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Articles from archived local newspapers

History of the Club: its published program notices

The scope of topics have ranged from international issues, a report by Sinclair Kennedy about his travel to New Zealand in  1911 to study the country's election regarding prohibition; to a report by Samuel Elliot about his visit with the Indian Agents in the  Southwest U.S. in 1914;  to the  to nuts and bolts topics pertaining to  the civic well-being of the City of Cambridge, including "Some of the  Sanitary Questions Affecting our City" in  December 1888. The meetings have long  given its members, who themselves are active in City life, relevant  information to enable them and the groups they represent be effective as civic activists. 
The topics were found by searching the  archives of the Cambridge Chronicle and other newspapers of the times through the searchable data base at the Cambridge Public Library.  As an example, we found the following article in the 1891 Chronicle that celebrates the fact that Club members convinced Frederick Rindge  to provide the City with a new library. 


The topics are grouped by year, with 1882 being the earliest found.  Click on the dates or on the internal links to go to the list of that year's articles where you can read them directly from the newspaper. This section is a work in progress and more topics are added regularly.


Click on the link for each decade to find all the articles for those years.  Sometimes one of the newspapers will carry a detailed story about the meetings' discussions.  Those are fascinating!


Researched and compiled by Nancy Woods, President, 2013-15, with thanks to Alyssa Pacy, Archivist for the Cambridge public library.


In addition to the Cambridge newspaper archive, The Cambridge Historical Society--now renamed History Cambridge--has a collection of early documents from the Club. While they are not digitized, History Cambridge has detailed finding aids: https://historycambridge.org/research/cambridge-club-and-harvard-lyceum-papers-1894


From Cambridge newspapers


1882

October: A long letter to the editor that bemoans the moving of the meetings to  Boston. The anonymous writer mentions several times the reason the club was formed. It’s signed “A Member”.

1883

 February: Is communication with Boston by means of an elevated road desirable and practical to carry passengers to the centre of Boston in three minutes at a cost of two cents each. Full article.

1884 and 1885 No articles found

1886

 October: The valuation of real estate and personal estate for the purposes of  taxation. NOTE: if you are a Cambridge tax geek, this detailed article is for you.   The Club discussed valuation, types of property and the role of the City assessors, who had the job “until they died” and more.

1888

October: Should Taxes be levied upon Real and Personal Property, or only on Real Estate?"

December: Some of the Sanitary Questions affecting our City.

1889

March: Ladies night; guests--Gov. Ames, Lieut.-Gov. Brackett and Mayor Gllmore

November: What is the matter with "Old Cambridge Club”? The principal "matter," neighbor, in this case is that the new club is not the "Old Cambridge Club.”

1890 

April: no topic, speakers-- Gov. Brackett, Prof. George H. Palmer of Harvard, and ex-Mayor Russell 

1891

April: Ladies night. Program by Professor J. W. Churchill, the reader, and noted teacher of elocution at Phillips Andover

April--special reception at the new Cambridge Public Library, seen as a model for the rest of the country and as the library of the future.  Club members were instrumental in Frederick Rindge donating the library to the city.

1892 

January: Changing the methods of electing aldermen. Also, long  eulogies for H.H. Gilmore and B.R, Tilton, including favorable attributes of  Cambridge.

February: A very lively debate on the rapid transit issue. Lots of details on how (above or below ground  and locations of the lines.

March: The issue of whether or not to be annexed to Boston. A detailed account of the arguments for and against can be found in this Cambridge Tribune article and in this Cambridge Chronicle article.

April: Ladies night honoring Columbus. Full  account here.

December: A long, detailed discussion of the Charles River Basin and locations of, composition of pollution.

1893

November: Some Recent Developments in Mechanical Engineering and an Address on The Harvard Exhibit at the World's Fair 

March: World's Columbian Exposition."

1894

January: Relief for the Unemployed. Article

February: The Proposed Law for the Construction of Underground Conduits

March: Municipal Lighting by the City of Cambridge

October: The Proposed Dam and Lock in Charles River. Detailed article here.

November:  Scientific Road Building  and the Application of its Principles to the Streets of Cambridge

December: Federation

1895

January: The Clay Pits of Cambridge

February: The Proposed Widening of Boylston Street.

March: Metropolitan Water Supply--Planning for 50 years and beyond.  Detailed article--a must read

April:  Ladies Night, featuring a speaker from the Club's sister club for women: The Cantabrigia. Discussion of  "The Women's Movement"

October: The Charities 

November: Illustrated talk "A Trip to Alaska"

December: Massachusetts Policy of County Management. Full article

1896

January:  The Annual Meeting where the mission of the club is confirmed. Municipal Lighting, a history

February: Municipal lighting

March: The New Railway Terminals of Boston. Article

May: certain amendments to the by-laws concerning the admission of new members were considered. Includes a complete list of members

October: The Sanitary Conditions of Cambridge

November: Our Charles River Bridges

December: Commercial Relations of the Grea

1897

 May: Informal discussion—no program

 December: Banking

1898

January: The Cambridge Club--What may be done to improve It?

February: The Proposed Metropolitan County, is it of Advantage to Cambridge? 

April: Ladies night--Miss Ella Chamberlain, whistling soloist, and James S. Burdett, humorist

 November: How Can Our Electoral System Be Improved?

1899

January: The Streets of Cambridge--Is it  Wise to Borrow Money to Improve Them?  ($200,000)

February: The Charles River Improvement

March: The Charles River Bridge

April: Ladies Night

October: Cambridge Schools

November: Seven Clergymen Speak Briefly and Make the Monthly Meeting Interesting - Some Thoughts on tne Minister As Layman From the Preacher's Point of View--Pointed Suggestions Interspersed With Wit and Humor. [Note the full article is worth reading for its observations of Cambridge]

December: Our Municipal Government, Can It's Character and Efficiency Be Improved?

1900

January: Tributes in memory of late members, J. Mason Brooks and William Jewell

February: Public Baths

March: Manufacturing in Cambridge

April: Ladies Night

October: The Associated Churches Movement

November: University in its relations to the town

December: Municipal Conduits and its Legislative History

1901

October: Rapid Transit Between Boston and Cambridge

November: (20th anniversary of Club) Municipal Reform Where Reform is Needed

December: Improvement of Boston Harbor--Interesting and Timely Subject Fully Explained Full article here.

January: Development of Charles River Basin

February: Former Cambridge

March: Cambridge Geography and Cambridge Post Offices

April: Ladies Night

1902

January:  New York's Municipal Revolt

February: Cambridge Trees and Their Enemies

March: Proposed Widening of DeWolfe Street; speakers, Frederick L Olmsted and Charles W. Eliot

April: Ladies Night; a reading of Enoch Arden by Professor George Riddle

October: Trusts and questions pertaining to economies

November: Shall the two branches of the City Council be consolidated?

December: This meeting contains 1).a detailed discussion how members, "the most highly esteemed residents of the City" are brought into the Club 2) A presentation on electricity and its promise of "splendid things  for the future" .

1903

January:  Africa past and present

February:

March: Reclamation of Alewife Brook District and the issue of mosquitoes causing malaria in the Cambridge, Belmont, Arlington, Somerville area adjacent to the Alewife marsh. Note that this ia a long and detailed article demonstrating intra-town concerns.

April:  Ladies Night---College Life Past and Present

October: A year abroad in the United States, with a focus on the South and "the negro question" and the harsh condemnation of the South by Northern men.  Described as one "of the most interesting and instructive programs ever given at the club.

December: Rapid Transit to Cambridge, in the light of European Experience

1904

January: The Cambridge hospitals--what they are doing and what they might do. Includes history of hospitals and detailed presentation of costs

February: Municipal Real Estate in connection with street improvements and the revised laws of eminent domain

March: The  City's problem with reference to the reconstruction of the upriver bridges between Boston and Cambridge. Issues--design, ornamentation, durability, orientation, costs and how raise revenue. Frederick Law Olmsted was one of the speakers Detailed article.

April: The remarkable instance of a bear weaned by a woman at a Maine lumber camp. Ilustrated by stereopticon. The speaker, an MIT professor brought the grown bear to his Belmont home

October: The Charles River Basin and Dam

November: Juvenile Crime and Criminals

December: Electrical developments in Cambridge

1905

January: Glimpses of Local Transportation in American and European Cities

February: Park Work in Cambridge; full text article

March: The Sanitary and Mortality Conditions of Cambridge and Immediate Vicinity;   full text article

April:cl leA talk on Eastern Questions; full text article 

October: The Present Condition of the Cambridge Water Works and the New Pipeline

November: Cambridge Street Railway Facilities and the Present Capacity and what the Two  Track Thoroughfare will  add

December: Educational


1906

January:  Some Considerations of Cambridge; long article 

February: The New City Charter; full article

March: Taxation of College Property

April: Cambridge Hospital for Tuberculosis (this was a special meeting)

April 30th: The Message of Germany to the Cities of America; full text

October: Our Public Library and Its Work

November: Twenty -fifth Anniversary; full text includes accomplishments and history ; full list of members

December: Public Franchises and Their Value to Municipalities; article in two sections--here  and here; a second article here


1907

January: Municipal Finance in Cambridge, Present and Future

February: Should all Telephone and Telegraph and Electric Light Wires in Cambridge be Placed in Conduits Owned by the City?

March: Subway Stations in Cambridge

October: Industrial Education at Home and Abroad

November: Proposed Amendments to the City Charter Relating to the School Committee

December: China and Its Recent Awakening


1908

January: The Charles River Basin

February:  A Recent Trip among the Volcanoes of the Aleutian Islands

March:  The Smoke Nuisance

October: Address on “Central Africa”

November: The Crusade against Tuberculosis

December: The Government of Cities


1909

January: How They are Living and What They are Doing in the Panama Canal Zone Today

February: Should the Cambridge Manual Training School be Made a State Industrial School?

March: Metropolitan Park System and its Relation to the City of Cambridge

October: The Cambridge Municipal Art League and What it is Seeking to Do for the City

November: The Transfer of the River Front Parkway to the Metropolitan Park Commission

December: What Has America to do in the Orient?



1910  

January: Municipal Finances.

February: Are we now ready for a new Metropolitan County of Boston?

March: Economic Wastes in a Public School System.

April: Traveling with Peary in the Arctic

October: The Relation of the University to the City. The Cambridge Chronicle article is a full account of the presentations, including the speech by President Lowell of Harvard. He stresses the need for a city-university board; the many ways that citizens can benefit from the resources of the school; scholarships so that “no poor boy” from East Cambridge or Cambridgeport would be turned away. Fascinating article.

November: Improvements in Cambridge Streets.

December: The History of the Development of the Charles River Basin

1911

January: Election of Club officers

February: The Main Thoroughfares of the Metropolitan District and the Proposed Boulevard Connecting Harvard and Wellington Bridge

March: Discuss the report of the joint committee to "promote more cordial relations between the University and the city"--including potential taxation and scholarships. The other topic of the evening will be: “Government of Cities by Commission.”

October: Some objections to the Proposed Charter for Cambridge Governance

November: The Cambridge Main Street Subway Extension and the East  Cambridge Elevated Extension

December: Workingmen's Compensation

1912

January: Journey with an Indian; plus annual report of Club finances

February: Changes in President Making

March: Harvard Night

April: Ladies Night

November:  A substitue speaker due to the unexpected illness of Dr. Charles W. Eliot, president emeritus of Harvard; new topic--Pompeii and Amalfi

December: Observations from Travels through China by  Dr. Charles W. Eliot. Includes  details about Chinese laborers and work ethic. Read full text.

1913

January: Annual report plus a detailed history of the Cambridge Water Works, improvements made now and plans for the future. Read the full article.

February: Should the $12 Tax Limit be Abolished?

March: Harvard College Library

April: Glimpses of Tibet; Ladies night

October: Hunting with Canoe and Camera in New Brunswick

November: Impressions of Japan after three months of travel, including domestic observations and assessment of likelihood of war. Full article.

December: The Aims and Methods of the Proposed Cambridge Sanitary Survey Commission, including the dirty and untidy conditions of the streets and the serious mosquito problem. Full article.

1914

January: The Cambridge Hospital and the Avon Home

February: Back to the Sixteenth Century—The Indians of the Far Southwest

March: The Railroads and the People

May:  Ladies' night for wives, women relatives and friends with a banquet, and vocal and instrumental music and readings

December: Some Comments on the New Zealand Situation

1915  

January: The European War from Personal Observation

March: Harvard night—Medicine, Classics, Divinity, Law (Felix Frankfurter), Business, Economics

April: The Experiences of a Periodical Man (from The Atlantic Monthly) With His Subscribers

November: Plan B, a new form of charter for Cambridge which was adopted at the recent election

December: New Methods of Real Estate Assessment to Be Adopted in Cambridge in1916

1916

 January: Observations on Various War Zones in Europe

 February: Cambridge Industries--Woven Hose & Simplex companies

 March: Impressions of France during WWI

 April: Presentation by a Palestinian in the Turkish Army

 October: Poliomyelitis or Infantile Paralysis

 November: Recrudescence of Personal Government


1917

January: The Department of Public Safety; The Streets;…..

February: Taxation, City and State

March: What Harvard and Technology (MIT) are doing for Cambridge

October: Immigration and Uncle Sam’s Sieve

November: The Red Cross Commission

December: Experiences in Siam


1918

January: Administrative Policies

February: The Cambridge Water System: it’s Past, Present and Future. Is it Expedient to Construct a Filtration Plant at This Time?

March:  Cambridge Industries including growth of East Cambridge

April: The Soul of Italy

October--Meeting postponed because of the prevailing epidemic

November: The Student Army Training Corps

December: Is Universal Military Training in the U.S. Advisable?


1919

January: Labor in Textiles. Its Importance to New England

February: Personal Experiences in the War

March: Labor’s Revolt against Business Methods

April: Some New Industrial Tendencies

October: From a Tax-gatherer’s Window at Washington

November: The Hospitals of Cambridge

December:  What does the Taxpayer get for his Money?


1920

January:  Some Cambridge Developments in the Last Decade

February: The Americanization Problem

March: Public Schools and the Public

November: War Memorial for the City of Cambridge

December: Housing Conditions in Cambridge


1921

January: The Gloucester Fishermen at Work

February: Waterways and Highways in Massachusetts

March: A Greater Metropolitan System

April: Their Wedding Journey

October: What is the Solution of the Unemployment Situation in the Commonwealth?

November: The New Poland and its Problems

December: The Zoning System in Cambridge

1922

December: City Officials present a detailed account of City finances, including water supply issues and the need to invest in Kendall Square to build more factories. The City Officials also criticize Club members for not being active in civic affairs as they once were.

------------------------------------------------------------


Cambridge Chronicle, volume 46, April 18, 1891 
Grand Library Reception for the Cambridge Club
The  reception given at the Public Library building by the trustees of the  library, last Monday evening, to the Cambridge club with ladies, was a  grand though informal affair. There were present the portly and  dignified ex-Mayor, grave-faced aldermen, bustling council men and  prominent citizens, together with bright, handsome, and richly dressed  women: about 200 in all and they moved about as free and chatty as at a  church tea party. 
They  visited all sections of the building from top to bottom, read the  inscriptions and commented on them, looked at the long rows of valuable  books, and the pictures and stationery, looked at the tables and longed  for the hour of refreshments, enjoyed themselves as much as they could  and tried to be agreeable to others, till the hour of Col. Higginson's  speech.

Very likely the affair was more informal without an  orchestra, yet we could not help thinking what an improvement joyful and  inspiring music would have been; besides people will talk more freely  when the sound of their voices is somewhat dimmed by the strains of  music, so they feel a little more secluded and all to themselves.

Col.  Thomas Wentworth Higginson, chairman of the board of trustees, gave a  most interesting talk on the library, he told them of the early  completion of the new building and the first subscriptions by members of  the Cambridge club, how through the efforts of Gov. Russell that Mr.  Frederick Rindge contributed the magnificent gift which produced the  present noble edifice, a model of excellence, he stated briefly the  growth and progress of the library and made several suggestions as to  present needs. He said the time was when the public library was for the  poor to go and read the books: the rich were able to read at their books  at homes; that the library is now something the people buy for  themselves.  He recounted many of the successful features of the present  management, and traced in glowing terms what he fancied would be the  library of the future.

Under the lead of Col. Higginson, the  Cambridge library is likely to become a recognized model for all the  libraries of this country.  And why not?

After  the address the company was invited to the hall below, where, behold,  Miss Martha Jones had been before them, and supper was ready. 

By such receptions the city becomes acquainted with Its own institutions. More of such are to be desired.











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