Text
JforO
\'01,,
I.
No. 8.
1Hau jfothe
February 16, 1913.
STIRRING UP THE CHURCHES,
I 'rice Ten Cents.
popular forum idea seems lo appeal in
such a community not only to those
who are in the habit of going to
church, but also to a good many who
ordinarily avoid church attendance,
It is exceedingly curious that the
Ford Hall meetings, which were organized especially and exclusively for
those who are more or less estranged
from church, cathedral and synagogue, should all unwittingly point
the way whereby the forces of organ17.ecl religion mny quicken the lagging
interest of many of their adherents,
A ,professor in one of our theological
seminaries says that, notwithstanding
all the blessings which the F01·d Hall
meetings have brought to those who
attend them and the indirect benefit
to the community at large, he believes
that 'perhaps their greatest service has
been to the churches themselves. Ho
notes .a marked change in the attitude
of the churches hereabouts. during the
last five years, and attributes a great
deal of it to the influence of the Ford
Hall
meetings,
He
thinks
tile
churches are rapidly coming to a bet,t.er understanding of their relation to
the great social, economic and Indus-- trial movements of the clay, 'l'here
, are certainly many facts ready to
!Janel tliat bear out such a statement,
I could name a llozen churches in
and around Boston thnt have come to
see the advantage of holding a popular
meeting for the free discussion of tlrn
great questions that are s(inlng the
public mind (oclny, Let me call JJUl'( icular attention tci one of these gath-~ __ erings most recently established, Six
01· seven of the Protestant churches
of Newton prope1·, including the ort110clox and liberal wings, have united in
a popular monthly Sunday evening
meeting, All these churches give up
their own regular Sunday evening ser•
'V!ce (there are t.wo that do not have
any) on tlie s·unday that the popular
meeting is held. 'l'his is very interesting· and significant, but a great flood
NEXT s'UNDAY'S SPEAKER.
of light is thrown on the situation by
this additional fact. 'l'hese chmches
Dr, 0, P, Gifford, the brilliant
so I ain told, do not total at theli BrnokJine Baptist, speaking on '"l'he
ieparate Sunday evening services; Social Value of Free Speech," strikes
hold each in its own place, an attend- us as a pretty strong attraction for
rnce exceeding three hunclred alto- tlie ·Fifth Anniversary progrnm of the
~ether, wherens at the popular union Ford I-Inll meetings,
Mrs, Lionel
11eetings, held once a month, the at- Marks (Josephine Preston Peabody).
:endance rises to seven hundred, and re.acting Iler poem; "'l'he Singing Man,"
11ore than that number turned out i.s a great card also, not to ,speak of
:ast Sunclriy night when Professor Hnssell Kingman's string quartette
Ranschenbusch spoke,
and the anniversary letters which l\lr,
It is very difficult in a quiet, homo- Colenrnn will read, Moreover, Brother
5eneous, suburban residential dis- Coleman will be bound to make a
trict to get the people out to church speech when we present him with that
:'lnnclay evening, Few churches are Book, Anll he knows how to maim
able to solve that problem, But the speeches!
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FORD lii\LL FOLKS
---------THE PRAYER.
(Preceding _Mr. Fllene's Address,)
THE
GROWING PAINS OF
DEMOCRACY,
,v e 1ilead with Thee, o God, [or our (Address of Edward A. Fllene of Bosbrothers who are pressed by the careH
ton at the Ford Hall Meeting,
and beset by the temptations of busiFebruary 9, 1913.)
n,ess IHe.
,ve acknowledge before
i think that we shall agree, all of tis,
'lhee our common guilt for the hardness and deceitfulness o[ industry and
that we are face to face with most
trade which lead us all Into tempta- 111omentous political, Industrial arnl
tion and cause even the righteous to srclnl clrnngeH. I think we shall also
slip, and fan.· As long as man is set
agree that inasn111ch as these changes
ngamst man in a struggle for wealth,
predicate the need. of greater just.ice,
help the men in business to make
we should feel ourselves :under obligatheir contest as far as may be, a test
tion to see that they are brol1ght
of excellence, by which even the dc- about with fairness to all interests
[eated may be spurred lo betler work. concerned and with clue regard for the
If. any man is pitted against those who _conserv.ation of all in the present orhave forgotten fairness and honesty
der that is worth conserving, I think
help him to put his trust resolutely i1~
we may also agree that the most imthe profitableness of sincerity and uvmediate changes needed are those
rlghtness, and, if need be, to accept dealing with hig business and those
loss rather than follow on crooked
making for greater justice between
paths.
employees nncl employers. I do not
Establish in unshaken fidelity all
think that snch just relations come
who hold in trust the savings o[ about from the mere statement of abothern. Since the wealth and welfare stract principles, but must come
o( our nation are controlled by busi- rather from the working out in our
ness men, cause them to reali;,e that. every-day life and In co11111etitlve business of these1 principles. If that is
they serve not themselves alone, but
true and the great questions that unhold high public functions and do
clu·l_ie · the coming changes are busiThou save them from betraying the
ness questions, then ,?e shall require
interests of the many for their ow11
e11rlchment, lest 11 new tyrnnny grow the bes( l<111clership and the hest business leadership that we can get: Now
up In a land that is de<lica tell to freedom. Grant them forslghted patriot- that seems to be a self-avparent truth
an axiom, and yet of nil these mis'.
ism to subordinate their prollts to the
public weal, and a steadfast determi- takes that we J)eople make, perhaps
nation to transform the disorder or none is so constantly made as the·
mistake
in
choosing
leadership.
the present into the nobler and freer
harmony of the future.
May Thy , "'hat. may he the right leadership at
the beginning of a great movement
Spirit, 0 Goel, which is ceaselessly
may, by its very virtue ancl strength,
JJ)eading with us, prevail at last to
bring our business life under Christ's become bad leadership as the movelaw of service, so that all who share ment progresses ___ ('I'o bring out this·
In the processes of factory and trade ]Joint Mr. Filene quoted a conversallon he hncl hacl, when in ,Tn11an, with
may grow up into that high consciousPrince Ito, In which both of them
ness of a divine calling which blesses
those who are the free servants of agreed that great generals do not
God and the people, and who con- necessarily hecome great statesmen.)
I thereupon thought. of Grn11t and of
sciously devote their strength to the
Dewey, who would have been Presicommon good. Amen,
dent if he had not stopped it himself.
WALTER RAUSCHENBUSCH.
We did not stop Dewey. (Applause
and laughter.) 'l'herefore, we ought
BRILLIANTS.
not to outlaw the great captains of inYou are entitled to a volnt ot' view dustry unless we are sure that they
bnt not to announce it as the <1811tre1 cannot. be used at this critical stage
for lite cause of the common good.
of the universe.~Henry van Dyke.
1\1 y experience teaches me that they
'l'he keenest test of n man comes can be so usecl. As l slncly the situawhen he has attained; the sl.r11ggle to 1Ion, It ic;eems lo me that nine out of
altain kecJ)S him strong, but I.ho lino ten or tho ca11talns of inclnstry who
of least resistance soon shows itseH have failed, have failed as the resnlt
of the system and the environment
In success.-Hugh Black.
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and the l)ressure !'or wh
1rnople, are as n111ch 1·ec
they are. (Applause.) I
must admit. this if \\'l'
growth of our clemocrncl'
last !Hty years.
·
We need lendel'Ship th
from exverience, ancl if th,
that is needed now iR t.h<
that helps men seU.le1 (Im
big business and of het t
between the emplo~·er 111
ployees, then that. IPa<lerc
ness leadership nn<l not
preacher or the prophet.
I am not making a plea r,
Life seems to me too sl10
comes after it too nnccrlni
and np1J]a11se) to allow 11111
class feeling. Dnt we h:
that because the clemancl
is right, that therefore it n1
of ,itself. Now what. will 11
clo not get good, right. J0n<l
clemocrncy needs lenclernl,
much as aristocrncY-1\'hn
pen will be a reacti~n that
whole movement bark aga
111a11e11tly, because thPre iH
the world or In !he !ten l'l
slop lhe onward prog1'<'f
ment (Applause)-hut will
for many years.
And
human enong:h to· wn11I
gllm11se of the vromiHPcl
we die. (Laughter nncl n
I am going to try a11<l trn
this evening, some ol' l he•
results that lrnve led 11p
the phases of the preHP
ments of our democrac\'
great social ancl polili<'nl' 1,
today, trying to sharn ,,.
ho11e and faith in lhP 1'11!n1
lHany men, seeing U1P p1
and political lrouhks, gr"
tic, but I find myself groll'i 1
more optlmlslic, ThiR iR h
forced to believe thnl th,•
clemocratlc Instil 111 Ions or
lmt the scum rising l'ro111
vrocess, like the sc11111 whi
the purifying of hronr.e 111
!'esplenclent. 'I'he han<I o
working toiler is no( ns pr
o[ the non-working cl11clC',
regiment returning rro111 ,
covered' mHl cl11s(-conil'< <l
covered. So cle111ol'l'!IC')', ,
t<ncl f\ghUng out the grenl
common justice an<l l.hP c•o
is not always pretl y to loo
the seeing e~·e It Is nlw11
because through its <Inst n
nn(l its wo11ncls, Hhinl'f
1
)LKS
E GROWING PAINS
DEMOCRACY,
FOL{!) HALL FOLKS
OF
,s of Edward A. Fllene of Bosat the Ford Hall Meeting,
February 9, 1913.)
I, that we shall agree, all of us,
' are face to face with most
<1 1rn
JJolitical, industrial nn1l
lilllll--\88, J think we shall also
i.1l innsmnch as these change:;
',, lhe neecl of greater justice,
1ld feel ourselves lllHler obligasee that they, are bro11ght
,1·ith t'airness to' al! interests
,,d and with due regard for the
"t ion of all in the present 01·1 is worth conserving, I think
also agree that the most Imchanges needed are those
\\'ith big husiness and those
!'or greater justice between
,,,s nnd employers. I do not
lint such just relations come
'"111 the mere statement or abpl'inciples, but must come
l'rnm the working out in oui·
1y life and in competitive busilhese principles. If that is
I the great questions that unit,! coming changes are busi<'slions, then we shall require
IA,H]ership and the best busidurship that we can get.· Now
111s to be a self-apparent trnth,
111, ancl yet ot' all these mistit t we people make, perhaps
so constantly made as the
in
choosing
leadership.
ti1,1• be the right leadership at
im1ing of a great movement
its very virtue and strength,
Imel leadership as the move-.
'<>'P'e>Rses.
('I'o bring out this
1'. Filene quoted a coiiversal1i1cl had, when in Japan, with
Ito, in which both of them
llinl great generals do not
ily become great statesmen.),
,,11pon thought of Grant' and of
ll'ho woulll ha,;e been Presi11,, Ila cl not stopped it llimseH.
not slop Dewey, (Applause
,c, h ter.)
'l'herefore, we ought
11 Ilaw the great ca11tains of ln111less we are sure that they
1,., used at this cl'iticnl stage
,·anse of the common good.
,,1'ie11ce leaches me that they
11 nsccl.
As I slndy the sit11as,•e11rn lo me that nine out of
the ca1itains 'or ind11stry who
ii<•d, have failed as the result
srslem and lhe environment
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and the pressure for which we, the
1rnople, are as much responsible as
they are. (Applause.) I think we
mnst admit this It' we study the
growth of om· democracy during the
last fifty years.
We need leadership that is wise
from experience, and if the experience
that is needed now is the experience
that helps men settle lhe question of
big business and of better 1·elations
between the employer and the employees, then that leadership is husinf'ss leadership and not that of the
preacher or the prophet. (Applause.)
I am not making a plea for my class.
Lire seems to me too short and what
comes after it too uncertain (Laughter
and applause) to allow much room for
class feeling, But we have an idea
that because the demand for changes
L; right, that therefore it must conquer
of itself. Now what will ha11pen if we
do not get good, right leadership-and
democracy needs leadership just as
much as aristocracy-what will happen will be a reaction that wlll set the
whole movement hack again-not peruw nently, because there is'no power in
the world or in the Ilea vens that can
stop lhe onward progressive movement (Applause)-bnt will set it back
for many years,
And we are all
human enongh to· want to get a
gilmpse of the promi>:ecl land before
we die .. (Laughter and applause.)
I am going to try and trace with you,
this evening, some of lhe causes and
results lhat have led up to a few of
the phases of the present developments of our democracy and to the
great social and political tendencies oE
today, trying to share with you my
hope and faith in the future,
Many men, seeing the present social
and political troubles, grow pessimistie, hut I find myself growing more and
more optimistic, Thjs is because I am
forced to h«;Jlieve that the evils of out·
democratic institutions of today are
lmt the scum rising from a pmifying
vrocess, like the scum which arises in
the purifying of bronze and leaves it
1'8splendent. The hand ·of the hardworking loller is not as pretty as that
of the non-working d11de. A victorious
regiment returning from war is mudcovered and clnst-covered and blood ..
covered. So democracy, working out
1,nd fighting out the great problems of
common jnstice ancl the common good,
is not always pretty to look at; hnt to
the seeing eye it is always beautiful
liecanse through its dnst and its grime
nncl its wounds, shines its soul,
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stamped with the glory of its work for
Urn common good. As the great politicn] and social events of the pnst few
years 11n1'oll themselves one class or
n•.en thinks the country is going to the
dogs; then there is another clasR
which, seeing and judging the same
e\'ents, is as hopeful as the first is pessimistic,
J11dging separately ancl
apart the facts on which either class
base its beliefs, either seemingly may
prove its contention; hut taking these
facts as a whole, as part of an applied
ckmocracy, we are able to judge more
s11rely of- their meaning and hearing,
and whether they are for good or for
had. Such a taking of present political and social evm1ts in their proper
rel a tlon to the past makes for optlmfrm. As I have said, we find almost
inevitably that they are part of the
upward and onward prog1•ess for equal
opportunity and a fair share of nsefulness and happiness for every man,
What I mean is this, that a man who
conic] think straight could have foreseen 25 years ago that the causes then
at wot'k would bring about 1;tt this time
approximately the results which make
our problems and hopes today, Let us
examine these causes and results,
\Ve have been trying to work out
equal opportunities and just and efficient go-i•ernment on the largest scale
ond on the largest stage the world has
eYf'r known. ,Ve have endeavored to
cl? it in the democratic way, a very
d1fficult way; for there has been no
time in the history of the world when
one man or a few men could not do
some special thing better than the
grf'at mass of men. This led to giving
absolute power in the early days of
the world to one man or a few men
hut the world's experience taught it
that it was unsafe to give absolute
pc,wer to any man or any few men.
(Applause.) And so the history of the
world is the story of civilization leaming slowly and working steadily to replace the power of one man or a few
men with the self-government of all
men-democracy.
'l'he chief characteristic of the past
century and a half was its reaction
against the undue power of the inherited rights of the few which threatehed the right of equal opportunity for
all of us.
The French Revolution
and our own Revolution were very
dramatic events, and the latter's greatest effect was in the larger liberty and
freedom which it slowly gave to all of
us. But like all epoch-making events,
it was impossiµle to stop such a move-
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FUl{D Ili\LL FOLKS
ll)ent ju~t at the point where It had accom11lished its greatest good. It \\'as
inevitable that It should go lieyond the
point. of the greatest goocl or the
point of safety, even as the swlftlylll0Ving train cannot be ·instantly
stopped. And so the great movement
for individual rights has produced
over-individualized men, men who
think their personal property rights
the most sacred things in the world
and far exceeding in importance the
rights of the commimity In which they
live, (Applause.) But this type of
man, Inevitable as he is, Is an Impossible type becaiise the greatest sum
total of freedom for each man together
with the greatest. sum total of freedom
for all' men, are 11ossible only as each
man Is limited in his Individual freedom to an amount that will not interfere with or unduly deprive his fellowmen of their freedom. (Applnuse.)
During the last twenty-five years, especially, this great battle for Individual rights has been accompanied )Jy
the great.est industrial development
the world has ever seen. The forces
of men have been doubled and quad1·upled by great inventions and by
g!'eat advancements of science. Capital and opportunities have been centralized and in 1iart monopolized. Op]lol'tunlt.ies and centralization grew
faster than men grew to take charge
of them. The men at the head of
these great undertakings could. only_
keep their places by getting results,
without much regard to the means employed, however good their intent.
They were a good deal like the man in
the midst of a herd of stampeding cat1.le. As long as he lrneps his seat he
le just as safe there as anywhe!'._e .. else.
Jlnt let him try to dro11 off and immediately the herd will trample him out
of existence. And if their larger vision
lrnbt them free from using bad me.ans
means that infringed upon the rights
and· liberty of their fellowmen, yet in
most cases they had to depend upon
subordinates from whom they lrnd to
Insist on results; and these subordinates, in most cases with an · even
smaller vision of historic and of real
, alues, and often with still greater
pressure upon them proportionately
for results, had often less opportunity
or desire to study and select the
means employed to get those results.
The shortest nnd easiest methods,
therefore, were too often used, even Jr
they were unethical or unlawful. In
most. cases, I believe there· was no
diteet had intent. Speaker Cannon
f;llid I.he other day to a friend of mine,
''Men are conditioned hy their enylronrnent and their activities. I am whal
I am on that account, whether it be
good or bad." I do not agree with Mr.
C'annon that this is a proper excuse
fo1 unsocial or bad action, but it is
true that it does account 'for much had
action clone without evil intent, am!
this lack of evil intent is one of the
causes which makes me optimistic as
to the future. Our undesirable citiZf.'ns become 11ndeslrable, as a rule, not
t llrough wickedness but by being
seized by a whirlpool as the stream of
triumphant democracy rushes on.
. The great captains of industry dming this great rush of commercial and
industrial progress in the last twentyfive years were men so overburdened
with work that their lives moved in
very small circles. They worked and
played and were almost always In the
snme kind of environment, the en' ironment of their work and of their
fellow captains. Almost surely such
men are bound to make fundamental
mistakes in working out their probkms in a deniocracy. This ls a type
of man who will be less and less fit
for the management of great buslILP.sses In the future. The great cry is
not for opportnnlUes and capital,
which are not scarce in this country,
lmt for men who know all kinds of
men and yet are efficient.; men, that
Is, who can lead and guide other men
In great 1111mbers.
Now I will say that because of the
great pressure upon these men for results they cnme to feel that the end
ju stifled the means; and some of t1F1
mPans employed were, control of JegiRlat.lon, control oJ' publicity and control of money and of banks. The attPmJJt to control legislation, it is said,
has been forced upon big business hy
Uw attempts of 'grafters to exact contri but.ions from vested interests by
legislation inimical to their proper
rights. Be that as it may, big business found It the shortest ancl easie§t.
,vay to mnke sure in advance of elections if 1iosslble, to see that men
frie.nclly to their interests were elected nnd only this kind of men if possible. In their cleificatlon of their incll viclual and property rights, however, they forgot. that by such meth'.
ocls they were imperilling and at
times destroying the equal rights of
tlielr fellow citizens. But lhe sins of
these great captains of industry and
of these great captains of finance
were the sins of a II of 11s.
For ai;
FORD HALL FOLKS
l'l'iencl ot' n1ine,
, tlwir'envirnn•s. I am ,,,Ital
\\'he(her It be
a,;ree with Mr.
proper excuse
t ion, but it is
I for much had
·ii intent, and
is one of the
, optimistic as
1desirnble citi, as a rule, not
11l by being
I he st1·eam of
11shes on.
industry dur1111mercial and.
,, last, twenty~
,,verlrnrdened
n,s moved in
\' worked and
·always in the
1Pnt, the enand of theil'
I SUl'ely sucll
, l'nndamental
1I their prob'llis is a type
,; and less fit
r great bnsi,, great cry is
u nd capital,
this country,
all kinds of
11; men, that
"" other men
,,·uuse of the
" men for rel hat the end
Hollie of t11P.
rntrol ot' Jeg·il y and con1ks. The nt111, it is said,
. lrnsiness by
to exact coniiiterests by
I heir proper
.i r, big busi1 and easiest
unce of elec,, that men
; were electmen if pos1 of their in1·ir-d1ts, howsuch meth11~ and at
1:il rights of
the sins of
1Hl nstry ancl
o't' finance
1:;.
Fol'
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stockholders in the great aggregations of businei;_s ancl capital, ot' which
they were the head, we asked only
l'or good dividends anti in no way demanded an accounting of the methods
by \\hich such dividends ·wel·e won.
If we people, who had the power to
prntect ourselves through our right to
demand this accounting from our representatives, political and financial,
had exercised that power during the
last twenty-five years, the evils of the
])resent conditions would not ha'l!e
come about. vVe would have organized an opposition that would have
been helpful not only to ourselves, but
equally helpful in relieving something
of the overwhelming pressure on the
men at the head of these affairs, our
1•epresentatives. (Applause.) But we
were rushing just as fast as we coulcl
ourselves, and if that was not as fast
as the captains of industry it was not
for lack on our parts of desire to do
so, We also were devoting our lime
to making money and neglecting, for
the most part, om· civic duties,
Then, too, as a people we were not
trained to defend our rights, 'Ne
conic! not think straight about our
rights as these problems came up.
Our education had not prepared us
directly for life. Until now our common schools liave been developed in
large measure on the basis that all
scholars were to go to college or to a
university instead of on the basis of
the fact that only a very small proportion go beyond the grammar
school. It has even been denied that
trne culture can come from vocational
education, a training for life work.
Our educational institutions have been
largely in the hands of an h1tellectual
v.ristocracy (applause), which may be
a8 dangerous to true democracy tts an
aristocracy based on inherited wealth.
(Applause.) For that men who worlr
and play with only one kind of men
are unsafe as leaders in a democracy
is as true of preachers and teachers
as it is trne of the business man. (Apvlause.) On the part of the teacher
or the preacher such isolation results
iu a super-refinement which is· inimirnl to true democracy. "Art for art's
sake," as it is cornrnonly interpreted,
iE treason to our democracy. I arn
emphasizing these weaknesses only
Jwcau~e they had and still have a very
important bearing on education, whicli
after all, is the fundamental remedy
uncl comes nearer a panacea for our
prnsent evils than any other thing.
I have spoken so far of two causes,
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over-individualization being the first
and unsuitable education the second.
The third is class distinction. As we
grew richer we moved onr families into a better locality where there was
more sunshine, better air, more playgrounds, more 1ia1·ks. 'Ne used the
schools and clnbs and churches of the
new neighborhood into which we had
come and ceased to know our former
neighbors. Then class religious ancl
racial prejudices sprang up, to which
the selfish politician seldom appeals
in vain. We forgot the troubles we
had moved away from 1
But 'l'ammany stayed. The Tammany leader who moves away from
his district loses his job. The Tam•
many leader is the ever-present friend.
He lrnows the troubles of his neighbors. It is his business to help them
in time of trouble and to take part
with them in their time of joy, Is It
any wonder that men so helped will
give their votes to the men who
helped them-? Tammany anti Tammany men,-wl10se like is in every
city and not in New York alone,-ca11
never be beaten until we realize that
we can never safe!~• escape the troubles of the masses by moving a way
from them. · ( Applause.)
Until we
realize that the only way. to beat Tammany's selfish friendliness is by unselfish friendliness, until we realize
that in a democracy we are part of
one another and must help each othe.r,
and that we cannot escape this even If
we would!
Another means which might have
helped to save us from errors was eclueation through our public press. But
here again the owners and publishers
foiled to get the support that was
uecessnry that they in turn might
have strength sufficient to resist the
great current of materialism and overindividualization which swept our
country. 1'he history of the evolution
ol' our public press Is that ot a busi•
ness proposition, and a private busi•
ness proposition at that. Of course
there are many papers whose owners
and editors and publishers believe
that they have no right to exist except as, they serve the common good,
and who resist the pressure from
,special or financial interests or adverth;ers. It is one of the great helpful
signs of the time that, as a rule, such
papers are among the most prosperous
in the country. And this would naturally be because the value of the
paper to Its advertisers lies in the fact
that the paper has the confidence of
,,,
FUl{U l!ALL FOLKS
6
l1 s readers, '1'he ))aper whose readers
have learned to have confidence in
· its methods of handling the news, and
In the disinterestedness of lls editorial
opinions, Is by far a greate1· help to
the advertisers than one which has
lhe opposite reputation,
\Ve must not forget, however. that
lhe attempt to print truthfully all tile
news that is fit to print is a difficult,
one, The pressure to suppress news
or to color it is endless and takes an
endless number of forms. S'ometimes
It is that of a city trying to suppress
news of a yellow fever or a typhoid
fever outbreak or an earthquake or a
strike, At other times It is that of a
gl·oup of men trying to suppress news
which they think will htfrt their interests. \Ve retailers are not the least
of sinners In this, Almost all the
papers in this and all cities suppress
the news of accidents In our shops
and stores and have been suppressing
stories of arrests for shoplifting in our
stores because they know we do not
like It, (Applause.),
Now befor·e attempting to point out.
the remedies for these wrong conrlitfons I have been describing, I want to
!\'lance briefly at the attitude of different men to whom the vroposed
rrcrnedles must be traced,
,First there are the pro1>1lets and
preachers, men who think their main
duty lies in emphasizing anrl preachIng an abstract principle of right, however impossible It be of Immediate
adoption as a whole by the masses,
, , , Then there are the conservative men who believe that there is no
promised land, that the only roads
which are safe are the old ones, Besides the·se there are the over-Individualized men and the opportunists,
I said In the beginning of my talk
that the more I understand the ills of
our democracy, the more optimistic
I become, · The reason for this lie::1
with the remedies which are simple
and within the reach of all. It has
been well said that the remedy for
the evils of democracy Is more democracy,
There must be adequate
representation of the public In the
control of railroads, for instance, And
by that I mean literally that strong
and -trusted representatives of the
1mbllc must sit on railroad directorates, In
democracy, we as Individuals have no right to exist except as
we serve the common good, A railroad has no. right to exist except as
it serves the common good, A newspaper has no right to exist except a8
a
it serves the common good, A business has no right to exist except as
It serves the common goocl,
( Applause,)
'I'he best rule for lrnsiness Is lhe
golden rule,
Men who 'Jove their
Helghbors and therefore can hanclle
und lead men, are the coming leaders
of business. The only road to success
and ha])piness fat· any of us Is to conform to the great curt'ent of democrncy of which we are a part, and to
do with a will our share of work for
the Common Good.
(Prolonged a11plause,)
I
I
JUST A FEW OF THE QUESTIONS,
Q, Doesn't the socialistic press
serve the common good?
A. I clo not know-I do not. rear!
It,
Q, \·Vhat Is your opinion of a nrn1dcipal newspaper?
A. It is qne of the panaceas,
have no objection to seeing It tried,
liut what is more needed Is that we,
the public, should hold our .newspa11ers accountable for presenting the
news fairly and impartially and to
recognize that there is nothing more
Sf,nsitlve to public opinion than !he
average commercial newspaper, (Allplause.)
·
Q, Does the rum business servo
the common good, and shall it go on
serving it?
A. There is- a difference of opinion
ahout that,
'fhe last. vote of thie<
Commonwealth said that It did and
that the people want it continnerl,
Q, Inasmuch as Commerce rloe9
not produce anything but exists for
the mere sake of dlstl'ibution, has ii.
any right to exist? (Laughter and
applause,)
A, I have said we have no right to
exist except as we serve. If commerce serves it has a right to exist.
H you can Imagine production, without commerce to distibute it-if you
can Imagine one day of your life with•
out the ·service of commerce then
commerce has not any right. to exist.
Q, What hope do you hold out of
equal oppoi·tunity to the small employer compared with the large employer?
A, Very little. No business has a
right to sncceecl exeeptlnµ; as II serves
the common good. It is our duty lo
see that opportunities are ke11t oJ)en;
under these, then, if I.he small lrnsl1wss ought to survive, it will survive.
•
FORD HALL FOLKS
110 con\mon good, A bnsi" right lo exist except as
I lie
common good,
( Apr11le for business is the
i\len who love the'ir'
:Ille! therefore can handle
1•11, are the coming leaders
The only road to snccess'
·~s for any of ns is to con" great cun'ent of democi<'h we are a part. and to
,1·ill onr share of work for
,11 Good.
(P1·olonged ap-
,,
.W OF THE QUESTIONS,
, ·1 lhe socialistic press
i111111011 good?
11ot know-I do not read
i,; your opinion of a muspnper?
one of the panaceas. I
j,,ction to seeing it tried,
more needed is that we. '
shonld hold our .news1ntn1Jle for p1•esenting the
and impartially and to.
u t there is nothing more
pnbllc opinion than the
,mercial newspaper. (Apt he
rnm business serve
good, and shall it go Oil
i» a difference of opinion
The Inst vote of this
Ith said llint It did and
pie want it continnecl..
Jl'h as Commerce does
anytlilng bnt exists for
I"' of distrilrntion, has ii.
> exist?
(Langhter and
said we have no right to
as we serve. If com; it hns a right to exist.
1nagine production, with.,, to distibute it-if' you
oue clay of your life with·
ice of commerce then
,s not any r'ight to exist.
1ope do you hold ont of
1mity lo the small em, red ·with the large emt t le. · No business has a
,,,cJ excepting as it serves
good, It is our duty lo
,rtnnities nre kepi. open;
t lien, if the small bnsi' ,;nrvive, it will snrvive.
)
7
It' it ought not lo su1•vive, big bus!than sit. in the presence of his frienclH.
ness should do the work,
Try standing at "Attention" yourQ, What do yon think of .the single
self for three hours alld you will feel
tax?
..,. entitled to a Carnegie presidential
A. I think well of it. I think it is J1<insion ! But the usher gladly does
good. I do not believe in the final all these things for tlrn joy of knowradical program of it. But I think the Ing he is dcitng a very necessary ancl
tax will come more and more on the vital service for the fifteen hundred
Jnnd and less on production,
persons who, week after week, enjoy
\he educational
and · inspirational
treats at Ford Hall,
It's a thousand times better these
USHERING AT FORD HALL.
days to be a volnnteer at I~ord Hall
than to own an office on State street!
~ou are familiar with the old query,
J, P. ROBEJR'I'S,
- Hnd you rather be on the outside
looking in, or on the inside lool{!ng
out?"-that's the choice -a fellow
makes when he joins the• Ushers'
HELP PASS THE "RED LIGHT"
Corps at Ford Hall, for we really have
INJUNCTION BILL.
two corps,-and neither is pronounced "corpse" either!
Iloth are
much alive.
By writing to your representative
, In the normal course of events the at, ·washington those qf yon who beIm~ ushers who are now assisting in
lieve in the work Clifford Roe is doing
linmg UJl the early comers on the,
can help pass the Iowa Red Light Insidewalks "two by two, the elephant
junction la\v in Washington, D. C.
and the kangaroo," would never get
This law has worked with notable
Iulo Ford Hall -al least on tho
success in several states besides Town,
mor~ popular evenings,-1111less some
and that it is grei)tlY needed in Washspecial provision were made for them
ington the following communication
a11d they ,well deserve n reserved seat
after their hour's work in shooing amply shows:
"If adopted in the District of Co•
mavericks from the faithful flock, So lumbia, tile bill will be a precedent for
the 1'.shers "on the inside" reserve a
all stales, Such legislation Is needed
snfflc1enl number of seats for those
w)10, in the street, l1nve bome the cold here to close scores of elegant, public
brothels, flaunting their shame in the
\\'Jllds ancl the icy eyes of the nonfaces of our 250,0\10 vot.eless citizens
elect, Few reallze the service these
and to prevent a quadrennial satur01~tside 111~11• render in tlrns warding
nalia which disgraces each presidenot'f jlotent1al dangers to, women and
tial inauguration, On the night of
the rnfirm in the lines at om· doors -.Jnn. 18 I saw many youth I entering a
from s~1ch rushes and stampedes 'as
brothel, 63 feet distance from the
!lave disgraced many such a moment
great marble edifice, where the DisIll other less civilize'd folk!
trict of Columbia is governed: CouOn, the inside the usher has -oflier
tiguous were about 20 more brothels
Jlroblems,-he must find every availwith music, dancin1;, singing. liquorable seat, and try to have it occupied
clr;mocral1cally, "Ladies First, Please;" · selling and the 11ainte<1 women in the
doorways,
The men and boys were
lw passes, his programs;· he 1·emill(ls
coming to or leaving this seetion at
the t'orget~nl Indies that the Jaw treats
all hats allke, whether worn by voters
the rate of about 20 per mllllite, This
protected Iniquity exists in five or
?1' not; he acts as a bnt'fer to the
Jnnitor from the assanlts of the freshmore districts of the city, and borders
two sides of the capitol grounds.
I
nir crank in the center and the gent
at the left, whose gilded dome feels a
sent to Commissioner Rudolph the
draught; he reminds the thoughtless
street numbers of 61 brotliels withit1
that whispering during a musical mnnthree minutes' walk of his office buildlier annoys others and is a breach of
ing,
He nolitely aclrnowledged m1
gnod manners,-and he is rewarded
co1111111mication, hut did not qnestio;1
101· his service with so mnny covetous
Its correctness, 'l'his 'red light' inr·Jnnees n( lli8 selected seat near thn
,innction bill passed the Senate nnaniclc 101· .that he hnd rather stand as a
mon81y on Jan. 17 and now !H'essnre
lloorkeepe1· in the house of the Lord
on the House is needed,"
8
FORD HALL FOLKS
SUFFRAGE AND LABOR.
fat.hers and 1f10ther~ of our strllcers a
chance to bring up their helpless little
ones.
Not every suffragist can go and do
You who let Lot and his family espicket duty with the girls and women
cape from the wicked city of Sodom,
who are out. of work on principle
won't you please save the girls now
these cold winter days, but every one
Help us to get a living
can read over again 'The ·working on lltrlke?
wage,
Gil'l's Prayer," which was offered
0 Lord,. who knowest the sparrow's
three times a day by· the girl strikers
fall, won't you help us to resist when
of -Kalamazoo last year on a similar
the modern devil who has charge of
occasion.
Because I believe this
prnyer ls ty11lcal of the working girls our work takes advantage of our povof Americo, and ls true to their wo- erty to lead us astray? Sometimes, 0
Hunger and cold
111an's, spirit, I offer it here to indicate Lord, it Is hard.
how close are the aspirations of the are terrible things, and they make us
suffragists of the country to those of weak. We want to do right. Help us
to be strong,
working women far and near:
lo goc1,, we have nppe::i.lecl t.o the min. The Working \Glrrs 'Prayer.'
.
havEJ appealed
0 God ont· Father, you who are gen- isters, 11·1?appealed to the to the public,
we have
press,
Ent
erous, who said, "Ask and ye shall reIf nil these fail us in our need we
ceive," we, your children, lnunbJ'y be- know that you will not fall us.
seech you to grant that we ma;, reGrant that we may win tl,lls strike,'
ceive enough wages to clothe all(i' feed
and that the union may be strong, so
onr bodies, and just a little leisure, O that we may not need to cry so often,
Lord, to give our souls a chance to
"Lord, deliver us from temptation!"
grow.
-we ask this, Lord, for the sake of
Onr employer, who has plenty, has
the little children, helpless ancl suf•
denied onr request. He has misused. fering; for the. girls who may some
the law to help him crush us; bnt we
day be mothers of children, ancl for
appeal to yon, our God and Father,
those girls who cllsllke sin, hut are
and to yonr laws, ,,•hlch are stronger forced Into it through poverty,
than the laws made by man.
0 Christ, who didst die on the cross,
0 Ch rift., thou who· waited through
we will try to ask you to forgive those
the long night in the Garden of Geth- who would crush us, for perhaps they
sen~ane for one· of your followers who do not know what they do.
was to betray you, who Jn agony for
All this we ask In the name of the
ns didst say to yo1.1r disciples, ;,Will
lowly Carpenter's Son. Amen.-vVo•
yon not watch one hour with me?" man's Journal.
give strength to those who are now on
picket duty, not to feel too bitterly
Ally yourself when young to some
when those . who promised to stand great but unpopular reform and grow
with us In om· strnggles betray us.
up with it into Influence and honor.- ·
0 God, we pray yon to give to the Whittler.
THE MA CHINE,
Helen M. Boardman,
'l'lie Machine ls kept in a little hut not far from the factory. Each morn·
Ing it propels itself over to its proper place in the factory, It ls a wonderful Machine but it Is not worth much. There are so many such Machines in
the world.
As the snn peeps over the hori:wn. the factory whistles blow and the
Machine starts out. Other gray Machines are going. through the earlv light
to the sa11ie place. They are used to make hats. What woulrl the world rlo
without hats? Indeed, hats 11111st be made.
oi1e clay the scream of the whistle is l1earrl hefore closing time.
'T'he
gre.at wheels stop for a moment as some.thing silent and gory Is carried out
and taken away In a wagon. A :\'Tachlne is broken. Never mind, there are
other Machines to he had at the same price.
'root.. whistles! Turn, wlwels!
Whnt. if a few l\fachlnes wear out? Hats n1ust. he made!-The Survey.
~81
,I
\'01,,
I.
No. 8.
1Hau jfothe
February 16, 1913.
STIRRING UP THE CHURCHES,
I 'rice Ten Cents.
popular forum idea seems lo appeal in
such a community not only to those
who are in the habit of going to
church, but also to a good many who
ordinarily avoid church attendance,
It is exceedingly curious that the
Ford Hall meetings, which were organized especially and exclusively for
those who are more or less estranged
from church, cathedral and synagogue, should all unwittingly point
the way whereby the forces of organ17.ecl religion mny quicken the lagging
interest of many of their adherents,
A ,professor in one of our theological
seminaries says that, notwithstanding
all the blessings which the F01·d Hall
meetings have brought to those who
attend them and the indirect benefit
to the community at large, he believes
that 'perhaps their greatest service has
been to the churches themselves. Ho
notes .a marked change in the attitude
of the churches hereabouts. during the
last five years, and attributes a great
deal of it to the influence of the Ford
Hall
meetings,
He
thinks
tile
churches are rapidly coming to a bet,t.er understanding of their relation to
the great social, economic and Indus-- trial movements of the clay, 'l'here
, are certainly many facts ready to
!Janel tliat bear out such a statement,
I could name a llozen churches in
and around Boston thnt have come to
see the advantage of holding a popular
meeting for the free discussion of tlrn
great questions that are s(inlng the
public mind (oclny, Let me call JJUl'( icular attention tci one of these gath-~ __ erings most recently established, Six
01· seven of the Protestant churches
of Newton prope1·, including the ort110clox and liberal wings, have united in
a popular monthly Sunday evening
meeting, All these churches give up
their own regular Sunday evening ser•
'V!ce (there are t.wo that do not have
any) on tlie s·unday that the popular
meeting is held. 'l'his is very interesting· and significant, but a great flood
NEXT s'UNDAY'S SPEAKER.
of light is thrown on the situation by
this additional fact. 'l'hese chmches
Dr, 0, P, Gifford, the brilliant
so I ain told, do not total at theli BrnokJine Baptist, speaking on '"l'he
ieparate Sunday evening services; Social Value of Free Speech," strikes
hold each in its own place, an attend- us as a pretty strong attraction for
rnce exceeding three hunclred alto- tlie ·Fifth Anniversary progrnm of the
~ether, wherens at the popular union Ford I-Inll meetings,
Mrs, Lionel
11eetings, held once a month, the at- Marks (Josephine Preston Peabody).
:endance rises to seven hundred, and re.acting Iler poem; "'l'he Singing Man,"
11ore than that number turned out i.s a great card also, not to ,speak of
:ast Sunclriy night when Professor Hnssell Kingman's string quartette
Ranschenbusch spoke,
and the anniversary letters which l\lr,
It is very difficult in a quiet, homo- Colenrnn will read, Moreover, Brother
5eneous, suburban residential dis- Coleman will be bound to make a
trict to get the people out to church speech when we present him with that
:'lnnclay evening, Few churches are Book, Anll he knows how to maim
able to solve that problem, But the speeches!
f
2
FORD lii\LL FOLKS
---------THE PRAYER.
(Preceding _Mr. Fllene's Address,)
THE
GROWING PAINS OF
DEMOCRACY,
,v e 1ilead with Thee, o God, [or our (Address of Edward A. Fllene of Bosbrothers who are pressed by the careH
ton at the Ford Hall Meeting,
and beset by the temptations of busiFebruary 9, 1913.)
n,ess IHe.
,ve acknowledge before
i think that we shall agree, all of tis,
'lhee our common guilt for the hardness and deceitfulness o[ industry and
that we are face to face with most
trade which lead us all Into tempta- 111omentous political, Industrial arnl
tion and cause even the righteous to srclnl clrnngeH. I think we shall also
slip, and fan.· As long as man is set
agree that inasn111ch as these changes
ngamst man in a struggle for wealth,
predicate the need. of greater just.ice,
help the men in business to make
we should feel ourselves :under obligatheir contest as far as may be, a test
tion to see that they are brol1ght
of excellence, by which even the dc- about with fairness to all interests
[eated may be spurred lo betler work. concerned and with clue regard for the
If. any man is pitted against those who _conserv.ation of all in the present orhave forgotten fairness and honesty
der that is worth conserving, I think
help him to put his trust resolutely i1~
we may also agree that the most imthe profitableness of sincerity and uvmediate changes needed are those
rlghtness, and, if need be, to accept dealing with hig business and those
loss rather than follow on crooked
making for greater justice between
paths.
employees nncl employers. I do not
Establish in unshaken fidelity all
think that snch just relations come
who hold in trust the savings o[ about from the mere statement of abothern. Since the wealth and welfare stract principles, but must come
o( our nation are controlled by busi- rather from the working out in our
ness men, cause them to reali;,e that. every-day life and In co11111etitlve business of these1 principles. If that is
they serve not themselves alone, but
true and the great questions that unhold high public functions and do
clu·l_ie · the coming changes are busiThou save them from betraying the
ness questions, then ,?e shall require
interests of the many for their ow11
e11rlchment, lest 11 new tyrnnny grow the bes( l<111clership and the hest business leadership that we can get: Now
up In a land that is de<lica tell to freedom. Grant them forslghted patriot- that seems to be a self-avparent truth
an axiom, and yet of nil these mis'.
ism to subordinate their prollts to the
public weal, and a steadfast determi- takes that we J)eople make, perhaps
nation to transform the disorder or none is so constantly made as the·
mistake
in
choosing
leadership.
the present into the nobler and freer
harmony of the future.
May Thy , "'hat. may he the right leadership at
the beginning of a great movement
Spirit, 0 Goel, which is ceaselessly
may, by its very virtue ancl strength,
JJ)eading with us, prevail at last to
bring our business life under Christ's become bad leadership as the movelaw of service, so that all who share ment progresses ___ ('I'o bring out this·
In the processes of factory and trade ]Joint Mr. Filene quoted a conversallon he hncl hacl, when in ,Tn11an, with
may grow up into that high consciousPrince Ito, In which both of them
ness of a divine calling which blesses
those who are the free servants of agreed that great generals do not
God and the people, and who con- necessarily hecome great statesmen.)
I thereupon thought. of Grn11t and of
sciously devote their strength to the
Dewey, who would have been Presicommon good. Amen,
dent if he had not stopped it himself.
WALTER RAUSCHENBUSCH.
We did not stop Dewey. (Applause
and laughter.) 'l'herefore, we ought
BRILLIANTS.
not to outlaw the great captains of inYou are entitled to a volnt ot' view dustry unless we are sure that they
bnt not to announce it as the <1811tre1 cannot. be used at this critical stage
for lite cause of the common good.
of the universe.~Henry van Dyke.
1\1 y experience teaches me that they
'l'he keenest test of n man comes can be so usecl. As l slncly the situawhen he has attained; the sl.r11ggle to 1Ion, It ic;eems lo me that nine out of
altain kecJ)S him strong, but I.ho lino ten or tho ca11talns of inclnstry who
of least resistance soon shows itseH have failed, have failed as the resnlt
of the system and the environment
In success.-Hugh Black.
f
I
I
I
f
!
I
and the l)ressure !'or wh
1rnople, are as n111ch 1·ec
they are. (Applause.) I
must admit. this if \\'l'
growth of our clemocrncl'
last !Hty years.
·
We need lendel'Ship th
from exverience, ancl if th,
that is needed now iR t.h<
that helps men seU.le1 (Im
big business and of het t
between the emplo~·er 111
ployees, then that. IPa<lerc
ness leadership nn<l not
preacher or the prophet.
I am not making a plea r,
Life seems to me too sl10
comes after it too nnccrlni
and np1J]a11se) to allow 11111
class feeling. Dnt we h:
that because the clemancl
is right, that therefore it n1
of ,itself. Now what. will 11
clo not get good, right. J0n<l
clemocrncy needs lenclernl,
much as aristocrncY-1\'hn
pen will be a reacti~n that
whole movement bark aga
111a11e11tly, because thPre iH
the world or In !he !ten l'l
slop lhe onward prog1'<'f
ment (Applause)-hut will
for many years.
And
human enong:h to· wn11I
gllm11se of the vromiHPcl
we die. (Laughter nncl n
I am going to try a11<l trn
this evening, some ol' l he•
results that lrnve led 11p
the phases of the preHP
ments of our democrac\'
great social ancl polili<'nl' 1,
today, trying to sharn ,,.
ho11e and faith in lhP 1'11!n1
lHany men, seeing U1P p1
and political lrouhks, gr"
tic, but I find myself groll'i 1
more optlmlslic, ThiR iR h
forced to believe thnl th,•
clemocratlc Instil 111 Ions or
lmt the scum rising l'ro111
vrocess, like the sc11111 whi
the purifying of hronr.e 111
!'esplenclent. 'I'he han<I o
working toiler is no( ns pr
o[ the non-working cl11clC',
regiment returning rro111 ,
covered' mHl cl11s(-conil'< <l
covered. So cle111ol'l'!IC')', ,
t<ncl f\ghUng out the grenl
common justice an<l l.hP c•o
is not always pretl y to loo
the seeing e~·e It Is nlw11
because through its <Inst n
nn(l its wo11ncls, Hhinl'f
1
)LKS
E GROWING PAINS
DEMOCRACY,
FOL{!) HALL FOLKS
OF
,s of Edward A. Fllene of Bosat the Ford Hall Meeting,
February 9, 1913.)
I, that we shall agree, all of us,
' are face to face with most
<1 1rn
JJolitical, industrial nn1l
lilllll--\88, J think we shall also
i.1l innsmnch as these change:;
',, lhe neecl of greater justice,
1ld feel ourselves lllHler obligasee that they, are bro11ght
,1·ith t'airness to' al! interests
,,d and with due regard for the
"t ion of all in the present 01·1 is worth conserving, I think
also agree that the most Imchanges needed are those
\\'ith big husiness and those
!'or greater justice between
,,,s nnd employers. I do not
lint such just relations come
'"111 the mere statement or abpl'inciples, but must come
l'rnm the working out in oui·
1y life and in competitive busilhese principles. If that is
I the great questions that unit,! coming changes are busi<'slions, then we shall require
IA,H]ership and the best busidurship that we can get.· Now
111s to be a self-apparent trnth,
111, ancl yet ot' all these mistit t we people make, perhaps
so constantly made as the
in
choosing
leadership.
ti1,1• be the right leadership at
im1ing of a great movement
its very virtue and strength,
Imel leadership as the move-.
'<>'P'e>Rses.
('I'o bring out this
1'. Filene quoted a coiiversal1i1cl had, when in Japan, with
Ito, in which both of them
llinl great generals do not
ily become great statesmen.),
,,11pon thought of Grant' and of
ll'ho woulll ha,;e been Presi11,, Ila cl not stopped it llimseH.
not slop Dewey, (Applause
,c, h ter.)
'l'herefore, we ought
11 Ilaw the great ca11tains of ln111less we are sure that they
1,., used at this cl'iticnl stage
,·anse of the common good.
,,1'ie11ce leaches me that they
11 nsccl.
As I slndy the sit11as,•e11rn lo me that nine out of
the ca1itains 'or ind11stry who
ii<•d, have failed as the result
srslem and lhe environment
0
i
I
t
and the pressure for which we, the
1rnople, are as much responsible as
they are. (Applause.) I think we
mnst admit this It' we study the
growth of om· democracy during the
last fifty years.
We need leadership that is wise
from experience, and if the experience
that is needed now is the experience
that helps men settle lhe question of
big business and of better 1·elations
between the employer and the employees, then that leadership is husinf'ss leadership and not that of the
preacher or the prophet. (Applause.)
I am not making a plea for my class.
Lire seems to me too short and what
comes after it too uncertain (Laughter
and applause) to allow much room for
class feeling, But we have an idea
that because the demand for changes
L; right, that therefore it must conquer
of itself. Now what will ha11pen if we
do not get good, right leadership-and
democracy needs leadership just as
much as aristocracy-what will happen will be a reaction that wlll set the
whole movement hack again-not peruw nently, because there is'no power in
the world or in the Ilea vens that can
stop lhe onward progressive movement (Applause)-bnt will set it back
for many years,
And we are all
human enongh to· want to get a
gilmpse of the promi>:ecl land before
we die .. (Laughter and applause.)
I am going to try and trace with you,
this evening, some of lhe causes and
results lhat have led up to a few of
the phases of the present developments of our democracy and to the
great social and political tendencies oE
today, trying to share with you my
hope and faith in the future,
Many men, seeing the present social
and political troubles, grow pessimistie, hut I find myself growing more and
more optimistic, Thjs is because I am
forced to h«;Jlieve that the evils of out·
democratic institutions of today are
lmt the scum rising from a pmifying
vrocess, like the scum which arises in
the purifying of bronze and leaves it
1'8splendent. The hand ·of the hardworking loller is not as pretty as that
of the non-working d11de. A victorious
regiment returning from war is mudcovered and clnst-covered and blood ..
covered. So democracy, working out
1,nd fighting out the great problems of
common jnstice ancl the common good,
is not always pretty to look at; hnt to
the seeing eye it is always beautiful
liecanse through its dnst and its grime
nncl its wounds, shines its soul,
3
stamped with the glory of its work for
Urn common good. As the great politicn] and social events of the pnst few
years 11n1'oll themselves one class or
n•.en thinks the country is going to the
dogs; then there is another clasR
which, seeing and judging the same
e\'ents, is as hopeful as the first is pessimistic,
J11dging separately ancl
apart the facts on which either class
base its beliefs, either seemingly may
prove its contention; hut taking these
facts as a whole, as part of an applied
ckmocracy, we are able to judge more
s11rely of- their meaning and hearing,
and whether they are for good or for
had. Such a taking of present political and social evm1ts in their proper
rel a tlon to the past makes for optlmfrm. As I have said, we find almost
inevitably that they are part of the
upward and onward prog1•ess for equal
opportunity and a fair share of nsefulness and happiness for every man,
What I mean is this, that a man who
conic] think straight could have foreseen 25 years ago that the causes then
at wot'k would bring about 1;tt this time
approximately the results which make
our problems and hopes today, Let us
examine these causes and results,
\Ve have been trying to work out
equal opportunities and just and efficient go-i•ernment on the largest scale
ond on the largest stage the world has
eYf'r known. ,Ve have endeavored to
cl? it in the democratic way, a very
d1fficult way; for there has been no
time in the history of the world when
one man or a few men could not do
some special thing better than the
grf'at mass of men. This led to giving
absolute power in the early days of
the world to one man or a few men
hut the world's experience taught it
that it was unsafe to give absolute
pc,wer to any man or any few men.
(Applause.) And so the history of the
world is the story of civilization leaming slowly and working steadily to replace the power of one man or a few
men with the self-government of all
men-democracy.
'l'he chief characteristic of the past
century and a half was its reaction
against the undue power of the inherited rights of the few which threatehed the right of equal opportunity for
all of us.
The French Revolution
and our own Revolution were very
dramatic events, and the latter's greatest effect was in the larger liberty and
freedom which it slowly gave to all of
us. But like all epoch-making events,
it was impossiµle to stop such a move-
4
i
FUl{D Ili\LL FOLKS
ll)ent ju~t at the point where It had accom11lished its greatest good. It \\'as
inevitable that It should go lieyond the
point. of the greatest goocl or the
point of safety, even as the swlftlylll0Ving train cannot be ·instantly
stopped. And so the great movement
for individual rights has produced
over-individualized men, men who
think their personal property rights
the most sacred things in the world
and far exceeding in importance the
rights of the commimity In which they
live, (Applause.) But this type of
man, Inevitable as he is, Is an Impossible type becaiise the greatest sum
total of freedom for each man together
with the greatest. sum total of freedom
for all' men, are 11ossible only as each
man Is limited in his Individual freedom to an amount that will not interfere with or unduly deprive his fellowmen of their freedom. (Applnuse.)
During the last twenty-five years, especially, this great battle for Individual rights has been accompanied )Jy
the great.est industrial development
the world has ever seen. The forces
of men have been doubled and quad1·upled by great inventions and by
g!'eat advancements of science. Capital and opportunities have been centralized and in 1iart monopolized. Op]lol'tunlt.ies and centralization grew
faster than men grew to take charge
of them. The men at the head of
these great undertakings could. only_
keep their places by getting results,
without much regard to the means employed, however good their intent.
They were a good deal like the man in
the midst of a herd of stampeding cat1.le. As long as he lrneps his seat he
le just as safe there as anywhe!'._e .. else.
Jlnt let him try to dro11 off and immediately the herd will trample him out
of existence. And if their larger vision
lrnbt them free from using bad me.ans
means that infringed upon the rights
and· liberty of their fellowmen, yet in
most cases they had to depend upon
subordinates from whom they lrnd to
Insist on results; and these subordinates, in most cases with an · even
smaller vision of historic and of real
, alues, and often with still greater
pressure upon them proportionately
for results, had often less opportunity
or desire to study and select the
means employed to get those results.
The shortest nnd easiest methods,
therefore, were too often used, even Jr
they were unethical or unlawful. In
most. cases, I believe there· was no
diteet had intent. Speaker Cannon
f;llid I.he other day to a friend of mine,
''Men are conditioned hy their enylronrnent and their activities. I am whal
I am on that account, whether it be
good or bad." I do not agree with Mr.
C'annon that this is a proper excuse
fo1 unsocial or bad action, but it is
true that it does account 'for much had
action clone without evil intent, am!
this lack of evil intent is one of the
causes which makes me optimistic as
to the future. Our undesirable citiZf.'ns become 11ndeslrable, as a rule, not
t llrough wickedness but by being
seized by a whirlpool as the stream of
triumphant democracy rushes on.
. The great captains of industry dming this great rush of commercial and
industrial progress in the last twentyfive years were men so overburdened
with work that their lives moved in
very small circles. They worked and
played and were almost always In the
snme kind of environment, the en' ironment of their work and of their
fellow captains. Almost surely such
men are bound to make fundamental
mistakes in working out their probkms in a deniocracy. This ls a type
of man who will be less and less fit
for the management of great buslILP.sses In the future. The great cry is
not for opportnnlUes and capital,
which are not scarce in this country,
lmt for men who know all kinds of
men and yet are efficient.; men, that
Is, who can lead and guide other men
In great 1111mbers.
Now I will say that because of the
great pressure upon these men for results they cnme to feel that the end
ju stifled the means; and some of t1F1
mPans employed were, control of JegiRlat.lon, control oJ' publicity and control of money and of banks. The attPmJJt to control legislation, it is said,
has been forced upon big business hy
Uw attempts of 'grafters to exact contri but.ions from vested interests by
legislation inimical to their proper
rights. Be that as it may, big business found It the shortest ancl easie§t.
,vay to mnke sure in advance of elections if 1iosslble, to see that men
frie.nclly to their interests were elected nnd only this kind of men if possible. In their cleificatlon of their incll viclual and property rights, however, they forgot. that by such meth'.
ocls they were imperilling and at
times destroying the equal rights of
tlielr fellow citizens. But lhe sins of
these great captains of industry and
of these great captains of finance
were the sins of a II of 11s.
For ai;
FORD HALL FOLKS
l'l'iencl ot' n1ine,
, tlwir'envirnn•s. I am ,,,Ital
\\'he(her It be
a,;ree with Mr.
proper excuse
t ion, but it is
I for much had
·ii intent, and
is one of the
, optimistic as
1desirnble citi, as a rule, not
11l by being
I he st1·eam of
11shes on.
industry dur1111mercial and.
,, last, twenty~
,,verlrnrdened
n,s moved in
\' worked and
·always in the
1Pnt, the enand of theil'
I SUl'ely sucll
, l'nndamental
1I their prob'llis is a type
,; and less fit
r great bnsi,, great cry is
u nd capital,
this country,
all kinds of
11; men, that
"" other men
,,·uuse of the
" men for rel hat the end
Hollie of t11P.
rntrol ot' Jeg·il y and con1ks. The nt111, it is said,
. lrnsiness by
to exact coniiiterests by
I heir proper
.i r, big busi1 and easiest
unce of elec,, that men
; were electmen if pos1 of their in1·ir-d1ts, howsuch meth11~ and at
1:il rights of
the sins of
1Hl nstry ancl
o't' finance
1:;.
Fol'
afi
•
.'
l
stockholders in the great aggregations of businei;_s ancl capital, ot' which
they were the head, we asked only
l'or good dividends anti in no way demanded an accounting of the methods
by \\hich such dividends ·wel·e won.
If we people, who had the power to
prntect ourselves through our right to
demand this accounting from our representatives, political and financial,
had exercised that power during the
last twenty-five years, the evils of the
])resent conditions would not ha'l!e
come about. vVe would have organized an opposition that would have
been helpful not only to ourselves, but
equally helpful in relieving something
of the overwhelming pressure on the
men at the head of these affairs, our
1•epresentatives. (Applause.) But we
were rushing just as fast as we coulcl
ourselves, and if that was not as fast
as the captains of industry it was not
for lack on our parts of desire to do
so, We also were devoting our lime
to making money and neglecting, for
the most part, om· civic duties,
Then, too, as a people we were not
trained to defend our rights, 'Ne
conic! not think straight about our
rights as these problems came up.
Our education had not prepared us
directly for life. Until now our common schools liave been developed in
large measure on the basis that all
scholars were to go to college or to a
university instead of on the basis of
the fact that only a very small proportion go beyond the grammar
school. It has even been denied that
trne culture can come from vocational
education, a training for life work.
Our educational institutions have been
largely in the hands of an h1tellectual
v.ristocracy (applause), which may be
a8 dangerous to true democracy tts an
aristocracy based on inherited wealth.
(Applause.) For that men who worlr
and play with only one kind of men
are unsafe as leaders in a democracy
is as true of preachers and teachers
as it is trne of the business man. (Apvlause.) On the part of the teacher
or the preacher such isolation results
iu a super-refinement which is· inimirnl to true democracy. "Art for art's
sake," as it is cornrnonly interpreted,
iE treason to our democracy. I arn
emphasizing these weaknesses only
Jwcau~e they had and still have a very
important bearing on education, whicli
after all, is the fundamental remedy
uncl comes nearer a panacea for our
prnsent evils than any other thing.
I have spoken so far of two causes,
5
over-individualization being the first
and unsuitable education the second.
The third is class distinction. As we
grew richer we moved onr families into a better locality where there was
more sunshine, better air, more playgrounds, more 1ia1·ks. 'Ne used the
schools and clnbs and churches of the
new neighborhood into which we had
come and ceased to know our former
neighbors. Then class religious ancl
racial prejudices sprang up, to which
the selfish politician seldom appeals
in vain. We forgot the troubles we
had moved away from 1
But 'l'ammany stayed. The Tammany leader who moves away from
his district loses his job. The Tam•
many leader is the ever-present friend.
He lrnows the troubles of his neighbors. It is his business to help them
in time of trouble and to take part
with them in their time of joy, Is It
any wonder that men so helped will
give their votes to the men who
helped them-? Tammany anti Tammany men,-wl10se like is in every
city and not in New York alone,-ca11
never be beaten until we realize that
we can never safe!~• escape the troubles of the masses by moving a way
from them. · ( Applause.)
Until we
realize that the only way. to beat Tammany's selfish friendliness is by unselfish friendliness, until we realize
that in a democracy we are part of
one another and must help each othe.r,
and that we cannot escape this even If
we would!
Another means which might have
helped to save us from errors was eclueation through our public press. But
here again the owners and publishers
foiled to get the support that was
uecessnry that they in turn might
have strength sufficient to resist the
great current of materialism and overindividualization which swept our
country. 1'he history of the evolution
ol' our public press Is that ot a busi•
ness proposition, and a private busi•
ness proposition at that. Of course
there are many papers whose owners
and editors and publishers believe
that they have no right to exist except as, they serve the common good,
and who resist the pressure from
,special or financial interests or adverth;ers. It is one of the great helpful
signs of the time that, as a rule, such
papers are among the most prosperous
in the country. And this would naturally be because the value of the
paper to Its advertisers lies in the fact
that the paper has the confidence of
,,,
FUl{U l!ALL FOLKS
6
l1 s readers, '1'he ))aper whose readers
have learned to have confidence in
· its methods of handling the news, and
In the disinterestedness of lls editorial
opinions, Is by far a greate1· help to
the advertisers than one which has
lhe opposite reputation,
\Ve must not forget, however. that
lhe attempt to print truthfully all tile
news that is fit to print is a difficult,
one, The pressure to suppress news
or to color it is endless and takes an
endless number of forms. S'ometimes
It is that of a city trying to suppress
news of a yellow fever or a typhoid
fever outbreak or an earthquake or a
strike, At other times It is that of a
gl·oup of men trying to suppress news
which they think will htfrt their interests. \Ve retailers are not the least
of sinners In this, Almost all the
papers in this and all cities suppress
the news of accidents In our shops
and stores and have been suppressing
stories of arrests for shoplifting in our
stores because they know we do not
like It, (Applause.),
Now befor·e attempting to point out.
the remedies for these wrong conrlitfons I have been describing, I want to
!\'lance briefly at the attitude of different men to whom the vroposed
rrcrnedles must be traced,
,First there are the pro1>1lets and
preachers, men who think their main
duty lies in emphasizing anrl preachIng an abstract principle of right, however impossible It be of Immediate
adoption as a whole by the masses,
, , , Then there are the conservative men who believe that there is no
promised land, that the only roads
which are safe are the old ones, Besides the·se there are the over-Individualized men and the opportunists,
I said In the beginning of my talk
that the more I understand the ills of
our democracy, the more optimistic
I become, · The reason for this lie::1
with the remedies which are simple
and within the reach of all. It has
been well said that the remedy for
the evils of democracy Is more democracy,
There must be adequate
representation of the public In the
control of railroads, for instance, And
by that I mean literally that strong
and -trusted representatives of the
1mbllc must sit on railroad directorates, In
democracy, we as Individuals have no right to exist except as
we serve the common good, A railroad has no. right to exist except as
it serves the common good, A newspaper has no right to exist except a8
a
it serves the common good, A business has no right to exist except as
It serves the common goocl,
( Applause,)
'I'he best rule for lrnsiness Is lhe
golden rule,
Men who 'Jove their
Helghbors and therefore can hanclle
und lead men, are the coming leaders
of business. The only road to success
and ha])piness fat· any of us Is to conform to the great curt'ent of democrncy of which we are a part, and to
do with a will our share of work for
the Common Good.
(Prolonged a11plause,)
I
I
JUST A FEW OF THE QUESTIONS,
Q, Doesn't the socialistic press
serve the common good?
A. I clo not know-I do not. rear!
It,
Q, \·Vhat Is your opinion of a nrn1dcipal newspaper?
A. It is qne of the panaceas,
have no objection to seeing It tried,
liut what is more needed Is that we,
the public, should hold our .newspa11ers accountable for presenting the
news fairly and impartially and to
recognize that there is nothing more
Sf,nsitlve to public opinion than !he
average commercial newspaper, (Allplause.)
·
Q, Does the rum business servo
the common good, and shall it go on
serving it?
A. There is- a difference of opinion
ahout that,
'fhe last. vote of thie<
Commonwealth said that It did and
that the people want it continnerl,
Q, Inasmuch as Commerce rloe9
not produce anything but exists for
the mere sake of dlstl'ibution, has ii.
any right to exist? (Laughter and
applause,)
A, I have said we have no right to
exist except as we serve. If commerce serves it has a right to exist.
H you can Imagine production, without commerce to distibute it-if you
can Imagine one day of your life with•
out the ·service of commerce then
commerce has not any right. to exist.
Q, What hope do you hold out of
equal oppoi·tunity to the small employer compared with the large employer?
A, Very little. No business has a
right to sncceecl exeeptlnµ; as II serves
the common good. It is our duty lo
see that opportunities are ke11t oJ)en;
under these, then, if I.he small lrnsl1wss ought to survive, it will survive.
•
FORD HALL FOLKS
110 con\mon good, A bnsi" right lo exist except as
I lie
common good,
( Apr11le for business is the
i\len who love the'ir'
:Ille! therefore can handle
1•11, are the coming leaders
The only road to snccess'
·~s for any of ns is to con" great cun'ent of democi<'h we are a part. and to
,1·ill onr share of work for
,11 Good.
(P1·olonged ap-
,,
.W OF THE QUESTIONS,
, ·1 lhe socialistic press
i111111011 good?
11ot know-I do not read
i,; your opinion of a muspnper?
one of the panaceas. I
j,,ction to seeing it tried,
more needed is that we. '
shonld hold our .news1ntn1Jle for p1•esenting the
and impartially and to.
u t there is nothing more
pnbllc opinion than the
,mercial newspaper. (Apt he
rnm business serve
good, and shall it go Oil
i» a difference of opinion
The Inst vote of this
Ith said llint It did and
pie want it continnecl..
Jl'h as Commerce does
anytlilng bnt exists for
I"' of distrilrntion, has ii.
> exist?
(Langhter and
said we have no right to
as we serve. If com; it hns a right to exist.
1nagine production, with.,, to distibute it-if' you
oue clay of your life with·
ice of commerce then
,s not any r'ight to exist.
1ope do you hold ont of
1mity lo the small em, red ·with the large emt t le. · No business has a
,,,cJ excepting as it serves
good, It is our duty lo
,rtnnities nre kepi. open;
t lien, if the small bnsi' ,;nrvive, it will snrvive.
)
7
It' it ought not lo su1•vive, big bus!than sit. in the presence of his frienclH.
ness should do the work,
Try standing at "Attention" yourQ, What do yon think of .the single
self for three hours alld you will feel
tax?
..,. entitled to a Carnegie presidential
A. I think well of it. I think it is J1<insion ! But the usher gladly does
good. I do not believe in the final all these things for tlrn joy of knowradical program of it. But I think the Ing he is dcitng a very necessary ancl
tax will come more and more on the vital service for the fifteen hundred
Jnnd and less on production,
persons who, week after week, enjoy
\he educational
and · inspirational
treats at Ford Hall,
It's a thousand times better these
USHERING AT FORD HALL.
days to be a volnnteer at I~ord Hall
than to own an office on State street!
~ou are familiar with the old query,
J, P. ROBEJR'I'S,
- Hnd you rather be on the outside
looking in, or on the inside lool{!ng
out?"-that's the choice -a fellow
makes when he joins the• Ushers'
HELP PASS THE "RED LIGHT"
Corps at Ford Hall, for we really have
INJUNCTION BILL.
two corps,-and neither is pronounced "corpse" either!
Iloth are
much alive.
By writing to your representative
, In the normal course of events the at, ·washington those qf yon who beIm~ ushers who are now assisting in
lieve in the work Clifford Roe is doing
linmg UJl the early comers on the,
can help pass the Iowa Red Light Insidewalks "two by two, the elephant
junction la\v in Washington, D. C.
and the kangaroo," would never get
This law has worked with notable
Iulo Ford Hall -al least on tho
success in several states besides Town,
mor~ popular evenings,-1111less some
and that it is grei)tlY needed in Washspecial provision were made for them
ington the following communication
a11d they ,well deserve n reserved seat
after their hour's work in shooing amply shows:
"If adopted in the District of Co•
mavericks from the faithful flock, So lumbia, tile bill will be a precedent for
the 1'.shers "on the inside" reserve a
all stales, Such legislation Is needed
snfflc1enl number of seats for those
w)10, in the street, l1nve bome the cold here to close scores of elegant, public
brothels, flaunting their shame in the
\\'Jllds ancl the icy eyes of the nonfaces of our 250,0\10 vot.eless citizens
elect, Few reallze the service these
and to prevent a quadrennial satur01~tside 111~11• render in tlrns warding
nalia which disgraces each presidenot'f jlotent1al dangers to, women and
tial inauguration, On the night of
the rnfirm in the lines at om· doors -.Jnn. 18 I saw many youth I entering a
from s~1ch rushes and stampedes 'as
brothel, 63 feet distance from the
!lave disgraced many such a moment
great marble edifice, where the DisIll other less civilize'd folk!
trict of Columbia is governed: CouOn, the inside the usher has -oflier
tiguous were about 20 more brothels
Jlroblems,-he must find every availwith music, dancin1;, singing. liquorable seat, and try to have it occupied
clr;mocral1cally, "Ladies First, Please;" · selling and the 11ainte<1 women in the
doorways,
The men and boys were
lw passes, his programs;· he 1·emill(ls
coming to or leaving this seetion at
the t'orget~nl Indies that the Jaw treats
all hats allke, whether worn by voters
the rate of about 20 per mllllite, This
protected Iniquity exists in five or
?1' not; he acts as a bnt'fer to the
Jnnitor from the assanlts of the freshmore districts of the city, and borders
two sides of the capitol grounds.
I
nir crank in the center and the gent
at the left, whose gilded dome feels a
sent to Commissioner Rudolph the
draught; he reminds the thoughtless
street numbers of 61 brotliels withit1
that whispering during a musical mnnthree minutes' walk of his office buildlier annoys others and is a breach of
ing,
He nolitely aclrnowledged m1
gnod manners,-and he is rewarded
co1111111mication, hut did not qnestio;1
101· his service with so mnny covetous
Its correctness, 'l'his 'red light' inr·Jnnees n( lli8 selected seat near thn
,innction bill passed the Senate nnaniclc 101· .that he hnd rather stand as a
mon81y on Jan. 17 and now !H'essnre
lloorkeepe1· in the house of the Lord
on the House is needed,"
8
FORD HALL FOLKS
SUFFRAGE AND LABOR.
fat.hers and 1f10ther~ of our strllcers a
chance to bring up their helpless little
ones.
Not every suffragist can go and do
You who let Lot and his family espicket duty with the girls and women
cape from the wicked city of Sodom,
who are out. of work on principle
won't you please save the girls now
these cold winter days, but every one
Help us to get a living
can read over again 'The ·working on lltrlke?
wage,
Gil'l's Prayer," which was offered
0 Lord,. who knowest the sparrow's
three times a day by· the girl strikers
fall, won't you help us to resist when
of -Kalamazoo last year on a similar
the modern devil who has charge of
occasion.
Because I believe this
prnyer ls ty11lcal of the working girls our work takes advantage of our povof Americo, and ls true to their wo- erty to lead us astray? Sometimes, 0
Hunger and cold
111an's, spirit, I offer it here to indicate Lord, it Is hard.
how close are the aspirations of the are terrible things, and they make us
suffragists of the country to those of weak. We want to do right. Help us
to be strong,
working women far and near:
lo goc1,, we have nppe::i.lecl t.o the min. The Working \Glrrs 'Prayer.'
.
havEJ appealed
0 God ont· Father, you who are gen- isters, 11·1?appealed to the to the public,
we have
press,
Ent
erous, who said, "Ask and ye shall reIf nil these fail us in our need we
ceive," we, your children, lnunbJ'y be- know that you will not fall us.
seech you to grant that we ma;, reGrant that we may win tl,lls strike,'
ceive enough wages to clothe all(i' feed
and that the union may be strong, so
onr bodies, and just a little leisure, O that we may not need to cry so often,
Lord, to give our souls a chance to
"Lord, deliver us from temptation!"
grow.
-we ask this, Lord, for the sake of
Onr employer, who has plenty, has
the little children, helpless ancl suf•
denied onr request. He has misused. fering; for the. girls who may some
the law to help him crush us; bnt we
day be mothers of children, ancl for
appeal to yon, our God and Father,
those girls who cllsllke sin, hut are
and to yonr laws, ,,•hlch are stronger forced Into it through poverty,
than the laws made by man.
0 Christ, who didst die on the cross,
0 Ch rift., thou who· waited through
we will try to ask you to forgive those
the long night in the Garden of Geth- who would crush us, for perhaps they
sen~ane for one· of your followers who do not know what they do.
was to betray you, who Jn agony for
All this we ask In the name of the
ns didst say to yo1.1r disciples, ;,Will
lowly Carpenter's Son. Amen.-vVo•
yon not watch one hour with me?" man's Journal.
give strength to those who are now on
picket duty, not to feel too bitterly
Ally yourself when young to some
when those . who promised to stand great but unpopular reform and grow
with us In om· strnggles betray us.
up with it into Influence and honor.- ·
0 God, we pray yon to give to the Whittler.
THE MA CHINE,
Helen M. Boardman,
'l'lie Machine ls kept in a little hut not far from the factory. Each morn·
Ing it propels itself over to its proper place in the factory, It ls a wonderful Machine but it Is not worth much. There are so many such Machines in
the world.
As the snn peeps over the hori:wn. the factory whistles blow and the
Machine starts out. Other gray Machines are going. through the earlv light
to the sa11ie place. They are used to make hats. What woulrl the world rlo
without hats? Indeed, hats 11111st be made.
oi1e clay the scream of the whistle is l1earrl hefore closing time.
'T'he
gre.at wheels stop for a moment as some.thing silent and gory Is carried out
and taken away In a wagon. A :\'Tachlne is broken. Never mind, there are
other Machines to he had at the same price.
'root.. whistles! Turn, wlwels!
Whnt. if a few l\fachlnes wear out? Hats n1ust. he made!-The Survey.
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