Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 9.djvu/896

 862 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

sense of civic duty of responsibility for the good administration of the district ; and the third, a sense of responsibility for the standard of life among the neigh- bors. At present in most settlements several difficulties are met with in attempt- ing to realize this ideal. ( i ) Many of the residents do not come to " settle," but to spend a limited number of months, in the hope of doing a little and learning much. (2) Nearly every settlement is compelled through periodical statistical reports to justify its existence in the eyes of outside subscribers. (3) From these two facts of transient workers, and tabulated reports, there follows, as a necessary evil, the widespread tendency to employ machinery in order to produce effects.

In order to influence the civic ideals of the neighborhood, the settlement should have representatives on the local administrative boards of the district. In this way, as in no other, the settlement can come into effective touch with the poli- ticians and representative men of the district. Their confidence must be gained and a mutual understanding established. It is clear that the defects of what may be called the short-service system are fatal to success in this line of endeavor. Another serious defect of this system is that it tends to destroy the settlement proper, and to substitute for it a training college.

In furthering the other ideals of the settlement, a natural and, so far as may be, an equal relationship of mutual friendliness is necessary. This can best be brought about by common work co-operation of some kind, or association for a common end, as, for example, membership in a Friendly Society, or in clubs organized by the settlement, or in co-operative study classes. Here, too, permanent residence is essential, for no ordinary being can leave his mark on two or three hundred boys or men in a year or two years. Opportunities for natural visiting in the neighborhood should be used much more frequently than at present.

The essential point is not definite and organized undertakings or machinery, but what has been called " undifferentiated helpfulness." Everything depends on the extent to which we can enter into natural relations with the people of all kinds whom we find around us, so that progress and mutual understanding and sympathy may result. Very few definite branches of activity have been insisted on. We have cut out many things that are the pride of many settlements ; but I believe the ideal can be better realized without them. Why should a settlement run a common lodging-house, or a hospital, or a vacation school, or a mission, or an elaborate system of evening classes? They may be all excellent works, but they really do not concern us. Of course, our annual reports will suffer ; but reports often lead to a false attitude, an unhealthy selfconsciousness, and a ten- dency to rely more and more on mechanical action, because it produces more strik- ing results.

Although the number of so-called settlements has largely increased, we must not lose sight of the fact, disheartening as it may be, that many of them are training-colleges, not settlements at all, and that no real attempt has been made to realize the settlement ideal except by a few scattered individuals. So long as 90 per cent, of the residents turn their backs on the colony as soon as they have gained enough experience to begin to be valuable, no very extensive results may be hoped for. E. J. URWICK, in Charity Organization Review (London), Decem- ber, 1903. E. B. W.

Social Extension of Our Public Schools. Our large, expensive school buildings which have cost some millions of dollars are used only one-fourth of the time that other buildings are utilized. At the same time, they are the most attractive, if not the only elevating, places of resort in many districts of the city where clean, well-ventilated and well-heated rooms are difficult to find.

The Chicago Society for School Extension, in its Handbook for 1903 and 1904, has pointed out both the real meaning and method of school extension, and the difficulties which have confronted its adoption. Under the first head, the object of the society is declared to be the bringing about of " all such uses and extensions of school buildings and grounds as will tend to improve the civic life of the com- munity " as, for example, properly equipped playgrounds, gardens, baths, gym-