The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-04-06
A DAY Ar HULL HOUSE.
american Journal of Sociology


usually and Complementary ''the kim
dergarten;'' the italian neighbors with
their invincible poetry call it Ia casa
di DID,
To those who must have definition
of a thing whose being is essentially
plastic, there is, no better replf to be
given than that of a young Englishman
at a conference of good people. Upon
being pestered for an exact statement,
he burst out with:
why, hang it, madame, we settle"
The one necessary element is perma-
J nency. Individuals come and go; the
| attitude, the movement, the activity, re-
| main. About the house are its tributar-
| les, some in material form and some
/ visible only in spirit. Around the south
ern corner is a brick building, the home
| of the June Club, a club Of working
| women who in a life of five years have
| solved some of the most VeXing ques-
| tons of cooperative living to their own
| social and economic satisfaction.
Across the street to the north is the
| pleasant two story frame building of
| the PhaIanx club, where the same plan
| of living, except for the cares OF the
| kitchen, is carried on by the young
| men.
Just north of this is the model lodging
| house for women, where any depend
| eht woman may have the wise encOur-
agement of a bed and a breakfast.
| Some thousand feet toward the river
! is the public play ground, safely guard
| ed DY It's IRON fence ana closed until
| after school hours. This piece of land,
| cursed by bunch of miserable and
| criminal tenements and an absent
| landlord, came finally by strange and
/ picturesque ways into the hands Of the
! settlement, and now clean and clear and
! wholesome, it has seen many good
| time.
May poles and singing children and
/ flowers and music have surprised it's
| sandy surface and in winter it gets a
| coating of ice for the skaters Away
! down toward the southeast and off to
/ the northwest are large study clubs of
| young men and women whose literary
| life began under the roof of the house
| and who have OutgrOwn her first care.
| The public library reading room on
Blue Island avenue, the public baths
few blocks away, the popular lectures
now being given in one of the public
schools were initiated by the settle
ment.
The decoration of pubic school rooms
which is SO novel and lovely a thing,
is now carried on by the Society of Art
in schools.
The Gay begins early with the paper
carrier, who hides his impartial list of
daily papers under the mat for safety.
He meets the earliest working mother
or possibly father-WhO is bringing the
baby to the creche, where an average
of 25 little ones are cared for every day.
This means spending the day under
wise SUPERVISION with pictures and
toys; it means bread and milk eaten at
a tiny table in company; it means the
n6aI6ST OF a DaIn ana the SWG0luGSS VI
a nap in a little white bed all to one
self; it means the big porch playground
with bright red geraniums on its Dor
der, and an exciting squirrel and pla-
cable parrot at the ends.
Below the creche is a larger room
where the elder babies may play at
serious kindergarten, alleviated by a
sand pile and mOnStrOuS dolls house,
and still above it is the larger room
for the older class. BY half past seven
O'Clock the coffee house and bakery are
well astir. Here the residents of the
house are served with a movable feast
according to their uprisings- The quiet,
young inspector whose work in the mar
row alleys has changed them as by a
daily miracle, is likely to be the first.
Then comes those who bear a divided
burden; the factory inspector and her
deputy, the librarian and the students.
These are gone before those appear
whose clubs and classes have kept them
late the night before at the task of
guide, philosopher and friend. Leaving
the coffee house by covered way to
the main building, one finds the large
room on the right of the entrance al
ready filled with applicants to the labor
bureau for employment, or to the relief
department for aid.
Now the house is like some creature
slowly awakening from a sleep. 1t be-
gins to put out its hands, touching, it
is believed with humility as well as
hopefulness and trust the lives of those
about it,
By O'Clock the visiting nurse may
ne seen packing ner Dag from aer sup
ply chest with the little mercies of lint
and saIve and baby food The work
ers, whose province lies outside, who
see sick children, study racial needs
through manners, food and customs,
visit the police stations in search of the
astray girl or boy, or minister to some
special necessity, are beginning their
rounds.
BY ? in the afternoon the kindergar-
ten training class is filling the largest
room of the childrens building, the live
~ and wide awake session of the wO-
mans club is at it's climax, the gymna-
SUM is mildly noisy with it's afternoon
classes of girls, and from far up in the
upper story come sounds of the chill
dren's chorus. The applicants for en-
pIOyment make Way-With intervals for
ventilatiOn-tO the children's sewing
class which comes unanimously from
school.
Here and there in corners highly Sc
Guided, are the single pupils-all study
ing with assistance of some one in the |
house. The leisurely last moments of
the dinner hour are apt to be invaded
by the classes, and from now on there |
is a riot of young people. The studiOus |
and there are many-attend the ex-
tension classes, which cover almost the |
entire ground of the teaching branches,
ranging from clay modelling to psychOl- !
ogy, from grammar to Dante, from en- |
brOidery to tr1gOnOmetry. me younger |
and gayer crowd, the dancing and dra- |
matte clubs, the gymnasium, with its |
games and basket ball, claim a share of
all.
Each club, no matter how lightly So
cial, has it's own sober meeting once a |
month when it listens to some lecture |
or informal talk. The Penny PrOvident |
bank, which opens at night from to
s. is an importation from New York
Supplies of bank books and stamps !
come from the parent institution, and |
there the deposits are finally redeemed. |
Visitors TO the house find the bank,
with its eager tangible depositors, full
of vital interest; even more 50, howev- |
f7T1o # A17a
ciaI Science club.
To speak of the external activities of