SOCIAL WAR 481 SOCIETY ISLANDS members obtain many of the necessaries of life at lower cost. Many other settle- ments stimulate their neighbors to pur- chase their winter supplies of coal by this method. Other settlements devote much attention to the training of mothers. One, the Nurses' Settlement, in New York City, sends trained nurses to the homes in a wide district in cases of sickness, especially in maternity cases. Through- out the large American cities there are about one hundred settlement houses. SOCIAL WAR, the name of a noted struggle in Roman history. M. Livius Drusus proposed a law for investing the Italian allies with the privileges of Ro- man citizens; but it was strongly opposed by the senators, the knights, and the people, and Drusus was assassinated 91 B. c. The Marsi, who took the lead (whence the name Marsian or Marsic, also given to that war), the Peligni, the Samnites, the Lucani, and almost every nation in Italy except the Latins, Tus- cans, and Umbrians, revolted and estab- lished a republic in opposition to that of Rome. In the first campaign the Romans met with some severe losses. Nola was taken by the Samnites; the consul, P. Rutilius, and his lieutenant, Q. Caepio, were defeated and slain, and many cities were captured. On the other hand Sylla and Marius obtained a great victory over the Marsi, and L. Caesar defeated the Samnites. In the second campaign, 90 B. c, the Romans defeated the Marsi and induced them, together with the Vestini, Peligni, and Marrucini, to make a sepa- rate peace. Sulla, the Roman general, destroyed the town of Stalise, defeated a large army near Nola, reduced the Hir- pini to subjection, and defeated the Sami- ans. The Romans were induced, hearing that Mithridates VI., King of Pontus, in- tended to aid the allies, to adopt measures of conciliation, and one state after an- other submitted and received the gift of Roman citizenship. After the close of this campaign the war dwindled away till it was brought to a conclusion, 88 B. c, by the remainder of the Italian states receiving the concessions they required. During this war, called the Social War, 300,000 men were slain. SOCIETIES FOR ETHICAL CUL- TURE. The first Ethical Culture society was founded in New York City in 1876, by Dr. Felix Adler, who was then a lec- turer at Cornell University. His object was to offer a substitute for the orthodox church to those who had abandoned be- lief in orthodox religion, forming a move- ment ^ which should retain the ethical teachings of the churches without their religious ceremonies and rituals. The original society in New York later estab- lished a kindergarten and a school for older children which became models of their kind in this country. The latter was the first to adopt manual training and demonstrate its value as a medium for education. Similar societies were soon organized in other American cities, and, later, in Berlin, Paris, London and other large European cities. SOCIETY ISLANDS, an archipelago in the South Pacific, lying between lat. 16°-18° S., and Ion. 148°-155° W. There are 13 principal islands, besides numer- ous islets, and the total area of the group is estimated at 734 square miles. The chief islands are Tahiti and Moorea. The first has an area of 600 square miles; pop. about 11,600; the latter an area of 50 square miles; pop. 1,500. The Society Islands are of basaltic formation and abound in lofty and pre- cipitous mountains usually fringed by a belt of flat land. Two peaks in Tahiti are respectively 7,000 and 8,700 feet high. Coral reefs are very abundant round all the islands. The soil being extremely fertile and water plentiful, the vegetation of the islands is most luxuriant. The climate is healthy, but enervating, and terrible hurricanes occur from time to time. The inhabitants belong to the Poly- nesian race and are handsome, brave, and intelligent, but indolent, fickle, immoral, and passionately fond of ardent spirits. On account of their indolence Chinese and Hervey Islanders are imported to work the cotton plantations. The people of Huahine, however, are enterprising traders, and their flag is seen as far away as San Francisco. The chief ex- ports from the islands are cotton, cocoa- nut oil, copra, pearl shell, and oranges. The Society Islands were discovered by De Quiros in 1606, but were first made known to the world by Cook, who visited them in 1769, and named them after the Royal Society, at whose recommendation the expedition which he commanded was fitted out. They have been the scene of missionary labors since 1797, and have for many years been entirely Christian. Taking advantage of a quarrel between the Protestant and Roman Catholic mis- sionaries, the French espoused the cause of the latter, who were the last in the field, and seized the islands in 1844. In 1847 they were expelled by the natives from Huahine, Raiatea, and Bora-Bora, which, with small dependencies, were again ruled by their own sovereigns. The entire group was officially annexed by France in 1880. A hurricane of great severity nearly wiped off the population of Tahiti early in March, 1906. It lasted some seventeen hours, and the wind reached an hourly velocity of 120 miles.
