Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-09-09
FRANCES r. BARTHOLOMEW
On Settlement Work

THE abandonment of the Eighth Ward
i Settlement after period of activity of
twenty three years may ultimately result in
the establishment of settlement work else
ton which is worth the pound Of cure in
preventing various "Hell's Half Acres"
now in the process of formation in other
parts Of the city, If the plans of Miss Frances
r. Bartholomew head of the Eighth Ward
Settlement since its Inauguration, are car
ried out.
my idea Of real settlement work." said
Miss Bartholomew in discussing what had
been accomplished in the Eighth Ward, lis
to prevent the formation of such conditions
as found here when / came into this work
nearly quarter of n century ago. Then, the
neighborhood being a frankly criminal one,
the effort had to be a tremendous one TO
get any response whatever. No one but
experienced workers can know what this
work really means.
"Thc work Of the Eighth Ward Settle
ment, as the name indicates, was confined
to that ward but it was not happy choice
for a name and 1t led to misunderstandings'
some humorous and others not at all so.
On one occasion / found the house nearly
swamped with Il regular cargo of beer and
whisky which had been sent here and when
the driver insisted had been consigned to
the Eighth Ward Club and this must be
the right place. OF course 1t was. meant
for the ward political club, and finally they
got it where it belonged. But there We're
other incidents in which the name of the
settlement figured which were not so hu-
morous.
The "Nillage OF Vice.
eve worked definitely in 'Hel's Half
Acre as 1t came generally to be known.
This territory extended from Eighth to
Twelfth street and from Walnut to Spruce.
1t was also known as the Village of Vice..
and It had its own customs and laws and
the city skirted around It.
"It presented n curious manifestation of
city conditions of twenty three years ago
Being politically protected made 1t almost
impossible to do much effective work, and
it was an almost constant fight not only
against the criminals, but against the poll
ticians who protected them.
1T is true that the population was over
whelmingly Negro, but the real reason for
the crime was human dcprGvity, protected
by political agencies.
"Nor must it be supposed that all the
residents of this district were criminals.
There were many good families and indiYid-
uals who lived in this particular district, and
these were let alone and were respected by
all. That they were unfortunate in their
living environment apparently made no diff
ference to these strong characters.
Origin of the Small House
"Thc small house for which Philadelphia
| Is noted all over the country also had its
| inception in this district. Most of the
houses mere are very Olu anu tney were Dullt
| by the Weather class of people for their
| helpers and servants In the day when Eighth
and Chestnut streets was the western from
| tier Of the city. AS these people moved
away to other neghborhoods as the city
| spread the houses formerly occupied by their
servants fell to constantly increasing less
desirable class. until finally it became the
Village of Vice
| Another curious manifestation of the
work Of the settlement was the fact that
| the neighborhood itself never became better
| because Of the higher ideas which the settle
ment put into the heads Of those who were
capable of being reached and who were will
| ing to assimilate and act upon such ideas.
| AS the desire to improve themselves rose
within them they did not remain here to
| put those Ideas into practice. Instead, they
moved to other parts of the city, and their
| places were taken by those who preferred to
live amid such surroundings, thus leaving
the settlement only the drcgs with which to
work all the time.
THE result Of this was that the best work
representing the endcavors of the settlement
is now and has been for years in other parts
OF the city, while many others through our
work went to school, some even to college,
and many of these sought their life work
outside Of the city altogether.
Criminology and Sentimentality
Contrary to the general belief of the
public, 1t Is rarely If ever that the criminal
wants chance 1t is ridiculous to sun.
pose for moment that an overnight PRAYER
meeting will transform n criminal into n
good man.
"As a rule the criminal is made of moor
stuff, and the real truth about crime and
criminals are never the things that people
think. Crime II far more often the res,lt
Of weakness Of character than anything else
ilAs matter Of fact, II takes almost as much