Then there were some who wore the
blue ribbon of temperance; nobody was obliged to assume that symbol,
but somehow most of them did, without feeling that they had been
pressed to do so. For the very work and life and atmosphere of the
place into which beer was not admitted gave them a dislike for beer,
with its coarse and rough associations. Insensibly the boy who joined
was led upward to a nobler and higher level.
The motives which were strong enough to persuade a working lad to work
on, over hours, may he partly understood by considering one of these
Institutions--the largest and the most popular--the Polytechnic of
Regent Street, called familiarly the Regent Street 'Poly,' with its
thirteen thousand members. Take first its social side, as offering
naturally greater attractions than its educational side. It contained
about forty clubs. The new member on joining was asked in a pamphlet
these three questions:
1. 'Do you wish to make friends?'
2. 'Are you anxious to improve yourself?'
3. 'Do you seek the best opportunities of recreation in your leisure
hours?'
Observe that the serious object is placed between the other two. What
the Poly lads said to the new member was: 'Come in and have a good old
time with us.
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