^pyi fllE PROSPEOT I MON 1801-iMi ^f tliiH iianiplilet in due to tlie ^ift i lt)«'HnBdrf(l dollars for this purport'. J$ Forsooth, brothers, fellowship is heaven, and lack of fel- lowship is hell ; fellowship is life, and lack of fellowship is death ; and the deeds that ye do upon the earth, it is for fellowship's sake that ye do them ; and the life that is in it, that shall live on and on for ever, and each one of you part of it, while many a man's life upon the earth from the earth shall wane. Dream of John Ball. The Prospect Union 1891-99 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS CAMBRIDGE PUBLISHED BY THE UNION 1899 THE HOUSE BY THE . SIDE OF THE ROAD "He was a frieud to man, and lived in a house liy the side of the road." — Homer. There are hermit souls that live withdrawn In the peace of their self-content ; There are souls, like stars, that dwell apart, In a f ellowless firmament ; There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths Where highways never ran ; — But let me live by the side of the road And be a friend to man. Let me live in a house by the side of the road, Where the race of men go by — The men who are good and the men who are bad. As good and as bad as I. I would not sit in the scorner's seat, Or hurl the cynic's ban ; — Let me live in a house by the side of the road And be a friend to man. I see from my house by the side of the road. By the side of the highway of life, The men who press with the ardor of hope, The men who are faint Avith the strife. But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears — Both parts of an infinite plan ; — Let me live in my house by the side of the road And be a friend to man. I know there are brook-gladdened meadows ahead And mountains of wearisome height; That the road passes on through the long afternoon And stretches away to the night. But still I rejoice when the travellers rejoice., And weep with the strangers that moan, Nor live in my house by the side of the road Like a man who dwells alone. Let me live in my house by the side of the road Where tl\e race of men go by — They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong. Wise, foolish — so ami. Then why should I sit in the scorner's seat Or hurl the cynic's ban? — Let me live in my house by the side of the road And be a friend to man. Sam Waltkr Foss. MAR 10 1913 ^ CONTENTS Note — Numerals following the name of a person always sig- nify his year of graduation from Harvard University . PAGE Calendar 7 Programme 8 Administrative Officers The Prospect Union 9 The Prospect Union Association .... 12 What The Prospect Union Is 15 The Beginnings of the Union. By Francis Greenwood Peabody, Professor in Harvard University ... 16 The Union and the University. By George L. Paine, '96 19 The Union and "Workingmen. By A Workingman . . 24 Historical Sketch 25 The Classes; Courses of Study, 1898-99 ... 34 The Lectures 42 Active Membership 47 Government 48 The Corporation 49 Relation to Other Institutions 50 The Building and Land . .... 51 The Attitude of_ the Union toward Religion . . 55 Conclusions Based on Eight Years' Experience . 55 Looking Forward 58 Teachers in The Prospect Union, 1891-1899 ... 60 Report of the Treasurer of the Prospect Union Association 65 Report of the Treasurer of The Prospect Union . 66 Other Educational Efforts 67 He's true to God who's true to man ; wherever wrong is done, To the humblest and the weakest, 'neath the all-beholding sun, That wrong is also done to us ; and they are slaves most base Whose love of right is for themselves, and not for all their race. James Russell Lowell.* * At the time of his deatli, Mr. Loweli, was a Sustaining Member of Thb Prospect Union. ILLUSTRATIONS The Prospect Union Building . . . Frontispiece Some Corporate and Sustaining Members, Past and Present: Ex-Governor William E. Russell, James Russell Lowell, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Edward Everett Hale, Professor Charles Eliot Norton, President Charles W. Eliot 11 A Class in Session 14 Chairmen of the Committee on Classes, Correspond- ing Secretaries, etc., 1893-98: James K. Whit- temore, '95; George L. Paine, '96; Henry Wilder Foote, '97; Robert L. Hoguet, '99; Arthur C. Nash, '94; Frank W. Grinnell, '95; Henry I. Bowditch, •98 ; James D. Dole, '99 20 Treasurers of the Union, 1892-98 : Walton B. McDaniel, '93; Nathan Hayward, '95; Henry G. Gray, '97; Francis W. Palfrey, '98 ; Paul M. Hubbard, '98 ; Philip M. Tucker, '99 22 Birthplace of The Prospect Union^ — The Frospect House 26 Some of the Founders of the Union : Professor Fran- cis G. Peabody; Rev. Robert Erskine Ely; "The Big Four" — Robert M.Lovett, '92: Louis F. Berry, '92; George J. Peirce, '90; Carlos C. Closson, '92 28 Fac-Simile of a Letter from Oliver Wendell Holmes 32 Members of the Executive Committee of 1898, Group A : Carlton Pearson, Charles A-. Sievwright, Joseph P. St. Cceur, Edward Schwartz, John F. Harring- ton, Thomas H. Hall 36 Members of the Executive Committee of 1898, Group B : James A. Stinson, Thomas Savage, Edward A. McMaster, Francis P. Sheehan, William H. Nagle, William T. Pierce 37 A Wednesday Evening Lecture 44 The Reading Room 46 The Office 52 A Residence Room ........ 54 MEMBERSHIP FEES, ETC. Active membership, with all privileges, per year, $2.00 Associate membership, per year, . . . . 2.00 Sustaining membership, per year, . . . . 5.00 Life membership, 25.00 Sustaining, Associate and Life Members and ContribTitors have all the privileges of active members except voting and holding office. Annual or occasional contributions of larger or smaller amounts are solicited. Gifts toward the cancelling of the mortgage of $6000 on the land and building are particularly desired. Such gifts should be sent to George G. Wright, Treasurer of the Corporation, 86 Mt. Auburn St., Cambridge, Mass. Sustaining, Associate and Life Membership fees, and contributions (except toward reducing the mort- gage) should be sent to Philip M. Tucker, '99, Treasurer of the Union, 744 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridgeport, Mass. Telephone, 46-3 Cambridge. FORM OF BEQUEST I give and bequeath to the Prospect Union Associa- tion of Cambridge, Mass., a corporation duly estab- lished by law, the sum of CALENDAR The meetings oj the Executive Commiiiee are held on the fourth Thursday evening of every month except July and August. The business and social meetings oj the active ynembershiii are held on the first Wednesday evening of every month. 1898. Se2)t .21, Wednesday . Opening Meeting. Oct, 10, Monday. Classes begin. Nov. 2, Wednesday. Semi-annual election. Nov. 24, Thursday. Thanksgiving Day; a holiday. Recess for the Classes from Dec. 22, 1898, to Jan. 3, 1899. 1899. Feb. 1, Wednesday. Celebrationof Eighth Anniversary. Feb. 22, Wednesday. Washington's Birthday ; a holiday. April 19, Wednesday. Patriots' Day; a holiday. Out- ing to Lexington and Concord. Recess for the Classes from April 15 to April 23. May 3, Wednesday. Semi-annual election. May 6, Satui'day. Classes close. May 23, Thursday. Annual Meeting of The Prospect Union Association. June 28, Wednesday. Weekly meetings close. Summer Vacation from June 29 to Sept. 19. (Building open as at other times for the use of members.) Sept. 20, Wednesday. Opening Meeting. Oct. 9, Monday. Classes begin. Nov. 1, Wednesday . Semi-annual election. Nov. 30, Thursday. Thank? giving Day ; a holiday. Recess for the Classes from Dec. 21, 1899, to Jan. 2, 1900. PROGRAMME Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 7.30 to 9.30 P.M. Classes in English ; Foreign languages, modern and ancient; Geography, History, Social Science, Philosophy ; Natural Sciences ; Mathematics ; Drawing, Penmanship, Book-keeping, Stenography, Music. (Jnlij members of the Union are admitted to the classes. Wednesday, 8 p.m. Lectures and Entertainments. First Wednesday of every month. Social and Business Meeting. Third Wednesday of every month. Ladies' Night. Wednesdays preceding Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Yeai's Day, Entertainments. Saturday, 8 p.m. First Saturday of every month, INIusical. Second and fourth Saturdays, Smoke Talks in the Social Room. Lectures, Musicals and Entei'tainmeiits, unless otherwise announced, are open to the jmblic. Reading Room. Daily, weekly and monthly newsjiapers and magazines on tile. Social Room. The use of tobacco permitted. SiiOAVER Baths. Fee for soap, etc., five cents. Library. A money dei>osit required on loan of text-books. Other books loaned without a deposit. These privileges are for members only. Cambridgeport Delivery Station of the Cambridge Public Library, in the Office. Open to the public. The Prospect Union Building is open everif day in the year from 7 a.m. to 10.30 p).m. THE PROSPECT UNION Officers President : Robert Erskine Ely, Prospect Union Build- ing, Cambridgeport. Vice-President: Carlton Pearson, 310 Harvard St., Cambridge. Recording Secretary : Edward Schwartz, 30 Pearl St., Cambridgeport. Corresponding Secretary: Burr A. Hollister, 1902, 66 College House, Cambridge. Financial Secretary : Charles A. Sievwright, Prospect Union Building. Treasurer: Philip M. Tucker, '99, 80 Grays Hall, Cambridge. Auditor: William F. Johnson, 15 Market St., Cam- bridgeport. Supervisor of Classes: Henry Wilder Foote, '97, 7 Wadsworth House, Cambridge. Steward : Clarence L. Hodsdon, Prospect Union Build- ing. Chairmen of Standing Committees On Classes: William Bayard Cutting, Jr., 1900, 23 Claverly Hall, Cambridge. 071 Lectures: William B. Wheelwright, 1903, 25 Holy- oke St., Cambridge. On Mtcsic : Walter Krentzlin, Prospect Union Building. On Library: Carl Stahleker, 56 Banks St., Cambridge. On Pleading Poom : Samuel F. Goodell, 12 Lake St., Cambridgeport. Social: John J. Heanue, 185 Elm St., Cambridgeport. House: John J. Coyne, 7 Marvin Place, Cambridgeport. 10 THE FHUHPECT UNION Executive Committee The Officers and Chairmen of Standing Committees above named. Professor Francis G. Peabody, Harvard University. James A. Stinson, Riverside Press, Cambridgeport. George M. Clukas, 130 Austin St., Cambridgeport. Frank J. Stiles, 235 Western Ave., Cambridgeport. William White, 136 Winsor St., Cambridgeport. Francis W. Smith, 162 Putnam Ave., Cambridgeport. Robert J. Jefferson, 215 Chestnut St., Cambridgeport. W. Rodman Peabody, '95, 53 State St., Boston. Alexander Whiteside, Jr., '95, 6 Newbury St., Boston. Elliot H. Goodwin, '95, 8 Follen St., Cambridge. The Officers, Chairmen of Standing Committees, and other members of the Executive Committee are elected by the active members from their own number semi-annually, on the first Wednesday of May and November. The function of the Committee is the supervision of the Union. Its reso- lutions are advisory only, requiring confirmation by the active members of the Union at a business meeting. Regu- lar meetings of the Executive Committee are held monthly ; special meetings may be called at any time. The President of the Union is the presiding otficer; the Corresponding Secretary is secretary of the Committee. The membership of the Committee may be enlarged by the Union at will. Some Corporate and Sustaining Members, Past and Present Ex-Governor William E. Russell James Russell Lowell Oliver Wendell Holmes Edward Everett Hale Professor Charles Eliot Norton President Charles W. Eliot THE PROSPECT UNION ASSOCIATION Incorporated^ 2S96, htj special act of the Massachusetts Legislature Preside nl : Professor Francis G. Peabody, Harvard University. Secretary: James A. Stinson, Riverside Press, Cam- bridgeport. Treasurer: George G. Wright, 86 Mt. Auburn St., Cambridge. Directors: The Officers above named. Robert Erskine Ely, Prospect Union Building, C'ambridgeport. JoHX Hopewell, 129 Wasliington St., Boston. Auditor: John H. Corcoran, 587 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridgeport. Edward J. Brandon, City Clerk, City Hall. Cambridge- jjort. John Graham Brooks, 8 Francis Ave., Cambridge. Rev. Walter Cali.ey, 112 Upland Road, North Cam- bridge. President Charles W. Eliot, Harvard University. Francis C. Foster, 28 State St., Boston. Frank M. Foster, Reversible Collar Co., Cambridge. John F. Harrin<;ton, 302 Green St., Cambridgeport. Thomas Went worth Higginson, 25 Buckingham St., Cambridge. Rev. George Hodges, Dean of the Episcopal Theologi- cal School, Cambridge. THE PROSPECT UNION ASSOCIATION 13 James J. Myeks, 53 State St., Boston. William H. Nagle, 101 Pearl St., Cambridgeport. Professor Charles Eliot Norton, Harvard University. Theodore H. Raymond, 678 Massachusetts Ave., Cam- bridgeport. Edmund Reardon, 24 Commerce St., Boston. Denman W. Ross, 24 Craigie St., Cambridge. Charles A. Sievwright, Prospect Union Building, Cam- bridgeport. Joseph G. Thorp, 89 State St., Boston. Charles J. Wood, 114 Austin St., Cambridgeport. James A. Woolson, 136 Summer St., Boston. Rev. David N. Beach,* Denver, Colorado. Ex-Governor William E. Russell,! Cambridge. * Resigned. f Deceased. The Prospect Union Association is a self -perpetuating corporation of twenty-five members, of which at least eiglit shall be active members of The Prospect Union wlienever practicable. Tlie cliief function of the Association is to hold in trust for The Prospect Union all its real estate and invested funds. The annual meeting of the Association is on the fourth Thursday of May in each year. WHAT THE PROSPECT UNION IS rpHE PROSPECT UNION is an association of workingmeu and of stndents and teachers in Harvard University, on tlie basis of common manhood and in the spirit of brotlierhood. There are evening classes taught by Harvard stndents, in elementary, high school and college studies ; lectures by members of the Harvard Faculty and other persons ; musical and other entertainments. Teachers and lecturers give their services. Workingmen who are active members pay for all privileges of the Union a fee of two dollars a year, or twenty-five cents a month with an initiation fee of twenty-five cents. The Union owns the old city hall building, with adjacent land, on Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridgeport. Three officers of the Union, and sometimes one or two vol- unteer workers, reside in the building, in which are a reading room, a smoking room, and shower baths for the use of members. The building is open every day in the year from 7 a.m. to 10.30 p.m. The relation between the Union and the University is unofficial, but without the University the Union would not have been organized and could not now be carried on. The membership averages about five hundred work- ingmen, and the number of student-teachers from Harvard is from sixty to seventy-five during a college year. 16 THE PROSPECT UNION In order to meet current expenses, it is necessary to supplement the income of the Union from active membership dues, rentals and invested funds, b}^ sus- taining membership fees at $5.00, associate member- ship fees at $2.00, and annual and occasional gifts of larger and smaller sums. There still remains a mortgage on the land and building of $6000, for the cancelling of which subscriptions are earnestly re- quested. The treasurer of the corporation is Mr. George G.Wright, 86 Mt. Auburn St., Cambridge. THE BEGINNINGS OF THE UNION By Francis Greenwood Peabody Phimmer Professor of Christian 3IoraIs in Harvard Unirersitt/ \ N institution may begin with a plan, or it may begin with a man. Sometimes there comes, first a scheme, then an endowment, and finally a per- son ; sometimes there come, first a person, then a few other persons with him, then a gradually unfold- ing plan, and finally a working institution. The first way of growth is artificial and forced. It is like tying branches to a trunk and making a tree ; the other way of growth is the way of nature, the branches putting themselves forth because of the life within. The Prospect Union grew as nature grows. A young minister had his parish work among the poor of Cambridge while at the same time he was attending lectures at the University. What was THE BEGINNINGS OF THE UNION 17 more natural than for him to think of bringing the forces of this Universitj' to bear on the life of the less fortunate? He happened to have his rooms in a building which had once been a hotel, called the Prospect House. The No-License policy of Cam- bridg-e had made such a hotel unprofitable, and vari- ous clubs of workingmen had moved into these con- venient quarters. Mr. Ely talked with a few Har- vard students about starting in his rooms a few classes for workingmen ; and early in 1891 an organi- zation was formed, with forty-four members. It was a genuine democracy. On the one hand were a large number of men in Cambridge who worked with their hands all day, and were hungry for intellectual oppor- tunity ; on the other hand were a great many young men who worked with their heads all day and knew little of the ideals and problems of hand-workers. Would it not be good for both sets of people to be brought into real fellowship ? Could there not be a Liberty and Equality and Fraternity which should be more than a motto ; — a real freedom for honest speech ; a real equality of mutual confidence and respect ; and the real fraternity of a working brother- hood? Such were the ideals with which a dozen col- lege men and twenty hand-workers began the organ- ization. The name they assumed, "The Prospect Union," came of the building in which they happened to meet. It is now, practically, without meaning, but perhaps no less valuable on that account, and it has already a sentimental and historical interest which would make a more descriptive name hard to accept. 18 THE PROS FECI UNION The beginnings of the Union were of the very sim- plest description. The rooms were bare and small ; the coffee and crackers and cheese on Wednesday evenings were served in Spartan fashion ; the mem- bership was very varied, and some men joined the Union in order to ventilate their special social pro- grammes. But very soon the atmosphere of real liberty and fraternity brought such men, — Catholics and Protestants, Socialists and Anarchists, black and white, Russians, Swedes, Irish, Americans, — into a working unity, and there has never been any serious friction or any sense of being suppressed. College boys were eager to give their time and love ; and the interest and loyalty of a constantly enlarging body of members gave confidence in the principles first laid down. Such were the days of small things in the history of the Union, It was a very small work, illuminated by a very large hope. Of its expansion in member- ship, of its removal to a more luxurious and adequate home, and of its alliance with other interests of public welfare, others will write ; but to any one who had the privilege of sharing those first days of plain living and generous thinking, and those first meetings of open-minded college boys with hard-working hand- laborers, no later and greater achievement of the Union can ever be happier to recall than are those modest beginnings of its work. THE UNION AND THE UNIVERSITY 19 THE UNION AND THE UNIVERSITY By George Lyman Paine, '96 TTARVARD UNIVERSITY sends a volunteer faculty of seventy-five student-teachers to The Prospect Union, thus making possible the existence of this workingmen's college. In this paper I limit my- self to a brief exposition of some ways in which the students benefit from their work at the Union. First and most important: the University man, who is primarily a student, is brought into contact with the practical world. Union is effected between the lecture room and real life, the book and the man. That the student needs and appreciates acquaintance with the rushing life-struggle around him is shown in the yearly increasing number of men who, under the inspiration and guidance of the Student Volunteer Committee, the Young Men's Christian Association, Mr. Birtwell and others, are taking part in every kind of helpful social work, such as Boys' Clubs, Sailor Missions, Chinese Sunday Schools, etc. This sort of work is essential if the University is to turn out men best prepared to further peace and happiness. The first step toward the amelioration of social conditions must be more perfect sympathy between all classes, which can come only through that mingling of the classes which will inevitably result in better mutual understanding. In the Union class room, student meets workingman on an equal footing of common manhood, and in a friendliness conceivable only to those who have experienced in what a wonderful way g^M a a 6 fi 'o ^ „' i4 ^ 1^" < THE UNION AND THE UNIVERSITY 21 the Union lives out its motto of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. Secondly : President Eliot has said that the way to learn P^nglish is to write it. Another way is to teach it ; and this applies equally to subjects other than English. Knowledge comes by slow hammering. Let a man take a class in French or Algebra or History, and the chances are ten to one that he will never forget what he has succeeded in drilling into his patient, plodding scholars. But, better still, with this cementing in the mind of facts and theories comes practical knowledge and training in apt application. I have gone many times to my class in Economics, primed with all that Mill has said on a certain subject, only to find that the first question by the ardent Trade-Unionist or convinced Socialist was framed in language so different, from points of view so varying, that to answer it my smoothly-turned principles had to be completely restated. Trying to teach a cosmopoli- tan group of "rough-handeds" is the best training in thoroughness of acquisition, accuracy of thought, conciseness in expression, readiness of tongue, picturesqueness in imagery, — in short, everything that goes to make up Yankee common sense. Finally, I want to take up one heading more, a comprehensive one. The work at The Prospect Union is of such a nature as to develop a man's sense of responsibility. It gives him deeper insight into life, and trains him in habits important to society. In the first place, the teacher cannot but gain in habits of thoroughness and faithfulness, for he must, if his class is to attain its best success, — there is still room Treasurers of the Union, 1892-98 W. B. McDaniel, '93 Nathan Hayward, '95 H. G. Gray, '97 F. W. Palfrey, '98 P. M. Hubbard, '98 P. M. Tucker, '99 THE UNION AND THE UNIVERSITY 23 for improvement — be scrupulously careful in prepara- tion, unfailingly regular, always prompt. No longer one of a hundred at the University where his lack of preparation or absence from the lecture hall will hardly be noticed, he is a vital part of a big machine which will be put out of gear more or less seriously by his failure in any way. And secondly, there enters the element of self-sacrifice, for in the course of the year there will be many pleasures and many pressing de- mands which he must unhesitatingly put aside. The student is no longer living an independent existence ; he has become a member of a complex organism. Perhaps for the first time in his life he is placed in a position where others are dependent upon him. Doubtless, though he may not consciously realize it, much of the joy with which he goes to, and the exhil- aration with which he returns from, his class at the Union, is due to the fact that he is living out the truth expressed by the Master : " Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant." Eight years ago the students of Harvard and the workiugmen were to a great extent living apart, and by ignorance kept indifferent to each other, perhaps even opposed. Whereas in isolation each was imper- fect, now, coming together in the Union building, they are being brought to a more perfect understanding of one another. Among other things, the student has brought the workingman knowledge, culture, ambition, sympathy, and friendship ; and the workingman bas given the student knowledge, patience, earnestness, and inspiration. May each year bring them closer together and increase their respective powers for mutual helpfulness. 24 THE FROtiPECT UNION THE UNION AND W0RKING:\1EN By a Workingman TXTHAT has been the effect ou workingmen of mem- bership ill The Prospect Union ? Simply this : men have been tanght to respect themselves, and to find true worth in others. It has tanght men how to talk and when to talk, and how to conduct themselves when in discussion with others. AYorkingmen who take up courses of study are very apt to be ridiculed by their fellow-workers, but when the student proves that he is in earnest, a certain sense of respect for him grows up among his associates. Membership in The Pros- pect Union takes men out of the dreary monotony of their daily existence and gives them something to do and something to look forward to ; and at the end of a course of study, instead of looking back over a season of frivolity, a season of wasted time and money, they look back with satisfaction over a sea- son well spent, and feel a new strength growing out of an increased intelligence. Refinement of the mind, which comes with education, sometimes makes men dissatisfied with their lot and long for those things in life that are too often beyond their reach ; but it also teaches them how to adapt themselves to their situation, and to make the most of what they have. The education that men receive in The Prospect Union teaches that there are two sides to a question, and to listen patiently to the other side : thus prejudice and intolerance find no encouragement to remain here. HISTOBKJAL SKETCH 25 In The Prospect Union men Lave learned grand lessons of patience by observing the methods of the teachers, and some have learned in this way that the reason others do not understand them is not so much because of their dullness, as because of their own inability to make themselves understood. The Prospect Union is not an ideal institution, but it is an institution with an ideal. It reaches onward and upward toward the Brotherhood of Man. If its members do not measure up to their motto, it is be- cause they are human beings with all the human frail- ties. Here all kinds and conditions of men meet on a common footing, and the membership is constantly shifting, but no one can attend the lectures or courses of study for any length of time without carrying with him wherever he may go a broader intelligence and a more liberal spirit. HISTORICAL SKETCH Tj^IGHT years ago there were in the city of Cambridge two large communities, one composed of wage- earners, the other of college students, living hardly more than two miles apart, but in every other respect than geographically, widely separated. To the wage- earner, the University seemed to be an essentially aristocratic institution, alien from and indifferent to the interests of the common people. On the other hand, to many a Harvard student, the life and strug- BiKTHPLACE OF ThE PROSPECT UNION — ThE PROSPECT HOUSE HISTORICAL SKETCH 27 gles of workingmen were wholly unknown. Each community, because of ignorance of and isolation from the other, misjudged it. The aim of The Pros- pect Union was to bring these two elements in the population into natural, friendly contact, on the basis of a common humanity and with the motive of self- help and mutual help. The founders of the Union were Professor Francis G. Peabody of Harvard, a young clergyman, a small group of earnest young men who were students in and recent graduates from the University, and a few workingmen. Four of the students in particular gave themselves heartily to the project, and at the first election were made officers. These four students, three of them being then in the Junior class at Harvai'd and the fourth in the Gradu- ate School, the Union now delights to honor as the " Big Four " : Robert M. Lovett, '92, now a professor in Chicago University; Louis F. Berry, '92, a Con- gregational clergyman; Carlos C. Closson, '92, a resident of southern California, and George J. Peirce, '90, a professor in Leland Stanford University. The leaders of the movement were wise enough not to endeavor to formulate a fine scheme to which men and conditions were to conform. They rather deter- mined to do nothing for but everything with the workingmen ; and to let methods grow naturally out of a vital spirit of brotherhood and an administration genuinely democratic. The first meeting of the Union was held on Tuesday evening, Jan. 27, 1891, in room 5, on the second floor of the Prospect House. A formal organization was effected with forty-four members. After the Some of the Founders of the Union Prof. F. Q. Peabody Rev. Robert E. Ely T/ie " Big Four" R. M. Lovett, '92 L. F. Berry, '92 Ct. J. Peirce, '90 C. C. Closson, '92 HISTORICAL SKETCH 29 adoption of a name, the next and even more impor- tant step was the adoption of a motto. "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," was unanimously agreed upon. The choice of this motto was in part a measure of diplomacy, it may be freely admitted. Workingmen, it was believed — with reason as the result proved — would be attracted by this motto, especially the more radical men who were more or less hostile to the existing social order, and who are always apt to be suspicious of and unfriendly to philanthropic endeavor. But the motto was adopted honestly as well as diplo- matically. By Liberty was meant entire liberty of thought and speech ; by Equality, equal opportunities so far as the Union could provide them, and an em- phasis in the contact of the student-teachers with the workingmen-pupils upon what all men share rather than upon those differences which divide men into classes and cliques ; by P"'raternily, practical, every- day helpfulness in word and deed, and an all-pervad- ing atmosphere of brotherliness. The motto was and has continued to be of inestimable value as a rallying cry. The Union cares, however, not for the mere words, but for what they signify ; other words, there- fore, are often used to express these same ideas, and the Union voted to place over the entrance to its building and on its seal the inscription, "Freedom, Brotherhood, Unity." The active membership fee was fixed at three dol- lars a year, or twenty-five cents a month with an ini- tiation fee of twenty-five cents. A majority of the members found it more convenient to pay monthly. Over and over again the men were reminded that the 30 THE PROSPECT UNION Union was not a charitable institution, as charity is commonly understood, but an educational institution. By paying his fee, the active member might feel that his privileges were also rights, shared equally by all the members. The fact that the income from active membership dues, although during most of its history the largest single source of income the Union has possessed, has not been sutHcient to meet current expenses, but has had to be supplemented by contri- butions from friends, has not impaired the indepen- dence of the organization or of its individual mem- bers. For these contributions are regarded as an educational institution regards its endowment ; and the Union considers itself as in no other respect a recipient of charity than is Harvard University itself. There were and are no additional fees for the classes, or for any other of the privileges offered by the Union. The cost of membership if paid by the year in advance, is now two dollars, instead of three, as at first. The vexing problem of drawing up a constitution and by-laws was easily solved. An elastic constitu- tion was adopted, which provided the organization with a few principles and rules, and was then laid aside. Since then the Union has had no constitution ; it has traditions and customs, but at any time may take any step which seems wise to its members, with- out encountering a parliamentary debate or a constitu- tional obstacle. At the first meeting an Executive Committee of seven was elected. The function of this Committee was and has remained advisory only, its acts requiring confirmation at a meeting of active HI8T0IUCAL SKETCH 81 members. The composition of the first Executive Committee illustrates the democratic spirit which has always prevailed : three workingmen, two Harvard students, a Harvard professor and a clergyman were elected. It was discovered accidentally that at least five of the Committee were p's : a printer, a painter, a postman, a professor, a parson ; and for the sake of completeness, the two students were called appro- priately, one a poet, the other a philanthropist. The Executive Committee now numbers over twenty, but is as representative as ever. Its sessions have always been marked both by a frank and independent ex- pression of individual opinion, and a harmonious col- lective action ; a division of sentiment on class or party lines has never occurred. In the Committee, as in the Union, Catholics, Protestants, Jews; Social- ists, Anarchists, Trade-Unionists, advocates of the Single Tax, as well as supporters of the present social order ; the educated and the uneducated, the rich and the poor ; men of many nationalities, and both white and black, deliberate successfully and act fraternally. Immediately following the organization of the Union, a room was rented — the one in which the £rst meeting was held — in the Prospect House, and soon after, another room adjoining. These rooms were used when not required for the classes and lec- tures, one as a reading room, the other as a smoking room. Classes were begun as there was demand for them, in elementary English, English Composition and Rhetoric, French, German, History, Political Econ- omy, mathematics and one or two of the natural 32 TEE PEOSPECT UNION if Fac-Simile of a Letter from Oliver Wendell Holmes HI8T0BICAL SKETCH . 33 sciences. Mr. Lovett, as chairman of the educa- tional committee, obtained teacliers for these classes from among the students in the University. A weekly meeting was held on Tuesday evenings at which informal lectures were delivered by members of the Harvard faculty and other persons. Mr. Peirce, as chairman of the lecture committee, secured the speakers for these meetings. After the lecture there was always an opportunity for questions and for free discussion. Coffee and crackers were served follow- ing adjournment — at first without charge, afterwards at cost price. The Prospect Union was a success from the day of its birth. As time passed, the membership grew, additional rooms were rented in the Prospect House, the number of classes increased and the supply of teachers from Harvard kept pace with the demand for them. The Union became well established as its work and spirit were understood and appreciated. And so when removal from the Prospect House to larger ac- commoilations became necessary, friends subscribed nearly ten thousand dollars and made possible the purchase from the city of Cambridge of the old city hall property, consisting of an old, but roomy and well constructed building, and of two small parcels of unoccupied laud, at one side and in the rear. The Union took possession of its permanent home in Sep- tember, 1894, although another year passed before a satisfactory title to the property was obtained. In the autumn of 1895, about two thousand dollars was spent on the building on plumbing, painting and necessary repairs. The mortgage of sixteen thousand 34 THE PROHPECT UNION dollars on the property was a heavy load to carry, but a piece of rare good fortune lightened it in the year 181)7, when there was given to the Union through the trustees of the estate of Miss Belinda L. Eandall, the sum of twenty thousand dollars, lialf of which was to be used to reduce the mortgage, half to be invested and the income to be devoted to the purposes of the Union. The mortgage is now, therefore, six thousand dollars ; that it may be altogether paid off very soon is the earnest hope of the Union and its friends. Subscriptions are invited to this end. THE CLASSES rpHE principal features of the Union are its evening classes and lectures. At first workiugmen simply said what they wished to study, and classes were formed accordingly. Subsequently, on the basis of its experience, the Union began to announce in the autumn, as it does now every year, a list of courses of study to be given if pupils applied for them. The classes are small, averaging an enrolhnent of seven or eight ; sometimes even a class consists of two, teacher and pupil. The subjects taught cover a wide range, from the most elementary instruction in English branches to high school and~ college studies. Every year men who cannot read or write are provided with teachers who give them patient and tactful instruc- tion, with much more attention to the individual THE GLASSES 35 pupil than is possible in the evening public schools. Foreigners who have no knowledge, or scarcely any, of English — Swedes, Danes, Germans, Armenians and the like — are welcomed, and initiated into the mysteries of the language. Having as yet but primi- tive laboratory facilities, only theoretical and elemen- tary instruction can be offered in most of the natural sciences. But in the languages and in literature ; in history and economics ; in mathematics, from the lowest to the highest ; and in studies which seem to have more practical value, such as mechanical and free-hand drawing, penmanship, bookkeeping and stenography, what may be accomplished is limited only by the time and ability of the pupil. The classes jn English are usually among the largest and most satisfactory, from reading, spelling, and grammar to rhetoric and the writing of themes, and elocution and debating. Arithmetic naturally attracts a large number of pupils. The work in Algebra and Geome- try is always encouraging, and there are small classes in Trigonometry, Calculus and Mechanics. Latin is a much more popular study at the beginning of the first term of the year, than at the end of the last term ; many also, who begin the study of French and German with too sanguine expectations, drop out after the first few weeks in the classes. However, there are several members who have in two, three or four years acquired a reading knowledge of a foreign language and some facility in writing and speaking it ; and some men continue to grapple with Latin and even Greek for successive years with fair results. History is not appreciated as it should be, although Members of the Executive Committee of 1SS8, Group A Carlton r'earsou C. A. Sievwright J. P. St. Coeur Edward Schwartz J. F. Harrington T. H. Hall -l^/^^a^m^^ Members op the Executive Committee of 189S, Geoup B J. A. Stinson Thomas Savage E. A. McMaster F. P. Sheehan W. H. Nagle W. T. Pierce 38 THE PROSPECT UNION the effort to stimulate interest iu it has met witli some success. Tlie classes meet one or two evenings a week for one hour, sometimes two hours, for about twenty- eight weeks, from October to May, with vacations during the Christmas and Spring recesses at Harvard. In spite of the vicissitudes of a workingman's life, subject as he is to the contingencies of loss of work, work over-time, illness and change of residence ; and in spite of the difficulty of studying after a day of hard manual labor, the progress made in the classes is quite as good as ought to be expected under the circumstances, and in some cases is surprisingly good. The teachers, with one or two exceptions, are Har- vard students. They represent nearly all depart- ments of the University and the best elements in the student body. Among those who have taught classes have been men of the highest scholarship — members of the Phi Beta Kappa, commencement speakers, and winners of prizes and fellowships. Class poets and orators, members of the Hasty Pudding and other clubs, men prominent iu college journalism, in the musical clubs, in athletics ; officers and members of the religious societies; both wealthy and impecunious, both hard-working and easy-going students — all these have been teachers of classes and served as officers in the Union. THE CLASSES 39 COURSES OF STUDY, 1898-99 The following courses of study were offered for the year 1898- of these cotirees were actually given. I. ENGLISH la. Reading and Spelling. Tlmrsday 7.30. lb. Reading and Spelling. Tuesday 7.30. 2a. Grammar. Tuesday 8.30. 2b. Grammar. Friday 8.30. 3. Advanced Reading and Elocution. Thursday 7.30-9.30. 4. Debating. Tuesday 7.30-9.30. 5. Rhetoric and Composition. Friday 8.30. 6. Themes. 7. Argumentation. Monday 7.30. 8. Literature — Shakespeare. Monday 8.30. 9. Literature — Prose Writers except novelists. 10. Literature — Novelists. Monday 7.30. 1 1 . Literature — Poets. II. FOREIGN LANGUAGES A. German 1. Elementary. Monday 7.30. 2. Intermediate. Friday 7.30. 3. Advanced. Thursday 8.30. 4. Conversation. 5. Literature. B. French 1. Elementary. Monday' 7.30. 2. Intermediate. Thursday 7.30. 3. Advanced. Friday 8. 30. 4. Conversation. Friday 7.30. 5. Literature. 1. Elementary. 2. Intermediate. C. Il'.VLI.VN £>. Spanish Elementary. Monday 7.30. Intermediate. 40 THE PROSPECT UNION E. Latin 1. Elementary. Monday 8.30. 2. Intermediate. Monday 7.30. 3. Advanced. Tlinrsday 7.30. F. Greek 1. Elementary. Tuesday 8.30. 2. Intei'mediate. Thursday 8.30. 3. Advanced. III. HISTORY, ECONOMICS, PHILOSOPHY A. HiSTonv 1. Geography. Tuesday 7.30. 2. American History. Monday 7.30. 3. Ancient History. Friday 7.30. 4. Modern European History. Thursday 8.30. 5. English History. Thursday 7.30. G. Outlines of General History. 7. Constitutional Government. Monday 8.30. B. Economics 1. Elements of Political Economy. Tuesday 8.30. 2. Mill's Principles of Political Economy. 3. Principles of Sociology. Friday 8.30. ■1. Social Questions. C. Philosophy 1. Logic. Friday 7.30. 2. Ethics. Friday 8.30. 3. Psychology. History of Philosophy. 4 IV. NATURAL SCIENCE A. Physics 1. Mechanics, Sound, Light, Heat. Friday 7.30. 2. Electricity. Friday 8^30. B. Chemistry 1. Descriptive. Thursday 7.30. 2. Experimental. THE CLASSES 41 C. Geology 1. Structure of the Earth. Tuesdaj^ 7.30. 2. Miueralog.y. Tuesday 8.30. 3. Meteorology. D. Botany 1. Elementary. Monday 8.30. 2. Advanced. Monday 7.30. 1. Elementary 2. Advanced. E. Zoology F. Physiology 1. Elementary. Thursday 8.30. 2. Advanced. V. MATHEMATICS A. Arithmetic la. Elementary. Friday 7.30. lb. Elementary. Tuesday 8.30. 2a. Advanced. Thursday 7 30. 2b. Advanced. Thursday 8.30. B. Algebra 1. Elementary. Tuesday 7.30. 2. Advanced." Thursday 7.30. C. Geometry and Trigonometry 1. Plane Geometry. Thursday 8.30. 2. Solid Geometiy. Friday 8.30. 3. Plane Trigonometry. Friday 7.30. 4. Spherical Trigonometry. 0. Analytic Geometry. Z). Calculus and Mechanics. 1. Calculus. 2. Elements of Mechanics. 42 THE PROSPECT UNION VI. MISCELLANEOUS A. Drawing and Fine Arts 1. Elementary Mechanical Drawing. Monday 7.30-9.30. 2. Advanced Mechanical Drawing. Monday 7.30-9.30. 3. Elementary Free-hand Drawing. Tuesday 7.30-9.30. 4. Advanced Free-hand Drawing.' Tuesday '7.30-9.30. 5. Architectural Drawing. Thursday 8.30. 6. Art and Travel. B. Penman.'^hip 1. Elementary. Thursday 7.30. C. B00KKEEriN(4 1. Elementary. Saturday 7.30-9.30. 2. Advanced.' Friday 7.30-9.30. D. Shorthand, Telegraphy, Photography L Munson's Phonography. Elementary. Monday 7.80. 2. Munson's Phonography. Advanced. (Dictation only.) Monday 8.30. 3. Telegraphy. 4. Photography. Monday 8.30. E. Music 1. Banjo. Tuesday 7.30-9.30. 2. Harmony. 3. History of Music. THE LECTURES ^HE weekly meeting, now held on Wednesday evenings, at first on Tuesday, is the other principal feature of the Union's work. The lect- ures at these meetings have covered a great variety of subjects, but topics connected with social reform have naturally somewhat predominated. Addresses advocating and in opposition to the various kinds THE LECTURES 43 of Socialism, the Single Tax, Anarchism, Trade- Unionism, Woman's Suffrage, etc., have been de- livered. The Union stands steadfastly by its motto, giving to both sides of every question an entirely fair hearing, but as an organization never committing itself to any scheme of reform, however plausible. The discussions which follow the lecture at every meeting may be participated in by those present, whether members of the Union or not ; and while these discussions frequently become animated, they are never ill-natured. The Union, even at the expense of subjecting itself occasionally to adverse criticism, has been faithful to the pledge made at its organization, that its platform should be open to any man, speaking on any subject, provided only an imme- diate revolution by physical force be not advocated. On account of the extreme difficulty of discussing religious subjects with fairness and courtesy, and because of the diversity of the religious creeds pro- fessed by the members, these subjects are excluded altogether from public discussion. Lectures on literary, historical, philosophical and scientific themes have been received with favor, especially by those workingmen wdio are not deeply interested in social reform. Among the subjects of these lectures have been such as these : Scandinavian mythology, the Civilization of ancient Babylon, the Preservation of trees. Electricity and civiliza- tion, the Realistic novel, Australia and New Zea- land, Three months in Egypt, Sources of happiness, Imitation, Sampson's naval victory at Santiago, Les- sons from the Old South Meeting House, etc., etc. .1' M □ 'i^Vj yilHKf— <-V ^^^^^^^H^^^K.':fl I^HHT^}^ ^^B^^^^^Kh \\pn hHHIb l^^^^r .. ^'1^ ' '■ *:::^-' ;•. ■ ji^^^ ■::: v.-*. _.: ii . •-.— -=^ .^Ji* -e_ 1 r— -iK^M ^^Hf / ' ""'^^^Bvdi^^^^^^^^^SSB^^H^H^^I THE LECTUREIS 45 More than sixty professors, instructors and officers in Harvard University have addressed the Union, inchiding President Eliot, Professors Ashley, Baker, Bartlett, Blake, Byerly, Channing, Cummings, Davis, Emerton, Everett, Farlow, Goodale, Goodwin, Hanus, Hart, Hollis, Jackson, von Jagemann, James, Kitt- redge, Macvane, Marsh, Moore, Norton, Palmer, Parker, Peabody, Putnam, Koyce, Santayana, de Sumichrast, Taussig, J. H. Thayer, Toy, Trowbridge, Wambaugh, Wright ; Doctors Coolidge, Rand, Sar- gent, and Messrs. Chamberlin, Copeland, Hayes, Lane. Lectures have also been delivered by members of the faculties of the Mass. Institute of Technology, Boston University, Tufts College, Wellesley College and the Cambridge Episcopal Theological School. Among other speakers heard from time to time have been : Edward Atkinson, Eugene V. Debs, Prince Kropotkin, William Lloyd Garrison, John Graham Brooks, the late Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, Alice Freeman Palmer, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, John Fiske, Dr. Edward Waldo Emerson, Nathan Haskell Dole, Hamlin Garland, James Jeffrey Roche, Walter Crane and J. M. Robertson of London, Rt. Rev. William Lawrence, Rt. Rev. ,Tohn H. Vincent, the late Rev. Dr. Andrew P.Peabody, Rev. Drs. Lyman Abbott, Washington Gladden, Alexander Mc- Kenzie, George Hodges, Charles F. Dole, Samuel M. Crothers, David N. Beach, Walter Calley, Charles C. Earle, Henry A. Cooke, Rabbi Solomon Schindler, Rabbi Charles Fleischer, Robert A. Woods, Edwin D. Mead, Hon. Josiah Quincy, Mayor of Boston, Hon. E. R. Champlin, Mayor of Cambridge, etc., etc. ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP 47 ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP npHE active members of the Union number from four to six hundred workingmen. Boys under seventeen are not admitted. The average age of members is twenty-six years, and about half of the men are married. A large majority are mem- bers of other societies of various kinds, such as labor unions, benefit and fraternal orders and lodges, and athletic, social and political organizations. No definite inquiry is made concerning the religious faith or preference of members, but it is probable that most of them are at least nominally connected with some church. There are Catholics, Protestants and Jews. Twenty or more nationalities have been rep- resented. Americans from many states, Canadians, Irish, Scotch and English are in the majority, Scan- dinavians and Germans being the most numerous after these. The number of occupations represented has been more than one hundred, more or less skilled labor predominating. The Union is inconsistent in limiting its privi- leges to men, but this is done for practical reasons. Most of the teachers from Harvard prefer to have men only in their classes, and the workingmen them- selves feel more of a sense of freedom and less timidity in exposing their deficiencies in education in the presence of other men than if women also were present. It is possible that the future development of the Union may be such as to make the admission 48 THE rnuHPECT UNION of women to active membership botli practicable and expedient. Partial privileges are accorded tliem at the monthly ladies' nights on Wednesday and the monthly musicals on Saturday evenings. GOVERNiNIEXT ^HE Prospect Union is a thorough-going democracy in its ideals and methods. The final authority rests with the active members, who elect the officers of the Union and members of the Executive Com- mittee semi-annually, in May and November. The Committee meets regularly once a month and at other times when necessary. Its resolutions have only the force of recommendations to the membership. Mr. Ely, who has been its president since the Union was organized, and Mr. Sievwright, the financial secretary, are the only salaried officers. The total yearly com- pensation of these two officers and of the janitor, who is an active member, is less than fourteen hundred dollars. As has been stated previously, the Union has no constitution, and there are not even any house rules. There is never any trouble about discipline, for that takes care of itself. Members who are three months in arrears for their dues are dropped after proper notification. There is no election of candidates for membership, and no investigation into their char- acter. Any man who wishes to join presents himself at the office, paj's his fee, and receives his memljership ticket without delay. THE CORPORATION 49 THE CORPORATION TTTHEN the old city hall property was purchased, it was necessary that the Union should have an incorporated body to hold the property. There- fore a self-perpetuating corporation of twenty-five persons, called the Prospect Union Association, was formed by a special act of the Massachusetts Legislat- ure in 1896, through the instrumentality of James J. Myers, Esq., a Cambridge representative in the House and a friend of the Union. The Association meets regularly but once a year. Its principal function is to hold in trust for the Union all its real estate and invested funds. The Association has no control over the work of the Union. The present financial relation between the two bodies is as follows : the treasurer of the Association collects the rentals from the tenants in the building and draws the interest from the $10,000 of invested funds. Out of this income he pays the interest on the mortgage, the taxes, insurance and the cost of repairs. Contribu- tions toward paying off the mortgage and providing an endowment should be sent to the treasurer of the Association. The treasurer of the Union receives all membership fees, active, associate and sustaining, and all contributions for current expenses. He pays the salaries of the president, financial secretary and janitor, the expense of heating and lighting the build- ing, printing, stationery, etc. 50 THE PROSPECT UN ION RELATION TO OTHER INSTITUTIONS nPHE^ Union does not enter into rivalry with other institutions. Tlie Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation draws more from tlie clerk class than the Union does, and is composed of young men who can afford to pay larger fees than the Union charges and who dress better than workingmen do. Moreover, the religious character of the Association unfortunately prejudices a certain class of men against it. The Association is doing a valuable work in its own field. The Union does not duplicate the gymnasium facilities of the Association and of the Father Scully Gymnasium in Cambridgeport. The evening public schools offer instruction in cer- tain studies more evenings a week than the Union does, but fewer weeks in the year. The number of courses of study is greater at the Union. In the ordinary evening school, there are perhaps fifty pupils to one teacher ; in the Union there are six or seven pupils to a teacher. Nevertheless it is sometimes better for a man to attend one of the schools than classes at the Union, and the officials of the Union advise the man to this effect. Older men are more inclined to come to the Union, where they do not expose their ignorance before a class of young fellows. Thus the classes at the Union supplement the neces- sary and important work of the evening schools. The Cambridge Social Union is a sister institution to The Prospect-Union, and through the instrumentality THE BUILDING AND LAND 61 of the latter, classes on the same basis were organized at the former Union and are successful!}^ carried on there. The classes of the Social Union are open to women as well as to men, and are more largely attended by women than by men. It is believed that nowhere within the limits of greater Boston can evening classes be found in cer- tain studies which are offered at the Union, such as some of the sciences and higher mathematics, and the opportunities for studying English are probably more ample at the Union than elsewhere. THE BUILDING AND LAND n^HE old city hall was erected on the corner of Main Street (now Massachusetts Avenue) and Pleasant Street about fifty years ago, and was at first known as the Cambridge Athenaeum and used for public lectures and the like. It was purchased by the city in the year 1858 and was used as the city hall until the new city hall was occupied in the year 1890. In this building the first company en- listed which went to the Civil War. The building has a frontage on Massachusetts Avenue of sixty-six feet and is eighty-one feet deep. The Union rents a part of the basement and the front rooms on the street floor for business purposes. In the basement are shower baths and lavatory. On THE BUILDING AND LAND 53 the ground floor are the office, in which is the Cam- bridgeport Delivery Station of the Cambridge Public Library, the social room and one class room. The reading room, library, lecture hall and class rooms till the second floor. There is a third story in the rear of the building only. On this floor reside the president and the financial secretary, and there is one class room. Were funds available for improving the building, the space on the second floor could be utilized to much better advantage by a change of partition walls. The interior of the building needs painting and papering. To the east on Massachusetts Avenue, there is a piece of unimproved land twenty-seven and a half feet wide and ninety feet deep ; and in the rear of the building, on Pleasant Street, is another piece of unim- proved land, thirty-four feet wide and ninety-one feet deep. The income of the Union could be con- siderably increased by improving these pieces of land if the money were at hand to invest thus. The price paid to the city of Cambridge for 11,449 feet of land and the building was $22,898. The original mortgage of $16,000 has been reduced to $6000. The Building Committee by whom the pur- chase of this property was consummated consisted of Francis G-. Peabody, George G. Wright, Theodore H. Raymond, P>dmund Reardon, John H. Corcoran, James J. Myers and Robert E. Ely. m. ' fm imii ■ .:. / H ^BSi^BPfl l3^ P 7/:-^.,^ i 1 '"' ...^^ jm ^ Mm- ■-■#■«■ J >s:j- " 1- '^H m ^— ■■taBH .^1' - 'i-^fai f^^^^HR'H^^^^B i 1 1^ ^ % P* -IH i|5?n ATTITUDE OF UNION TOWARD BELIQION 55 THE ATTITUDE OF THE UNION TOWARD RELIGION ~VrOT for an instant does the Union propose itself as a substitute for the Church. The attitude of this work toward religion is precisely the attitude of the public schools toward religion, that is, the Union is not, of course, irreligious, but only unreligious. Inasmuch as the active membership contains the widest diver- sity of opinion and conviction regarding religious matters — Catholics, many of the Protestant denomi- nations, Jews, agnostics, secularists, etc. all being represented — it is manifestly inexpedient to hold any kind of religious service or to discuss religious topics. The effort is made to regard the faith of every man as sacred to him, whether mistaken or not from the point of view of another man. So far as known, religious differences have never caused un- pleasant feeling between members of the Union, at least at its meetings and in its classes. CONCLUSIONS BASED ON EIGHT YEARS' EXPERIENCE /^NLY a minority of the men engaged in manual labor during the day are eager to improve their minds by evening study. On the other hand, the work- ing men who care nothing and who seemingly cannot be induced to care for education, are also in the minority. 56 THE FBOHFECT J'NION The majority of wage-earners are like other people : some care more for self-improvement, some less, some apparently not at all but are capable of having their interest in it aroused. If the educational op- portunities offered are as carefully as possible adapted to the particular needs and wishes of working people and to the circumstances in which they are placed, there can be no question but that a sufficiently large number will avail themselves of these opportunities to justify amply the trouble and expense of providing them. But what is the actual educational value to a work- ingman of studying for an hour or two on one, two or three evenings a week for half the year? Surely it is not possible to acquire scholarly attainments in this way? Of course not. The Prospect Union believes in sound scholarship, and in genuine intel- lectual work. The Union does not assume univer- sity airs. Degrees, diplomas, formal examinations, required courses of study and most of the mere academic machinery of an institution of learning are absent. Certificates are given to pupils who wish them, which state the facts in the individual case regarding the studies pursued and for what length of time. But in general, the Union simply endeavors to help the individual man to learn what he wishes to know, and to guide him as to what he ought to know. The standard varies for men as their native ability, tastes, temperament and circumstances in life vary. Why should a wage-earner be taught French or Latin, rather than something which will be of direct CONCLUSIONS BASED ON EXPERIENCE 57 practical value to him in earning bis daily bread? It is indeed often better that a man should study what will be of immediate use to him — the English branches which constitute a common-school education, mathe- matics, the natural sciences, drawing and the like. But sometimes it is better that a man should enter a class in a subject remote from practical use, for the mental discipline and broadening effect to be thus secured. Machine methods in manufacturing, and the infinite division and sub-division of labor, tend to make of manual workers machine men. That ten- dency should be counteracted. Experience has proved that in some cases the studies apparently of least practical value are quite as desirable as any others ; and that often the choice of a particular study is not nearly so important a matter as it seems. Not what is studied, but to learn how to study is most important. But are not wage-earners unfitted for their work and made discontented with their lot by being educated in some degree? It rarely happens that a Prospect Union pupil imagines for any length of time that he ought to be a lawyer or a doctor instead of a carpen- ter or a blacksmith. When this does happen, the Union tries to be a good adviser and to discourage unwise ambitions. Occasionally men who know what they are about are aided at the Union in fitting them- selves for college, but not often. There is a kind of discontent, however, to the propagation of which in the minds of wage-earners the Union pleads guilty — a sen- sible dissatisfaction with things with which it is stupid or immoral to be satisfied when there is a possibility of betterment ; the discontent of the healthy, growing 58 THE PROSPECT UNION human being; the discontent of a true manhood. The contentment of the poor earth-clod, the drudge, the incompetent hireling, the Union does what it can to remove. It is strictly within the truth that workingmen who attend classes and lectures at the Union tend to become better workmen, better husbands and fathers, better citizens, happier and more hopeful human beings in the position in life in which they are placed. The narrowness of intense radicalism and of intense conservatism, the prejudices of ignorance and isolation tend to disappear, in contact with books, and still more in contact with men of different ways of thinking, different occupations, different social standing, differ- ent experience of life. LOOKING FORWAKD TN the preceding pages but little has been said con- cerning difficulties and failures in the work of The Prospect Union, yet these have not been few. In the scheme itself there are inherent difficulties which are not easily surmountable. The active members are from a shifting population ; from forty to fifty per cent, of the membership is lost every year from this cause, and is replaced by new members. The teachers also, being largely from the Junior and Senior classes in the University, change in almost as great propor- tion from year to year. It is hoped that in the future through correspondence and possibly through a LOOKING FORWARD 59 periodical bulletin, the interest in the Union both of the pupils and teachers who go from it may be maintained, for their good and its own. A corps of volunteer teachers as large as that of the Union always presents in some degree the problem of irregular attendance and ineffectiveness in teaching. While Prospect Union teachers have on the whole been highly faithful and efficient, during the year 1899-1900 there is to be a more careful and constant supervision of the classes than ever before. In addition to the executive force heretofore engaged in the service of the Union, a college man has consented to accept the new position of Supervisor of Classes, who has been for two years a teacher at the Union and is familiar with its methods and principles. It has always been difficult to obtain from the Uni- versity competent teachers in bookkeeping, penman- ship and stenography. During the next year of study it is proposed, if thoroughly good teachers can- not be obtained on the volunteer basis from the Uni- versity or outside, that professional teachers be engaged for these branches. The financial problem has drawn upon the vitality of the Union for the past three years, somewhat to the detriment of its usefulness. If $2,000 more can be raised through anpual subscriptions, the Union will be in a position to enter upon a career of larger influence for good than ever before, in the full tide of energy and enthusiasm. 60 THE I'UOHPECT rNION TEACHERS IN THE PROSPECT UNION January, 1891, to May, 1899 The following is a list of students in Harvard I'niversity who have taught classes at the Union for six weeks or longer, or held oflice, not including members of the classes of 1900, 1901 and 1902. The arrangement is by year of graduation from Harvard. Members of the I'niversity who did not graduate from Harvard College are placed with the college class with which they seem to have been connected. The large number of teachers from the classe-s of 1895 and 1896 was due to a temporary increase in the active membership of the Union caused by its removal to the old City Hall building. An italic letter following a name indicates to what department of the University the student belonged :— C, College; />ii., Divinity School; G., Graduate School; L., Law School; 31., Medical School; M 1 1: II I -> 111 "Mil ^1 The Liquor Problem In its Legislative Aspect I Ml' ""K iii'j the results of investigation- 1 -'I iiiitlcc ol I I M mi With 111 ' \ work of J.' i.;;ition of II m MailK;, lo\v;», Sinn vivania, and Mi.ssoiiii Economic Aspect of the Liquor Problem By John Kori n r.ifs. W. O. Atwatcr, llci, iickway, John Graham I 11 I). Wrl^'ht, a sul). • ij^ate the Liquor I'l i:V W. h'AU ■ I I lie iiivfsli HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO., Boston XX". 'I\ lx*<><>l» Men's, Women's and Children's Easy Boots and Shoes LADIES', MEN'S & CHILDREN'S FURNISHINGS MILLINERY, Etc 541 & 547 Mass Ave I and 3 Norfolk Street COAL J^chiyh I ^ a wanna Shuinokin Franklin Cuinb: 1 IllNNKWKLL iiiii St., ('niiiir)it. WOOD Pine Birch Maple Oak Spruce Hemlock Odd < > I O-i I >f niiiii. \ 1 II nrattl< SI •^1 FINE •?• FURS 1^ Order Work a Specialty Perfection of Style, Fit and Quality Guaranteed SI'KC lAI. A'lTKNTION C.IVKN TO TMK CARE AND STORAGE OF FURS DURING THE SUMMER A I'UI.I. LINK OK EIc .M t dip.- , ('oUarettes, Muffs, Neck^vcar, Trimmings, etc., in every kind of fur ■ \M KACTURK AT KKASOX \r.l r VV.]<\ OLD PURS hanged, or made into stylish liable prices. iVI. LARNER, Manuiacturing Furrier 948 Missa,chusetts Ave. Cambridjj'c, Mass.