PHASES OF PRACTICAL PHILANTHROPY. 539 



direction and the prospect more or less hopeful, but that the schools 

 and other opportunities mentioned do not now reach all who need 

 instruction is demonstrated bj the success of the various clubs, 

 classes, and lectures which form so important a part of the humani- 

 tarian associations of to-day. Every^vhere are found men and 

 women of middle age who can not read or write, who were denied 

 even a common-school education in youth; to reach such as these 

 and make them not ashamed to accept and make use of the privi- 

 leges for which they have secretly longed is practical pliilanthropy. 

 Among the foreign-born population many children are early forced 

 to help earn the necessities of life, and are taken from school as 

 soon as the law will allow. 



The college settlements have already accomplished much for 

 this class, but their work has been confined to thickly settled dis- 

 tricts in large communities. The story of The Abandoned Farm 

 in JSTew England is familiar, and bears its own pertinent lesson. Be- 

 cause of the opportunities for education, entertainment, and varied 

 employment which the large city offers, the young people desert the 

 farm, home ties are broken, and many lives ruined. Of the low 

 ideals which prevail in many country districts there are striking 

 illustrations. 



A bright woman sojourning for a winter in a small town found 

 that there were two hotels or taverns where liquor was sold, two 

 churches where only occasional services were held, a single school- 

 house kept open during the winter months, no hall except the ball- 

 rooms of the hotels (used only for dancing), no library, and no en- 

 tertainments of a literary order. This woman organized a club or 

 debating society, and after a few months of careful guidance she 

 allowed the members to select their own topic for the last meeting 

 of the season; to her great surprise, a debate was announced on 

 the subject, " Whether it is better for a young man upon coming 

 of age to have, one thousand dollars or a good education." The 

 majority decided that it would be better to have the money, because 

 he could then speculate and gain a fortune ! 



"What better missionary work could be done in behalf of edu- 

 cation than to establish a " thought center " in every farming re- 

 gion or small towTi? The system of traveling libraries, a recent 

 and encouraging movement, makes it possible (in some States) to 

 place the best books and current literature in the homes of the 

 farmers and of the inhabitants of the smallest towns. The books 

 can be obtained, made use of, and exchanged for others, so that the 

 interest may be perpetuated; -the conditions are not difficult, and 

 the fact that a room or rooms must be provided for the safe keeping 

 and the circulation of the library is important. A traveling library 



