The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-02-03
LECTURE At
| PUNAHOU
Mrs. Mary Smith
Of Stanford
Talks.
Sociology From an
Authoritative
Source.
First of Three Valuable Addresses
Under Auspices of the
Problem Club.

A large and representative gathering
| of the thinking people of Honolulu was
present in Pauahi Hall at Punahou
| College last evening to listen to an in
teresting and valuable address by Mrs
Mary Roberts Smith, of Stanford Uni
versity, on The Subjective Causes of
Poverty in Cities The unusually
large audience attested.to the merit of
the subject and the lecturers growing
| popularity in educational circles of Ho-
| nolulu.
| The lecture was given under the aus
pieces of the Young Mems Research
three to be given by Mrs. Smith under
the same auspices.
One of the most pertinent statements
mads by the talented educator was
that no charity can ever be of any per-
| manent value which does not stop the
| causes of poverty. To prevent sickness.
which was one of the primal causes,
fresh air and good water must, among
OtliCA things, NC SeAppIACo. IL sup III
temperance, another deep rooted cause,
the charity worker must ascertain why
people drink and supply something else
if possible.
In opening her subject Mrs. Smith
said one question which is Often put
to her is, what is sociology? Her an
swer to that broad and very general
question is that sociology is a very
modern English-American outgrowth
of the subject of economics. Economies
is confined largely to the study of
world production and distribution of
commodities and goods. That is what
is generally taught in the universities
under the title of economics. Sociology
has only recently come to be respecta- |
BILE subject. Sociology, roughly speaking, |
is the study of man in association the |
reaction of the individual actions of |
men upon one another when they form |
society. If Robinson Crusoe We're on |
his island all alone, it would be inn |
possible to develop sociology, but SO |
soon as you have him acted upon by
Friday then we have what is called
sociology.
Sociology is divided into two great
fields of study. One of them is theo-
retical, embracing the principles of
sociology, and the other is applied
sociology, or philanthropology
Theoretical sociology investigates the
remote and fundamental causes of
mans action i'm association, while APP
piled sociology deals with immediate
causes and attempts to find remedies
for pathological conditions. These con-
ditions are not ideal. Applied sociology
goes further than to investigate the
causes. 1t suggests remedies. This the
speaker more clearly pointed out by
suggesting chemistry, wherein certain
results are obtained from certain COM
binations, or causes. Applied chemis-
try is directed, for instance, to the dye
ing of materials, the making of salt
md soda, etc. That is practical c1emis-
try.
The basis of all charitable work is
to make diagnosis of the causes and
then to proceed to find a palliative.
Charity in earlier times was almost ,
wholly ameliorative. This is typif1ed
IN the middle ages when the practice I
IF medicine was ameliorative, done en- ,
.irely by the monks and nuns. In the
history of the time nothing is found
giving reasons why one man should be !
'fch and the other poor. There was alb ,
'olutely no study of these matters. In {
he 18th century the world began the
ask. ;
Charity of the ameliorative sort was ,
considered right. In the eighteenth CEN j
.ury there was a tremendous human
sffervescence, with political upheavals. | ,
n short, it was the effort of the COM ]
non man to make himself heard on the
me hand, and the question, on the
timer hand, of ascertaining how far his i
lights extended. There was an extra I
rolnary impetus given to humanitarian g
Effort by the breaking down of politi-. I
al. social and religious barriers. l
Inc first attempts to ascertain the i
auses of poverty were made by NAL a
nus. In America. Henry George, the a
single Tax theorist, continued the in
estigations. The first discussion of the {
auses was purely philosophic. Since h
he middle of the nineteenth century T
here has been an enormous increase b
n the number of scientific and prac-
zeal workers among the poor. whose
lrst-hand knowledge affords a more
ccurate basis for conclusions The
World has never before seen such an l.
Ding on in England and America The n
-rowth of Christianity, the speaker Il
ontended, has produced an extraordi- a
AIRY development of humanitarian. V
t is MOI true that the poor were I'M S
Forthy. any more than that the rich
ere worthy. Men have given to chart e
Y all out of proportion to their sub t
lance, and this to the poor had been a c
indrance rather than a help, and has Y
reduced pauperism. I
As an instance of this she cited the s