ment. This obstacle to progress, the mechanization and stupefaction of the mind by dull, routine, highly subdivided labor has been insisted upon by some of our own thinkers; and valuable books, such as Helen Marot's Creative Impulse in Industry have been written about it; but nowhere has the significance of the issue been more uncompromisingly stated and met than by this large-minded captain of industry. He maintains that until this principle of his is carried into effect, all true culture of the people remains impossible; so long must society be wanting in equilibrium and fail of a union which, however highly its social institutions may be developed, will free the people from forced labor and preserve culture.

The plea is enforced in a broad manner, and carries with it other proposals. One is along the line suggested by William James in his famous address on "The Moral Equivalent of War," namely that of a year of labor: service should be devoted by the whole youth of Germany, of both sexes, in bodily training and work. Clearly, if every employe engaged in mechanical work may claim to do a portion of

his day's work in intellectual employment, and every brainworker be obliged to devote a portion of his day to physical labor, then there must be some sort of preparatory step of this character. This method would diminish class institutions and would end the isolation of the brainworkers.

The gist of this man's message is that the way to social salvation in a democratized world is along the path of wider knowledge and more active thought for each and all. There must be time and opportunity for these, in both work and leisure. It is true that the mere conquest of time for leisure, a shorter working day and better conditions of labor and living, will not make automatically for a nobler spiritual culture; but if the ultimate purpose, the development of the soul so that it may participate properly in all the activities essential to civilization-personal, domestic, political, industrial, social-is kept to the fore as the master end, then there will be advance. The religious life is not something outside the common daily affairs of men; it is the spirit which informs and ennobles these.

New Officers Elected in New York The annual meeting of the New York Society received with regret the announcement by Professor E. R. A. Seligman of his intention to retire from the active presidency after a service of twenty-five years, and by unanimous vote elected him Honorary President. Appreciation of the valuable services rendered by Professor Seligman was voiced at the annual meeting, and subsequently at a dinner tendered by the Board of Trustees. Mr. Robert D. Kohn, for twenty-four years Secretary of the Society and one of its most able and devoted workers, was elected to the active Presidency. Mr. Kohn, as Chairman of the American Ethical Union, is well-known throughout the Movement. Mr. Robert C. Adams was elected Secretary, and Mr. Joseph Plaut continues to serve as Treasurer.

Problems of the Ethical Life

During November and December Dr. Adler delivered before the New York Society a series of lectures dealing with the following subjects: "Ethical Religion and the Idea of God"; "Consolation for Sufferers"; "The Sublime Inspiration in the Ideal of Service"; "Death and Immortality." The speaker on Christmas Day was Dr. John L. Elliott; and on January 1st the address will be given by Dr. Alfred E. Zimmern, late Fellow of New College, Oxford, who is now visiting this country. Dr. Adler is expected to deliver the Sunday ad

PERCIVAL CHUBB.

dresses throughout the balance of the month.

Woman Jurist to Speak

During February, the New York meetings will be held under the auspices of the groups within the Society; and on the 5th the women's organizations have secured as the lecturer, Judge Florence E. Allen, of Cleveland, one of the pioneer leaders who have demonstrated the capacity possessed by women for making their citizenship indispensable to the community. The first woman in the United States to be elected to a court of general county jurisdiction, Judge Allen is now presiding in the Court of Common Pleas. On a recent occasion she selected six women to serve on the grand jury, and when the man who was foreman became ill, appointed a woman in his place. The results achieved were so exceptional that one of the other judges declared this grand jury the best he had ever seen. Reforms in procedure designed to expedite the trial of cases and avoid such injustices as the holding in jail over long periods of prosecuting witnesses who are unable to give bond, have occupied much of Judge Allen's attention. Her recent addresses before the St. Louis Conference of the American Ethical Union and the Philadelphia Society attracted large audiences and produced a profound impression.

Industrial Research Work

Mr. Frank Tannenbaum is now engaged in industrial research work for the Business Men's Group of the New York Society. At bi-monthly meetings, in the Town House on Central Park West, four sessions are being devoted to each of the following topics: "Unemployment," "Industrial Representation" and "Adult Education." Members of the Society who are interested in the work of the group have been invited to join and to participate in what is proving to be a most profitable series of discussions.

New High School Principal

Mr. V. T. Thayer, of the University of Wisconsin, has been appointed to succeed Dr. Henry A. Kelly as Principal of the High School Department of the Ethical Culture School. Mr. Thayer is at present an instructor in philosophy. His previous professional experience includes teaching in a secondary school, a supervising principalship, and a superintendency. Mr. Thayer will assist Dr. Kelly during the second half of the present school year and assume the full responsibilities of his office next September.

Mothers Manage Lunch Room

The Ethical Culture School lunch room is being successfully managed by a committee of twenty mothers, members of the Parents and Teachers' Association, four of whom are on duty each day and perform a variety of duties in connection with the more than four hundred lunches served. The only paid helpers required are a dietitian, a cook and two assistants. A complete and properly balanced meal is served for thirty-five cents, and soup, cocoa or desserts are provided at less cost for those who desire to supplement lunches brought from home. The lunch committee has this winter also taken over the mid-morning distribution of milk and crackers in all of the classrooms up to the junior high school. Although the charges for the food served to the children are regarded as moderate, the lunch room last year showed an encouraging profit which was turned over to the scholarship fund of the school; and this year, by virtue of the additional work which the mothers are doing, it is anticipated that an even greater profit may be earned and added to this fund.

"The Science of Nations"

The Federation for Child Study and the Women's Conference of the New York Society have announced a joint lecture course, dealing with the above subject, to be given in the Meeting House, 2 West Sixty-Fourth Street, on five successive Wednesday afternoons at 3:45, beginning January 18th. The speaker on the first two occasions will be Dr.

John W. Cunliffe, Director of the School of Journalism, Columbia University, who will deal with "The Relation of English Characteristics to English Educational Methods." On February 1st and 8th, M. Julien J. Champenois, Director in the United States of the National Bureau of French Universities, under the French Ministry of Education, will discuss "French Characteristics and their Relation to French Educational Methods." On the 15th, Dr. Adler will conclude the course with a discussion of "The Characteristics of the American People and their Influence on Education in America."

Larger Auditorium Needed

So many persons have had to be turned away from the meetings of the Chicago Ethical Society in The Playhouse this season that the question of providing a larger auditorium has become an urgent one which is being seriously considered by the Board of Trustees. During Mr. Bridges' absence in Philadelphia, the platform was occupied on December 11th by Mr. Charles Zueblin and on the 18th by Mr. Harry Snell. The visiting speaker in January will be Dr. David Saville Muzzey, on the 29th.

The Society Sunday School held its Christmas celebration at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Bridges on December 23rd, the festivities inIcluding the singing of carols by the children, the telling of stories, and the presentation of a sum of money to Henry Booth House as the Christmas offering of the school.

The Dramatic Study Group, which is now meeting at Henry Booth House, discussed Galsworthy's Skin Game at its December gathering, and listened to a vivid account of post-war conditions in France, Holland and other countries, given by Mr. Holger de Roode, the president of the group.

St. Louis Holiday Celebration

The programme of the St. Louis Society provided for an abundance of Holiday festivities, including an exhibit of the toys which the members have made for great numbers of children, singing by bands of carollers in Vandeventer Place on Christmas Eve, a festival with its Christmas tree for the children of the Sunday Assembly, a young people's party, an entertainment for the children of the Neighborhood Association, a "quiet hour" on New Year's Eve, and a Twelfth Night Party to be given to the children of the Assembly and their parents by the Young People's Association. Members of the Society were urged to participate in all of these activities, and to make of the Holidays not "a selfish homekeeping celebration" but a time for giving of themselves in the festivities of a wider circle.

In his recently published report, presented at the annual meeting of the Society, Mr. Fred

J. Herzog, the Chairman, states that at the thirty-fifth anniversary celebration, a gift of approximately seven thousand dollars was made to the Society by a number of its members and that with this sum the executive committee has been able to put the Sheldon Memorial in first class condition, to wipe out a current deficit, and to meet other important obligations. In order that the Society may continue and enlarge its excellent work, Mr. Herzog appeals for an increase of at least one hundred new members during the present season. The new members who joined last year numbered fortynine, many of whom came without solicitation and evidently because they found in the Society a satisfying spiritual atmosphere. Forsaking the comfort and weakness that comes from being merely receptive and done "for," Mr. Herzog urges all members to participate in the activities and thus to acquire the strength that comes of actual doing. Through the work which they do, the members are to make the Sheldon Memorial "the natural center and the spiritual beacon for all of those who are forward-looking in the community."

Boston Ethical Society

Mr. Alfred W. Martin, who lectured before the Boston Society on the first three Sundays of December, dealing with Judaism, Christianity and Mohammedanism, was followed on Christmas Day by Mr. H. Snell, who took as his subject "Moral and Human Values in Industry." Dr. S. M. Waxman, Professor of Modern Langauges at Boston University and one of the Vice-Presidents of the Society, will occupy the platform on January 1st, and speak on "An Unknown Side of François Rabelais." On the 8th, Mr. Dhan Gopal Mukerji will discuss "The Present Religious Unrest and its Remedies from the Hindu Point of View." Dr. John L. Elliott will occupy the platform on January 15th.

Beginning in January, a series of monthly dinner meetings is expected to be held, for the discussion of the application of ethics to business and the professions. An informal dinner, held on December 14th and arranged by the Young People's Society in collaboration with some of the older members, was followed by a musical entertainment and dancing.

Brooklyn Lectures

The January programme for the Sunday morning meetings of the Brooklyn Society is as follows: 1st, Mr. Harry Snell: "What Is There Still to Believe?" 8th, Dr. Henry Neumann: "Must Social Progress Discard the OldFashioned Virtues?" 15th, Dr. Neumann: "How to Meet the Disillusions of Private and Public Life." The speaker on January 22nd

will be Dr. John Haynes Holmes, and on the 29th, Mr. Owen R. Lovejoy. The Society continues to grow, over forty new members having joined this fall.

Grand Rapids Society

The Grand Rapids Society has had a considerably increased attendance at its meetings this season. In addition to the Sunday lecture, which is given at four o'clock in the afternoon, classes are held-on Sunday mornings in ethics, Monday evenings, history, and Wednesday evenings, philosophy. The West Side Ladies' Literary Club recently voted the free use of its club house to the Society for its social gatherings and dramatic performances. Mr. O'Dell is speaking frequently this winter for the local branch of the Drama League, and for the parent-teacher associations of the city. A sale of work, held on December 16 and 17 by the Women's Auxiliary, added a substantial sum to the Society's funds.

Conference of Modern Religious Thinkers

Large numbers of students and workers in progressive religious movements, who ordinarily think and act in isolation, were brought together by the Second Conference of Modern Religious Thinkers, which was organized by Mr. H. Snell in connection with the English Ethical Societies last fall. The Caxton Hall, Westminster, was well filled at each of the four sessions, and the papers read and the quality of the discussions that followed them, were thought-provoking and stimulating. It is believed that these conferences have now passed beyond the experimental stage and there is a general demand that they be continued. Upon his return to London Mr. Snell will call together the joint committee, representing the various religious bodies interested, for the purpose of planning the next conference. Those interested in the summarized report of the papers presented at the last gathering and the discussions which followed, are referred to the December issue of The Humanist, the organ of the English Societies. Subscriptions to this thoroughly worthwhile paper may be entered through the American Ethical Union at the rate of seventy cents a year.

The Swiss Society

The Ligue Pour L'Action Morale has recently arranged with a friendly monthly review, Aujourd'hui, now published in Geneva, but soon to be transferred to Lausanne, to serve as its regular bulletin. Four pages in each issue are now devoted to the affairs of the Ligue, and in addition, Dr. Jean Wagner is an occasional contributor of special articles.

D. S. H.

The news notes of many past issues of the "Standard" contain references to the processes whereby the young people of our various societies have been endeavoring to unite for their work. The difficulties of such a union are obvious. The long intervals between conventions, the different needs and activities in the various cities serve to hamper any movement for federation. Nevertheless, the advantages of co-operation were evident. Desire to share one another's experiences and to gain from them, the wish to achieve a sense of the common purpose for which we are working were the primary motives.

After the preliminary discussion last spring in New York, the actual organization of a federation of young people's societies in the American Ethical Union was made in St. Louis last October. The intention of the federation is not too ambitious. To correspond with one another through secretaries elected for this purpose is the means whereby the purposes above mentioned, it is hoped, are to be achieved. And because the work of these groups is manifestly a matter of concern to all who are interested in the Ethical Movement, it has been proposed to submit an occasional resumé of the activities of the group to the readers of THE STANDARD.

The newest group to be formed, connected with the youngest of the American societies, is the group of young people in Boston. The majority of the members are college students attending universities near Boston-Harvard, Radcliffe, Wellesley and others. Many of these students have previously been connected with the New York Society or are graduates of the Ethical Culture School. The group aims to fulfill three purposes: to do outside social work as a group, to provide social gatherings for the members, and to continue their own ethical education. One means for accomplishing this last purpose has been to meet on Sunday evenings with the speaker who has occupied the Society's platform in the morning. Professor Zeublin and Mrs. Florence Kelly were the first speakers of the year who met with the younger group. The organization began with a membership of twentyfive and expected to increase rapidly.

The Young People's Association in Brooklyn has begun an ambitious plan for the year's work. It is noteworthy that after an existence of fifteen years the organization succeeded for the first time in carrying on its activities during the summer vacation period. In planning the winter's work it seemed advisable to organize small active groups, each with a distinct objective, to meet once or twice a month. Among these groups is one on applied ethics,

under the leadership of Mr. Charles H. Wenhold, the Social Director of the Brooklyn Society. The meetings of this group have been valuable and it has been "found that a discussion of this sort tends to bring out the personal views of the members, stimulates honest discussion, and imbues a sense of fairness, open-mindedness and tolerance of the views of others." The dramatic group meets twice monthly and prepares a series of short plays for the social evenings of the whole organization as well as a longer play for public performance. This group also attends the theatre and plans to study the drama of various nationalities. The lecture study group meets once a month for the discussion of the Sunday morning addresses. A book club also has monthly meetings for a general discussion of literature. On two evenings of each month the entire association comes together to transact business and enjoy a social gathering.

The Philadelphia Group, which has abandoned its picturesque but unrevealing name— Group 76 has also effected a reorganization and aims to enlarge its program so as to include musical, literary and dramatic groups, as well as to provide social opportunities.

From St. Louis comes word of the usual active and energetic undertakings which always characterize their "Y. P. A." The organization has had many "parties" and also hikes in the country. An aesthetic dancing class has been organized, and the dramatic reading club has continued its activities under Mr. Chubb's direction. An interesting activity, previously mentioned in these pages, is that of the "toy shop" work group.

The New York Junior Group has concentrated its attention on the questions arising out of the Washington disarmament conference and has devoted its early meetings to this matter. These included an informal supper meeting which was addressed by several speakers, and a course of lectures by the Chairman of the Foreign Policy Association. Other study groups are in prospect and will be organized after the New Year. The Sunday Evening Clubs are introducing an innovation, and will present the plays which, as usual, are to be given for the benefit of the Hudson Guild library, to a neighborhood audience at the Guild. The Young Women's Group have centered their practical activities about the Toynbee House Library, which they support and administer.

No word has been received from Chicago nor from the Cornell Ethics Club, but a report of their undertakings may be expected in a subsequent issue.

J. G.

VOLUME VIII, NUMBER 6

FEBRUARY, 1922

IT

MAY seem strange to begin the New Year by looking backward; but, in the truest sense of the word, to look at the Greeks is not to look backward, but forward and upward; and possibly we might do worse than write on the clean page of the New Year a few letters from the Greek alphabet. I think it was Sir Henry Maine who said many years ago that nothing moves in the world which is not Greek in its origin. That is an overstatement, because it was written in the middle of the nineteenth century, when men had not realized the immense contributions which other civilizations, India and China, for example, can give us, but it is an overstatement with a very large measure of truth, for we have in the Greeks the origin of most of that which is vital in European, and therefore also in American, civilization.

The Greeks were inventors in a far truer sense than men like Stephenson or Edison, because they invented, not in the material sphere, but in the spiritual and intellectual spheres. They invented most of those great-I hardly dare to call them traditions-elements in modern life which we call classical. Take such a thing as the drama, or classical architecture, or the ordinary poetic forms in which men have written literature ever since,-all of these originated among the Greeks. Furthermore, they also invented for us

An address delivered before the New York Society for Ethical Culture, Sunday, January 1, 1922.

in the inner world the method and classification of our intellectual life. Now I am not one of those who advocate but am, on the contrary, opposed to stereotyped thinking on traditional forms; I think we need constantly to revise our forms. Nevertheless, it is supremely important to have such an arrangement in our minds. And when you consider what the condition of human thought must have been before men had developed such conceptions as history, philosophy and what is known as natural science, when such ideas were undistinguished from the general indiscriminate mass of what was really a sort of reverie, brooding, a vague search-I think you will agree that the Greek effort at classification was of enormous value to the human race. It has been the origin of the specialism which it seems to me has in the nineteenth century been carried much too far, but is nevertheless an absolutely necessary step in our evolution. Another rather interesting development was referred to by a Greek scholar who said to me a few days ago that perhaps the greatest invention of the Greeks was the vowel. It is quite true that there were earlier alphabets, but theirs was the first which did not consist entirely of consonants.

But more important than the work of the Greeks in the classifying and ordering of the mind is the contribution they make in bringing us back to the great unity of civilization. The merit of