The settlement idea; a vision of social justice

Front matter

A VISION OF SOCIAL JUSTICE

*&<ftfe

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

Chapter I

RADICAL VS. CONSERVATIVE

1. All human beings alike require the satisfaction of certain needs 1

2. Defence against external aggression has absorbed the first consideration of governments 1

3. Nevertheless governments must principally take thought to secure justice between man and man ■ 2

4. Thomas Jefferson's warning , 2

5. It is at length recognized that disputes between nations must cease 3

6. Radical as opposed to conservative thought 3

7. The conservative as the opportunist who acts independent of any thought of social consequences . 3

8. The radical as the critic and propagandist. . 4

9. Social factors are constantly changing, putting radical propaganda out of date and bringing about change in spite of the resistance of conservatives 5

10. The background of radical thought is little understood « 5

11. Radical intrigue and agitation 7

v vi CONTENTS

IT PAGE

12. Obligation to defend property rights puts the state behind the conservative element sometimes to the abridgment of other rights 8

13. The Russian "Red" does not understand American institutions nor does the American understand the "Red" 8

14. The average man's life is too circumscribed for him to form correct judgments, this book will attempt to point out a method for "getting an understanding" 9

Chapter II

1. The social settlement a method of approach to social problems, which is often misunderstood 11

2. Influence of English workers 11

3. Canon Barnett's idea and Arnold Toynbee

as a type 12

4. Founding of Toynbee Hall in 1884 12

5. Original statement of purposes 13

6. Canon Barnett's estimate of value of the idea 14

7. Founding of first settlement in America, 1887 14

8. Early aims of the movement in New York 15

9. Seth Low's estimate of its value 16

10. Second settlement in America founded.... 17

1 1. The establishment of Hull House in Chicago, 1889 17

CONTENTS vii

PAGE

Miss Addams* analysis of motives in settlement work 18

The success of the settlement idea. Jacob Riis, Richard Watson Gilder, and Theodore Roosevelt early figures in the "reform movement" in New York , f , , ,...., 19

Chapter III

1. The rapid growth of the industrial town and

the changed status of the workman 21

2. The decline in wages 21

3. Individual workman of Colonial days his own master 22

4. Growth of the shop employing journeymen, followed by the development of the merchant 23

5. Relation of machinery to industrial development 24

6. Transition from craftsman to factory system of production. Immigrant competition with labor 25

7. Family and child labor. The plight of both skilled and common labor 26

8. Protests in America against the social degradation of the workingman 27

9. The protest in England. The Christian socialists and the Owenites 28

10. The revolt in France ..:..., 29 viii CONTENTS

11. The scientific socialists of Germany , 29

12. The intellectual protest in Russia, the novelists 30

13. Contrast between the proposals of the socialists and the method of Canon Barnett 30

14. The intellectual awakening of today offers an opportunity for further development of the settlement idea 32

Chapter IV First Contact With The Settlement

1. Contrast between the tenement district and

the business part of a great city , . S3

2. New York's ''East Side" , 33

3. Appearance of a settlement house 34

4. First impression likely to be distorted ....... 34

5. Table talk as an index of the spirit of the residents' household 35

6. Impressions from contact with the average activities of the settlement 36

7. Settlement's greatest value not evident without careful analysis 38

8. Two different classes of people come together

in the settlement 38

9. The immediate benefits are the result of what those who have had greater advantages are able to do for those whose opportunity has been limited 39

JO. Very few share in these immediate benefits . 39

CONTENTS ix

11. Immediate benefits difficult to tabulate 40

12. Settlement renders service to individuals, families, the neighborhood, the city, and the state 40

13. Varieties and classes of individuals 41

14. The club a typical unit of individuals 41

15. Individuals come to the settlement seeking primarily recreation and education 42

16. The average family seeks relief on account

of health, financial distress or conduct 42

17. Demands upon settlement by individuals and families are not peculiar to the settlement alone 42

18. Importance of point of view in any attempt

to satisfy a social need 43

19. Settlements' appreciation of different viewpoints 44

20. Recapitulation of points of view 45

Chapter V Immediate Demands And Methods Of Work

1. Subdivisions of settlement activities 47

2. Regular work and standardization 48

3. Extension work , 48

4. Recreation work principal among regular activities 50

5. Recreation as a human need 50

6. Settlement must supply something more than recreation 51

7. The settlement and music 52 x CONTENTS

ft PAGE

9. Dramatic work 53

10. The settlement as a developer of self-expression and neighborhood expression 55

11. The settlement as an agency for securing accurate information as to existing social conditions 55

12. Public recreation and social centers 56

13. The Social Unit and the Community Council 57

14. Settlement must be prepared to answer calls

for financial distress 58

15. "Organized Charity" and financial distress. 58

16. Case Work 59

17. Emergency relief in cases of acute distress must be given but should not be made an end of settlement work 59

18. Visiting nurse service of Henry Street Settlement 60

19. Responsibility for a neighborhood health program devolves upon the resident nurse in

the settlement 61

20. Co-operation with the Day Nursery 62

21. The settlement as adviser in cases arising from conduct 62

22. Co-operation with Big Brother Movement, Juvenile Protective Association, Legal Aid Society, and other organizations 63

CONTENTS xi

CHAPTER VI THE CLUB AND THE SUMMER CAMP IN SETTLEMENT WORK fl PAGE

1. The Club a practical working unit 64

2. The settlement's responsibility 64

3. The club leader 65

4. Value of the volunteer leader and necessity for popularizing an understanding of his position 65

5. Value of example in leadership 67

6. The winning of the boy 69

7. The awakening of the boy 69

8. Method in club work cannot be uniform ; club

set standards 20

9. Critics of the club are prone to expect too much of it 20

10. The specialized Boy's Club, possibility of co-operation with the settlements 71

11. The Boy Scouts of America 72

12. Immediate relation of the camp to the settlement 73

13. Points of difference .and special advantages 74

14. The camp as a democratic society ,,,,,♦... 76

Chapter VII

1. The settlement is convinced that ideal democracy is possible 77 xii CONTENTS

IF PAGE

2. Modern education neglects to give the individual an understanding of his relation to society 77,

3. As opposed to salvation of the individual soul, today we have begun to concern ourselves with social evangelism ., 78

4. Permanent work for the settlement as a means of approach to a better understanding between the elements of society 79

5. Classification of society — The Social Quadrant . . 79

t. The line of advantages or privileges, a material division 81

7. The line of understanding, a spiritual distinction 82

8. The "social conscience'* and "social responsibility" 82

9. Friendships made possible by the settlement 84

10. Necessity for a human understanding and a natural social relation between those economically related to one another 85

11. Opportunity for men who desire to play not only a part but a useful part in society. . . . r. 86

12. Opportunity to put life to the test 87

13. The settlement does not seek to put any theory into practice 87

14. The awakening to a consciousness of social injustice produces at first blind rage and the concept of the "class war" 88

CONTENTS xiii

15. The "evolutionary socialists" as opposed to

the revolutionary school 88

16. Liberal reforms — the feminist movement,

the labor movement 89

17. Value of social contacts of the settlement to the labor leader — the concept of the battle of understanding with unreasoning personal greed ■ 89

18. The awakening of barren lives to social consciousness. The possibility of social justice through understanding of social values 91

Chapter VIII Settlement Administration And Support

1. Necessity for a sound fiscal basis 93

2. Disadvantages of an endowment policy . 93

3. Heavy burden upon individual subscribers merely to maintain a standard 94

4. The immediate neighborhood as contributors 94

5. The responsibility rests not on the neighborhood but upon society as a whole 95

6. The municipality not the ideal source of support though it should maintain organized social work 95

7. Industry not in a position to support the settlement - 96

8. Necessity of voluntary financial support, the funds administered by trustees 97

9. The board of managers . . 98

10. The danger of reaction 98 xiv CONTENTS

If PAGE

11. The headworker 100

12. Types of workers, professional and volunteer 100

13. Democratic help of Club's Council 101

14. The budget 103

Chapter IX

1. European immigration as a source of labor supply 109

2. Proportion of foreign born to whole population of the United States 109

3. The American's attitude toward immigration 110

4. The immigrant's arrival in America — living conditions in New York 110

5. The foreign born quarter in the western city 111

6. The native born's contempt for the foreigner, "Americanization" 112

7. The children have the greater opportunity to learn English 114

8. Difficulties in the way of the parent's learning the new language 114

9. The settlement as an interpreter of America

to the immigrant 115

10. The use of the immigrant's own tongue to teach him about his new country 116

11. Co-operation with the organized work of foreign language groups 117

12. The contribution of the foreigner to American life 118

CONTENTS xv

13. American farming has benefited especially

by German and Scandinavian immigration. . 119

14. The foreigner's contribution to the arts, literature, music, and the handicrafts 120

15. The settlement's opportunity to stimulate the immigrant to give America his best 121

16. Parents not so quick as their children to grasp new ways and methods 121

17. Liberty is not license, it should be balanced with substance 122

18. The immigrant's contact with native American labor . 123

19. The "disinterested" policy of the American employer 124

20. The padrone system 125

21. The company town and the ban on "agitators" of whatever type 126

22. Necessity for understanding the employer's point of view 127

23. The tendency for racial animosities to die

out in America 127

24. The traditional conception in the mind of the immigrant of the democracy of the United States 128

25. Community of purpose, social ties stronger than loyalty to race, the United States as a social entity 128

26. Loyalty of naturalized Americans in the war significant of power of a nation organized upon social rather than racial lives 129

XVI

CONTENTS ft PAGE

27. Conclusions, the foreigner must be helped and urged to make his contribution to American life 130

Chapter X

1. Differences in religion give rise to many problems which are difficult to handle 132

2. Settlements furnish a non-sectarian meeting ground for all elements in their neighborhood 132

3. Emphasis of the settlement is put upon living rather than teaching morals 133

4. Necessity for an outlet for religious emotions 135

5. The settlement has been compelled to disregard petty differences and go to essentials. . 135

6. Common heritage of Jew and Gentile, the ethical interest shown by the Jew in the teachings of Christ 136

7. The spirit of the settlement movement is essentially Christian , 137

8. Historical Digression — The place of Socrates and Plato in Greek philosophy, growth of the humanizing influence of the Roman Schqol 138

9. The educational contribution of the Cynics and Rhetor icans. The emphasis of the Pythagorean school upon personal holiness 139

10. Contact with the East — The rise of the Alexandrian school — Neo Platonism and

CONTENTS xvii contact with Hebrew thought, Philo of Alexandria 139

11. The coming of Christ — His teachings represent the flowering of the philosophical thought of the time 140

12. Many of the mystical forms and superstitions of the day were appropriated by Christianity 141

13. Emphasis laid by the early church upon life

in the hereafter 141

14. Definite conformities, required by the early church, insisted upon even after the Reformation. Controversy over dogma has obscured the essential religion 142

15. Christ showed a way of life. The end as the social good. The settlement idea as a method of living 143

Chapter XI

1. Definition of education 145

2. Natural contacts, shared experience 145

3. Manners, tastes, preferences, esthetics — attraction and revulsion 146

4. The school as a type of artificial contact with the experience of the race — The primary and secondary task of the school 147

5. The pupil learns from the lesson to do what he is taught. The student learns from study

to understand . . .-. 148 xviii CONTENTS

ff , PAGE

6. The school as a democracy of natural contacts 149

7. The student is the exceptional product. The student as a leader 149

8. The average product of the schools has mastered the lesson only, which he fails to relate

to life as a whole 150

9. Democratic spirit in the schools undirected 150

,10. Need for a new vision in education 151

11., The private tutor. The unlimited influence

of his personality and his philosophy 151

12. The greater possibility of control over the influence of the teacher, the fear of early independence for the child's mind 152

13. The value of giving the child an understanding of social needs as opposed to holding him under terror of discipline 152

14. The perversion of recorded history by prudish conceits and propaganda 153

15. The general opposition on the part of controlling factions to the disturbance of established thought and practice by the introduction of new ideas 154

16. Our schools fulfill the task which is set them,

the mastery of the lesson 154

17. Is the school to develop an understanding of social forces or is another organization to develop beside it ? 155

18. The settlement can supplement the school and broaden the narrow environment of the home 156

CONTENTS xix tf PAGE

19. The settlement can add vitality and meaning

to the lives of educated people 157

20. The recent awakening to the idea of social values of the Y. ,W. C A 157

21. The awakening of the church. The Interchurch Report on the Steel Strike of 1919. . 158

22. The shortcomings of the school due in great measure to the shortcomings of other social factors. The settlement must not fail to fulfill its part 158

Chapter XII

1. Humility and openness of mind a prerequisite of the worker who would learn to understand life 160

2. Ineffective sentimentalism and confusion of mind a result of too narrow a background 160

3. The tendency of the worker to become partisan and narrow 161

4. The analogy of society and the animal organism 161

5. The society which supports its brain workers

for its service also supports the parasite. . . 162

6. The social worker surrounded daily by poverty falls into the way of taking sides 162

7. Workers often the victim of association with their intellectual inferiors 163

8. Necessity for retaining outside contacts... 164 xx CONTENTS

ft PAGE

9. The resident worker must get proper recreation to keep the joy of living fresh within him 164

10. Present low economic reward. In the ideal there should be few salaried positions for which the pay should be adequate 164

11. Personal enthusiasms tend to carry the worker too far in one direction 165

12. The danger of a cheap veneer of culture. .. . 165

13. Where the imagination and the esthetic sense are aroused the emphasis must not be misplaced so as to make life seem too unreal. . 166

14. How far in recreation? 167

15. Co-operation with existing agencies of recreation 167

16. Danger of psychological enthusiasms wrongly used , 168

page

17. The settlements' purpose not to reform or

to uplift but to understand 168

Chapter XIII How Is It To Carry On?

1. The settlement not a panacea 170

2. So long as a neighborhood needs friends the settlement must be on hand ready to introduce them 170

3. The test of a settlement lies not in its physical equipment but in its spirit 171

4. The neighborhood spirit 172

CONTENTS xxi

5. Knowledge of conditions essential 173

6. Estimate of Canon Barnett's method 173

7. The method and teaching of the economists and the socialists 174

8. Socio-economic thought 176

9. Social justice possible only through complete social understanding 176

10. Motive in the choice of a neighborhood. . . . 177

11. Difficulties in the way of getting into touch with neighbors 178

12. The assistance of the settlement house. Need

of more living quarters and of more settlers 178

13. Labor movement unconnected with the settlement. A vital force lacking in the collective life of the organized neighborhood 179

14. The settlement not a panacea but a method of approach. Social relations must be understood before they can be improved. The necessity for popularizing the idea 180

APPENDICES

A. Statements of Settlements' Purpose by the United Neighborhood Houses of New York 182

B. The Great War and the Foreign Born Population of the United States 190

C. Illiteracy and Inability to speak English in

the United States 197

E. Financial Reports and Finances 201

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

Some of the deep problems of life, the perplexities, the social frictions, the regretable unfairnesses, it is not easy to understand. There are many thoughtful people who would gladly so order their lives that the whole direction of their living might be consistent with the public good, had they but positive knowledge of what that direction should be. Such knowledge cannot come until the great majority of men begin to think in social terms. Perhaps that day is still far off. Nothing, however, can help so much to bring it nearer as a conscious striving for an understanding of social conditions, social values, and social phenomena.

Among college men and women there has been a growing tendency to test out values and to ask questions. It fell to my lot shortly after graduation to become one of a committee to urge men as they came out of the colleges to take an active interest in civic and social problems. Working at such a task, it became increasingly difficult to tell the younger men just what it was for which we were soliciting their interest. It was with difficulty that our committee overcame the "holier than thou" imputation, with which we were constantly embarrassed. Even the use of the term "social service" appeared to be a stumbling block. The committee, of which I speak, came under

xxiii xxiv THE SETTLEMENT IDEA

the influence of the settlement movement at the very outset. Through the entree which this contact gave us, it was possible to make an intelligent approach to the whole social question. The relation which the settlement bears to our work, and indeed to anyorganized piece of social work, is still, however, very imperfectly understood. What it is all about, must be explained anew to almost every prospective friend who is approached.

Believing that the settlement plays an essential role, which is of fundamental importance to society as a whole and of vital interest to each and every human being, whether he imagines himself to be interested or not, I have set myself the task of interpreting the settlement idea. Those better qualified than I to speak have already written fluently and ably upon the subject. In a sense, it is an unwarranted assumption that I, an architect by profession, should invade the field of socio-economic writing. As a professional man, however, I know that the greatest professional accomplishments are achieved for a public that demands achievement. In general the public is rather prone to leave the thinking about social things to the professional social worker, just as it is accustomed to leave the field of artistic thought to artists, of religious thought to ministers, of educational thought to professors, and to leave the care of the public health to doctors. This shifting of responsibility is generally accompanied by a neglect to take an interest at all and is one of the chief reasons that our health standards are still needlessly low, that our educational system is antiquated, that our churches are unpopular, that

INTRODUCTORY NOTE xxv

our real artists are few, and that our social system is needlessly muddled.

There has been a great deal of criticism lately of that prolific writer, Mr. H. G. Wells. He has been accused of trying to tell everybody how to run everybody else's business besides the world in general. What he really has been saying is that the world is headed for trouble unless we revise our way of thinking about things. What one man does, affects not only himself but many others. It is everybody's business not only what men are doing but how they are doing it. Mr. Wells has seen the need of an intellectual Renaissance, the quickening of the minds of all men to an interest in all fields of human endeavor. Our scientists, our ministers, our thinkers can not go forward without this popular support. There is a particular need for examining the organization of society, and of understanding its faults, its misplacements, and its good features. Through the settlement idea there is the opening for an approach toward a popular understanding of social problems and relationships. In this volume I have focused upon the settlement solely in the hope of popularizing it and of using it for a larger social end than it serves at present.

After all, social problems are not merely the concern of a little group of over-conscientious thinkers; if we are to progress, the great body of men and women must be stimulated to think clearly upon the subject and to demand clear thinking from their social leaders. "The great majority of men and women, in ordinary times, pass through life without ever contemplating or criticising, as a whole, either their own xxvi THE SETTLEMENT IDEA

conditions of those of the world at large. They find themselves born into a certain place in society, and they accept what each day brings forth, without any effort of thought beyond what the immediate present requires. Almost as instinctively as the beasts of the field, they seek the satisfaction of the needs of the moment, without much forethought, and without considering that by sufficient effort the whole conditions of their lives could be changed. A certain percentage, guided by personal ambition, make the effort of thought and will which is necessary to place themselves among the more fortunate members of the community; but very few among these are seriously concerned to secure for all the advantages which they seek for themselves. It is only a few rare and exceptional men who have that kind of love toward mankind at large that make them unable to endure patiently the general mass of evil and suffering, regardless of any relation it may have to their own lives." x

The following pages could never have been put into the form in which they are, had it not been for the untiring support of certain good friends, who were wise enough to condemn manuscript unsparingly and unselfish enough to give valuable time and suggestion towards its revision. For the original thought that prompted me to undertake the book, I am indebted to Professor V. G. Simkhovitch. Those whom I desire principally to thank for criticism and suggestion are: Ferdinand D. Sanford, Franklin C. Wells, Jr., George Alexander Armstrong, Tertius van Dyke, Curtiss

*Bertrand Russell. "Proposed Roads to Freedom."

INTRODUCTORY NOTE xxvii

t Wheeler, Edward Hale Bierstadt, and Viola P. Conklin. Severest and most penetrating of all critics, my wife deserves the especial gratitude of the reader for her discerning insistence on revision.

Arthur C. Holden.

New York, June, 1921.

x

Chapter I

1. Human beings, whether refined by training or not, have within them the germinals of the same needs, motives, impulses, and desires. It is not possible for life to go on unless certain of the most fundamental human needs are satisfied. All men alike require food and drink, exercise and rest, shelter, and occupation for the mind, and an outlet for the faculties of sex. Democratic governments are maintained to insure to all men the "right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

2. In the earliest tribal development, it was the patriarch who meted out justice among his followers. As time went on, however, a newer and different responsibility was placed upon the leader of the tribe. It became his duty to protect the society of his own people against external aggression. In the attempt to shatter the menacing power of an unfriendly state, war came into the world. The modern state has concentrated upon equipment to defend itself against external aggression but it has not been uniformly capable of maintaining all of its constituent members in the enjoyment of their natural rights. In the appalling struggles that have taken place between nations, the primitive social functions of the state have been often lost sight of and the state organization developed and improved with the primary purpose of assuring the stability of the organization itself.

3. Nevertheless the struggle for the maintenance of essential right between man and man has been always going on. Occasionally it has been marked by great outbursts and convulsions which have threatened the stability of the social order itself. The French Revolution shook Europe to its foundations. On our own continent the American Revolution took a somewhat different form. The necessity was recognized and the attempt was made to set up an ideal form of government. There was no passion for revenge upon a particular class such as unbalanced the revolutionary leaders of France.

4. It had come to be recognized that men are dominated by motives which tend to control their actions beyond the enjoyment of their elemental needs. Motives such as the love of praise, the love of possession and the love of controlling, lead some to acquire power greater than obtainable by most men. The restraint which government exercises is applied to protect men from those whose own ambitions lead them to neglect consideration of their fellows. In drawing up the Federal Constitution, Americans recognized the necessity for specific guarantees of liberty. Thomas Jefferson spoke out fearlessly upon this subject:

'The spirit of the time may alter, will alter. Our rulers will become corrupt, our people careless. A single zealot may become persecutor and better men become his victims. It can never be too often repeated that the time for fixing essential right, on a legal basis, is while our rulers are honest, ourselves united. From the conclusion of this war we shall be going down hill. It will not then be necessary to resort every moment to the people for support. They will be forgotten, therefore, and their rights disregarded. They will forget themselves in the sole faculty of making money, and will never think of uniting to effect a due respect for their rights. The shackles, therefore, which shall not be knocked off at the conclusion of this war will be heavier and heavier, till our rights shall revive or expire in a convulsion. ,,

5. Today we stand perhaps at the beginning of a new day. The recognition that wars between nations must cease, and the establishment of an international league to settle disputes between peoples, should lessen the troublesome burden of national defense and free the state again to turn its best energies to the maintenance of justice within its borders.

6. And now at a time when all intellectual effort should be concentrated upon interpreting the changes brought about through the war and upon understanding the new inter-relations of men, we are engaged in the old battle of the radical versus the conservative. It is a natural division between men, due perhaps to a different outlook and a different way of thinking about things in general.

7. Speaking broadly the conservative is more generally the opportunist. He is quite ready to play the game of life taking things just as he finds them and regulating his conduct only by the restraint of established custom. He is not likely to question the social consequences of any act of his so long as it is an act permitted by common practice. His answer to the criticism of the unfortunate condition in which the majority of people live is that most men do not know what is good for them; that they have brought these conditions upon themselves; that such is the way of human life and it can never be otherwise. There are plenty of well meaning people of this type who devoutly thank God for the many blessings that they themselves have received while they offer genuine sympathy for their fellows who have not been so fortunate. There still, however, exist some who would rule their brothers with an iron hand and teach them by force what is good for them.

8. The radical in general is a man who criticizes complacency and, as the derivation of the word implies, proposes to go to the root of things for his remedy. There have been many types. They have put forward various proposals for the improvement of the social organization which have been received by conservatively minded people with uniform abhorrence. The radical, whose influence has been pre-eminent and whose proposals have received widespread consideration, was Karl Marx, the socialist. His proposals were definite, he preached revolution as the inescapable means of social readjustment. He believed that the proletariat after being forced lower and lower by the oppression of capitalism would at length revolt. The proletariat of today, however, is not the same proletariat of which Marx wrote in his great work "Das Kapital." It has changed. Although greater and greater wealth has been concentrated in the hands of the capitalists, the laboring man has not been reduced to the abject wage slavery that was prophesied. The increase in wealth has actually given him more earning power and a larger share of income. Through his ability to organize he has been able in a measure to control wages. The proletarian revolution will not come about in the way nor for the reasons that were prophesied by Karl Marx.