Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 1.djvu/105

 Rh Then followed in natural order corresponding organization for the correlation of municipal activity as a whole.

IV. SOME PECULIAR ELEMENTS OF STRENGTH.

On February 3, 1894, the Secretary of State of Illinois issued the certificate of incorporation of the Civic Federation of Chicago. The remainder of this paper will attempt to point out certain features which distinguish the work of this organization from that of somewhat similar associations in other cities.

The first fact which deserves remark in discussion of this organization is that it was distinctly not the creature of speculative theory. It was the arrangement in working form of elements that had already existed in Chicago. It was a body of men and women representing in the most complete way the different essential interests of residents within the city limits. It was not an attempt to exploit a doctrine, but rather to insure the permanence and development of an already existing reality. This fact was forcibly expressed by Mr. Gage when he said in his address upon resigning the office of president:

This proposition is sustained by ample documentary evidence, an item of which is therefore in place. At the first meeting of the committee appointed to recommend a plan of organization, the following statements were submitted as the basis of precedure:

1. The amount of social intelligence in our population is greatly in excess of the amount organized and available for effective work.

2. The demands of civic safety, convenience, and comfort, are in many respects seriously neglected in Chicago, business standards of private individuals and corporations being the basis of judgment.

3. The deficiencies of organized and effective action are partly the