Syd r, Robert M., b.ker, was born 1852, in Columbus, Indiana. His were Jen and Strah nyier, (20. fer a rutive of Kentuck.. and the of Ten, essee. His pater grandJom Snyder, was a Vign, and oration a miller. He was industrious,

and exerted a strong mence for in the locality in which he lived. The od grandfather, Jacob I ence, was also on by birth, and is described as a P onal presence, well monacd altely subjects, a close student, Sat I with a well poised, manly gen Lae fer of the subject of this sa pinent merchant of Ios ky, in a ich city he died in 185 of fort. ght year's H's wite how big at Ind mndence, Suvder was the ellest

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ived his education in " and was associated siness until he atta ned n'eing passed his twenty first he into the busy word on d became a clerk in the Louesville Rolling Mill Com

s later he entered the cholesale grocery horse as 1: 1875 he went to St. Louis, bere he et giged in the business He

broker for four years. nce of superior business 4 success crowned his earliest rewar led operations inreaved to Kansas City at the

tion of the M... sas City, with a later it was made

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the pan of the Mechames' Mr. Snyder was che on until it quit busus At that time he bec

of this uary presiden o sas City *. Feburary 2, and stockh Commerce tified

National Bank, of K !s doors for business was an early director and Bank of

As been iden

t of Kansas et perviai interests.

A though he has never been a regular dealer i red estate, tus investments in that line Live Feet on a large scale, or pront to him scit at of benefit to the city. He secured options on property in the vicinity of the site

new government building in Kansas and sold the ground on which that fly structure stands, the total sum inv ved bemg about $450,000. In May, 1804. Mr. Siver organized the Missouri Gas Company, and his energy and capital resulte i in the establishment of a company that came ir cornetition with the Kinsas Cay Gas Company, and eventually led to the icy ment of a dollar gis rate by the "zus of Kansas City. The cheap rge was fixed by Mr. Spyler, the present of the new company, and at the ipa by had gone through a l ;

work has conducted various classes whose studies have covered a wide field of research. As a writer on various timely topics, he is well known in the realm of literature, and he has been a frequent contributor to newspapers, magazines and other journals, and is the author of the historical sketch of "Unitarianism in St. Louis," published elsewhere in these volumes. He married, in 1869, Miss Margaret A. Kinneff, of Meadville, Pennsylvania, and has reared a family of eight children.

Snyder, Robert M., banker, was born March 10, 1852, in Columbus, Indiana. His parents were John and Sarah (Pence) Snyder, the father a native of Kentucky, and the mother of Tennessee. His paternal grandfather, John Snyder, was a Virginian, and by occupation a miller. He was industrious, thrifty, and exerted a strong influence for good in the locality in which he lived. The maternal grandfather, Jacob Pence, was also a Virginian by birth, and is described as a man of fine personal presence, well informed upon all timely subjects, a close student, linguist, and withal a well-poised, manly gentleman. The father of the subject of this sketch was a prominent merchant of Louisville, Kentucky, in which city he died in 1875 at the age of forty-eight years. His wife survives and is now living at Independence, Missouri. Robert M. Snyder was the eldest of a family of eight children, of whom the other seven are as follows: John J.; George P., cashier of the City National Bank, of Kansas City; William D.; Ella, wife of William E. Garrett; Lillian, wife of A. L. McBride; Mattie K., and Lulu, wife of Edward Kirchmaier. Mr. Snyder received his education in Louisville, Kentucky, and was associated with his father in business until he attained his majority. Having passed his twenty-first birthday he launched into the busy world on his own account and became a clerk in the employ of the Louisville Rolling Mill Company. A few months later he entered the employ of a wholesale grocery house as bookkeeper. In 1876 he went to St. Louis, Missouri, where he engaged in the business of merchandise broker for four years. He at once gave evidence of superior business qualifications and success crowned his earliest efforts. After well rewarded operations in St. Louis, he removed to Kansas City at the

end of the four years and engaged in the wholesale fancy grocery business, under the firm name of Perrin & Snyder. At the end of four years he began to devote his time and means to the care of his real estate investments, herds of cattle and ranches. He has always taken a great interest in fine stock, and is still the owner of several rich stretches of grazing country and herds of cattle. Mr. Snyder's dealings in high grade securities resulted, in 1890, in the organization of the Mechanics' Savings Bank, of Kansas City, with a capital of $50,000. Three years later it was made a State bank, under the name of the Mechanics' Bank, with the same capital. Mr. Snyder was the president of this institution until it quit business January 31, 1900. At that time he became. president of the City National Bank, of Kansas City, which opened its doors for business February 2, 1900. He was an early director and stockholder of the National Bank of Commerce, and has in many ways been identified with the most important of Kansas City's financial and commercial interests. Although he has never been a regular dealer in real estate, his investments in that line have been on a large scale, of profit to himself and of benefit to the city. He secured options on property in the vicinity of the site of the new government building in Kansas City, and sold the ground on which that costly structure stands, the total sum involved being about $450,000. In May, 1894, Mr. Snyder organized the Missouri Gas Company, and his energy and capital resulted in the establishment of a company that came in competition with the Kansas City Gas Company, and eventually led to the enjoyment of a dollar gas rate by the citizens of Kansas City. The cheaper rate was fixed by Mr. Snyder, the president of the new company, and after the municipality had gone. through a bitter war in the courts the contest came to an end favorable to the people. At the termination of the fight, in 1897, the two companies were consolidated under the name of the Kansas City, Missouri, Gas Company, and the two plants are still in operation under one management. The result of the establishment of the new company was an increase in the consumption of gas of about 400 per cent, and within a year after the organization of the company the rate had been reduced from $1.60 to $1.00 per 1,000 cubic

feet. Mr. Snyder is secretary and treasurer of the Kansas City Cattle Company. He is a director and vice president of the Detroit & Lima Railway Company, an important Eastern corporation. He is a director in the Kansas City, Missouri, Gas Company, a director in the Bond Shoe Company, and holds positions in the directories of various companies in New York and New Jersey. His investments in Kansas City have been large and helpful, and his participation in affairs of interest to the city has been of a free and patriotic kind. Politically Mr. Snyder is a Gold Democrat. He is a member of the Christian Church and is a Scottish Rite Mason. He was married January 17, 1876, to Miss Fannie M. Hord, who died in 1878. She was the mother of one son, Robert M. Snyder, Jr., now a teller in the City National Bank of Kansas City. Mr. Snyder was again married in 1880, to Mary L. Dawson, daughter of George W. and Georgia A. (McCann) Dawson. To this union four children came:

Mattie R., who died in infancy; Cary D., Roy J. and Kenneth W. Mrs. Snyder died in 1896. January 1, 1900, Mr. Snyder was married to Miss Sibyl Marie MacKenzie, of Boston, Massachusetts. They maintain a home on Independence Boulevard that bears every evidence of the culture, elegance and refinement which permeate their domestic life. Although his large Eastern interests demand a considerable portion of Mr. Snyder's time,

his fixed intention is to continue his resident relations with Kansas City and to remain a citizen there, participating in the efforts looking toward the city's growth and advancement, as he has in the past. He is a firm believer in the increased brightness of Kansas City's future, and, having contributed so liberally toward present prosperous conditions there, he would be unwilling to entertain a thought of discontinuing the pleasant relations that have existed and grown during his residence in the metropolis of western Missouri.

Social Democracy.-The Social Democratic movement is a transition of the labor problem. As conceived and promulgated by its best and most intelligent advocates, it is the embodied demand for the restoration of the land and the instruments of production to the people, and for a distribution of the products of labor in conformity with im

proved methods. As a result of the loss of the great railroad strike at Chicago in 1894, there was evolved, in June, 1897, a powerful organization with a new name, a new aim and new friends. It came out the champion of a universal brotherhood. Eugene V. Debs, the hero of the Chicago strike, was elected national chairman. A national organ, "The Social Democrat," was immediately projected, headquarters established at Chicago, and a declaration of principles was promulgated. The earliest branches of the organization in Missouri were founded in St. Louis soon afterward and the Social Democracy was first recognized as a distinct political organization in the State in 1900. The first steps in St. Louis to join the Social Democracy were taken simultaneously by several groups of men and women.

council of St. Louis, in 1870, passed an ordiSocial Evil Ordinance.-The city nance designed "to regulate and suppress" the social evil, by subjecting the keepers and inmates of immoral resorts to a rigid system of medical inspection and requiring them to pay certain fees, hospital dues, etc., at stated intervals. The system of dealing with this evil thus inaugurated amounted, in effect, to the licensing of prostitution and the moral sense of the community was deeply outraged by the innovation. As a result of the prevailing sentiment and an aversion of the courts to enforcing the provisions of the ordinance it soon became inoperative and the attempt to "regulate and restrain" a great evil in this way, proved a failure. The Legislature of Missouri has since placed it beyond the power of any municipality to attempt to regulate the evil by giving to it the sanction of the law. This is said to have been the only attempt made in this country to "regulate" the social evil by an enactment of this character.

Social Science Club of St. Louis.The Social Science Club is an organization composed of men and women of St. Louis, who are conspicuously interested in the elucidation of the social problem. It had its beginning at a preliminary meeting called by Mrs. Anthony H. Blaisdell at her home, January 21, 1892, with the purpose of forming a class for the study of social science under the direction of Dr. Holland. Twenty-five persons responded to this call, and Dr. Hol