BOSTON–Credit union pioneer Edward A. Filene celebrated a birthday last week, his 156th. While it’s generally believed Mr. Filene was not around to celebrate, his legacy lives on in the U.S. in the form of both credit unions and number of books and publications. The books are both about him and by him.
In honor of Mr. Filene’s birthday (in Salem, Mass. in 1860), CUToday.info’s The Corner features some of those books, which don’t address credit unions specifically and instead focus on broader themes that were interests of Filene’s, including a changing society and the quality of life of the average worker.
Successful Living in This Machine Age, by Edward A. Filene
A contemporary of Filene’s wrote, “I have long entertained a profound regard for Edward A. Filene's insight and foresight. This regard was awakened by three years of professional association with him when I saw his mind at work in office hours and after. And this regard has grown greatly in the dozen years since we were together as colleagues.
There has always been a touch of the prophet about him. And the prophetic mind is always a bit baffling alike to the pure theorist and to the pure practicalist. I have seen practical executives accuse him of being theoretical, and I have seen theoretical enthusiasts grow impatient with his insistent practicality. The peculiar strength of his mind lies in its effective correlation of theory and fact. He is a living example of the contention that comes back to me from a treatise by E. S. Brightman to the effect that "to be truly practical one must take into account all that any theory could reasonably conceive" and that "to be truly theoretical one must include every practical fact."
Speaking of Change: A Selection of Speeches and Articles
Filene was a frequent speaker and author, especially around social issues. This book was originally published prior to 1923, and represents a reproduction of an important historical work, according to its publisher. The book compiles many of Filene’s speeches and various written pieces.
Morals in Business, by Edward A. Fllene
Another reprint of a book published by Filene in 1923 that addresses Filene’s passion around the issue of working conditions (see below).
The Filenes, by Professor George Berkley
Published in 1914, just five years after Filene helped found the first credit union in the United States, this biography profiles brothers Edward Filene and his brother, Lincoln, as they turned their father’s Boston clothing store into one of the best known retailers in the country. In the process, they launched a revolution in retailing and in organizational management, the author states.
“By 1900, their employees had a constitution, drawn up by none other than Louis Brandeis, that guaranteed them fair treatment and the power, by majority vote, to change any store rule, regulation or policy,” according to the author. “The Filenes also initiated many innovations in merchandising, including their internationally famous Bargain Basement. During their busy lives, they undertook many public service activities which brought them into frequent contact with numerous prominent Americans such as Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Lincoln Steffens. The Filene brothers also gave the nation many valuable institutions including credit unions.”