Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 3.djvu/576

 562 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

devote their leisure to practical philanthropic work. Subservient to a central interest, whether it be home, profession, or business, an educated and healthy woman may easily reserve a certain amount of time and strength for other activities. If wisely chosen and organized, these activities are of direct service in the development of society. These outside interests also broaden her own personal life, and make her stronger for home or pro- fessional work. The reception and the afternoon tea have their place, but they are not important enough to satisfy the educated woman. The develop- ment of society, through religion, education, philanthropy, municipal reform, and the like, is the end to which the educated woman works, and in this she is the colaborer of the educated man. Aside from religion, no other field has been so constantly alluring as that of charity.

When woman throws herself into the work with an abandon of devotion and enthusiasm, she confidently expects good results, but, in moments of retrospection, she admits to herself in perplexity and doubt that the good results are not at all equal to the effort ; nay, rather, that evil results not seldom follow. It is our purpose to determine how she may make herself efficient in this kind of activity, even though it is regarded as a work of love, not as a profession or a means of livelihood.

In all the concerns of modern life the accomplishment of desired results depends upon three conditions: (i) natural ability for a certain line of work, (2) general education, and (3) special training. The successful busi- ness woman, nurse, teacher, or musician, cheerfully fulfills these conditions. Let us inquire carefully whether the women who take up philanthropy as the pursuit of their leisure hours are fulfilling these three conditions. I suspect that they are looking for certain results, while disregarding the conditions upon which these results depend.

Natural fitness for philanthropic work can hardly be denied to women. "The spirit of friendliness" is universally conceded to be woman's gift. That there exists no natural intellectual inability is proved by the fact that many women who have given a lifelong study to philanthropic problems have made important contributions to the science.

The second condition of efficiency is general education. There are the women of mature age whose school life was over before a college education was possible. Many of them had the advantages of the better type of board- ing school of thirty years ago. Of this class those who come to the front have supplemented their meager school training by reading, travel, the society of cultured men and women, and the life experiences which furnish so excellent a mental discipline. Of the younger women there are those who have graduated from our city high schools, possibly from the normal school, and the women of college training. Here, then, are women with three clearly marked types of educational opportunity. It is undoubtedly true that there are exceptional minds of the first and second type, equal to the severe task of