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FORERUNNERS OF ROTARY
Also see "Other
Organizations"
The idea of forming clubs for men to indulge in
fraternity and conviviality goes back at least to Roman times, but it was
perhaps from the late 16th and then through the 17th and 18th centuries in
London, that clubs as we know them developed. The Bread Street Club
founded by Sir Walter Raleigh, Ben Jonson's Apollo Club and later Dryden's
Will's Club were among those of note from these years. In 1710, Joseph Addison
commented on clubs wherein "the chief inhabitants of the street conversed
together every night".
Frequently these meetings were held in the
coffee houses, or inns where the conviviality could be enhanced by alcohol.
Addison in the 'Spectator' also drew attention
to one club he visited in which the rules included "None shall be admitted
to the club that is of the same trade with any member of it." A very
similar rule was applied by Benjamin Franklin in the Junta Club of
Philadelphia. These presaged Rotary's 'one member for each classification'.
Another rule of Addison's London club stated "None of the club shall have
his clothes or shoes made or mended, but by a brother member." This
latter rule foreshadows the 'boostering' of the early Rotary Clubs. Thus,
when the idea of Rotary arrived in Britain in 1911, there was at least
some historic appreciation of what was being proposed. Stuart Morrow (see
elsewhere) deliberately invited 'business men' to participate in the
inaugural Dublin Club meeting for their mutual benefit, and the early
bulletins of the Manchester Club are full of advertisements for its members
trades and businesses. Each
member in turn gave, not so much a 'My Job' talk
but a 'My business' talk. In Britain, at least, it was probably the onset
of the First World War in 1914 that gave an impetus for clubs to look
beyond their own self interest to the needs of the troops, and also of the Home
Front. The Bulletin of the Manchester Club, typically, moved to
describing fund raising activities for the war effort. In turning to community or
even national service, British Rotary was beginning to turn towards the
ideal of 'Community Service' which had been one of the main planks
of Paul Harris' inspiration in the creation of Rotary. |
