THIRTEEN REPORTS FOR YEAR

The Phillips Brooks House Association held its annual dinner and business meeting in the Trophy Room of the Union last evening. Mr. George Wigglesworth '74 was introduced by A. Beane '11, Graduate Secretary, and then presided over the meeting.

Reports read by the officers of the constituent societies and by the chairmen of the various committees showed the direction and amount of growth in the work of the Association during the past year. The thirteen reports submitted last night are printed below almost in full:

President's Report

In summing up the work carried on under the Cabinet of the Phillips Brooks House Association since it took office last year about this time, I shall group the topics under old and new business rather than follow the year's work through chronologically. In this way, I hope to show in a clear and simple way that the Cabinet has gone on with the work that has proved useful in the past, and has introduced changes which we feel have proved, or soon will prove, valuable. Since the Cabinet took office last spring, meetings have been held regularly, and only once has there failed to be a quorum present. At that time there was a general misunderstanding as to the date. All the members attending have made the Cabinet meetings of great service to the Association members, and to the constituent societies. The reports in all cases have been clean cut and the discussions to the point.

Following the custom of previous Cabinets, the Association held the Class Day Spread, which was taken advantage of by 235 people.

During the summer the Harvard University Handbook was published, about 600 copies being sent to incoming Freshmen during August, and 2400 copies being distributed at the beginning of the college term through the various information bureaus. Through advertising the expense of printing and distribution of the 3,000 copies was met, with a small balance of $13.50.

On Tuesday, September 23, the reception of the Freshmen was held in Peabody Hall, and attended by about 600, (the speakers being Professor Bliss Perry; Professor A. P. Fitch; A. Beane, '11; W. C. Brown, '14; C. H. Crombie, '14; and R. T. P. Storer, '14.)

"Open House" was held on Thanksgiving and Christmas evenings for men who were in Cambridge for the vacation periods. Entertainment in the way of readings and music were given in the parlor before the open fire. Refreshments appropriate for the different seasons were served. 167 men took advantage of this hospitality on Thanksgiving night, and 100 on Christmas night.

Owing to the custom which started last year, the Senior and Freshmen elections were again held in the hallway of Phillips Brooks House. With the coming of the Freshman dormitories the Freshmen elections will naturally be held among the Freshmen; but Brooks House is the natural place for the Senior elections, so that we may expect this new custom to stand as a precedent. The Alumni Civic Service Committee followed the practice started last year of getting the Seniors to signify at their elections their willingness to assist in community service after graduation. 350 men voted at the elections for class officers, 196 of whom signified an interest in some form of community service, or 56 per cent of the men voting as compared with 50 per cent for last year.

Some new changes have developed, and I hope they may prove their right to become installed among the activities already mentioned.

Although the Information Bureau has been run for some years, this is the first year that the Bureau has been run by the Phillips Brooks House Association. The constituent societies all cooperated and with their valuable assistance the Bureau was so successful that the scheme will undoubtedly commend itself to the incoming Cabinet.

A committee of men in the Medical School was appointed to report whether or not they felt that there was a field for religious and social service work in that department of the University. Mr. W. R. Ohler, 4 M., was appointed Secretary of the Committee, and you have all heard his report, and have heard of the opportunities which have been presented for this kind of work in the Medical School.

At the last two meetings of the Cabinet, the question was raised as to the advisability of adding the leader of the Student Volunteers to the Association Cabinet. It was finally unanimously voted to give the Volunteers this representation.

It is fitting that the President's Report, submitted on the near completion of Mr. Arthur Beane's third year of service, should close with unqualified praise of his work for Phillips Brooks House as its Graduate Secretary.  QUENTIN REYNOLDS, '14.  President.

Report of the Treasurer

The fiscal year ending May 31st renders it impossible to give at this time a complete statement of the finances for 1913-14. A brief review of the financial status to date will, however, furnish some idea of the condition of affairs.

Beginning last fall a new plan was adopted for procuring the undergraduate fund. Subscriptions were received from men regardless of the fact whether or not they belonged to any branch of the Association. Judging from the results so far this method seems to have proved entirely satisfactory.

All the requirements of the budget for the year 1912-13 were met, and there remained in the treasury a surplus of $474.40. This year the Cabinet voted to donate the surplus of $474.40 and $25.60 in addition, making a sum total of $500.00--as the gift from the undergraduate fund to the permanent endowment.

The sources of the funds for the maintenance of the budget are the Undergraduates, the Graduates, the Faculty, and "Friends." At the end of March the bank balance was $1503.18. Considering the expenditures for the remainder of the year, this should leave on May 31st, the end of this fiscal year, a sufficient surplus to meet the expenses which will accrue during the summer and the early part of the fall.  FRANKLIN H. TRUMBULL, '14.  Treasurer.

Report of Librarian

The work of the Phillips Brooks House Librarian is divided into four departments--the Text-Book Loan Library, the regular Library, the St. Paul's Society Reading Room, and the Christian Association Reading Room. The use of these different departments by the students has been increasing every year, and their usefulness and scope of influence has become more clearly defined. They are capable of still further broadening, and of performing more service in their different fields.

The present number of volumes now available on the shelves of the Text-Book Loan Library is 2274, a net increase of about 300 over last year. Of these, quite a large proportion are language books, especially in the French and German courses. The books of these courses and others where there is a variety of authors have been arranged in alphabetical order upon the shelves.

The books for this library are regularly obtained in the clothing collections which are made every year. In the past year an attempt was made to induce the Seniors to contribute the books they were through with to the Loan Library. Quite a number of books were obtained, but not as many as might have been, because of the general rush at the close of the year. It is hoped that this idea may be worked out much more successfully this coming June, by having special collectors.

Another source of many additions to the library in the past year has been large gifts of law books from some of the graduates.

With these new sources and wider publicity the use of the Loan Library has greatly increased during the past year, 511 books having been withdrawn by 180 men. This is an increase in books used of 136 over last year. The greater use of the library by law students has helped in this respect.

The steady increase in the use of the Loan Library for the past few years shows that it has a place to fill in helping to lower the expenses of needy students. It was considered of enough importance in this way to be included in the prospectus issued concerning the new Freshman dormitories. There has been a wider knowledge of its existence and its advantages. The demand for books, especially at the beginning of the year, when someone was kept constantly in attendance, was great. Many more books could be used, and it is hoped that those who can give books will regard this as an opportunity to help a cause which assists in the reduction of expenses for those who need such aid.

(The report then goes on to cover the Regular Library with its books of a religious nature; and the St. Paul's Society and Christian Association Reading Rooms, which keep various magazines and publications, and make a convenient place for reading and study.)  CARL G. FREESE, '15.  Librarian.

Report of the Chairman of the Social Service Committee

In this Report I shall take up each branch of the work in order.

In the first place the Social Service Secretary has sent out approximately 400 boys' club leaders and teachers to the various settlement houses. This number does not include those students who have just experimented with the work, but is made up of men who have worked faithfully ever since they first started. From all reports, at least nine-tenths have done good work with their clubs.

The work of these men has been overlooked by six superintendents, each of whom has a district of houses to cover. Every two months these superintendents hand in a report to S. S. Otis, '15, their chairman. They also hand in cards covering the work of each man in their district. In this way the success or failure of each individual is watched.

The Secretary has also sent out 24 entertainment troupes. With one exception these troupes have all given satisfactory entertainments.

The Home Libraries branch of the work, in charge of P. Bradley '15, has been very successful. However, this is counteracted by the medium success of the Juvenile Court work. E. K. Carver '14, who has been in charge, has found it extremely difficult to get the right kind of men to take boys. There have been only nine boys taken from the courts this winter.

So far, there has been only one clothing collection--that conducted by H. L. Nash, '16, last autumn. The results of this collection were most satisfactory, enough being collected to send boxes of clothing to 12 places, some of these places being as far off as Tuskegee Institute, Alabama. The annual spring collection is now about to be started.

Outside of the work, the Social Service branch has conducted two dinners and two conferences. At the dinners there was informal speaking both by the students and by the various leaders who had been invited. At the conference held last autumn for students interested in the work, Dean Briggs and R. N. Williams, of East Boston, spoke. This spring the Joint Conference of leaders and student workers was held. At this time the idea of giving college credit for social work was thoroughly discussed, and rejected. Both dinners and the conferences have been well attended and interesting.

Thus, in a word, this year has been one marked by general success in the Social Service work, of which much of the credit must be given to W. B. Pirnie '15, the Secretary, whose hard work and keenness did much to make this year so successful.  LEVERETT SALTONSTALL '14.  Chairman.

Report of the Chapel Committee

The Report of the Phillips Brooks House Chapel Committee, which I am submitting must necessarily be in a preliminary form at this time, since definite figures for the year cannot be made up until June.

However, I do feel that I can say something of attendance at Chapel in a general way. The average student attendance at Sunday Chapel a year was 247, which was a large increase over the report for pervious years. This year will probably not come up to that figures by a small margin; it certainly will not exceed it. This is easily explained when it is remembered that so far this year, there have been few preachers to attract unusually large audiences. As regards morning chapel, on the other hand, the outlook is distinctly encouraging. I think that the final figures for the year will show an average attendance of 120 or more, compared with 105 last year. This increase is probably due more to increased interest in the daily service than to any change in the list of preachers.

The year, aside from the matter of attendance figures, has seen a good deal of agitation over what might be called the Chapel problem. In the first place, I wish to call attention to the fact that the attendance, especially at Sunday chapel, varies directly with the degree of estimation which the students have for the preacher of the day. Most students will not, or, at least, do not, come to chapel unless attracted by something more than a desire for worship. Much less attention is paid to the weather than to the man.

This may be discouraging, but it is the fact, and the fact has been so impressed on the minds of those interested in chapel that at last they have taken active steps to see whether or not we cannot be sure that each day will call men to chapel to hear a man whom the undergraduates want to hear. I think that nothing proves more conclusively the wisdom of this attempt than the almost enormous attendance which greets Professor Palmer and President Lowell and the others who are chosen to lead the services during early weeks of the college year. This step toward careful and judicious selection of preachers was conceived in the early meetings of the Phillips Brooks House Cabinet, and has been carried out largely by a committee of the Student Council, which has drawn up a list of men suggested as attractive preachers. Perhaps next year will not be too soon to expect results from this course of action.

In the second place, I should like to complain of the difficulty which I have encountered in getting a corps of ushers on whom I could depend. It may have been due to may own inability to find the right men; but I am inclined to think that the fault is not wholly that. A surprising fact is that the most dependable ushers--indeed, those who are most ready to assume the cares of ushering--are the men who take the least active interest in the religious activities of the University. This is a case in which change may well begin at home; and it is an opportunity for showing a more or less practical form of religion.

In the third place, the year has seen quite a discussion of the question of a revival of semi-compulsory chapel. The most definite suggestion has been to require Freshmen to attend for a few weeks or months, in the hope of giving