There is the natural inclination of men who desire to avoid destructive competition and to protect themselves in their own industry. On the other hand, we have in Europe to-day a system of regulated coöperation under government control. The German system has practically been extended to every country in Europe. And, when we come into competition with European products in the future, that is what we will be confronted with. If the doors of America are open to the product of Europe, then American statesmanship will have to consider the conditions under which American producers shall be put in competition with those who, with the aid and protection of their government, are organized into units to prevent undue competition among themselves and to enable them to present a united front to the outside world. And so, when we go into foreign markets to-day, you come into competition with the organized forces of European countries under their governmental protection. And that situation has in some measure been sought to be dealt with by the pending Webb bill. Whether it passes or not, some provision is necessary in order to protect disorganized American industry from competition with organized European industry in the foreign markets of the world. These are large questions, beyond the scope of my present subject, and yet necessarily involved in any consideration. of the Sherman law, which are appropriate for the very careful and very prayerful consideration of the statesmen of our country who are now in control of its destinies."

AMPHION CLUB CONCERT

The concert by the Amphion Club of Melrose on February I was well up to the standard of the musicales given by the Club. The chorus of sixty male voices was well trained, and the solo numbers interspersed gave a pleasing variety.

LUNCHEON TO COLONEL MCAVITY

On February 7 a luncheon was hastily arranged to Lieut.-Col. J. L. McAvity, of the 26th Battalion, Canadian Overseas Forces, who was in Boston recovering from wounds. Brig.-Gen. E. Leroy Sweetser, of the 8th Regiment, presided.

Colonel McAvity gave a very interesting description of happenings at the front, and the different methods and implements that enter into warfare, and in addition described the different phases of fighting and the relative value of each to the general purpose.

LINCOLN NIGHT
February 12

At the dinner preceding the formal celebration in the auditorium, Rev. Harold Marshall was toastmaster. The speakers were two Boston poets, Nixon Waterman and Nathan Haskell Dole; Samuel C. Lancaster, builder of the famous Columbia Highway in Oregon, and Mr.

Geo. P. Morris. The latter emphasized the universality of the fame and influence of Lincoln and foretold its waxing power, and he also read a tribute to Lincoln sent to Andrew Johnson following Lincoln's death by the International Workingmen's Association of London, in the drafting of which Karl Marx shared. Mr. Lancaster described the origin of the enterprise which he has carried through; and Messrs. Waterman and Dole paid tribute to the guest and speaker of the evening, Mr. Edwin Markham.

Rev. Harold Marshall, in introducing Mr. Markham to the audience gathered in the auditorium, told of evidence accumulating showing Lincoln's prestige mounting in Great Britain and her colonies. He introduced Mr. Markham as poet and prophet."

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Mr. Markham's talk was of an anecdotal, discursive sort. said that Lincoln was "one of the giants, one of the few that rise as the ages go on to bear the torch of humanity." He added:

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I believe in leaders of men. We must have leaders, in spite of democracy. We thought when we had the democratic idea once established we would have no more leaders; and there are those who cry out against leaders, even in this day. But give them no attention. They do not understand the philosophy of life, nor the philosophy of human progress. We cannot get away from leadership the world goes around the sun. get a vision of the life beyond the common people with that vision. And such was Lincoln.

never while There always will be seers, men who common people, and who inspire the And they are the leaders of men.

The trouble with leaders is that so many of them become mere self-seekers become tyrants. But because a thing is misused is no reason why the thing is bad in itself. The true leader sometimes arises. He will always be simple, and humble, and consecrated to the people's rights. I say that he will be humble. It is common in this age to decry humility. It is common to say that humility is an exploded doctrine of life. As long as humility is associated with the idea of servility, it is a thing to be avoided. But humility is not servility. What is humility? Humility is the greatest quality in character, it is the very basis of character. But what is it? Humility, gentlemen, is selfeffacement in the presence of the truth self-effacement in the presence of the truth. [Applause.] A humble man is a man that puts aside his mere private and selfish interests in order that he may have a clear vision of truth, and if he sees it to be truth, to accept it and to live by it. You know many times when a proposition is brought to our attention when an idea is brought to us at once the private ego in man leaps up and says, 'Do not believe that, because you will lose five cents by it,' or, because it will hurt you with your neighbor'; or some incidental thing. That is all wrong. The humble man puts all considerations aside that have to do with himself, and looks squarely at the truth to see whether it is true or not, putting aside tradition - moral tradition, national tradition, home tradition - putting aside everything, so that he stands naked, as it were, with conscience and God, and looks at the thing to see whether it is the truth or not, regardless of any temporary injury that he thinks that truth might do him. Such a man was Lincoln.

Lincoln and Brotherhood

"And Lincoln was of that type consecrated to the people. He was what I call a social man, a man who believed that there is something in the world bigger than himself to which he must give his allegiance, and that is social welfare; that is what that greater thing is to which we all owe allegiance it is social welfare.

"A complete life consists of the possession of three things- bread, beauty, and brotherhood. Bread is the material need of man; beauty is the esthetic, artistic need of man; and brotherhood is the spiritual need of man. And those things must be achieved in order that we may live out a divine life upon this planet. And Lincoln had in his breast that brotherhood principle, and to the extent that he found it possible in his time to express that, he left behind him an eternal memory for the world.

"The question is often asked, Was Lincoln a religious man? I say, 'Yes,' for the social man has the root of religion in him. Although he said at one time that he was not able to accept any metaphysical creed about religion, he was a religious man. He believed in love, in compassion, in generosity, in justice. And a man who believes in love has in him the root principle of the Christian religion, for Christ said, 'You men will know that ye are my disciples, because ye love one another.' And according to Christ, then, there is no heresy except the lack of love. That is a good place for a little applause. [Applause.] There is no heresy but lack of love [applause], according to the teachings of Jesus himself. And these metaphysical doctrines which he said he could not subscribe to, because he did not know anything about them or what they meant, I doubt whether the Divine Master himself knew anything about them. I do know that he never talked anything about them. All he said to his disciples was, 'Love one another distinguish yourselves by being love men, and dramatize love in the world. Make love universal in the social order as well as in the individual life.' That is His teaching.

Lincoln and Literature

"Now, there comes another question. Was he a literary man? Well, I would say in general that he was not a literary man, in the sense that Emerson was a literary man, or Carlyle, or John Ruskin. And yet he had an eloquence, a precision and exactness that was remarkable, and there were three times when his utterances rose into the highest ranks of expression, so that the utterances of a Carlyle, who was the brains of Europe, and of a John Ruskin, who was the soul of Europe in his day, and of Emerson, who was the greatest mind that America has produced, were all surpassed by the utterances of Lincoln. One of those cases is the Bixby letter, which is that marvelous letter he wrote to the woman who had laid her five sons upon the altar of her country; and that letter is as immortal as the morning star, for it was the expression of a great heart at a supreme moment. And there is that great utterance of the Gettysburg speech, in which we have an immortal classic, which nothing in ancient oratory, be it that of Demosthenes or Cicero, or of the great moderns, has ever surpassed, and which, per

haps, in so brief a form nothing has ever equaled. And then we have, at last, that other great utterance, the Second Inaugural Address, full of dignity and nobility, full of majesty of utterance, showing that there was a great soul which was the inspiration of a great people.

And, finally, let me say that he died not in vain, for he has become for us the American ideal. No nation can ever reach greatness without ideals, and while Lincoln led us while in the flesh, his immortal spirit is now still a greater leader, since he has passed on into the unseen. He is the ideal. And as the ideal of American life he is of more worth to us than all our ironclads, and more of a defense, because he becomes a rallying principle for the people — a rallying spirit to inspire within us the passion of patriotism and of humanity.' [Applause.]

Mr. Markham read to the audience, among other poems, his mem-orable poem on Lincoln, beginning

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'When the Norn mother saw the Whirlwind Hour."

One of the poems that he read which especially pleased the crowd was a quatrain called "Outwitted":

"He drew a circle that shut me out,

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win.

We drew a circle that took him in."

In response to the demand of the men present, Mr. Markham read with great feeling and power his famous "Man with the Hoe."

"The Cotter's Saturday Night"

Over one thousand members enjoyed a rare treat on the evening of February 15, when the Scottish Musical Comedy Company presented "The Cotter's Saturday Night," a one-act sketch based on Burns's poem, cleverly arranged by John E. Daniels. The setting was of a peasant's cottage in the Lowlands of Scotland, and the costumes were of the Burns period. The members of the company, residents of Boston but all of Scottish birth, are not only excellent singers but also firstrate actors. The stories and dialogue were rich with quaint Scotch humor, while the songs of the heatherland were given a new revelation. The characteristic Scottish traits of pawky wit, thrift, caution, fidelity, filial devotion and religious feeling were finely portrayed. The performance was clean, wholesome and unusually entertaining, and made a profoundly favorable impression.

The scenery for the play was loaned by President Frank L. Locke, of the Boston Young Men's Christian Union, to whom the Entertainment Committee is indebted.

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MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF
THE BOSTON CITY CLUB

nation. Held at the Clubhouse, Thursday, February 15, 1917
he star
thing to 7.45 the meeting was called to order by the Secretary, and the
the meeting was read. In the absence of the President, First
injury ti

Vice-President, and Second Vice-President, Mr. March G. Bennett was elected presiding officer.

Upon motion duly made and seconded,

IT WAS VOTED: To amend Article 3, Section 2, of the By-Laws so that it will read as follows:

Section 2. No person shall be allowed to serve as an elected member of the Board of Governors for more than three consecutive years, nor shall any person be allowed to serve in any one of the offices mentioned in Section 3, except that of Secretary, for more than the same period of time. When any such member or officer has served for this length of time, a period of two years must elapse before he shall be eligible for reëlection to the membership or the office aforesaid, as the case may be. When any member is absent from three consecutive meetings of the Board of Governors, without cause satisfactory to that Board, he shall be held to have resigned, and his place shall be treated as vacant..

Meeting adjourned at 7.50.

JAMES E. DOWNEY, Secretary.

The Board of Governors has elected Charles J. Martell to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Edward K. Hall.

BOWLING

The candle pin tournament is progressing satisfactorily. A number of very creditable scores have been made, and the attendance and enthusiasm continue to increase.

The monthly championship for January was won by John G. Wallace, his highest three-string total being 389, rolled on the twenty-seventh day of January, 1917. He was awarded a box of cigars.

A large number of individuals are vieing with each other for the February championship. The highest three-string total up to February 19 was rolled by A. K. Williams, 384.

The Boston pin championship contest for the season will be inaugurated shortly. All desiring to enter must bowl at lease five consecutive strings to qualify. The members bowling the sixteen highest five-string totals will be chosen to complete for a prize and the title of Club Champion. All qualifying strings must be bowled and all names and scores handed in to bowling attendant before March 15, 1917.

There will be a two-man team championship contest to start within three weeks. Handicaps will be given. Entry fee, $1.50 per team. Any two members may enter. Each team must roll five consecutive strings to qualify. The twelve teams bowling the twelve highest fivestring total will be chosen to compete for championship.

Names of teams, match, and qualifying scores must be handed to attendant on or before March 10, 1917.

Suitable prizes will be awarded.

The tournament records follow: