for the band. Asphalt, when swept and cleaned, -makes an admirable dancing floor, and to this -street dance come all the neighbors and their -friends. The children play games to the music -in their roped-off section, the young people -dance, and all are merry. The first year of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_215"></a>[215]</span> -experiment the friendly captain of the precinct -asked what protection was needed. We had -courage and faith to request that no officer -should be added to the regular man on the -beat, and the good conduct of the five or six -thousand who danced or were spectators entirely -justified the faith and the courage.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="fp16" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp16.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">An Incident in the Historical Pageant on Henry Street, -Commemorating the Twentieth Anniversary of the Settlement</span></p> -</div> - -<p>The protective legislation, the new terms in -our vocabulary, and the dance on the street are -but symbols of the acceptance by the community -of its responsibility for protecting and -nurturing its precious possession,—the youth of -the city.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_216"></a>[216]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII<br /> -<span class="smaller">WEDDINGS AND SOCIAL HALLS</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>When we came to Henry Street, the appearance -of a carriage before the door caused some -commotion, and members of the settlement returning -to the house would be met by excited -little girls who announced, “You’s got a wedding -by you. There’s a carriage there.” It -was taken for granted in those days that nothing -short of a wedding would justify such magnificence.</p> - -<p>In one way or another we were continually -reminded of the paramount importance of the -wedding in the life of the neighborhood. -“What!” said a shocked father to whom I expressed -my occidental revolt against insistence -upon his daughter’s marriage to a man who -was brought by the professional matchmaker -and was a stranger to the girl; “let a girl of -seventeen, with no judgment whatsoever, decide -on anything so important as a husband?” -But as youth asserts itself under the new conditions, -the <i>Schadchen</i>, or marriage-broker, no -longer occupies an important position.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_217"></a>[217]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp48" style="max-width: 20.3125em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus76.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>When we first visited families in the tenements, -we might have been misled as to the -decline in the family fortunes if we judged -their previous estate by the photographs hung -high on the walls of the poor homes, of bride -and groom, splendidly arrayed for the wedding -ceremony. But we learned that the costumes -had been rented and the photographs taken,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_218"></a>[218]</span> -partly that the couple might keep a reminder -of the splendor of that brief hour, and also -that relations on the other side of the water -might be impressed with their prosperity.</p> - -<p>Since those days the neighborhood has become -more sophisticated, and brides are more likely -to make their own wedding gowns, often exhibiting -good taste as well as skill; though the -shop windows in the foreign quarters still display -waxen figures of modishly attired bride -and groom, with alluring announcements of -the low rates at which the garments may be -hired.</p> - -<p>We were invited to many weddings, and often -pitied the little bride who, having fasted all day -as required by orthodox custom, went wearily -through the intricate ceremony, reminiscent of -tribal days. One bride to whom we offered our -congratulations accepted them without enthusiasm, -and added, “’Tain’t no such easy thing -to get married.”</p> - -<p>The younger generation, born in America, -whose loyalty and affection for their elders is -unimpaired by the changed conditions, but for -whom the old symbols and customs have no -longer a religious meaning, often submit to the -orthodox wedding ceremony out of deference -to the wishes of the parents and grandparents.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp57" id="fp17" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp17.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Older Generation</span></p> -</div> - -<p>The ceremony in the rented hall (where it<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_219"></a>[219]</span> -takes place owing to the physical limitations of -the home) loses some of its dignity, however -much it may have of warmth and affection. To -the weddings come all the family, from the aged -grandparents to the youngest grandchildren. -Before the evening is over the babies are asleep -in the arms of their parents or under the care -of the old woman in attendance -in the cloak-room.</p> - -<div class="figright illowp42" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus77.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>At a typical wedding of twenty -years ago the supper was spread -in the basement of one of the -public halls, and the incongruities -were not more painfully obvious -to us than to the delicate-minded -bride. The rabbi chanted the -blessings, and the “poet” sang old Jewish legends, -weaving in stories of the families united -that evening. We were moved almost to tears -by the pathos of these exiles clinging to the -poetic traditions of the past amid filthy surroundings; -for the tables were encompassed by -piles of beer kegs, with their suggestion of drink -so foreign to the people gathered there; and -men and women who were not guests came and -went to the dressing-rooms that opened into -the dining-hall. Every time we attended a wedding -it shocked us anew that these sober and -right-behaving people were obliged to use for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_220"></a>[220]</span> -their social functions the offensive halls over or -behind saloons, because there were no others to -be had.</p> - -<p>An incident a few days after my coming to -the East Side had first brought to my attention -the question of meeting-places for the people. -As usual in hard times, it was difficult for the -unhappy, dissatisfied unemployed to find a place -for the discussion of their troubles. Spontaneous -gatherings were frequent that summer, and -in one of them, described by the papers next -morning as a street riot, I accidentally found -myself.</p> - -<p>It was no more than an attempt of men out -of work to get together and talk over their situation. -They had no money for the rent of a -meeting-place, and having been driven by the -police from the street corners, they tried to -get into an unoccupied hall on Grand Street. -Rough handling by the police stirred them to -retaliation, and show of clubs was met by missiles—pieces -of smoked fish snatched from a -nearby stand kept by an old woman. Violence -and ill-feeling might have been averted by the -simple expedient of permitting them to meet unmolested. -Instinctively I realized this, and felt -for my purse, but I had come out with only -sufficient carfare to carry me on my rounds, -and an unknown, impecunious young woman in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_221"></a>[221]</span> -a nurse’s cotton dress was not in a position to -speak convincingly on the subject of renting -halls.</p> - -<p>Later, when I visited London, I could understand -the wisdom of non-interference with the -well-known Hyde Park meetings. It is encouraging -to note that common sense is touching -the judgment of New York’s officials regarding -the right of the people to meet and speak -freely.</p> - -<p>Other occurrences of those early days pointed -to the need of some place of assemblage other -than the unclean rooms connected with saloons. -Walhalla Hall, on Orchard Street, famous long -ago as a meeting-place for labor organizations, -provided them with accommodations not more -appropriate than those I have described. When -from time to time a settlement resident helped -to hide beer kegs with impromptu decorations, -we pledged ourselves that whenever it came into -our power we would provide a meeting-place -for social functions and labor gatherings and a -forum for public debate that would not sacrifice -the dignity of those who used it. Our -own settlement rooms were by that time in -constant service for the neighborhood; but it -was plain that even if we could have given them -up entirely to such purposes, a place entirely -free from “auspices” and to be rented—not<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_222"></a>[222]</span> -given under favor—was required. Prince Kropotkin, -then on a visit to America, urged upon -me the wisdom of keeping a people free by -allowing freedom of speech, and of respecting -their assemblages by affording dignified accommodations -for them.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus78.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>It was curious, when one realized it, that -recognition of the normal, wholesome impulse -of young people to congregate should also have -been left to the saloon-keeper, and the young -lads who frequented undesirable places were -often wholly unaware that they themselves -were, to use their own diction, “easy marks.”</p> - -<p>A genial red-haired lad, a teamster by trade, -referred with pride to his ability as a boxer. -In answer to pointed questions as to where and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_223"></a>[223]</span> -how he acquired his skill, he said a saloon-keeper, -“an awful good sport,” allowed the -boys to use his back room. Fortunately the -“good sport’s” saloon was at some distance; -and, suggesting that it must be a bore to go -so far after a day’s hard work, I offered to provide -a room and a professional to coach them -on fine points if James thought the “fellows” -would care for it. A call next morning at the -office of the Children’s Aid Society resulted in -permission to put to this service an unused part -of a nearby building, and during the day a -promising boxer was engaged. James had not -waited to inquire if I had either the room or -trainer ready, and appeared the next evening -with a list of young men for the club.</p> - -<p>Some weeks later a “throw-away,” a small -handbill to announce events, came into my -hands. It read:</p> - -<p class="center">EAT ’EM ALIVE!<br /> -Grand Annual Ball of the ⸺ of the<br /> -Nurses’ Settlement.<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p> - -<p>The date was given and the price of admission -“with wardrobe”;<a id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> and to my horror the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_224"></a>[224]</span> -place designated for this function was a notorious -hall on the Bowery, its door adjacent -to one opening into “Suicide Hall,” so designated -because of several self-murders recently -committed there. There was a great deal of -mystery about the object of the ball, and the -instructor, guileless in almost everything but the -art of boxing, reluctantly betrayed the secret. -They had in mind to make a large sum of money -and with it buy me a present. They dreamed -of a writing-desk. It was a difficult situation, -but the young men, their chivalrous instincts -touched, reacted to my little speech and seemed -to comprehend that it would be embarrassing -to the ladies of the settlement to be placed under -the implication of profiting by the sale of liquor,—though -this was delicate ground to tread -upon, since members of the families of several -of the club boys were bartenders or in the -saloon business; but the name of the settlement -had been used to advertise the ball, and -“there was something in it.”</p> - -<p>To emphasize my point and to relieve them -of complications, since they had contracted for -the use of the place, I offered to pay the owner -of the hall a sum of money (one hundred dollars, -as I recall it) if he would keep the bar -closed on the night of the dance; and I pledged -the young men that we would all attend and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_225"></a>[225]</span> -help to make the ball a success if we could -compromise in this manner. The owner of the -hall, however, as some of the more worldly-wise -members had prophesied, scoffed at my -offer.</p> - -<p>Public halls are the most common way of -making money for a desired end. Sometimes -ephemeral organizations are created to “run” -them and divide the profits that may accrue. -At other times, like the fashionable “Charity” -balls, the object is to raise money for a beneficent -purpose. It required some readjustment of -the ordinary association of ideas to purchase -without comment the tickets offered at the door -of the settlement for a “grand ball,” the proceeds -of which were to provide a tombstone for -a departed friend.</p> - -<p class="tb">It was soon clear to us that an entirely innocent -and natural desire for recreation afforded -continual opportunity for the overstimulation -of the senses and for dangerous exploitation. -Later, when the question could be formally -brought to the notice of the public, men and -women whose minds had been turned to the -evils of the dance-halls and the causes of social -unrest responded to our appeal, and the Social -Halls Association was organized.</p> - -<p>Clinton Hall, a handsome, fireproof structure,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_226"></a>[226]</span> -was erected on Clinton Street in 1904. It provides -meeting-rooms for trades unions, lodges, -and benefit societies; an auditorium and ballroom, -poolrooms, dining-halls, and kitchens, -with provision for the Kosher preparation of -meals. In summer there is a roof garden, with -a stage for dramatic performances. The building -was opened with a charming dance given -by the young men of the settlement, followed -soon after by a beautiful and impressive performance -of the <i>Ajax</i> of Sophocles by the Greeks -of New York.</p> - -<p>The stock was subscribed for by people of -means, by the small merchants of the neighborhood, -and by settlement residents and their -friends. A janitress brought her bank book, -showing savings amounting to $200, with which -she desired to purchase two shares. She was -with difficulty dissuaded from the investment, -which I felt she could not afford. When I explained -that the people who were subscribing -for the stock were prepared not to receive any -return from it; that they were risking the money -for the sake of those who were obliged to frequent -undesirable halls, Mrs. H⸺ replied, -“That’s just how Jim and me feel about it. -We’ve been janitors, and we know.” The Social -Halls Association is a business corporation,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_227"></a>[227]</span> -and has its own board of directors, of -which I have been president from the beginning.</p> - -<p>Clinton Hall has afforded an excellent illustration -of the psychology of suggestion. The -fact that no bar is in evidence, and no white-aproned -waiters parade in and out of the ballroom -or halls of meetings, has resulted in a -minimum consumption of liquor, although, during -the first years, drinks could have been purchased -by leaving the crowd and the music -and sitting at a table in a room one floor below -the ballroom. Leaders of rougher crowds -than the usual clientele of Clinton Hall, accustomed -to a “rake-off” from the bar at the -end of festivities, had to have documentary evidence -of the small sales, so incredible did it -seem to them that the “crowd” had drunk so -little.</p> - -<p>It has been a disappointment that the income -has not met the reasonable expectations of those -interested. This is due partly to some mistakes -of construction,—not surprising since there was -no precedent to guide us,—largely to the competition -of places with different standards which -derive profit from a stimulated sale of liquor, -and also partly to the inability, not peculiar to -our neighbors, to distinguish between a direct -and an indirect charge. In all other respects<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_228"></a>[228]</span> -the history of this building has justified our -faith that the people are ready to pay for decency. -It is patronized by five to six hundred -thousand people every year.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp46" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus79.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_229"></a>[229]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII<br /> -<span class="smaller">FRIENDS OF RUSSIAN FREEDOM</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>If spiritual force implies the power to lift the -individual out of the contemplation of his own -interests into something great and of ultimate -value to the men and women of this and the -generations to come, and if, so lifted, sacrifices -are freely offered on the altar of the cause, it -may truly be said that the Russian Revolution is -a spiritual force on the East Side of New York.</p> - -<p>People who all through the day are immersed -in mundane affairs, the earning of money to provide -food and shelter, are transfigured at its -appeal. Back of the Russian Jew’s ardor for -the liberation of a people from the absolutism -that provoked terrorism lies also the memory of -pogroms and massacres.</p> - -<p>Though I had agonized with my neighbors -over the tales that crossed the water and the -pitiful human drift that came to our shores, -I did not know how far I was from realizing -the depths of horror until I saw at Ellis Island -little children with saber-cuts on their heads -and bodies, mutilated and orphaned at the -Kishineff massacre. Rescued by compassionate<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_230"></a>[230]</span> -people, they had been sent here to be taken into -American homes.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp93" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus80.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>The procession of mourners marching with -black-draped flags after the news of the Bialystok -massacre, the mass-meetings called to give -expression to sorrow at the failure of Father -Gapon’s attempt to obtain a hearing for the -workingmen on that “Bloody Sunday”<a id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> when, -it will be remembered, the priest led hosts of -men, women, and children carrying icons and -the Emperor’s picture to his palace, only to be -fired upon by his order, are some of the events -that keep the Russian revolutionary movement -a stirring propaganda in our quarter of New -York, at least.</p> - -<p>Our contact with the members of the Russian<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_231"></a>[231]</span> -revolutionary committee in New York is -close enough to enable us to be of occasional -service to them, and some report of our -trustworthiness must have penetrated into the -prisons, as the letters we receive and the exiles -who come to us indicate.</p> - -<p>A volume might be written of these visitors. -The share they have taken in the revolutionary -movement is known, and their coming is often -merely an assurance that hope still lives. The -young women, intrepid figures, are significant -not only of the long-continued struggle for political -deliverance, but of the historical progress -of womenkind toward intellectual and social -freedom.</p> - -<p>When Dr. W⸺ called upon me he was on -his way to Sakhalin to join his wife after nearly -twenty years’ separation. For participation in -an act of violence against an official notorious -for his brutality and disregard even of Russian -justice she had been sentenced to death, but -the sentence had been commuted to imprisonment -in the Schlüsselburg fortress, whither she -was conducted in heavy chains, and where she -remained thirteen years. Later she was rearrested -and sentenced to exile for life. She had -been for five years in the frozen Siberian village -of Sakhalin, when, in 1898, her husband, -having seen their only son established in life<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_232"></a>[232]</span> -and settled his own affairs, obtained permission -from the government to join his wife in her exile.</p> - -<p>In imagination I followed this cultured, impressive-looking -man on his long journey with a -hope that was almost a prayer that the reunited -husband and wife would find recompense in -their comradeship for all that had been given -up and that the woman’s fine spirit would make -up for whatever she might have lost through -deprivation of stimulating contact with her own -circle in the world.</p> - -<p>My interest caused me to follow their subsequent -history. A few years after Dr. W⸺ -had joined his wife they were permitted to remove -to Vladivostok. In 1906, after the October -manifesto, there was a military revolutionary -movement in Vladivostok. The governor -gave the order to fire and Madame W⸺, who, -with her husband, was watching the crowd, -was killed by a stray bullet. Her son is now -a lawyer in Petrograd. Although separated -from his mother nearly all his life he shows -his devotion to her memory and his sympathy -with the cause by defending the “politicals” -who come to him.</p> - -<p class="tb">The settlement from time to time affords -occasions for conference on Russian affairs<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_233"></a>[233]</span> -between influential Americans and visiting Russians -who entertain hopes of reform by other -than active revolutionary methods and it has -also given a hearing and found sympathetic -friends for other unhappy subjects of the -Czar.</p> - -<p>Echoes came to us of the persecution of the -Doukhobors, a Russian religious communistic -sect, whose creed bears resemblance to that of -the Friends. Like the active revolutionists, -these people had suffered flogging, imprisonment, -and exile, but in their case for espousing -the doctrine of non-resistance.</p> - -<p>In 1897, upon their refusal to take up arms, -persecution again became active. The Russian -press was forbidden to allude to the subject, -but a petition was said to have been thrown -into the carriage of the Empress when she was -traveling in the Caucasus, where the Doukhobors -had been banished, and her interest was -aroused. By 1900 Tolstoi had succeeded in -fixing attention upon their plight, and arrangements -were finally made, chiefly through the -efforts of Friends in England and America and -the devotion of Aylmer Maude, for their settlement -in Canada.</p> - -<p>In order to raise funds for the emigration -of these peasants to Canada, Tolstoi was persuaded -to depart from his established principle<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_234"></a>[234]</span> -and accept copyright for “Resurrection,” but -the Doukhobors refused to benefit by the -sale of a book which they did not consider -“good.”</p> - -<p>During the first years of their life in Manitoba -things did not go well with them, and the -House on Henry Street became the headquarters -for some of their friends as they came and went -from England. A young man who, under the -influence of Tolstoi, had given up his commission -in the army spent a winter in Canada -helping them to lay out their farm lands.</p> - -<p>When he visited us he paid full tribute to -the sincerity of their religious convictions, but -somewhat ruefully lamented the fanatical extremes -to which they carried them. The Doukhobors, -who believed that all work should be -shared, voted against one person milking their -single cow. “But the cow,” said the young -ex-captain, “was not a communist, and went -dry.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp53" id="fp18" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp18.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><i>Fraternal Greetings P Kropotkin</i></p> -</div> - -<p>My association with the fortunes of the -Doukhobors ended with a slight incident some -time later. A peasant, unable to speak any -language or dialect that we could command in -the house or neighborhood, presented a card at -our door on which were written these three -words, “Kropotkin, Crosby, Wald.” When an -interpreter was secured from Ellis Island we<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_235"></a>[235]</span> -learned that, hearing of the pilgrimage of the -Doukhobors to Canada, he had decided to follow -them, and for clews had only the remote connection -of Kropotkin’s sympathy with Russian -peasants, Ernest Crosby’s devotion to Tolstoi, -and some rumor of his and my interest in these -people. That he should have succeeded in finding -me seemed quite remarkable. He was sent -to Canada, and subsequent letters from him gave -evidence of his contentment with the odd sect -to which he had been attracted.</p> - -<p>After rather serious conflict between their religious -practices and the Canadian regulations, -the Doukhobors are reported to have settled -their differences and to have established flourishing -communistic colonies where thousands -of acres have been brought under cultivation.</p> - -<p class="tb">The Friends of Russian Freedom, a national -association with headquarters in New York, is -composed of well-known American sympathizers, -and, like the society of the same name in -England, recognizes the spirit that animates -Russians engaged in the struggle for political -freedom, and is watchful to show sympathy -and give aid.</p> - -<p>An occasion for this arose about eight years -ago, when the Russian Government demanded<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_236"></a>[236]</span> -the extradition of one Jan Pouren as a common -criminal. The Commissioner before whom the -case was brought acceded to Russia’s demands -and Pouren was held in the Tombs prison -to await extradition. Then this insignificant -Lettish peasant became a center of protest. -Pouren, it was known, had been involved in the -Baltic uprisings, and acquiescence in Russia’s -demands for his extradition would imperil thousands -who, like him, had sought a refuge here, -and would take heart out of the people who -still clung to the party of protest throughout -Russia. A great mass-meeting held in Cooper -Union bore testimony to the tenacity with -which high-minded Americans clung to the -cherished traditions of their country. Able -counsel generously offered their services, and it -was hoped that this and other expressions of -public protest would induce the Secretary of -State to order the case reopened.</p> - -<p>My own participation came about because of -a request from the members of the Russian -Revolutionary Committee in New York that I -present to President Roosevelt personally the -arguments for the reopening of the case. An -hour preceding the weekly Cabinet meeting was -appointed for my visit. I took to the White -House an extraordinary letter sent by Lettish -peasants, now hard-working and law-abiding<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_237"></a>[237]</span> -residents of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. -It read: “We hear Jan Pouren is in prison, -that he is called a criminal. We called him -‘brother’ and ‘comrade.’ Do not let him fall -into the hands of the bloodthirsty vampire.” To -this letter were appended the signatures and addresses -of men who had been in the struggle in -Russia and who, by identifying themselves with -Pouren, placed themselves in equal jeopardy -should the case go against him. They offered -to give sworn affidavits, or to come in person -to testify for the accused. With the letter -had come a considerable sum of money which -the signers had collected from their scanty -wages for Pouren’s defense. I also had with me -a translation of the report to the second Duma -on the Baltic uprisings wherein this testimony, -in reference to the attempt of the Government -to locate those involved in the disturbances, was -recorded: “They beat the eight-year-old Anna -Pouren, demanding of her that she should tell -the whereabouts of her father.”</p> - -<p>The President and the Secretaries concerned -discussed the matter, and I left with the assurance -that the new evidence offered would -justify the reopening of the case. At the second -hearing the Commissioner’s decision was reversed -and Russia’s demands refused, on the -ground that the alleged offenses were shown<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_238"></a>[238]</span> -to be political and “not in any one instance -for personal grievance or for personal gain.”<a id="FNanchor_11" href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p> - -<p class="tb">George Kennan, who first focused the attention -of Americans upon the political exiles -through his dramatic portrayal of their condition -in the Siberian prisons, is still the eager -champion of their cause. Prince Kropotkin, -who thrilled the readers of the <i>Atlantic Monthly</i> -with his “Autobiography of a Revolutionist”;<a id="FNanchor_12" href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> -Tschaikowsky, Gershuni, Marie Sukloff<a id="FNanchor_13" href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a>—a long -procession of saints and martyrs, sympathizers, -and supporters—have crossed the threshold of -the House on Henry Street and stirred deep -feeling there. Katharine Breshkovsky (Babuschka, -little grandmother)<a id="FNanchor_14" href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a>, most beloved of -all who have suffered for the great cause, is to -many a symbol of the Russian revolution.</p> - -<p>Who of those that sat around the fire with -her in the sitting-room of the Henry Street -house can ever forget the experience? We knew -vaguely the story of the young noblewoman’s<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_239"></a>[239]</span> -attempt to teach the newly freed serfs on her -father’s estate in the early sixties; how her religious -zeal to give all that she had to the poor -was regarded as dangerous by the Czar’s government, -and how one suppression and persecution -after another finally drove her into the -circle of active revolutionists. Her long incarceration -in the Russian prison and final sentence -to the Kara mines and hard labor was known -to us, and we identified her as the woman whose -exalted spirit had stirred Mr. Kennan when -he met her in the little Buriat hamlet on the -frontier of China so many years ago.</p> - -<p>And then, after two decades of prison and -Siberian exile, she sat with us and thrilled us -with glimpses of the courage of those who answered -the call. Lightly touching on her own -share in the tragic drama, she carried us with -her on the long road to Siberia among the -politicals and the convicts who were their companions, -through the perils of an almost successful -escape with three students to the Pacific, a -thousand miles away. She told of her recapture -and return to hard labor in the Kara mines; -of the unspeakable outrages, and the heroic -measures her companions there took to draw -attention to the prisoners’ plight, and how, -despite these things, she looked back upon -that time as wonderful because of the beautiful<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_240"></a>[240]</span> -and valiant souls who were her fellow-prisoners -and companions, young women who had given -up more than life itself for the great cause of -liberty.</p> - -<p>Her visit to America in 1905 was made at a -time when the long-cherished hopes of the revolutionists -had some promise of realization. It -was deemed necessary to gain the utmost sympathy -and support from the comrades here, and -she did indeed reawaken in the hearts of our -neighbors their most passionate desire for the -political emancipation of a country so well beloved -from a government so well hated.</p> - -<p>I accompanied Madame Breshkovsky to a -reception given in her honor by her fellow-countrymen, -and her approach was the signal -for a great demonstration. They lifted her from -the floor and carried her, high above the heads -of the people, to her chair. They sang “The -Marseillaise,” and the men wept with the -women. Love and deference equally were accorded -to her noble character and fine perceptions. -In addition to her clear and far-sighted -vision, her gift of quick and accurate decision -and her extraordinary ability as an organizer -gave her, I was told, remarkable authority in -the councils of her party.</p> - -<p>When I last saw her, at the close of her stay -in this country, she implored me never to forget<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_241"></a>[241]</span> -Russia and the struggle there, and said, as we -separated after a lingering embrace: “Should -you ever grow cold, bring before your mind -the procession of men and women who for -years have gone in the early dawn of their -lives to execution, and gladly, that others might -be free.”</p> - -<p>Upon returning to Russia she was arrested, -and after almost three years’ imprisonment in -the Fortress of Peter and Paul, “that huge -stone coffin,” was sent to Siberia “<i>na poselenie</i>,” -as a forced colonist. The first letters that came -to her friends from Siberia told of the journey -to the place of her exile in the Trans-Baikal, -two or three hundred miles northeast of Irkutsk. -They traveled by train, on foot, in primitive -carts, or “crowded like herrings in a barrel” -in boats that floated with the current, having -no other means of propulsion, and, finally, after -nearly three months spent on the way, reached -the little island town of Kirensk, surrounded -by two rivers, “the immense and cold Lena and -the less majestic Kyrenga.”</p> - -<p>A letter from a fellow-exile, written in August, -1910, tells of her passing through his -village in a company of two hundred and fifty -political exiles and criminals, surrounded by a -numerous guard. “Among the crowd in gray -coats, under gray skies and rain, her imposing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_242"></a>[242]</span> -figure struck everyone.” He notes how her first -thought, after days of travel through the pouring -rain in a miserable cart, and nights spent in -barracks or around a bonfire in the open air, -was for others, “our unfortunate comrades.” -“Their sufferings,” he adds, “do a terrible sore -at her heart.... She formed the center of the -party and the object of general attention, not -only of her political comrades, but also of the -criminals and the soldiers of the convoy. When -I had traveled under escort to our exile some -months before everywhere we heard ‘Babuschka -is coming. God grant us to see her!’ The -prisoners and the exiles in Siberia waited with -reverence to see the miracle woman. She -kissed us all and cheered us all.”</p> - -<p>Her attempted escape from Kirensk, recapture, -and sentence to the Irkutsk prison in the -winter of 1913 are known to all the world. Her -letters to American friends from her Siberian -exile revealed the heroic soul. Her physical -sufferings were only incidentally alluded to, as -in one letter where, in the quaint English acquired -in America and by study during her last -imprisonment, she said: “My gait is not yet -sure enough, and it will take some time before -my forces and my celerity rejoin me to the -point as to let me exercise my feet without the -aid of anyone.” Nevertheless, she continues<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_243"></a>[243]</span> -quite undaunted, “I hope to restore my health -and to live till the day I see you again.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp53" id="fp19" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp19.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“<span class="smcap">Babuschka, Little Grandmother</span>”</p> -</div> - -<p>The sufferings and deprivations of the young -political exiles caused her the greatest sorrow. -It was, indeed, the only suffering she acknowledged, -although she deplored that reasonable -conversation was impossible, with the spies -always within sight and hearing, and expressed -her “disgust” that they accompanied her whenever -she went out.</p> - -<p>In Kirensk there are over a thousand exiles -forced to live on their earnings and the small -stipend received from the government. There -is little work to be had, and that little is rendered -more uncertain by the fact that the police -shift the exiles about, seldom allowing them to -remain in one place for more than six months. -Most of them are thus kept in a state of semi-starvation. -The magazines, books, and picture -post cards which Madame Breshkovsky received -were used by her to extraordinary advantage. -Of some periodicals that I had caused to be -sent her she wrote: “They make a great -parade in Siberia, going as far as Irkutsk and -Yakutsk, and some of them find resting-place in -the libraries and museums.” She taught English -to the young “politicals” and reading and -writing to the illiterate native Siberians. “You -understand my situation,” she wrote: “an old<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_244"></a>[244]</span> -mother who would serve every one of them. I -aid, I grumble, I sustain, I hear confessions -like a priest, I give counsel and admonition, -but this is a drop in the ocean of misery.” And -of herself again: “How happy I am; persecuted, -banished, and yet beloved.”</p> - -<p>From the letters that have come to America -and are shared by the circle of her friends here -I select one, written in answer to a request that -she send a message of her philosophy to the -students of a women’s college who had asked -me to tell the story of the Russian revolution as -personified in her:</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="right">“October 20, 1913, Kirensk.</p> - -<p class="noindent">“Very dear and well-beloved Lillian:—</p> - -<p>“Your letter, as well as the postal cards which -you were good enough to send me, were received -by me several days ago, and perhaps it -is with the last mail that I send you this reply. -Snow already covers the mountainous borders -of the superb Lena, and frost will soon fill the -waters with masses of ice, which will interrupt -all communications for two or three weeks, -leaving us isolated on our little island, entirely -engulfed by cold, badly treated by the north -wind. I hasten, therefore, to thank you for -your indefatigable attention towards the old -recluse who, habituated as she is to pass her<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_245"></a>[245]</span> -days now and again imprisoned or exiled, rejoices, -nevertheless, to find herself loved—to -feel that the most noble hearts beat in unison -with hers.</p> - -<p>“It is strange! Every time that I am asked -to speak about myself I am always confused -and find nothing to say. It is very likely that -if I paid more attention to the exterior circumstances -of my life there would be enough to -talk about that would fill more than a book. -But ever since my childhood I have had the -habit of creating a spiritual life, an interior -world, which responded better to my spiritual -taste. This imaginary world has had the upper -hand over the real world in its details, over all -that is transient.</p> - -<p>“The aim of our existence, the perfecting of -human nature, was always present to my vision, -in my mind. The route, the direction that we -ought to take in order to approach our ideal, -was for me a problem, the solution of which -absorbed the efforts of my entire life. I was -implacable for myself, for my weaknesses, knowing -that to serve a divine cause we must sincerely -love the object of our devotion, that is -to say, in this case, humanity.</p> - -<p>“These meditations, and a vigorous imagination, -which always carried me far beyond the -present, permitting me to inhabit the most<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_246"></a>[246]</span> -longed-for regions, combined to attract very -little of my attention to daily circumstances.</p> - -<p>“Without doubt, I have had suffering in my -life, as I have had moments of joy, of happiness -even. It is also true that the struggle -with my failings, with the habits engrafted by -a worldly education, have cost me more or less -dearly. The misery of those near to me tore -my heart to the extreme. In a word, life has -passed in the same way as a bark thrown upon -the mercy of a sea often stormy. But as the -ideal was always there, present in my heart -and in my mind, it guided me in my course, it -absorbed me to such a degree that I did not -feel in all their integrity the influences of passing -events. <i>The duty to serve the divine cause -of humanity in its entirety, that of my people in -particular, was the law of my life</i>,—the supreme -law, whose voice stilled my passions, my desires, -in short, my weaknesses....</p> - -<p>“Since I live in my thoughts more than by -emotion, it is my thoughts that I have to confess -more than the facts of my life. These -facts, to tell the truth, are sufficiently confused -in my memory, and often I would not be able -to relate them in all their details. Also, in -conversing with those who care to listen to me, -I feel that I am monotonous, for it is always -my ideas and my abstract observations that I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_247"></a>[247]</span> -want to communicate to my listeners. I have -studied a great deal in order to understand even -ever so little of the origin of the human soul, -in order to understand more or less its complexity -of to-day. There lies my only strength, -so to speak, and I continue my study, knowing -how complex my object of study is, and what an -innumerable quantity of different combinations, -of types, of low types, have been formed during -the long history of the laboratory where is prepared -the supreme fusion called the human soul.</p> - -<p>“The esteem for the individual of the human -species, and the adoration of the intellectual -treasure of this individual, ought to form the -center of all religion, of all knowledge, of all -ideal. <i>It is only in venerating the human being -as the most beautiful creation of the world, it is -only in understanding the beauty and the indestructible -grandeur of an intelligence illuminated -by love and knowledge, that the education of -the young generations will bring the desired -fruits....</i></p> - -<p>“Lillian, my friend, I hope to be understood -by you ... I embrace you. I kiss your two -hands and thank you for your noble and dear -existence. To your entire settlement I send -greetings.</p> - -<p class="center">“Your</p> - -<p class="right">“Katharine Breshkovsky.”</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_248"></a>[248]</span></p> - -<p>Madame Breshkovsky’s friends are to be -found in every civilized nation, and her influence, -from an exile’s hut in an isolated village -in the Arctic Circle, has radiated to remote -quarters of the globe. From her prison at -Irkutsk this woman, nearing her seventieth -birthday, sends messages of hope and cheer, -proclaiming her unquenchable faith that the -cause is just, and therefore must prevail.</p> - -<p class="tb">I would not have our profound interest in the -Russian revolution entirely explained by the fellowship -we have had with those who have participated -in it, by the literature which has -stirred hearts and minds everywhere, or by -our actual experience with innocent victims of -outrages. The continuance of a policy of suppression -of freedom infiltrates the social order -everywhere, destroys the germination of new -forms of social life, and he who has not sympathy -with the throbbing of the human heart, -and who does not revolt against injustice anywhere -in the world, who does not see in the -gigantic struggle in Russia a world movement -for freedom and progress that is our struggle -too, will not comprehend the significance of the -sympathy of the many Americans who are -friends of Russian freedom.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_249"></a>[249]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV<br /> -<span class="smaller">SOCIAL FORCES</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>It would be impossible to give adequate presentation -of those forces termed social which have -hold upon our neighborhood.</p> - -<p>People with an ephemeral interest in the social -order and some who are only seeking new -thrills are prone to look upon the East Side as -presenting a picturesque and alluring field for -experimentation, and they are, at times, responsible -for the confused conception of the -neighborhood in the public mind.</p> - -<p>The poor and the unemployed, the sick, the -helpless, and the bewildered, unable to articulate -their woes, are with us in great numbers. -These, however, comprise only a part of our -diverse, cosmopolitan population. There are -many men and women living on the East Side -who give keen scrutiny to measures for social -amelioration. They are likely to appreciate the -sincerity of messages whether these relate to -living conditions, to the drama, or to music. -Not only the East Side “intellectuals,” but the -alert proletariat, may furnish propagandists of -important social reforms.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_250"></a>[250]</span></p> - -<p>The contrast between the character of the religious -influences of the remoter past, or even -of twenty or thirty years ago, in our part of -the city, with those of the present day, is marked -in the church edifices themselves.</p> - -<p>Across from the settlement’s main houses on -Henry Street stands All Saints’, with its slave -gallery, calling up a picture of the rich and -fashionable congregation of long ago. For -years after their removal to other parts of the -city, sentiment for the place, focusing on the -stately, young-minded, octogenarian clergyman -who remained behind, occasionally brought old -members back, but now he too is gone, and the -services echo to empty pews. The Floating -Church, moored to its dock nearby, was removed -but yesterday. Mariners’ Temple and the -Church of the Sea and Land still stand, and -suggest an invitation to the seafaring man to -worship in Henry Street.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp57" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus81.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption">“All Saints’,” on Henry Street.</p> -</div> - -<p>Occasionally a zealot seeks to rekindle in the -churches of our neighborhood the fire that once -brightened their altars, and social workers hailed -one as “comrade” who ventured to bring the -infamy of the red-light district to the knowledge -of his bishop and the city. That bishop, humane -and socially minded, came down for a -short time to live among us, and in the evenings -when he crossed the crowded street to call or<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_251"></a>[251]</span> -to dine with us he dwelt upon the pleasure he -had in learning to know the self-respect and -dignity of his East Side parishioners. He spoke -with gratification of the fact that during his -stay downtown no begging letters had come to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_252"></a>[252]</span> -him from the neighborhood, nor had anyone -belonging to it taken advantage of his presence -to ask for personal favors. The neighborhood -took his presence quite simply, regretting, with -him, the spectacular featuring of his visit by the -newspapers. Indeed, the only cynical comment -that came to my ears was from a young radical, -who, hearing of the bishop’s tribute, said: -“That’s nothing new. It’s only new to a -bishop.”</p> - -<p>In the Roman Catholic churches the change -is most marked by the dwindling of the large -Irish congregations and the coming of the -Italians. Patron saints’ days are celebrated -with pomp and elaborate decoration. Arches of -light festoon the streets, altars are erected on -the sidewalk, and the image of the saint is enshrined -on the church facade high above the -passer-by. Threading in and out of the throngs -are picturesquely shawled women with lovely -babes in arms, fakirs and beggars, venders offering -for sale rosaries, candles, and holy pictures. -Mulberry, Elizabeth and even Goerck -Streets’ sordid ugliness is then transformed for -the time, and a clew is given to the old-world -influence of the Church through drama.</p> - -<p class="tb">The change from the Russian pale where the -rabbi’s control is both civil and spiritual to a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_253"></a>[253]</span> -new world of complex religious and political authority, -or lack of authority, accentuates the -difficulties of readjustment for the pious Jew. -The Talmudic students, cherished in the old -country and held aloof from all questions of -economic needs because of their learning and -piety, find themselves without anchor in the -new environment and precipitated into entirely -new valuations of worth and strength.</p> - -<p>Freedom and opportunity for the young -make costly demands upon the bewildered elders, -who cling tenaciously to their ancient religious -observances. The synagogues are everywhere—imposing -or shabby-looking buildings—and the -<i>chevras</i>, sometimes occupying only a small room -where the prescribed number meet for daily -prayer. Often through the windows of a dilapidated -house the swaying figures of the devout -may be seen with prayer-shawl and phylactery -and eyes turned to the East. At high festivals -every pew and bench are occupied and additional -halls are rented where services are held for those -men, women, and young people who, indifferent -at other times, then meet and pray together.</p> - -<p>But though the religious life is abundantly in -evidence through the synagogues and the <i>Talmud-Torah</i> -schools<a id="FNanchor_15" href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> and the <i>Chedorim</i>, where<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_254"></a>[254]</span> -the boys, confined for many hours, study -Hebrew and receive religious instruction, and although -the <i>Barmitzvah</i>, or confirmation of the -son at thirteen, is still an impressive ceremony -and the occasion of family rejoicing, there is -lament on the part of the pious that the house -of worship and the ritualistic ceremonial of the -Jewish faith have lost their hold upon the spiritual -life of the younger generation.</p> - -<p>For them new appeals take the place of the -old religious commands. The modern public-spirited -rabbi offers his pulpit for the presentation -of current social problems. Zionism -with its appeal for a spiritual nationalism, socialism -with its call to economic salvation, the -extension of democracy through the enfranchisement -of women, the plea for service to humanity -through social work, stir the younger generation -and give expression to a religious spirit.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp58" id="fp20" style="max-width: 34.375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp20.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Synagogues Are Everywhere—Imposing or Shabby-Looking -Buildings</span></p> -</div> - -<p class="tb">Settlements suffer at times from the criticism -of those who sincerely believe that, without -definite religious propaganda, their full measure -of usefulness cannot be attained. It has seemed -to us that something fundamental in the structure -of the settlement itself would be lost were -our policy altered. All creeds have a common -basis for fellowship, and their adherents may -work together for humanity with mutual respect<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_255"></a>[255]</span> -and esteem for the conviction of each when -these are not brought into controversy. Protestants, -Catholics, Jews, an occasional Buddhist, -and those who can claim no creed have lived -and served together in the Henry Street house -contented and happy, with no attempt to impose -their theological convictions upon one -another or upon the members of the clubs -and classes who come in confidence to us.</p> - -<p class="tb">During any election campaign the swarming, -gesticulating, serious-looking street crowds of -our neighborhood are multiplied and intensified. -Orators, not a few small boys among them, -appear on nearly every street corner, and an -observer might almost measure the forces that -influence the people by the number and character -of the orators, the appeals upon which -they base their hope of approval at the polls, -and the reaction of the crowds that surround -them.</p> - -<p>Pleas supported by reasonable show of argument -are likely to find intelligent response, -although, as is but natural, the judgment of a -temperamental people is at times not clearly -defined. During the recent almost riotous support -of a Governor who had been impeached (it -was generally believed at the behest of an irritated<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_256"></a>[256]</span> -“boss” to whom he had refused obedience) -many New Yorkers who had come to -count upon the East Side for insight and understanding -were perplexed at what seemed hero-worship -of a man against whom charges of -misappropriation of funds had been sustained. -Those who knew the people discerned an emotional -desire for justice mingled with some gratitude -to the man who, -while in Congress, had -kept faith with his constituents -on matters vital -to them. Stopping -at a sidewalk stand on -Second Avenue, I asked -the owner what it was -all about. “Oh,” said -he, “Sulzer ain’t being punished now for bein’ -bad. Murphy’s hittin’ him for the good he -done.”</p> - -<div class="figright illowp75" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus82.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Our first realization of the dominating influence -of political control upon the individual and -collective life of the neighborhood came, naturally -enough, through the gossip of our new -acquaintances when we came to live downtown, -and we were not long oblivious to the power -invested in quite ordinary men whom we met.</p> - -<p>Two distinguished English visitors to America, -keen students and historians of social movements,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_257"></a>[257]</span> -expressed a desire to learn of the -methods of Tammany Hall from someone in its -inner councils. A luncheon with a well-known -and continuous officeholder was arranged by a -mutual friend. When my interest was first -aroused in the political life of the city this man’s -position in the party had been cited as an example -of the astuteness of the “Boss.” He had -revolted against certain conditions and had -shown remarkable ability in building up an opposition -within the party. Ever after he had -enjoyed unchallenged some high-salaried office.</p> - -<p>Under the genial influence of our host, and -perhaps because he felt secure with the English -guests, the “Judge” (he had at one time presided -in an inferior court) talked freely of the -details about which they were curious,—how the -organization tested the loyalty of its members -and increased their power and prestige as their -record warranted it, giving, incidentally, an interesting -glimpse of the human elements in the -great political machine. His own success as -judge he attributed to the fact that he had used -common sense where his highly educated colleagues -would have used textbooks, and with -keen appreciation of the humor of the situation -he told how, when he was sworn in, a distinguished -jurist said he had come to his court “to -see Judge ⸺ dispense with justice.” He defended<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_258"></a>[258]</span> -the logic, from the “Boss’s” point of -view, of efficiently administering such patronage -as was available, and made much of the kindness -to the poor that was possible because of -the district control. Comparing their own with -what he supposed to be my attitude to the poor, -he added with a smile of comprehension, “It’s -the same thing, only <i>we</i> keep books.”</p> - -<p>A political organization watchful to capture -personal loyalty makes dramatic appeal, the -potency of which cannot be ignored. The -speedy release of young offenders from jail was, -years ago, the most impressive demonstration of -beneficent influence, and it was whispered that -district leaders were notified by the police of -arrests, that they might have an opportunity to -get the young men out of trouble. Certain it is -that several times when anxious relatives -rushed to us for help we found that the leader -had been as promptly notified as the families -themselves.</p> - -<p>So much genuine kindness is entwined with -the administration of this district control that -one can well comprehend the loyalty that it -wins; and it is not the poor, jobless man who, -at election times, remembers favors of whom we -are critical.</p> - -<p>Opposed to the solidarity of the long dominant -party are the other party organizations and numerous<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_259"></a>[259]</span> -cliques of radicals, independents, and -reformers. These, when the offenses of the -party in power become most flagrant, unite, and -New York is temporarily freed from “boss” -rule, to enjoy a respite of “reform administration.” -Into such “moral campaigns” the House -on Henry Street has always entered, and sometimes -it has helped to initiate them, though -steadily refusing to be brought officially into a -political party or faction. Indeed, it would be -impossible to range residents or club members -under one political banner. As is natural in -so large a group, nearly every shade of political -faith is represented.</p> - -<p>A large proportion of the young people who -come to the settlements are attracted to the -independent political movements, and are likely -to respond to appeals to their civic conscience. -While serving on a State Commission I heard -an upstate colleague repeat the rumor that Governor -Hughes, then a candidate for re-election, -was to be knifed by his party. We had seen -in our section of the city no active campaign on -his behalf. Posters, pictures, and flattering references -were conspicuously absent. Governor -Hughes had made a profound impression upon -all but the advocates of rigid party control because -of his high-minded integrity and emancipation -from “practical” political methods. I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_260"></a>[260]</span> -telephoned two or three of our young men that -the time seemed ripe for some action in our -neighborhood. In an incredibly short time a -small group of Democrats, Republicans, and -Socialists gathered in the sitting-room of the -Henry Street house, and within twenty-four -hours an Independent League was formed to -bring the Governor’s candidacy before the -neighborhood. Financial and moral support -came from other friends, and before the end -of the week he addressed in Clinton Hall an -enthusiastic mass-meeting organized by this -league without help from the members of his -own political organization.</p> - -<p class="tb">The sporadic attempts of good citizens to organize -for reform have, I am sure, given practical -politicians food for merriment. One election -night, dispirited because of the defeat of -an upright and able man, I was about to enter -the settlement when one of the district leaders -said: “Your friends don’t play the game intelligently. -You telephone them <i>to-night</i> to begin -to organize if they want to beat us next election. -You got to begin early and stick to it.”</p> - -<p>However, every sincere reform campaign is -valuable because of its immediate and far-reaching -educational effect, even when the candidates -fail of election. It is gratifying to those<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_261"></a>[261]</span> -who are socially interested to watch the evolution -of political platforms. Every party now -inserts human welfare planks and pledges devotion -to measures that in the days of our initiation -were regarded as dreams and ridiculed as -beyond the realm of practicality. Settlements -have increasing authority because of the persistency -of their interest in social welfare -measures. They accumulate in their daily routine -significant facts obtainable in no other way. -Governors and legislators listen, and sooner or -later act on the representations of responsible -advocates whose facts are current and trustworthy. -The experience of the social worker -is often utilized by the state. At the twentieth -anniversary of our settlement the Mayor drew -public attention to the fact that no less than -five important city departments were intrusted -to men and one woman who were qualified -for public duty by administration of or long-continued -association with the settlements.</p> - -<p>Soon after our removal to Henry Street in -1895 messengers from the “Association,” the -important political club of the district, brought -lanterns and flags with which we were requested -to decorate in honor of a clambake to be given -the next day. The event had been glaringly and -expensively advertised for some time. The -marchers were to pass our house in the morning<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_262"></a>[262]</span> -and on their return in the evening. The young -men glowed with the excitement of their recital, -and I can still see the blank look of non-comprehension -that passed over their faces -when I tried to soften refusal by explaining—lamely, -I fear—our reasons for avoiding the implications -of participation. The courteous district -leader of the other great party was equally -at sea when, a short time after, he brought flags -and decorations for their more humble celebration -and met with the same refusal. The -immediate conclusion appeared to be that we -were enemies or “reformers,” and the charge -was held against us.</p> - -<p class="tb">The gay and spirited clambake parade, with -its bands and flying banners, the shooting -rockets and loud applause of the friends of the -marchers, had passed by when we were drawn -to the windows to gaze upon another procession. -Straggling, unkempt, dispirited-looking -marchers returned our scrutiny and held aloft -a banner bearing the legend “Socialist Labor -Party,” the portrait of a man, and beneath it -the name “Daniel De Leon.”</p> - -<p>It was our first intimation of the socialist -movement in America, and students of its history -will be able to identify this leader and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_263"></a>[263]</span> -recall the pioneer part he played in its early -phases, his alliance with the once-powerful -Knights of Labor, and the progress and decline -of his society now overshadowed by the present -Socialist Party.<a id="FNanchor_16" href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a></p> - -<p>Meeting a neighbor on the Bowery one day -about two years later, he stopped to explain -that he was on his way to an interesting performance, -and invited me to accompany him. -Together we walked along until we reached the -Thalia Theater, famous under its old name of -the Bowery in the annals of the American -stage. In this theater Charlotte Cushman made -her first appearance in New York, and here -the elder Booth, Lester Wallack, and other -great players delighted the theatergoers of -their day.</p> - -<p>Venders of suspenders, hot sausages, and -plaster statuettes surrounded the building, and -placards on the Greek columns advertised the -event as “The Spoken Newspaper.” A huge -audience was listening to editorials and special -articles read by the authors themselves, and the -atmosphere was charged with intense purpose. -Acquaintances gathered quickly, and eagerly explained -to me that members of labor organizations -and “intellectuals” of the neighborhood<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_264"></a>[264]</span> -had united for the purpose of publishing a newspaper -for socialist propaganda and to help the -cause of the working classes. They had little -money; in fact, were in debt. The men had -contributed from their scanty wages; those who -possessed watches had pawned them, and they -were using this medium (“The Spoken Newspaper”) -to raise money to pay the printer and -other clamorous creditors, a charge of ten cents -being made for admission to the theater. A -charter had been obtained under the name of -“The Forward Association,” but I was made to -understand that this was not a stock corporation -and was not organized for profit.</p> - -<p>The genuinely social purpose of the organization -held the men together during the lean -years that were to follow. Finally, in 1908, the -Association became self-supporting, and in 1911 -the charter was amended to meet the enormously -extended field. The Forward Association -now publishes a daily paper in Yiddish, -with a regular circulation of 177,000, and a -monthly periodical, and holds property estimated -to be worth half a million dollars. From -its funds it has aided struggling propagandist -newspapers and has given help to labor organizations.</p> - -<p>The hope of a more equal distribution of -wealth bites early into the consciousness of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_265"></a>[265]</span> -proletariat. Even the children, who cannot be -excluded from any discussion in a tenement -home, have opinions on the subject. Happening -one day upon a club of youngsters, I interrupted -a fiery debate on socialism. Its twelve-year-old -defender presented his argument in this -fashion: “You see, gentlemen, it’s this way: -The millionaires sit round the table eating -sponge-cake and the bakers are down in the -cellars baking it. But the day will come,”—and -here the young orator pointed an accusing -finger at the universe—“when the bakers will -come up from their cellars and say, ‘Gentlemen, -bake your own sponge-cake.’”</p> - -<p>Mixed with my admiration for the impressive -oratory was the guilty sense that the settlement -was probably responsible for the picture -of licentious living manifested by the consumption -of sponge-cake,—our most popular refreshment, -with ice cream added on great occasions.</p> - -<p class="tb">However one may question the party socialists’ -claim that an economic and social millennium -is exclusively dependent upon their dominance, -few acquainted with those active in the movement -will deny the sincerity of purpose, the -almost religious exaltation that animate great -numbers of the party. The first socialist member -from the East, and the second in the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_266"></a>[266]</span> -United States, has been elected to Congress -from our district; a man universally esteemed -for his probity, with a record of many years’ -unselfish devotion to the workingmen’s cause.</p> - -<p>A copious literature and widespread propaganda -proclaim the willingness of the American -people now to give socialism a hearing. It -seems a far cry from that first unimpressive -little parade that drew the settlement family to -the windows twenty years ago.</p> - -<p class="tb">Years ago the lads in one of the settlement -clubs debating the subject of woman suffrage -declared it to be “a well-known fact that when -women had the vote they cut off their hair, -they donned men’s attire; their voices became -harsh.”</p> - -<p>I cannot say that even to-day the ardent advocates -of woman suffrage come in great numbers -from among the male members of the -settlement clubs, but, on the whole, the tendency -is to accept women in politics as a necessary -phase of this transitional period and the readjustment -of the old relations. The conviction -that the extension of democracy should include -women has found free expression in our part -of the city, and Miss L. L. Dock, a resident of -many years, has mobilized Russians, Italians,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_267"></a>[267]</span> -Irish, and native-born, all the nationalities of -our cosmopolitan community, for the campaign. -When the suffrage parade marched down Fifth -Avenue in 1913, back of the settlement banner, -with its symbol of universal brotherhood, there -walked a goodly company carrying flags with -the suffrage demand in ten languages. The cosmopolitanism -of our district was marked by the -Sephardic Jewish girl who bore aloft the Turkish -appeal. The Chinese banner was made by a -Chinese physician and a Chinese missionary. -There are four American-born Chinese voters -in our part of the city.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus83.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>The transition is significant from the position -of women among orthodox Jews to the -motherly looking woman who stands on a soap-box -at the corner of Henry Street and makes -her appeal for the franchise to a respectful<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_268"></a>[268]</span> -group of laboring men. The mere fact that -this “mother in Israel” is obliged to work in -a factory six days of the week is an argument -in itself, but intelligently and interestingly she -develops her plea, and her appeal to the men’s -reason brings sober nods of approval.</p> - -<p>The Russian revolution owes much to the -valorous women who from the formation of the -Tschaikowsky circles in the early ’70s have -worked as comrades for the cause, and this is -well known to the “intellectuals” of the East -Side. I doubt whether a single man or woman -could be found among them opposed to granting -the franchise to women. If they seem indifferent, -it is doubtless because they think it a -matter of course and strenuous effort to secure -votes for women unnecessary. From the party -organization men there is not so much encouragement.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp53" id="fp21" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp21.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">A Mother in Israel</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Commissioner of Corrections Katherine Davis -testifies that the inmates of the girls’ reformatory -disapprove of women voting as “unladylike,” -and it may surprise those who do not -know the thought of these poor women to learn -that they cling to orthodox ideals. I understand -that I shocked one girl, who had been sentenced -to the “Island” from the Night Court, -by advocating the appointment of women -police. The probation officer who called upon<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_269"></a>[269]</span> -her asked her opinion of my recommendation, -which was then sufficiently novel to attract -newspaper attention. “Oh,” said the girl, “it’s -not right. Woman’s place is the home.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp85" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus84.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_270"></a>[270]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV<br /> -<span class="smaller">SOCIAL FORCES, <span class="smcap">Continued</span></span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>The drama is taken seriously in our neighborhood, -particularly among the people whose -taste has not been affected by familiarity with -plays or theaters classed as typically “American.” -In the years of our residence on the -East Side there have been several transitions in -the Yiddish drama<a id="FNanchor_17" href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> from classic to modern and -realistic. Feeling has at times run high between -the advocates of the different schools, -and discussions in the press and disputes in the -cafés have reflected a very lively popular interest.</p> - -<p>Jacob Gordin, the Yiddish playwright, contributed -an important chapter to the history of -the stage, and his art was, I think, a factor in -drawing intelligent attention to the East Side.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_271"></a>[271]</span> -The Yiddish drama, before his time, had not -been looked upon with great favor, and there -was in this, as in other instances, an implication -of the contempt that Americans not infrequently -feel for the alien, and also a fear, on -the part of members of the older Jewish communities, -that the Yiddish theater might retard -the Americanization of the immigrant.</p> - -<p>Mr. Gordin was one of our early friends, and -we found pleasure in our theater parties. The -audiences seemed scarcely less dramatic than -the performers, and we took sides, perhaps not -illogically, with the new school. Upon our -appearance interpreters from various parts of -the house were sure to offer their kind services. -The acting was of high grade, and the fame of -some of the performers has now gone far beyond -the neighborhood and the city. The stage -during this period performed its time-honored -function of teaching and moralizing. One of -Gordin’s plays that had many seasons of popularity -was “The Jewish King Lear.” It depicted -the endless clashing between the generations. -The Shakespearean Cordelia, on the -Bowery stage, is the daughter of character who -longs for self-expression and becomes a physician. -Another impressive play was “God, Man, -and the Devil.” Here was preached the story -of man’s fall, not because of poverty, but<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_272"></a>[272]</span> -through the possession of riches. The pious -Jewish scribe resists the worldly man and his -enticements, but having come into the possession -of money he becomes grasping, eager for -power, susceptible to flattery. The portrayal -of his spiritual downfall gave the playwright -opportunity for remarkable delineation of Jewish -character. I also found it interesting to -take William Archer, the English critic, on his -first visit to America, to see Ibsen metamorphosed -in “The Jewish Nora,” which was then -playing at a nearby theater.</p> - -<p>The Italians have now almost abandoned the -marionette theater, and we can no longer find -on Mott, Elizabeth, and Spring Streets the -stuffy little theaters filled with workingmen (and -an occasional woman), sitting enthralled night -after night while from the wings the fine voice -of the reader continued the story of Rinaldo -and other popular knights.</p> - -<p>The puppet theater was usually a family affair. -Its members slept and cooked behind the -scenes, alternating in reading the story or operating -the puppet figures of knights and ladies. -One hot night we strolled from the settlement -to a marionette theater nearby to show our -guests (among them a theatrical producer) the -simplicity of the primitive stage still to be -found in the great city.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="fp22" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp22.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Dramatic Club Presented “The Shepherd”</span></p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_273"></a>[273]</span></p> - -<p>During the story that was then being enacted -a doll, representing the infant heir, was dropped -in a miniature forest to be rescued by the valorous -knight. At that moment the naked baby -of the proprietor walked out from the wings, -crossed the stage, and snatching up the doll, -clasped it tight in her little arms and disappeared. -The audience gave no sign that the current -of their enchantment had been broken, nor -did the reader or the manipulator of the rescuing -knight pause for a second in their rôles.</p> - -<p>The theaters on the Bowery and in its vicinity -advertise Italian opera and occasional revivals -of serious drama, but more obvious at present -are the lurid advertisements of sensational -melodrama. We are plainly under the influence -of Broadway and the “movies,” but at the -Metropolitan Opera House our neighbors can -always be seen in great numbers among the -“appreciators” at the top of the house.</p> - -<p class="tb">A short time ago an unselfish and well-beloved -member of the older circle of Russian -revolutionists asked me to help him establish -a comrade on some self-supporting basis, and -began by saying, “Being a literary man, he -wants to open a restaurant.” The fact of his -being “literary” would immediately bring him<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_274"></a>[274]</span> -custom, and I foresaw another meeting-place -for philosophers, poets, and revolutionists, graduates -of universities or gymnasia, writers and -publicists, students familiar with Kant and -Comte and Spinoza.</p> - -<p>In these little East Side cafés, over a steaming -glass of tea or a -temperate meal, endless -discussions take place. -In the groups that gather -there are many men -of education who, during -their first years in -this country, worked as -cloakmakers, tailors, or -factory operatives until -they were able to obtain -employment more -suited to their aptitudes or talents.</p> - -<div class="figleft illowp54" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus85.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>The cafés and the bookshop where the interesting -proprietor specializes in radical literature -are the meeting-places for the “intellectuals,” -centers from which radiate influences that are -not insignificant. As they prosper, many of -these men move their families to other parts of -the city, but they continue to be East Siders -at heart, and find congenial atmosphere in their -old haunts. So they come back for the fellowship -they miss in their new habitations.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_275"></a>[275]</span></p> - -<p>The saloons of the neighborhood touch the -life of an entirely different set. They are informal -club-houses for many men, some of -whom have for years been members of the same -political organization. Not that the organization -trusts to the saloon alone. All through -our neighborhood are the club-houses maintained -for members of the party who are kept -together through social intercourse.</p> - -<p>However, among workingmen, the saloon may -be patronized for other reasons than refreshment -and sociability. When I expressed to a -sober man, long out of work, my surprise that -he should have been seen going into a saloon, -he explained that if a man did not sometimes -go there he was likely to be out of work a -longer time. “The fellows just kind of talk -about jobs when they’re sittin’ round in the -saloons, and sometimes you pick up something.” -His reasoning reminded me of a friend who -professed indifference to the numerous expensive -clubs to which he belonged, but found them -useful in his business. “Often a chance conversation -or a meeting with men develops into -something big.”</p> - -<p class="tb">When the Empress of Austria was assassinated -in 1898 newspaper reporters, seeking<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_276"></a>[276]</span> -“color,” asked the settlement’s direction to -anarchists who, in the excitement of the time, -were believed to form a considerable portion -of the East Side population.</p> - -<p>I recalled two men who, in a cellar in Grand -Street, had a few rows of books for sale which -advertised them as “Dealers in Radical Literature.” -One partner proclaimed himself a State -Socialist, the other a Philosophic Anarchist. -The latter, mild and gentle, devoted disciple -of Prudhon, with whose writings he was familiar, -was almost pathetically grateful, and -showed not altogether complimentary surprise -when we purchased Kropotkin’s “Fields, Factories, -and Workshops,” Tolstoi’s “My Life,” -and Walt Whitman’s poems. In his naïve simplicity -he assumed that only those unsure of -food and shelter found interest in such literature, -and later he and his partner, in all seriousness, -proposed, with our co-operation, to reform -society.</p> - -<p>They had decided, after much thought, that -the reason the people they met at the settlement -seemed to sympathize and understand -was because of the books they read. They felt -sorry for the people on Fifth Avenue who, living -so far away from the poor, could not know -how things might be remedied. Their plan was -that I should rent a store opening on the avenue,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_277"></a>[277]</span> -place comfortable chairs and tables upon -which books could be spread. These books the -merchants would loan,—their whole stock, if -necessary,—and then people passing on foot or -driving by could stop and read.</p> - -<p>Such naïveté could hardly be met with to-day, -for education and discussion of themes of -social interest have widened the minds of the -community and contact with people of different -positions in life is much more general.</p> - -<p>Police interference with free speech and free -assemblage in our country has stirred vigorous -protest from sober people and has had the effect -of kindling enthusiasm for propaganda -of ultraradical philosophies among those who -might otherwise never have given thought to -them. In some quarters mere radicalism has -become perilously popular. The spirit of adventure, -a kind of generous devotion not always -balanced with knowledge of definite issues or -the constructive processes that are under way, -deflect forces that might be employed for immediate -advances in social welfare.</p> - -<p>I recall the indignation of a young man, just -graduated from one of our universities, when -chance took him into an East Side hall where a -well-known anarchist was addressing a large -and attentive audience and reading selections -from Thoreau. Without any obvious provocation<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_278"></a>[278]</span> -the police jumped upon the platform, -arrested the woman and those who sat with -her, refused them permission to call a cab, and -drove them in the patrol wagon to the police -station. At the time there was no limit to -which this man would not have gone to show -his resentment against the injustice of the proceeding, -and it was some relief to his chivalrous -spirit to testify against the police and to use -the settlement’s experience in giving publicity -to the occurrence.</p> - -<p>Something of this menace to cherished American -institutions lay in the occurrences at Lawrence, -Massachusetts, during the winter of 1912.</p> - -<p>Unsatisfactory labor conditions gave the Industrial -Workers of the World an opportunity -to capture the loyalty and devotion of the discontented -operatives. Reports of the unwarranted -action of police and militia during a -strike that ensued, the imprisonment of the -strike leaders, and the difficulty of securing for -them an impartial hearing were incidents too -serious to be lightly dismissed from the mind. -I went to Lawrence at that time, and came away -reflecting with sadness on the manifestations -there of how slight is our hold upon civilization, -how insecure our reliance upon the courts -for justice when feelings run high.</p> - -<p>The operatives’ story had not reached the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_279"></a>[279]</span> -general public, and I offered the House on -Henry Street as one medium for informing people -in New York who had no link with the -working people.</p> - -<p>A participant in the strike came to us to -tell the story, and her presentation, on the -whole, seemed fair and reasonable. It was no -less an indictment of the leaders of the established -labor organizations for failure to unionize -the workers, and thereby secure better wages -and shorter hours, than of the capitalist, who, -the speaker thought, should be held responsible -for creating the conditions.</p> - -<p>The reaction of the audience was definite—that -the workers should have tangible assurance -of the existence of an American sentiment for -justice, and money came spontaneously to the -settlement to be sent to the strikers and toward -the cost of the defense of the prisoners. The -New York press, on the whole, gave fair interpretation -of the causes of discontent and the -disturbing consequences to society of what -appeared to some observers to be anarchistic -methods on the part of those in authority.</p> - -<p class="tb">The Social Reform Club, organized in 1894, -was a factor in helping to stimulate a more general -public interest in matters of social concern.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_280"></a>[280]</span></p> - -<p>The club aimed at the immediate future, and -labored solely for measures that had a fair -promise of early success. Its members, wage-earners -and non-wage-earners in almost equal -numbers, were required to have “a deep active -interest in the elevation of society, especially -by the improvement of the condition of wage-earners.”</p> - -<p>Ernest Crosby, Tolstoian and reformer, was -the first president, and the original membership -comprised distinguished men and women, courageous -thinkers who fully met the requirements -of the society, and others, like myself, -who were to gain enlightenment regarding -methods and theories for the direct improvement -of industrial and social conditions.</p> - -<p>Father Ducey, whose support of Father -McGlynn<a id="FNanchor_18" href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> during his time of trial was then still -referred to; Charles B. Spahr, and others no -longer living were among the organizers. On -the club’s weekly programmes can be read the -names of men and women who were then and -still are bearers of light for the community. -Devoted members of the club testified to their<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_281"></a>[281]</span> -indebtedness to the Knights of Labor as “a -great educational force for social reform,” and -a younger generation gained immeasurably from -association with men and women who had -given themselves unselfishly to the early labor -movements in this country.</p> - -<p>It was at the time of excessive sweatshop -abuses, and from the windows of our tenement -home we could look upon figures bent over the -whirring foot-power machines. One room in -particular almost unnerved us. Never did we -go to bed so late or rise so early that we saw -the machines at rest, and the unpleasant conditions -where manufacturing was carried on in -the overcrowded rooms of the families we -nursed disquieted us more than the diseases we -were trying to combat.</p> - -<p>Our sympathies were ready for enlistment -when working people whom we knew, and -whose sobriety of habits and mind won confidence -and esteem, discussed the possibility of -improving conditions through organization. In -another place I have told how the young girls -first led us into the trades union movement, but -now where the standard of the entire family was -involved through the wage and working conditions -of its chief wage-earner, it became to us -a movement of greater significance.</p> - -<p>We were accorded a doubtful distinction by<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_282"></a>[282]</span> -acquaintances who had no point of contact with -working people when we acknowledged friendship -with “demagogues” and “walking delegates” -(terms which they used interchangeably), -and, inexperienced though we were, it -was possible for us, in a small way, to help -build a bridge of understanding.</p> - -<p>Research was not then a popular expression -of social interest. Discussions developed the -need of a formal investigation into conditions, -and a distinguished economist of Yale was asked -to send someone academic and “without feeling -for either side,” while we chose a labor -leader, well informed from the workers’ point -of view, to make the inquiry. The paraphernalia -of cards, filing cabinets, et cetera, was -provided, and a room set apart in the settlement, -but the investigation ended before it was -fairly begun with mutual scorn on the part of -the two men.</p> - -<p>Through the years that have followed the settlement -has from time to time been the neutral -ground where both sides might meet, or has -furnished the “impartial third party” in industrial -disputes.</p> - -<p>One such conference lingers in my memory -because of the open-mindedness shown by a man -whose traditions and training were far removed -from wage-earners’ problems. A friend and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_283"></a>[283]</span> -generously interested in all our undertakings, -he questioned my judgment in espousing the -workingmen’s side in a threatened strike, believing -that a compromise on disputed hours -and pay during that unprosperous time was better -than interrupted employment. We believed -that the “half loaf” might prove too costly. -The wage was already below a living minimum, -and the workers’ contention that at the beginning -of the season the market could be made -to meet a fair charge for labor seemed to us -an entirely reasonable one. My friend agreed -to bring representatives of the manufacturers -and contractors if I would bring an equal number -of workers to a conference in the Henry -Street house, over which he would preside. No -agreement was reached, but when the strike -was finally declared this friend, whose wisdom -and experience have placed him high in the -councils of the nation, had come to see that -the workers could not do otherwise, and -throughout the strike he aided with money and -sympathy.</p> - -<p>Since those days cloaks are no longer made -in New York tenement homes, and the once -unhappy, sweated workers, united with other -garment-makers, have been lifted into eminence -because of the unusual character of their organization.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_284"></a>[284]</span></p> - -<p>In 1910, after a prolonged strike, peace was declared -under a “protocol,”<a id="FNanchor_19" href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> wherein were combined -unique methods devised for the control of -shops and adjustment of difficulties between the -association of progressive manufacturers and -the trades unions. New terms—“a preferential -union shop” and the “Joint Board of Sanitary -Control”—were introduced. Under the latter, -for the first time in the history, of industry, -sanitary standards were enforced by the -trade itself. On this board, the expense of which -was shared equally by the association of manufacturers -and the trades unions, were representatives -of both organizations, their attorneys, and -three representatives of the public unanimously -elected by both parties to the agreement.</p> - -<p>When I was asked to be one of the three -representatives of the public, already laden with -responsibilities I was loath to accept another, -but the temptation to have even a small share -in the socializing of industries involving in -New York City alone nearly 100,000 people -and several hundred millions of dollars was -irresistible.</p> - -<p>High sanitary standards and a living wage,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_285"></a>[285]</span> -with reasonable hours of employment, were assured -so long as both parties submitted to the -terms of the protocol. Whatever changes in -the administration of the trade agreement may -be made, the protocol has established certain -principles invaluable for the present and for -future negotiations. The world seemed to have -moved since we shuddered over the long hours -and the germ-exposed garments in the tenements.<a id="FNanchor_20" href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_286"></a>[286]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI<br /> -<span class="smaller">NEW AMERICANS AND OUR POLICIES</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>Illuminating anecdotes might be told of the -storm and stress that often lie beneath the surface -of the immigrant’s experience from the -time he purchases his ticket in the old country -until the gates at Ellis Island close behind him -and the process of assimilation -begins. That he has so often -been left rudderless in strange -seas forms a chapter in the -history of this “land of opportunity” -that cannot be -omitted.</p> - -<div class="figright illowp37" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus86.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>The confusion of the stranger, -unable to speak the language -and encountering unfamiliar -laws and institutions, -often has tragic results. Once -in searching for a patient in -a large tenement near the -Bowery I knocked at each door in turn. An -Italian woman hesitatingly opened one, no wider -than to give me a glimpse of a slight creature<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_287"></a>[287]</span> -obviously stricken with fear. Her face brought -instantly to my mind the famous picture of the -sorrowing mother. “Dolorosa!” I said. The -tone and the word sufficed, and she opened the -door wide enough to let me enter. In a corner -of the room lay two children with marks of starvation -upon them.</p> - -<p>Laying my hat and bag upon the table, to -indicate that I would return, I flew to the nearest -grocery for food, taking time, while my -purchases were being made ready, to telephone -to a distinguished Italian upon whose interest -and sympathy I could rely to meet me at the -tenement, that we might learn the cause of this -obvious distress.</p> - -<p>My friend arrived before I had finished feeding -the children, and to him the little mother -poured forth her tale. She, with three children, -had arrived some days before, to meet the -husband who had preceded her and had prepared -the home for them. One <i>bambina</i> was -ill when they reached port, and it was taken -from her, why she could not explain. She was -allowed to land with the other two and join -her husband, and the following day, in answer -to their frantic inquiries, they learned that the -child had been taken to a hospital and had died -there. Then her husband was arrested, and she, -unacquainted with a single human being in the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_288"></a>[288]</span> -city, found herself alone with two starving -children, too frightened to open the door or to -venture upon the street. She thought her husband -was imprisoned somewhere nearby.</p> - -<p>My friend and I went together to the Ludlow -Street jail, and here a curious thing occurred. -We merely inquired for the prisoner; we asked -no questions. His cell door was opened and he -was released. Later I learned that he had -been arrested because of failure to make a satisfactory -payment on a watch he was buying on -the installment plan. There must have been -gross irregularity in the transaction, judging -by the willingness to release him and the fact -that his creditor failed to appear against him. -It was hinted, at the time, that there was collusion -between the installment plan dealers and -the prison officials.</p> - -<p>A pleasanter story is that of the B⸺ family. -One evening two neighborhood women, shawls -over their heads, called to ask if I would contribute -to a fund they were raising to furnish -quarters for a family just arrived from Ellis -Island. When I expressed wonder that they -should have been permitted to land in a penniless -condition the women shrugged their -shoulders in characteristic fashion and said, -“Well, they’re here, and we must do something.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_289"></a>[289]</span></p> - -<p>Not wishing to refuse, or to participate -blindly, I asked for the whereabouts of the man -of the family. I found him in a basement, a -very dignified, gray-haired cobbler, between 40 -and 45 years of age. When I asked how it -happened that the first step of his family in -America should be to claim help in this way he -explained the complications -in which they -had been involved. -He had preceded his -family to make a -home for them, and -after some years had -sent money for steamer -tickets for them. -When they arrived at -the frontier, owing to some technicality, they -were sent back. He had sent more money to -defray the additional expenses; then himself had -been compelled to undergo an operation for appendicitis, -which took all he had hoarded to furnish -the home. He was just out of the hospital -when wife and children arrived.</p> - -<div class="figleft illowp75" style="max-width: 15.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus87.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Appreciating the importance of having the -family begin life in their new environment with -dignity and self-respect, an offer was made to -loan him money if he would recall the women -who were begging for him. Together we figured<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_290"></a>[290]</span> -out the minimum sum needed, and within -an hour the twenty-five dollars was in his hands -and he had recalled the women with joy. He -took the loan without exaggerated protest or -gratitude, merely saying: “As there is a God -in heaven you will not regret this.”</p> - -<p>He was a skillful cobbler and the wife a good -housekeeper, and in six months they brought -back the twenty-five dollars. It was pleasanter -not to think of the pinching in the household -that made this prompt repayment possible. -Some time later he brought me forty dollars -which the family had saved, saying he knew -it would give me pleasure to start the savings-bank -account which they would need for the -education of the children. The subsequent history -of this family, like many another known -to us in Henry Street, shows the real contribution -brought into American life by immigrants -of this character.</p> - -<p class="tb">In discussions throughout the country of the -problems of immigration it is significant that -few, if any, of the men and women who have -had extended opportunity for social contact -with the foreigner favor a further restriction of -immigration.</p> - -<p>The government’s policy regarding the immigrant<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_291"></a>[291]</span> -has been negative, concerned with exclusion -and deportation, with the head tax and -the enforcement of treaties and international -agreements. By our laws we are protected from -the pauper, the sick, and the vicious; but only -within recent years has a hearing been given to -those who have asked that our government assume -an affirmative policy of protection, distribution, -and assimilation.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp68" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus88.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>The need of constructive social measures has -long been indicated. The planting of roots in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_292"></a>[292]</span> -the new soil can best be accomplished through -an intercourse with the immigrant in which the -dignity of the individual and of the family is -recognized. Heroic measures may be necessary -to establish a satisfactory system of distribution, -and these measures must be based -on a philosophic understanding of democracy. -Among them should be provision for giving instruction -to the prospective immigrant in regard -to those laws, customs, or prohibitions with -which he is liable to come in contact, and also -in regard to the industrial opportunities open -to him. Then, with competent medical examination -at the port of departure and humane -consideration there and here, the tragedies now -so frequent at the port of arrival might be -diminished, or even eliminated altogether.</p> - -<p>In turn, the private banker, the employment -agent, the ticket broker, the lawyer, and the -notary public have battened upon the helplessness -of the immigrant. Our experience has convinced -us that in the interest of the state itself -the future citizens should be made to feel that -protection and fair treatment are accorded by -the state. The greater number of immigrants -who come to us are adults for whose upbringing -this country has been at no expense. It would -seem only just to give them special protection -during their first years in the country, to encourage<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_293"></a>[293]</span> -confidence in our institutions, and to -promote assimilation. From an academic point -of view, it might be said that all institutions -for the citizen are available to the immigrant, -but the statement carries with it an implication -of equal ability on the part of the -latter to utilize these institutions, -and this is not borne out by the -experience of those familiar with -actual conditions.</p> - -<div class="figright illowp60" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus89.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>Such thoughts as these lay -back of an invitation to Governor -Hughes to dine and spend -an evening at the settlement and there meet -the colleagues who could speak with authority -on these matters.</p> - -<p>The Governor left us armed with maps and -documentary evidence. A few months later the -legislature authorized the creation of a commission -to “make full inquiry, examination, and -investigation into the condition, welfare, and -industrial opportunities of aliens in the State -of New York.” Among its nine members were -two women, Frances Kellor and myself. Upon -the recommendation of that commission the -New York Bureau of Industries and Immigration -of the Department of Labor was created.<a id="FNanchor_21" href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_294"></a>[294]</span> -Miss Kellor, the first woman to be head of a -state bureau, became its chief.</p> - -<p>Pending the enactment of legislation, she and -I, with a photographer and a sympathetic companion -interested in questions of labor, motored -over the state examining the construction -camps of the barge canal (a state contract), -the camps connected with the city’s great new -aqueduct, and some of the canning establishments.</p> - -<p>In the latter we found ample illustration of -indifference on the part of private employers. -In the camps surrounding the canneries were -large numbers of idle children who should have -been in school. The local authorities were, perhaps -not unnaturally, indisposed to enforce the -compulsory education law upon these children -whose stay in the community was to be a transient -one. In the public work the New York -City contracts, with few exceptions, showed -carefully thought-out and standardized conditions -for the men; but examination of the state -contracts showed that while elaborate provision -had been made for the expert handling of every -other detail connected with the work, even to -the stabling of the mules, nowhere was any -mention made of the men.</p> - -<p>In a shack that held three tiers of bunks, -occupied alternately by the day and night<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_295"></a>[295]</span> -shifts, with a cook-stove in a little clearing in -the middle, we found a homesick man, who -chanced not to be on the works, reading a book. -When we engaged in conversation with him -he pointed contemptuously to the bunks and -their dirty coverings, and said, “This America! -I show you Rome,” and produced from -under his bed a photograph of the Coliseum.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus90.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>The commission exposed many forms of exploitation -of the immigrant, and subsequent -reports have corroborated its findings. Some -safeguards have now been established, and the -reports of the Bureau of Industries and Immigration -in the first years of its existence bore -interesting testimony to its practical and social -value. The significance of the indifference of -the state to its employees, as it appeared to the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_296"></a>[296]</span> -investigators, was given publicity at the time, -and roused comment and discussion. I quote -from it as follows:</p> - -<p>“The state, as employer, alone determines the -terms upon which its new canal shall be built. -It defines in great detail its standard of materials -and workmanship, but takes no thought -for the workmen who must operate in great -transient groups. It does not leave to chance -the realization of its material standard, but -sends inspectors to make tests and provides a -staff of engineers. It does leave to chance (in -the ignorance and cupidity of <i>padroni</i>) the quality -and price of foods and care of the men. It -takes great care to prevent the freezing of -cement, but permits any kind of houses to be -used for its laborers. It is wholly indifferent -as to how they are ventilated, lighted, or heated, -how many men sleep in them, or whether the -sleeping quarters are also used for cooking and -eating and the bunks as cupboards. Neither -does it care whether the men can keep themselves -or their clothes clean.</p> - -<p>“The simplest standards which military history -shows are essential in handling such artificial -bodies of people are grossly violated. -Sanitary conveniences are sometimes entirely -omitted; the men drink any kind of water they -can obtain, and filthy grounds are of no evident<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_297"></a>[297]</span> -concern. The state does not inquire whether -there are hospitals or physicians, medicine, -emergency aids, or anything of the kind. Notice -is taken of gambling, drunkenness, and immorality -only when they impair the efficiency -of the men.... Men left alone in these miserable, -uninspected shacks, where vermin and -dirt prevail ... must inevitably deteriorate. -The testimony of contractors themselves is that -many of the laborers become nomads, drifting -from camp to camp, drinking, quarreling, and -averse to steady work.</p> - -<p>“We commend this responsibility in all its -phases to the various state departments charged -with education, health, letting of contracts, payment -of bills, supervision of highways and -waterways, and protection of laborers. We ask -the state as employer to consider its gain from -the men at the most productive periods of their -lives; we ask the state to measure the influence -of this life upon its future citizens during their -first years in the country when they are most -receptive to impressions of America.”<a id="FNanchor_22" href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a></p> - -<p>Quite recently the Public Health Council of -the New York State Department of Health has -adopted a sanitary code for all labor camps.</p> - -<p>It is impossible to compute the sums that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_298"></a>[298]</span> -have been lost by immigrants through fake -banks, fake express companies, and irresponsible -steamship agencies. In New York State these -were practically legislated out of existence -through the efforts of the Commission of Immigration -of 1909 just referred to, yet in the -winter of 1914-15 approximately $12,000,000 -was lost on the lower East Side by the failure -of private banks, sweeping away the savings -and capital of between 60,000 and 70,000 depositors. -Happily, the postal savings bank has -come, and is already much used by immigrants, -incidentally keeping a large amount of money in -this country. In important centers the stations -might be socialized to the still greater advantage -of the depositors and the service by having -someone assigned to interpret, to write addresses -and give information. These favors -have been the bait held out to the timid -stranger by the private agencies.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp100" id="fp23" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp23.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">A Region of Overcrowded Homes</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Perhaps an even greater loss has come to us -through the land-sale deceptions. Farms cultivated -in New York State are actually decreasing, -while the population increases. The census -of 1900-1910 shows 4.9 per cent. decrease of -farms and 25.4 per cent. increase of population. -Great numbers of the immigrants are peasants, -and land-hungry, and if there was a policy -throughout the states of registration of land for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_299"></a>[299]</span> -prospective settlers, and if severe penalties -attached to land frauds, I have little doubt -that valuable workers might be directed to the -enormous areas that need cultivation. “I am -an agriculturist,” said a man who found his way -to the settlement to tell his troubles, “and I pull -out nails in a box factory in New York.” His -entire family have followed him to the land that -he is now cultivating.</p> - -<p>One winter a number of peasants from the -Baltic provinces found themselves stranded in -New York. It was a period of unemployment, -and they could find no work. Unaccustomed to -cities, they eagerly seized upon an opportunity -to leave New York. At the settlement, where -they were assembled, a state official told -them of wood-cutters needed—in Herkimer -County, as I remember it. An advertisement -called for forty men, and the responsibility of -the advertiser was vouched for by the local -banker.</p> - -<p>“Who can cut trees?” I asked. A shout -went up from these countrymen—“Who cannot -cut trees?” <i>Forty</i> to go? Everyone was -ready. So we financed them in their quest for -work, and bade good-by to a radiant, grateful -group. <i>Alas! only four men were needed.</i> The -contractor preferred to have a larger number -come, that he might make selection. And this<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_300"></a>[300]</span> -is not an exceptional instance. Ask the itinerant -workers, the tramps even, how much faith -can be placed in the advertisements of “Hands -Wanted” in the East and in the West at the -gathering of the crops.</p> - -<p>The possibility of deflecting people to the -land has been demonstrated by Jewish societies -in New York, and with proper support other -organizations interested in this phase of the -immigrant’s welfare might repeat their success. -Such programmes of distribution, however, cannot -be carried out without effective co-operation -from the people in the rural regions, -and assimilative processes will not be wholly -successful until the native-born American is -freed from some of his prejudices and provincialism.</p> - -<p>An unsocial attitude in the country naturally -drives the stranger to an intensive colony life -which accentuates the disadvantages of the barriers -he and we build up.</p> - -<p>An experience in Westchester County illustrates -this very well. We were seeking lodgings -for two intelligent and attractive young Italians -who were working on a dam at one of our settlement -country places. Incidentally, the work -they were doing was quite beyond the powers -of any native workers in the vicinity of whom -we could hear. We asked an old native couple,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_301"></a>[301]</span> -squatters on some adjacent land, to rent an unoccupied -floor of their house to the two young -men. The man, despite their extremely indigent -condition (the wife went to the almshouse a -short time after), absolutely refused, fearing the -loss of social prestige if they “lived in the -house with dagoes.”</p> - -<p>Perhaps, having little else, they were justified -in clinging to their social exclusiveness, but -their action in this case illustrates the almost -universal attitude toward the immigrant, particularly -the more recent ones, and perhaps -only those who have felt the isolation and loneliness -of the newcomer can comprehend its -cruelty.</p> - -<p>An educated Chinese merchant who once -called at the settlement apologized for the -eagerness with which he accepted an offer to -show him over the house, explaining that although -he had been thirty years in this country -ours was the first American home he had been -invited to enter.</p> - -<p>We need also to analyze the philosophy of -much of the discrimination against aliens in the -matter of employment, and it is not pleasant -to remember that until recently a state employing -an enormous number of foreign workers -forbade the bringing of suit by the non-resident -family of the alien, although he might have<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_302"></a>[302]</span> -lost his life in an accident through no fault of -his own.</p> - -<p>Scorn of the immigrant is not peculiar to our -generation. A search of old newspaper files -will show that the arrival of great numbers of -immigrants of any one nationality has always -been considered a problem. In turn each nationality -as it became established in the new -country has considered the next-comers a danger. -The early history of Pennsylvania records -the hostility to the Germans—“fear dominated -the minds of the Colonists”—despite the fact -that the German invaders were land-owning and -good farmers.</p> - -<p>An Irish boy observed to one of our residents -that on Easter Day he intended to kill -his little Jewish classmate. Having had long -experience of the vigorous language and kind -heart of the young Celt, she paid little attention -to the threat, but was more startled when -the soft-eyed Francesco chimed in that he was -also going to destroy him “because he killed -my Gawd.” “But,” said the teacher, “Christ -was a Jew.” “Yes, I know,” answered the -young defender of the faith, “He was then, but -He’s an American now.”</p> - -<p>Despite its absurdity, was not the boy’s conception -an exaggerated illustration of that surface -patriotism which is almost universally<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_303"></a>[303]</span> -stimulated and out of which soul-deadening -prejudices may grow—may take root even in -the public schools?</p> - -<p class="tb">Great is our loss when a shallow Americanism -is accepted by the newly arrived immigrant, -more particularly by the children, and their -national traditions and heroes are ruthlessly -pushed aside. The young people have usually -to be urged by someone outside their own group -to recognize the importance and value of customs, -and even of ethical teaching, when given -in a foreign language, or by old-world people -with whom the new American does not wish -to be associated in the minds of his acquaintances. -This does not apply only to the recent -immigrant, to whom his children often hear -contemptuous terms applied. I remember attending -a public hearing before the Department -of Education of New York City at which Germans -vigorously urged the study of their native -tongue in the public schools, because of the impossibility -of persuading their children to learn -or use the language by any other means than -that of having it made a part of the great -American public school system.</p> - -<p>It is difficult to find evidence of any serious -effort on our part to comprehend the mental<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_304"></a>[304]</span> -reaction upon the immigrant of the American -institutions he encounters. Indeed, gathering -up the story of the immigrant, I sometimes wonder -if he, like the fairies, does not hold up a -magic mirror wherein our social ethics are reflected, -rather than his own visage.</p> - -<p>What we are to the immigrant in our civic, -social, and ethical relations is quite as important -as what he is to us. We risk destruction of -the spirit—that element of life that makes it -human—when we disregard our neighbor’s personality.</p> - -<p class="tb">Recent discussion of immigration bills focuses -attention on two points deemed of -fundamental importance by the settlement -groups.</p> - -<p>Three Presidents have vetoed bills for the -restriction of immigration by means of a literacy -test or by conditions that would virtually deny -the right of asylum for political refugees. Once, -in addressing a committee of the House on -such proposed legislation, I protested against a -departure from our tradition and reminded the -members of the committee of the splendid -Americans who would have been lost to this -country had the door been so closed upon them. -A young physician of Polish parentage followed,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_305"></a>[305]</span> -and his cultured diction and attractive appearance -lent emphasis to his story. “My father,” -he said, “came an illiterate to this country because -the priest of his parish happened not to -be interested in education, not because my -father was indifferent. He has struggled all his -life to give his children what he himself could -never have, and has worshiped the country that -gave us opportunity.”</p> - -<p>In his veto of the bill President Wilson admirably -formulated his reasons for opposing -restriction of this character, and as these are -exactly the arguments upon which social workers -have based their objections, I cannot do -better than quote him here:</p> - -<p>“In two particulars of vital consequence this -bill embodies a radical departure from the traditional -and long-established policy of this -country, a policy in which our people have conceived -the very character of their government -to be expressed, the very mission and spirit of -the nation in respect of its relations to the -peoples of the world outside their borders. It -seeks to all but close entirely the gates of -asylum, which have always been open to those -who could find nowhere else the right and opportunity -of constitutional agitation for what -they conceived to be the natural and inalienable -rights of men, and it excludes those to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_306"></a>[306]</span> -whom the opportunities of elementary education -have been denied without regard to their -character, their purposes, or their natural -capacity.”</p> - -<p class="tb">The immigrant brings in a steady stream of -new life and new blood to the nation. The unskilled -have made possible the construction of -great engineering works, have helped to build -bridges and roadways above and under ground. -The number of skilled artisans and craftsmen -among immigrants and -the contribution they make -to the cultural side of our -national life are too rarely -emphasized. Alas for our -educational system! we -must still look abroad for -the expert cabinet-maker -or stone-carver, the weaver -of tapestry, or the artistic -worker in metals, -precious or base.</p> - -<div class="figleft illowp50" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus91.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>In another place I have spoken of the rise -of certain needle trades from those of sweaters -and sweaters’ victims to a standardized industry, -with an output estimated at hundreds of -millions yearly. The industry of cloak- and suit-making -has been to a large extent developed<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_307"></a>[307]</span> -by the immigrants themselves. When the -stranger looks upon the loft buildings in other -parts of the city, gigantic beehives with the -swarms of workers going in and out, he seldom -comprehends that great wealth has been created -for the community by these humble workers.</p> - -<p>The man who now stands at the gates of Ellis -Island turns his socially trained mind toward the -development of methods for the protection and -assimilation of the immigrant after the gates -have closed upon him. But the best conceived -plans of this Commissioner of Immigration -and others who have long studied the question -will be fruitless unless, throughout the country, -an intelligent and respectful attitude toward the -stranger is sedulously cultivated.</p> - -<p>In the early glow of our enthusiasm, when we -were first brought in contact with the immigrant, -we dreamed of making his coming of -age—his admission to citizenship—something of -a rite. Many who come here to escape persecution -or the hardships suffered under a militaristic -government idealize America. They -bring an enthusiasm for our institutions that -would make it natural to regard admission to -the rights and responsibilities of citizenship -with seriousness. Years ago we urged the use -of school buildings, that registration and the -casting of the ballot might be dignified by<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_308"></a>[308]</span> -formal surroundings. This has been done in -several cities, although not yet in New York.</p> - -<p class="tb">The foreign press, particularly the Yiddish, -has a distinct Americanizing influence. Many -adults never learn the new language and, indeed, -acquire here the habit of newspaper-reading. -The history of the United States, biographies -of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and -other distinguished Americans appear in the -pages of these papers, and one Italian daily published -serially the Constitution of the United -States. Effective, too, as an educational and -assimilating measure have been the lectures in -foreign languages conducted for many years by -the Educational Alliance on East Broadway and -by the various settlements, and included, for -some years past, in the evening courses of the -Department of Education.</p> - -<p class="tb">In our neighborhood the physical changes of -the last twenty years have been great. Since -that first disturbing walk with the little girl -to the rear tenement on Ludlow Street asphalt -has replaced unclean, rough pavements; beautiful -school buildings (some the finest in the -world) have been erected; streets have been altered, -and rows of houses demolished to make -room for new bridges and small parks. Subway<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_309"></a>[309]</span> -tubes take the working population to scattered -parts of the greater city; piers have been built -for recreation purposes, and a chain of small -free libraries of beautiful design. A Tenement -House Department has been created, charged -with supervision and enforcement of the laws -regulating the housing of 80 per cent. of the -city’s population, and so far assaults upon this -protective legislation have been repulsed, despite -the tireless lobby of the owners year after year.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp53" id="fp24" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/fp24.jpg" alt="" /> - <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">At Ellis Island</span></p> - <p class="caption">There is a stream of inflowing life</p> -</div> - -<p>As our neighbors have prospered many have -moved to quarters where they find better houses, -less congestion, more bathtubs; but an enormous -working population still finds occupation -in the lower part of the city. Carfare is an -expense, and time spent in overcrowded cars, -which scarcely afford standing-room, adds to -the exhaustion of the long day, and these considerations -keep many near the workshop. Despite -the exodus, we still remain an overcrowded -region of overcrowded homes. Through the -tenements there is a stream of inflowing as well -as outflowing life. The newcomer finds a lodging-place -most readily in this vicinity, and the -East Side is the shore of the harbor.</p> - -<p class="tb">The settlements have been before the public -long enough to have lost the glamour of moral<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_310"></a>[310]</span> -adventure that was associated with their early -days. Many who were identified with them -then have steadfastly remained, although realizing, -as one of them has said, that high purpose -has often been mocked by petty achievement.</p> - -<p>A characteristic service of the settlement to -the public grows out of its opportunities for -creating and informing public opinion. Its -flexibility as an instrument makes it pliant to -the essential demands made upon it; uncommitted -to a fixed programme, it can move with -the times.</p> - -<p>Out of the enthusiasms and out of the sympathies -of those who come to it, though they -be sometimes crude and formless, a force is created -that makes for progress. For these, as -well as for the helpless and ignorant who seek -aid and counsel, the settlement performs a function.</p> - -<p>The visitors who come from all parts of -the world and exchange views and experiences -prove how absurd are frontiers between honest-thinking -men and women of different nationalities -or different classes. Human interest and -passion for human progress break down barriers -centuries old. They form a tie that binds closer -than any conventional relationship.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_311"></a>[311]</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp75" style="max-width: 9.375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/illus92.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="footnotes"> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_312"></a>[312]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">FOOTNOTES</h2> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> The “Lodge” doctor is the physician provided by a mutual benefit -society or “Lodge” to attend its members.—<span class="smcap">The Author.</span></p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> “Visiting Nursing in the United States,” by Y. G. Waters -(Charities Publication Committee).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">[3]</a> The National Association for the Study and Prevention of -Tuberculosis in its report for 1915 states that the tuberculosis death -rate in the registration area of the United States has declined from -167.7 in 1905 to 127.7 in 1913 per 100,000 population; a net saving to -this country of over 200,000 lives from this one disease.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">[4]</a> “The Vocational Guidance of Youth,” by Meyer Bloomfield -(Houghton Mifflin Co.).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="label">[5]</a> Because of economic conditions in New York during the -winter of 1915 and the compulsory idleness of many unskilled workers, -the Scholarship Committee of the Henry Street Settlement, -among other efforts for relief, rented a loft in a building near a -trade school, and thus made it possible for 160 untrained girls to -receive technical instruction, the Board of Education providing -teachers and equipment.—<span class="smcap">The Author.</span></p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="label">[6]</a> That the ephemeral character of work available for children of -fourteen to sixteen years of age is not peculiar to New York City is -shown by the following figures from the report of the Maryland Bureau -of Statistics for the year 1914. In Maryland, working papers -are issued for each separate employment. The number of original -applications in one year was 3,580 and the total of subsequent applications, -4,437. Of the 3,580 children 2,006 came back a second -time, 1,036 a third time, 561 a fourth, 363 a fifth, 194 a sixth, -116 a seventh, 53 an eighth, 29 a ninth, 18 a tenth, and one child -came back for the eighteenth time in a twelvemonth, for working -papers. Many of the children told stories of long periods of idleness -between employments.—<span class="smcap">The Author.</span></p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="label">[7]</a> While writing this we learn that a child attending a settlement -club has been involved in practices that indicate a perversion, but she -cannot properly be included in the above classification because of her -extreme youth.—<span class="smcap">The Author.</span></p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="label">[8]</a> We have been popularly known as the Nurses’ Settlement, but -our corporate name is The Henry Street Settlement.—<span class="smcap">The Author.</span></p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="label">[9]</a> Hat and coat checked without charge.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="label">[10]</a> January 22, 1905.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_11" href="#FNanchor_11" class="label">[11]</a> U. S. Commissioner S. M. Hitchcock’s decision, delivered March -30, 1909.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_12" href="#FNanchor_12" class="label">[12]</a> Now published, with considerable additions, as “Memoirs of a -Revolutionist” (Houghton Mifflin Co.).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_13" href="#FNanchor_13" class="label">[13]</a> See “The Life Story of a Russian Exile,” by Marie Suldoff -(The Century Co.).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_14" href="#FNanchor_14" class="label">[14]</a> See the sympathetic sketch, “Katharine Breshkovsky,” by Ernest -Poole (Charles H. Kerr & Co., Chicago).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_15" href="#FNanchor_15" class="label">[15]</a> Report of the Federal Bureau of Education for 1913 shows -500 of these schools in New York City.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_16" href="#FNanchor_16" class="label">[16]</a> See “History of Socialism in the United States,” by Morris -Hillquit (Funk and Wagnalls).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_17" href="#FNanchor_17" class="label">[17]</a> The early Hebrews possessed a few mystery plays, “The Sale -of Joseph,” “Esther and Haman,” and “David and Goliath,” and -at the Jewish carnival of Purim (Feast of Esther) merrymakers -went from house to house giving performances of song and -mimicry, but the Yiddish theater is new and was first introduced -in Rumania not more than thirty-five years ago. Transplanted -to Russia, the actors, said to have been selected from the original -strolling companies, played a brilliant brief part until, under government -order, the Yiddish theaters were closed there.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_18" href="#FNanchor_18" class="label">[18]</a> Dr. Edward McGlynn was suspended in 1884 under charge of -advocacy of Henry George and of holding opinions regarding the -rights of property not in accord with Catholic teaching, and later -excommunicated. He organized the famous Anti-Poverty Society in -1887. In 1892 he was reinstated, his position being judged not -contrary to the doctrine of the Church as confirmed by the -Encyclical <i>Rerum Novarum</i> issued by Leo XIII on May 15, 1891.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_19" href="#FNanchor_19" class="label">[19]</a> See reports and bulletins of the Joint Board of Sanitary Control -(Dr. George Price, Director), also Bulletins Nos. 98. 144, 145, -and 146 of the U. S. Department of Labor, and “Sanitary Control -of an Industry by Itself,” by L. D. Wald, in the report of the -International Congress of Hygiene and Demography, 1913.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_20" href="#FNanchor_20" class="label">[20]</a> In August, 1915, the protocol was succeeded by a time agreement -of two years. This agreement contains the main principles of -the protocol, with some modifications in the machinery of adjustment.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_21" href="#FNanchor_21" class="label">[21]</a> Report of Commission on Immigration of the State of New -York transmitted to the legislature in April, 1909.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_22" href="#FNanchor_22" class="label">[22]</a> “The Construction Camps of the People,” by Lillian D. Wald -and Frances A. Kellor (<i>The Survey</i>, January 1, 1910).</p> - -</div> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_313"></a>[313]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="INDEX">INDEX</h2> - -</div> - -<ul> - -<li class="ifrst">Adams, Maude, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Adolescence, problems of, and settlement work, <a href="#Page_170">170-179</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189-199</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Anarchism, <a href="#Page_274">274-279</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Archer, William, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bellevue Hospital, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bialystok massacre, <a href="#Page_230">230</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Breshkovsky, Katharine, <a href="#Page_238">238-248</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Brewster, Mary, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Budget of a working-girl, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">her “two jobs,” <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cafés, bookshops, and saloons, <a href="#Page_273">273-275</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Child Hygiene, Bureau of, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a></li> - -<li class="indx" id="Child_Labor"><i>Child labor</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">Children who work, <a href="#Page_135">135-151</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">conditions in New York City, <a href="#Page_135">135-137</a>,</li> -<li class="isub2">—in Pennsylvania and the South, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">National Committee on, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">New York Committee on, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">newsboys, <a href="#Page_146">146-149</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">obstacles to measures for protection of children, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">scholarships to aid children, <a href="#Page_138">138-142</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">statistics for Greater New York, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">sweatshops and children, <a href="#Page_153">153-156</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">typical employment record, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Washington Conference on, <a href="#Page_146">146</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Clubs and classes in the settlement, <a href="#Page_179">179-184</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Columbia University creates Department of Nursing and Health, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Committee of Fifteen (New York), inquiry of, <a href="#Page_174">174</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Comte, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Continuation Schools, necessary for young workers, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Convalescents, country house for, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Crosby, Ernest, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Davis, Katherine, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Defectives</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">Responsibility of society for, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">special classes instituted, <a href="#Page_117">117-120</a></li> - -<li class="indx">De Leon, Daniel, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Diseases of children and home treatment, <a href="#Page_38">38-40</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dock, L. L., <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Doukhobors, the, <a href="#Page_233">233-235</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Drama</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">As a social force, <a href="#Page_270">270-273</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">dramatic instinct of Jewish child, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">marionette theater, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Neighborhood Playhouse, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">pageants and plays, <a href="#Page_184">184-187</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Yiddish plays, <a href="#Page_270">270-272</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ducey, Father, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dunsany, Lord, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Education</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">Bureau of vocational guidance proposed, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">continuation schools necessary, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">educational ideals and the settlement, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">effects of disorganized tenement life on, <a href="#Page_110">110-113</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Federal Children’s Bureau, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">foreign press as Americanizing influence, <a href="#Page_307">307</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">hardships endured for, <a href="#Page_99">99-103</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">institutional life and the child, <a href="#Page_124">124-132</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">necessity for early care and training, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">responsibility for defectives, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_314"></a>[314]</span>scholarships, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">special training for defectives instituted, <a href="#Page_117">117-120</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">study-rooms at the settlement, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></li> -<li class="isub1">(<i>see also</i> <a href="#Public_Schools">Public Schools</a>)</li> - -<li class="indx">Educational Alliance, The, <a href="#Page_308">308</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Empress of Austria, assassination of, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Factory law (New York) amended, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Farrell, Elizabeth, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Federal Children’s Bureau, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Forward Association, The, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gapon, Father, <a href="#Page_230">230</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gershuni, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gordin, Jacob, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Greeks of New York give “Ajax,” <a href="#Page_226">226</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Henry Street</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">Instruction in home nursing begun in old building on, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">its links with city’s past, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">physical changes of twenty years, <a href="#Page_308">308</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Home and School Visitor, The, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Hospitals</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">Children’s diseases and, <a href="#Page_38">38-40</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">first school for midwives in Bellevue, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">large numbers of city sick unable to avail themselves of, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Housekeeping centers, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hughes, Charles Evans, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_293">293</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ibsen, Henrik, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Illiteracy, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Immigrants</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">Bureau of Industries and Immigration created, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">conditions of, in labor camps, <a href="#Page_294">294-297</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">contributions of, to national life, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">dangers and early trials of, <a href="#Page_286">286-293</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">discrimination against, <a href="#Page_300">300-302</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">further restriction of immigration contrary to American institutions, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_304">304</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">land and the, <a href="#Page_298">298-300</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">positive governmental action and constructive social measures needed, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">postal savings banks and, <a href="#Page_298">298</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Industrial conditions</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">Programmes of betterment, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">unemployment in 1893-1894, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">wretched conditions impress Henry Street workers from the beginning, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">youth and trades unions, <a href="#Page_201">201-215</a></li> -<li class="isub1">(<i>see also</i> <a href="#Child_Labor">Child Labor</a> and <a href="#Sweatshops">Sweatshops</a>)</li> - -<li class="indx">Industrial Workers of the World, <a href="#Page_278">278</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Infant mortality</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">Federal Children’s Bureau report on, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">social disease, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Institutional life, disadvantages of, for children, <a href="#Page_124">124-132</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Italians</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">Ancient customs preserved among, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">celebration of saints’ days, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">daily newspaper publishes Constitution, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">marionette theaters, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">preyed upon by quack doctors, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">tragic experience of Italian immigrant, <a href="#Page_286">286-288</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">“Jephthah’s Daughter,” <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Jews</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">Cycle of Hebrew festivals at Henry Street, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">difficulties of, in complex new world, <a href="#Page_252">252-254</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">dramatic instinct of Jewish child, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Talmud-Torah Schools and Chedorim, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">value put upon education by, <a href="#Page_97">97-100</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">wedding customs, <a href="#Page_216">216-219</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Yiddish plays, <a href="#Page_270">270-272</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Yiddish press, <a href="#Page_307">307</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Zionism, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Kant, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kelley, Florence, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kellor, Frances, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kennan, George, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_315"></a>[315]</span>Kindness of poor to each other, <a href="#Page_17">17-20</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kishineff massacre, <a href="#Page_229">229</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Knights of Labor, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kropotkin, Prince, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Land, The, and the immigrant, <a href="#Page_298">298-300</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lathrop, Julia, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lawrence strike, The, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Le Moyne, Sarah Cowell, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Life insurance and nursing service, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Literacy test for immigrants, <a href="#Page_304">304</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lowell, Josephine Shaw, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">McGlynn, Edward, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li> - -<li class="indx">McRae, Mrs., <a href="#Page_13">13-17</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maude, Aylmer, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mazzini, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Medical etiquette</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">And nursing service, <a href="#Page_30">30-36</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">its analogies with the “closed shop,” <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Metropolitan Museum of Art, petition for Sunday opening of, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Midwives, <a href="#Page_57">57-60</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Milk stations, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Morbidity, statistics of, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Murphy, Edgar Gardner, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">National Organization for Public Health Nursing, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> - -<li class="indx">National Playground Association, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Negroes</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">“Lincoln House,” <a href="#Page_162">162</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">peculiar problems of, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">restricted opportunities for, in industry, <a href="#Page_162">162</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Neighborhood Playhouse, The, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Nursing service</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">Co-operation with Board of Health, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">co-ordination with educational institutions, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Department of Nursing and Health at Columbia University, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">development of, throughout country, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">division into districts, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">effect of new basis, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">etiquette of, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">honored by Mt. Holyoke degree, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">life insurance company and, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">new era in development of, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">nurses for public schools, <a href="#Page_51">51-53</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">post-graduate training in settlement, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">principles of, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">professional etiquette and, <a href="#Page_30">30-36</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Public Health Nursing, division of, created in New York State, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li> -<li class="isub2">—department of, in Columbia University, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> -<li class="isub2">—National Organization for, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">staff of settlement increased, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Outdoor Recreation League, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pageants, festas, and street dances, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Picnics and day parties, <a href="#Page_77">77-79</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Play, children and, <a href="#Page_66">66-96</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Playgrounds</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">In Henry Street Settlement’s back yard, <a href="#Page_81">81-84</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">movement throughout country in favor of, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Outdoor Recreation League, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">playgrounds “at no matter what cost,” <a href="#Page_96">96</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">public schools used for, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Seward Park, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Postal savings banks and the immigrant, <a href="#Page_298">298</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pouren, Jan, <a href="#Page_236">236-238</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Protocol established in cloakmakers’ strike, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Prudhon, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Public Health Nursing, division of, created in Columbia University, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">in New York State, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">National Organization for, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> - -<li class="indx" id="Public_Schools"><i>Public schools</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">Cooking instruction in, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">doctors appointed for, <a href="#Page_49">49-51</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">first class for ungraded pupils in, <a href="#Page_117">117-120</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">infectious diseases and, <a href="#Page_46">46-53</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">opened as recreation centers, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Penny Lunches for, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_316"></a>[316]</span>responsibility for defectives, <a href="#Page_114">114-123</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">settlement seeks to co-operate with and supplement, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">stronghold of democracy, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">trachoma in, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">trained nurses in, <a href="#Page_51">51-53</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Quack doctors and the poor, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Red Cross</i> (<i>American</i>):</li> -<li class="isub1">An agency providing “moral equivalents for war,” <a href="#Page_61">61</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Department of Town and Country Nursing, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Riis, Jacob, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Roosevelt, Theodore, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Russian freedom</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">Case of Jan Pouren, <a href="#Page_236">236-238</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Friends of, in New York, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Katharine Breshkovsky, <a href="#Page_238">238-248</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Russian visitors at Henry Street, <a href="#Page_231">231-233</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Russia’s struggle our struggle, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">spiritual force of, on East Side, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">woman suffrage and, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Russian Revolution, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">New York Committee, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst"><i>Scholarships for children who work</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">“Alva Scholarship,” <a href="#Page_150">150</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">chart showing statistics of, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Henry Street system, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">New York Child Labor Committee Scholarship, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Settlements</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">Adherents of all creeds work together in, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">birth of idea, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">developments and opportunities for service, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">College Settlement (New York), <a href="#Page_10">10</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Union Settlement, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">University Settlement, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sex hygiene, instruction in, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shaw, George Bernard, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Shepherd, The,” <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shirt-waist strike, The, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Silver Box,” The, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Social forces</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">Drama, <a href="#Page_270">270-273</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">politics, <a href="#Page_255">255-272</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">radicalism, <a href="#Page_276">276-279</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">religion, <a href="#Page_249">249-254</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">socialism, <a href="#Page_262">262-266</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">social reform, <a href="#Page_279">279-285</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">woman suffrage, <a href="#Page_266">266-269</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Social halls and meeting-places</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">Cafés, bookshops, and saloons, <a href="#Page_273">273-275</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Clinton Hall, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">need for, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Social Halls Association, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Socialist movement in America, <a href="#Page_262">262-266</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Social Reform Club, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Southern Educational Conference, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Spahr, Charles B., <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Spinoza, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Spoken Newspaper, The,” <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Study-rooms and libraries in the settlement, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sukloff, Marie, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Summer scenes on the East Side, <a href="#Page_69">69-71</a></li> - -<li class="indx" id="Sweatshops"><i>Sweatshops</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">Conditions in, <a href="#Page_152">152-155</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">conferences on, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">protocol of 1910, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">restriction of, <a href="#Page_157">157-158</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Taft, William Howard, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tammany Hall, <a href="#Page_256">256-258</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Terry, Ellen, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Thoreau, Henry D., <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tolerance, religious, instances of, <a href="#Page_21">21-23</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tolstoi, Leo, <a href="#Page_233">233-235</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Trades unions</i>:</li> -<li class="isub1">Difficulty of organizing women and girls, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">early organizations of girl workers, <a href="#Page_203">203-206</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">shirt-waist strike, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Women’s Trade Union League, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Youth and, <a href="#Page_201">201-215</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Triangle fire and investigation, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tschaikowsky, N., <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_317"></a>[317]</span>Tuberculosis, system of care and instruction of patients, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Vacation houses and camps, <a href="#Page_90">90-94</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vocational Guidance and Industrial Supervision, proposed Bureau of, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Waring, Colonel, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wedding customs, <a href="#Page_216">216-219</a></li> - -<li class="indx">White House Conference on Children, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Whither,” by Morris Rosenfeld, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Whitman, Walt, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Widows’ pensions, the first in Henry Street, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wilson, Woodrow, <a href="#Page_305">305</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Woman suffrage, <a href="#Page_266">266-269</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Women’s Trade Union League, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a></li> - -</ul> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HOUSE ON HENRY STREET ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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