Conservative *
SOCIAL SETTLEMENTS FKOM AN ECO
NOMIC STANDPOINT.
la 1897 I visited Hull house. My ob
Borvatiou then , together with the information
mation gained from the residents , am
perusal of all available literature concerning
corning the subject , would furnish i
somewhat extended treatise upon thii
typical social settlement. No Amoricai
settlement has been the subject of mon
articles aud reviews in the periodica
press than has Hull house. And yet r
visitor there sees no ostentation , but in
stead the greatest simplicity anc
modesty on every hand , and , unless ht
has prepared himself to see aud question -
tion intelligently , he will surely fall fai
short of comprehending the mission oJ
this now powerful institution.
Hull house is one of the landmarks oi
West Chicago , situated at the intersec
tion of Halsted and Polk streets , in what
is now the nineteenth ward. The house
was built by Charles J. Hull , in 1856 ,
for his family residence a substantial ,
roomy , two-story brick building. But
the day has long since passed when the
Hull family inhabited it , and trees and
lawns surrounded it. In the years fol
lowing it was used as a Washingtonian
home , as a homo for Little Sisters of the
Poor , and as a tenement house. Then
in 1889 the initial stop of the social
settlement was taken , the tiny seed was
sown from which the tree was to grow ,
when two young women , Miss Jane
Addaras and Ellen Starr quietly took up
their abode in three rooms of the Hull
house and began their personal neigh
borly service.
The district chosen for the beginning
of this great work was in the notorious
nineteenth ward with its population of
fifty thousand. The residents of Hull
house have put into graphic form a few
facts concerning the section of Chicago
east of the house. These maps , which
have been given to the public , are sim
ilar to Charles Booth's maps of London ,
showing in colors the nationalities and
wages of the inhabitants. The minute
ness of the survey presents a photo
graphic reproduction of Chicago's poor ,
est quarters on the west , and her worst
on the east of the river , as well as an
illustration of the method of research.
Agnes Holbrook , a resident , tells us that
the manner of investigation has been
painstaking , and the facts set forth as
trustworthy as personal inquiry and in
telligent effort could make them. Not
only was each house , tenement and
room visited and inspected , but in many
cases the reports obtained from one per
son were corroborated by many others
and statements from different workers
at the same trades and occupations , as
to ages and unemployed seasons , served
as mutual confirmation. In recording
the nationality of each person , his ago
and in case of children under ten years
of age , the nationality of his parents ,
and his attendance at school , were taken
into account. All under ton years ol
ago , who were not pupils in the public
school , and who wore not of Americar
extraction , wore classified with thoii
parent as foreigners. This third of D
square mile which is mapped out , in
cluded east of the river a criminal district -
trict which ranks as one of the mosl
openly and flagrantly vicious in the
civilized world , and west of the same
stream , the poorest and probably most
crowded soctiou of Chicago.
Mortality Among Children Largo.
Eighteen nations are represented in
this small district of Chicago. They
are more or less intermingled , but the
decided tendency to drift into little
colonies is apparent. It will not be
necessary to attempt here a description
of the crowded tenements , the uucared
for streets aud alloys , audtho unsanitaiy
condition in general. For that we need
but to read the report of Mrs. Kelley , a
Hull house resident , who conducted a
special investigation of the slums. But
in order that wo may bettor picture the
surroundings of the two women pioneers
at Hull house , I quote a paragraph from
the report of a resident :
"One hears little English spoken , and
the faces and manners met with are very
foreign. People are noticeably under
sized and unhealthy , as well to the aver
age observer as to the trained eye of the
physician. Especially do the many
workers in the tailoring trades look
dwarfed and ill-fed ; they walk with a
peculiar stupid gait , and their narrow
chests and cramped hands are uninis-
takeable evidence of their calling.
Tuberculosis prevails , and deformity is
not unusual. The mortality among
children is great and the many babies
look starved and wan. The bent figures
stitching at the basement windows pro
claim that the sweater is abroad in the
land. "
The interpretation of the motives
which actuated Jane Addams and Ellen
Starr in their founding Hull house set
tlement will lead to the consideration of
the principles underlying all social settle
ments. We have here the result of an
evolution in philanthropy. No doubt
there is a general misapprehension of
the motives of the founders and sustainers -
ers of the noble social settlement. In
deed it would be a surprise if the
attempt at realization of such lofty
ideals were more than vaguely compre
hended in the comparatively brief space
of time since social settlements were
begun. It is crudely supposed that a
woman , or a company of women , going
voluntarily into an ignorant , im
poverished aud alien community must
be actuated solely by motives of charity
and self-sacrifice , or by a pious longing
to give and be given for righteousness'
sake , taking credit and great satisfac
tion for their praiseworthy efforts to
save the lost and convict the sinning.
This was partly true of much philan
thropic work of the past. The lives of
noble , saintly men aud women have been
spent in alms giving , administering relief -
liof to the sick and needy , and spreading
the gospel. History teems with the
names of martyrs in the cause of charity
aud religion.
Nations have legislated to provide
money for the poor. Study the poor
laws of England , and what lesson do we
learn ? The moment it is understood by
the idle and shiftless in the community ,
such as we find in one of our modern
cities , that they can , on the ground of
desolation claim , a certain amount of
support , while still remaining at largo
and enjoying the pursuits of liberty ,
the door is opened to a perfect flood of
pauperism aud consequent vice. Not
only that , but a premium is at once put
upon laziness , and the wages of self-
respecting workers are dragged down
by the competition of these who are
eking out their earnings by receiving
public support.
Ely , in his chapter on expenditures
for the poor and unfortunate , says :
"If the dependent poor are treated
better by the state than the independent
poor are treated by society , thousands of
the latter will join the former. Dis
couraged by the fact that by their ut
most exertions they get less than they
could receive by no exertion at all , they
naturally choose the latter. Early in this
century , when the industrial revolution
had produced great suffering in Eng
land , a system of relief was adopted
which pauperized thousands and im
mensely aggravated the difficulty. An
allowance was given to each laborer iu
proportion to the size of his family. If
he earned enough to meet the legal re
quirements , ho received nothing. If he
earned less the balance was paid by the
community. If he was out of work ,
the community paid his wages , and so
forth. The law was long ago repealed ,
but the mischief it had wrought is by
no means eradicated yet. "
Itlotivo of the Founders.
The founders of the Hull house , who
were women of liberal training , had
studied deeply into the history of chari
ties and disavow any claim of being a
charity organization. Even the term
philanthropy is objected to , and , in fact ,
Hull house settlement and the univer
sity extension in East London are so uu-
like many efforts that have borne the
name philanthropy that one does not
wonder at their disowning it. To state
the matter in the simplest way , the
residents of Hull house are occupying
the position of helpful neighbors in an
unfavored community , and are ready
both to give and receive help. They
feel the bond of common kindred and
fellowship in the unity of a common
life. They do not assume to stand upon
any higher plane ; they come to bo
taught as much as to teach , humbly to
ask and receive as well as to offer and
bestow. They see that we are never on
the terms with a man on which we can
do him the highest good , until we are as