National Association

“ The professed object of the present Convention being to adopt measures calculated to benefit this large body of citizens, in a professional point of view, by showing that there exist many grounds of sympathy between them, not­with­stand­ing the present want of united action; we believe, that the institution of a national association, whose members may come from all sections of the body, is calculated to enlist this feeling of {334} brotherhood, and direct its power, as a reforming force, towards the elevation of the average standard of qualification now existing. ”

“ To secure the continuance of the above undertaking, and in the hope of its becoming, under God's blessing, gradually enlarged, and eventually to a great extent a self-supporting National Institution, an Association is now formed under the above title, whose Committee, including the original promoter of the undertaking, earnestly solicit the active support of all who acknowledge its claims on the sympathy of the public. ”

“ There are a number of other subjects concerning the National Association which need to be talked over—the choice of officials, for instance, the inclination of certain delegates to introduce politics into the affairs of the association, and the problem as to whether it is better to have the games in the future managed by a club, or by the schoolboys themselves. ”

“ I wish that an impulse toward this goal from our Association could be imparted to every man and woman in the country, and I hope that the Association may continue to grow in number and power for long years to come, as it has grown in the last few years, so that it shall be a national, all-pervading influence serving the truth. ”

“ They have plenty of time to manage their own meets and field days, without being overburdened and without taking time from necessary work. But when they add to these responsibilities the management of a National Association, they are taking on considerable extra responsibility, and unless the particular young men have strong business capability, they are undertaking more than they can accomplish. It might be well, for this reason, that the officers of the National Association be chosen from men who hold no offices in their own associations. ”

“ The N. I. S. A. A. A. is a purely American affair, and has been organized for the purpose of encouraging and promoting amateur sport in the schools of this country alone. That, as we all know, is a big enough undertaking in itself. The other nations will have to take care of themselves!
That the National Association is to be a power for good, there can be little doubt. ”

“ Although it may not prevent advocacy of union membership, it can to some degree inquire into and define the qualifications of those who solicit funds from prospective members or who hold other positions of responsibility. ”

“ The success of this organization led to the formation of a larger and more powerful one, known as the National Founders’ Association, of which I had the honor to be the first president. It required a long time to convince many of the larger employers of men that the formation of such an association was not dangerous, because in the negotiations it would be a virtual recognition of the union ”

“ It seems incongruous, almost humorous, to speak of a national organization of quack doctors and patent-medicine makers; but there is one, brought together for mutual support, for co-operation, for—but just what this organization is for, I hope to show. No other organization ever demonstrated so clearly the truth that "in union there is strength." Its official name is an innocent-seeming one—"The Proprietary Association of America." ”

“ A wide variety of national associations or bodies which can be dominated or influenced by such penetration. These include: labor unions, youth leagues, women's organizations, racial societies, religious societies, social organizations, cultural groups, liberal magazines, publishing houses, etc. ”

“ Nearly every class of employers has its own special organization; the associated press, associated charities, local, state, and national educational associations, and associations of learned societies, show the influence of organization in other departments; nearly every class of employees also has its trade union or mutual benefit association; everywhere, except in the household, mutual interests are drawing together for protection, for consultation, for economy of forces and resources, for a score of reasons, those engaged in the same activities. ”

“ The efforts of the government are seconded by voluntary organization. It is not unusual for college presidents or ordinary teachers to meet in conference and discuss their difficulties and aspirations, but a National Education Association is cumulative evidence that Americans think in terms of a continent, and that their interests are the same educationally in all parts of the land. It is no less true of other agencies of culture than the schools. ”

“ As an association we are confronted through the eternal law of progress by changes in our methods such as we have not met since the union of the two national societies in 1890. Our enlarged and expanding status as an association, the new and varied duties which devolve upon us and the innumerable demands increasing with the accumulation of means and workers call for a new kind of service in leadership. ”

“ The Society Consists of a general Congress, which meets annually, a general Council, which forms "an international agency between the different national and local groups of the Association, so that the workingmen in one country can be constantly informed of the movements of their class in every other country." ”

“ The efficient local private agencies suffer in the same way from the lack of a national agency and a national standard in case work. The American Association for Social Work with Families, and the National Conference of Social Work, attempt by conference and publication to spread the knowledge of social technique and to improve the work done by existing societies. ”

“ The spirit of voluntary coöperation for the promotion of the common order, of which I spoke in a previous lecture, has made itself felt in education by the formation of Teachers’ Associations in the various States, and groups of States, and by the foundation of the National Educational Association, a voluntary body incorporated in the District of Columbia, “to [Pg 207] elevate the character and advance the interests of the profession of teaching, and to promote the cause of education in the United States.” ”

“ The genuinely social purpose of the organization held the men together during the lean years that were to follow. Finally, in 1908, the Association became self-supporting, and in 1911 the charter was amended to meet the enormously extended field. ”

“ Voluntary associations, composed of the best men and women of the republic, were organized all over the loyal states, and all the people, with generous and patriotic liberality, placed in the hands of this commission, and in those of a kindred association called the Christian Commission, money, medicines, food, clothing, wine, fruit, and every delicacy for the hospitals; secular and religious reading, trained nurses, and everything which could contribute to the welfare and relieve the wants of the soldiers. ”

“ It appears to me that the objects of this Society are so important and far-reaching that it ought to be a large national union, every one joining it as members and supporting it to the utmost of their power. ”

“ We welcome the referendum to the American people on the preservation of America, and the Republican party pledges its defense of the preserved inheritance of national freedom.
In the call of the conscience of America is peace. The peace that closes the gaping wound of world war and silences the impassioned voices of international envy and distrust. ”

“ The Star Baseball Club, the Irving Literary Society, the City Teachers Association, the Woman's Club, the Charity Guild, these are all mere organisations of people. That is all that America is. These organizations have written constitutions. So has America. These organizations must have laws or rules of conduct, aside from their constitutions. So must America. These societies must have a policy and transact business. So must America. In adopting laws or rules of conduct these societies secure an expression of the wishes of their members. ”

“ The establishment of the National Conference of Friendly Societies by the orders and a few other societies has been of great service in obtaining improvements in the law, and in enabling the societies strongly to represent to the government and the legislature any grievance entertained by them. ”

“ We are coming to the rescue of justice and right, girded with the panoply of a divine and holy cause, and Omnipotence is pledged in our behalf. We propose to organize Equal Rights clubs or committees in every city, town, and village; to hold meetings for discussions and lectures; to circulate tracts and petitions, and to raise funds to enable the Association to carry forward its work for educating the popular sentiment. We shall endeavor to enlist the pulpit and the press. Truth, justice, reason, humanity, must and will triumph. ”

“ It need not be inquired whether we asked the sons of this republic to defend our national rights, as I believe we did, or to purge the Old World of the accumulated ills of rivalry and greed. The sacrifices will be in vain if we cannot acclaim a new order with added security to civilization and peace maintained. ”

“ We hope to make it felt in this great field of thought and action as a generator of wholesome intellectual and moral forces. When this meeting was called for permanent organization there were one hundred and fifteen signers of our Constitution. Under the direction of a [41] judicious Governing Committee, the number will doubtless be increased to several hundred. Our membership of non-residents will perhaps be equally large. We should make something more of such good and abundant material than a mere social club. ”

“ We may remind ourselves again that the United States itself is the classic example of an American association, and that it has been fairly successful by adopting this very system. Our recognition of the necessity of local divisions in our own association and of close affiliation with the various state bodies is shown by the recent resolution of the council providing for sectional meetings and by the presence at this and several other state meetings in the present month of an official representative of the American Library Association. ”

“ Moreover, it is expressly provided that no friendly benefit shall be abrogated unless the decision of the delegate meeting to that effect is ratified by a majority of two-thirds on a vote of the members of the whole society. As a friendly society, therefore, the Association consists of a number of self-governing branches acting according to the provisions of a detailed code, and amenable, in respect of its interpretation, to a Central Executive. ”

“ I appeal to the members of the American National Spiritual Assembly to persevere in their highly laudable endeavours on behalf of a Community so small yet so valiant and promising, and to ensure by every means in their power the steady development and consolidation of the institutions of an Order to whose rise and establishment they have so conspicuously contributed. ”

“ Our people are responding to these impulses in remarkable degree. The best contribution of government lies in encouragement of this voluntary cooperation in the community. The Government, National, State, and local, can join with the community in such programs and do its part. ”

“ As far as I can judge, the members of an American association, on the contrary, take their obligations more seriously than we, and precisely because they have undertaken them very freely, without being forced into them by environment or fashion, and also because the heads of the association have not sought to make it serve their own interests. ”

“ We fill our night schools by adjusting them to the industrial organization and securing its coöperation. We fill our civilian training camps by the coöperation of employers in granting absences and paying wages. We obtain a common standard of living by enforcement of laws that set the standard. Civic and philanthropic agencies may be the pioneers, the educators, the balance restorers; they can care for the waste and discover causes. But America has too long regarded them as the unifiers of its many peoples, as the makers of citizens. ”

“ On the morning of the last day the President stated that the subject of organizing a National Society was to be discussed, and at her suggestion Mr. May read a long and interesting letter from Angelina Grimké Weld, from which we give the salient points:
"Organization is two-fold—natural and artificial, divine and human. ”

“ If a Union of one hundred thousand members can be organized in three years like has been so wonderfully done here by your leaders and by your officers and your membership, my friends, anything is possible. ”

“ The very idea of a political community, such as a nation is, implies an association of persons for the promotion of their general welfare. Each one of the persons associated becomes a member of the nation formed by the association. ”

“ The membership of the Federation is drawn from practical men of affairs, whose acknowledged leadership in thought and action makes them typical representatives of the various elements that voluntarily work together for the general good. Its National Executive Committee is constituted of three factors: the general public, represented by the church, the bar, the press, statesmanship and finance; employers, represented by large manufacturers and the heads of great corporations, and employers’ organizations ”