OUTLINES
MUSIC HALL LECTURES,
EMBRACING FIVE ADDRESSES ON
FACTORY REFORM
IN
THE LARGEST TRADE OF THE UNITED STATES.
DELIVERED AT MUSIC HALL, LYNN, MASS., 1871.
BY
JO0SEPIL COOK.
The Nineteenth is the Century of the working men. - GLADSTONE.
L'aristocratie man    ire de nos jours, apres avoir appauvri et abruti
les hommes dont elle         les livre en temps de crise a la chlarit  publique,
pour les nourir. - DE TOaiLLE.
ET's''aKdOapra Aot/Abs &OIKIcETaL.- MENANDEII.
B O ST ON.
W. IT. IALLIDAY AND COMPANY,
1871.
OF 
I.I
i1
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by
JOSEPH COOK,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington
55;
I 
MAY 26 1944
THiE MUSIC HALL MEETINGS.
MR. COOK, we learn, is to be at Cambridge and Andover for a
few weeks, before leaving for Europe. The following letter to
him, which has been numerously signed, explains itself. On account
of the appearance of the request contained therein, Mr. Cook has
withheld from local publication the usual and promised report of
his remarks, in order that they may appear for the first time in
pamphlet form:
LYNN, May 11, 1871.
REV. JOSEPH COOK: -Dear Sir: Now that the Sabbath evening
meetings held by the First Congregational Church in Music Hall,
and attended by extraordinarily large audiences, are ended; and
because of the importance of the questions there discussed, and the
relations they bear  to the future growth, interests, and general
welfare of Lynn; and also desiring to have preserved in a convenient
and permanent form the various phases of excitement and discussion,
during the winter, upon matters of great importance to the general
welfare; and as a fitting and profitable close to your labors for the
public good in this city; the undersigned most respectfully request
that, if convenient, you will publish in pamphlet form the outlines
of all your Sunday Evening Lectures in Music Hall, through the
months of January, February, March, and April, and also all of the
cards, letters, and other papers pertaining to the discussion of these
subjects, which have from time to time appeared in the city papers.
Hoping, dear sir, that you will, if possible, comply with the terms
of this request, and thus crown your efforts for good in this city,
and with best wishes for your continued health and prosperity, we
remain,
Very Respectfully, Yours, etc.
TI'e Tfiaiscri,))t, May  13.
iii 
iv
Except the first and last of the five Addresses on Factory Reform
in the Largest Trade of the United States, this publication is a
republication. The reader will find evidence in the pamphlet that
the local hurricane caused by the delivery of these addresses was
overwhelmingly in favor of Factory Reform. The local public sentiment here exhibited in one of the most important manufacturing
centres of New England is a great credit to the city. It is, also,
an important argument in relation to a question of high public
interest; and it is as such that, in a pamphlet intended chiefly
for local circulation, the record of it has been preserved. In compliance with the foregoing request, the compilation has been made
complete, and is in no sense partisan. Except a few slight and
empty newspaper paragraphs, the omission of which no one could
think of any importance, nothing whatever that could illustrate
public sentiment has been omitted. The excellent reports of the
Transcript are omitted, except in two or three instances, as they
contain only matter parallel with those of the Reporter, to which
the courtesy of a reprint is here extended. A correct statement
as to the authorship of these reports will be found on p. 128. In
the first and fifth Addresses on Factory Reform, originally delivered
extemporaneously, a few statistical and historical illustrations have
been added; but these occur at points not criticised, the points
criticised remaining in substance, and, so far as the words could
possibly be recalled, in language, unaltered.
ANDOVER, MASS. 
CO N T E N T S.
Request for Publication,
Statement in Reply to Request,
LECTURE I.
Similarity of Feeling with God, a Condition of Salvation,
LECTURE II.
The Moral Perils of the Present Factory System of Lynn,.
First Address on Factory Reform in the Largest Trade of
the United States,.......
LECTURE III.
False and True Faith and Repentance,....
Second Address on Factory Reform,...
Remarks by Mr. S. M. Bubier at Music Hall,...
Card from the First Congregational Church and Society,.
Card from Eight Female and Six Male Employees, from
Mr. Henry Downing, and from Messrs. Frazier and
Bubier,........
Other Reports by the Local Press,..
Card from Mr. S. M. Bubier,.....
.iii
. iv
1
3
4
37
37
43
44
44
45
49 
vi
LECTURE IV.
Christ's Gift of the Fulness of Joy; or, the First Principles of
a Scientific Christianity,......
Third Address on Factory Reform,...
Article by the Rev. Patrick Strain,...
Card from Messrs. Berry and Beede,...
Reply by "A Hearer,"....
LECTURE V.
Treason toward God; or, Christ's Human Nature the Ideal of
Excellence for Young Men,.....
LECTURE VI.
Secret Sins as an Obstacle to Conversion,...
Remarks against Applause at Music Hall,.
Address by Mr. George W. Keene,...
Remarks in Reply to Mr. Keene by Messrs. Moore, Ban
croft, Roberts, Butler, and Carruthers,..
Article on "The License of the Pulpit,"..
Reply by "Justice,".....
LECTURE VII.
Poor Clothes, Rear Pews, and Hard Work as Excuses for not
attending Church; or, the Value to the People of Sunday
Kept Holy,........
Music Hall Crowd,.....
LECTURE VIII.
The Necessity of the Atonement, an Inference from the Nature
of Conscience and from the Unchangeableness of the Past,. 84
Fourth Address on Factory Reformr,... 84
50
50
59
61
61
63
. 64
. 64
. 65
73
76
78
80
83 
vii
LECTURE IX.
Christ in the Family and in all the Relations of the Social to
Religious Life; or, Cheap Homes and Boarding-Houses in
Lynn,.......    97
LECTURE X.
Steps toward the New Birth; or, Recent Science on the Signs
of the Vices, and on the best Methods of Escape from Bad
Habits,......   103
Petition with Signatures of Two Hundred Working Men, 108
Answer to the Request,... 109
LECTURE XI.
Swindling Public Amusements and the Street School; or,
Christianity and Science at one as to the Temptations of
Cities,.........
Remarks on the Need of a City Missionary in Lynn,.
LECTURE XII.
Club-Rooms in Lynn,  ambling-Rooms, and Dwelling-house
Sabbath Drinking   ies; or, the Duty of making Chris  tian Public Sentiment in Cities a Police behind the Police,
Second Remarks on the Need of a City Missionary in
Lynn,.........
Resolutions of the Committee having Charge of the
Music Hall Services,....
LECTURE  XIII.
Christ our Prophet, Priest, and King; or, Christ not a Sav iour if worshipped in only a Fragment of His Character,.  126
Expenses of the Music Hall Meetings,...   126
110
110
120
116
118 
viii
Ocean Sunrise from High Rock,....
Subjects and Dates of Music Hall Lectures,...
Authorship of Reports of the Meetings,.. 
Fifth Address on Factory Reform,...
The Thirteenth of the Music Hall Services,...
Testimonial from Members of the First Congregational
Church and Society,.....
Card from Mr. S. M. Bubier,....
A Question of Privilege,....
Reply by the Editor of the Reporter,...
Hearing with the Elbows,.....
Letter of Sept. 7, 1871, from Working Men,..
Extracts on Children in Factories and the Factory Sys  tem at Lynn, from the Second Report of the Massa  chusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor,...
127
127
128
128
141
143
143
144
146
147
147
147
I 
LECTURE I.
SUNDAY EVENING SERVICES AT MUSIC HALL.
The speaker proceeded to show
th a t  religion is regarded  too  much
as something pertaining only to Sabbath-(lay worship, when on the contrary it should be carried into every
day life, the business and avocations
of every person. The importance
of a pure life in accordance with
the injunctions of the gospel was
shown up in vivid language, and the
hearers urged to live in such a manner that they could pass unharmed
the breathing holes of perdition which
were to be seen on all sides as we
walk through the streets of the city.
Man in his fallen state is not fit
for the kingdom  of heaven; and,
even could he gain admittance there
all vile as he is in a sinf'tll condition, he
could not enjoy the pure pleasures of
that holy place. This was illustrated
by picturing a beautiful woman,
pure, holy, and perfect ill every way,
an(d then taking a man all polluted
with crime and vice, and placing
him in the presence of her whose
character was spotless, whose every
word and act was free from reproach. As such a man would be
miserable in so pure a presence. so
would the person be in the realns of
the blest, unless he had experienced
the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
The young men were urged to
shun club-rooms  as  the swimmer
would steer clear of the shark; and
young ladies were cautioned to avoid
THE religious services which took
place in Music Hall last Sunday
evening, under the auspices of the
First Congregational Society of this
city and in accordance with the announcement in our last issue, were
in every sense a perfect success. The
meetings were inaugurated as an experiment; and, from the encouragement shown on the above occasion, it
is to be presumed that the series will
be continued.
Notwithstanding the very inauspicious state of the weather, the hall
was filled at an early hour; many
being at the door some time previous
to the opening of the hall, waiting
for an entrance.  The services were
commenced with voluntary singing
by a chorus of voices from the Lynn
Choral Union and other vocalists of
the city, numbering aboutixty.  It
was expected that one hundred and
fifty singers would have been present;
but the weather prevented  many
from cdming who would otherwise
have appeared.  After the reading
of selections  from  the  Scripture,
prayer, and the singing of" Coronation," and  another hymn  by the
choir, the  preacher,  Rev.  Joseph
Cook, announced as  his text the
words found in John iii. 5: "Jesus
answered, Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, except a man be born of water
and of the Spirit, he cannot enter
into the kingdom of God."
1 
2
with the same care, the company of
those who frequent such places. Our
evil deeds were pictures which could
not be turned face to the wall, and
nothing could blot out past transgressions.   The  subject was  continued with great earnestness and
elicited the profound attention of his
hearers.
After announcing another meeting in the same place next Sabbath
evening, when he would preach upon
the subject of "The Moral Perils of
the Factory System of Lynn," and
remarking that lie would like to have
all present, manufacturers as well as
employees, Mr. Cook requested the
congregation to join in singing the
closing  hymn, " Rock of  Ages," which
was done, and the audience were dismissed with the benediction. A collection was taken up during the
services to assist in defraying the
expense attending the hiring of the
hall. The singing was exceedingly
well executed, and added vastly to
the interest of the exercises.
We are of opinion that these meetings will be prolific of much good,
as many will be brought into the
range of religious influences who
would otherwise never be present at
such assemblies. There will be no
postponement of the next service on
account of weather. - Semi- W~eekly
Reporter, Jan. 18. 
LECTURE II.
SUNDI)AY EVENING SERVICES AT MUSIC HALL.
and  female  operatives  being em ployed in one room, whereas, in the
speaker's judgment, a separation of
the sexes was demanded.  He would
not be u nderstood as saying    that
Lynn was  the seat of all the evil in
the  State.   Old Lynn   wa   s just the
same as  ever in  its   moral standing.
But the t ransition stat e of the   sho e
busin ess fro m the  old to the prese nt
factory  system, hacd called in a floati ng  popul  ation,  wh ich had   changed
the general characte r o f the pla ce.
The present  method of  doing business
necessitated the employment of large
numbers in one building, men and
women being oftentimes found at
work in the same room, which he regarded as detrimental to their moral
welfare. The main point urged was
a separation of the sexes, or else the
most stringent regulations in regard
to the characters of those employed.
He also alluded to the moral standing of those who had the superintendence of the workshops, insisting
upon the importance of having men
of irreproachable character to oversee each department. The subject
was handled in an open, bold, vigorous manner; and,although many  dit'
fered from the speaker in his views
on the subject, several points  made
by him were received with  marked
tokens of appreciation, which culminated  in  open  applause.   The
audience paid strict attention to the
2,.
THE second meeting for religious
services, at Music Hall, in this city,
under the auspices of the First Congregational Church, took place last
Sunday evening, and was very fully
attended, every seat in the hall being
filled, while some two or three hundred remained standing, a large number going away without obtaining
entrance.
A chorus of about one hundred
voices from the Lynn Choral Union,
and others of the musical portion of
the community, furnished the vocal
melody in a most acceptable manner.
After the usual opening exercises,
including  prayer, reading  of th       w
Scriptures, and singing, the speaker,
Rev. Joseph Cook, proceeded to consider  the  subject  previously  announced:" The Moral Perils of the
Present Factory System of Lynn,"
basing his remarks upon words found
in Matthew vi. 13 and James iii. 6.
He commenced by saying that he
should doubtless be severely criticised
in what he said; but the subject was
one which he had regarded seriously
and with much thought, and he should
treat it independently, not with a
desire to find fault, but with a view
of calling the attention of the thinking portion of the community to
what he considered an evil. By this,
he meant the practice which was
adopted at the present (Jay, of mnale 
4
discourse, of which we refrain from   who are interested in the subject.
giving an extended report, as it is It will be ready in the course of a
the design to have it put up in cheap  few days.- Semi-Weekly Reporter,
pamphlet form for the use of those Jan. 25.
EXTRAORDINARY RECENT GROWTH OF LYNN.
THIS city has been greatly prospered in thie last twenty years.
In 1850 your population was thirteen thousand.  Now it is
twenty-nine thousand. In 1850 the valuation of your property
was four million dollars. Now it is twenty million dollars.
For the sixty years from 1795 to 1855, the increase of the
value of the productions of your great branch of industry was,
every ten years, one hundred per cent.  For the ten years from
1855 to 1865, the increase of that value was three hundred
per cent.1  When the soldiers marched, Lynn clothed their
feet; and the steel-clad hoof of war, smiting on tile Lyinn
lap-stone, struck forth here abundant sparks of prosperity.
I blame no man for being proud of the recent secular
advances of Lynn.  The time has been when there was. altogether too little local pride here.  One of the speakers at the
dedication of your city hall, an ex-mayor, said that the local
remark used to be that all Lynn was mortgaged to a neiglhboring city.  Tlhat da  has passed.  There is a New Lynn.
It is visible elotughl in the midst of Old Lynn.  The city hall
costing three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, new schoolbuildings, new churches, new business blocks, new factories,
fifty-five railway trains a day, have made a New Lynn. And
Old Lynn, with its poorer architecture, lies in the arms of
New Lynn, as the old moon, which I saw in the west as I
came to thiis meeting, lies in the arnis of the crescent new
moon: a crescent, indeed, as yet, but sure to become  a
sphere.
I am  not unmindfull of the attractions which culture and
refiilbment have thrown about your summer resorts.  Nalhant
is thie beautiful white arm which Lynn thrusts out into the
sea; and it is inspiriting to me to remember that among the
rings on the hand of that arm are the summer cottages of
1 Census of Massachusetts, 1865. 
5
Longfellow and Prescott and Agassiz. There is a cherry-tree
on grounds near the side of one of your streets, from which I
have plucked a twig with reverence, because around that tree
Prescott wore a path by pacing to and fro.  There is that
which will make the gleam of Massachusetts Bay go with me
into whatever land I wander. There is that which will make
the roar of the ocean on Long Beach come back to me, it may
be even in the ear of death.
I care for Lynn. I recognize its prosperity and its general
good order. But, in spite of this, for what I say to-night
I expect to be cut into more pieces than you ever cut leather
into in your factories.
THE RIGHT ORGANIZATION OF THE LARGEST TRADE OF THE UNITED
STATES, OF HARDLY LESS THAN NATIONAL IMPORTANCE.
Wholly aside, howeyer, from the local importance of the
extraordinarily delicate and complicated theme which I am
to bring before you, there are other and far larger consideratiOlns whichl make its discussion, and its discussion at the
present time, of high moment.
Five reasons exist why the right organization of the new
factory system of the vast trade of this city, is of altogetller
more than local, and of hardly less than national importance.
The circumstances need only to be named  to exhibit their
own commanding significance.  My personal motives for eiltering upon the discussion of this evening will undoubtedly
be variously  construed.   I profess that I have  no  other
motives than those which are drawn from the five circumstances I am about to name.  I am sure that I need no other
and no greater.
1. There are more people engaged in the shoe trade than
in any other single branch of manufactures in the Uliited
States, not excepting the coal, the iron, the woollen, or the
cotton.
The unpoetic shoe trade happens to be the largest single
branch of manufactures in the United'States.  " The mainufacture of boots and shoes," says the preliminary report of 
6
the Eighth Census, " employs a larger number of operatives
than any other single branch of American industry." 1  It is
difficult to understand the importance of this fact except by a
few statistical contrasts. Take the coal, the iron, the woollen,
and the cotton trade. Every one recognizes these as vast and
permanent public interests. They fill the land with the noise
of hammers and spindles. Whatever affects powerfully the inter ests of either of these vast branches of iindustry is a matter of'
little less than national importance.  The right organization
of the industrial life of either of these trades would be a problem of commanding weight and interest. But the shoe trade
employs a greater number of operatives than either of these
other vast trades, taken alone.  I find that in 1860 the entire
list of woollen manufactures in the United States employed
only 48,900 operatives. Of these, 28,780 were males and 20,120 females. The number of operatives employed in the cotton
manufactures of the United States inll 1860, I find, was only
118,920. Of these, 45,315 were males and 73,605 females.
But, by the same census which gives these estimates, the number
of hands employed in the United States in the manufacture
of boots and shoes in 1860 was 127,427. Of these, 96,287
were males and 31,140 females. Even before the immense
increase which the war b'rought to the shoe trade, the contrast
of that branch of manufactures with the cotton, gives predominance to the former, by the difference between 118,920 operatives on the one hand and 127,427 on the other.2
In Massachusetts, taken alone, the shoe trade is vastly
larger than any other; and this in spite of the fact that Lawremce and Lowell lead the cotton manufactures of the whole
nation.  This commonwealth in 1860 employed in the manufacture of cotton goods, 34,988 operatives.  Of these, 12,635
were males and 22,353 were females.  In the manufacture
of boots and shoes it employed, in the same year, 69,398
operatives.  Of these, 47,353 were males and 22,045 females.3
1 Preliminary Report on the Eighth Census of the United States, p. 68.
2 Ibid., Tables No. 22, No. 23, and No. 25, pp. 65-69, 180-185.
3 Ibid., pp. 180, 185. 
7
This largest trade of the United States is rapidly increasing
in size. In the journey of growth it moved its tents with vast
strides, not only during the war, but before.  It is an exceedingly significant fact that, in 1860, 2,554 establishments engaged in this manufacture in the New England States employed
a capital only $2,516 less than the whole Union employed in
the manufacture in 1850.1 Thle entire value of the business of
these establishments in 1860 was 82.8 per cent in excess of its
value in 1850.  New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and
New Jersey together produced in 1860, 67.9 per cent more in
value than in 1850.  In this manufacture Massachusetts illcreased the value of its products, between 1850 and 1860, at
the astonishing rate of 92.6 per cenllt.2 I give these facts to
exhibit the prosperity of the trade immediately before the war.
But it is notorious that during the war, under the double impulse of the demands of the armies and the invention of new
machinery for the nmanufacture, its rate of progress was yet
more surprising.  It has not shown any want of prosperity
since the war.  When the products of this trade in 1865 are
put into contrast with those of 1870, the figures ini Philadelphia are 605,329 compared with 2,111,024; and, in this city,
2,373,203 compared with). 6,356,166.'
Here, therefore, is a vast public interest; and whoever
examines it is not discussing a trivial theme. It is exceedingly important, however, to notice not only that the theme is
important, but that its discussion at the present, rather than
at a later, period, has an importance second only to that of
the theme itself.
THE PRESENT A PERIOD OF TRANSITION TO A WHOLLY NEW
FACTORY SYSTEM.
2. On account of the recent invention of new machinery for
its processes, this whole vast branch of manufactures throughout the United States is now in a condition of transition from
the small shop system to the large factory system; it is adopting industrial arrangements which are likely to be a precedent
1 Eighth Census, PreliminaryReport, p. 68.    2 Ibid., p. 68.  Also Table 25. 
8
for an extended and most important future; and the present,
therefore, is the time to strike for the right crystalization of a
factory system affecting the industrial and moral interests of
a larger number of people than are reached by any other
single branch of manufactures in the United States.
RAPIDITY AND EXTENT OF THE CHANGES NECESSITATED BY
RECENT MECHANICAL INVENTIONS.
It is a matter of public notoriety that within the last ten
years the methods of the shoe manufactures have been revolutionized by the invention of thle McKay sewing machine.  The
invention of the spinning jeniny and of the power loom did no
more to revolutionize the cotton manufacture; the invention
of the steam engine no more to change the methods of iniiland
and maratime conveyance, than the application of the sewing
machine to the shoe trade has done to revolutionize the processes of that branch of industry.  The change has been as
remarkable for rapidity as for extent. It was hastened by the
great exigencies of our civil war.  The celebrated machine
which is likely to be remembered in history side by side with
the spinning jennly and the power loom, was invented and
patented by Lyman R. Blake of South Abington, in this Commonlwealth, as late as the year 1858.1 When the civil struggle
began, it was seen that machinery must do the work of the
multitudes of mechanics of the North, who  had left their
places and were fighting tlhe battles of the war.  The original
patent was sold to Mr. Gordon McKay and Mr. J. G. Bates
of Boston, for ten thousand dollars. It was somewhat improved by them. Not far from the second year of the war,
it began to be applied to the shoe manufactures in establislhments in this city.  It is unnecessary to recite the rest of the
history.  Invention has followed invention.  The supply of
the wants of the new system of factories has tasked the skill
of the best experts in machinery in New England.  The
McKay  sewing machine, the skiving machine, the pegging
machine, the sole-molding machine, the cable-wire machline,
1 Shoe and Leather Record, Boston, Sept. 26, 1870. 
9
the self-feeding eyelet machine, are but a fraction of the
recent inventions not only patented, but in use.  Any list of
machines correct for to-day is likely to be incorrect, because
outgrown, to-morrow. Rapid as the supply of the niew machinery has been, the demand for it has exceeded, and yet exceeds,
the supply.
Three large results have followed this invention of new
machinery.  First, the small shop system has been abandoned
and the large factory system has been adopted. Secondly, a
great subdivison of labor has taken place. Thirdly, the trade
is much more subject to lulls, or inactive seasons, than it was
before the invention of the new machinery.
Occurring in the largest trade of the United States, these
changes are events of a high order of public importance.
The transitioni from the old system to the new is complete
and final. All Eastern Massachusetts is sprinkled thick with
the small shoe shops, buildings twelve or twenty feet square,
iii each of which tenll or fifteen menel were usually employed on
the heavier work of the trade, the females, in their own rooms
at home, doing the lighter work. These buildings have been
vacated, never to be filled again. For a hundred years they
hlave been almost as characteristic of a large part of the towins
of Eastern Massachusetts as the schoolhouses or the churches.
The large factories, which are rising to fill their places, are
destined to become larger and larger. There is no longer any
artisan in this trade who makes a whole shoe.  Subdivision
of labor is sometimes earried so far that a single article passes
through the hands of fifty workmen, each of whom is trained
only to make a part.  As a rule,' the old shoemakers were
largely independent in the management of their business,
each family attending to its own for itself. But the large
factories have introduced an operative class and an employing
class.  In the old system, work was commonly steady'froiin
year's end to year's end; or affected only by the larger fluctuationis of general commerce. But now there are two periods
iii each year in the trade in any large city when hundreds
of operatives are dropped from employment. So far apart at 
10
so many points are the old system and the new, that it is of
little service to reason from the experience of the trade under
the former system to the experience it is to expect under the
new. It matters little if a man have passed a lifetime under
the old system.  He must judge the new system by the experiences developed under it, and not by the old.
THE NEW SYSTEM LIKELY TO BECOME A PRECEDENT.
It is of very great importance, while these changes are
passing, to call attention in time to the higli duty of setting
right precedents in the new system. Let the first twenty years
of the new order of things, or the first ten, be managed carelessly, and the needle will be threaded wrong for fifty years,
and will not be threaded wholly aright for a hundred. A
responsibility of an extent and weight not easily overestimated,
rests upon the manufacturing and operative classes who are
now organizing a completely new factory system for the largest
trade of the nation.
LYNN LEADS THE TRADE.
3. This city leads this largest trade of the United States,
which is now in a condition of transition to a new system;
and the fashions which' shall be set here for that new system
have more than a local importance.
In 1860 Philadelphia led this trade.  But Lynn has now
led it for ten years. The largest business of any one town,
in 1860, was that of Philadelphia, in which the production
amounted to $5,329,887.  Next came Lynn, in which the goods
were valued at $4,867,399.  Then followed Haverhill, with a
production of $4,130,500. Fourth, came New York, in which
the products of the trade were valued at $3,869,068.1
But Lynn has surpassed every other city in this branch
of mnanufactures by the rapidity with which her factories have
introduced the new machinery. The patent on the McKay
machine secures to the proprietors the payment of a small
royalty for every pair of shoes manufactured by the aid of
1 Eighth Census, Preliminary Report, p. 69. 
11
this invention. It is of extreme interest to notice, by figures
that are already open to the inspection of the trade, that of all
the shoes sewed upon the McKay sewing machines in the
whole country, in 1870, twenty-eight per cent came from this
city alone. In 1870, the amount paid in royalties to the proprietors of this machine was, for the whole Union, $400,011.08.
Of this sum there was paid from this city $112,924.48, or
more than a quarter of the whole.
Suppose that this city led the coal trade, or the iron. You
would have a responsible position. Suppose it led the woollen
or the cotton.  You would have a position more responsible.
But your present position is more responsible than even the
latter.  Suppose that this city led either the coal, the iron,
the woollen, or the cotton trade, and that new inventions were
to revolutionize the processes of industry in that trade and
that you were called to adopt a new system. Your present
position is more responsible still.
DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE FLUCTUATING AND THE UNINTERRUPTED
INDUSTRIES.
4. In the article produced by the shoe trade there are, and
in those produced by the coal, iron, woollen, and cotton trades
there are not, annual fluctuations of fashion; hence  the
former trade is, and the latter are not, subjeot to annual
fluctuations of activity; and, for this and other reasons, the
shoe towns and the shoe factory system are not parallels of the
cotton towns and the cotton factory system, and the new system cannot meet its exigencies by copying the methods of
the old.
I beg leave to make a distinction between the fluctuating
and the uninterrupted industries.  More than one problem
is explained for the student of the high theme of the moral
and industrial economy of cities, by this distinction.
Certain trades produce articles in the very nature of which
there are constant and wide changes of fashion. Evidently
these articles cannot be accumulated in advance, for the
fashions cannot be foreseen at any great distance. A stock of
I 
12
outgrown fashions on the market might ruin these trades. As
soon as certain annual fashions are set for the articles, these
industries have a period of extraordinary activity. When the
demand is supplied, a period of comparative inactivity follows
until the next set of fashions is determined.  If fashions
fluctuate annually, these trades fluctuate annually.  If fashions fluctuate twice annually, these trades fluctuate twice
annually.  On the other hand, it is evident that if a trade
produces an article in the very nature of which there does
not exist this susceptibility to a change of fashion, it may work
from year's end to year's end, and accumulate, if need be, a
stock of its own products
The latter is the condition of the coal, iron, woollen, and
cotton trades.   The  former is the condition of' the shoe
trade.
All trades producing articles of clothing are subject in large
towlns to vast'annual fluctuations of activity.  In Boston, for
example, the length of the working season for tailors and
tailoresses is estimated at ten months; for shop work, at ten;
for paper collar makers, at tell; for hosiery and rubber and
elastic goods, at ten; for hatters, at eight; for corset makers
and hoop-skirt makers, at seven and a half; and for straw
workers, at seven. It seems a mystery that so many workmen,
worthy in every way, and sure to finld difficulty or distress
because unable to obtain occupation elsewhere, are dropped
mercilessly from these employments by the thousands, at certain periods of the year.  Tile explanation is simply that these
employments produce articles subject to wide, annual, and
unforeseen changes of fashion, and cainnot accumulate stock
in advance that is likely to be outgrown. We are often comfortably told that the wages given in such employments are
of fabulous rates by the day or week.   This is not often the
case; but, even if it were, for how many weeks in the year
does the working season hold?
There is another class of fluctuating industries in which the
variations of activity arise from the changes of the seasons.
Thus the length of the year is estimated for quarry workmen 
13
at ten months; for farm laborers, at eight; for masons, painters, and plasterers, at eight; for brickmnakers, at seven.
Now it happens that the'largest trade of the United States
produces an article notoriously subject, especially in the varieties requiring the most delicate and skillful work, to wide
changes of fashions; and those fashions themselves are largely
affected by the changes of the seasons.  Both the great causes,
therefore, which produce variations in the fluctuating as distinct from the uninterrupted industries, powerfully affect the
largest trade of the United States.
Lynn works but about ten months a year. Lawrence and
Lowell work twelve.
This indicates the most fundamental distinction between
the large cotton towIls and the large shoe towns.  Many give
it as their judgment that the working season here does not
exceed nine months.
You will mend these lulls, you say?  lHuindreds of years
the artisans in other fluctuating industries which I have just
named have tried to mend the luhills in large towns in their
trades. They have not succeeded. To do so would be to
counteract a natural law.  Not one only but each of the great
natural causes of fluctuation so affects the shoe trade in large
towns, that I see no prospect of the lulls in it being soon removed; neither do any of the manufacturers with whom  I
have conversed.  Rapidity of production being one of the
causes of the lulls, it is found that as machinery becomes
more perfect, the working season tends to become shorter.
Machinery grows more perfect every day. It is introduced
into large towns more promptly and abundantly than into
small.
In a city establishment containing, for example, operatives
enough to produce twenty sets, or'twelve hundred pairs of
shoes a day, the manager gives out stock enough in the morning to make only twelve or fifteen sets.  As the brisk season
of work arrives, stock enolugh- is given out to make thirty or
thlirty-five sets a day, and more help engaged if it can be
found. But, as the season of inactivity cames on, the stock 
14
is diminished again. Perhaps with a working capacity of
twenty sets a day, only enough stock will be given out for
twelve or tell sets. Of course, workmen drag on without half
enough work for a while; and, finally, are unoccupied by the
thousands.
Precisely here arise the chief industrial perils of the operative class in this branch of manufactures. Precisely here is
the origin of large floating populations, with their attendant
startling moral perils.
PERILS OF CONGREGATED LABOR IN LARGE TOWNS.
5. Congregated labor and a large floating population are
historically known as lhaving always heretofore given rise ill
large towns to grave moral and industrial perils and abuses;
and the new system of the shoe trade necessitates congregated
labor; and the annual fluctuations of the activity of the trade
give rise in large towns to a large floating population.
ENGLISH FACTORY LEGISLATION AN ILLUSTRATION OF THESE
PERILS.
Sir Robert Peel told the English Parliament in 1816 that
unless the tendency of congregated labor under the factory
system iii large towns tb give rise to perils and abuses, could
be corrected by decisive legislation, the great mechanical inventions, which were the glory of the age, would be a curse
rather than a blessing to the country.1 "These were'strong
words from a master manufacturer," says the Duke of Argyll,
writing in 1866, "but they were not more strong than true."
It is of high interest to notice that almost precisely one
hundred years ago, the cottoni factory system, on account
of new mechanical inventions, was passing through a great
transition exceedingly similar to that which the shoe factory
system is now passing from the same cause. One hundred
years ago this year, Sir Richard Arkwright perfected that marvelous combination of mechanical adjustments known as the
1 Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, Vols. xxxi. and xxxiii., Sir Robert Peel's
Spech on Motion for a Committee, April 3, 1816.
I 
15
spinning frame. llargreaves' great invention of the spinning
jenny took place in 1765. And Crompton's celebrated combination in the mule jenny of the two preceding machines, followed in 1787.  In strict analagy with what is now passing
before our eyes ill the history of a great sister industry, the
invention of new machinery in the cotton manufacture revolutiolized its processes; and the invention of one important
machine necessitated the invention of others.
But the steam engine had not yet appeared. A factory
system therefore sprung up in connection with vast establishments located on streams. Of necessity, the sites chosen were,
in a majority of instances, at a distance from preexisting
towns and in thinly populated districts.  In order to secure
permanent labor, a system of apprenticeship was adopted, by
which operatives were bound to work for a definite period.
The consequences of congregated labor under no regulation
except the unrestrained competition of manufacturers, began to
appear. Hardly more frightful abuses have sprung up under
the factory system in large towns than sprung up in this first
factory system outside of large towns. A whole generation of
boys and girls and youths and men and women of all ages,
says one of the most considerate of historians, " were growing
up under conditions of physical degeneracy, of mental ignorailnce, and of moral corruption." The very title of the bill by
which Sir Robert Peel began, in 1802, the great series of the
English Parliamentary Acts in promotion of factory reform,
was,' For the preservation of the health and morals of apprelntices and others employed in the cotton and other mills, and in
cotton and other factories."  The health and morals!  Uponii
these points all the vast mass of English factory legislation
turns to the present moment.  It is significant to notice that
when congregated labor under the factory system was tried
for half a century in England at a distance from large towns,
it exhibited, taken by itself and aside from any now outgrown
evils of the plan of apprenticeship, a tendency to perils and
abuses such as to call for the most decisive parliamentary
interference. 
16
The new star of the steam engine blazed across the mechanical sky; took a fixed place in it; and immediately there was
a new grouping of constellations. The vast manufacturing
establishments which existed at a distance from towns were
transferred to crowded populations. Betweenii 1802 and 1815,
the factory system was transformed into its present shape.  It
was the birth of the inventions of lHargreaves and Arkwright
and Crompton and Watt. It was a system wholly new in the
world. Immediately, a tendency to perils and abuses appeared
which called for vigorous parliamentary repression. English
Parliaments lave not been remarkable for unnecessary interference with trade, nor for sentimental legislation. The larger
part of the manufacturing wealth of the kingdom was thrown
into the scale against factory reform. But the cause of that
reform has steadily advanced because Parliament has been
forced by the terrible revelations of its own commissions of
factory inquiry, again and again to interfere. The moral and
industrial perils of congregated labor under the factory system in large towns! It was thought that the tendency of the
factory system to these perils was corrected by the great
Factory Act of 1833.   Eleven years passed.  The Factory
Regulation Act of 1844 was found necessary. Two years
ensued.  Interference, always unwelcome to Parliament and
always against some of the deepest traditions of English law,
was found needful in spite of previous interference. In 1847 the
celebrated Teln Hours Act was passed. Experience continues to
teach. In 1853,theChlildrens' Labor Act is found indispensable.
Against every one of these great measures, the larger part of
the leading manufacturers threw thleir heaviest influence.  I
recite before this assembly the list of the great Acts of factory
reform wrung from Parliament, in Great Britain, to prove the
inherent tendencies of congregated labor under the factory
system in large towns to moral and industrial perils and
abuses. A board of factory inspectors, with ample powers,
sits to-day in London, with subordinate inspectors in various
districts making reports to the central officers weekly.  The
number of prosecutions and iniormations instituted by the 
17
inspectors under the factory acts from 1836 to 1854, was
3696.1
This is the historical reputation of that system of conigregated labor ill large towns ijnto whlich the largest trade of the
Uniiited States is now inevitably passinig.
LARGE FLOATING POPULATIONS OF TOWNS ENGAGED IN THE
FLUCTUATING INDUSTRIES.
Omiious enough ill itself, this fact is yet more ominous from
the most important circumstance that this vast branch of
manufactures belongs to the fluctuating rather than to the
uninterrupted industries; and muist, on that account, give
rise in large towlns to large fluctuating populations.  The
perils of congregated labor ill large towis are large enough
but the perils of congregated labor in large towns with large
floating populations have an established name that makes it
impossible to speak too strongly of the worth of family'life as a
moral police in society. 
He who comes home at night to a circle that know him
well and watch his daily course, has a kind of daily appearance to make before a moral tribunal. The bliss of the home
affections is a shield from vice, not only because it is bliss,
but because it makes  ally colduct that needs concealment
from the moral tribunal of the most intimate circle as painful
as the bliss of ing,enuousness and trust is great.
From side to side of the globe every place where a large
floating population congregates is found to be a stormy moral
coast. In face of universal experience I need not pause to
prove the moral perils of homelessness.  Those centres in New
England where large floating populations gather will always
be found to exllib)it peculiar moral perils.
All the more to be honored and trusted for their endurance
of the breakers, is that percentage of most worthy people to
be found ill every floating population. Not only am I aware
of the existence of hundreds of excellent people in floating
populations, but also of the duty of receiving these withl
1 Encyclopedia Britannic Eighth Editioan, Vol. xxi.) pi 791.
a 
18
especial cordiality to our hearts and homes.  But in a large
town, there is in a floating population not only all initermixture of the thoughtless and giddy and falling, but, further
down, and most to be feared, a percentage of the thoroughly
bad. Meil and women who have the worst of reasons for
leading a floating life need not be many in any floating populatioll to do immense mischief.  New Ellgland is not so saintly
in lher cities that she can afford to forget that the exigencies of
trade and the wonderful growth of means of intercommuiiicationi, have brought into some of her inlanid large townls evils
thoroughly analagous to the old and traditional evils of seaports.  All kinds of people gather in a floating population.
In a large city, in a floating population, it is not incautious to
ask, not every teinthl man, btit every tenth man who pretends
to a peculiar interest in your affairs, Have you ever been in
jail?  Every great city is a collection of camps.   He  who
kiows one stratum of the society only, does not know the
city. He who ltnows dissipated Paris does not know Paris,
but only a particular camp in Paris. So of New York and
London and Berlin, and every lesser town in its proportion.
Thle moral perils of homelessness added to the perils of this
bad percentage from outside, put the solemn duty upon the
resident population of these stormy moral coasts to tlirow the
moral lighthouses of clurch, library, and school, but especially
the lighthouses of right industrial arrangements, far out upon
the edges of the reefs.
But, besides the operation of the fluctuating character of
the shoe trade to produce large floating populations in large
towns devoted to that trade, another cause operating to the
same end exists in the great subdivision of labor which the
new system of the industry has introduced. A person arrives
here fresh from a New Hampshire farm and never having seen
a ifactory.  It is possible for him to be tautight in a very few
days to perform some one of the simpler parts of the work.
I have seen in the factories machines which I think I coutild
myself be taught in three days how to feed.  Thle result of all
this is, that in the. two brisk periods of your year, among the 
19
thousands who  come  here, there are some  hundreds who
expect to learn their parts on arriving. I call attention to
the fact that ill the new system of the trade, thiere are many
branches of work into and out of which a man call float, without floating in and out through the gate of an apprenticeship
of sevenii years.
So important in this city is the distinction between the
floating and the resident population, that you will allow me
to use the phrase floating Lynn to characterize the former,
and old Lynn to describe the latter.  In the fifteen thousand
now employed here in your chief industry, which is advancimg so rapidly in size, there is already a population of five or
seven thousand, who are here or not here, according as your
business is at its points of greatest or least activity. I speak
to-night with the question constantly in imy mind how large
that floating population is to be in ten years, in twenty, ill
fifty, or a huildred, ill this city, in Haverlill, in New England
as a whole, in New York, and in Philadelphia.
CAUTIONS IN RESPECT TO THE DISCUSSION.
The hour that is passing before this assembly is a serious
one, for we are called now, in the face of these five consideratioIs, to study our duty in respect to the special measures of
prevention  and reform, whicll are required'by the  solemni
and multitudinous voices of local and national interests coilcerned in the perils which history and the most recent experience point out as undeniably involved in the very nature of
the largest trade of the United States.
It is little for me to say, speaking on a theme like this,
that I will not be the instrument of the capitalists. I will
not be the instrument of the manufacturers.  I will inot e-)
the instrument of the Crispin Lodges.   I will not he the
instrument of the parlors of any churclh.  I will speak tonight in no sense as the apologist of this class or that. The
theme is too serious for partisanship, or for the concealment
of truth.
Let nme say also that I have not suffered myself to take up 
a theme so complicated and weighty without an extended and
most serious attention to it, not as exlhibited inll books merely,
but as seen inl tle swarming life of this city; not as seen in
the opinions of this class of men or of that, but as seen by
menei wlho have the most differenlt ijterests involved concernilng it, and the most widely separated poilnts of view.   I have
beeil through more thlan a few of your factories.  I lhave conversed witlh a large number of your leadiig maiufacturers.  I
have consulted carefully with many working men.
You will not allow yourselves to be confused by the criticisms I make on floating LIynn, which I have already distingllislhed fiom the resident population of tlhe city.
The chief proposition I defend is that the working class of
the manufacturing cenitres of New Eiuglaud have a right to
ask of the employing class, that the moral perils of the workrooms under the factory system, shall be made, for themselves
aud for their chllildren, as few aud small as possible.
FOUL AND CLEAN SYSTEMS OF WORK-ROOM MANAGEMENT.
There is a foul and there is a clean system of workroom
management in shloe factories.  To speak at once to the point,
thel'e are workrooms in this city, in which men and women,
boys and girls, gatliered in large part at random out of a
floatiug population, are sandwiched together like herrings in
a box; and, uninterrupted by the noise of machinery, it is not
infrequently foul talk, profanity, and tobacco smoke from
morning to night   I am not speaking of cotton factories, in
which tlhe noise of machinery prevents free conversation betweeni operatives, and in whicli I should not call for a separation of the sexes in tlhe workrooms.  But in shoe factories it
is notoriously easy for a few foul mouths, not hard to be found
in a floating populatioi, to corrupt a whole room.  This herring-box system I call a foul system. (Applause). I ask you
and I beg the general public to notice that I am venturing
all these assertions before a crowded audience which understands perfectly, from observation close at hand, and better
than any other audienlce ini New England, the facts of which I
20 
21
speak.  There is not the slightest business necessity for mingling tlle sexes in the workrooms.   But, besides seeing the
sexes of about the same numbers in closely packed rooms, I
have sometimes seen four or five young women crowded into
the same room with twenty-five or thirty mel; or three working thus; or two; or one.  I do not assert tliat a majority of
moulths are foul in the factories; but'I deliberately make
myself responsible for the public assertion that a father wlho
wishes the welfare of his daughter cannot be expected to put
her illto factory life in a large proportion of the workrooms
of this city.  There is no saying more common here thlan that
a father does not like to put his daughter or son into many of
the factories.   The common and permanent  opinlion as to
what the answer would be to the questioln, Would you put
your own daughter into workrooms managed onl such a system? is a test of the character of that system.   A managemelnt
in respect to which the answer to this question is notoriously
and always No, I call a foul system.  Perhaps I have put more
than a hltindred times  this question, or its equivalent, and
have been answered invariably in exactly these words, or their
equivalent:  "Before  putting nmy daughter into workrooms
managed on that system, I would see lher, in some other place,
work her fingers to the bohe!"  This is a terrible condemnation of a system wholly unnecessary in itself; affecting,
here and elsewhere, a vast operative population; and likely
to affect a population larger aid larger. (Applause).
.On the other hand, as the example of five or six of the
largest factories here abulldantly proves, there is a clean systemii of workroom managemenlt in shloe towlis.  in one of tlhe
largest factories of this city I have seenl thle sexes in separate
rooms everywllere frotom basement to roof.  Where this arralngenmeit is made anld care is taken to appoint meli of irreproacllable character to oversee the workrooms of the men, and
women of irreproachable character to oversee the workrooms
of the women, the aniswer to the test question is different. I
lhave information as to single rooms in this city in which -there
is every reasoln to believe the moral conditioni is good, because 
care has been taken as to the moral character of overseers;
and, as to otlhers, in whichl there is every reason to believe the
moral character is bad, because there has been carelessness as
to the moral cliaracter of overseers.
Wlenl the character of a floating population, the effect of
tile floating on the resident population, the iiiflamability of
human nature, thie imimense numbers likely to be affected by
the varied influences of the workroom arrangements, are kept
inl view, all that caln be said in respect to the foul system
is simply that capitalists and manufacturers ought to have
sense enough not to adopt it.  One hardly feels like offering
arguments in the case. It is, however, as a temporary arrangeimeut, though not as a permanent, slightly cheap)er to manage
oni the careless system than on the careful. There is, too,
now and then a manl of theory, or some
"Lily-handed, snow-banded, dilettante"
critic knowing nothing of manufactures, who, overlooking
the immense distinctions between the influences of the sexes
on each other in the parlors of good society, or in a high
school, for example, and their influences on each other in
these rooms, filled from  a floating population without any
careful sifting of characters at the doors, judges onil general
principles, without having examined the case in actual life,
that the mingling of the sexes in these workrooms  from
morning to night may be an  excellent thing.  And there
are others, who, judging from some exceptional instance or
iiistallces, where the character of those engaged in particular
rooms has been particularly good, and the overseers men of
iriepioachlable character, and the sexes mingled to apparent
advantage, think that this is the best general rule for the large,
floating populations of the manufacturing centres of this trade,
present and future., in New England and elsewhere. I fully
admit the existence of such exceptions. No one is prouder
than I am of the record of the Lowell factory girls in publislliiig the celebrated Lowell Offerin7g, made up exclusively of their
own contributions.   There are, to my personal knowledge,
22 
23
workrooms in this city which may take rank in every respect
with those from which tllis paper was issued.  But it is amazing tllat any man should forget the immenlse cllainges inl the
geleral character of our operative populations iln thle last
twenty-five years.  ]is it possible that there is a man ill this
audience illto whose ears it never has been whispered that tlhe
operative populations in New Elugland are not quite wlhat tlhey
were twenity years ago?  The suspension of the Lowell Offering in 1848 marks thle beginllillg of a chlallge wlhich lias not
left behlild it the hope that such publications will be  utimerous inll the future.  All these facts are matters of public
notoriety, and not to be allnswered by the recitatioln of ally
score of exceptional cases.
For the sake, therefore, of any who have judged tlle matter
at a distance, or from exceptional cases, I purpose to name a
few argumnents not needed by anly man who will examine the
theme close at hand, or by a wide induction of instances.
ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE FOUL SYSTEM.
As defillitions, let me state, once for all, that by tlle foul
system I mean the mingling of the sexes in the workrooms,
and carelessness as to the moral character of overseers; aiid
by the cleanl system, the separation of tlle sexes ill tlhe workrooms, and carefulness ag to the moral character of overseers.
My main assertion is that the moral perils of the latter system
are less than those of the former.  By workrooms, I mean the
roonis which may be strictly so called.  Of course I have no
objection to lady book-keepers: they are usually more steady
than young men.  Nor lhave I objectioni to female help iii tlhe
packing  rooms.   In these thle proprietors themselves  are
usually present.
I shlall give tell reasons for two special measures, tlhe separationl of the sexes iii the workrooms and carefulness as to
the moral character of overseers: ten reasons for two thinigs
and, as I beg you to notice, for the onle measure as mucll as
for the other. 
24
THE DOOR OF ENTRANCE TO THE WORKROOMS, NOT A SIEVE.
1. Thle chances in the shoe trade in any large town are
extraordinarily great that bad men and bad women will occa siollally be found in the workrooms; and these chances arise
fromw the five circumstances, (1) That the door of entrance to
the workrooms is not, and, on account of the number of
chlangeable operatives, is not likely soon to be made, a moral
sifting maclhine; (9) That the industry has each  year two
brisk and ofteii pain fully llurried periods, and two of comparative iiiactivity; (3) That the percentage of operatives changeal)le withinl the year is large on account of these fluctllatiolls,
and is estimated here to be thirty-three per cent of the whole
iiiimber; (4) That, on account of the fluctllations of the indistry, the floating population of shoe towns is likely to be
large, and it is out of this population, itseif not sifted, that
operatives, in the hurried periods of the work, are taken into
the workrooms through a door that is not a sieve; (5) That
it is notorious that in the exigencies of the trade in the
greatly hlirried seasons, operatives that are expert are often
i'etaiiied for their expertness without any high degree of
caution as to their moral character.
Suchl, in a large town, is the very structure of this branchl
of manufactures.  The vely nature 6f the industry poilts by
all these five arguments to the necessity of a separation of the
sexes in the workrooms, and carefulness as to the moral cllaracter of overseers.  If there is a business necessity for packing
inks and silks togethler, it is business sagacity to pack them
as separate parcels.
All the factory streets of this city just now blossom with
advertising boards for operatives.  A strip of lasting board is
put out at the door or window of an establishmeit withl the
words on it: "HIeelers wanted"; "Stitchers wanted"; or,
" Binders wanted."  At two periods of thle year these lasting
boards are onle of the most characteristic sights in your city.
You know perfectly well that, wlhen work is greatly hurried,
the first workman that conmes that is skillful is likely to be 
taken for the time. At Lawrence and Lowell operatives are;
engaged, in a majority of cases, by the year.  They sign formal regulations on entering a factory. Neither of these cus- 
toms exists here. The first argument for the separation of 
the sexes and the appointment of only men of irreproachable
character as overseers in the workrooms is, that the lasting
board is not a sieve.
OPINIONS OF RESIDENT PHYSICIANS.
2. Allow me to say that there is no class of men whose
opinions I respect more highly in regard to the real inner life
of cities, than I do that of such physicians as combine among
their qualifications scholarship, experience, ability, and candor. It does no harm for the student of the moral condition
of cities to ask questions of such men. While I continue to
be such a student, I shall keep my ears open to this testimony,
if my ears are not long ears.
I have put behind me all that I have now said from tlhe
beginning, in order that I might fitly, as I now may, state
the decisive argument that physicians in this city, resident
here for a long period, and combining the qualifications of
sholarship, ability, and candor, lay at the door of the new
factory system, or want o'f system, a startling increase of
vice in the floating population. It is, of course, difficult to
make  estimates  oi  such a subject.  Even when  they are
numerous enough to nibble at any careless feet on the pavement, and to rustle now and then in the outer walls of private
homes and of churches, as God grant they may never be here,
there is no census taken of gutter rats.   He is somewhat
more than simple who looks at the police record for a complete account of all that passes in a large town.  The most
solemn public responsibilities make it my duty to know this city
thoroughly. There is one question which tests the secret
trend of under currents in a crowded population very well;
and that question I have put. Of a physician having all the
qualifications I have named, I asked what in his judgment
had been the growth of the worst vices here in the last ten
4
25 
26
years, as tested by their physical penalties coming under
medical observation.  In two conversationls, lie told me that
his judgment was, that, in the floating population of thlis city,
the infamous diseases had increased ten per cent in ten years
in proportion to the population!  I was moved as if smitten
by an electric bolt.  He adhered to his opinion; anid, after
making all allowance for the war, and every otlier cause, laid
the horrible blame uiponi the mingling of the sexes in the new
factory system of this city.  I thought the opinion worth
testing by inquiry.  I wished to see whether others agreed with
it.  You will notice That it referred to floating Lynn, and by
no means to the resident population. Riding, soon after I
received this opinion, with two mnen advanced in years, but
of excellent ability and who had known the city intimately
from their boyhood, I quoted the opinion and asked their
judgment as to it.  They both said, without hesitation, that
they should not wouder if the opinion were just, such were
the moral perils of a large floating population. I had
occasion not long after to call at the office of a gentleman
whose public position gives him  an excelleut knowledge of
the city and especially of the wants of the working people. I
mentioned the estimate to him.  He said at once that it was
not too high, and perlhps not high enough.  A  group of
gentlemen who sat by seemed to give a general assent to
his opinion. Startled beyond measure, I selected a second
physician whom I considered the equal of any other in the
city iii the four qualifications I have named, a man whose
balance of mind you all honllor, but whom I must not more
particularly describe; and, calling on him one eveniing, was
most cordially received. I simply said that I was investigating
the moral condition of the city; that I valued the aid of a
physician's judgment; and that such and such an opinion had
been given to me, mentioning both the estimate I have already
quoted, and the name of its author, though saying nothing
whatever of the factories. "The estimate is not high enough,"
was the reply.  "Since the sexes have been mingled in the
new system of the factories, the floating population has shown 
27
the effect. And what less could be expected? Take a room
twenty-five or thirty by fifteen or twenty feet in size; put a
doze(n men and a dozen women, and boys and girls into it; and
let tobacco smoke, and profaility, and foul talk take their
course.   The estimate is  not extravagant, if it is  high
eiiougli, in itspect to the effect on the floating population of
the mingling of the sexes in thle factories."  Before this opiinion was giveli, not olnly had I myself not said a word of the
new system; but, so far as I am aware, the physician was not
informed from any other source tllat I was at all interested ii
the topic.  Thle reference to the factories oil the part of tllis
able physician was wliolly gratulitous and unpromnpted. " But,"
said I, " what is tle effect on the resident popilatioi  of tlhese
perils in the floating?  It is hard to make an estimate; but,
at Nahant, the people tell me tllat, after a storm, it is necessary to wash slight salt stains from their windows, so much of
the spray is blown across the peninsula.  Does this floating
Lynn, foaming agailnst the resident population, dashl any spray
over it?"  "The figure is a very good one," said tlhe pliysiciani: "two per cent of the resident population may be iijtired." I afterwards consulted carefully with a tlhird medical authority, liarving all the qualifications; and lie endorsed
fully, and with minute details of facts, the opiniolns of tlle
other two, both as to the extent of the evil and as to its
cause!
3. Witlh the eyes with which you are looking into my face
at this moment, I need only to name, as a third argumnent,
the possible ftuture effect of the floating population on the
resident, when the formler is larger.   Wlihen tlle operative's
fever broke out into the middle classes in Old Eigland under
the old factory system, Robert Peel led a reform; aid tlle
abuses ii the mills that had beell overlooked while ollly the
operatives suffered, were remedied almost exclusively from
fear of contagion in other classes.
4. Nor do I need do more thllan name, after this apalling
testimony, the topic of foul moutlhs in factories.
5. It is plaiiily impossible to make a proper provision agailist 
28
these evils by either of the two measures taken without the
other.  Some two or three months since, I visited a factory
room on especial invitation.   The person who invited me
and who showed me the room, had spoken of one young
woman in it as an exception to the rest, and as resisting every
unhealtllful moral influence.  But hle told me that at a previous time the room had been so remarikable for foul talk that
no young man could work there any long period and retain
his virtue, the girls were so bad.  I saw a room somne seventy
by twenty feet in size; and several young men iii one end
and young women in the other; cutters and stitchers; no10
connection of their work requiring that it should be in the
same place. When in the room I asked my informant if a
particular one of the yoilung women was not the exception of
which lie had spoken.  My informanlt said she was.  The
others were coarse looking. I instance this case in order to
add that in any room arranged as that was, even if Washingtfn or Lincoln were overseer, he could not prevent the moral
condition firom being unhealthful if the character of those in
the room should happen to be bad; nor, on the latter supposition, would separate rooms without good orverseers be
enough. Neither of the two measures will be found sufficient
alone to meet the exigencies of manufacturing ceniltres.
6. It is found by experience that it is in the workrooms that
a young woman coming here and not resisting, as; thank God,
hundreds and thousands do resist, the morally unhealtlful influences, looses that natural shyness and modesty which  are
her cliarm, and gradually acquires a repulsive boldness. There
are spiritual and pl-hysical signs for every vice.  The loss of
spiritual shyness and niobleness can be seen, as well as the loss
of natural freshness of complexion and of a lustreful flash of
the eye.  Suppose that a young woman coinig here for the
first time falls into both an illy regulated boarding-house and
a room of unhealthful moral conditions in a factory. Which
will do the more harm?  Whlichl will begin the harm?  Where
will the first indentation of ill occur? Evidently she can
choose her companions to a great extent in the boarding-house; 
29
and, if she is of high principle, will choose the best she can.
But she cannot choose her company in the workroom.   She
must breathe the atmosphere of the company in thie latter
eight or ten hours a day. She may, in a large measure,
choose her own company in the former, except for perhaps an
hour a day.  Further on in the history of deterioration, the
illy regulated boardinghouse and the street school may strip
the flesli from the peach, but the down of the peach was
brushed away in the workrooms.  This is found to be the his-.
tory of the case in tracing almost any individual example of
deterioration.
7. It is plain that neither boardinghouses nor clulrches
can do as muchl for a floating as for a resident population.  If
the floating population of this city had homes here, I have no
doubt it would be as free from moral perils as any population
of its size.  Not only have they no homes, but they often
have difficulty in finding boarding-houses under the best managemeilt.  No system of corporation boardinghouses, such as
exists in the cotton towns, exists here, chiefly because the
occupants would most of them be out of the city three months
in every twelve.  In a large town devoted to your branch of
industry, many things cannot be done by boarding-houses and
churches which can be donl  in a cotton town; and, on tihis
account, what can be done by right industrial arrangements
is of all the more urgent importance.
8. I feel it a descent to mention any financial argument;
but, if any business man doubts that whatever undermines
good order in the workinig class, also undermines regularity
of industry and diminishes the worth of the hours of labor,
he neednot look far into the history of thie" factory system to
;find an opillion not weakened by a doubt.
9. The seltiment of working men and women of t!e.T.t
class is eager and emphatic in favor of the separation of the
sexes in shoe factories.  I have found this true on all hands
in my conversations.  Obviously the working people are, in
this matter, not only the chief sufferers  They are also the
best informed.  The employers of the present day, though 
30
they may have had personal experience as workmen under the
old system, have usually, if they are past middle life, had
none as operatives under the new.  It is worth little for ali
employer to say that hle has had thirty or thlirty-five years ex perielice in the shoe busiiless.  There have been hardly more
tlhan ten years experience in the shloe bulsiiess in its present
form.  An employer without experience as anl operative, and
wlho judges of wlhat happens ill his establislhlmenit by wlhat
occurs in his presenlce, is not as wise aln adviser in this case
as the operative.  The sentiment of the working men and
working womeii of tlhe best class is the decisive consideration.
10. The sentimelt and tlhe practice of capitalists and maln ufacturers of tlhe best class are to take pains to appoint men
of irreproachlable clharacter as overseers, and to separate tlle
sexes in the workrooms.   Oni several occasions, after brillging
this topic privately to the notice of manufacturers, as I have
repeatedly done, I have found them condemnling the foul system, althoughl, onl account of some temporary inconvenielice
in the structure of their factories, tlheir owl establishminents
were not yet wholly free from it.  In spite of the practice of
tlhe majority of the factories of this city, all of perhaps a score
of manufacturers to whom I have presented the subiject privately, have, except one, unequivocally favored tle system of
the separatioli  of tlhe sexes.  I must not leave the impression
that I have addressed you to-iiglht by thle prompting of any
one, for I have spokeii wholly as an inidependent student and
critic of public afifairs.  Let me state, however, that I shlall
not soon forget thle emphasis with which, at the head-quarters
of tlhis industry iii Pearl Street, Boston, onie of the ablest
merchants tlhere, himself owner of large factories and member
of a factory firm  known  and lioiiored thlroughlout Eastern
Mlassachlusetts, said to me, on my bringing the topic of to-night
to his attention, his owil practice correspondilg with  his advice: " Do you adhlere to the ground of the separation of tlhe
sexes.  It is of hig,h public importance.  There is not the
sliglltest business reason for minglinig thle sexes in tlle new
system, and any nlmber of moral  and indust'ial reasons
agailist it." 
31
Why discuss this subject publicly? Because only a powerfill public sentiment will correct the evil.  In what method
will public sentiment aid? It is not difficult to point out the
steps. Let it be made socially as unpopular for a manl to
manage a factory on a careless system and mutilate souls as
to manage a railway on a careless system and mutilate bodies.
Then the better class of men will be iinfluenced.  Let a majority, thus gradually won, set righlit fashions, and even the
moneygripes, and men lower down, will be reached.  Business
is a regiment. For industrial reasons men must keep step
with each other in it. Let a majority of the Board of Trade
of any city set right business fashions, and  the inferior men
who care only for money are usually brought sooner or later
to respect the step of the regiment.
CONCLUSION.
I need only to invoke the visible presence before this assem bly of the lofty spirits of Sir Robert Peel and Lord Shaftesbury,
to suggest sufficiently the historic perils of congregated labor
under the factory system in large towns.  Would that in the
air above every manufacturing centre of New England, Robert
Peel and Lord Shaftesbury, colossal and admonitory in archangelic stature, might each stand to teach, with one hand
pointing toward Old England and the other stretched as a
shield over New England, the methods of avoiding here the
perils which have arisen there.
God grant that the day may never come when Americai
society shall be divided into two classes, the unemployed rich
and the unemployed ]oor, the former a handful and the latter
a host! To that we shall come, as so many parts of Europe
have come already, when our population is as thick as theirs,
unless all good men and true unite to keep certain industrial
ghosts that now trouble Europe from crossing the Atlantic.
Two great axioms rule modern manufactures. They are,
that subdivision of labor increases the skill of the workman;
and that, other things being equal, the larger a manufacturing establismenit, thie greater the profits.   These are  the 
organizing laws which explain most of the phenomena of
manufacturing populations and will continue to explain them
for ages to come, although it is only in the last age that the
laws can be said to have been discovered.
It is the principle of subdivision of labor which confines the
modern operative more and more to some single detail, the
work upon which, after it becomes a habit, calls into activity
only a few of the mental powers; has in it no variety, and so
does not develop the mind by tasking it at different points; is
in itself of only petty importance, and so excites little enlthusiasm in labor and even little pride of skill. De Tocqueville,
in a celebrated passage, discussing the modern science of
manufactures, asks what can be expected of the human intelligence, when, year after year, for twelve or ten hours a
day, it is occupied in the single detail of making heads for
pins.1  The principle of subdivision of labor has an inherent
tendency to dwarf the operative mind, unless the most powerful stimulants are applied outside of factory hours to develop
the faculties which the manufacturing work never calls into
activity.  Outside of factory hours! Those words are lightly
uttered only by the inexperienced in operative life. Outside
of factory hours theme are, properly speaking, for operative
populations tasked ten or twelve hours a day in close apartmenits, no hours at all. The labor of the mill or of the mine,
which goes on in all weathers with the invariability of the sun
in its courses, is not to be compared with agricultural labor, interrupted by the changes of the seasons and even of the daily
sky. Twelve hours or ten in a factory, and then three hours
or two enthusiastic pursuit of mental cutlture!  No eyes yet
born are destined to see that wonder grow common. There
are a few mental and physical constitutions vigorous enough
to combine these two sets of hours, and so counteract the
narrowing mental effect of labor for years at one unvaried
mechanical detail.  But the mass of operative populations can
be expected to exhibit no such physical, to say nothing of
such imental and moral, vigor.  They are swept remorselessly
1 De Tocqueville, Alexis, Democracy in America, Vol ii., Book ii., chap. xx.
32 
33
under the wheels of subdivision of labor and long ihours.  In
women and children, who constitute nearly half of operative
populations, how much life is left for mental culture after
twelve hours severe labor in a mill? But subdivision of labor
increases skill; increase of skill increases productiveness; increase of productiveness increases profits; and long hours are
the scythes that reap the gain.  This is the law of manlufactures; and, it is only sayingo what is evident in the nature of
things, and no less evident in the condition of all manufacturing populations where factory occupation has been hereditary
for three or four generations, that the tendency of the.system is
to make the operative class inferior; and the inferior yet more
inferior.  Emerson stood at the door of the factories of Great
Britain and wrote. that society is to be admonished of the
mischief of the division of labor by the fact that, in three
generations, the robust, rural Saxon had degenerated in the
mills to the Leicester Stockinger and to the imbecile Manchester Spiinner, far on the way to be spiders and needles.1
Oni the other hand, the operation of the principle that, other
things being equal, the larger a manufacturing establishment
the greater the profits, tends to call out all the capabilities of
the minids that lead and organize in manufactures. It requires capacity in that clans, attracts capacity, and tasks
capacity.  Men of education are often drawn into matnufactures by the allurement of thie size of the enterprizes involved.
The tension of mind, and the variety of its applications in the
conductor of a large establishment are at all points a contrast
with the condition of the mind of the operative.
Inevitably, tlierefore, as the effect must follow the cause,
the system of modern manufactures in large populations tends
to produce a superior class and an inferior; and, as years go
on, and the first effects themselves become causes, to make the
superior yet more superior and the inferior more inferior.
I am not denying the advantages of manufacturing eminence;
but stating, as a motive for public caution, what political economists have long acknowledged as the disadvantages of such
1 Emerson, R.W., English Traits, chap. x.
5 
34
eminence. Even John Stuart Mill, using England as a lens
and putting behind that telescope the best eyes of political
economy, writes a deliberate clhapterl on the Probable Future
of the Laboring Classes, and goes so far as to say that he finds
the prospect hopeful only because he expects the whole system
of wages to be superseded by that of cooperation. But the
system of wages is interwoven with the whole structure of
modern life, and does not show a tendency to vanish out of
history like a morning cloud.  The accumulations of wealth
fall chiefly to employers and not to operatives. The distance
between the two classes is a result of deep causes arising
from the two great laws of the manufacturing system. It
is out of these laws that there inevitably originates what has
been called, in modern times, a manufacturing aristocracy.
De Tocqueville, using this phrase, compares the territorial aristocracy of former ages with the manufacturing aristocracy of
to-day; and finds the former superior to the latter because it
was bound by law, or thought itself bound by usage, as the
latter is not, to come to thie relief of its serving men and to
succor them in their distresses.2 I see no charm in democracy
that can alter the nature of things.  The subtle laws of subdivision of labor and of size of establishment apply to manufactures in New England as well as in Old England.  Under
some restraints from the nature of our institutions, they will,
notwitlhstanding, produce here as there an enmploying class
and an operative class; and perpetually tend to make the distance between rich and poor in manufacturing populations
wider and wider. De Tocqueville thought that the friends of
democracy should keep their eyes anxiously fixed upon the
operation of these two laws; and thlat,if ever a permanent inequality of conditions again penetrated into the world, it might
be predicted that this is the gate by which it will enter.
I find a right to speak very plain words inl New England,
the whole Atlantic slope of which is a factory, by lifting up
1 Mill, John Stuart, Political Economy, Book iv., chap. vii.
2 Democracy in America, Vol. ii., Book ii., chap. xx.  Also Vol. ii., Book iv.,
chap. v. 
35
my hand and pointing to Manchester and Liverpool, to Bir.
mingham and Leeds, and London and Rouen.  John Ruskin
says that the unemployed poor of Great Britainl are daily
becoming more violently criminal. A searching distress, he
told the University of Oxford last winter, invades the middle
classes, arising partly from their vanity in living always up
to their incomes, and partly from their folly in imagining that
they call subsist in idleness upon usury.1  Factory reform and
factory legislation are old and great and grave themes in
English literature.  They are old and great and grave themes
in Parliament.  The best mark of himself Thomas Carlyle
has made on the face of this planet, and a mark perhaps not
soon to be erased, is his discussions of the condition of the
working classes as illustrated in the problems relating to the
English poor and the questions between capital and labor.
Dickens has written more to illustrate this field than any
other. Victor Hugo's best words are upon these themes.
'Romney and Aurora Leigh, in Mrs. Browninig's greatest work,
are typical characters for the best thought of Europe. Their
chief office in the hands of the poetess is to illustrate rival
methods in philanthropy toward the working classes John
Bright leads middle England because he teaches the transcendeniltly important truth fhat,. wherever the few live, the
nation lives in the cottage. George Peabody endows colleges
with his left hand, but with his right builds houses for the
London poor, and schoolhouses for the poor of our Southern
states. Prince Albert occupied his mature life chiefly by
studying the condition of the working classes of London, and
particularly the best arrangement for tenement houses.  We
remember what Alfred Tenniysol says of this noblest of the
recent English princes:
"Laborious for her people and her poor,
Voice in the rich dawn of an ampler dary,
Far-sighted summoner of war and waste
To fruitful strife and rivalries of peace."
Let no one be ashamed to dicuiiss the condition of the un
1 Ruskin, John, Lectures on Art before the University of Oxford, 1870, p. 27. 
36
cleanest poor.  God is not ashamed of this.  At bottom this
is what he discussed at Gettysburg and Richmond, at the
liberation of the Russian serfs, at the granting of the Magna
Charta, at the Restoration of Letters, at the Fall of the Roman
empire, at Calvary itself. For'two hundred years the most
vital causes in politics have turned upon the condition of the
many as opposed to the few. It is not likely that it will be different with history for two hundred years to come.
It is most necessary to notice that, onil all these themes, the
reformers and deformers are yet strangely mingled.   The
truth that labor reform, both here and ill Europe, contains,
seems to me, I must confess, a jewel in' the coarsest incrustations; and yet no less a jewel for its strange setting.  I
suppose that the deepest question yet renttaining unsolved in
this nation is that concerning the relations between capital
and labor.  Slavery itself was but one form of that question.
We hear the retreating footsteps of the discussions concerning
slavery, and at the same time the advancing footsteps, under
which Europe already shakes, of discussions concerning the
working classes in crowded populations. The discontent of the
working classes! The discontent of the working classes! This
is a sound ominous of much, both good and bad; but it is'not
the less ominous of the one or of the other for being borne
to us oni all the four winds of heaven.
In one field of that wide discontent, I have spoken to-night
for the largest trade of the United States.  I have spoken for
Lynn, for IHaverhill, foy all New England.  I have spoken for
New York and Philadelphia. Outside of the collieries of
Pennsylvania, there is perhaps not a spot on the continent
where I could have delivered to-night a speech more needing
to be made. Go to the grave of George Peabod-y, almost in
sight of which I speak, and learn your duties to the poor, and
toward the present and the future of the vast trade whichi
this city leads. (Applause). 
LECTURE III.
SUNDAY EVENING AT MUSIC HALL.
statements made at the previous meeting by Mr. Cook, having culminated
in the appearance of the cards published in the Reporter of last Saturday (and which we republish by request to-day), the supposition was
that Mr. Cook would allude to the
subject again on Sunday night: hence
the great rush to the hall. Upon making his appearance on the platform,
Mr. Cook was greeted with loud demonstrations of applause. After the
usual preliminary exercises, Mr. Cook
proceeded to read as follows:
Music Hall was packed to overflowing on Sunday eveninglast,ithaving been announced that the third of
the series of meetings now being held
there on Sabbath evenings, under the
auspices of the First Congregational
Society, would take place.  The floor
and galleries of the hall were completely filled at the earliest possible
moment, and over one thousand persons are reported as having left, being
unable to gain entrance. The excitement growing out of the turn which
affairs have taken in regard to certain
There is one sweet and holy game which will not be played
here to-nighlt.  It is that of absurd misrepresentation of what
I say. I dislike to. speak from manuscript, but you will bear
with me for a few momenlts'while I read what I do not care to
have turned so far end for end that white shall appear black.
There is another reason why I prefer to speak from mnanuscript.  My mnood to-nighlt is that of morniing on the mountains. I feel like Bismark before Paris. I might say somethling incautious if I were to speak without notes here and
now.
It was once my fortune, or misfortune -I hardly know
whicl - to call on President Buchanan, at the WhVlite House,
just after news of the evacuation of Fort Moultrie reached
Washington.  When I referred to the news, he said: "It will
not do to believe all you hear. Sir, the telegraph is a wonderfuil  invention.  It bears messages that are short and
weighty and rapid and pithy and false.  It will not do, sir, to
believe all you hear." Certain gentlemen who have not been
87 
38
asleep in the daytime in this city for the last six days, assure
me that there passetli through the city just now a hurricane
though whither it goethli they know not; and ninety-nine
per cent of those who were here last Sabbath night know not
whence it cometli. Now in all such hurricanes it is endlessly
important to remember President Buchanan's advice. It will
not do to believe all you hear.   The famous story of the
tradesman in the Strand, who was told that a neighbor of his,
ill his illness, had thrown up three black crows, is, as I judge,
rather more than outdone in our streets.  This tradesman,
you will remember, investigated rumor. Going back oni the
line of authorities for the story, he found, first, that it was
only two black crows; then that it was but one black crow;
and, of the only competent.authority, he learned that it was
not a crow at all he had spoken of, but only something as
black as a crow.  I advise all who are glad or sad at the flight
of crows through our air in twos, threes, fours, or ill flocks,
to imitate the'example  of this famous tradesman in the
Strand.
I had anticipated seven styles of sentiment as to my address
of last Sabbath evening.  There are three chief parties interested in the discussion - the employed, the employers,
and the churches.  Ea-h of these is to be divided between
the offended and the unioffended.  There are six parties.
But the seventh is the party of hearsay.  It is this last that I
anticipated would  have the most wildly inaccurate  impressions. It is one thing to hear a speech, and another to hear
of it. It is one thing to hear with the ears, and another to
hear with the elbows.  In spite, however, of all disadvantages,
the working men, I am assured on all sides, are with me,
almost to a manl. I have to thank nearly every paper of the
city for a more or less favorable notice of my remarks as a
whole.  One of them fully agrees with me as to the moral
dangers of the system, or want of system, which I discussed.
I find powerful support in the churches.   In estimating
public sentiment, the difficulty is, that men in a particular
eddy imagine the whole ocean to be moved as their eddy is. 
39
It is my duty, as a student of public sentiment, to study all
the eddies.  I am  assured (thlough I do not lean on the
assurance), and assured from many very differently prejudiced
authorities, that the capitalists and employers are with me,
except five or six, who are very angry. I know, beyond all
question, by their personal testimony to me, that every manufacturer of the many with whom I have conversed, with the
exception of one, is in favor of the two measures I recommended - the separation of the sexes in the workrooms, and
the appointment of good moral men as overseers. In view of
the wildness of the statements on which the party of hearsay
have formed their opinions, I think it not useless to remark
that what the audience said here last Sabbath evening is, as
an indication of public sentiment, not wholly unimportant.
Three times during the address, and again at its close, the
audience, in spite of its being Sabbath, and the place one
used for the time as a church, gave open applause in a
marked way. I took no pains to call out these expressions.
I tried on one occasion to repress them. I have not trusted
my own impressions; but have asked several gentlemen, and
among them one of the best speakers of the city, what the
audience  meant by its expressions.  I have asked if the
majority of the audience meanit to' approve the general drift
of the address.  And the answer in every case has been, that
the audience - which represented excellently the whole city
- meant to approve the general drift.
Certain statements which I made privately in the confidence
of my own parlor, have been thrust before the public in a
childish card.  If any one thinks that this is large and dignified tbusiness, the opinion must stand on its own merits.   I
call public attention to the fact, that it was not by means of
anything I said publicly that any allusion of mine in a public
way was brought down to the low arena of personality.  I
referred to a room about seventy feet long and twenty wide.
I suppose there may be twenty or fifty such in Lynn. I have
myself seen several; and it is my conviction that in some of
these the moral  conditions were bad, and  that the moral 
40
dangers of the arrangements unnecessarily adopted by the
employers were great. I could easily have chosen illustrations
elsewhere, under evidence of a different character, and fit to
bear the severest tests.  I suppose that all in Lynn who have
given any thorough attention to the subject know this; and
the working men test of all. Of course, there are most
excellent factory rooms in this city, and most excellent people
in them.  I could point out other rooms in Lynn where these
moral dangers do not exist, or exist to a vastly less extent,
and this on account of other arrangements adopted by the
employers.  There is a foul and there is a clean system in
this largest trade of the United States; and I stand for the
latter, and have defined what I mean by the former and the
latter.
I do not know that any one has assailed, or attempted to
assail, my chief assertion, that the moral dangers of the latter
system are less than those of the former.  The working men
and working women cry out for the clean system.  God hear
their cry!  I am their friend, and the friend of this city, and
the friend of other cities having similar interests, by giving
this cry utterance; and in doing so at a particular juncture,
when the whole vast trade throughout the United States is,
onI account of the inveaition of new machinery, in a state of
transition, and is adopting a system likely to be a precedent
for five hundred years.
Old Lynni I have always distinguished friom floating Lynn.
I have repeatedly said that I am proud of old Lynn, although
I have pointed out its dangers from floating Lynn, on account
of this transition state of the great branch of industry which
employs here, directly or indirectly, tenii or fifteen thousand
people, and for the last tell years has put this city at the head
of a trade larger thani the coal, the iron, or the cotton, and
made the fashions it shall set for that great public interest of
altogether more than local importance. Instead of the few
times I have publicly touched this theme, I should have beenii
justified, by its local, as well as by its general, importance, in
touching it oftener; but, in the few times I have touched it, 
41
I have most carefully avoided every statement that could
endanger the effect of calm, guarded, and dispassionate public
discussion by a pitiful descent to personalities about names and
places. I made no allusion to names (as this card does, in
quoting private conversation); and my whole reference was
studiously intended to- be so indefinite that no identification
would have followed as to names and places from my language
reported literally. I quoted testimony of physicians; but of this
I asked in their parlors, and received from them, permission
to make use.  For what I have said privately, I am willing to
give any man a private answer.  And I shall take this occa sion to say that to any generous and candid man it will be
perfectly satisfactory. For what I have said publicly, I have
nothing to say, except that I have nothing to change.  The
three strongest words whichl the card accuses me of using
publicly I never used. I never said that these persons
deserved what was said to me of them. It is one thitig to
make an assertion of your own, and another to quote the
assertions of another. Certain assertions were made to me
about what was some ten months or so since, not about what
is - the only point this evasive card covers. If what was
said to me  I  must say it was said- is untrue, of course I
rejoice as much as any one. If, by any misunderstanding,
any injustice has been done anywhere, of course I shall be
delighted to see it rectified. I repeat that I could have
chosen illustrations elsewhere, under different and severe
evidence.  But this changes no assertion of mine, and touches
no important point of my argument.
The bondage of the pulpit is a theme in the thoughts of
many, and on the lips of but few.  I do not consider myself
at liberty to allow this occasion to pass without inculcating,
for the honor of the church which I represent (and it is highly
to its honor), for the honor of this city, and for the public
good, the lesson that Wendell Phillips is inaccurate when he
sneers at the pulpits for being turned by the great wheel of
thle factories.  This is an important Public lesson; and I have
friends watching me from near and from far who would never
6 
42
forgive me if I failed to use this occasion to utter this grave
and perfectly frank word on a theme of such grave public
significance.  It is really of public importance that it should
be taught in some manufacturing  centre of.ew  England,
and here and now as well as anywhere, that, while the envy of
the rich by the poor is to be abhorred and the benefactions of
the rich to the church are to be eulogized, no gold-dust is to be
allowed to choke, or to bring hesitation or quaver, in the pulpit,
to the clear bugle-note of truth.  The clear bugle-iiote of truth,
I say. -I mean calm, clear, dispassionate, unselfish, guarded
discussion, not of what is most popular, but of what m6st
needs to be said, even if it be a chief sin of poor against rich,
or of rich against poor.  The hopes of rich and poor train
behind that bugle-note. I had rather my lips should be closed
forever than that, on the Lord's day, in God's house, any
hesitation or quaver should come into that note, with the
bugle at my lips, toss into it gold-dust what hand or hands
will or can. If I had any other spirit, I should be obliged to
read in a sense of the profoundest irony, not intended by Mrs.
Browning, her words:
"Now press the clarion on thy woman's lips,
(Love's holy kiss shall still keep consecrate,)
And breathe the fine, keen breath along the brass,
And blow all class walls level as Jericho's
Past Jordan; crying from the top of souls
To souls that here assembled on earth's fiats,
To get them to some purer eminence
Than any hitherto beheld for clouds           What height we know not, but the way we know."
I had rather be any other kind of spaniel than a pulpit
spaniel. If any one has mistaken me, while yet a young man,
for a member of that rare species, I must remark that I hope
the race is becoming extilnct in New England, even in the
manufacturing centres, where the distinctions between rich
and poor are perhaps the widest.  I may not know myself;
but I do not think I am a being capable of being wrapped up
in the soft, sweet-scented paper of social obligations, and put
into a rich man's waistcoat pocket (or a poor man's either, for 
43
that matter, though I had much rather be in the latter than in
the former).  Much less am I capable of being put into the
coarse paper of dictatorial and excited language, with its rough
shards of inaccurate statement, inuendo, evasion, personality,
and browbeating,  and thrust bodily into such pocket; or
pinned in, with any bar of gold, however large. I make no
charges against any man. I do not refer at all to the past. I
refer only to the future. But I say that if (I beg you to notice
that I say if) any two, or three, or ten, or any other number
of rich men think they own the pulpits of this manufacturing
centre, I must say that for this property the great seal of the
Lord the King is not on their title-deeds.
Every man to me is just as large as his capacity, his training, his conscientiousness, and his attention to the subject in
hand.  Take out either of these four qualifications, and the
rest, however large, no matter what wealth or office adds, are
Jot large enough to make a man large.  Every man to me is
just as large as his reasons. I purpose to continue perfectly
open, calm, independent, guaided, public speech, with no
other rules to guide me in doing so in making social distinctions, besides these.
Mr. Bubier said he was not aware of
the  e xistence  of any such place as
that which had been alluded to, and
that, having resided here for some
fifty-five years, and done business in
the city a good portion of that period,
he was probably better acquainted
with the system than Mr. Cook, who
had only resided here seven months.
Mr. Bubier here made allusion to the
previous connection of Mr. Cook with
an insane asylum, at which point he
was interrupted by hisses and other
marked tokens of disapproval. After
this demonstration had ceased, he
attempted to proceed, but the hissing
was renewed, and he was prevailed
upon to leave the stage.
Mr. Cook made no rejoinder to
Mr. Cook then proceeded to dgliver a fine discourse upon "False
and Ture Faith and Repentance,"
founding his remarks upon the words
of the jail-keeper: "What shall I do
to be saved?"  He was listened to
with attention throughout.
When Mr. Cook had finished his
discourse, and as he was about to give
out a hymn, Mr. S. M. Bubier came
forward upon the stage, and asked
permission to be heard in refutation
of the statement made in the reverend gentleman's previous discourse.
A movement being made on the part
of some to leave the hall, Mr. Cook
earnestly requested all to remain and
hear what the gentleman had to say,
and that quiet should be preserved. 
44
the remarks of Mr. Bubier, but proceeded to read the hymn commenceing, "Majestic  sweetness  sits enthroned," in which the congregation
were invited to join, and the audience was then dismissed, with the
hope from the speaker that all would
bear away with them the spirit of
the hymn just sung.
We would take occasion here to
enter a protest against making any
demonstrations of applause or disapproval, such as were exhibited at the
above meeting, upon Sunday evenings, especially when the services are
of a religious character.  No matter
what a speaker may say, the feelings
of the audience should be repressed,
in respect for the sanctity of the day.
It is the earnest desire of Mr. Cook
that no such demonstrations may be
repeated at any future service which
may be held in Music Hall under his.
direction, as it is the design that such
services shall be of a strictly religious
nature.  It is to be hoped for the
honor of Lynn, and the respect due
the holy Sabbath, that we shall not
be obliged any more to record applause or hissing upon any future
occasion of the kind.  It is entirely
out of character, and much to be condemned.-  Semi- Weekly Reporter,
Feb. 1.
Society as  a Chri stian  mi niste r at -
tacked; therefore,
Resolved, That this Society have
the most entire confidence in the integrity, Christian character, and standing of our said pastor; and that we,
as a Society, most heartily and cordially approve of his boldness, ability,
and fidelity in presenting, both publicly and privately, those truths which,
though unwelcome to some in this
community, need to be plainly spoken
in this day of increasing immorality
and vice; and that our confidence in
him as a Christian minister is unabated by the fearless manner with
which he has withstood all attempts
to intimidate and thwart him in his
attempts thus publicly to perform an
unpleasant but important Christian
duty.    Per order,
FRANK P. BREED,
Parish Clerk,
A CARD. -I would  he reby te nder
my sincere th anks to    the  Rev. Mr.
Cook for the t ruly Chri stian  stand
he  has taken  a s watchman  on  the
walls of  Zion to cry aloud and spare
not those crimes in community least
rebuked, and therefore the more
fearful and devastating. Purity is
the baptism of scientific Christianity;
it should be insisted upon; and may
his, pulpit eloquence shatter the
hoary fabric of ancient Sodom, and
place mankind upon an eminence
where the beams from the sun of
truth first strike.
MRS. M. M. GLOVER.
A CARD. —At an informal meeting of the First Congregational
Church and Society, convened at
the close of divine service, Jan. 29th,
the following resolution was unanimously adopted, and ordered to be
printed in the several Lynn papers:
Whereas certain statements have
been publicly made, in which the
veracity of our acting pastor, Rev.
Joseph  Cook, has been  called  in
question, and his standing with this
To  THE PUBLIC. -  Rev. Joseph
Cook of Lynn, made a statement in
Music Hall, during his last lecture,
to this effect: That he visited a room
in Lynn, from sixty to seventy feet
Lynn, Jan. 30, 1871. 
45
in length, and some twenty feet in
width, in which, at one end were six
or eight girls employed as stitchersat the other end were as many men.
They were coarse, low, vulgar, badfeatured girls.  A man who showed
him the room informed him that no
young man could come to that room
a virtuous man and remain so any
length of time, because the girls were
so bad.
We, the undersigned,believing we.
are the persons alluded to, feel that
his charges are very unjust and unchristian, and we  feel justified in
appealing to an honest public to investigate our  characters, and  see
whether the investigation will warrant any person  in making  such
charges as these against those whom
we believe have nothingto condemn
them but that they are compelled to
labor for their own maintenance.
We   w ish to state  that the publication of Mr. Cook's vindication of
his statement was not solicited by
him, but requested by the press as a
a matter of local interest. -SemiWeekly Reporter, Feb. 1.
THE  MusIc HALL MEETING.
Considerable excitement was manifested throughout the city, last week,
in regard to certain statements allege d  to have been made by  Rev.
J   oseph  Cook, of    the  First Congregational Church, in his discourse of
Sunday evening, Jan. 22d, at Music
Hall, upon " The Moral Perils of the
Present Factory System of Lynn."
On Saturday, the  following    c ard,
which explains itself, appeared in
the columns of the Reporter.
The announcement by the Society
under whose auspices these meetings
are being held, that Mr. Cook would
speak again at the same  pla ce on
Sunday evening last, called out an
immense crowd of people, filling
every seat and standing-place in the
hall, while hundreds were unable to
gain admission; it being very naturally supposed that Mr. Cook would
allude to the subject that was agitating the public mind.
After making an impressive prayer,
and reading a hymn, which was sung
by the choir, Mr. Cook read from
manuscript, as follows:
At several points during the reading the audience gave evidence of
[Names of eight female and of six
male employees, omitted.]. I
TO THE PUBLIC. -I understand
that the Rev. Joseph Cook claims
that he got the foregoing statements
from me.  In the first place I never
made them. They are untrue ifmade
by any one.  It is not the character
of this room.  Nor do I know of any
room of which the Rev. gentleman
would be justified in making any such
statement.     HENRY DOWNING.
The Rev. gentleman, in a conversation with us, acknowledged that
the room alluded to in his lecture
was one of which Messrs. Berry and
Beede were the proprietors, and in
that case must be the room where the
signers of the above are employed.
L. B. FRAZIFR,
S. M. BUBIFR.
Semi-Wee7cly Reporter, Feb. 1. 
46
unhealthy excitement caused by this
affair had almost decided us to refrain from referring to the subject
at all; and it is with feelings of
great reluctance that we  allude to
it, and we only do so to satisfy the
demands  of an  excited  and  expectant  public.   The  unchristian
feelings generated in society by this
affair are greatly to be deplored;
and however  pure the motives of
the principals in it may have been,
the effect is unpleasant to contemplate.   Although  comparatively a
stranger among us, the Rev. Mr.
Cook has attracted much attention
by his bold and fearless manner in
presenting his sermons to the public;
and  even  before  we  became  acquainted with him we commended
him for his frank, outspoken style,
and for the interest which he appeared to take in the labor question
and the general welfare of the masses.
We  were present at Music Hall, a
week ago last Sunday night, and
heard him make bold, astounding,
and yet guarded, statements relative
to the morals of those employed in
the workshops of this city, in which
remarks he cited the sources from
which he had obtained his information, without, however, mentioning
the names of persons.  As has been
alleged, he did then and there make
certain broad and sweeping statements relative to the immoral condition of a  workshop,  which  he
described by an apparent guess at
the length and breadth, and by an
approximate estimate of the number
of males  and  females  employed
therein, at the same time stating
that personal  observation coupled
with the broad statements previously
referred to, and which he claimed
to be a quotation from the remarks
their approval by suppressed applause, and at its close Mr. Cook
proceeded to deliver a powerful extemporaneous discourse, illustrating
faith and belief by the "parable of
the iron-clad oath." The large
assemblage paid strict attention
throughout.
At the conclusion of Mr. Cook's
discourse, and as he was about to
give out the closing hymn, Mr. S.
M. Bubier stepped suddenly forward
from the rear of the stage, as if to
address the audience. Perceiving
this movement, Mr. Cook requested
the audience to listen to what Mr.
Bubier had to say. Waving his
hand towards Mr. C., Mr. Bubier
said:
11 This man has made a public
attack upon the virtue of Lynn. I
have lived here fifty-five years; he
has been here seven months, and I
know not how many months outside
of a insane asylum." -
At this point Mr. B. was compelled to retire before a perfect
storm of hisses; the audience, whatever might have been theiiprivate
opinions upon the subject discussed,
refusing thus emphatically to allow
him to proceed further.
Mr. Cook made no response whatever; but after Mr. B. retired proceeded to read the closing hymn,
which was sung; after which the
audience was dismissed. - Transcript, Feb. 4.
THE ABSORBING Topic.
As we write, the all-absorbing
topic in this city is the denouement
at Music Hall last Sunday evening.
The merits and demerits of the
principals in that unhappy affair
are freely discussed in parlors and
workshops and on the streets. The 
47
of a male employee who conducted
him through the establishment.  Believing him to be honest in his motives, convictions, and statements,
and knowing - as every observing
citizen knows - that society, especially in large towns and cities, has
been  sadly demoralized since the
breaking out of the rebellion, we
were prepared to hear that our own
city was not an exception to the
general rule; but we frankly admit
that, had not the statement about
which there has been so much excitement been given as a quotation,
we  could  not, in the  absence of
proofs, have done less than to attribute  it to  a  misconception  of
facts or an overwrought imagination.
In regard to the correctness of the
other leading statements made by
the speaker on the evening mentioned, we refer the public to the
authorities which  he  cited.   We
left the hall that night with mingled
feelings of sorrow for the sad condition of society, as portrayed  by
the speaker, and admiration for the
man  who,  zealous  for the  tause
which he has espoused, and apparently honest in his convictions and
intentions, beards the lion in  his
den, fearless of the consequences.
"To erris human; to forgive, divine."
Mr. Cook, in his zeal, and by his
bold, sharp, self-reliant, persevering,
and determined  attacks upon sin
wherever found- making no  distinctions between that clothed  in
broadcloth and fine linen and that
habited in rags -has, as such men
always have, aroused an opposition.
There evidently has been a latent
opposition to Mr. Cook ever since
his advent among us.
There    were, a        nd           still are, many
here, as elsewhere, to whom the un
veiled picture  o f sin in its naked h ideousness strikes terror and dismay,
and to them its exhibitor is an unwelcome visitor. On the Monday following the delivery of the sermon
which has created such a sensation,
the opposition to Mr. Cook began to
assume outward form, increasing each
day in certain quarters, and in the
course of three days his remarks had
been so distorted and enlarged that
the originals were unrecognizable.
We are told that on Thursday he
was interviewed, in his own parlor, by
two prominent shoe manufacturers,
one or both of whom had been led to
believe that he (Mr. Cook) had referred to their shop in what was substantially claimed as an unwarrantable and morally offensive statement
made by him in a public sermon on
the Sunday evening previous. After
being assured by Mr. Cook that he
did not refer to either of their shops
they desired him to name the place
to which he did refer. In his own
parlor, in private conversation, he
frankly, but- as the sequel provedinjudiciously, located the room in
question. If we are correctly informed the information obtained
from Mr. Cook was immediately conveyed to the proprietors of the shop,
and they, as well as their employees,
and the two manufacturers previously
mentioned, came out with a card to
the public, denying the charges of
immorality in the statement to which
we have several times referred. That
much indignation should be felt'by
those on whom the blow had fallen
is not at all surprising, and it is peculiarly unfortunate for all concerned
that the blow should have fallen
where it is said it was least deserved.
The moral status of the employees
in' the shop in question is reputed to 
48
discourse at the same place.  A portion of the audience being about to
leave the hall, Mr. Cook requested
all to remain and listen to the gentleman. Mr. Bubier said in substance
that he had no10 knowledge of any
such place as had been alluded to by
Mr. Cook, that he had lived in Lynn
fifty-five years, had done business
here much of that time, claimed to
be better acquainted with shoe manufacturing systems than that gentleman, that man, who  had resided
here only seven months, and how
long previous in an insane asylum
he did not know.  Mr. Cook made
no reply, but the audience expressed
their disapprobation of Mr. Bubier's
remarks by hisses and cries of" Put
him  out."   These  demonstrations
being repeated, Mr. Bubier was induced to leave   the  stage; after which
the exercises were closed by singing
a hymn.
In conclusion, it is but justice to
Mr. Cook   to  say  t hat, whatever  his
faults may have been, the conduct
of the parties who interviewed him
was tasty, ungenerous, and unworthy
of men whose long life in the community added to their mercantile
integrity had won the respect of
large circles of acquaintances. Had
they withheld the information obtained from Mr. Cook, the proprietors of the shop referred to might
never have known who was meant,
and respectable, hard-working women would not have suffered from an
uncalled-for notoriety, and the public
might have failed to guess where
the arrow hit. That both sides have
said things which they would be
glad to recall we have no doubt;
and with all due respect for Mr.
Bubier, we have no excuse for his
extraordinary conduct on Sunday
be specially goo d,      and it           seems incredible that  a   man   prof essing    to
preach the  gos pel s hould w antonl  y
assail the characters of innocent females who  earn their bread by daily
toil, and     thi   s hinges  th e    subje ct on
a         q uestio n     of veracity between Mr.
Cook and a  male  employee in    the
establishment, the latter'flatly denying that he  ever  u   sed the language
quote    d  by  th e fo rmer an ia    d laid at his
(the operative's) door.  Although
M    r.  Cook gav e       th e     language- at
which special offen ce  has been      taken
as a quotation, and confidently
asserts that the male employee told
i    t      to him, yet'in view of  the factwe       have no   dou       b t that it is a  factthat the moral condition of  the                shop
mentioned will compare favorably
with       any  in  the city, w e  presume  t ha      t
M      r. Cook              will make  the amende
h onorabl   e  t o     th e  f emale  employee s
of the establisment.  Unles s  h   e can
show that the statement made upon
heresay- as he claims-  is true, he
owes an apology to the ladies in the
shop, and justice demands that he
should make it.
On last Sundav evening the attendance at Music Hall was again
very large, and after the preliminary
exercises Mr. Cook read the following, which, at the earnest request of
many citizens, we publish as read by
Mr. Cook.
This Mr. Cook followed by an excellent discourse upon "False  and
True Faith and  Repentance," his
text being, "What shall I do to be
saved?"
During the closing exercises Mr. S.
M. Bubier came upon the stage and
began to address the audience in
refutation of some of the remarks
made by Mr. Cook in the previous 
49
evening last, even though it be, as
claimed, that his motive was to protect the character of the working
people of Lynn.  Believing that the
favorable  representations made to
us in regard to the characters of
the females employed in the shop
mentioned  are true, we think the
Rev. Mr. Cook's duty is clearly defined, and that the circumstances of
the case imperatively demand  an
apology from him to the ladies referred to.
We would caution the working
men  against the effects of heated
discussions on this subject, for discussions  and  differences  in  their
7
CARD TO  THEa   PUBLIC. W- thile
my sentiments upon the particular subject in discussion remain unchanged, I take this method of publicly expressing sincere regret for
any improper action or unkind words
into which I may have been betrayed by the excitement of the occasion last Sabbath evening.
Lynn, Feb. 2,1871.  S. M. BUBIER.
Semi-Weekly Reporter, Feb. 4.
ranks will lead to disastrous results.
Remember the old motto:
" United, we stand,
Divided, we fall."
Little Giant, Feb. 4.
1.s 
LECTURE XI.
SUNDAY EVENING AT MUSIC HALL.
Mr. Cook announced as a text the
words found in John xv. 11: "These
things have I spoken unto you, that
my joy might remain in you, and
that your joy might be full." The
speaker prefaced his regular discourse with some remarks in allusion
to the subject which has been so
widely discussed of late, which, at
our solicitation, have been kindly
furnished us by him, and are as
follows:
MUsIc Hall was once more filled
to its utmost capacity last Sunday
evening;  the public  anticipating
that the subject which has agitated
the community to such an extent
within the past few weeks would
again be reverted to by Rev. Mr.
Cook, who was to conduct the meeting.  The services were opened by
fine singing from a chorus of one
hundred voices, followed by reading
of Scripture and prayer, after which
Henry IV. of France once said, and the remark has been
gratefully remembered for two hundred years, that hlie hoped
the day would come when every working man in his kingdom
might have, as often as he pleased, a chicken for dinner.  If
there is a political ruler in the civilized part of the world who
would not say this now, he is as much an exception to the
drift of the age, and to the tendencies of history for the last
two hundred years, as the Gulf Stream is an exception in the
general drift of the Atlantic. But when Henry IV. said this,
the speech was a singular one for a great ruler to make.
Everything in history for two hundred years illustrates God's
pity for the poor. De Tocqueville said that he regarded tile
progress of the democratic principle in governments as a providential fact - the result of a divine decree.  It was universaf.  It was endurinig.  It was irresistible.  All men and all
events contributed to this progress. He found in it the sacred
characters of a providential fact, and he stood in awe before
it. But this progress is only one illustration of God's pity for
the poor. The day has come for nearly the whole world that
50 
51
can be called civilized, when to say what Hlenry IV. said is to
say nothing singular.
Tell working men and working women what you please,
you cannot make them believe that he is not their friend who
is the friend of their children. I have undertaken to maintain
before you that the working men and working women of the
manufacturing centres of New England have a right to ask
of the capitalists and employers of those centres, that when
the working people put their children into the workshops,
where they must earn their support by daily manual toil from
morning to night, the arrangements of those workrooms shall
be such that the moral danger to their children shall be as
little as possible. This is the outline of all I have said. The
working class have a right to ask this of the employing class.
In putting before you this assertion, I do not regard myself
as saying anything off the line of the speech of Henry IV. I
do not consider myself as given to enthusiastic speech; for I
hope there is something of caution in my nature, as well as
of impetuosity.  But if there is any line of thought on which,
I might throw away all my caution, and give full rein to
impetuosity, it is the line of God's pity for the poor. And onil
precisely that line lies all I have said of the right of the
working class in our mnanufacturing centres to ask of their
employers such factory arrangements as shall make the moral
temptations of their children as few as possible.
I wish to introduce before you a great and grave theme
to-night, and had intended to refer to no other; but in order
that I may introduce this other theme with the best effect, it
is absolutely necessary for me to brush aside a little mist that
lies between your eyes and mine. Fifteen or a score of lies
yet walk about the streets; and, in order to get audience for
a great theme of another kind here to-night, I must say something to prevent their tramplinigs being heard in Music Hall.
Six important points are to be kept in the foreground, so
far as I have part in the discussion now agitating this city.
I am anxious to put principles in the foreground and personalities in the background. These latter have had a liu 
diclrous prominence in certain quarters for the last six days.
Rufus Choate and Daniel Webster were once opposed in a legal
case that turned on the size of certain wheels, and Webster
had the wheels brought into court. When Choate had gone
through an elaborate argument to prove that the wheels were
not this or that, Webster's only reply was: "Gentlemen,
there are the wheels." I wish to keep the great points
prominent in the discussion which now has the ear of this
city.  The facts which I discuss lie close at hand.  The
wheels are in court.
1. The  lasting-board is not a sieve.  The door through
which operatives in the factories of a great town like this are
engaged is not a moral sifting-mlachine.  The advertising
board is put out at the door or window of a factory, asking
for operatives for this class of work or that. In most factories,
in the two great brisk seasons of work, whoever comes first
that is skilful is likely to be taken. Orders must be filled.
Teams must be made up. The operative here signs no regiulationls, as the operative at a Lawrence or a Lowell cottonmill does.  This is a most important peculiarity of a shoe
town, as compared with a cotton town; and, on account of
the two circumstances I am about to-mention-the periodical
lulls in the activity of the shoe factories and the large percentage of changeable operatives -it is difficult to introduce
into the shoe factory system the admirable method of sifting
operatives according to characters that has long been practiced in the cotton factory system, which does not have to
meet the exigencies of such lulls and such a percentage of
changeable operatives. A study of the subject at a distance
might lead to the opinion that a shoe townl and a cotton town
are much alike; but the reverse is true. Each has a set of
exigencies of its own;  and mistakes onI the whole subject
of the shoe factory system arise from nothing oftener tlhaii
from the false notion that a shoe town and a cotton town are
parallels at most points.  The sifting of character at the door
of entrance of the workrooms of the factories of a city like
this is not, and is not likely to be, by any means microscopic;
52 
53
and this is my first reason for the separation of the sexes and
the appointment of good moral men as overseers in the workrooms.
2. In the shoe trade there are in each year two lulls, each
of about a month's duration, and thousands of operatives are
dismissed from work in these inactive seasons. This makes
the operative population of a city like this, of necessity, more
floating than that of one given to the cotton trade. These
lulls do not occur in the coal, the iron, the woollen, or the
cotton trade. They are a peculiarity of the shoe trade; and
the very best authorities I have consulted among the leading
manufacturers tell me that, for the reasons I explained on a
former occasion, these lulls are a necessity in that trade, and
are likely to characterize it for scores of years to come.  This
is a most important peculiarity of a shoe town, as distinguishled from the cotton town.   Thefloating poputation is the
more floating on account of these lulls. I have made no sweeping
charges against the character of even this floating population.
I said publicly, in the address which I gave two weeks ago,
that I believed that if this population had homes, and was
not floating, it would be as free from moral perils as any
population of its size. We all know, and we all rejoice to
know, that it contains hundreds of most excellent people. These
very people, however, will be the last to accuse me of setting
in too strong a light the perils of a floating population.
Homelessness, I lhave said, is always a moral peril. Alnd
where, as here, a vast floating population congregates, the
moral perils will always be found to be very great.  He is
pitiably ignorant of New England, and of this city, who does
not know this. Now, it is out of this floating population,
itself not sifted, that operatives are taken into the workrooms
through a door that is itself not a sieve.  And this is my
second reason for asking for the separation of the sexes in
the workrooms and the appointment of good moral men as.
overseers.
3. Thirty-three per cent of the operatives in your factories
are changeable within the year, and you could not find out 
54
their characters if you would. In view of these circumstances
it is very far from extravagance to say that, in a city like this,
the chances are extraordinarily great that bad men and bad
women will occasionally be found in the workrooms. This
would be a probable theory antecedent to experience; but
this city, and other cities having similar interests, exhibit an
experience about which I should convince you that I know
nothing, if I did not say that the experience justifies the'
theory.
4. Foul mouths in factories are so well known that the expression is almost a proverb. I make no unguarded charges.
There are numerous and most honorable exceptions, especially
in the factories managed on the clean system; but you would
think me ill acquainted with the most esssential parts of the
subject I discuss, if I did not refer to what the best class of
working men and working women speak of to me at every
street corner.  I need not expand this large consideration.
It is a reason why the sexes should be separated in-the workrooms. Unimportant as the circumstance may appear, it is
not one of the least significant of the differences between a
shoe factory and a cotton factory that in most of the rooms
of the latter the machinery does, and in most of the rooms of
the former does not, miake noise enough to prevent conversation.
Utterly futile is it to compare, as I have heard a few whitehanded critics carelessly do, the influences of the sexes on
each other in these workrooms, filled at haphazard from a
floating population through a door that is not a sieve, with
their influences on each other in a high school. Woman's
refining influence on man no one shall value more highly.
than I, but there is a proverb moderately well known among
sensible men, to the effect that circumstances alter cases.
(1) In a high school the immoral are excluded.  (2) The
sexes mingled there have homes of their own, and are under
the restraint of social ties close at hand.  (3) They usually
are persons who have refined tastes. (4) They are constantly
under the eye of a teacher. 
5. Physicians in this city, long resident here, calm, scholarly, well-balanced men, who have opportunity to see what a
minister rarely sees, and what an employer sees as rarely,
solemnly testify, after making careful allowance for every
explanatory circumstance, that the influence of the mingling
of the sexes in the workrooms of the vast trade of this city
has been detrimental to the floating population in a very high
degree. I must ask any one who does not see reasons for the
separation of the sexes, and the appointment of good moral
men as overseers, as two measures of importance ill the factory system of the largest trade of the United States, to study
this subject most carefully, as I have endeavored to do, from
the point of view of judicious and candid local physicians.
6. Since the population is more largely floating, and the
percentage of changeable operatives so much greater in a
shoe town than in a cotton town, you cannot do as much with
boarding-houses in a shoe town as in a cotton town.  I think
four or five boarding-houses here, under as good moral management as that of the best in the cotton towns, would be
excellent capital, and ought to be erected; but any system
of corporation boardinghouses, such as exists in the cotton
towns, is almost an impossibility here, owing to the fact that
you have five or seven thousand people who are here or not
here, according as your vast business is at its brisk seasons
or at its lulls.  You cannot do as much with good boardinghouses in a shoe town as it  a cotton town.  And therefore,
since many of the moral measures that are commonly applied
ill manufacturing centries are inapplicable to shoe towns,
those that can be applied become all the more important.
There are the wheels.  Whoever does not keep fully ill
view these six points does not understand the complication of
the problem of the moral condition of the shoe trade in a
great city. My object here and now, as you notice, is only to
keep before the public mind the important points of the topic,
and to push personalities into the background.  These are
only very slight and inexhaustive hints of the reasons I have
givenl for the separation of the sexes in the workrooms and the
55 
56
appointment of good moral men as overseers.  I solemnly
believe that if all the factories of this city were managed as
some five or six among the largest of them already are, on the
system of the separation of the sexes and the appointment of
good moral men as overseers ih the workrooms, more good
would result to the city than any ten churches here can do in a
year.  (Applause.)  I beg you, my friends, not to applaud  if
you can help it. And I believe that the factories here that do
not attend to these points, but are more or less careless of the
moral effect of the arrangements of their workrooms, do more
to injure the moral condition of the city than any ten churches
can do in a year to improve it. (Applause.) I stand for the
right of the working men and women in the largest trade in
the United States, now organizing a factory system of more importance than the cotton factory system, as it is to cover a
larger public interest, to ask of their employers such workroom management as shall make the moral perils of the working class, and of their children, as few and small as possible.
These perils will be great enough in any case. The working
people have a right to ask that they be reduced to the smallest
amount possible.  This is the substance of all I have said;
and I shall take back my words when Hienry IV. takes back
his. (Applause.)
Two lies are in circulation that I must despatch, and then
the way will be open to the other theme I wish to introduce.
1. It is said that I have attacked the ministry of this city.
It was my fortune yesterday to walk to see the really great
painting of the Battle of Gettysburg, now on exhibition in one
of your halls, and to carry at my side an innocent opera-glass
in a morocco case. If, inti consequence, I am reported to have
walked the streets in daylight with a revolver, I shall not be
surprised, judging the future by the past. Patrick Henry
said he lhad no means of judging the future but by the past. It
is wholly inaccurate to say that I have attacked the ministers.
Whoever heard me two weeks ago to-nighlt will remember that
I quoted Tennysoii's phrase about the "lily-hanided, snowbaiided, dilettante priest," but did not quote the last word,
0 
57
using " critic" instead; of it; and I had in mind no minister.
I said the theme was complicated, and that every minister
must direct his own course of study. I would not have dared
to speak on it myself without three months attention to it.
It may very well be that, in the midst of multiplied activities,
this or that public speaker, hleartily interested in this theme,
does not take it up because it cannot well be touched without
a large attention to it.  Speakers must choose their topics
according to the course of their previous studies. The adaptations of men to this or that line of effort differ; and nothing
is more juvenile or mischievous than that good men, taking
different lines of effort according to their different adaptations,
should therefore seem to themselves or to the public not to
agree. All my relations with the ministry of this city are,
and always have been, cordial in thle extreme. I must say
that I have myself seen service in battle at other points of the
line of the- enemy, and therefore sympathize with those leading the attack at those points, and have no fear that I shall be
understood as underrating the importance of attack at any
other point on account of attacking this. I confess I think the
moral condition of this city a legitimate subject for its pulpit;
and that the moral condition of the factories is a highly important part of that theme, and not the less important for being
endlessly delicate and complicated. Those who labor in respect
to this matter indirectly will not blame me for attacking it
directly. The theme is not only complicated, but new; and,
as the years pass, the responsibilities of the pulpit in regaid to
it will increase.
2. In regard to a matter which has been persistently used
to turn against me the working men, I have nothing to say,
except that it has been used in vain. It is in no sense other
than that of a reiteration or more specific statement of what
I have said or implied before, that I allude to the matter
now, in order, to make the air wholly clear for the theme
which I wish to introduce.
(1) Before my lecture of January 22d, I said repeatedly
in private that I had no charges to make against the present
8 
58
character of a certain room, the place of which has been so
unnecessarily mentioned in the public prints. Several gentlemen remember that they heard me say then, and I say now,
that I think the present character of the room very good.
(2) I saw but six girls in the room, and one of these was
pointed out to me as an exception to the rest. I vividly remember that one was pointed out as an exception. One of
the six, I am told on excellent authority, has left the room
since. To only four, therefore, of the eight whom I have
been charged with accusing, would any remark of my own
apply.
(3) What was said to me referred to a time some ten
months or so ago. I never had the date accurately, except
that the time referred to was some months before I visited
the room. I never have said that what was said to me was
deserved.  I rejoice now, on different evidence, and on evidence of varied kinds, to believe that it was not deserved. I
told, last week, the story of the three crows.  Let me now
tell that of the three anys.  I said, last week: cc If, by any
misunderstanding, any injustice has been done any where, of
course I shall be delighted to see it rectified." I could have
chosen other illustrations.
(4) I do not consider myself responsible for the public
reference to names of persons and places. I must regard,
and I do regard, the publication of my exceedingly private
statements, in a single conversation in my own parlor, a
violation of implied confidence. Infinite mischief would come
to society, if statements made in this way, in the confidence
of parlor conversation, and touching reputation and character,
are to be thrust in this style into the public prints.  (Applause.)
atonement.  It was an able sermon,
listened to with thorough attention,
except slight restiveness near the
doors, where stood a part of the audience. Towards the close of the
meeting a person made some disturbance by referring to something that
Mr. Cook then proceeded to the
regular discourse of the evening, the
subject of which was, "The  First'
Principles of a Scientific Christianity; or Christ's Gift of Fulness of
Joy; " -  an exhibition of the necessity of the new birth, and of the 
59
here knows so well the trials, the
difficulties, and  the troubles which
are met with in families and in shops
as I do.  Besides, I have travelled
considerably  in  this  country, and
have visited many cities and towns
in England, Ireland and France, and
I find here as much goodness, devotion and piety, and as few real evils,
as I have found elsewhere; indeed,
taking the population into consideration, I believe the evils here are
less.
Now, so far as the Rev. Mr. Cook,
who professes orthodoxy, advocates
appropriate rooms or halls for girls
and men to work apart, and that no
communication should be held between each other during the hours of
labor, and that competent women
superintend the girls' department,
and competent men the men's department,  so far as practicable, I
heartily concur    with him; n ot because
I condemn the present system, but
that this separation would be more
fitting, more conducive to good order,
more beneficial for    the public good,
and  more  in harmony with Christian
civilization. I am, then, in favor of
a committee of one being appointed
from each church, to meet, consult
together, and attend to this matter.
It is our duty as instructors, directors,
and guides of the people to guard
against abuses, and see that the divine
truths which religion teaches may be
made known, so as to promote the
good conduct and the spiritual welfare of all.
But so far as the Rev. Mr. Cook
used language to convey the impression of the immorality of girls and
men working in shops and halls,'I
am opposed to him.  The names of
girls and men have been brought before the public, and he is said to have
had been said concerning the fall
of Paris; but he was taken out, and,
a    s will'be seen  by the police               record,
d       ealt with in accordance with law.
The next meeting will be held in the
same place, next Sunday evening,
when it is the intention of the committee having charge of the meetings not to open the doors until halfpast six- o'clock, as many had been
standing an hour and a half before
the address commenced, the hall being full at quarter past six. —- SemiWeekly Reporter, Feb. 8.
MR. COOK'S DISCOURSE. -We
wish to state that Mr. Cook's remarks
last Sunday    evening  a   re not publish    ed at his                 request, but at ours. We
lear      n that Mr. C    ook wrote out  his
rem         ark s           immediately after the lecture, in order to prevent misapprehension.  When         they were applied
for for the press, he revised them carefully and    adde d a  paragraph       on     the
contrast between the workrooms of
a factory and a high school. But our
readers who were hearers will se;
that nine tenths of the language,
and every word of the part applauded,
are precisely that used in the extemporaneous remarks at Music Hall.
Semi -iVeekly Reporter, Feb. 8.
THE REV. MR. COOK AND THE RE         FORM QUESTION.
MR. EDITOR: I am led to notice
this question of reform in the shops
of this city from the agitation lately
made about them.  As pastor here
of the Catholic Church for the last
twenty years and upwards, I think I
ought not to be silent on a question
affecting the reputation of this city,
and of the people under my charge.
I will venture to say that no person 
60
alluded to them as a vile and degraded class, corrupt and corrupters.
This charge he has not denied, for he
says he has nothing to change.  IHe
adds  that some halls there  are,
"some seventy feet in  length by
twenty in width, where  the moral
condition is  bad, and  the moral
danger of the arrangements great,"
- and thus the city is filled with
these people, and filled with iniquity.
Now I say that this charge is a detraction and a calumny on the working girls and men of this city.  The
Rev. Mr. Cook makes it, and he sins
grievously.  Detraction is the unjust
taking away of our neighbor's reputation, or the lessening of the good
esteem in which he is held.  This is
done by giving publicity to faults
hitherto secret.  When the charge
is false or the circumstances exaggerated it is a calumny. The Scriptures
say, in Proverbs, chapter 24, verse 9,
that the detractor or scorner is an
abomination of men. And, in Ecclesiastes, chapter 10, verse 11, "The
serpent will bite without enchantment, and a babbler is no-better."
Again, St. Paul, chapter 1, verses 30
and 32, says that backbiters; inventors of evil things, etc., are deserving
of death.  And again to the Corinthians, chapter 6, verse 10, " Neither
drunkards nor revilers will inherit
the kingdom of God."
Further testimony is unnecessary.
Now the gravity of this sin is to be
judged from the' number of persons
injured, from the damage they may
suffer in their reputation, from the
quality of the detractor, and from
the number of persons who concur,
or who may hereafter be led to concur, with him. Indeed, an evil report
affecting the morality of a city is a
diabolical sin, which tends to break
ar e over, tired and weary, at the
shades of the evening they return to
perhaps comfortless homes. Thus they
toil to earn an honest livelihood for
their parents, for theirlittle brothers,
and for themselves.
I have now presented my views on
this agitated question, and entertain
no unfriendly feelings to Rev. Mr.
Cook. Indeed, I wish him every success in his efforts to improve the people of his charge. Respectfully yours,
PATRICK STRAIN,
Pastor of St. Mary's Church.
Semi-Weekly Reporter, Feb. 11. 
61
tion of the remarks, in as public a
manner as said remarks were made.
BERRY AND BEEDE.
Semi-Weekly Reporter, Feb. 15.
MR. COOK AND HIS STATEMENTS.
MR. EDITOR: We desire, in as few
words as practicable, and in behalf
of the girls in our employ who were
so falsely slandered by Mr. Cook, in
the lecture recently delivered by him
in Music Hall, to call upon Mr. Cook
for an apology.  Waiving all information which he claims to have received, we call him to an account for
what he said in regard to the girls
based upon his own judgment.  Mr.
Cook said in his lectures, in speaking
of the shop, that when he entered,
he picked out the girl who had resisted temptation; but that all the
others were bad-so bad that no
virtuous young man could remain in
the room with them any length of
time and remain virtuous.
Looking at the audience, he asked
them how  they supposed  he was
enabled to select the virtuous girl
from the bad.   He  answered the
question by remarking that after a
woman had fallen, there were certain
unmistakable signs by which the fall
could be detected; that they had lost
the flash and lustre of the eye, t e
bloom and rosy hue of the cheek, and
in their place the haggard look is
seen; and that was the condition of
those he saw in this room, and that
was how he knew.b
Now, without having any desire to
call in question Mr. Cook's vast experience in that particular direction,
or that he may be eminently qualified
to read the human face, still we think
he must admit that in this instance
his judgment was not infallible, and
in consequence of his remarks being
unqualifiedly false, and by their having been made, an act of great injustice was done, we call on him, as
an act of simple justice on his part,
to make a full and complete retrac
MR. EDITOR: In simple justice to
a  man  who I sincere ly believe has
do ne and  is now doing much g ood
in this city, I desire to say a few calm
words with regard to a card which
appeared in the last issue of the
Reporter, headed "Mr. Cook and his
Statements."
In that card the reverend gentleman is accused of falsely slandering
several girls, in a lecture recently
delivered by him in Music Hall, and
called upon publicly to apologize for
and retract certain statements which
twelve or fifteen hundred people in
Lynn, who were present, well know
he did not make. Having a clear
recollection of what was said, and
no possible motive to change the
truth, I will, with your permission,
state the facts in the case.
In the course of his remarks on
what he has termed the foul system
in factories, Mr. Cook said that he
had visited a room, about twenty by
seventy feet, in which were employed
six girls, who he was informed by the
overseer, were, with one exception,
bad, and that at a previous time the
character of the girls employed in
that room was such that no young
man could remain among them and
retain his virtue; and while in the
room he- indicating one of the girls
-asked the overseer if she was not
the exception of which he had spoken.
The reply was, " Yes, she is." Mr.
Cook said the others were coarselooking. The speaker then went on
to say, what I have heard him say
before, that vice leaves its impress
on the countenance, and that there 
62
be regarded as other than a confidential statement of how and where he
got his facts. This, from what motives
they best can tell, has been published,
and thus they have erected a moral
pillory on which is exhibited to public gaze the room and names of those
employed therein. Is Mr. Cook responsible for that? True, his brush
are unmistakable signs which can be
read, etc.  In no part of that address
was there any allusion made to any
particular place or person, and the
room in question was only designated
by a guess at its size. No one of the
large audience in Music Hall that
evening could possibly gather from
what was said where or from whom
the speaker had his information.
But two gentlemen have since informed the public that they, in Mr.
Cook's own house, and in private
conversation, drew from him what
under the circumstances can hardly
has been   use d, but  it wa s  taken
without his leave, and he cannot be
justly accountable for what smearing
has been done.       A HEARER.
Transcript, Feb. 18.
ffi 
LECTURE V.
RELIGIOUS SERVICES AT MUSIC HALL.
to  interviews with  Robert Tombs
and Jefferson Davis, to illustrate
the idea of treason. The young men
of this generation might be considered as only a remnant, so many have
fallen ill the war. But those who
remain should seek to sell their lives
as dearly in defence of righteousness
as did their brothers who died for the
cause of the Union and Liberty.
Treason to God consisted in intemperance, sensuality, gaming, and all
the kindred sins to which man is
addicted; and if they did battle on
the side of Satan, the chief conspirator against the kingdom of holiness, the retribution of rebellion must
be expected. Christ was the only
King to whom allegiance is due; and
the young men were urged in earnest
language to enlist beneath the Christian banner. The audience were
very attentive to the speaker's discourse, and many expressed themselves as being much gratified with
the sentiments advanced.- SemiIVeekly Reporter, Feb. 15.
THE severe storm of last Sunday
prevented the usual attendance at
Music Hall, although under the circumstances the  congregation  was
satisfactory; indeed, in any ordinary
church, it would have seemed large.
Those who were present were nearly
all males, in consequence of which
the speaker,  Rev.  Joseph  Cook,
changed the tenor of his remarks so
as to make them applicable to his
hearers.  Not being confined in the
least to manuscript, and having a
ready flow of thought and language,
Mr. Cook is well calculated for any
emergency of this kind.  The opening service consisted of prayer, reading of the Scriptures, and singing by
a choir of gentlemen, and was followed by a discourse, the subject of
which was, "Christ's Human Nature
the Ideal of Excellence for Young
Men."  Mr. Cook based his remarks
upon a portion of the answer made
by Christ to Pilate, in John xviii. 3 7:
"I am a King."  The sermon was
commenced by statements in regard
63 
LECTURE VI.
SUNDAY EVENING SERVICES AT MUSIC HALL.
Music Hall was completely filled  entrance.  As the speaker stepped
again last Sabbath evening to listen forward upon the platform he was
to Rev. Mr. Cook, a large number  greeted with applause, upon which he
being gathered at the doors previous made the following remarks, previous
to their being'opened waiting for an to the opening of the regular service:
You will allow me, my friends, to say a word concerning
applause. It used to be said in Rome that the tap of Caesar's
finger was enough to awe a senate. Public sentiment is the
modern Caesar. I am not insensible to the value of whatever
is an indication of calm, intelligent, ultimate public sentiment.
This is the fourth time that, on coming before this audience,
I have been received in a manner not without its value as an
indication of what public sentiment is concerning the general
drift of what I have advanced. No one, not studying the
matter through colored glasses, can consider me responsible
for expressions which occur as I come before the audience.
These expressions of yours lhave been made in spite of its
being Sabbath evening, in spite of the place being used as a
church, in spite of repeated requests on my part that applause
be avoided, in spite of the critical character of much that I
have felt it for the best interests of this city to say, and in
spite of the extraordinary efforts of a few to turn the city
against me; and they have now continued through four
weeks. Lies against me have swarmed through this city for
the last few weeks thicker than mosquitoes in a morass, or
than leaves in Vallombrosa.  You have not been misled by
them.  I consider this expression of public sentiment - all
the circumstances taken into view- by no means without a
certain value. Four weeks, I say, have now passed. It is
an expression calm, intelligent, ultimate.
64 
65
But, my friends, there is one institution of New England
that has a fame to the ends of the earth, and which is in our
keeping here to-nighlt.  It is a part of the glorious honor of
New England, and we must all be moved by the feeling that
some part of that honor is iii our charge.  I mean the New
England Sabbath.  The  sacred character of thie day is a
motive too obvious and great and profound to need to be
more thaii mentioned here.  It should already fill all our
thoughts.  But I mention the historic character of the day
only to add, what it is, however, hardly necessary to mention,
that we must do nothing to bury ally part of this glorious
honor of New England in our father's graves.
i~   -   I am aware that you are accustomed to use this beautiful
.!  and spacious hall for other purposes than those which now
crowd it. But it is used now, for the time, as a church.
And this audience is of good quality; and should not allow
itself to be misunderstood by the public.  I do uot care to
force my  own preferences uponl the audience; but I wish
to say that I most seriously and  earnestly prefer that we
should avoid applause.   At the very least, if Caesar shall
tap his finger, I hope he will only tap; for that is enough
for high significance, when  it is Caesar.  And if he shall
not tap at all, It shall thiffik that Caesar is all the greater
Caesar.
for the purpose of a fair through the
week, and up to a late hour Saturday
night, preventing the return of the
seats in time for the service without
encroaching upon the Sabbath.Semi-Weekly Reporter, Feb. 22.
The services of the evening were
opened with prayer, and singing by
a chorus of singers who kindly volunteered their assistance.  The subject of the discourse was "Secret
Sins as an Obstacle to Conversion,"
being founded upon the words found
in 2 Samuel xii. 7: "Thou art the
Man," and Ps. xix. 12: " Cleanse
thou me from secret faults."  The
audience paid excellent attention,
although many were forced to remain
standing through the services. There
will be no meeting in Music Hall next
Sabbath evening, its occupancy by
the members of Gen. Lander Post,
9
THF, LABOR INTERESTS OF L
The meetino, at the North Congre,7
gational Church, in this city, last
Thursday evening, was not as well
-attended as the importance of the
subject demanded, but those present
were evidently deeply interested in
the matter. George W. Keene, Esq.,
i
I
I 
66
delivered the opening address, and
through his courtesy we are enabled
to lay it before our readers, as follows:
Mr.  President, and  Ladies and
Gentlemen: One week ago to-day
the managers of this association very
kindly and cordially invited me to
make the opening debate this evening.  I hesitated as to which subject
would be the most useful to the cause
of labor, and also the most suggestive
for good.  After deliberation it occurred to me that the" recent events,"
so-called, if taken up candidly from
another stand-point, and if conducted
free from personalities, would perhaps be the most productive of useful knowledge.  I concluded to take
that subject from the stand-point of
a citizen and tax-payer interested
in all the affairs of our city.  With
this explanation I will present you
my views.
The consideration of the various
statements reccntly made concerning the system adopted by the manufacturers of Lynn, and the liability
of the present system tending to the
moral degradation of the operators,
has led me to examine somewhat
into the facts, and review the situa- b
tion of affairs in relation thereto.  I
do not assume to speak for any one
but myself, and will present only my
own observations, without the least
unkindness to any person or persons
who have been brought thus prominently before the public.
Assuming as a fair and honorable
starting-point, and judgingfrom what
has been said and written, any fairminded and intelligent person would
come to the conclusion that the system of manufacturing shoes, as at
present adopted in our city, was, in
a moral point of view, needlessly and
recklessly bad; and the manufacturers themselves, if not directly implicated in the matter, were regardless of its consequences.  This view
I think any stranger, knowing nothingd of ou r people, would be likely to
take from reading or hearing the
public statements that have been
made. While I do not intend to
say that Lynn or its system of labor
is perfect, or its inhabitants free
from the temptations and vices incident to human nature, I do intend
to say that- although we have been
called upon to introduce an entire
change in our mode ofmanufacturing,
in a very short space of time, which
has brought into our midst a great
addition to our population, both
male and female we are, on the
whole, and on the average, as clear
in the particular matters charged
as any of our neighboring manufacturing towns and cities. Yea, more.
I think Lynn will stand, when fairly
weighed in the scale of absolute
truth, fully up to the standard of the
best manufacturing city you may
select, in point of morality and good
citizenship. But even then there is
enough to do to keep busy every
benevolent and moral enterprise that
can be started. There are liabilities
to temptation on our right and on
our left, and no benevolent and
Christian person, desirous of doing
good among us, will find himself long
out of work.
Situation of A, ffair,,; in Lynn.
I have been intimately connected
with the shoemaking'business in
Lynn, as Workman and manufacturer, since 1-826. 1 have watched
carefully and interestedly the course
of events through all the changes
since that time, and have lived in 
67
Lynn over a half century.  It is, not
wise for us or prudent for the com
munity to cover up or to exaggerate
difficulties or defects that may appear in the situation or the moral
status of any business in the city or
State; but it should be examined
fairly, in the light of common sense,
with an honest purpose to apply, if
found defective, such remedies as an
enlightened   Christian  community
shall sanction and commend.  Every
citize         n must  know     that our city, fromn
its connection with the manufacture
of shoes, has become an important
place, both in population and the
value of its productions. They must
also know that it differs in one particular from other manufacturing
places; that its wealth and business
is in the hands of individual enterprise, and not in large factorv corporations. Our prosperous manufacturers are men from the common
walks of life, who, after toiling and
struggling with the vicissitudes of
business, are themselves the controlling power, and personally interested
in our success.
not only usef ul and efficient, b ut
generally faithful  and trust worthy.
Shall we in  this state o f facts make
the public stat ement, that the  syste m
is  bad, becaus e, wo rkn ing   in shops
with men, th e  women and the youth
of our ci ty will be degr a ded and
given to immoral ity?  Is this true?
Do we find  our public  school s productive  of immorality  because the
boys an d girls go to the       same schools?
Do we  find the  fami ly less pure and
li able to  co rrupti on because  composed of  boys  and girls to ge ther?
Is it not the experience of all mankind, that what is true of the nature
of boys and  girls continues w ith us
through life very much after  t he
same order. Jean Paul Richter
says:  " To   insure  modesty I would
advise the education o f the sexes
tog e ther, for  two boys will preserve
twelve girls, or two girls  twelve boys,
innoce nt, amid wi nks, jokes  a nd improprieties, m erely by that instinctive
sense which is the forerunner of matured modesty.  But Iwill guarantee
nothn in g in a schoo l whe re  girls are
alone together- still less where boys
are alo ne." Do  we find   industry and
labor productive of i m mor al conduct
-or is it idleness  and l istlessness?
I do  not pretend to  decide th e  e xact
fact, which is best -a separation of
the sexes in the   workshops  or not;
but this  I think I can decide, that
the chances for the result in the case
of the five thousand women  in our
factories, engaged from morning till
night each day in good, useful employment, or the selection of five
thousand women out of any city'in
the country of equal population, without employment -however carefully
they may be brought up- would be
in favor of these Lynn shop girls
making the best wives and mothers,
Separation of the Sexes.
I It would not be surprising if some
defects should appear in a system so
suddenly introduced as the present
mode of manufacturing shoes among
us; for within the -memory of most
of us there were no females employed
in our manufactories or in the shops
of the workmen. The females found
employment in their homes, binding
and fitting the shoes, while the men
made and prepared them. Now
there are from three to five thousand
women employed in the various
factories in this city, in almost every
department of industry connected
with the business. They, are found 
68
begun at Music Hall; it is a kind of
an  education which  sermons  and
catechisms will scarcely undo.   I.
think I can say, in justice, that every
conscientious man in this community
feels himself in some degree personally responsible for the public virtue;
and from this cause comes the present
conflict. Poisonousprejudicesagainst
classes are often instilled into the
public mind  by careless preaching
or thoughtles s e xpressions.  For inst ance, let a  perso n high in- authority
teach the people in   Lynn that every
person who  makes a bad shoe    loses
the fire of his eye, and you will find
every boy in  the stree t looking  into
the  eye s  o f  his   neighbor,  and i n
time, if all his discoveries should be
true, every workman would make
bad shoes, an-d every eye lose its
fire. And any statement of a similar
nature, affecting the moral character
of a class, is more disastrous to a
community than even this.
and becoming the most useful citizens.  Immoral conduct is not the
peculiarity of Lynn, or in any manner the result of our system of business. It is as prolific in country
villages, and' every town and city,
wherever it shall find nourishment
in the hearts of the people. In those
places where woman is held by man
in the lowest esteem it is most destructive and degrading, and in
those places where woman is elevated
to the true dignity and majesty of
her womanhood, there we find the
purest morality and the highest virtue.
It i s            the solemn duty of all honest
citizens to discountenance and discourage immorality, or the appearance of    it, in society.  But in the
fair a         nd honorable discussion  of the
subject, we should never forget the
great                  primal law                    o        of our being, that
we cannot separate m             an    from          h is
humanity; for in all the movements
of                   society we see the l iabilities    a nd
prerogatives of human nature go to
make up the larger proportion of
events in human progression, and
are always, on the whole, onward
and upward. What society most
needs in the progress of human concerns                  is faith  in human   nature. It
i         s           not all bad, nor all vicious; and
w    h     a    t      every man and woman needs
t         o          sustain him or her through great
trials    and great temptations is faith
t    h     a    t the community believe in them;
a      n      d if you would render them more
liable   to fall into the a    byss of shamef      ul             temptations, teach them t o  feel
th         a    t the community doubt them.
The girls employed in our factories
are largely composed of Americans,
and mostly from good, honest, Christian families.  Is i t fair or  honorable,
in any true sense, to hurl the imputation  b roadc ast t hat these  shopwomen  are  immoral, and i t  wou ld be
danger ou s  to    a    the morals of the young
men to be in their company? Such
a statement, repeated by an important member of our community, inflicts a wound upon society that will
paralyze the efforts of the good in
their kindly office of reform. Is it
not rather the duty of every Christian minister, as well as every good
citizen, to look fairly and honestly
back to the cause? Every intelligent person ought to know that the
human passions are the most im
Moral Aspect of the Question.
Effect of Careless Expressions.
This, to my mind, is the desolating
influence forced upon the public
mind by the recent public discussion 
69
portant, yet the severest and most
trying prerogatives belonging unto
the race of man, and their correct
discipline will make them the most
exalted and noble principle that can
render man honored and beloved of
his race, and the beloved and honored
in heaven.  Too long, too long already, has  this noble,  God-given
quality in human nature been wallowing in the mud and filth of stupid
ignorance, writhing and struggling
against ages of prejudice, hypocrisy,
and sin, striving through  all this
shame and filth to make itself known
and respected among men; for, when
understood, it will be the greatest
and highest principle that can produce peace, joy, and happiness.  It
is vested in our nature by our Creator for wise, holy, and exalted purposes.   The violations of its high
principles will surely return to us
and our descendants in unmitigated'
sorrow.  This truth is so solemn that
no good citizen should ever dare
refuse to utter or consider it; and I
beg of you to remember that, while
human passion is one of the elements
which God has generously and liberally endowed us with, he has also
given to us kingly and queenly authority over ourselves.  To demoralize this high  prerogative is to
invite into our own  soul a host of
traitorous  enemies, to destroy all
that is beautiful and lovely within
us.'Tis the idle thought that corrupts
us.'Tis the mind demoralized that
lures us into error, vice, and sin.
'Tis from within cometh the evil.
Call to mind that great and sublime truth uttered by Jesus, when
he says:  "He  that looketh on  a
woman, to lust after her, hath committed adultery already in his heart."
Can any person properly comprehend
the  tremendons meaning of  these
words, without considering the great
amount of light and easy talk, the
slanderous jesting about the virtue
of'the people, and the repeating of
impure stories so habitually and
carelessly, among all classes- rich
and poor, upper and lower, white
and black, male and female? Then
ask ourselves if this is not cultivating
and inviting lust, with all its issues,
directly into the heart. To pick
out the frailties and liabilities of
.poor human nature, and hold them
up to contempt and ridicule, may
be an easy task; but is it not catering to the lowest and meanest desires
of the human soul? If we wish to
do this, we shall find every human
being in the universe frail enough
for our purpose. We are all, every
one, full of faults and imperfections,
constantly stumbling, and constantly
pleading at the Throne of Mercy
for pardon. We know, also, that
slanderous expressions and backbitings have a wonderfully prolific
growth, which, if encouraged in any
community, will sadly undermine,
if not destroy, the efforts of the best,
the truest, and purest laborers we
have. It is the very citadel of Satan,
his strongest breastwork and fortification, the battery from which his
heaviest guns are discharged.
Without calling in question the
motives of any one, I must give it as
my solemn conviction, that the personal allusions that have been made,
and which have found expression in
our public journals, —whether  denied or contested in point of fact, or
not,- have caused a large increase
of public scandal, greatly to  the
detriment of public morals.. Moreover, the high position fiom whence
it emanated has fixed in the minds 
70
of the people in our neighboring
towns and cities a most foul aspersion
against the moral character of our
young and prosperous city, which it
will take years of our best efforts to
undo.  And the worst of all is, it
has sent into the midst of this community a whole series of scandals,
giving rich food to nourish all the
vile  contemplations  of sensuality,
wherein dwelleth all the seeds of lust.
Undue Alarm as to Female Employ
I venture to assert that there is not
a manufacturer  among us who, if
his attention   was  properly called to
any defect, either in   his   building or
his arrangements of labor, but would
gladly avail himself of the  hint, and,
if in his judgment correct, would
adopt it.
Sh o emakers generally owell educated.
The    Lynn shoemakers- or, more
properly, those bro ught up und er
the   ol d  system - are,  gen erally
spe aking, very well and    properly
in formed  upon all subjects,  both in
national and state  affairs, in private
and public matter and  nd are no t be hind  any other class in i  ntelligence
o r understan ding of  the  gene ral observations of  facts  and f ancies, an d
are  no t  often known to be afraid to
l ook f a cts squarely in  the  face.
They have their own opinions upon
all subjects, and  are not afraid to
utter them; a nd    this is the. class
and style  of men   now controlling
Lynn.    The independence of the
nature of the i r business encourages
this liberal feeling in our midst.
Th e first year the   to wn  of Lynn
assumed   to  make an es timate of the
valuation of he r property wa s in
1830, whe n  he r   whole taxable wealth
was found  to be  a  little rising
$1,800,000 l  Our  s choolhouses  were
s ma l l and inadequate, o ur  churchesr
poor  and far  bet ween, and     the
d we llings of th      e p eople a nd shops
of the manufa cture rs  and wo rkmen
corresponded  with the churches and
schoolhouses.   Let  any intelligent
citizen or stranger look over our
city to-day, and he will tell you
that in point of the arrangements
of our streets, the convenient style
and extent of our schools, the beauty
of our private residences, the elegance  of our churches and  City
ment.
With this preface, I will give to
you what I believe to be the con dition of the present system of our
manufactories, and the reason for
the employment of female labor.
Not that it is necessary for the defence of Lynn or her people, in
respect to their morals or habits and
customs, but because very erroneous
opinions may be formed by very
honest people in our own midst, as
to the true situation of affairs among
us; and because, if silent, it might
be infbrred, by equally honest people,
that the whole budget of statements
were true, and could not be fairly
answered. With all kindly feeling
and honorable regard for every good
intention and true purpose of reform attempted to be instituted
in, the recent discussion concerning
the morals of these workpeople, it
does appear. to me that they must
have been misinformed, or, through
alarm, must have misapprehended
the facts in the case. The manufacturers of Lynn are certainly not
the men to shrink from any moral
responsibility that may publicly rest
upon them, and, had they been consulted by any one with any sincere
desire of doing good to their workpeople, would have found efficient
aid in this most useful field of labor. 
71
Hall, the stability and convenience
of our manufactories, are equal to
those in any of the manufacturing
towns or cities in the State.
No Wealth jfom other Cities.
And all this has not come to us of
itself; it has been accomplished by
the intense labor and earnest efforts
of our own citizens.  We  had no
foreign help, no wealthy neighbors
to pour into our laps their overflowing wealth.   We  had no inducements to offer them.  We were only
the makers of and dealers in shoes;
and in earlier days this was considered  not  a very promising or
fashionable business.  Not only have
this generation improved and adorned
their own city, but, by upright and
judicious conduct, have largely contributed to render the business of
shoemaking not only honorable and
respectable, but one of the most important branches of industry in the
country.   In the progress of this
growth I could relate to you numerous incidents of thrilling interest
connected with nearly every manu-i           u
facturer in Lynn.  One only will I
relate, as it illustrates the character
of our people.   During the continuance of the World's Industrial
Fair, at the Crystal Palace in New
York, one of the Queen's Commissioners from England visited Lynn,
in order to inform himself and his
government how the workmen were
managed in the shoemaking districts
of this country. He was introduced
to one of our manufacturers, and,
after a strict examination into our
mode of doing business, he expressed
himself  much  surprised  that  we
should trust our workmen with so
much material to work up, without
a stamp put upon  the pieces by
which to know them.  Just at that
moment one of his workmen came
in with some work, and the manufacturer introduced him to the Commissioner, when an animated discussion arose between  them upon
subjects of state and national politics,
r eligion, and trade.  The Comm issioner turned to the  manufacturer,
and said: "I don't wonder you trust
your workmen, if th is  is a    s pecimen,
for he has beaten me on every tack."
Employment of Female Laborers.
Th e  first attempt to introduce
women's labor, to any extent, into
our fact ories, was on the  introduction
of the sewing-mabchine, about the
time of the adoption of our city
form  of government.   Then  the
question of the moral propriety was
fully considered and freely discussed
by the manufacturers.   Then our
conveniences were unfavorable; there
were no factories of sufficient size to
properly accommodate them. Yet
the attempt proved a success i and I
think the universal experience of
every manufacturer who thus early
introduced the sewing-machines is,
that the girls created a favorable
influence  in the factory.   They
earned better pay, and were more
independent in their labors. And
the moral result is practically this
that these girls thus early called
together have become, in most cases,
worthy members of society, and are
now honored as wives and mothers
among us.  This I know to be the
case in reference to the girls in two
or three of the earlier manufactories.
Since then, in the construction of
every building for the purpose of
manufacturing, every attention has
been paid to the convenience and
comfort of these operatives. The
machines have been greatly improved, and also the mode of operat 
72
ing them so as to give more ease, as
well as to guard the health of the
laborer.  Of course, there are many
factories that are not large, yet still
employ girls; but as fast as these
manufacturers  can  enlarge  their
premises they do so, and always in troduce  the  proper  conveniences.
The largest portion of the girls em ployed in Lynn are now employed
in these departments, and I believe
it to be the expressed opinion of a
large majority of all the manufac turers that  they are orderly and
well-behaved, and entirely free from
the loose and vicious conduct im puted to them.  Every day their
shops are visited by strangers, com ing in at different times, and they
are always found busily engaged,
decorous, respectful, and orderly;
and whoever visited the fair of the
Grand Army, held at Music Hall
last week, must  have  been  pro foundly impressed on  seeing that
great crowd of both men and women,
each day and evening during the
week, intermixed and intermingling
throughout the entire building, con sisting of thousands of our fellow citizens of both sexes, and not a
word, a look, or action observable
by any one that could detract from
the lady or the gentleman; and the
ladies  in  these  gatherings  were
largely composed of our Lynn shop girls.
With the introduction of the Mc Kay sewing-machine, a great change
has been made in the mode of man ufacturing  shoes, by a systematic
division of labor. With the favorable
experience had in the employment
of female help thus far, the manu facturer believed that many parts
could be as well performed by women
as by men; and wherever the cir
Business of Lynn  self-made. 
There is really less want of harmony between the employer and employed in Lynn than in any other
place I am acquainted with, and
there is really more kindlv sympathy
between the manufacturer and his
workmen in our business than is
usual in any other business. It is in
the nature of business to bring manufacturer and workmen into harmony,
because their interests are identical.
There is in Lynn no aristocracy of
wealth, or family. The leading men
of Lynn shew prominently to the
world that with us the poor of to-day
will be the rich of to-morrow.  This
harmony of interests in Lynn is
manifested by the meetings and
friendly consultations of both parties
last year, and the adoption of plans
and arrangements mutually benefi
cumstances are favorable, they in-variably improve the condition of
things around them. This system
of making shoes has greatly cons'olidated our labor. Women are employed wherever their labor can be
available, and in a large majority of
factories, where they are at work
with men, better order and decorum
is manifest.. The most important
necessity felt by the manufacturer
has been hitherto, is now, and always
will be, the employment of the ri-aht
person as superintendent. Experience only can prove what is the best
mode.-of action in this comparatively
new svstem of business. It would
be the most disastrous thing that
could befall the progress of woman's
'labor in our city, to have our manufacturers lose their f4ith in them. It
is, therefore, the duty of every good
citizen to do all in his power to
elevate the true character of woman. 
73
ciaL  There may be differences of  factories, which are and must be the
hope of the city- -the stay of the
people - our only source of wealth?
Rather let every citizen go forth
clad in the rough habiliments of labor, ready to do every true and honest work in the cause of our children,
in     t he cause of our  city, and  the
ca u      se of virtue and of God.'
At the close of the address the
meeting was announced to be open
for discussion. Messrs. Henry Moore,
Samuel Bancroft Samuel Porter,
Thos. Roberts, Nath'l Brown, C. J.
Butler, J. Carruthers, Geo. W.Mudge,
J. N. Buffum, and Rev. Mr. Cook
took part in the debate; but ourspace
will not allow of a report in detail.
Mr. Cook announced that ex-Mayor
Buffuum would' address the next
meeting. He'said that if he made
any reference to what had been said
it would be at Music Hall;, but he
would remark that " the representations that had been made of what
he had said publicly were as full of
error as an egg is of meat."- SemiWeekly Reporter, March 4.
opinion among us, but you will rarely
find a business of so much importance as ours where the manufacturer
feels that true interest in' his workmen, and the workmen an equal
interest in the success of the manufacturer; and the result has been (I
am proud to say it) that Lynn today stands in the front rank with all
the best cities in the Union, in point
of business integrity and standing.
And why should'she not also in morality?
It is undoubtedly true that there
is liability to an increase of moral
impurity in all mixed communities,
where the people know but little of
each other.  But every laborer, even
in that field of reform, to be useful,
must be patient, and by wisdom learn
how to direct his efforts so as to
benefit and improve that condition,
rather than by haste to injure it.
The efforts of the Woman's Mission
for Christian Work, with many other
associations among  us, are silently
doing noble work in this direction.
Let any citizen go into our public
schools, and there behold the thousands of bright and happy children
gathered from every family in Lynn,
see the good order, decorum and discipline, and reflect how cheerfully
the public treasure  is poured out,
like water, to nourish and support
them.  And that treasure is furnished
largely from the factory operations
in our midst.  Then ask yourself if
the larger proportion of these beautiful children will not necessarily
take their places side by side with
the industry of this city, and become
the operatives  in  these  factories.
Then what party is there in Lynn
so cruel or thoughtless as to fasten
the stigma of impurity upon  these
10
The following is a synopsis of the
remarks of the different speakers
who followed Mr. Keene at the Labor
Reform Meeting, on Thursday eveniiig last, which, owing to the crowded
state of our columns, were omitted in
our report of Saturday.
Mr. Henry Moore, principal of the
Franklin-street grammar school, said
that in the discussion of this question
of Labor Reform - in fact, in the
discussion of any question - truth,
and not victory, or an unjust interest, ought to be the object; and
keeping this in view, he did not see
any occasion for anybody to get
angry or excited. He thought it best
to discuss this whole. matter.- calmly 
74
things, but he had not touched the
real positions of the gentleman who
spoke at Music Hall.
Mr. Samuel A. Bancroft said that
he agreed with the remarks of Mr.
Moore.  He said that he had worked
in the shops of Lynn for twenty
years, and he  knew what he was
talking about when he said that Mr.
Cook had not told half the truth
about the evils in these shops.  He
had followed the sea, and had travelled the country considerably in his
lifetime, but he had never heard such
vile and  filthy language as he had
heard  uttered in the shoe shops of
Lynn.  If gentlemen wanted facts,
he could find facts.  What had been
said at Music  Hall concerning the
manufactories was  true.   He. had
heard, in Mr. Keene's own factory,
language the foulest that could come
from a man's mouth. He said there
was no use in trying to cover these
things up, or to deny them, for everybody who knows anything about the
matter knows that they do exist.
Mr. Samuel Porter said, that as he
understood it to be in order to discuss this or former lectures, he wished
to say a few words in opposition to
one of the positions taken in a former
lecture, in regard to the Crispins.
The lecturer did not say Crispins,
but he knew he meant them, when
he talked about some of their positions not being democratic, about
their having rotten timber in their
vessel, which, if not removed, would
sink it. Mr. Porter said that he
would cite three illustrations to prove
that their position was democratic.
The illustrations cited were the tariff,
life-insurance, and the church.
Mr. Thomas Roberts said that he
thought it was a very poor plan for
people to get angry every time any
and dispassionately. Many of the
statements and arguments of the
lecturer he should not dissent from,
but he thought he had misapprehended t        he  position  of t he gentleman
who spoke in Music Hall.  It was
a              v         ery  e    asy, but not a very just mode
of              argument,   to place our antagonist
in a fals     e          positi on and  th en batter
down the false position.  Such arguments migh           t be ver            y good for some
p urpos      es, bu t         they  utterly failed  to
touch the rea        l  p osition o             oour opponent.  H     ee d  id not  think  it just             to
accuse  the  gentleman whor  s         poke in
Music H all  of       intention ally s landering  L      y nn, when  he opened              the discussion     of this question with remarks
highly complimentar y t      o  t he          enterprise,   intelligence, an                   d general good
order        and mo ra l      ity of          the people of
this city.  There ar       e m oral evils and
peril s c o nnected with the manufacturing system of Lynn, which every
candid and intelligent person who
has gi ven t he matter                 any  thought,
must admit. Th                       es        e evils may not be
greater than exist in other large
manufacturing centres, but yet they
do exist, and what harm will come
if we look these evils fairly in the
face as honest men and Christians.
T    he man  who advocates    san       ita ry
p     rov   isions for a city is not  gen erally
considered an enemy to the health and
and prosperity of that city. Mr. Moore
thought the lecturer was unfortunate
in his comparison of the mixing of
the sexes in the shoe factories with
the relation of boys and girls in our
schools. For every one knows that the
teacher is always present, that no
talking is allowed, and in many
schools not even whispering. For
his part, he could not see any analogy in the two cases. He thought
the lecturer had  said some good 
one said  anything which  did not
harmonize with their views.  If, in
the course of his remarks he should
say anything which did not harmo nize with the views of any one present,
he hoped that they would not get
angry about it.  He  said. that he
did not believe in the Crispin organ ization.  He was opposed to a mo nopoly of muscle, just as much as to a
monopoly of money.  He opposed it,
because he thought that in the end
it would injure the working class
more than any one else.   He had
contended that the strike of 1860 injured the working class, and benefited
the manufacturer by enabling him to
clean out all his old stock of goods.
He said that he heard Mr. Cook's
lecture in Music Hall, and he thought
that he was talking for the best good
of the laboring class, and they pretty
generally so understood it.
Mr. Nathaniel Brown thought these
meetings would  be  productive of
good, if we only-reached truth in the
end.  His remarks were not confined particularly to the address  fof
the evening, but embraced variou          s
subjects, one of which was land monopolies, which he said he had always
opposed.
Mr. Charles J. Butler remarked
that a good deal had been said in
these discussions about being born
in Lynn.  He had not that to boast
of; but he trusted he was just as good
a citizen nevertheless, and had the
interests of the city as much at heart
as any other resident.  He had imbibed some pretty strong American
ideas, and cited an incident to prove
it which occurred during a recent
visit "across the water."  In company with several gentlemen they
met another, whose outward form
was the same as their own, but to
who m h is  companion s tipped their
hats, in token of obeisance. Upon
inquiry, he learned that it was Lord
somebody, and that it was customary
in that country to salute the gentry
in the manner related, but, he said,
he cherished too strong American
sentiments to tip his hat to even a
lord, or to any one else, on account
of his wealth. He afterwards learned,
too, that this lord was an oppressor
of the poor, as was oftentimes the
case. Mr. Butler said he did not
believe in looking up to any man as
superior, merely because he possesses
wealth. He thought it important
that the capitalist and laborer should
understand each other better; and
one important point to be ascertained
in these discussions, when evils are
found to exist, is, how to apply the
remedy.   He believed that, throughout the city, in nineteen. out of
twenty workrooms, both males and
females would vote for a separation
of the sexes; and the passage of
Scripture referred to by the speaker
this evening (Matt. v. 28) is one of
the strongest arguments why they
should be separated. This being so,
let the females be placed by themselves, and thereby remove the
temptation.
Mr. John Carruthers said that
he regretted the lecturer had left
the hall, as he wished to call his
attention to some points in which he
had done the speaker in Music H-all
great injustice. He had had no intention of speaking, and he did not
then intend to discuss the question
of shoe factories, because of his own
knowledge he knew but little about
that question. But with regard to
what had been said at Music Hall, he
did feel competent to express an
opinion, for he had attended all the
75 
76
meetings.  These continued misrepresentations of what was there said
were getting to be somewhat tiresome, and had been exploded over
and over again. The position taken by
the speaker at Music Hall had never
been met.  He had never made any
attack upon Lynn, for he has said
many times that he was proud of
Lynn, old Lynn; and the evils in the
factory system, pointed out by him,
he was always  particular to say,
applied to what he called the "floating population." Every one who was
presentwillrememberthe expression,
"The lasting-board is not a sieve";
and in the fact that it is not a sieve,
are to be found the dangers of the
mixing of the sexes.  He never said
that men and women could not associate together without  corrupting
each other; but always under proper
restrictions.  If any injury has resulted to the reputation of Lynn abroad,
Mr. Cook is not responsible, but the
parties who paraded this matter in
painted and perverted colors in the
public prints.  Let the responsibility
for any injury done to the reputation
of Lynn abroad rest where it belongs.
Whatever may be our opinions with
regard to the positions taken by the
speaker at Music Hall, let us do him
justice, and not discuss and criticise
what he never said. 
Mr. George W. Mudge thought
it was a great mistake if anyone
supposed that happiness was an attendant upon wealth....
Ex-Mayor Buffum, who was the
last speaker, said he thought these
meetings would  be  productive of
good.  They carried him back to the.
old Silsbee-street debates; but as it
was late, and he had been invited to
lecture at the next meeting, he would
not then speak at length.- Semi Weekly Reporter, March 8.
THE LICENSE, OF THE 1PULPIT.
MR. EDITOR: The late Doctor
Cooke, whose name and fame will
be ever held in reverence by every
true citizen of Lynn, has left on
recor d   th is quaint comme nt, not
altogethe r compliment ary, perhaps,
but nevertheless believed by him to
be true, that, " if Satan has any degrading and filthy delusion to play
off, to bring the human race into
greater contempt, Lynn is the place
which he is wont to choose for its
birth." Had the great and good
man foreseen that his own pulpit
was destined to serve as the special
birthplace, he would not so willingl~
have laid aside the armor in which
he had so long and faithfully served;
yet it seems to have been reserved
for his direct successor to prove that
the satire was not altogether undeserved, and that the occasion for it
did not die with the genial critic
who originated it.
Our community has been considerably excited, of late, and certainly not without good cause, by
certain wholesale accusations publicly made by'the present Rev. Mr.
Cook, from what  he regarded  for
the time as his own pulpit; and,
although certain mild Communications, both in support and in attempted mitigation of the offence,
have from time to time appeared,
it seems to me that the press of our
city has hardly kept pace with public
sentiment in the matter; remaining
silent, doubtless, from  a  delicacy
-commendable in itself, and hoping
that, through silence and neglect,
the affair would die a natural death.
But such a fate, however desirable,
seems hardly possible in this case.
The slander has found ready ears
outside, and the rival manufacturing
cities are only too glad to believe 
77
offered by his friends, since he himself
does not condescend to unbend himself, either in defence or explanation,
and which appears to be simply this
that, so far as the slander was fastened
directly upon individuals, it was a
private conversation, and should not
have been divulged; or, in other
words, that only the public virtue
and general reputation of our city
were publicly attacked; private character and reputation having been
allowed the privilege of a private
and  confidential execution.   How
this helps the matter, or mitigates
the offence, I fail to see.  That conversation  has been  divulged,  and
was first made public by his own
friends, and has since been published
in full, and in the public mind is inseparably connected   with,  and   a
part of, the general slander; and,
more than that, the author still
maintains it as true, and we must
take him at his word,
All that is, however, immaterial
here, for it is with the public and
general slander that we have particularly to do. And to that point
we submit, that it is a fair and logical
deduction from the reverend gentleman's discourse, that among the
operatives in our city, disorder and
licentiousness constitute the rule, and
good order, virtue, and chastity, the
exception.  Certainly we find no
outward manifestations of this lamentable state of things. We defy the
reverend gentleman or his supporters
and friends, to point to a city of the
business and population of Lynn,
where fewer offences against the law
are committed, or where good order
is so distinctive a feature of all public occasions and places. A lady
unattended can walk our streets, at
any reasonable hour of the day or
and spread the report. The press
of these cities  has  repeated  and
commented upon it; and if, as we
claim, the slander is baseless and
false, they have a right to expect its
refutation here, where it originated.
Our manufacturers are daily in receipt  of  letters  from  their  correspondents,  really of regret  and
condolence over the depraved state
of our society, taking the truth of it
for granted, as either admitted or
prov ed.  Our  former fellow-citizens,
now loecated elsewhere, write to their
friends in sorrow that their  native
city has s    o        degenerated, and lament
the change in our business that has
b rough    t  w ith it the  seemingly inevitable attendants, vice and  immorality.
Fr         o     m all this, it is painfully evident that the fair fame of our city
has suffered, a     nd n ot inconsiderably,
from this wanton attack upon the
character of its citizens; and yet
the reverend calumniator, though
earnestly appealed to, wraps himself
in. his clerical dignity, and doggedly
refuses "to bate a single word  or
take a letter back."  Far be it frotm
me to detract from the dignity and
sanctity which New England  educationorprejudice hasthrown around
the sacred desk  and  the office of
which it is the type and symbol; yet
we deem it no heresy to regard those
filling it as men of flesh and blood
like ourselves, and with like passions,
prejudices, and responsibilities too;
and a slander, public or private, can
claim no immunity from the laws of
honor or of society because it issues
from the pulpit.,
As to the nature of the offence,
as we choose to call it, of the reverend
gentleman, no comment is needed,
for it is already too well known to all
of us; but a word as to the defence 
78
night, secure from harm or insult,
and our police record will compare
most favorably with that of any town
or city in the Commonwealth.  Such,
we submit, is the character of our
city, and we are each and all justly
proud of it, and it certainly seems
cruel and unjust that a reputation
so fairly earned should be thus publicly assailed from individual caprice
or ambition; and still worse, if the
attack is the offspring of a diseased
imagination, that it should receive
moral support and character from the
endorsement of the church, society,
or community to which its author
temporarily belongs.
It is not unreasonable to suppose
that a person of ordinary prudence,
before assailing the reputation of an
individual or a community, would
possess himself of facts or information
in his justification.   Yet here no
facts are cited, and those whom the
gentleman has quoted as his informants publicly deny their responsibility.  But the reverend gentleman
does not depend upon facts or proofs
- a magical power of insight, vouchsafed to him alone' explains it all.
He claims to possess a power of vision so wonderful that he can at will
pierce the ordinarily impenetrable
outside surface, and clearly discern
secrets unrevealed to ordinary mortals.  This power is intensified to
infallibility at a certain season of the
year, and, unfortunately for the vietims, they were  submitted to his
scrutiny during" his month "-" the
eye month," the wierd month of January.  We have been educated in the
belief that " the secret things belong unto the Lord our God"; but
that was written long ago, and this
is New England and the nineteenth
century, and here, in the midst of us,
whose characters are defamed, a right
to demand where such responsibility
rests?  If the author of the calumny
is irresponsible, as we in charity believe, where else shall we look save
to those who have publicly endorsed
his course, and so given it its only
claim even to public condemnation?
His church  has  already done so
officially, and so have many of his
over-zealous friends.  Surely such
zeal must be encouraging to a pastor,
and is certainly commendable so
long as the pastor is right; but it is
simply intolerant bigotry when he is
wrong.
Meanwhile,,outraged public sentiment righteously demands of that
pastor, and those of his people who
uphold him, that they justify the
slander by its proof, or retract it as
publicly as it was uttered. LYNN.
Semi-Weekly Reporter, March 4.
is His vicegerent, with the divine
attribute, fully developed and in practical use, and each and all of us,
with our wives and families, must
pass at his option in review before
this infallible judge,, and be stamped
and catalogued as to our fealty to
virtue or vice, in accordance with
his decree. 11 Whence hath this man
this wisdom, and these mighty
works? " Where such a power exists, is it unreasonable that we should
look for a commensurate responsibility; and have not the public whose
honor is assailed, and the individuals
Mr. Editor: -When we consider
the various desultor       ks which
have been made upon the position
assumed bv the - Rev. Mr. Cook in his
lecture in'.Alusic Hall, especially the
attack made under the head of 11 The
License of the Pulpit," we think it
would be well, before wandering any 
79
further, to come back to the real and
true statement of the case.   The
writer of the article referred to seems
to have had a shot which he was very
anxious to discharge; and in his anxiety he appears to have forgotten the
fact that a gun too heavily loaded
often kicks over the person who fires
it. This writer quotes the language of
the late Dr. Cooke.... What slander,
sir,will compare with the language you
yourself have quoted, and the author
of which you  yourself have  commended?  Neither the present Mr.
Cook nor any one of his defenders is
killed or wounded by that shot, certainly.  If anybody is injured it must
certainly be the man who fired it.
He must have forgotten that his gun
is of too small a calibre to shoot off
Parsons Cooke without kicking.
This writer has a great deal to say
about" certain wholesale accusations,
publicly made by the present Rev.
Mr. Cook."  This is certainly indefinite enough.  We  challenge the author of this language to produce anything which the Rev. Joseph Cook has
himself put in the public prints,which
can by any fair construction be construed into a slander of Lynn.  If
other parties have given publicity to
matters which have "found ready
ears outside," and which the press
of "rival manufacturing cities has
repeated and commented upon," let
the responsibility rest on these parties,
where it belongs.  No amount of sophistry can place the responsibility of
this folly upon the Rev. Joseph Cook.
If the author of this article cannot
produce such evidence, let him retract
his slander and misrepresentation.
This writer goes on to say further,
"that it is a fair and logical deduc
tion from the reverend gentleman's
discourse, that among the operatives
in our city disorder and  licentiousness constitute t he rule, and  good
order,                    virtu e and chastity the exeption." Now it would be difficult to
conceive of a more deliberate misrepresentation than this. Every candid person who heard Mr. Cook's discourse, or who has read the published
statements, knows that he has taken
pains to say, over and over again,
directly the reverse of this. But the
author of this article seems to stand
in mortal fear of what he terms " the
reverend gentleman's magical power
of insight." He seems to shrink from
this " magical power of insight " as
from some frightful apparition. We
would say to our apprehensive friend,
that innocent men and women are
not apt to see apparitions, or fear any
" magical power of insight."  "The
wicked flee when no man pursueth;
but the righteous are bold as a lion."
We wonder whether our apprehensive friend was ever alarmed at hearing a temperance lecturer say that
he could tell an intemperate man by
his countenance? or whether he
never heard it said, before-January,
1871, that the ravages of other vices
than intemperance could be read in
the countenances of men and women?
I admit that it is rather an appalling
fact to the vicious, yet none the less
true.  We would advise our friend,
before he makes any more authoritative demands, to inform himself better
in regard to facts. And we would
inform the writer of that article that
neither: Mr. Cook nor his supporters
are of that sort who cower beneath
any man's lash.         JUSTICE.
Semi- Weekly Reporter, March 11. 
LECTURE VII.
SUNDAY EVENING SERVICES AT MUSIC HALL.
Sabbath before the landing of the
Pilgrims. Robert C. Winthrop, in
his oration at Plymouth, at the recent two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the landing, said that the
Sabbath is of such importance that
the most appropriate place for a
monument to the Pilgrims is Clark's
Island.
The following are simply the heads
of Mr. Cook's address, without their
development. The address was delivered wholly Without notes.
1. Th6 same difficulties between
Labor and Capital which have arisen
in Old England will arise in New
England, as soon as our population
is thick enough.
2. On account of the social and
political'position of the American
working men, as compared with that
of the European, Capital here,' in
adjusting its relations to Labor, cannot take the high and mighty method
on the one hand, or the patronizing
method on the other, both of which
are so common in Europe.
3. It follows that, although the
problem concerning the relations of
Capital and Labor is the same in
the New World as in the Old World,
it must of necessity be treated in
the New World, not in the Old
World way, but in a New World
way. The American industrial difficulties must have a peculiarly
American treatment.
4. It will be found that the only
ANOTHER immense audience was
present in Music Hall last Sabbath
evening to listen to Rev. Mr. Cook,
who had announced  as a subject,
"Poor Clothes, Rear Pews and Hard
Work as Excuses for not attending
Church; or the Value to the People
of Sunday kept Holy."  Such was
the eagerness to secure an entrance,
that, some time previous to the opening of the doors, enough people had
gathered to fill the spacious hall; 
and every seat was occupied in a
few minutes after admittance was
allowed.  The annoyance occasioned
heretofore by passing up and down
stairs after services had commenced,
was obviated by closing the doors
after every available space was occupied; and the congregation was
very quiet and attentive.  The meeting was opened with an invocation
of divine blessing by Mr. Cook, followed  by singing, and  a fervent
prayer from Rev. D. P. Noyes, of
Boston, Secretary of the Massachusetts Committee of Home Evangelization.  The regular discourse of the
evening was then proceeded with;
the words upon which it was based
being found in Isaiah lviii. 13: " Call
the Sabbath a delight."
Mr. Cook began by an allusion
to Clark's Island, almost within view,
in Massachusetts Bay, where the exploring  expedition  sent from the
Mayflower rested, in spite of the
necessity for labor and haste, on the
80
IF 
81
bridge which will carry a free Civilization safely over Barbarism and
let its feet through at no point, is
the Bible laid on the buttresses of
the Sundays.   The chasm between
Capital and Labor can  never be
bridged in the United States, as it
has been in England, by a kid glove.
It can  never  be  bridged in the
United States, as it has been on the
continent of Europe, by a bayonet.
It can be bridged only by the Bible
laid on the buttresses of the Sundays  and  the  Common  Schools.The nature of republican institutions
is such that the chasm between Capital and Labor can be effectually
bridged in the United States only
by love, and not by force; only by
intelligence  and  integrity  in the
opposing -forces, and not by aristocratic prestige; that is, only by the
Bible laid on the buttresses of the
Sundays and of the Common Schools;
and on neither the one nor the other
of these two sets of buttresses taken
by itself, though on the former alone
much better than on the latter alone.
There exist, therefore, two sets of
reasons  why  working men should
make a right use of Sunday - the
Industrial and the Religious.
I. The Industrial Reasons,
1. The right use of Sunday by working men, or public worship held by
all classes as equals in one assembly,
has an important tendency to diminish distance of feeling between rich
and poor.
2. The right use of Sunday by
working men has an important tendency to interest the largest, a welleducated, the most widely-heard, and
the most conscientious class of public
speakers, in the study of the wants
4. On account of the se thre e c ircumstances, the right use of Sunday
by working men  ha s an important
tend ency to make   the church, which
holds both rich and poor, such a
means of allaying prejudice and securing mutual understanding,justie,
and good-will, as to give it much
the same relations to the different
classes in society at large, as the
Industrial Board of Arbitration or
Conference has in particular cases
of conflict.
5. Cheap Homes, Hours of Labor,
Wages, Factory Reform, Temperance, all causes of the utmost importance to the industrial interests of
working men, have among the masses
of the members of the churches a
vast amount of unexpressed sympathy, now largely wasted, and which
a right use of the Sabbath by working
men might do mnuch, directly and
indirectly, to turn into channels of
the very highest value to those industrial interests.
6. The great principle of Co-operation, which is the hope of the cause
of Labor, depends peculiarly for its
success upon a high degree of selfcontrol, integrity, and mutual confidence in moral character, between
those who  co-operate.   This self:
control and moral confidence have
been proved, by the experience of
associative effort in Europe and the
United States, to be the cement without which the stones in the temple
of Co-operation most assuredly cannot be laid; and the Sundays are
11
of working men. -
3. The right use of Sunday by
w 
the trowels for the making and the
laying of that cement.
7. It is the great interest of working men to preserve Sunday as a day
of rest; but to neglect it as a day of
worship is to undermine its authority
as a day of rest.
These dead, backward, mossy
churches are said by some to have
no sympathy with working men. But
they put Sunday on the statute-book,
and keep it there, the only day of
rest working men have.  Undermine
Sabbath as a day of worship, make
it it only a legal holiday, and it cannot be preserved as a day of rest.
II. The Religious Reasons.
1. Sunday is God's day; the Sermon
on the Mount re-institutes the moral
spirit of the whole Decalogue; not one
jot or title of the law, that is, of the
Decalogue, is to fail; and, although
Christianity transferred the Sabbath
from the seventh to the first day of
the week, the moral spirit of the
fourth commandment is as fully reinstituted by the  Sermon on the
Mount as that of the seventh or
eighth.                                i
2. It is becoming more and more
a proposition of science and scepticism itself, that the education of the
moral and religious nature is the
very highest of the interests of the
individual man  and of society at
large.  But this education is not furnished by schools, or adequately by
literature.  The best school civilization now presents for the education of
what is highest in man is the right
use of the church and of Sundays.
3. Children of parents who neglect
the Sabbath are likely as a mass to
go further than their parents in such
neglect, falling behind, in moral and
religious character, other children
who have the benefit of the aldmira
bly equipped Sabbath Schools and
of the whole right use of Sunday.
4. In a great city, the Sabbath is
the worst day of dissipation.
5. Indispensable as legal aids to
religion are, religion can never be
enacted by law: the doors of the
dram-shop, the gambling-house, and,
indeed, of the poor-house, cannot be
shut by reforms as to wages and
hours of labor merely. The self-control induced by moral and religious
education must supplement the effect
of these reforms, or those doors can
not be shut.
6. An important moral and religious influence is exerted upon a population by its simply meeting once a
week in clean clothes and in sacred
places and for public devotion, whatever may be said of the poorness of
sermons, although the average of
sermons is as good as the average of
Congressional speeches.
7. Sunday kept holy is a delight.
Poor clothes,~rear pews and hard
work do not keep the Catholic working men from attending church. Is
it possible that American working
men are more influenced by a necessity existing in these excuses tha n
the Catholic? It is not enough to
say that the Catholic church has free
seats. There are other churches
with free seats; but they are not full.
It is not enough to say that a peculiar influence is exerted by priest
over people. There are churches
where personal affection between
speaker and hearer amounts to an
influence of a similar kind; but these
are not full. If hard work is the
excuse for not attending church, the
ten thousand in this city who habitually neglect the Sabbath ought to
fill the churches in the lulls of the
trade of the city, which twice a year
82 
83
throw hundreds of workmen out of
work.  But the churches then are
not full. Individual cases of hardship may exist in which these excuses have real force; but beneath
the weight of the reasons that have
been given for the right use of Sunday, they crack as an eggshell.
In regard to the topic now agitating this city, Mr. Cook said that five
speeches were made at the Labor
Meeting, Thursday, in reply to the
address which opened that meeting,
and which had been printed in full
by the newspapers.  The five speeches had not been reported.  He hoped
they would be. One of them was by
a prominent teacher of the city;
one by a gentleman who has been in
the Massachusetts Legislature; and
three by working men, whose daily
life for years had given them such an
acquaintance with the wants and
sentiments of working men as only
working men can have.  The speeches had the marked applause, and
plainly carried the  assent of the
overwhelming majority of the meeting, which consisted largely of working men..  Of the nine ten-minute
speeches made, not one supported
the positions of the opening address.
Mr. Cook said that it was unnecessary
to remark that the speeches were
utterly unprompted by himself.  He
sat in a rear seat; and so fully was
the meeting carried by these speeches
that he thought it necessary to say
nothing at the Labor Meeting, except that, if he made any reference
to the opening address, it would be
at Music Hall, and that the representations which had been made of
what he had said publicly were exceedingly  inaccurate.  When  the
five speeches should have been reported, it would be possible to make
a more intelligible reference; and,
accordingly, at the next meeting at
Music -Hall, he purposed to make
some further allusion to the important topic now agitating this city.
The audience refrained from applauding when the speaker came
upon the platform; but when he spoke
of Scotch Sabbaths, Robert Burns,
the working men, and at the close,
marks of approval were given.Semi-Weekly Reporter, March 8.
MUSIC  HALL   CROWD.- The
crowd on Sunday evenings assembled
in front of Music Hall awaiting entrance to the religious service held
there, has been so dense by the time
appointed to open the doors, that the
greatest difficulty has attended the
efforts of the policemen in giving the
uneasy throng admittance. On last
Sunday evening, a Mrs. Brown, residing on Suffolk Street, was so
seriously injured by being pressed
against the door by the jam, that it
became necessary to convey her to
her home in a carriage. Would it
not be advisable to open the doors at
an earlier hour, and by thus doing
prevent the recurrence of this disagreeable feature of a crowd?
Little Giant, March 11. 
LECTURE VII.
SUNDAY EVENING MEETINGS.
from analogy- that the same is true
ofthe moral law. As, theor fore, in the
natural course of things, no amount
of good deeds can erase a single
evil one,- the past being unchangeable,- the necessity of an atonement
is plainly seen. If there is none, man,
instead of being the happiest, is the
most miserably cursed of all created
beings. The positions of the preacher
were enforced by apt illustrations,
and he retained the marked attention.
of his hearers throughout.
At the close of the regular services,
Rev. Mr. Cook proceeded to read
from manuscript a statement he had
prepared; a copy of which, revised
by the author, we give below.
Transcript, March 18.
THE eighth of the series of meetings under the auspices of the First
Congregational Church of this city,
was held at Music Hall on Sunday
evening.  The house was filled, a
considerable number ofpersons standing, and a volunteer choir of singers
occupied seats upon the platform.
After the usual preliminaries, Rev.
Mr. Cook proceeded to deliver, without notes, his regular discourse, the
subject being, " The Necessity of the
Atonement, an Inference from the
Nature of Conscience and from the
Unchangeableness  of the  Past,"
based upon words found in Romans,
v. 11  "We also joy in God through
our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we
have now received the atonement."
It was a powerful argumentin support of the doctrine of an expiation,
in the future state, of sin committed
while in the flesh.  The universality
of law admitted, and the important
truth that no transgression, however
slight, of either the physical ororganic
aws, is separated from the penalty,
we can but conclude- reasoning
Previous to the  dismissal of the
audience, Mr. Cook made an allusion
to the subject which has been under
discussion for the past few weeks, in
relation to the shoe factories of this
city, which at our solicitation has
been handed us for publication.Semi-Weekly Reporter, March 15.
THE PROPER POINT OF VIEW IN THE DISCUSSION.
This audience is now hushed to the mood of prayer. Out
of that mood let no man go, while, by taking the hands of
this assembly, which represents so well every class in Lynn,
I take the hand of the city that leads the largest trade of the
United States, and ask you to meditate on a duty you owe to
your own present and future, and to great public interests
84 
85
outside of your city to which your example has important
relations. In IHeaven's name, is a matter like this to be
settled by petty spite and vindictive underhanded attack?
That method of attack is being tried in this city. It is being
tried by more parties than two or three, on more persons than
two or three. I have never alluded, I do not now allude, to
attack made on myself. But when others are assailed it is
not so easy to be silent. It is a fit moment, in this hushed
mood of prayer in which the audience now is, to appreciate
the character of that style of attack. Out of that mood in
which we now are, no man is fit to give advice. That mood
is lifted high above the fear of man, above jealousies, above
all childish and subterranean vindictiveness. That mood is
one of equal tenderness and courage; of fairness and fearlessness. It is a spirit that will cut off the right hand sooner
than commit injustice, but which laughs at the shaking of
the spear.
It is not merely onl local interests, but on interests vastly
greater than local, that I have occasionally asked this audience
to meditate.
1. The trade of which this city is a representative is larger
than any other single branch of manufactures in the United
States.
2. This trade is now in a state of transition, and is adopting a new system of labor which will affect the interests of a
greater number than is reached by any other single branch of
manufactures in the Union.
3. This city leads that trade; and the fashions it shall set
for the new system are of importance far beyond the limits of
your local interests. 
My point of view has always been that which these propositions indicate.  I came to this city refusing urgent invitation
to stay here longer than a year. I have had for years on my
list of plans the spending of a year or so abroad, for travel and
study; and my present hope is to execute the plan within a
few months.  It is amusing to notice how the love of notoriety
has been assigned to me as a motive.  I have no interests 
86
that would lead me to plead for an audience in Lynn.  The
public understands that I speak disinterestedly, as well as
dispassionately. My interest in this theme arises from its
almost national importance.
DENIAL OF CHARGES.
If any one thinks that I should not now be the most ulpopular mani in this city, or that weeks ago I should not have
been hissed off this platform, instead of being obliged to repress
applause here night after night, if I had made the wholsale
accusations against the character of this city which I have
been so childishly accused of having made; or if what I said
here in January of your vast trade had not been substantially
true, let such anl one go his way, light of heart. HIe must
have a deep mind.
POSITION OF LOCAL PUBLIC SENTIMENT.
On all hands the evidence exists that the working men and
working women, as a mass, are with me with a surprising
degree of unanimity, both in respect to the matters of fact
alleged, and especially in regard to the two remedial measures
which were suggested. But they are so in spite of extraordinary efforts to turn them against me.   They cry out for
the clean system.  I say again, as I said in January, God
hear their cry! That this is the attitude of the best class of
working men and working women in this city, is beyond all
doubt. By the clean system, I mean the separation of the
sexes in the workrooms, and care iii the appointment of moral
men as overseers.  By the foul system, I mean the mingling
of the sexes in the workrooms, and carelessness as to the
moral character of overseers. My main assertion, as you
know, is that the moral perils of the former system are less
than those of the latter; and, until some one has disproved
this assertion, understood in the sense of those definitions
which I gave at the outset, no one has come within beat of
drum of turning any central position of mine.  But this is
the position independently assumed by the overwhelming 
87
mass of the fifteen thousand working men and women now in
this city; and who have, in an important degree, in their
charge, the interests of the twenty, thirty, and fifty thousand
that are yet to constitute your operative population.  In this
attitude of those the most interested and the best informed, I
find an argument which, as the example of five or six of the
leading factories here already proves, no thoughtful man,
whose care for the interests of labor is not a pretence, will
resist;' and which those whose care for those interests -is a
pretence will in the end find irresistible, if working men and
working women are but true to themselves in demanding, in
every judicious way, that which they have such unimpeachable right to ask. I beg you to notice that I do not rely too
much on such evidences as those which appeared at the Labor
Meeting the other evening, when, after an opening address
criticising some of my positions, five speakers immediately
rose, wholly without prompting from me, to reply.   One of
the five, whose daily life for years has given him personal
acquaintance, of an intimate kind, with that of which he spoke,
gave it as his opinion that, should a vote be taken in the workrooms of the city, in nineteen out of twenty both males and
females would decide to work in separate rooms. Another
speaker said severer things bn foul mouths in factories than
I have ever said, though not severer than I have heard fromin
other sources an indefinite number of times.  That all mouths
in factories are foul is not what I have asserted; but that,
under present arrangements, a few foul mouthls can corrupt
a whole room. As to that danger, the assertion has come to
me from working men more than a hundred times within a
month, that I have not told half the truth. A third speaker
held that what had been said at Music Hall was for the good
of the working classes, and that they pretty generally so
understood it.  These speeches had the marked applause of
the meeting, which consisted largely of working men.  But
they were only one, and comparatively a minor indication.
I might hear of several meetings of an opposite kind and not
hleave evidence enough' to counteract the proof which exists 
88
elsewhere. I rely, in ascertaining the sentiment of working
men, on wide and careful conversation with them, and on
those who have had wide and careful conversation with them;
but more than all on the tendency of many different kinds of
evidence from differently prejudiced sources to the same point,
and especially on the continuance of all this through time
enough for opinion to become calm and intelligent.
Outside of the fifteen thousand directly or indirectly engaged
in your great trade, public sentiment gives a powerful support
to the general drift of what has been advanced here, as the frequent necessity of repressing applause in this hall on Sabbath
evenings, and this for six weeks in succession, has only very
partially indicated. Written expressions from the most respectable sources come to me, in which the writers take the position
that the measures which have been recommended have the
sympathy and support of good men here, irrespective of age
or occupation; and thousands of verbal expressions of the
same unqualified kind have reached me. I know how to
make deductions in all expressions in my favor, and notice
whatever occurs of an opposite character; but, if the deductions were half of the whole, enough would remain to prove
all I am asserting of the general tone of public sentiment.
One of the pastors of tlhe city volunteered to me the opinion
that his church endorses me as fully as my own, in its official
and public resolution. It is not unimportant to notice that
the Catholic pulpit of Lynn has put itself in print fully on the
side of the two measures which have been suggested, although,
on account of inaccurate information as to what I said publicly, denouncing me for injuring the reputation of the city.
In view of the extraordinary misrepresentations which have
abounded, this tone of public sentiment has the higher sigiiificance. Persistent efforts have been made to turn the. city
against me. But the city persistently refuses to be turned.
Six weeks have now passed. There has been time for public
sentiment to become calm and intelligent.
I am honestly proud of this city foi  its present attitude.
From Boston to Chicago, Lynn has been praised in the religious 
89
papers, and in some of the secular, for that attitude. I must
solemnly beg leave to inform the group of capitalists and manufacturers and the inextensive circle of their dependents, who
constitute the only offended parties here, that there are twentyseven thousand persons in Lynn who are not capitalists or manufacturers.  To-day Lynn stands as a queen, clothed in the
prosperity of her last twenty years, her schools and churches
and libraries glittering among her jewels, and she puts one
hand on the great factories here that are careful of the moral
effect of their arrangements, and says: Give me more of
these; and she puts the finger of the other hand in scorn
upon the factories that are careless of the moral effect of their
arrangements, and says: Give me fewer of these 
WIDE CONTRASTS BETWEEN A SHOE TOWN AND A COTTON TOWN.
Six circumstances of great importance distinguish a shoe
town, like Lynn, from a cotton town, like Lawrence or Lowell.
(1.) The shoe trade has, and the cotton trade has not, two
periods of comparative inactivity each year, and thousands of
operatives i        n those periods are thrown out of work.  The best
kind of shoes, and especially ladies' shoes, to the production
of which this city devotes the largest part of its industry,
change their fashions with' the seasons. Cotton does not
change i      ts fashions. You may safely accumulate cotton cloth.
But it will not do to accumulate a stock of outgrown fashions
ini shoes. The new fashions cannot be foreseen for months in
advan       ce. A nd besides this, the new machinery invented for
the processes of the shoe trade makes production so rapid that
many manufacturers assign over-production as the chief cause
of the lulls At any rate, when the market is full, buyers
ha    ve   sellers at their mercy.  The law of the trade is not to
accumulate shoes, but to fill orders for shoes. At certain
periods of the year, orders for shoes pour in and a brisk period
o    f      work ensues.   The orders grow fewer, and a lull ensues.
T he    orders po ur in again when the new fashions have been
determined, and brisk work follows once more. The orders
wane and work wanes. For all these reasons it is to be ex                  12 
90
pected that, while production continues as rapid as it now is,
and by the invention of new machinery it is growing more
rapid every day, lulls will characterize the shoe trade fully
enough to distinguish that trade broadly from the coal, the
iron, or the cotton, which produce articles in the very nature
of which there does not inhere, as there does inhere in the
very nature of the article produced by the shoe trade, a constant susceptibility to change of fashion. Various expedients
can, and I hope will, be used to shorten these lulls; but all
of the many manufacturers with whom I have conversed conisider lulls an outgrowth of necessity in the structure of the
trade, and working men know well that to counteract their
effect is one of the problems of their industrial life. (2.) The
percentage of operatives changeable within the year is much
greater in a shoe town than in a cotton town, and is estimated
in this city to be thirty-three per cent of the whole number.
(3.) Largely on account of these two circumstances, the floating population of a shoe town is likely to be larger than that
of a cotton town. It is very evident, also, that the floating
population is likely to be not only larger, but the more floatiig, on account of these lulls and the large percentage of
changeable       operatives. (4.) I have before pointed out how
the three circumstances already mentioned make it difficult
to introdtuce into the shoe factory system the admirable
arrangements for sifting operatives, according to character,
which have been carefully studied and elaborately applied
for a hundred years in the cotton factory system, and how
this partial inability of the shoe trade to make the doors of
entrance to its workrooms a sieve, is an irresistible reason
why the sexes should be separated and moral men appointed
as overseers in those workrooms, especially as the rooms
must be filled largely from a floating population, larger and
more floating than that to which a cotton town is likely to be
called to adjust its superior appliances. Everything cannot
be done in a shoe town that can be done in a cotton town; but
there is more need for something to be done; and, therefore, what
can be done is the more important; and what can be done is 
91
to separate the sexes in the workrooms, and to take the utmost
care in the appointment of moral men as overseers. (5.) The
most of the rooms of a shoe factory differ from the most of
those in a cottoni factory, in that in the former the machilery
does not, and in the latter does, make noise enough to prevent
free conversation between operatives; and, unimportant as
this difference may appear, it is in itself, and especially in
connection with the four circumstances already mentioned,
by no means one of the least significant of the wide contrasts
in the problems to which the cotton factory system  and the
shoe factory system are to be adjusted.  In the cotton towns
the greatest painis has been taken with the excellent corporation boarding-houses.   Each boardinghouse  of this class
accommodates either men or women exclusively. But I see
no reason why the sexes should be separated in the workrooms under the control of the cotton factory system. (6.)
The large factories here are individual enterprises, and not
the property of corporations as in Lawrence or Lowell. The
consequence is that if the leader of the business in any factory
is disposed to be careful as to his arrangements, lie can have
his own way easily, for he has only himself to consult; and
if he is disposed to be careless he can have his own way, for
the same reason; and in ttle latter case can have it more
easily than if in a corporation, competing, as every great corporation at Lawrence or Lowell does, with some other great
corporation, and this in regard to the moral as well as the
material welfare of the operative population.
EXIGENCIES LIKELY TO ARISE IN THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING
CENTRES IN NEW ENGLAND.
So much on the contrast between a shoe town and a cotton
town.  Already this city has a population of five'or seven
thousand who are here or not here according as business is at
its brisk period or at its lulls. How large will that population
be in ten years?  How large in twenty?  I am in Lynn but
for a moment; but I profess to care enough for it to keep fifty
and a hundred years of its future in view, and to put at haz. 
92
ard any popularity I may or might have in this city, by asking
you to meet, as men, the complicated problems of your vast
industry, and not set a careless precedent for that crowded
fiture.  If the population of this city increases for the next
twenty years as it has for the last twenty, you will have, before the end of that time, or soon thereafter, a floating population of ten or fifteen thousand.
Now, is there a man -who is the man and where is the
man - who will say that you can have a tide of ten or fifteen
thousand people swirling in and out of a city like this and no
moral perils arise, no sedimelt-be stirred, no grave responsibilities laid upon those whose business is the floodgate through
which these tides must mingle with the other tides of the
population?
At the best, the filter that you can provide for the tides will
be ineffective enough; but to say that there is need of no
filter, that you may safely take the chances of the present
factory arrangements being continued here, is to say  what
time will disprove. If the present careless factory arrangemeilts are continued fifty years, you will have a city full of
moral ulcers.  Lazarus will lie at the gate of Dives in this
city, and he will be full of sores. I throw my whole weight
into the scale against the continuance of these careless arrangements.  I know that the American Lazarus may to-morrow, or
in the next generation, become a Dives, as the European may
not; but, in spite of A4merican institutions, the day is coming,
unless factory life is studied and adjusted most carefully, when
here and throughout New England, of which the whole Atlantic
slope is afactory, Lazarus will lie at the gate of Dives.
DISTINCTION BETWEEN OLD LYNN AND FLOATING LYNN.
Just here the importance of the distinction I have drawn
between Old Lynn and Floating Lynn can be seen.  By Old
Lynn, I do not mean Lynn as it was; and by Floating Lynn,
Lynn as it is, as some have taken for granted who have wanted
a pretext for the assertion that I have slandered the whole
city.  By Floating Lynn, I mean the population that is here 
93
or not here, as business is brisk or the opposite. By Old Lynn,
I mean fixed Lynn, resident Lynn.  Iin criticising the floating
population, I do not criticise the entire mass of those employed
in the factories. Thousands of those have homes here, and
the homes are a great credit to the city.  I have repeatedly
eulogized in public the cottages and gardens which exhibit
the excellent conditions of the larger part of the resident
manufacturing population.  I believe those conditions equal
to those of any resident manufacturing population in New
England, in any city of the size of this. Neither have I brought
sweeping charges against theloating populatioqn itself.  There
are in it, as I have repeatedly said, hundreds of most excellent
and intelligent people.  But a floating population in Lynn, I
must say, in the name of all commonl candor, is not so far
different from a floating population elsewhere as to be exempt from the moral perils of homelessness, which no selnsible man is likely to deny, and which  are illustrated  the
world over.  I have called attention to the circumstance that
in those points of New England where vast floating populations colngregate    and this city is one of those points —
the moral perils will always be found to be great.
In the system onl which your industry was conducted for a
hundred years, men and women worked separately. The
small shoe shops, each containing ten or fifteen men, had one
branch of work; and the females, at home, another.  Take
the old shoe shops: the talk in them cultivated a kind of brisk
intelligence, of which every shoe town shows traces; but I have
never heard even those old shoe shops commended, on tihe
whole and on the average, as the best places to bring up a boy
in!  Suppose the old shoe shops had been emptied into the
workrooms of the women.  Your population was nearly all
resident then. My claim is that the danger of the arrangements now existing' in Lynn is twice as great as the danger
that would have arisen in the case supposed, your population
is now so much more largely floating. 
94
REPLY TO MR. KEENE'S ADDRESS.
In regard to the opening address delivered at the recent
Labor meeting in this city, it is hardly necessary that I should
say anything after the five speeches which were immediately
volunteered in reply to it.
(1.) The address is courteous. I rejoice to recognize its
courtesy.
(2.) It does not take ground decisively against the separation of the sexes.  It says: "I do not pretend to decide the
exact fact, whichJ is best, a separation of the sexes in the work
shlops, or not."
If I say a frank word or so as to the argument of the address, I must not be understood as personal, for I am speakimg of the argument, and not of its author.
1. As an argument, the address is up to its knees in what
I call the high-school swamp. (Applause.) Five circumstances distinguish the relations of sexes mingled in a high
school from those relations in the workroom of a factory.
(1.) The immoral are excluded from the high school. (2.)
The sexes there mingled have homes of their own and the
restraint of social ties close at hand.  (3.) Usually they are
persons of refined tastes, or whose most important object is to
acquire those tastes. (4.} They are constantly under the eye
of a teacher. (5.) Religious exercises open or close the
school. Now, when this address, written by the President of
the Board of Trade, claims that the present arrangements of
the factory system here have been carefully studied, and then
gives as a specimen of that carefulness the overlooking of
distinctions as wide and clear as these; and says that, because
Jean Paul Frederick Richter -I have a high respect for
Richter's authority -remarks that the sexes ought to be educated together the inference is that they slhould work together
in rooms filled at hlap-lhazard from a floating population through
a door that is not a seive, it is not too mnuch to say that the
address is up to its knees in the high-school swamp. A not
graceful position for the genial President of the Board of
Trade! 
95
2. The address is self-contradictory in its claims. It asserts
and insinuates that Lynn, in respect to "all the matters
charged," is equal to any manufacturing town in New Englanld.
It then puts forward the plea that the system here is very
young, and that its imperfections must be excused on that
ground. These two claims cannot be made in the same breath.
It would be singular indeed if the shoe factory system, which
has begun within ten years, were already as perfect as the
cotton factory system, which has been carefully studied for
two hundred. The "' matters charged" are that the shoe
factory system here exhibits carelessness on important points.
That the system of Lynn is young is the one strong point of
excuse for it.  But it is getting late to call it young.  Property that will not change its shape for fifty years is being invested in it here every day.
3. It is claimed in this address that as fast as the great
firms here are able they make " all proper" arrangements
for their operatives. I simply deny this. Many of the great
firms do.  But the poet Tennyson praises Prince Albert for
devoting his time to studying the models of lodging-honses.
The most delicate-minded of the English poets praises the
noblest of the recent English princes for studying the arralngements for cottage workroorns, kitchens, and even sewers
Would that some Prince Albert and Poet Tennyson might
criticise certain very wealthy firms here, who have incomes of
a hundred thousand a year, and yet make  only the most
wretched and inadequate provisions oln points Prince Albert
did not disdain to study.
4. The address fails to meet the decisive points of the case.
I do not call the argument evasive, for I believe it honest as
well as courteous. It fails to meet the points that the advertising board, through which operatives are engaged, is not a
sieve; that the percentage of changeable operatives is high;
that the floating population of a shoe town is likely to be large;
that foul mouths in factories are well understood to be a part
of the problem; that physicians of this city solemnly testify
that important evils result from the present arrangements;
I  
96
and that corporation boarding-houses cannot be in a shoe town
what they are in a cotton town.
When the hunter onil the Amazon sees a certain shadow on
the ground at midday, he knows that the Amazonian vulture
hangs above in the air.  I have not seen the vulture.  I am
much mistaken if I have not seen his shadow.  Working men
have said to me that they do not dare discuss this subject for
fear their wages will be reduced. I was told by one of the
best representatives of their interests that they feared to agitate
this theme because of apprehension that the Board of Arbitration or Conference, between employers and employed, so
sensibly organized here, might be disturbed in its operations.
A gentleman of the highest intelligence and culture told me
he prepared two articles for the press, in support of the improvemenlts suggested, and one of them he read to me; but
keeping in mind the treatment of certain parties in the past,
he decided not to publish the articles, and was advised by his
friends not to publish; for fear of unscrupulous attack by
petty business annoyances from rich men. A most intelligent
lady told me that she had prepared an article in support of
the interests of the working class in this discussion, and was
induced by her husband not to print it, solely because of the
fear 6f unscrupulous attack by-petty business annoyances. I
have in mind a score of iunimpeachlable illustrations.  More
than twenty times, and I think more than fifty, I have crossed
this shadow; and more than six times I have crossed it within
my own parish.  The fear of attack from rich men!  This I
call the shadow of the Amazonian vulture. I hope it is only
a cloud of exaggeration which casts it. But when one sees
the shadow twenty or fifty times, that is enough to found an
inference on, stout enough to cause a man at least to look up.
(Applause).- Semi- Weekly Reporter, March 15; Transcript,
March 18. 
LECTURE IX.
SUNDAY EVENING SERVICES AT MUSIC HALL.
was only 35.59 per  cent.  In this
period, the increase f  the  the pop ulation
of New York was 56 per cent; of
Philadelphia, 60; of Worcester, 46;
of Hartford, 115; of New Haven,
93; of Buffalo, 91; of Nashville, 62;
of New Orleans, 44; of St. Louis,
106; of Chicago, 264.
2. The growth of the population
of the cities of Europe is much more
rapid than that of the whole of any
single  nation  of Europe.    From
1832 to 1869 the increase of the population of London was 98 per cent.;
of Constantinople, 50; of Paris, 118;
of Vienna, 107; of Moscow. 50; of
Berlin, 220; of Manchester, 49; of
Liverpool, 174; of Madrid, 105.
Liverpool has increased as rapidly
as Boston, Berlin more rapidly than
New York.
S. It is evident from the two preceding propositions that there is at
present a tendency of population,
here and abroad, to mass itself in
cities; and, it will be found on examination, that this tendency has
been exhibiting itself in greater and
greater force for the last fifty years.
4. The growth of means of intercommunication has been a chief
feature of the last fifty years. The
Atlantic Cables, the Pacific Railway, the Suez Canal, with the infinite multiplication of subsidiary
railways and telegraphs, are intro            97
MusIc Hall was again filled on
Sunday evening last, nearly every
seat being occupied; and many persons remained standing during the
services.   The  audience was very
attentive; and several good points
were made  by the speaker, Rev.
Joseph Cook, who received applause,
although a request had been made
to the contrary by Mr. C.   His subject was "Christ in the Family, and
in all the Relations of the Social to
the Religious Life; or, Cheap Homes
and  Boarding-Houses  in  Lynn."
The text was chosen from James ii.
15, 16; the following words  beingo
selected: "Those things which are
needful for the body." The discourse L
was an able and important one. The
synopsis which we give below embraces a plan of the whole, without
its development:
1. It is a remarkable fact that the
growth           of th e  average population of
t h e c       ities of the United States between 1850        and 1860 was more than
twice  as great as that of the population of the whole country. In the
census          of 186 0  a list of one hundred
a n d    twenty-six     cities is given, sca         ttered  through the whole territory of
t h e    Union, and the average increase
o     f      their population between 1850 and
186       0 w  as 7 8.62 per cent, while that
o     f      the whole population of the United           States durin g the same period
18 
98
them.  As the struggle is fiercer than
ordinary frontier  life, it deserves
proportionate honor.   A light thing
to meet the wolves of ordinary frontier life, or any beasts of the forest,
compared with meeting  the wolves
of city frontier life, the dram-shop,
the gambling-saloon, the places nearer
the pit than either of these, the high
rents, the competitions.  To'keep the
wolf from the door' is a thing that
means more in city frontier life than
in ordinary frontier life.
8. It follows from all the preceding
propositions that the churches of great
cities are now more than ever called
to consider the condition of the poor
in great cities.  If Providence were
to write its will on the sky, it would
not declare more clearly than it now
does, by the leading events of the century, the duty of the church to study
the problem of the perishing classes
in the great centres of population.
Whoever~ has not pity enough for
the poor to see this duty of the
church written in the great and imposing events of Providence in this
century, or to regard the occasional
discussion, in the churches of our
crowded cen-tres of population, of the
responsibilities of all other classes
toward the poor, as the gospel, either
does not know the gospel, or is not a
man, but a wolf! (Applause.) What
the speaker was about to' say would
be only the expansion and application
of the -sublime passages of the Scripture just read before the audience.
Mr. Cook then proceeded to consider:
I. Cheap Homes.- To illustrate
the connections of the moral with
the daily physical and social conditions of a population in its homes,
Mr. Cook drew a picture of a tenement-house he had visited in Boston,
so crowded  and  dilapidated   and
ducing                a new set  of circumst a nces
int o civilization.
55.It will be found that the growth
and influence of great cities increase
with  ev ery  increase  of th     e  means   of
intercomm unication b        etwee n  S t ates;
but the increase of such means of
int      ercommunic ation, as has just been
shown,      is ve ry nearly    the most characteristi    c       fe at  ur     e of the present age.
The current of             population is governed
by the law of   supply  and  demand.
The   demand is for  population at
centres, since the      s     e fur nish opportunities  t    o         indu stry  and capital not
found elsewhere.  But the  creati on
of such centres, easily intercommunicating,          is a permanent result o   f
the gro wth  of             the means  of interco lnmu      nication.
6. The   p        robl em of  th     e pe         rishing'
classes    in   our cities inereases in importance with' every increase of this
tendency                    of population    to mass itself
in centres.   Every addition to the
growth and influence of great cities
adds importance and amplification to
that problem.
i7. F        rontier  life  i        s essentially  a 
struggle  for  food, shelter,    aand  raiment. We  honor  that life on the
slopes of the Rocky Mountains.  It
has an historical glory in the story
of       the first winter of th e Pilgrim s     at
Pl ymouth, where Rose Standish   and
half of those who came over in the
Mayflower laid down in the graves
on the slope of the hill across the
Bay yonder, in a struggle simply for
food, shelter, and raiment. But this
same struggle is carried on in our
cities. There is a frontier life in
cities. It is the fiercest of all forms
of the Struggle for food, shelter, and
raiment. More than half the companies that enter this struggle perish,
and many a Rose Standish among 
99
unclean that the observance of the
common  decencies of life was  an
impossibility in it.
1. The physical health of the poor
is their capital in trade; but narrow,
crowded, illy-lighted, poorly-warmed,
and filthy tenement-houses exert an
influence on the physical health so
damaging and deadly that the industrial force of a population may
be diminished one-half simply by
putting  the population  into such
houses.
2. The moral health of the poor is
the least withered, and almost the
only, source of their happiness: the
hearthstone is usually more to a poor
man than to a rich man, for it is all
a poor man has: moral health in the
family is the only fire that can warm
the hearthstone; and the most pestilent and deadly of the effects of
crowded  and neglected tenementhouses is the undermining of the
moral health of the occupants.
3. Tenement-houses so crowded
and dilapidated and unclean that
the observance of the common  decencies of life is an impossibility i.
them, are schools of vice for the children that must be brought up  in
them.
4. Houses  of this class are nestlingplaces for the city wolves.  Intemperance and other of the fierce beasts
of the city forest roam abroad through
the population in houses of this class,
as if through natural and indefeasible hunting ranges; and find there
fat prey, (not the fattest, for the
richer class oftener furnishes that, but
the most accessible and indefensible,
because of the disheartening influ ence of poverty when the moral heat
has gone out of the hearthstone).
5. A double p  rice is usually paid
by the poor, who are so crowded that
they  must buy by the parce l and  cannot buy by the m ass. The poor i n
crowded tenement-houses  in our cities
are forced to buy coal by the basket
and not  b y the  ton, and wood  by the
bundle  and not by the mass, not
only because they have not money
to buy more, but because they have
no place to store more; and whoever
is obliged to buy by the basket or
bundle and not by the mass, pays,
on the average, a double price.
6. Unless two conditions can be secured, cheap rents in situations near
a city, and cheap railway fares, to and
from those situations, the poorest in a
city cannot go out of the city to obtain
lodgings.
7. Effort has been successfully made
of late in many of the cities of Germany to secure the first of these conditions. The co-operative savingsbanks of Germany have been managed on such a plan that large amounts
of capital have been put at the disposal of companies of working men
for the establishment of cheap homes
in the immediate vicinity of great
cities.
8. Effort is now being made on a
quite large scale in Boston to secure
not only the first of these conditions,
but the first and second in combina tion. To combine the two is a pecu liarly American  idea, which  Mr.
Josiah Quincy has the high honor of
adding to the German plan and
bringing before the Massachusetts
Legislature.
9. After the repairs are paid for
on property rented to the poor, the
rent should not be much higher than
the legal rate of interest on the
amount of capital invested. John
Ruskin managed a mass of tenement houses in London on this plan as an
example to England against usurious
- I
, _I- I
. I 
100
rents; and found the occupants, who
had paid rents of twenty and thirty
per cent, and of whom he required
only five per cent, soon able to buy
of him a twelve years lease.
10. So far as the solution of the
problem of the perishing classes in
cities can  be promoted by cheap
homes, low rents and cheap railway
fares, it is evident that the sooner a
city gives its attention to the problem
the better.
1 1. This city is growing so rapidly
that it may be said that the sun has
not risen here on any morning for a
year without shining on some new
roof.  As many buildings have been
erected or remodelled here during
the last year as there are days in the
year.   Since  1850 the population
has increased one hundred per cent.
Since 1865 it has increased thirty-six
per cent.  The city has yet a villagelike character in the connection of
plats of land with the great mass of
its dwelling-houses.  It is endlessly
important that this character be, as far
as possible, preserved; and that pestilent tenement-houses be kept but from
the first by jbllowing the best models in
theconstruction of lodging-houses, but
especially by doing everything to promote the establishment of cheap homes.
MIr. Cook commended  this subject
to the serious attention of the Board
of Trade.
II. Boarding-houses.- In discussing
this part of the topic, Mr. Cook made
two preliminary remarks:
1. This city cannot imitate the
corporation boarding-houses of Lawrence and Lowell, for there are no
corporations here, and the manufacturing population is more largely
floating than it is in the cities named.
2. A careful           at tention         to the subject of boarding-houses is seen at
Lawrence and Lowell; and that
careful attention may be imitated,
and ought  to be imitated, in this
city, until a plan has been found
adapted to the peculiar circumstances
of Lynn.
Mr. Cook then proceeded to quote
ten points from printed regulations
in force in the corporation boardinghouses of Lawrence:
1. "No tenement will be leased
to persons of immoral or intemperate
habits; and any tenant who, after
occupancy, shall be found of such
habits, or to receive boarders of such
habits, will be notified to vacate the
premises."
2. "A -suitable chamber for the
sick must be reserved in each boarding-house, so that they may not be
annoyed by others occupying the
same room."
3. is Males and females must not
board in the same house,- without
special permission from the agent."
4. "The doors of the boardinghouses will be closed at ten o'clock,
P.M., and no one admitted after
that time, unless some reasonable
excuse can be given."
5. Bu   Nor   must company b e had at
unreasonable hours, and in no case
after twelve o'clock at night."
6. "If any boarders are rude or
disorderly, or attend improper or
disreputable places of amusement,
their names must be reported at the
counting-room, and they will be
discharged."
7. "A -proper observance of the
Sabbat h  be ing equally essential to
the formation of good habits and
good morals, the preservation of good
character, as well as the maintenance
of good order, all persons- in the
employ of this company are expected and required to have some
. i 
101
regular place of public worship in
town, and to be as uniform in attendance thereat as possible.  In
every church in town seats will be
furnished gratuitously, if desired, on
application on the Sabbath to the
sexton of the parish; and such seats
may be regularly occupied, till notice
is given to the contrary."
8. "On no account must company
be received at the boarding-houses
during the hours of public worship;
nor at any time on the Sabbath will
rudeness, disorder, or games of any
sort be permitted.  Persons holding
subordinate positions in these mills,
who  neglect this regulation, need
not expect promotion when vacancies
occur."
9. " The above regulations are
considered as a part of the contract
with each person entering the employment of the --  Cotton Mills,
and the Company  will  require a
strict compliance therewith."
10. "I hereby assent to the reguilations within, a copy of which I
have duly received," is the form of
printed words endorsed as a part'of
the contract, with blanks for name,
room, date, and a witness of the
s up posed, therefore, that  i f the re gulation s  just quoted  are ne eded in
the cotton towns,  any less careful
ones  are neede d in the shoe to wns,
the  float ing population is likely to
be so much  larger in the latt er; although it is this  very circu mstance,
and the fact that the shoe factories
are individual enterprises and not
corporations, which prevents any
system of corporation boardinghouses from arising in the latter. It
is very important to notice what
the usual definition of a respectable
boarding-house is. Daniel Webster,
in a legal case where an agent had
lost a large sum of money by not
depositing it in a safe, told the jury
that the man did not take the usual
method of keeping'the money safely,,
and over and over repeated with
emphasis that the usual method had
not been taken, until the jury were
saturated with a conviction that not
to take the usual method in such a
case was carelessness, justifying the
legal action brought against the
agent. The usual method in respectable boarding-houses, where
both gentlemen and ladies are received, is to have two sections of
the house, more or less defined,
assigned to each class, and' not
to sandwich rooms of all sorts together, or to lease a vacant room
to any one as soon as vacated, especially not to any stranger. - When
the usual method of respectable
boarding-houses is followed, Mr.
Cook had no objection to boardinghouses where both sexes are received; but it was notorious in this
city that the women were often
obliged to take the poorest rooms
at the boarding-houses. There ought
to be two drawing-rooms in each
boarding-house of any considerable
signature.
It is exceedingly significant that,
after an experience of fifty years,
these regulations  as to  boardinghouses have been found necessary
in the cotton towns, where one of
the most usual forms of the contract
-with operatives, as appears from the
published rules of the mills at Lawrence and Lowell, is, that the contract holds for one year.  Contracts
with operatives in the shoe towns
are so far from being made on this
plan, that thirty-three per cent of
the operatives here are changeable
within the year.  It can hardly be
i 
102
size, - one for gentlemen and one
for  ladies, -  a bath-room,  and  a
room  that could be given at any
time to the sick.                        d
Mr. Cook then proceeded to offer
six reasons why the Woman's Union
for Christian Work, one of the established charities of the city, should
have funds placed at its disposal for
the erection of a boarding-house.
1. The Woman's Union assert, in
their last published  Report, that
"multitudes" of women,  "mostly
young,  who  come  from  distant
homes to engage  for a few months
in the year in some branch" of the
vast trade of this city, are "unable
to obtain here comfortable, or even
respectable, boarding-places."   (Report of 1870, p. 12.)
2. They further assert that, on
account of the reason just given,
"multitudes" of women, "mostly
young," "separated from home influences and home joys, are almost
driven, from the nature of things,
to seek diversion in the streets, or
at  undesirable  places  of  public
amusement" (p. 12). 
3. They inform the public that
they have "long  aimed  to  have
under their control a well-conducted
boarding-house for young  women"
(p. 13).  This enterprise is likely
to fail for want of funds.  It is a
shame -it is a shame which it will
require no little benevolence  and
activity to erase, that, in a  city
where  three or four thousand  depend on boarding-houses, the enterprise of this noble charity to open
a boarding-house that might be a
modellfor others in the city, should
fail for the want of five thousand
dollars, or of ten. (Applause.)
4. The Woman's Union is a charity under management that can be
trusted. Its committees are the
wives of the capitalists and manufacturers of the city.
5. The Woman's Union i- confident that, if the enterprise could
once be started, it would be a financial success, and support itself.'
6. The success  o f  o ne excellently
c onducted boarding-house under the
control of this established charity,
Mr. Cook thought, might be a means
of suggesting the right solution of
one of the most complicated problems
connected with the floating population of shoe towns, namely, how
boarding-houses can be what they
should be, when a system of corporation boarding-houses is impossible.
Try one boarding-house under the
control of this charity. If it succeeds
financially, rich men here, separately
or in company, ought to establish a
second and appoint its regulations,
and, if that should succeed, a third,
until the supply should be  found
equal to the demand. Mr. Cook
said he had volunteered his remarks
for the Woman's Union, and was
interested in their enterprise, not
only for its own sake, but as a means
of threading a needle for the future
of Lynn, and of cities having similar
problems  to solve.-  Semi-Weekly
Reporter, March 22. 
LECTURE X.
SUNDAY EVENING SERVICES AT MUSIC HALL.
tion with work directed to the accomplishment of high objects of life,
a vivid view of God's unrequited
love in the cross of Christ, as Remedies for Bad Habits, devoted himself on this evening to the consideration of other remedies rarely brought
before popular audiences, but acquiring more and more importance
as points of religious truth which
recent Science and Christianity singularly conjoin to enforce.
"There is one human being on
the earth," said Mr. Cook,- in opening
his remarks, " who has educated me
as the sunbeam educates the violet,
whom I have known nine years, and
out of whose presence I never went
except as a debtor for moral elevation. I had rather touch the little
finger of such a soul, than be swept
over by whole Atlantics and Pacifics
of stained waves. There is another
human being now on the earth, a
wholly different nature, the presence,
or even the memory of whom, is to
me as the sound of the trumpet to
the soldier in battle; has been this
for years; and is likely to continue
to be this for all years to come,
whether I am on sea or land, at home
or abroad. Do not think I am mentioning what is too sacred to be mentioned publicly. These are outlines
of friendships and friendships simply.
There is one human being not on
the earth-"
1. Mr. Cook then, without finish
THF, iattendance at the tenth of
the Music Hall services on Sabbath
evening was  very large, notwithstanding the weather was of the most
attractive  kind  for promenading,
and Miss O'Gorman spoke at Thomson's Opera House.  In the galleries
every seat was taken and numbers
remained standing through the whole
service, while the body of the house
was quite well filled.  In announcing that the usual  contribution
would be taken, Mr. Cook remarked
incidentally: " Except High' Rock
and Long Beach,there are none that
I fear as to the size of the audience
to-night except the Escaped Nun,"
and hoped that she, for the sake of
her theme, would have a large audience.  After the usual preliminary
exercises, the speaker proceeded to
the  sObject  announced,  namely:
"Steps towards the New Birth; or
Recent Science on the Signs of the
Vices, and on the Best Methods of
Escape from Bad Habits."  His discourse was based on words found
in Acts xvi. 28: "Do  thyself no
harm," and Galatians v. 16: "Walk
in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill
the lust of the flesh."  The discourse
was delivered without notes; and we
give our usual sketch of what was
said.
Mr. Cook having, on previous occasions at Music Hall, spoken of
secret prayer, a constant sense of
the Divine Omnipresence, occupa                     103 
104
ing the latter sentence, proceeded
to a rapid consideration of the power
of high and rich andpure affection in
all its forms as the first remedy for
bad habits.  Blessed is love; for it is
the  antagonist  of every form  of
coarse passion.  The duty of giving
free scope to pure and high friendships, to all the affections of home,
and to every worthy and rich affection, and  all this as a remedy for
bad habits, was here inculcated in
seven years, one-half by death under
the  diseases wh ich are the great    red
seal of   t he Lord Almight y's wrath,
but one-half by disgust.
3. The third remedy  suggested
was a distinction between the artificial
and the natural passions. Mr. Cook
drew attention to this distinction as
a point of great importance in recent
science and illustrating scores of
passages of the Scriptures. How are
we to know what appetite is natural,
and what artificial?'Is there a
test which is itself' not artificial, but
which any honest man may apply?
A natural appetite, Mr. Cook held,
does not increase its force on gratifcation; while every artificial appetite
does increase its force on gratification.
The two are to be distinguished by this
broad difference.   In the appetite
for food, gratification of the natural
appetite, carried through a lifetime,
does not make that appetite stronger.
But, in the artificial state of that
appetite, induced by the vice of gluttony, by high living, or by dyspeptic
disease, the gratification of the appetite only increases its force. The
same is true of thirst that is true of
hufiger. The distinction between the
natural and the artificial state of the
former appetite is of endless importance in explaining the sorceries of
intemperance. The gratification of
thirst in its natural state, and this
for a lifetime, does not increase its
force. The gratification of it in its
artificial state, and this for only a
year, a month, or, in some cases, for
only a day, so increases its force that
this appetite alone is found fully
competent to ruin both body and
soul. This distinction between the
natural and the artificial appetites is
to be applied through the whole
range of human nature.
strong terms.
2. The superiority of bliss to pleasure may now be considered an established doctrine in the fixed portions of the knowledge science possesses of human  nature.   By bliss,
is to be understood the delight of
all the rich and high and pure affections; by pleasure, what the world
calls such.  Three points are pushed
into great prominence even by infidelity in the most recent theories
of human nature: (1.) All bliss in
the faculties arises from their activity;
(2.) The  moral  faculties have a
natural  supremacy in the  mind;
(3.) The  higher any faculty, the
greater the bliss of its exercise.  It
is one of the commonest, and one of
the  most  significant  assertions of
physicians, that the pleasures of the
vices are a thousandfold overrated
by the young, by imagination previous to experience.  This is true
of intemperance.  It is true of high
living.  It is true throughout  the
whole range of the vices, mental as
well as physical.  It is a circumstance
of the deepest significance that the
infamous portions of the populations
of great cities like London, Berlin,
and New York, are commonly estimated by the authors who have written the most elaborately on this subject, to be changed once in about 
105
of temper celestial enough to touch
",The toad squat at the ear of Eve,"
4. Abstinence from any physical
and seated habit, in order to be suc  cessful, must be total; and this not
only in act, but in imagination. This
is the prganizing principle of the
best recent    sy stems  of   remedial treat ment for  the    intemperate.  Dr. Day,
f                   ormerly  of  the Binghampton In ebriate Asylum, and now of -Massa chusetts? makes a rigid adherence
to  this medical precept            the firs t
object to be secure       d  in    the c ase  of
eve ry patient. Dr. Maudsley's re cent  inv        estig ations as  to the effect
of alcohol up    on   the  bra in  show    that
the microscopic cells of  that structure
are  ch        ange d           in size,   shape, and
ceolor        by  the habi             t of intemperance;
that           thes e cha ng e s endur      e after the
habit has been broken off; and that
ere            ae  h       s       ic      a        as        s  there are physical reasons in the
changes why one who  has  had                         a
seated habit of int emperance cannot
reform, except by an abst    inen   ce that
i     s total.  Dr. Day  states that he
witnessed the dissection of the brain
of a person for many years in practice of         tota l a       bstinence, but once an
inebria       te, an        d found  the microscopic
ceel      ls s  till in   the weak  and unnatural
stat    e p roduced by                    the earlier indolgences.  Thousands of                        the intemperate, who  make  th        e  most  heroic
effort to escape their bondage, fail
to do so because they do not begin
far enough back. It is the doctrine
of recent  science  that there are
ph ysical r        easons  why  abstinence, to
be successful, must be total; and
that it is necessary to resist, not
merely the first glass, but the first
thought of the first glass; that is, to
lay the check where the Scriptures
long ago laid it, namely, on the
imagination. This principle applies
to every seated physical vice. It is
found to be the only spear of ithuriel
14
and make the fiend within start up
in his true shape.
5. No one part of the soul is to be
allowed to act without the unforced
consent of every other part.  It is a
portion of the fundamental  law of
the United States that no one State
is to declare war, or make peace,
without the consent of every other
State.  This is also a fundamental
law of the republic of the human
faculties; and by it is determined
what is, and what is not, natural
action for any one of these faculties.
The bas e  of the  bra in is not to be
allowed to act without the consent
of the top of the brain. It cannot
be that man is so unskilfullv made
that the natural action of his facul ties is-discord. But the very nature
of vice is, that it introducs South
Carolinas into the republic of the
soul; and these declare war or make
peace without the consent of all the
other States. No vice can carry a
unanimous vote of all the faculties.
Any action of the soul that does not
carry a unanimous vote of the faculties is unnatural. The soul is made
on a plan, as much as the eye, the
ear, or the hand.  The soul acts
naturally only when its action produces continuous joy in all the faculties. No joy is natural that is not
full. The adoption of the principle
that no basilar faculty is to be allowed to act without the consent of
the coronal faculties, would uproot
vice in any soul. Let there be no
South Carolinas among the faculties,
and there can be no civil war.
6. It is of incalculable worth as a
remedy for bad habits, to fasten on
the mind, what the advances of recent 
science so startlingly demonstrate,
that no habitual vice can be permanently
concealed.  In discussing what recent
science teaches as to the signs of the
vices, endless care is to be taken on
two points:
(1.) A suspicious temper is to be
thrust aside; for, at the best, mistakes
in reading character will be made.
Perhaps a percentage of ten in a
hundred judgments will be mistakes
at the very best.  Signs of the vices,
and of diseases or of hereditary taints,
must not be confounded.  The pasteboard complexion of the student, and
the lustreless complexion induced by
certain physical vices, must not be
confused with each other. The flurry
of nerves unstrung by hard work must
be distinguished from the flurry of
nerves unstrung by dissipation. The
depression of spirits induced by dyspepsia or nervous weakness must not
be taken for the depression induced
by physical vice. But the percentage
of ten mistakes in a hundred judgments is a fearfully small one; and
these distinctions are not very difficult to learn to read. 
(2.) Only those rules for judging
character are to be relied on which
have commanded universal assent.
No fanciful modern system, however
much truth physiognomy or phrenology may contain, is to be leaned
on with the whole weight, unless in
parts which belong to what all men
in all ages have admitted.  Nothing
less severe than this will serve as just
to others, in a matter so delicate as
concealed.
1. The    large signs of the vices
every one  can read.  As t   o  the final
signs of inte mp era nce      and sensuality,
carried to the most advanced stage,
all men have in  all ages    a nd n ations
had one judgment.
2. But, in the  nature  of  things, the
fine signs must -precede the large.
In the nature of things, the sun cannot have reached its position at noon
without p assin g through the  posit io n
of ten o'clock,  a nd of  s even, and of
four, and of the first auroral flush.
The smaller and finer signs of vice
must, therefore, exist in the countenance. They are there.
3. If the signs are there, possibly
thev can be read. Possibly by
patience and skill and practice, an
expert, a medical man for instance,
can read the signs much further back
than ten o'clock.
4. It is universally admitted that
the eye has a different expression
for every different mood. It is only
to make  the  same  statement in
another form to say that it has a
different expression for every bad
mood, as well as for every good.
Every emotion- love, fear, angerbrings its peculiar light to the eye;
and that light is the same for the
same emotion, in all men and all
places.  Let any one resolve that for
a month he will see no marked expression of the eye without endeavoring to ascertain what it means.
.106
.the, judgment of character; -nor as
safe for oneself, when'one depends
for preservation from being eaten up
alive on this woodcraft of reading
character in the forest of human
souls.
In many of the vices, nothing is so 
107
moods  when   mingled  with  each
other.
8. The lips are commonly admitted
to have a different set for every different mood.   But this is to say that
they have a peculiar set for bad
moods as well as good.
9. After the thirty-fifth or fortieth
year, those moods which have habitually been predominant in a man are
usually marked on his countenance.
10. Like induces like. The induced-mood is a test of very great
significance.  The mood any person
-concerning whom you have no strong
prejudices for or against, habitually,
not for once or twice, but as a plain
general rule, induces in you, is an
indication of the predominant mood
of that person.  Woman  is perhaps
more skilful than man in applying
this test, at she is more sensitive to
spiritual atmospheres.
11. Like reads like.  The  generous man reads the generous; the just
man thejust; and so, also, the deceitful the deceitful; and the sensual the
sensual.  It is, therefore, the man
who has most of human nature who
best reads  human  nature.  Older
reads younger.  Past personal experience in the observer reads the
same personal experience in the observed.  You think you can easily
read your younger brothers.  But
for most of you there are several
persons in the world to whom you
are the younger.  It is the principle
that like reads like, which is at once
the most searching in its applications
and the most universally admitted
to be true.  It is notorious that a
person with a particular illness, or
no more than a particular personal
blemish, is peculiarly keen-sighted
as to the signs of that illness or that
blemish  in others.   There  is vice
Take the lights about the meaning of
which there can be no mistake.  Fix
these in this study as copies with which
to compare other lights. The same
light means the same mood, the
world around.  If once you catch a
marked light, and can be sure what
it means, when next you catch the
same light —if it can be said that
the eye ever has twice precisely the
same light -you may  know what
the second light means.  If a man
feels sure of the meaning of not more
t han ten      or twenty   lights,        they will
teach him much.
5. Complex moods exhibit themselves in complex lights. But when
one has learned to read the eyes in
ten or twenty lights, taken separately,
he can learn to read them in combination.
6. A masked mood or a forced
mood has its own peculiar light in
the eye.  This can be read.  One
of the most decisive signs of a mask
in any person is that the features do
not all tell the same story. Want
of consentaneous expression in look,
lips, intonation, gesture, has always
been regarded as one of the most
decisive signs of a mask. The attempts by the individual wearing the
mask to force this- consentaneous
expression, destroys that sense of
ease of mood which is one of the first
signs of sincerity; and the attempt
can be read.
7. Signs of the vices and signs of
the virtues will often be mingled
not only in the eyes, but in every
part of the countenance; and difficult as it is to read simple moods,
it is yet more difficult to read complex ones. But when one has learned
to read simple moods, so as to recognize them wherever seen, one
can learn by patience to read these
0 
108
enough in the world to make men keensighted as to the signs of the vices.
These principles as to the judgment
of character, Mr. Cook said, werethose
he had been compelled to adopt for
himself. They contain nothing fanciful, nothing not universally admitted,
and nothing,therefore, on which a man
in the collisions of life may not lean.
But they are all only a reiteration
of the words of Scripture, which are
the words no less of human experience
in history than of modern science:
"Be sure your sin will find you out."
The concluding passage of Mr.
Cook's address was as follows:
" There are many Saxon faces in
this audience.  The blue eyes, the
white forehead, the  blonde cheek,
the fair hair, are signs of the AngloSaxon lineage.  That race rules the
world to-day.  It may not always
rule it. It rules it for a cause.  That
race has given to us Goethe and
Milton and Shakspeare; and Bacon
and Kant and Hamilton  and Edwards; and Cromwell and Washington and Lincoln.  It wrote Magna
Charta, the English Constitution, the
Declaration  of Independence, the
Constitution of the United States.
It has bridged the ocean with its
commerce, and traversed it with its
electric wire.  That race, in its German forests, was noted for nothing
so much  as the spotlessness of its
private morals. While yet barbarian,
that race, as the Roman historians
state, buried the adulterer alive in
the mud.  The adultress was whipped
through the streets.'Non forma,'
says Tacitus,' non aetate, non opibus,
maritum invenerit.'' Neither beauty, nor youth, nor wealth, found her
a husband.  They considered,' says
Tacitus,'that there was something
divine in woman, and that presaged
the future, and they did not scorn
her counsel and responses.' Youth
were taught  chivalric notions  of
honor.  Out  of this race  sprang
chivalry.  It is t   his   race wh ich has
proved itself, in the  hurtl ing contests
of a thousand years, both in peace
and war" superior to all relaxed
Italian and French tribes as the
leader of all the world's civilization.
The purity of the tribes in the German
forests prophesied their future. The
hiding of the power of the AngloSaxon race has been in the fact that
it was at the first free from the sin of
Sodom and Gomorrah. That race is
passing the trial of power. It is passing the trial of luxury. In the German forests, our fathers, as the Romans
found them, were as a race as pure as
the dews the forests shook upon their
heads. That race has predominated
in history because free, even when
barbarian, from what elsewhere has
been the commonest leprosy of barbarism. It will continue to predominate
if it continues free: otherwise not."
At the close. of the regular address, Mr. Cook read the following
request, which had appeared in the
city papers of Saturday, and had
received some two hundred signatitres from working men, and to
which, had time permitted, it was
thou-ht it would have been easy to
have obtained five hundred:
To the Rev. Joseph Cook- and the Com  mittee having in charge the Sunday
Evening Services in Music Hall:
11 The undersigned, working men. of
Lynn, having understood that you
are about to discontinue the Sunday
evening meetings in Music Hall, and
being firmly persuaded that the services there held have not only been
instructive and of much value to the
vast assembl ies gathered for public
worship, but are likely to become
the means of lasting benefit to the 
109
whole community, most respectfully,
but earnestly, urge that you will, if
consistent with other plans and engagements, continue those meetings
through the month of April."
Persistent efforts had been made
to turn the working men against the
Music Hall services; but here was
a most urgent request from them,
asking for the continuation of those
services. Here was a petition from the
abused, the slandered working men!
Mr. Cook said he rejoiced to see
this request, for two reasons:
1. It was an indication that Sabbath services had been found attractive by a large class in this city,
embracing not a few of its most
active minds, but not usually found
in the churches.
2. It was an indication of value,
as showing that the Golden Calf is
not Caesar.  Miss Phelps, of Andover, had just written a work of
fiction on the abuses of the Factory
System in the cotton towns. It discussed, with the searching force of
that genius which has made the
"Gates  Ajar" a fireside word in
England, as well as America, the
state of a factory system, which, as
compared with the present condition
of the shoe factory system, - the
birth of ten years ago,- has the
ad(lvantage of having had expended
on its adjustment the care and experience of two hundred years. It
discussed, with a vividness and force
which could come only from personal
observation, the Social Relations of
Employers and Employed, the Employmnent of Children in Factories
against Law, Foul Mouths in Factories, Corporation Boarding-houses,
Tenement-houses, Wages, Strikes,
Hours of Labor, Relief Societies.
Was a committee to be sent to Andover, to prevent the daughter of
Professor Phelps and the granddaughter of Moses Stuart, from discussing one of the most vital and
complicated of all the problems of
New England life? Massachusetts
had organized a Bureau of Labor, and
paid heavy salaries to that Bureau,
to discuss that problem. Elaborate
investigations into factory life had
been ordered under law. Was a
committee to be sent to Boston to
stop the action of this Bureau?
England had sent forth, (luring the
last hundred years, parliamentary
commission after parliamentary commission, to gather, under compulsory
legal processes, facts as to abuses
practised in the factory systems of its
great centres of industry. Was a committee to be sent out to shut the doors
of Parliament and of Exeter Hall?
The thirty, forty, and fifty thousand
of the future operative population of
this city have important interests in
the keeping of the capitalists and manufacturers now organizing the new
system of labor in this city; but those
interests are also largely in the keeping
of the working mnien. Mr.Cook advised
the working men to continue efforts
to secure such workroom arrangements in the largest trade oftheUnited
States as should make the moral
perils of themselves and their children as few and small as possible.
As to the continuance of the
meetings, the plan of the tenl had
been a high success. It was now
crowned with a peculiar successs in
this request for their continuation.
April, however, was not February.
The usual plan was not to continue
such large nimeetings in our cities
beyond March.  But, at the request
of the workthg men, there would be
an eleventh meeting announced
and this would occur April 2d.Semi- Weekly R?eporter, March 29. 
LECTURE XI.
SUNDAY EVENING SERVICES AT MUSIC HALL.
cost Lynn, Mr. Cook thought, some
two thousand dollars a year. But
he would probably save the city at
least half that sum every year.  It
was found, in the experience of city
religious charities, that by timely aid
to the poor, and by just discrimination between real and pretend e d
causes of  want,  a most impo rtant
addition can be made to the number
exempted from all necessity of depending on the overseers of the poor
or any other charity. In Lawrence,
so true had this been found, that
Mr. Wilson had been appointed to a
position in the city government as
disburser of the charities of Lawrence; and this as a measure of
economy. It was a shame to bring
forward the idea of the expense of
two thousand dollars a year, as an
objection to the appointment of a
city missionary in a population of
thirty thousand people, with twenty;....
churches to unite in contributing
this salary. But if such an objection
could have weight with any, Mr. Cook
called attention to the act of the city
government of Lawrence in using
the city missionary as an instrument
of economy in public expense. It
was time and high time for Lynn to
have a city missionary.  Of the eight
or ten cities of nearly the size of
Lynn this side the Connecticut
river, all but two or three had had
city missionaries  for years. The
Young Men's Christian Association
ANOTHER remarkably large audience was present at Music Hall on
last Sabbath evening, although the
services, of which this one was the
eleventh, have now been continued
into a season of the year at which
such meetings are usually closed for
the season.  Every seat in the galleries, and nearly every seat in the
body of the house, was taken, and
numbers were standing in the galleries and on the lower floor through
the whole service.  In spite of the
suppressed applause which was given
as the speaker came upon the platform; and the open applause which
occurred at five or six points of the
address, it should be put upon record
that the audience was of the best
quality, and represented well nearly
every class in the city.
In announcing the date of the
twelfth of the series of Music Hall
meetings, Mr.  Cook  spoke a few
minutes on the need of a City Missionary in Lynn.  There had been
proposed for next Sabbath evening
a gathering of all the churches in the
city to consider this subject. Mr. G.
P. Wilson, City Missionary of Lawrenee, was to address this assembly.
Mr. Wilson was one of the most
successful city missionaries in eastern
Massachusetts.  At the time of the
falling of the Pemberton Mills, his
services to those who  suffered by
that disaster in Lawrence were invaluable.  A  city missionary would
110 
ill
and the Woman's Union, so far from
objecting to the appointment of a
city missionary as an encroachment
on their fields, were eager to secure
one.  The success of the recently
established Boys' Mission was  one
among a multitude of proofs of the
need of a city mission.  Independently of consultation with each other,
the several pastors and churches had
been found to be interested in this
theme.  Two important though somewhat informal and insufficiently attended meetings of the representatives of the churches, had recently
pushed the subject forward to the
appointment of a committee from all
denominations to draft the plan of a
Lynn  city mission.  Mr. Cook purposed to prove his interest in the
enterprise of a city missionary by
omitting services {br one Sabbath
evening at Music Hall. The twelfth
of the Music Hall services would,
therefore, be          held April 16th.  Mr.
Cook most urgently invited the whole
audience to be present at the city
missionary meeting at the Common
Street Methodist Church, next Satbath evening.
After devotional exercises, Mr.
Cook took up the subject that had been
previously announced: "Swindling
Public Amusements, the Street
School, and Club-Rooms in Lynn."
The texts used embraced the passages
in Rev. xiv. 1-12; and Proverbs ix.
10-18; especially the words: "They
a  union of  the Pulpit, the Parlo r, and
the Press, for    any ca use in regard to
which legal    e nactments are expedient, and  I w il l gain s uppor t o f the,
Police. Give me a union of no more
than  the  Pulpit   a nd Parlor,    and I wil l
in  time  gain   the Pre ss; a nd, wi th
the  three,   the Police.  Give me only
an unanimous union of the Pulpit,
time  enough, and  a  cause of  impor-t
tance, and  I will gain  the Parlor;
a nd th rough the two, the Press; and
thro ugh the three, the   ePolice." It is
greatly important to notice thi s order
in wh ich moral reform usually progresses. Pulpit and Platform, which
are so far analagous in their means of
influence as to be ranked together,
con sti tute one of the four greatest
powers of modern civilization. The
Parlor is a second; the Press a third;
Public Law a fourth. Without
affirming that any one of these powers i s gre at er than  any ot her, it may
yet be affirm ed t hat, in the nature of
things, the order of progress for a
moral reform, like anti-slavery or
temperance, for example, is from the
first to the fourth, rather than from
the fourth to the first. History shows
that, in free communities, in the
majority of instances for the last two
hundred years, moral reform  has
passed from the Pulpit and Platform
to the Parlor; and from these two
has conquered the Press; and from
these has won the recognition of
Public Law.
From these circumstances, iMr. Cook
went forward to draw an inference
as to the importance of preserving
the Pulpit and Platform from bondage. It is this natural and irreversible order of the four great means
by which the interests of.every class
in society are protected, which makes
it of such transcendent importance
have no rest, day            nor night, who
worship the beast and his image, and
whosoever receiveth the mark of his
name."'
" Give me a union of the Pulpit,
the Parlor, the Press, and the Police,"
Mr. Cook began his address by sayinig, " and I have all I want in respect
to any moral reform. But:, give me 
112
to every class, and, indeed, to the
existence of a free civilization itself,
to beware of all influences prejudicial
to calm, guarded, dispassionate public
discussion, in the Pulpit and Platform,
of any topics touching any moral
issues of society, even if tremendous
interests and tremendous passions
are involved.
Mr. Cook went on to illustrate
this teaching of history, by speaking
of the snare Slavery wove for the
pulpit. Social and industrial tendrils,
interwoven from the Great Lakes to
the Gulf, were the meshes of the web
that choked a great part of the pulpit
of the North.  Slavery must not be
discussed, it had been said only fifteen
years ago- although the day seemed
a century back, by the way we had
forgotten its lessons as to this bondage of public discussion! - lest these
industrial and social tendrils, interwoven from the Lakes to the Gulf,
should be made to rasp on each other
and to bleed.
The day had not yet come in New
England; but it had come in Old
England when the relations If Capital and Labor, although calling out
the most vigorous parliamentarylegislation, weave a snare for public
discussion; and for the Pulpit more
than for the Platform.  The meshes
of the snare are not as heavy as those
Slavery wove; but we are to beware,
in the manufacturing centres of New
England, where the distinctions between rich and poor are wide, of the
weaving of even the first lines of that
web.
all the power of law, these problems,
sure to become as complicated in
New England as they have become in
Old England.  Already there exist
in New  England points connected
with factory life- the employment
of children in factories against law,
for example- where the meshes of
the snare have been woven so strongly
that the officers of this Bureau of
Labor publicly report to the Massachusetts Legislature that the power
of State  law  is hardly sufficient to
break the lines of the web. It is of
great public importance  to prese rve
the Pulpit  of  the ma nufacturing centres of New England from a bondage
into which it is not to be charged as
set with falling; but into which the
pulpit of England, from a fear of
offending wealth by discussing the
interests of the poor, or a fear of offending the poor by discussing the
interests of wealth, has largely fallen.
It was in view of the extreme importance of these circumstances that
Mr. Cook said that, in introducing,
as he was about to do this evening,
new points involving something of
criticism, he wished to begin by
thanking the audience, and through
it the city, for the thorough manner
in which it had vindicated from
bondage the interests of public discussion in the pulpit of one of the
most complicated of the problems'
arising in one of the most important
of the manufacturing centres of New
England, and connected with the
interests of the largest trade of the
United States. In view of the public
importance of these considerations,
Mr. Cook said:,I do not depend
upon my salary for a living; but, if
I had so depended; if I had wished,
as I never have, for a situation in this
city; if I had had a young family
Massachusetts has found industrial
and moral questions connected with
the great centres of her manufacturing populations so important as to
appo       int a Bureau of Labor, with
heavy salaries, to investigate, under
I 
113
tion of the theatre century after century is a fact of extraordinary significance.   As one out of a score of
similar illustrations, take the circumstance that in  Rome, in 165 B.C.,
Publius  Scipio  Nasica, ordered a
theatre, which had been partially
erected, to be pulled down, exclusively on the score of public morality.
3. In view of the manner in which
exceptions to this current and past
reputation of the theatre are spoken
of,  the exceptions  are themselves a
proof of  the  r  ule.   It is most important to recognize the exceptions. Mr.
Booth is pointed out as an exception.
But when it is common to hear exceptions spoken of as such in regard to
any profession, the admission is involved that the general rule is the
opposite of the exceptions. Suppose
that in the medical or clerical profession it were common to hear men
of a certain character spoken of as
exceptions, what would the inference
be as to the general rule?
4. The theatre is outgrown as a mirror of the current social life and political ideas of a people, having, in both
these capacities, which once gave the
theatre importance, been superseded byl
the lyceum, the growth of modern literature, and especially by the immense
increase of the power of the new.spaper
press. Mr. Cook urged this point at
length. In Shakspeare's day the
theatre was what it could never be
again, as a mirror of the current life
of the people. If a stranger were
to come to Boston to-day to studs
New England, ~he would find the
lecture-room platforms a better mirror than the theatres of the most important phases of the current social
and political New England life. It
was notorious that as an instrument
of political influence the theatre had
depending on me; and if I                 had had
a timid wif e h olding    m e back, I should
have done precisely          wha t  I  have
done."  (Con tinued app     lause).
Mr.  Cook then proceeded          to discuss
Swindling Public Amusements, with
especial     erefere nce     to  th    e Theatre.
1. ilt is a fact  of   current his           tory
that       in a  majo rity  of the       theatres in
t h e most moral cities, scenes are admit ted   which  have on  them so much
of the mof t hi f the  beast     that   they
could not be pho tographed without
the p ictures being actionable at law.
Mr. Co ok d          rew a d istinctio n  betw een
the h     ig he   r           theatres and the lower;
but ca      lled  attent    ion to  the circumstance      tha   t         th e highest admitted at
times scenes bearing    the  mark  of the
beast, and had done this repeatedly
in Boston  within fb      ur y  ears. In proof
of'this assertion, Mr. Cook  alluded
to an  article publish     ed in May, 1869,
i            the Atlantic Monthly -a most ex-'
cellent auth ority i   n  art,                                          n and a most
li    beral     one in      theology!- written
by  the  accomplished editor of the
MAonthly, Mr. Howells, and running
a  red,        crooked       thunderbolt throuer
the plays having on them        the  mark
of the  beast.  " This English  burlesqu         e,         this child  of Mr. Ofsenbach's
genius, and the now somewhat faded
spectacular muse, flourished the past
winter in three of our seven theatres
ftbr mon     ths, five,fromn the highest to
the lowest, b eing i n tur n       open  to    it."
This is Boston, where the theatre
is perhaps less open to criticism than
in any other city in the world.
2. It is a fact of past history that
the theatre, in spite of all attempts
to defend it, has always had, on the
whole and on the average, a bad reputation; and had this, on the whole
and on the average, even in Pagan
antiquity. This permanent reputa                            I1 
114
tion arising from circumstances of
permanent and increasing influence
in modern civilization.
9. In European society, especially
in the French city populations, the
condition of the mass of the people,
is politically, socially, and intellectually, so different from the condition
of American society, that the former
can be amused by what is not at all
adapted to the latter.  We are superit)r to the French plays.  But it is
from abroad that the plays which do
most to corrupt our cities come; and,
instead of being admired as foreign,
they ought to be criticised as such.
Theatrical amusements fitted to satisfy
the mass of a European population,
are, because of that fltness, inferior
to the demands of an American population.
10. The low theatres are a host,
and the better only a handful, and
the latter have much less influence
than the former.  But of the latter
it must be said that to-day, in Boston,
where the purest theatre of the world
exists, enough of the mark  of the
beast is admitted into the plays to
make it difficult for a man to go in
at the doors of the theatre without
stooping; and into the low theatres
a man cannot go except on all-fours.
Dr. Holmes remarks  that every
man leads or is led by something that
goes on all-fours.  It may be added,
that if the human race is ever to find
a paradise, it will not enter it on allfours.
Mr. Cook then proceeded to discuss the Street School, with especial
reference to the corrupt illustrated
popular press. This he termed
the Leprous Press - the Sewerage
Press.
1. If it must be acknowledged that
its force is increasing, it must be ad
been superseded by the lyceum, the
newspaper press, and the growth of
modern  literature;  and though  it
was not equally notorious that as a
mirror of current life it had been
superseded by  the se agencies,  Mr.
C ook   thought that  the latter prop osition was now, and was likely to
remain, equally true.
5. It is     safe to assert that ihie vrcemlem of reforming the theatre, is renre(ered
more dificult than ever before, nlow   that
the office'emaining to it is almost exclusively that of amusement, its two
former offices, as mirror of the life of
the people and as a political instrumentality, having been superseded.
6. It is very important to notice
that, even as a source of amusement,
the theatre is now much more largely
superseded for the cultivated class,
than it was in Shakspeare's day. The
theatre, even as a place of amusement, cannot be again what it was,
since other forms of amusement, for
both cultivated and uncultivated,
have increased perhaps fifty-fold in
the last two hundred years. The
newspaper press, the lyceum, the
growth of illustrated literature, libraries, the popular use of music, are
all increasing in power of amusement; and their rivalry adds difficulty to any attempt by the theatre
to succeed as a place of amusement;
and it must succeed as that, or not
at all.
7. Amusement is now so open elsewhere to the cultivated that it is fouitl
that a theatre managed according to
their. tastes as a place of amusement
does not pay the expense necessary to
sati-fy a cultivated taste.
8. The temptation to address, in
the theatre, the tastes of the uncultivated and the vicious, is, therefore,
extremely great; but it is a temnpta 
115
mitted also that the force of the better press is vastly increasing.
2. European, especially German
and English travellers, point to the
failure' of our city governments to
clear the street windows of the leprous and sewerage press, as a proof
of the inferiority of democracy as a
form of government.  Boston and
New York allow what would not be
allowed in London.
3. The offices from which most of
these sheets emanate are usually of
the shabbiest and lowest kind.  Mr.
Cook described the office of one of
the leprous sheets of Boston he had
visited   four broken panes in the
front door, a hall full of filth and
broken furniture, and the editorial'
room only a small space cleared in
an apartment filled elsewhere as a
storeroom of furniture, and containing nothing belonging,to the editors
that could not have been packed up
in an hour.  In New York he had
seen a basement-rooin used for similar purposes where a tar-can was an
ornament on the walls, and the only
counter two boards laid on two blrrels.  The offices are like the Arab's
tent, capable of being packed up at
the shortest notice; and this is one
reason why the police have difficulty
with them.
4. It is worth much to drive these
papers into such a position that they
can be read only on  the sly; and
this, a public statement of their character helps to do.
5. Mr. Cook took the responsibility
of advising the public not to patronize, for anything whatever, newspaper
dealers in the leprous press.
The speaker referred to the-habit of
evening walking on the street, somewhat characteristic of this city, with
its beautiful scenery c lose  at h and,
and pointed out that the perils connected with that habit have many
illustrations elsewhere.
It was Mr. Cook's intention to
have spoken on the Club-rooms; but
he had addressed the audience,
wholly without notes, for the full
hour, and would take up that topic
at the next service. He had been with
two policemen through two of the
club-rooms of the city. He had, of
course, exceptions to make as to
social and literary clubs. He knew
of one club that did not open Sundays.  But, as to the mass of the
clubsrooms, they were places where
Satan gave' his degree of LL. D.
What does that LL.D. mean? Liquor
and Locked Doors. (Applause).Semi-Weekly Reporter, April 5.6
I 
LECTURE XII.
SUNDAY EVENING SERVICES AT MUSIC HALL.
pect that within a few weeks a Board
of Advice would be  chos en; and he
wished to make a few remarks on
the financial future  of the  mission.
1. In several of  the  city missions
in Eastern Massuchusetts, the salary
of the city missionary is paid exclusively by the great manufacturing
corporations. In Lawrence, Mr.
Wilson never goes before the churches to ask funds for his own support.
The churches are appealed to, and
give generously; but these contributions are for the general charities of
the mission, aside from the salary of
the missionary. This last is paid by
the great corporations of the cotton
mills. Mr. Cook read from a recent
report of the Manchester City Mission statements showing that the
great corporations in that city pay
the salary of the missionary.
2. In this city there are no great
manufacturing  corporations.   The
great factories are the enterprises of
individuals, or of business firms; and
rich men will be appealed to here to
give as individuals, rather than as
members of corporations.   If the
churches expect that  the business
firms here will maintain the city
missionary as the business corporations do elsewhere, Mr. Cook thought
that, from the nature of the organization of business here, the churches
would be disappointed. A most
powerful appeal, however, may be
made to business men here, in view
THE twelfth of the series of Music
Hall services was attended by another great  audience.  The galleries
were crowded, hardly a seat was
vacant on the lower floor, and perhaps a hundred remained standing
through the whole  service, which
was two hours and a half in length.
Mr. Cook announced that he
wished to introduce, for two of the
three hymns of the evening, congregational singing; and to consecrate
the spaces of the hall by the voices of
the whole audience rising and uniting
in devotions.  It was only recently
that the grand choral congregational
singing of the German churches had
begun to be introduced  into the
American. The whole audience rose
in the galleries and on the  lower
floor, and sang together with the
most impressive effect," All hail the
power of Jesus' name."  At another
point of the evening, the whole audience rose again and sang together,
"A  charge to keep I have."  The
audience was led by the usual select
chorus of some fifty singers, Mr. C.
E. Ashcroft acting as pianist; and
the devotional effect of the union of
voices of the audience was of a very
marked kind.
In view of the size and spirit of
the meeting on the previous Sabbath
evening, inaugurating, in Lynn, the
enterprise of a city missionary, Mr.
Cook  congratulated the audience,
and through it the city, on the pros                     116 
117
Street Methodist, two hundred and
twelve; St. Stephen's, one hundred
and thirty-three; the Central Congregational, one hundred and fortynine; the Maple Street Methodist,
one  hundred  and  forty-one; the
High  Street Baptist, two hundred
and ten; the Boston Street Methodist, two hundred and forty.
5. These contributions by churchmembers, or equivalent funds from
other sources, are to be secured by
the churches -not for one year only,
but year after year, and increased in
amount as  the  city and  churches
increase  in  size.   The  difficulty
would turn out to be in making a
contribution so small as to be equivalent to on ly a dollar from  ever y
ehurch-member of the city, an annual
and permanent affair.
6. Such a man for city missionary
as will unite the churches is, therefore, a financial necessity in respect
to the mission.
7. If different denominations are
to be united in the enterprise, such
a plan of union as will best secure
the financial support of the mass of
the churches that must sustain the
mission is plainly a financial necessity.
Mr. Cook said he had taken the position that, after the right man had
been secured as city missionary, he
should be allowed, as Mr. Wilson
had been at Lawrence, and as was
the usual plan elsewhere, to follow
out his own ideas in the distinctively
religious part of his work, under the
general direction of the majority or
two-thirds of the Board of Advice.
This was not a denominational, but
a financial position. If the relative
numbers of the churches in the two
sets of denominations which it was
proposed to unite were reversed, the
speaker said he should have taken
of what business men do elsewhere,
to aid a          city mission as largely     and
regularly as               individuals as business
corpo rations do in a city where corporations exist.
3. In view o f the  two preceding
proposition s, it is evident that in this
city   a p eculiar financial responsibility
i      n regard          to the city  missionary will
rest o n  the      churches. It will           require
a   long  head    t      o point  ou           t where the
funds, not only for the salary of the
missionary, but for the general charities of the  mission,     a       re to come from,
as a source on which regular and
permanent reliance can be placed,
if they  are no t to   come from the
churches, and rich men as members
of the churches.
4. Mr. Cook thought that a contribution from the churches, equival      ent  to a  dollar          a year from  each
'church member, wa           s          as small as
would be                    adequate to the purposes
of                the mission.  There were now
twenty-six   hundred c         hurch  members
in the  fif   teen evangelical churches.
H      e  wo ul d  estimate the me mbers  of
th         e unevangelical churches at on e
thousand.  Thirty- six       h        undred dollars were not too large an allowance for the salary of a competent
missionary and all the multiplied
charities  of the  mission.   It was
surely not too much to ask of the
churches to give annual contributions equivalent to one dollar for
each church-member. But, at this
small requirement, the First Congregational Church would give two
hundred and ten dollars a year; the
Friends,  two hundred and  forty;
the Common Street Methodist
Church, three hundred and fiftyfive; St. Paul's, one hundred and
thirty-five; the First Baptist, three
hundred and forty-four; the South 
118
Music Hall had not been authorized
by the Committee of the First Congregational Church.  The rumor, it
will be seen, is wholly false, as the
first of the following resolutions had
the signatures of every member of
the committee, and the second passed
by  an unhesitating majority vote.
The church has sent its janitor and
organist to Music Hall; its officers
have taken the contributions there;
the public  prints have contained
cards of thanks to the Lynn Choral
Union and other singers for services
rendered to the First Church and
Society in the meetings at Music
Hall;  and the  Treasurer  of the
Church and Society has eleven receipts in his possession, drawn in his
name, for  payment  of the expenses
of the hall. In the appointment of
the committee, unusual care had
been taken to give it "full power"
to provide for "all" the meetings
of the week, including a second service, and especially a sabbath evening prayer-meeting and preachingservice, both of which were included
in the first meeting held at Music
Hall, although the prayer-meetings
had been discontinued after the first
meeting, on account of the inconvenience arising from the size of the
audience.  There had been some
differences of opinion in the committee; but they had all signed the
paper providing for the ten meetings; and it would be noticed that
the reasons given for the continuance
of the meetings, in the second resolution, include all those given in the
first, with others of weight, and are
all matters of fact and not of opinion.
The committee, having finished its
duties, had been discharged;. but
nothing in its action had been criticised in the discharge; and provis
precisely the same position; and this
for the same reason, namely, a desire
to secure the good of          the city by
securing the financial success       of  the
mission.
8. Mr. Cook concluded his remarks
on the  City Mission  by an appeal to
the city          to make the financial sup port of the mission w orthy        of N ew
Ly nn.  The City Hall had not been
found unw     orthy                 of th    e new growth
of the city. The new school-houses
an      d       the new c hurches were not built
penuriously.  No      t      a businessb lock
could be erected or a                          house remodelled             in               a       t, o wou the city, now, without the
influence of New Ly            nn appea ring in
the scale of expense           adopt ed. T he
speaker said he had resolved some
te n months ago no t  to leave                  the city.
without doing his best to                      see a city
mission organized.  Two years ago
the l         ocal pastors had carefully discussed the                 theme.  The Young Men's
Christian Assoc iation  had  more       than
a y        ear ago gone so           far as to correspond with one           or  tw o       men    in order
to find an agent for such a mission.
Mr. Cook said  that,   in th i       s          agreement  of  many  different  parties,
wholly without consultation with
each    other,       he r ejoi       ced to find an
indication not merely of              the great
importance of the enterprise, but of
.the. grounds of hope that the financial difficulties it is sure to meet,
will be met in a manner worthy of the
city. Build the City Mission, as you
build everything else, for New Lynn.
(Applause.)
Before announcing the usual contribution of the evening, Mr. Cook
took occasion to read the followingm
resolutions, in denial of the rumor
which had been circulated in certain
quarters of the city, for the last few
weeks, that the series of meetings at 
119
and a half, the audiences have been
extraordinarily large;
"3. That the opportunity of usefulness opened to the First Church
and Society    is pla i nly great;
"  4. Th at no  risk wh atever  is now
incurred by the church as to expense, fun ds having been  tledged
which cover any risk to the end of
April;
"  5. That the alternative wo uld be
to  ho ld no second service, or a   service m uch less w ell  attended; no
room for prayer-meetings on the Common of the city being open to the
Firs t  C   hurch since        the burning of
the  house  of worship of the First
Church; and the     season of the year
not being that most favorable to the
success of devotional  meetin gs;
" 6. That the reputation of the  acting pastor has  been  publicly and
persistently assailed from outside the
parish, on the most serious points, in
a  manner which  has  caused    the
una ni mous passage, by the  church
an d society, of a resolution vindicat -
ing their pastor; and in a manner
which the success of the services at
Music Hall is calculated to repel;
"7. That it is highly important to
the First Church to do nothing to
repel young men and the population
not usually attending church, both
of which classes have been largely
attracted to the services at Music
Hall;
" 8. That the churches of the city
have heretofore united in holding
Sabbath evening services in the Lyceum Hall, in this city, when the audiences were more than half less than
the audiences now held at Music
Hall:
,,Resolved, By the Committee appointed by the First Church and
Society to provide a temporary place
ion had been made by the committee
for meetings through April.  The
thirteenth and last of the second
services of the First Congregational
Church, at Music Hall, Mr. Cook announced for the last Sabbath in April,
this being the last of the Sabbaths
for which he had made engagement
to labor in this city; and his last
Sabbath before beginning his preparation to go to Europe.
"Whereas, the attendance at the
meetings thus far held at Music Hall
has been extraordinarily large;
"And whereas, the opportunity of
usefulness is plainly great;
"And whereas, the expenses of
opening the hall have been reduced by
contributions from the audience, by
subscriptions, and by the pledges of
certain parties, so that for ten nights,
including the five meetings already
held, th e expenses to the Society shall
be        only fifteen dollars a night; and,
by  p    ledges of other parties, for four
meetings       beyond the first six, the cost
nothing  whatever:  Therefore,
"Resolved, By the Committee of tlh
First Congregational Church of Lynn,
appointed to select for the Church
and  Society a temporary place of
worship, that the First Congregational Church and Society worship
at Music  Hall  for several nights
more, announcing, however, but one
meeting in advance.
"February 13."
" In view of th      e followin g circumstances, namely:
"1. That a petition urgently asking for the continuation of the services at Music I/all has appeared in
the city papers, and received the signatures of two hundred working men;
"2. That for ten Sabbath evening
services, running through two months 
120
into four principal parts: Open
Bars, Club-Rooms, Gambling-Rooms,
and Dwelling-house Drinking Parties.
of worship for the First CI
Society, that the resolutior
passed unanimously by thi
tee to hold several more m
Music Hall, announcing
meeting at a time, be exter
application so as to cover
ings the committee choo
nounce for April.
"March 30."
I. Open Bars.
1. "Standing in one of the open
squares of this city last evening with
a policeman," said Mr. Cook, "I
said:' There  is a white horse in
the centre of the square.  If you
stood where that horse stands, into
how many places where liquor is illegally sold could you throw a stone?'
The  policeman,  a  cautious  man,
replied, looking about the square:
'One, two, three — seven - ten -
twelve or fifteen, at least.'"  The
day might come yet, in the future of
this city, when, unless public sentiment in a larger population is made
a police behind the police, ten or
fifteen such squares may be open
within hearing of the waves of Massachusetts Bay!  But the evil one
such square  and  all it represents
can do is not easily calculated.
2. It is common for the best portions of the Pulpit and Parlor and
Press, in our cities, to complain of
the inefficiency of the  Police  in
executing Temperance Laws.
3. It is also common, in our cities,
for the Police to complain that there
is no public sentiment  to  justify
them in the execution of Temperance
Laws; that is, they complain of the
Pulpit, Parlor, and Press  for not
awakening such sentiment.  Go to
the Pulpits and Parlors, and you
find complaints made  of the City
Marshals and Chiefs of Police:  go
to the City Marshals and Chiefs of
Police, and you find complaint made
of the Pulpits and Parlors.
4. Both these sets of complaints
are just.  As a general rule, it is
true that  the Police  are right in
Mr. Cook then  took up and spok           e
for an hour and a quarter on the
subject which had been announced
for the evening: " Club-Rooms in
Lynn, Gambling-Rooms, and Dwelling-house Sabbath Drinking Parties;
or the Duty of making Christian
Public Sentiment in Cities a Police
behind the Police." On account of
the importance of this subject to the
city, we wish to report the discussion
of it more in detail than we have
space for in the present issue. A
full analysis of the address will therefore appear in next Saturday's Reporter. - Semi- Weekly Reporter,
April 19.
WE give, to-day, our promised
report of the address delivered by
Rev. Joseph Cook, last  Sunday
evening, before the crowded audience
at the twelfth of the Music Hall Sabbath evening services. The address,
which was delivered entirely without
notes, was listened to with deep
attention throughout, applause being
bestowed at several points.- The
text was from Ecclesiastes ii. 13:
"I saw that wisdom excelleth folly,
as far as light excelleth darkness."
After an introductory allusion to
John B. Gough, who had spoken in
the Hall the previous Tuesday evening, Mr Cook said he should divide
the topic which had been announced
w
-i
-t   -
-- I
-1,  t.
, - -i. -: 
121
their complaints of the Pulpit, Parlor,
and Press; and the Pulpit, Parlor,
and Press right in their complaints
of the Police.
5. It is   impossible  for  the P olice
alone to secure th e right condition
of a great city in respect to Temperance or any other moral reform;
and it is also       imp ossible  f    or the
Pulpit, P arlor,                    and Press,  taken
without  th        e  aid  of the Police, to
secur e        tha t right condition.
p6. The two sets of ideas  represented  in the se complaints         must,
theref        ore, recognize  each the just
claims of the   o ther, and clasp hands
t og     ether und        er  the neck  of the m oral
difficulties always arising in crowded
centres  of pop    ulation,    or the great
problem of the  right   management
of cities will never be solved.
7. T       he scheme   of State Police,
or  a c    on      stabulary represe nting the
whole State, and  executing the
tem per      ance laws of  the State,
unites, perhaps better than any other
plan,  these two  sets  of ideas; for it
brings the   v    igorous temperance sentiment       of           the rural portions of                          A
State to the support of the less
vigorous temperance sentiment of
the cities.  Unle ss  the portions of
New Yor  k a bove  the  High lands  of
the Hudson helped to rule the part
below the   Highlands, the              latter
would hardly be governable, except
by martial law.   The plan of aState Police is one of the best solutions yet invented for the problem
of the perishing and, dangerous
classes in cities.
8. There is nothing undemocratic
in the plan of a State Police. The
republican plan of government is,
that the executive should be coordinate in the sphere of its power
with the legislative and the judiciary.
16
The legislative power makes laws,
including temperance laws, for all
the State.   The  executive  power
should execute  the laws, including
temperance laws, for all the State.
This is the true theory of republican
institutions, and was the practice in
Massachusetts until about fifty years
ago.
9. It follows from the preceding
propositions, and has now been
proved by experience, that a State
Prohibitory  Law,  enforced  by  a
State  Police, brings, better  than
any other plan, the force of the
better parts of a State to the aid of
the worse.   Mr. Cook declared himself in favor of Prohibition.
10. In the most unfortunately situated cities, however, taken without
the aid of any public sentiment outside of themselves, there are tides of
temperance sentiment enough wasted
in the  c hurc hes an d p arlors  to make
a police behind the police, if the
Pulpits and Press would only give
that sentiment adequate expression.
11. Mas,4achusetts is now, in respect to  temperance  legal enactments, under what may be called
the system of Local Option. Each
town has its option whether it will
permit the sale of the malt liquors,
or not. This city has, at present, a
very good set of temperance enactments. But several cities in Eastern
Massachusetts have recently been.
turned against temperance by small
majorities in municipal elections;
and this with the most ruinous results.
12. While the system of Local Option prevails in temperance legislation,
it is plain that great responsibility rests
on the local Pulpit, Parlor, and Press.
On the grounds of these propositions,
Mr. Cook made an appeal to the
Pulpit, Parlor, and Press of the citv
6 
122
to unite in making public sentiment
a police behind the police to aid the
police to shut the open bars.
5. The Police in this city often
find places that are in reality dramshops, defended, when brought before
the city courts, on the plea by the
lawyers that they are  club-rooms.
This is another indication of the true
character of the lower class of these
places.
6. Mr. Cook said he had studied
the club-rooms of Lynn by the aid
of the police.  He found, on inquiry
of the proper officers, that in Lynn,
as in larger cities, it was not unusual
or regarded in any sense improper
for persons wishing  to study the
moral condition of the population to
avail themselves of the aid of the
police; and he paid a high compliment to the police for the courtesy
and fulness-of the aid they give in
such a study of the city.  He had
been, with company firom the police,
through four establishments, one of
which was one of the worst gamblingrooms in the city, another a club-room
of the better class, and two which
were called specimens of the  clubrooms of the worst class.  He had
gone in his usual dress without disguise; and in two of the club-roonms
had had quite full and always courteous  conversations  with  persons
present in them; and he should speak
from personal observation, as well as
from the information of the police.
7. In the places he had visited,
and which were called specimens of
the worst class of club-rooms, he
found the outer doors locked and
provided  with  a  smlall  window
through which any who applied for
admission, and especially the policemen, were observed from within, before being admitted.  It was useless
to set up the claim that this arrangement was intended solely to keep out
persons not members of the club.
II. Club-Rooms.
1. It is important to notice, in
cities, that middle ground which
exists between respectability, on the
on       e         hand, and action which  the police can touch, on the other.  Men
a re divided                  not only into the standing and fallen. There is a third
class-thefalling.  This is found in
this middle ground oftener than elsewhere. It is peculiarly the province
of the Pulpit and Parlor to study
this middle ground.
2. Club-rooms in cities occupy,
as a mass, this middle ground; although the'better of them rise into
the region of respectability, and the
lowest sink into the region of illegality, and fall into the hands of
police law.
3. Clubs increase in power with
the increase of the power of cities.
This is true of the political and
literary and social clubs, or the one
hand, as well as of the drinking and
gambling clubs, on the other. Wendell Phillips complains that Massachusetts is ruled politically by Boston
Clubs; and he was fortunate in
being able in a recent-political campaign to put one of those clubs into
the pillory.
4. When severe temperance legislation is executed in cities, the lower
class of club-rooms blossom.  Many
of the club-rooms of this city had
their origin at the time the Prohibitory Law was thoroughly executed here. This is no argument
against a Prohibitory Law; but it is
an indication that drinking is an
essential object with the lower class
of club-rooms. 
123
some thirty or thirty-five club-rooms
of this class in the city.
8. Where  is the money in clubrooms made?  Mr.  Cook said he
regarded this a test question in determining their true character.  He
had put this question everywhere;
and had concurrent information, both
from the police and those whom he
had conversed with in the club-rooms,
that the money is made from the bar
and from toll on the table. When
a person sits down  at a club-room
table at a game, it is customary to
charge a small sum - perhaps twenty
cents -  for a sitting; and the money
made by the managers of club-rooms
is from the bar and from this toll on
the games.  It used to be said of
John Quincy Adams, when in Congress, that he had a carnivorous instinct for the jugular vein    and   car otid
artery of an argument. Mr. Cook
regarded the fact that the clubroom managers make their money
from their bars and the toll on the
tables as the jugular vein and carotid
artery of the proof that, whatever
may be said of the character of these
places as opened for social -intercourse or amusement, their essential
business is gambling and drinking.
9. WheAi the current sets all one
way, in any social gathering, the
effbct of putting oneself into that
current is always of a very marked
kind. In a prayer-meettng, not of
the hypocritical sort, the current sets
all one way; and this toward virtue.
This is the secret of the power of
such a meeting, and is one reason
why some men are so shy of putting
themselves into that current. But,
in a club-room of the lower class, the
central currents are gambling and
drinking; and these draw in gradually the side swirls of mere social
The police found their investigations
in these rooms barred by the windows
and the locked doors. When a policeman applies for admission, a delay
u        sually occurs,           long          e nough for any
evidence of      illeg al liquor-selling or
gambling that may be going on within, to be put out               of sight. " If you
are  all right,  why do  you  not admit
us wi        tho   ut            s      o much delay?"  the
p     olice significan       tly  asked  twic e  in
one  of' th e  r oom s. "W     he ar     e all
right," was                      the answer. In the cases
he had       observed, Mr. Cook  found
n    othi                arac t           ie          b            ring attractive, but everything
shabby, about   the  rooms. I          n  each
case, a bar-    room        an d       an adjoinring
sitting-room made up the  establi shment. The p  laces    are fitted up w    ith
no taste, and one  of them was  so
shabby and repulsive  that Mr. Cook
said he came out  of    it          thankful    that
he       had a   cle                an pillow  on which to
lay his head.  The floor was filthy;
the walls and windows dirty; the
table bare; and all        the furniture    in
the room would not have sold at
auction for fifteen  dollars.  The re
was  one  little colored  print        u       of mto
significance, on the walls; a (ask
with a facet (probably containing
water!) on the floor near a closet
and a bar. In another room he saw
three of the most leprous illustrated
newspapers on the bare table; and
the pictures on the walls were in part
of the same class with those in the
papers, and in part of boxing and
racing scenes. It was the general rule
in the city, as he had been informed
by the police, that the club-rooms of.
the lower class are shabby and repulsive places. But they are frequented from morning to night, and
till late at night; and most of them
keep open on Sundays. The police
estimate that there are at present 
124
intercourse or good fellowship, until
it may be said that the current all
sets one way, and that toward the
direction the central current takes.
This is the secret of the influence of
putting oneself into that current.
The thoroughly equipped low clubroom of a great'city is a prayer
meeting of the Devil's Church.
10. Those who, at any age, are
under the power of bad habits, and
the young, are the two classes most
injured among the membership of
club-rooms; and both these classes
are most numerously represented in
that membership.  It is not an unknown  circumstance for very old
persons to belong to club-rooms. The
young have so much representation
in them that Mr. Cook found that
teachers exhibit high interest in the
subject.  The High School of this
city is a gem, and this even on the
Massachusetts coast, more irradiated
by the gems of the schools than any
other  coast in  the  world.   The
princely Principal of that school,
who knows the city well, is got without the information as to club-rooms
needed to bar out their influences
from the first.
11. The class of clubs meeting for
political, social, or literary purposes,
Mr. Cook said he did not intend to
discuss.  He had visited one of the
clubs of this class, conversed with its
members, and read its constitution,
which contained  provisions, which
the police believed were thoroughly
executed, against all liquor on the
premises, and against  opening on
Sundays.  He saw nothing in any
part  of club-life, however, which
could afford  any adequate reason
why a busy man, with but a few
hours to devote to his family each
day, should give four, three or two
III. Ga mbling-Rooms.
1. Arrangements for blockading
or retarding the coming in of the
police were visible enough at the
entrance of the gambling-room, as
well as at the entrance of the clubrooms.
2. Mr. Cook described the gambling-room he had visited, and a room
connected with it, as of the shabbiest
and forlornest character; and the
furniture in the gambling-room, aside
from a rough table, as not worth ten
dollars.
3. And yet, in this room, gambling
of the most thorough sort, the police
had reason enough to believe, was
carried on.   It did not require a
long.apprenticeship to acquire skill
enough to shake four small flattened
sea-shells, called props, like dice in
the hand; and determine a game
by the shells coming, four or two, the
same side up, and making a neck;
or three one side up and one the
other side up, and making an out.
evenings, or even one evening a
week, regularly, to a club. (Appl'ause).
12. Tn the low club-rooms, the
Sabbal.h is often the worst day of the
week.
IV. Dwelling-House Drinking Parties.
1. When Catholic clergy of
Boston were called before the Massachusetts Legislature, to testify in
the License Hearings conducted by
Governor Andrew and President
Miner in 1867, they testified in the
strongest terms that one of the most
deadly evils they met in the population they were called most to study,
was the. sale' of liquors in private
dwelling-houses. They represented
that there were whole streets and
squares of dwelling-houses, especially 
125
among  the  population  of foreign
deseent, where the whole moral
ground was as springy with these
s           ales as a marsh is with rills. They
condemned this h      abit  of the           population as an evil of the first magnitude; and as not altogether confined
to the foreign population.
2. Mr. Cook said that he knew a
street in this City where he had
reason, from information received
from the police, to believe that liquor
is sold in every third dwellinghouse.
, 3. Pass through such a street on
the Sabbath, and although no outward
disorder may be seen, it is common
to find, sometimes on one street, five
or six dwelling-house Sabbath drinking parties.  Ten or fifteen persons
in some back room of a dwellinghouse are gathered about a supply
of liquor, drinking. When the police
appears, the group scatters, some up
stairs, some to the closets, some to
the cellars.
4. The police assert that they had
rather have four open bars than one
dwelling - house  drinking  hole. -
Semi- Weekly Reporter, April 22.
ii 
LECTURE XIII.
SUNDAY EVENING SERVICES AT MUSIC HALL.
assumed by the church and society;
and that  three gentlemen have voluntarily taken the remaining risk,
which action we have pleasure in
commending as an important benefit
to the public.
Having delivered, in the afternoon,
before a large audience at the First
Baptist Church (the use of which.
with a generosity which cannot be
too highly appreciated, has been
tendered to the First Church since
the burning of the house'of worship
of the latter on Christmas night), an
Address to Young Converts and to those
who have. united with the Church during the Year, Mr. Cook gave at Music
Hall, Sabbath evening, an address
which had been announced, this being
the last Sabbath for which he had
made engagement to labor in this
city, and his last before beginning
preparations to go to Europe, as a
FarewellDiscourse in Lynn, embracing a review of the winter, with final
remarks on the factories, and last
words to his church and the city.
Mr. Cook occupied an hour of the
evening with the topic, " Christ, our
Prophet, Priest. and King; or, Christ
not a Saviour if worshipped in only.
a IFragment of his Character," using
ad a text the words, " Abide in me
and I in you." We greatly regret
that the pressure of Mr. Cook's engagements prevents our obtaining
from him the heads of this discourse,
AT the thirteenth of the Music
Hall services, there was present another  great audience.  The  galleries
were crowded; nearly every seat was
taken on the lower floor;  and  a
considerable number remained standing through the whole service, which
was five  minutes less than  three
hours in length.  It should be put
upon record that the audience was
as remarkable for quality as for size.
We  noticed persons  present from
Boston and  Salem, who said they
had come to the city to attend this
service.  Mr. Cook spoke two hours
and  five minutes.   The  platform,
which contained a beautiful collection of flowers  arranged on each
side of the open space allotted to the
speaker, was  occupied by a select
chorus of fifty or seventy-five singers,
led by Mr. C. E. Ashcroft as pianist.
A most impressive devotional effect
was produced by the union of the
voices of the audience rising and
singing the hymns, "Rock of ages
cleft for me" and "A charge to keep
I have."
On announcing the usual contribution, which has never been preceded at Music Hall by any urgent
solicitations to the  audience,  Mr.
Cook  stated that  the expense of
opening the hall for thirteen nights
had been $780.   We learn that the
audience has contributed about $400;
that a risk of nearly $100 has been
126 
127
deuly begun to burst up  in conflagration.  The bursting, like that of
a conflagration, unequal at different
points and unequal at different monments, grew, until the whole unseen
infinite city seemed lifting itself in
flames; and  lifted itself m o re  a nd
more, until suddenly the conflagration that  had seemedsto cling to the
ocean's rim, began to break loose
from it, yet withdrew only little by
little; but at last hung free in the
infinite ether, and the flames became
a sun. The lines of delicate mist that
hung along the coasts took irradiation. The cities were not awake, but
the chorus of birds grew louder. The
poorest cottages glowed in the light
not less than the loftiest mansions.
The sunlight once more hung upon
the just and the unjust, highest blessing or highest torture either now
or ultimately, according as life is
true or false; but giving every soul
one more chance to make life true.
The mori,ing star withdrew its face."
Mr. Cook then occupied an hour in
considering the new duties thrown
upon New England by the extraordinary growth of the manufacturing
districts, and in a searching, courteous, and impartial review of the
winter, and in last words to'his
church and to the city. We shall
print next week, or in our next issue,
these remarks in full.
We subjoin a list of the topics
which have now been presented at
Music Hall. It will be seen that
the variety of the topics equals their
importance. The subsidiaryremiarks
on the factories occurred at the opening of the third and fourth, and at
the close of the eighth and thirteenth
meetings.
1. "1 Similarity of Feeling with God,
a Condition of Salvation." Jan. 15.
which was delivered without notes,
but which would have injustice done
to its argtument if not reported in full.
It consisted largely of a presentation
of the prooffrom science of the Divine
Omnipresence, and of the combination
of this proof with the scriptutral doctrines of the Holy Spirit, the new birth,
and the atonement.  A combination
of the severest truths of Scripture
with the religious truths to be learned
from the latest science, has characterized Mr. Cook's presentation of
evangelical topics in Music Hall.
We append a passage of much
beauty, which was simply a subsidiary illustration in the argument,
and which the speaker chanced to
read from manuscript.  It describes
the ocean sunrise as seen from High
Rock in this city.                         
"It was five o'clock in the late
dawn, and the morningstar yet hung,
a sun all soul, in the eastern sky, itself
soul and not sky, when I was on the
lonely street on my way to the summit.  Birds  sang  from  the  dewy
shrubs in those short, deep warbles
which it appears man is not fit to
hear, but only the holy grey dawn.
I was at the summit of' the High
Rock twenty minutes before the sun
rose, and the infinite ocean lay as
quietly as if its sleep were the hush
following its awe after looking upward upon the innumerable worlds
it had just ceased to mirror.  I was
watching the majestic movement of
a sea bird flying toward the east,
when there flashed at the edge of the
sea a sparkle of flame, as if that far
city, to which, in the legends, Arthur
was mysteriously carried across the
waves, half out of sight beyond the
edge of the world, and half in sight
as a glory revealing itself Ifrom below
the furthest ocean's verge, had sud 
128
or, Recent Science on the Signs of
the Vices, and on the Best Methods
of Escape from Bad Habits." March
26.
11. "Swindling  Public  Amusements and the Street School; or,
Christianity and Science at one as
to the Temptations of Cities." April 2.
12. "Club-Rooms in Lynn, Gambling- Rooms, and Dwelling-house
Sabbath Drinking Parties; or, The
Duty of making Christian Public
Sentiment in Cities a Police behind
the Police." April 16.
13. "Christ our Prophet, Priest,
and King; or, Christ not a Saviour
if Worshipped in only a Fragment
of His Character." April 30.
The public will please understand
that we are responsible for the reports of Mr. Cook's Music Hall Lectures which have  app eared in the
Reporter. Mr. Cook has furnished
the manuscript of the heads of his remarks and nothing more; and these
outlines used by us, and an account
of the meetings written by us, have
appeared at our own option, and not
by his request. —Semi-Weekly Reporter, May 3.
2. " The Moral Perils of the Present  Factory  System  of  Lynn."
Jan. 22.
3. False and True, Faith and Repentance."  Jan. 29.
4. " Christ's Gift of the Fulness of
'Joy; or, The First Principles of a
Scientific Christianity." Feb. 5.
5. "Treason  toward  God;  or,
Christ's Human Nature the Ideal of
Excellence for Young Men." Feb.
12.
6. "' Secret Sins as an Obstacle to
'Conversion."  Feb. 19.
7. " Poor Clothes, Rear Pews, and
Hard Work, as Excuses for not
Attending Church; or, The Value
to the People of Sunday Kept Holy."
March 5.
8. " The Necessity of the Atonement, an Inference from the Nature
of Conscience  and from the Unchangeableness of the Past."  March
12.
9. " Christ in the Family and in
all the Relations of the Social to the
Religious Life;  or, Cheap Homes
and  Boarding- Houses  in Lynn."
March 19.                              b
10. "Steps toward the New Birth;
CHANGES IN NEW ENGLAND IN THE LAST FIFTY YEARS.
When Edinund Burke was a yotung mall he wrote a letter
to a friend, stating that lhe had a plan of going to America
for life; and this because the Westerli Continent was sure
to be the seat of a great nation; was inii the infancy of great
changes; and was, therefore, a field in which effort ptlt forth
early would have usefulness oil a great scale.  New Englald
is to-day in the infancy of great clanges.  It may be that if
Edmund Burke were alive lhe would think the lnew opportunity of usefulness not inferior to the old.
1. The population of the manufacturing districts of New
England is increasing with extraordinary rapidity.
I 
129
It is the recommendation of Demosthenes that all speeches
should begin with an incontrovertible proposition. It is incontrovertible that this city, as one manufacturing centre in
New England, has passed through great changes in the last
twenty years.  I should have exhibited but a callous sensitiveless to the grave responsibilities of public speech, if I could
have forgotten for an instant, in discussing the future of this
city, that in the last twenty years your population has doubled,
the value of the products of your chief industry trebled, and
the amount of your taxable property quadrupled. It is fabled
by the poets that whoever will put his ear to the ground in
the thrifty and jubilant days of that season of the year we are
now entering, may hear the noise of growing things.  Lynn
is a meadow slope on which the sun of secular prosperity has
shone so brightly for the last twenty years that there is hardly
a sod of it on which you can put your ear without hearing
the sound of growing things.
But, is this growth a merely local phenomenon?  The last
census has an astonishing answer to make. The growth is
characteristic of nearly every manufacturing centre in Eastern
Massachusetts; and I had almost said of every such centre
from Long Island Sound to the White Mountains, and from
Cape Cod to the Berkshire HIills.
Take the seven cities on the Merrimac River. I often hang
in imagination above that stream as the best emblem of the
life of Eastern New England. Child of the White Mountains
and of the Pemigewasset, the Merrimac rushes past the innumerable spindles of seven cities to the sea -  Concord,
Manchester, Nashua, Lowell, Lawrence, Haverhill, and Newburyport   doing more work than any other river of its size
in the world; and emblematic from source to mouth of the
industrial life of the Atlantic slope of New England, which
more and more rushes beneath factory wheels through all its
vexed course from its source in the mountains to its home in
the ocean.  These seven cities, in the last twenty years, have,
in the aggregate, more than doubled in wealth and population.
17 
130
Lawrence has grown from a pasture to a princely manufacturilg centre witliiii twenlty years.
Draw a line north and south cutting the population of
Massachusetts ill halves and through what point does it now
pass?  Draw another east and west, cutting the population
ill halves, and where does that lille fall?  Thle intersection of
the two lines is the centre of population.  The cenltre of territory is within the limits of the city of Worcester, on the easterly side, near Lake Quinsagamond.  But where is the centre
of population?  Is it Framingham?  Is it Lake Cocllituate?
The north and south line which cuts the population of Massacliusetts in halves passes easterly of a point midway between
Harvard University and the west end of West Boston Bridge.
The east and west line dividing the population into equal
portions passes through the South Boston end of the Federal
Street Bridge. The two lines intersect at a point not two
miles west of the State House.  This, according to thile State
documents, was the centre of population in 1865.1  The centralization of wealth is even more remarkable than that of the
population. The census everywhere reveals the fact tllat,
through the aid of the wonderful increase of all meanis of intercommunication, the change which is constantly giving greater
and greater power to cities, this added weight of the Atlantic
slope of the State is chiefly an effect of the extraordinary
growth of the maniufacturing centres of Easternl Massachusetts.
Of these, Boston itself is one. I must be pardoned for considerimg it a suggestive circumstance that, in spite of the remarkable advances of Central and Westernl Massachusetts, the circumscribing line drawn from the State House, and containing
half the population of the Commonwealtlh, has contracted its
radius ten miles in fifty years.  All Eastern Massachusetts is
a factory.  In 1865, more than one half of the population of
Massachusetts, seven tenthls of the personal property, and two
thirds of the real estate, were situated within twenty-five miles
of the State House at Boston!2 In the five years since these
1 Abstract of the Census of 1865, with Remarks on the same and Supplementary
Tables, Prepared under the direction of Oliver Warner, Secretary of the Commnonwealth, p. 274.                                       2 Ibid., p.275. 
131
astonishing estimates were made, your city has increased thirtysix per cenit in population.  Butt Lawrence lhas increased
thirty-two in the same time; Lowell has increased thirty-one;
Haverhill nineteen, and Fall River forty.
Here is the incoming of an Atlantic tide.  It is the roar of
the industrial conditions of Old England coming into New
England.  I have lived for a year within hlearing of the roar
of the ocean.  I have looked daily upon the coming iii of the
vast tides. It is little to say that I profess to have lived also
within hearing of tihe roar of the human ocean which beats
on the Atlantic slope of New England; and have looked daily
upon the coming in of these vast tides.  Imaginie the magificent coast-line from Newfoundland to New York beaten in all
its coves and headlands by incoming Atlantic waves. A feeble
occupation this, compared with imagining the same coast,
beaten, as it is, in all its coves and headlands, and likely to
be beaten more and more furiously as thie years pass, by these
incominig human tides, and more and more complicated industrial conditions.   Not discuss those conditions!  Not
secure the best life that can be secured for the millions whose
future is now being largely determined by the precedents
which are to be set in the period of transition New England
is passing! Not turn public discussion and legislation early
to the solution of problems more vital than any others iii the
secular life of New Elglanld, and sure to become more and
more complicated as the tides rise higher! He who says this
is likely to be as little regarded as the rattling of rushes
before the coming iii of an Atlantic surge.  (Applause).
2. It is notorious that, while the population of the manufacturing centres of New England is increasing with extraordinary rapidity, that of the agricultural and commercial districts is fluctuating, and, in many cases, on the decrease.
3. The distinctions between rich and poor are becoming
wider in the manufacturing districts.
(1) This is partly the unavoidable result of the growth of
the power of capital.  (2) It is in part the consequence of
the massing of meti in cities, as distinct from small towns. 
132
(3) It is in part the natural effect of the organization of
manufacturing industry in great corporations on the one
hand, and an operative population on the other. (4.) It is
also in large measure the result of the fact that in the mannufacturinrlg districts of New England, a vastly greater proportion of the population is now of foreign descent than fifty
years ago.
For nearly a century and a half the people of New England,
consisting in 1640 of only about 4,000 families or 20,000
persons, multiplied on their own soil in remarkable seclusion
from other communities.  Bancroft points out that after the
first fifteen years following the landing of the Pilgrims, there
was never any considerable increase from England. Palfrey
makes prominent the circumstance that it is chiefly within
the last forty years that the foreigners have come.  It is not
true to say that New England is becoming New Ireland. But
it is hardly epigrammatic to say that manufacturing New Eugland is becoming New Ireland. Out of every hundred of the
population, the number of foreign born was in 1865 in Lowell
30; in Fall River, 31; in Boston, 34; in Lawrence, 42.1
4. As soon as our population is thick enough, large parts of
the industrial difficulties of Old England are likely, in spite
of American Institutions, to arise in New England.
It is not safe to trust the action of democratic institutions
to solve the problems which a monarchy as free as England
has been unable to solve.  What is the ministry in Great
Britain but a committee of Parliament, obliged to lay down
its power whenever it cannot command the support of a
majority?  There is no such difference between American and
English political institutions, as will prevent the larger part of
the questions that trouble the industrial relations of England
from crossing the Atlantic.  We have, indeed, no aristocracy
based on blood. But it is notorious that, in spite of every
feudal inheritance in English social and political life, the aristocracy based on land and manufactures and other forms of
1 Census of Massachusetts for 1865, Abstract of, p. 298. 
133
wealth has more power in England to-day than that based on
hereditary descent.
5. The sooner New England begins to prepare remedies
for its industrial difficulties the better.
(1) The legislation of England for a hundred years has
demonstrated the necessity of rectifying abuses in manufacturing centres by investigations conducted under the authority
of law.  (2) The best literature of England for the last hundred
years turns on no points more vital than the condition of the
poor and the relations of employers and employed. (3) I
maintain that it is greatly to the honor of Massachusetts to
have organized, first of all the States, a Bureau of Labor.
These five are plain, large, and incontrovertible propositions.
I confess that I am moved by them to think that, while all old
duties remain as sacred as ever, and while some old duties are
becoming more sacred than ever,
",New occasions teach new duties, we ourselves must Pilgrims be,
Launch our Mayflowers, and steer boldly through the desperate winter sea."
Tlhe changes in New England in the last fifty years!  They
expose by more tlhan glimpses new duties thrown uponi the
churchles, the press, the platform, the parlors and the workrooms of New England. A very dull and unpoetic fact, it
may seem, that New England is inevitably to be a factory.
It is one already. Plymouth Rock began the first New
England.  Shall it be the corner-stone of the second?  Goetlhe
listened to the spindles of Manchester and said, with profound
meaning, that hle thought theirs the most suggestively poetic
sound of the century.  He foresaw the ftiture industrial conditions of the cities of the world, and yearned for the unborn
ten thousand times ten thousand for whom that sound was a
prophetic note.  But all men have not Goethle's ears.  When
you and I are no longer in the world, the problem of the
future of New England will be how to make Plymouth Rock
the corner-stone of a factory.  Who are the masons that shall
lay that jagged and fundamental Rock smooth with the other
stones of the wall?  And if the lines of the Rock and of tihe 
134
other stones of the wall should not be the same, shall the
other stones be hewn, or Plymoiuth Rock be lhewn, to bring
out the line?  God send us no future into which Plymouth
Rock cannot be butiilt unhliewn! But how to build that Rock
into the complicated lines of the industrial relations of the
future of the cities with which New England is to be crowded?
How to make Plymouth Rock the corner-stone of a factory?
I admit that the question, except to Goethle's ears, has almost
the sound of sacrilege.  But the Sphinx of current h-istory,
daughter of Typhon and Clhimaera as was the Sphinx of old,
already asks it iii whispers; will ask it in the next generation
in bold speech; and in the next century with the voice of
many waters; and the penalties of not answering are not
likely to be inconsiderable!
REVIEW OF THE WINTER.
Some weeks ago I said I felt like Bismark before Paris.
It was a facetious remark.   But I may now make  one of
more significance. I feel like Bismark in Paris. (Applause).
Three important results have been accomplished:
1. A subtle and large evil has been exposed;
2. Remedies for it have been suggested;
3. Public sentiment has been carried overwhelmingly in
favor of those remedies.
For any who wish an argument for the two measures of
Factory Reform which have been recomnmended, I offer the
fact that in this city, where the subject is better understood
tlhan it can be elsewhere, local public sentiment has overwhlelmingly favored those measures.
Thucydides and Talleyrand, thlough as widely separated in
character as in time, both advise that those who would deal
with the public usefully or successfully should practice entire
freedom from indirection.  The secret of securiig attention,
as well as of speaking usefully, is to say the thing that needs
to be said.
There are several facts of pul)lic notoriety here which are
now matters of the past. I judge that the past is Inot likely
to be reversed.
8 
135
1. It has now been my fortune to speak in Music Hall for
more than a quarter of a year. It is only two weeks less
than a third of a year since the first of the Music Hall
Services.
2. In January, I made here certain very damaging charges
concerning the condition of your chief industry.
3. The charges were such that beyond doubt I should have
been advised, if I had consulted beforehand with any one
not wise as a serpent but harmless as a dove, not to present
them.
4. So damaging were the charges and so public and unequivocal was their presentation, that, if they had been untrue,
or if they had contained substantial exaggeration, I should
have been made the most unpopular man in public life in
this city, and months ago have been hissed off this platform.
5. I have not been hissed off the platform.  I am saying
nothing of the necessity of repressing applause here night
after night for a quarter of a year; nor of a deliberate request
from the class said to have been slandered, for the continuance
of the meetings; nor of scores of other indications.  In a
gathering of some sixty-five operatives in this city last winter,
not long after the topic of the factories had been brought to
public attention, a vote was taken on the question of the
advisability of the separation of the sexes. Two speeches
were made against the measure; and the vote stood for it,
sixty-three to two. The assertion that the proportion of
these figures to each other fairly represents the present serntiment of the fifteen thousand working people here, I make
no use of, except to say that it comes to me fromn an exceedingly large number of the most respectable sources, and that
no counterbalancing evidence reaches me.  It is not consonant with the ruiles of local Crispin lodges to act on certain
themes without a kind of concurrent action or permission
from national or international lodges; otherwise, resolutions
which have been twice prepared by working men to be
brought before the local lodges here on this theme, would
have been passed. I notice that the admirable Report of the 
136
Massachli:setts Bureau of Labor, published but a few days
since for the use of the Legislature, has a passage comparing
the moral perils of the old and new system  of your chief
industry; and bases an inference that the perils of the latter
are the greater, on the fluctuations of the business, the
very point urged three months since in this Hall. These
and many other similar facts it is not necessary to bring into
employment. It is enough to say simply that I have not been
hissed off the platform.  Every man of sense who heard what
I said in January knows that I should have been, if I had not
spoken substantially without exaggeration. As to the applause,
petition, and other indications of local sentiment, they mean
as much as they would on the other side.  How much is that?
As much as they would on the other side, if that side had ever
received them. (Applause.) When poor John Sterling,
Thomas Carlyle's friend, after a life tossed with scepticism,
lay dying, he said: "Bring me the Bible I used to use in
visits among the cottages at Herstmonceaux," and laid his
head oni it, as if in rest from all his tossing. I will remember
these two  hundred signatures of working  men,  as John
Sterling remembered the Bible he used among the cottages
at Herstmoniceaux.
6. Nearly four months have now passed.. There has been
abundant time for sentiment to become calm and intelligent.
Photograph public sentiment as it stood two months ago.
It was overwhelmingly on the right side; but it would have
been unfair to take the picture to fix the record then. The
picture was too near and would have been blurred. Take
the photograph to fix the record two years hence, when all
the facts will not be fresh in memory, and the picture would
be too dim. Now is the time to take the photograph to fix
the record.  There has been no especial excitement in the
city for the last month.
The photograph is fixed by these six propositions. I recite
them not for my own sake, but as an incontrovertible indication of local puiblic sentiment. The propositions are all
matters utterly undeniable.  They are such as  a stranger 
137
looking on from outside, might be sure of.  But whoever will
run his eye along the six, and take their trend, will see that
an inference follows from them as to the nature of local
public sentiment. It is that local public sentiment which
I to-night add to all the arguments I have heretofore advanced.
And now it is my duty to thank this city, which is dear to
me, and will continue to be dear, as are.the ruddy drops that
visit a glad heart.  You have not been misled.  You  have
not been intimidated.   There  are  many  ways  in which
Capital may act as a Ku Klux Klan.  Capitalists range all
the way from the George Peabodys to the James Fisks.
Years ago there came into classic use in this Commonwealth
the significant word  gerrymandered.  To divide a state into
political districts in such a mainner as to favor a particular
political party, was a scheme which, under Elbridge Gerry's
administration, was forever put into the pillory by that single
word.  I have met, in one of the most scholarly publications
of Boston, the word gymfiscation. It has as good a right to
become a part of the language as the word gerrymandered.
You are yet a young city. You have yet but a comparatively
small population.  I say aid beg you to notice that I say that
I think you have no one or two, or ainy other number, as corporations or as individuals, near, or nigh to near, to that rank
of capitalists which the James Fisks represent at the end of
the scale opposite to thie George Peabodys at the other.  But
you will have them in the future.  Let me beseech yout to
remember that all your difficulties will assuredly increase with
a more crowded population.  I am not thinlking of your past.
I am thinking only of your future. Charles Dickens regarded
it as a peculiar vice of American cities that they are managed
almost exclusively by local capitalists. In his celebrated
American Notes he pointed this out as the peculiar shame of
Americans.  As I hope the city will never be politically gerry maldered, so I hope New Lvynn will never be gymfiscated.  I
thank the singers.  I thank the newspapers.  I thank the
public sentiment of the churches.
18 
138
And now, to my own church, God send the spotless robes
and thlie queenly spirit of a Bride of Christ, and enable her to
carry them untarnished through all the dusty ways of the
filture of this city. My whole mnotive for a year, and a more
solemn one could not lie upon man, has been to do my whole
duty as a minister of a church exposed to the fierce tempta tions of a crowded population in a manufacturing centre.  I
was resolved that the church should be put on its knees neither
to Labor on the one hand, nor to Capital onl the other, nor to
City Vices in any form; but on its knees only to Christ. The
topics selected by me in this HIall have, for evident reasons,
been off the range of my usual courses of public remark.
It has been my fortune to pass the last three years almost
exclusively in speaking from point to point of New England
in revivals.  In the first half of the year which I have passed
in this city, there was a revival in the church.  This was in
the heat of summer; and it was my plan to fill the whole
winter with the most severe labor in a revival. Some fourteen
had united with the church by profession of faith. But onl
Christmas night the church edifice was burned.  That event
of necessity changed the plan of the winter. Although all
the churches of the cityJ-eld out their arms full of-generosity
to us; and although one of them, with a generosity which it
will take long to repay, has held us in its arms every Sabbath
since our calamity, it was found, after careful inquiry, that
there was no place open to the church where Sabbath evening
devotional meetings could be conveniently held.  The devotional meetings had exhibited, up to the last, the best state
had more than trebled in size; and it was my intention that
you should have done severe work in them for the whole
winter.  We were driven to this Hall.  When  the fire took
place and we came lhere, the church was lifted for half of each
Sabbath from the position of a wax taper in one parlor at
West Lynn to that of a watch-tower for the whole city.  I
thank the church for the resolution it passed unanimously
afteri my address of January 22, when public opposition
was  offered to the performance of its plain duty.  You 
139
understood  perfectly, when  you  passed  your resolution,
that a pulpit which is allowed by the parish that owns it to
be plastered over with directions from outside the parish, or
whittled by knives not sharpened on the foundation stone
Jesus Christ, becomes such a symbol that it may be difficult
to find a manil to stand behind the whittled thing.  I was told
iii Boston the other day by a lawyer, that matters had been
carried so far that two and perhaps more parties here owed
their freedom from the clutches of the law exclusively to my
forbearance. I have never replied to attack on myself. Whlien
your interests have been involved, when public interests of the
city have been involved, when the freedom of public discussion
has been involved, I have made reply.  God send you in your
new church edifice a revival of that deep and calm kind which
was going forward in the old when the flames came; and may
the increase of that religious thoughtfulness and enthusiasm
fill the new temple as the flames filled the old. God send you
a minister whom no one can vex, or cajole, or browbeat, or
outwit. I love this church; and; when I lie dying, I will remember that we labored together for the poor.  And now my
face is toward Europe.  When from the deck of the steamer
I look toward Lynn from Massachusetts Bay, as the gates of the
ocean draw near, the multitudinous waves shall not be more
abounding than the good I will wish you and this city, until
we meet, when the heavens are no more. The supreme duty
is to follow the Pillar of Fire.
A letter has been placed in my hands which I will read and
aniswer here in the serious presence of this assembly.
LYNN, April 29, 1871.
REV. JOSEPH COOK:
Dear Friend and Pastor: Please accept this picture and
these books from a few of your friends in the First Congregational Chlurchl and Society in Lynn, who, painfilly conscious
of the inadequacy of words, or of any token to express the
sentiments of high regard which they entertain for you
personally, and for the labors you have performed  in the
endeavor to promote their eternal welfare and that of others, 
140
present them to you, that in the future they may remind you
of those who desire not to be forgotten yet dare not presume
that, in the eventfill and eminently useful life which they
anticipate for you, they shall preserve a place in your memory
without something constantly near you to represent each of
them, and to say for each, "Remember me."
Mr. and Mrs. J. F. PATTEN,
Mr. and Mrs. G. II. CHADWELL,
Mr. and Mrs. CHAS. E. ASHCROFT,
Mr. GEORGE F. HIOSMER,
Committee.
On returning yesterday afternoon from the crowded delight
of finishing a tour of two Ilundred calls in the cllurch and
society, I was met at my rooms by the entire surprise of your
costly and most beautiful gifts: a magnificent picture, called
"The Sealers Crushed by the Icebergs," and valued at ninety
dollars; the volumes entitled " The Circle of the Sciences,"
valued at twenty-five dollars; and "The Englisll Hexapla,"
in the most valuable of the Englislh editions, valued at twenty
dollars. I have received private assurances that the plan of
making these gifts was of the most spontaneous kind both in
conception and in execution.
I call bear opposition; but it is not so easy to bear kindness.
I confess that I felt unmanned by this blow; and do not
think that I shall soon recover from it!
A city cliurcli is either the best or the worst place to grow
Christians in.  If, in a crowded population, where the temptations of a church are the fiercest, these ale resisted, the
church becomes strong in proportion to the fierceness of its
temptations. But, if they are not resisted, it is a wholly
familiar teaching of Church History as well as of tlhe Scriptures,
that a churcli may become onie of the most withered, juiceless
and jejune of all the beads of growth on God's viniie. Your
gifts, occuring at the end of a year passed one third in a 
141
revival and one third in illustrations of the spirit of that
revival in public discussions of topics of importanlce to New
Lynn and New England, are invaluable as indications tiat
you purpose that your church shall resist all the temptations
incident to a crowded populationl.  You  mean  that in no
sense shall it be put onl its knees to Labor on the one hand,
or to Capital on the other, or to City Vices in any fornm; but
on its knees only to Christ.  " Scratch  a Russian," said
Napoleon, "and you will fil{d beneath the surface a Tartar."
Scratch anl inefficient city church, and you will find beneath
the surface a club. You meani that yours shall be a church,
and not a club.  You mean that it shall be as careful of
Orthlodoxy in Practice  as of Orthodoxy ill Doctrine.  You
mean that it shall not be unmindful of the teaching and the
trials it has had in a loing and not unidistiinguishled past.
Certain most serious and persistent misrepresei,tations of the
history of the church for the last four months will be set at
rest by these gifts.  They are priceless to me for their owli
sakes, fox the sake of these principles, and for your sakes.
You hlave given me a picture of which the name is, The
Sealers Crushed by the Vebergs.  The  true name of the
picture of the winter, as you will allow me to say reverently,
for the sake of New Lynn and New England, is, The Icebergs
Crushed by the Sealers.  (Applause.)
MR. COOK'S FAREWELL AT Music
HALL.
merically increased. The opening
exercises were impressive.  Before
the taking of the usual contribution,
Mr. Cook thought there were some
present who would deem it a favor
to know the financial status of the
Music Hall meetings.  The expense
of the  hall for the thirteen meetings
had been about seven hundred and
eighty dollars; the audience had
contributed nearly four hundred
dollars; and three gentlemen had
volunteered to become responsible for
whatever arrears there might be
at the close of the meetings......
The thirteenth of the series of
Sunday evening services which have
been held at Music Hall by Rev.
Mr. Cook was attended with unusual
interest on Sunday last; it being
the occasion of his last meeting in
Lynn before beginning preparations
for his European tour.   A  very
large  congregation  was  present.
Vases of choice flowers were tastefully arranged upon the platform,
and the chorus of-singers was nu 
142
We did not learn the amount of the
last contribution.
Mr. Cook chose as a text, John
xv. 4, "Abide  in me, and  I ill
you," and announced his subject as,
"Christ our Prophet, Priest, and
King; or, Christ not a Saviour if
worshipped in only a Fragment of
his Nature."  To abide in him, we
must not only accept him as Re deemer, but follow his precepts. We
should be orthodox in practice, as
well as in theory.  We  could not
rely alone for salvation on the doe trines of election, the universality
of the  atonement,  the  unlimited
grace of God, etc., for that would
not be worshipping him in the whole
of his divine nature.  To abide in
him, we should know what is meant
by a love of God's works.  He re veals himself as a power behind all
the works of nature.  He is as plainly
visible in the humblest flower that
grows beneath our feet as in more
pretentious  designs.   We  should
realize  that  wherever  God  acts,
there he is.  Mr.  Cook  encorced
the idea of Divine Omnipresence by
reference to the works of nature in
general, and dwelt particularly on
"Neptune's  Cup," a coral in the
Indian Ocean formed symmetrically
in the shape of a goblet, indicating
the presence of an intelligence,behi:d and beyond the simple instinct
of the insects whose united existences,
although wholly independent of each
other, finally resulted in this beautiful design.
At the conclusion of the sermon,
which was both able and lengthy,
Mr. Cook devoted an hour to Final
Remarks on the Factories, -the duties arising from the rapid growth
of the manufacturing centres of New
England, -  embracing  a  general
review of the winter, and last words
to his church and the city. What  ever else might hereafter be said, it
could never be  denie d  that   thirteen
meetings had been held in Music
Hall; the past cannot be changed.
And the general applause which
the sentiments advanced at those
meetings had received amounted to
as much in their favor as such ap plause for the opposite sentiments
would have done for them,.had the
opposite side ever received it. On
a former occasion he had said that
he felt like Bismarck before Paris.
It was  a- facetious  remark.   He
wished to-night to make one of more
import: He felt like Bismarck in
Paris. To have taken a photograph
of Lynn, for the reflection of her
public sentiment in regard to the
questions which had been discussed
in Music Hall, at an earlier date,
would not have been fair —the pic ture would have been blurred by
the nearness of the events. To wait
a few years, and then take the pho tograph for that purpose, would be
equally unjust-the picture would
be ~too dim, from the remoteness of
the events.   The proper time to
photograph Lynn was now, after
nearly a third of a year had passed
since the beginning of these meetings,
and when the feelings and reason
are calm and dispassionate. So far
-from having been supported by this
public sentiment, had there been no
truth in the charges which he made
there in January, he would have
been hissed from the platform.
Upon  returning home one  day
last week, he was surprised to find
several costly presents, accompanied
with a letter, from his friends, as
tokens of their esteem for him, and
as mementoes of their pleasant con
4 
143
nections in Lynn.  These gifts consisted of a splendid chromo, from
the celebrated painting of William
Bradford, " The Sealers Crushed by
the Icebergs," valued at ninety dollars;  two volumes  entitled "The
Circle of the Sciences," valued at
twenty-five dollars; and a copy of.
the "English Hexapla," embracing
the Greek New Testament, with the
six most important English translations, valued  at  twenty  dollars.
Mr. Cook read the letter accompanying the gifts, and closed his remarks by reading his in reply.  The
two letters denoted the existence of
a strong attachment between the
pastor and his people. -Transcript,
May 6.
MR. EDITOR: -I learn that Flavius Josephus Cook is about to close
his career in Lynn. I have waited
to the utmost limit of time for an
apology from him in relation to the
unjust attack in which he slanderously maligned and injured those
unprotected and innocent women
who work in a factory which-belongs
to me- hoping that common decency would prompt him to repair an
injury that he had done, so far as
was in his power. He doggedly and
persistently refuses to do so. The
language he uses relative to them is
so vile and obscene that I cannot repeat it, and could emanate only from
a heart wicked and malicious. And
if he leaves town with this hanging
over him —when they have kindly
offered to forgive him, if he will only
make a square apology'-it should
follow him wherever he goes.
I learn that he talks of leaving our
shores for Germany, because, having
graduated from several seminaries
here, and got all the learning that
our country affords, he can learn
nothing more here. Now, Flavius
Josephus, I think there are many
things more you can learn in this
country. I think you could learn to
be modest, and possibly might learn
to be gentlemanly, should you make
it your study. Learn to be pure in
thought and word; learn to be agreeable in manner; learn to honor and
respect woman. It betrays a defect
in early education to speak  disrepectfully of woman, and the kindly
affection one should cherish towards
his mother would seem to forbid it.
VALUABLE TESTIMONIAL.- Rev.
Joseph Cook has been made the recipient of a  costly and  beautiful
testimonial of the esteem in which he
is held by his many friends in this
city, consisting of a magnificent chromo from Bradford's celebrated painting of" The Sealers Crushed by tih       f
Icebergs," valued at ninety dollars,
and  three  books, comprising  two
volumes entitled " The Circle of the
Sciences," valued at twenty-five dollars; and a copy of the "English
Hexapla," embracing the Greek New
Testament, with the six most important English translations, being the
most valuable of the English editions,
and valued at twenty dollars.  The
presents are on exhibition at the
Jewelry store of Mr. John Carruthers, on Market street.  The gift was of
an entirely voluntary character, and
the contributions made without solicitation after the project became
known.  Mr. Cook read, at the close
of the Music Hall service, a letter in
reply to the gifts; and this will Ap
pear with our full report of his
remarks in the latter portion of the
meeting. - Semi - Wee7cly Reporter,
May 3. 
144
And in confirmation of this, I may
be permitted to remind the public
that in February a man was sent to
Salem Jail for trying to say a few
words, one night, at one of these
meetings;  the Police Court of this
city consigning him, without hesitation, to that retirement,  on  the
charge that he was "disturbing public worship"; and the man having
neither money (to pay a fine), friends,
nor counsel to test the case, it practically went by default.
It is perfectly notorious that this
man, this  Mr.  Cook,  has caused
more bitterness, more strife, more
scandal, more foul thoughts, uttered
or unexpressed, within the time he
has  been holding  these meetings,
than any other man, and than all
other men, so far as can be  computed, that have ever lived in Lynn.
Furthermore, and it may be a satisfaction to him to know it,'he has
caused  Lynn  more  injury to its
good name, abroad, especially where
it is least known,- though it has
dealings with every city and considerable town in America, -than
any man who ever partook of and
abused its hospitality.   And  this,
too, in the shortest space of time.
Of this injury abundant evidence
can be fur nished,   if the  statement is
questioned.
I say, this language is not too
strong. It ought not to be suppressed, and it cannot be gainsaid.
Mr. Cook is a public man; he advertises as such; and he should not
shrink from being criticised as such.
With regard to the damage he has
actually done to Lynn, that cannot
be positively estimated.   Perhaps,
in the attempt, it has been overestimated. As far as the mercantile
credit of the city is concerned, he
Y ou have repe atedly said that you
felt like Bismark before Paris, and
last that you felt like Bismark in
Paris, exulting in victory. The only
victory you hive gained is over these
innocent and unprotected women.
To exult in that bespeaks a spirit
not of heaven or of earth. The rest
of your career has been one complete
defeat. You have ill-treated your
own people, and insulted every one
who dared to differ from you. I
hope you leave Lynn a wiser if not
a better man.
A  QUESTION OF PRIVILEGE.
MR. EDITOR: I am well aware
of the editor         ial ru le tha t forbids discussion, i    n  hi s ow   n            columns, of    anything written by           the   editor; but I
do not believe tha  t  any conduc to r
of a paper  who  intends to                      be fair
will insis       t on such             a rule, if  any
person should feel aggrieved, or
desire to make aft explanation or
correction of a given statement.  But
the point Im am about   to propose has
a broader scope than any merely
p     erson  al   consideration, great and.
vital  as such questions ar        e         liable to
be. I shall claim the right to speak
freely, earnestly, and as fully, within
reasonable bounds, as I th         ink   the
subject demands; and I trust I shall
not be hampered by any conventional rule which might cramp a
conscientious  statement of                 facts or
express io n                  of      sentiments.
I suppose I shall'be understood,
if I remark, at the outset, that" Mr.
Cook," as he is usually called in the
papers, has been stopping in Lynn
for some months past, and has been
conducting certain " services," as
they are denominated, at Music Hall.
S. M. BUBIER.
Semi-Weelcly Reporter, May 6. 
145
could not touch it; but as to that
which is dearer to every community,
as well as to every man and woman,
a good name -he has succeeded
in causing foul suspicion, as I have
just said, where we are known the
least, by his reiterated accusations
and inuendos.  It matters not, even
if his motives were not the worst; it
is not necessary to charge that.  If
a man injures you, and persists in
doing so, against ycur remonstrance
and that of all your friends, he may
say that he wants to reform you,
and adopts this eccentric method;
but it is hard  to convince you, or
anybody else, of such a proposition.
What has been Mr. Cook's ultimate  object?   Nobody  can deny
that he has sought popularity, at
least notoriety, and that at these
"4 services" he has, under an absurd
disguise, courted  the  applause -
"restrained applause" was the kind
his  aesthetic  temperament  most
craved-  and  even the laughter of
the thoughtless.
To attempt to go into this general
subject to any extent, even to the
recapitulation of the titles of his
"thirteen discourses," would be tedious and disgusting, and we  will
not differ as to their omission.  Nor
is it my intention to allude to the
heartless and unfounded insinuations
he has cast, upon the working men,
and especially women, of Lynn.  I
do not think I exaggerate in saying
that if any other man, particularly
some "rich manufacturer," as Mr.
Cook would say,   albeit he boasts
of his own sufficient riches, - had
been  mad enough to  say the thing  s
which he has said, the mildest punishment  which would proba bly have
been meted out to him would have
been  to his s  him from the st age,  an d
to follow  hi m with ma lignant perse -
cution through his business and social
relations.
Mr. Editor, in concluding these
reflec ti ons,    I must   not omit to speak
directly to my title an d te xt,  even
although it is (but perhaps ought
not to be) a delicate one. I refer
to the course of the Reporter in
connection with Mr. Cook's Music
Hall Lectures. I will give it credit
for suppressing entirely the most
sensational and disgusting discourse,
although with the remark that it
was "the design to have it put up
in cheap pamphlet form for the use
of those interested. It will be ready
in a few days." 1 And also of skipping and cutting some of the most
objectionable language and ideas in
several of the others. But the fact
remains, that the oldest and oftehestprinted newspaper in this city has
continuously thrust before its readers
two or three columns a week of
matter, much of which —to state it
very mildly —was offensive to good
taste, good feeling, and good manners. The extenuating plea —which
it is to be hoped will not be madethat "the public demanded it," is
the stereotyped one of the " Satanic
Press " of New York, or other large
city, in defence of publishing the
full details of prize fights, or of certain criminal cases.  No people in
Lynn have yet demanded the pamphlet just spoken of; but, on the conis proper'to remark that he never had a
wife, and he appears to be, in those respects
unlike Daniel Webster, who said he was
"neither rich nor a bachelor."
"It was never done, and never will be.
I In one of these lectures Mr. Cook says
substantially as follows: " And had I had
a timid wife pulling me back, I should still
have pursued the same course I have pursued..... I am not dependent upon my
salary for support."  As a matter of fact it
19 
146
not.   We  have not spent thirty
years of our life in the newspaper
business without having learned that
there are a great many people who
know better how to conduct newspapers than those who do conduct
them.   We are glad that there is at
least one such gifted individual among
us. - If we could only induce him to
take our place, we might have leisure
to go about and tell our manufacturers how to make shoes, our carpenters how to build  houses, ald
our tailors how to make clothing.
Next to this, we should like to be
able to submit  beforehand everything we write and everything we
propose to print to the kindly criticism of a score or two of the censors
of the press who exist in every intelligent community.   The  main
objection to this would be that we
should have to issue two blank sheets
every week.   We  would  like to
please everybody, if we could, but
long since gave that up as a hopeless
task.  If, by any  means, such  a
miracle should be performed, there
would still be one drawback.  Our
friend and such as he would have
no escape-valve  for their pent-up
indignation, and the consequences
might be disastrous.  Othello's occupation would be g one    entirely.
But it is not likely so to be, and we
must continue the even tenor of our
way, striving, as we ever have, to
do all the good we can in the coImimunity, and as little harm as possible. Meanwhile, we expect to be
found fault with by some, and scolded
by others; but shall endeavor to bear
it all patiently, profiting, as far as
possible, by the advice and suggestions of our friends, letting all else
pass for what it is worth. It is our
wish to write and print nothing
trary,        many h    av e  protested against
its publica                 tion. There  has never
bee    n     any     considerable demand for
the omitted passages, as, probably,
few people were depraved enough
to wish to file them away as choice
reading, or as valuable facts.
Finally, I know that I but express the feelings and views of all
with whom I have spoken on the
subject, in sadly regretting that the
history of Lynn, for such our press
is continually recording, should be
cumbered with much of the matter
from which it just now suffers. But
what is writ, is writ; and while this
Mr:. Cook has filled a score or so of
columns in which the attributes of
charity, or even of manliness, are
among the least conspicuous omissions, it should and shall be said
that an earnest protest and indignant
denunciation and denial accompanied the record of his ignoble task.
A NATIVE OF L,YNN.
Semi-Weekly Reporter, May 17.
" A QUESTION OF PRIVIL14GE."
It is, undoubtedly, a great privilege to be able to scold an editor
through the columns of his own
paper.  Our correspondent, "A Native of Lynn," has done this,-we
hope to his heart's content,- and
we trust he feels better for it.  He
certainly ought, after having thus
freely given us "a piece of his mind."
Under some circumstances, we should
have treated his effusion simply as a
mass of impudence from an ill-bred
clown; but, knowing the writer, as
we do, to be a gentleman and a
scholar, who, though meaning well,
is just as likely to err as other men,
we have admitted his "question of
privilege," leaving it to our readers
to say whether he has abused it or 
147
that, dying, we should wish to have
blotted out; but to err is human,
and  we  boast no  exemption from
the ills which soul, as well as flesh,
is heir to.  So far as Mr. Cook is
concerned, we are not his apologist
or defender; he was  able to take
care of himself.  But he has gone
from among  us.  The evil that he
has done, if any, will die with him;     i
the good, if any, will live on.  Let
us have peace.-  Semi-Weekly Reporter, May 17.
These names are not to be made
public; but, if the note is ever
questioned,  you  are  at liberty to
show the signatures.
[Signature.]
A IEARING WITH  THE ELBOWS."
As an evidence of the manner in
which remarks nmade by Rev. Joseph
Cook at Music Ilall have been misrepresented, even by some of his
auditors, we give a rather amusing
instance that has come to our knowledge.  In the reverend gentleman's
discourse upon "The  Sorceries of
Secret Sin," delivered on Sunday
evening, Feb. 19, he said that if the
white of an egg should be placed in
alcohol, it would shrivel and harden;
and as the brain was compoled
largely of the same substance as the
white  of  an  egg - albumen - it
followed that alcohol must have a
similar effect upon that organ. And
scientific research had proved the
theory to be correct. On the following day one of his auditors gave
him credit for saying that, by mixing
the white of an egg with alcohol,
one could manufacture human brains!
There is no longer any necessity for
a vacuum in one's cranium, and the
fools may take courage.- Transcript.
The undersigned have been shown
the above and unreservedly endorse
the statements therein contained.
W ith unusually good opportunities
of knowing the sentiments of operatives in the shoe-shops in Lynn, we
are very sure that it is no overstatement of facts to say that of the fifteen
thousand employed, at least ninety
per cent cordially favor the measures
of reform so nobly advocated in
Music Hall last winter; and formal
action in this regard would long ago
have been taken in the various Crispin lodges, did the rules of the order
not forbid.
We know indeed that' there is a
compulsory statute of the Commonwealth in relation to the schooling
of its children, but, like a great many
other statutes on the books, it is paralytic, effete, dead- killed by sheer
neglect.  It was never enforced, and
never supposed to be anybody's duty
to enforce it.  In fact we are  inclinied to believe that it is not gen
city last winter, we, the undersigned,
fully endorse the two great principles
then considered, the separation of'the
sexes and the appointment of good
overseers in the shops, and we believe
that a very large. majority of the
laboring class believe that such a
course would be for the best interests
of all and add to the morality of our
cit.
ESignatures.]
ESi,qnatures.]
CL-IILDREN iN FACTORIES.
LYNN, Sep. 7,1871.
To the REv. JOSEPH COOK:
Dear Sir:'Ilearing that you are
about to publish a pamphlet upon
the sub ects under discussion in our
i 
148
timers" eventually obtained as much
book instruction as the children in
the same schools, under  the same
masters and by the same methods,
obtained under the full time of five
and six hours......
Many an agent and superintendent
are in error, when they state that
children under ten years of age are
not employed.  We know they are;
and we know that parents deceive
overseers and overseers deceive superintendents and  agents  in this
matter.  A treasurer of a mill, or an
agent, may  issue  his  prohibitory
order, but he cannot, without minute
personal inquiry, know of its being
obeyed.  "lie may," like Ilotspur,
"  call spirits from  the vasty deep,"
but he cannot be sure that they will
answer the call.  There are children
employed there not over eight years
of age, if appearances do not deceive,
or unless mill-life and work eleven
hours a day have dwarfed the twelveyear old d(own to less than ten.  A
puny child o p erative in Fall  biver
was sent from a mill to wash a niop
in a pond, and the mop, on being
saturated with water, was too heavy
for the child's strength and dragged
it into the water, whence the little
thing was taken out drowned. At
the funeral her age was registered at
nine years. A boy was found, belonging to another mill, old in features
but small in stature, whose age we
ascertained was eight years. Most
of those we saw reported themselves,
as " going on to eleven or twelve
years." The school law is obeyed,
but not the ten hour law for children
between ten and fifteen years old....
Something efficient must be done,
and done quickly and effectively, for
ignorance in the manufacturing towns
is on the rampant increase. We ven
erally known that  such  a law wa            s
ever enacted. Nobody looks after it,
neit    her         town authorities, nor school
committees, nor local police, an         d  t he
larg    e c itie s an d  man y  of th e          towns of
the State          are swarming  with un schoo     led   children, vagabondizing  about
the streets and growing up in ignoranc  e
and to a           heritage of sin.               Tohe mill s
a        ll    over  the State, the shops in city
and  town, are jull of children             d eprived of their right to such                  education
as will Jit them f obr th    e possibilities of
their  after-life.   No body th inks of
either                 enforcement  or obedience in
th     e  matte r, so t hat     between  thos e
wh      o a r      e ignorant of the provision,
and  those that "care  for n           one of
these things," thousand s  of the poor
younglings  of   the State, with   all h  er
educational boasting, stand precious
small chance of getting even the
baldest elements of education.
And this brings up thought of the
successful experiment in England of
her system of "Ilar-time Schools,"
as now established and in full success
in many of her manufacturing towns.
Some account of themwill be found
interesting, anu may prove suggestive
of their value if sanctioned by law
in Massachusetts. They are founded
on the principle that children employed in factories must be allowed
some portion of each day for educational purposes, and that their employment fbr a full day's work of ten
hours within the walls of a mill is in
excess of their physical ability, and
would therefore redound to the
injury of both mind and body. To
remedy the evil they are allowed on
each day three hours of schooling,
and every factory child in the kingdom works only half a day and attends
school the other half, and it has been
abundantly proved that these " half 
149
ture to assert that never till within
these last few years, cbuld it be said,
that in a single establishment of about
1,600 working people in one town in
Alassachusetts, there were more than
800 that could neither read nor write!
And  this ignorant horde is daily
augmented by the imported influx
of tens of thousands of thoroughly
ignorant emigrants,  paupers, many
of them, as declared by a manufacturer at a public hearing before a
legislative committee, paupers  imported from England  expressly to
be employed in manufacturing, because of the cheapness of their labor.
Our large cities and manufacturing
centres are surcharged with younglings growing up in ignorance and
to a heritage of crime, notwithstan     m
ing all our appliances of education.
And one strong reason among many
others, is that there is no enforcement
of the school laws.  We boast of
these laws  and of our system of
education and of its results, but the
ratio of ignorance is increasing beyond the proportion of its means of
cure, so that we are driven to the
conclusion that the State, for its own
sake, for  its reputation's sake, a
reputation that cannot much longer
be maintained by self-laudation, for
the sake of its whole people, must
adopt, and put into systematic and
rigid enforcement, measures  absolutely positive, for the education of
the very large number  of its un taught children......
and Haverhill, the working season
is considerably shorter, being, perhaps, fairly represented by eight and
one -ha lf or nine    months. We   give
i t as our judgment that a  general
average  of nine and one-half months
is not  far out of the way, with  a
constant tendency toward shorter
seasons as machinery improves in
variety and excellence.
The manufacturers (33 in number), reporting their pay-roll for six
months from January to July, give
the average  pay  per person employed at $1.83 per day.
The earnings reported do not admit much margin of saving to the
workman )-ear by year, and the facts
show that it is becoming more and
more difficult to secure  homes by
wage accumulations in this branch
of industry. In some of the country
towns, a considerable number are
able to live in houses of their own,
some of them inherited, some of
thenm bought with bounty money,
and others partially or wholly ac quired by wage earnings......
An investigation of the strike at
Lynn elicited much valuable infor mation. The factory system has
there found the fullest development,
with its numerous drawbacks and
compensations. Work in all the de partmnents is largely done by ma clhinery. Each class of labor devotes
itself to a specialty, and a workman
taken from one department and put
into another, would fail to make
headway, or earn living wages. The
use of machinery has virtually swept
away the old race of shoemakers who
could make up an entire shoe. As
mentioned elsewhere, the work' is
confined to two seasons, and between
them there is an interval of three
or four months and sometimes even
FACTORY SYSTEM AT LyNx.
In twenty-eight returns the length
of the working season is given as
rangino, between eight and one-half
and twelve months, the average
being ten and one-half months. In
the great centres of the trade, Lynn 
150
a longer time.  As the season opens,
a man will get three or four days'
work a week, with gradual increase
till the rush comes;  this in turn
passes off, and, work beginning to
slack, it at last tapers off to nothing
at all...... "Last year," says a
workman, "I had all I wanted to do
from January 1 to May  1.  From
May 1 until the last week in July,
leaving out the first week of the
former month  and the last of the
latter month, eleven weeks in all, I
earned a few cents over $36."
"Since the old system of working
in little shops was abandoned," says
another, "for that of large mnanufac tories, there has been. a steady diiminution in the length of the working r
season per year.  Before the time of
factories there-would be a steady
run of employment for from seven
to ten years, only interrupted by
commercial depressions or revulsions.
The working hours would be from
twelve to fifteen.  The season for
lighting up, was from September 20
to May 20.  Since that time there
has never been a year of steadly\work.
At first a month only would be lost;
now it has got so that we lose over
four months' time every year.  The
system is worse here than elsewhere,
because machinery has been more
thoroughly introduced."
In the busy-season men will come
into the place from their homes at a
distance on the farm.  They are not
as skilful, reliable, or intelligent as
the permanent men; but the system
of subdivision admits of their employment.....   There is comnparatively nothing to learn, and so no
apprenticeship is required.
Some think the factory system has
proved injurious, as hindering  the
development and growth of intelli
gence. In the l ittle s  hops one would
re ad while  the rest wo rked, the
reading be in g a ccompa nied or sup plemented by  co n versation upon t he
topics treated. In the factory there
is no chance to read, and the noise
and hum of machinery prevent gen er al conversation,      even when  the
rules and disci p line do not positively
forbid it. By others it might be
claimed that the extra time gained
in the shorter working day, gave
increased opportunities for special
culture. It is doubtful, however, if
the latter is a fair offset to the former
in its educational influence, since the
one system would give unconscious
improvement, while the latter would
require greater self-control and more
lersistent application.
In its effect upon lnorals some think
the old system preferable to the new;
others claim that there is no special
difference between the two. Doubtless the weight of evidence is in
favor of the former view, on the
general ground that fluctuations in
employment produce effects analogous to similar fluctuations in business, and that in a variety of
ways.
The day and week hands work
from 7 o'clock A. M. until 6 P. M.,
with an hour at noon. Others do
all they have strength to do, some
working from 4 A. M. until 10 or
11 P.M.  The  temptation is very
great fbr a man who has been without anything to do, week after week,
to work thirteen hours a day, with
corresponding high wages, even if
by so doing he is reduced in a few
weeks to a mere skeleton. Time
even to eat is not taken, under such
circumstances; a hasty bite of cold
lunch, or a hurried resort to a  restaurant sufficing, the whole  consum 
ing, perhaps, not more than fifteen
minutes of time.
Many women work at different
branches of the business, but very
few of them are married.  The sewing  machines  are largely run by
young women, but the work requires
the best of health and  strength.
Boys of eight years old and upwards,
are employed  a good deal.  They
are taken in to do                             what  men will
not stop to do, when there is a
rush......
Most of the workmen live in the
outskirts of the city, or in neighboring towns and villages. The rent
of a comfortable, house for a family
of four, comes to $200 to $225 a
year. Nearly all with families hire
their tenements; a few have places
wholly or partly paid for. One says:
"Nine out of every ten of our
shoemakers who own houses, earned
them under the old system, and at a
cost of not more than one-third of
the present value of the same or
similar places. Don't know one who
has paid for such a home, by the
labor of his hands alone, since the
factory system came into vogue.
Some have obtained them through a
start given by bounty money, a
favorable marriage, or some other
streak of good fortune. Some have
made a beginning through the aid
of money loaned on mortgaged
security."
Another says:
" The shop's crew that dresses the
best, and in all respects makes the
neatest appearance of any in Lynn,
is one that can be starved out the
quickest, because not a man among
them owns, clear of incumbrance,
a house of his own."
According to wages received the
workmen may be classified as well
151
paid, moderately paid, and low paid.
In the former class the earnings of a
year will range between $800 and
$1,200, the latter sum being very
rarel y earned, and never unless partially from t he  labor  of ot hers.  The
channellerts, the    men  w ho  r un  the
McKay and   the beading machi nes,
and  the  men  who f inish the   bot toms,
have jobs by means  of which  the y
can make th eir  e xpenses wh en others
cannot. In one-shop a man is paid
$1,100for  a year's time, during w hich
he will  probably   work nine  mo nths
and   have thre   to himself.  Another
for  the sa me  work gets $1,000.  He
is not  quite so skilful as his comrade.
In other  branches  there are  men who
do  as well, me n who run the heeling
machin es, for instance. All  machine
operators have more steady employ -
m ent than men who work y   b y hand.
The lasters, trimmers, edgemakers,
and  heelers have  l ess fortunate and
remunerative jobs; yet an edgemaker will sometimes earn  $50 in    a
week. And  yet he    those  that earn
$45 and  $50 a       w eek at the highest,
will not  h ave received an y nmore the
year  t hro ugh than   a    hod carrier
with  steady employment.  One man
earneda as a  laster $1,045 in  the
wo r king year, but he  was one    o f a
few, who could do the work of three
ordinary men in the  s    ame  t ime.
The earnings of the medium class
ran ge   from  $600 to $800 per  year,
the average being much nearer the
former than the  latter  figures. There
is quite a   class  of men w ho work by
the week. They get from $12 to
$15, and are unemployed as much
as the rest. The lowest paid workers
earn from $200 to $600 per annum.~
The average, taking the mass together, would not probably be far
from $600, which sum would only 
derly as any city in the commonwealth.  You will often find the men
about the post-office or periodical
stores, off yachting or away visiting
their friends, or at home reading or
studying about public affairs, perhaps
receiving visits, or doing jobs about
the house. There is very little actual
dissipation.
"Intemperance often has its beginning  in  the  exhaustion  following
overwork  in the season of drive.
After the season opens, and when
they begin to look thin, worn  and
'played out,' the men will be seen
going into beer-shops for a glass of
ale.  Still, seventy or  eighty per
cent are temperate men.
" There is much enforced idleness
in the busy season, in order to recruit  one's  temporarily exhausted
energies.   There are always some
men out, and when you lie by, you
can turn your work over to anoth
152
give sl fami a small family a hand-to-mouth
subsistence.
Very few family         m    en do  more
than  meetthan th  eir household expenses
with their year's earnings, though
the majority are comparatively free
from  debt.  With twel          ve mon       ths of
work  a t             current prices, i t w ould be
quite possible for a man with a
moder ate family to lay            up $200  per
year; under             the present circumst ances          he can barely come out
square......
The   gen eral i    ntelligence of the
Lynn shoemakers is good. Most
have               a fair commo n     school educ   ation.
It       i       s       a very  rare thing to find one
that is compelled to make his mark
on the pay                     roll,  and the man who
has the most extensive acquaintance
in the Crispin organization, some
two thous and strong, says                  he knows
but one member w hos e name has to
be written for him......
As to church-going and Sunday
observance, one expresses himself to
this effect;
" The shoemakers of Lynn, as a
rule, do not attend church. In the
summer season great numbers of
them go to Nahant. Picnic teams
start at nine o'clock, and run all the
forenoon and afternoon. They are
generally crowded every Sunday.
The women and children go with
them. I think, however, that an
absolute  majority of them  spend
their Sundays at home in their own
houses.
" During the intervals between the
seasons of work, though very many
are idle, the city is as quiet. and or
e~r,
"Several of the manufacturers
have sprung from the bench, but
most of their money has been made
since the  war broke  out. One made
$1,800 a day for awhile, when prices
went up rapidly. The feeling of
manufacturers towards their workmen differs; some think of them as
of the men that dig their ditches or
take care of their horses; others
show feelings of respect, and treat
them as men rather than tools."Extracts from M~assachusetts Senate
Document No. 150, the Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Statistics
of Labor of Massachusetts, March
1871, pp. 493, 466, 490, 239-248.
~s-