Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/78

* CLUB. 60 CLUB. of silver, and other weighty problems. The mod- ern ladies' clubs have, therefore, the authority of very ancient example. They would seem to have a reason for existence in the gregarious and social instincts of the sex; but it is ^iioliable that the popularity of these clubs has been afl'ected by the admission of ladies to certain of the privileges of the men's clubs — a privilege which renders spec- ial clubs for women less neoessarj'. There is still another class of clubs, such as the Liederkranz and the Arion in New York, the original purpose of which was musical. These clubs have one point of special interest ; they are German in their origin rather than English. If the English public-house, to which, of course, it ■was not the custom to admit women, is to be taken as the origin of the typical club of the present day, the German beer-garden may be viewed as the origin of such clubs as the Lieder- kranz and the Arion. The German went to the beer-garden in company with his wife and daugh- ter, or his sweetheart : and so, in the modern German clubs of New York, the men are usually accompanied by the women. It seems to be a recent tendency of clubs, par- ticularly in the United States, to facilitate, so far as is possible, the admission of ladies to club privileges. In many of the clubs it is possible for niemliers to bring ladies to dine — a thing un- heard of in England until twenty years ago, and at that time scarcely known in America. The Bachelors' Club in London, founded about twenty years ago, admitted ladies as visitors un- der certain conditions; and that club is one of the most successful in London. Other clubs have been founded which have the same characteris- tic; but the innovation has not proved so popu- lar in England as in the United States. The degree to which ladies are to be permitted to share the privileges of men's clubs is becom- ing an interesting subject. During certain hours the club must, in the nature of things, always remain sacred to men. They cannot have that comfort and xinrestraint wlien ladies are present which they can have by themselves. During the morning hours it is natural that the ladies should be excluded. And there are also many men to whom the presence of women in the clubs in the evening would not be agreeable. The divi- sion of men into those who prefer to spend their evenings in their domestic circle and those who prefer to pass them with other men seems to be inevitable and permanent. As we have seen, the modern club, originating in England, has spread all over the world. It is necessary, of course, that the club in each coun- try shall have to some extent the characteristics of that country. For instance, in a French club, a newcomer must ask to be introtluced to the members of the cUib, that being, in general, the French habit. His failure to do so would be lesented by the members. In England, on the contrary, a man newly admitted would never think of asking to be introduced personally to the members. Certain differences between Eng- lish and American society appear in the club life of the two countries. In general, it may be said that there is greater sociability in American than in English clubs. Indeed, the ideals of club life in the two countries are, or at any rate were, essentially dissimilar. Early in this cen- tury Englishmen found that it was possible for an individual to live at a club for £600 a year as well as he could live at home for f GOOO. In the club he could have everj'tliing that he could have at home except the privacy of his own house. If he could not quite have that, he wished to have something as near it as might be. Hence the original character of the English club was somewhat solitary and inisocial. Another differ- ence between English and American clubs was originally this: The men who founded the great Englisli clubs were either without occiipation or at most half employed. The club was, therefore, with them a place to live in and to spend a large l)art of the day. The American clubs, on the contrary, were originally founded by men fully employed, for purposes of social relaxation. Their early equipment, as a rule, was two or three rooms, where business men could meet outside of business hours and talk. From such a nucleus as this have gro«ii up in our cities the great houses with library, restaurant, billiard-rooms, baths, and other appliances of luxurious living. The present tendency, however, seems to be for English and American clubs to assimilate in character. In England the clubs have extended through all the classes of the community, so that in many of them membership consists fully as much of business men as it does here. In the United States, on the other hand, the number of unemployed or half employed men is very much on the increase, so that the men who use clubs as places to live in have greatly increased in number. It is said, by those who are in a posi- tion to know, that the sociability which has char- acterized American clubs has extended to these societies in England and is on the increase among them. Regarded from a legal point of view, a club may be incorporated or unincorporated; but it is essential to its character as a clul) that it shall not be instituted for trading purposes, and shall not carry on any occupation having gain for its object. Social clubs, as wo know them, are of English origin and have usually been unincor- porated, the earliest — such as White's, Brooks's, "The Beefsteak,' and other celebrated resorts in London — being of the proprietary kind, one per- son furnishing the club premises and all acces- sories, in consideration of an entrance fee and fixed annual subscriptions, the members being mere licensees and not co-proprietors. Tliis type of club still survives in England and has of late become quite common in convivial and sporting circles in New York. Chicago, San Francisco, and other large cities of the LTnited States. Gam- ing clubs are usually conducted on this principle. The more usual and famjliar type of club at the present time, however, is the 'members' club.' in which the persons constituting the asso- ciation are, by virtue of their membership, co- owners of the property of the club and equally entitled to share in its privileges. The legal relation between the members is that of mutual contracting parties, the terms of the agreement creating their mutual rights and obligations being contained in the articles of association and in the rules and regulations adopted thereunder. These articles and rules also fix the powers and determine the authority of the governing board and other officers and committees of the club, each meinber being bound to submit to such authority by his express or implied assent to the rules and regular proceedings of the club. Every new member becomes a party to the con-