Omaha daily bee., 1895-05-01
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Rlta-I will 20 down to the beach among
the novels and bring all the poor, neglected
children home with me; all the mischievous
boys, 1 will take them to my heart
little Eyolfs place. They shall live IN
Eyolrs rooms and read read BIS bis o4oks foks aIn IN
Turns 10 sit in his chair at the table.
Almers-This is sheer madness IN you,
There Is not creature IN the ,oI WUTi1 Io,t less
Rta--Then / have to educate myseii LOT
It, 10 train myself, to discipline, myself;
Henrik lbsen, In Little Eyoli'
In all times there have been great souls
who out OF love to their fellow men, have
given their lives in ministry to them, but
these latter days have witnessed the intro
duction OF new motives into such service.
Within a few years great numbers OF cultl-
waited young men and women have gone from
our colleges into the slums OF our cities to
make OF themselves a constituent part of
"the Masses" They have thrown themselves
into one unfamiliar environment that It's con-
ditions might become matter not OF theory,
but OF accurate knowledge. They want TO
know humanity. Democracy to them Is not
a sentiment to be carefully preserved for the
use OF the stump speaker, but social ldeal
which they believe to be practical, and whlch
they desire to help to carry out. They are
almost dissatisfed-at least unsatished-wlth
congenial associations. They long to lay their
lives alongside these other strange lives that
they know only in books. They long to
set In fuller motion in the social world that
old process OF giving and getting which
nature has illustrated in earth and sky,
river and mountain, plant and soil. Miss
Jane Adams of Hull house speaks OF "a
great number OF cultivated young people who
have no outlet for their activities" and
whose "uselessness hangs about them heav-
ily'.' She says this young life sincere In
Its emotion and good phases, and yet so mis-
directed, seems to me pitiful as the other
great mass Of destitute lives One is GER
tainly supplemental to the other and some
method Of communication can surely be de-
vised." Now, the impulses which give i'm
petus TO the College Settlement idea are
present in individual life everywhere. In
deed, he who is not stirred by some OF them
is but half alive. We have small patience
with the man who sits in his libray and
avoids contact with his fellow men and we
care even less for the woman who never
moves out of her set. Social power is
greatly coveted in these days. 1t rests upon
knowledge Of human nature and varied
experience in dealing with 1t, both Of which
elements come out Of philanthropic work
Social prestige may rightly belong to Van
derbit or an Astor, but social power is en-
bodied in Jane Adams and Maude Balling-
ton Booth
True culture must have in It acquaintance
with life, not that of one-half the race, but
OF both halves. How provincial our culture
is!' says Mr.. Robert A. Woods How II
generalizes about men and calls the result
knowledge Of them. How it satisfies Itself
with a distant echo Of feeling for them
How often 1t develops effeminacy instead OF
the strong, chastened refinement Of the citi-
zen Of the world. There are more things In
life than are dreamed of in our history, our