"In the matter of discipline I am a strong advocate of the 'fine system.' It is the only way to keep a chorus together. The fines should he regulated according to the financial ability of the chorus. Our fine at The Temple was at first twenty-five cents for every rehearsal and every service missed. It has since been dropped to ten cents. This is quite moderate. In some musical societies the fine is one dollar for every absence. This system is far better than monthly dues. "The advantages to members of a chorus are many and of great value. Concerted work has advantages which can be secured in no other way. A good chorus is an unequaled drill in musical time. The singer cannot humor himself as the soloist can, but must go right on with the grand advance of the company. He gets constant help also, in the accurate reading of music. Then, too, there is an indescribable, uplifting, enkindling power in the presence and coöperation of others. The volume of song lifts one, as when a great congregation sings. It is the _esprit du corps_ of the army; that magnetic power which comes from the touch of elbows, and the consecration to a common cause. No soloist gets this. "Some would-be soloists make a great mistake right here. They think that chorus work spoils them as soloists. Not at all, if they have proper views of individual work in a chorus. If they propose to sing out so they shall sound forth above all others, then they may damage their voices for solo work. But that is a needless and highly improper use of the voice. Sing along with the others in a natural tone. They will be helped and the soloist will not be harmed. "The best conservatories of music in the world require of their students a large amount of practice in concerted performance and will not grant diplomas without it. All the great soloists have served their time as chorus singers. Parepa-Rosa, when singing in the solo parts in oratorio, would habitually sing in the chorus parts also, singing from beginning to end with the others. "Many persons have expressed their astonishment at the absence of the baton both from the rehearsals and public performances of the chorus of The Temple. Experience has proven to me, beyond a doubt, that a chorus can be better drilled without a baton than with it, though it costs more labor and patience to obtain the result. To sing by common inspiration is far better than to have the music 'pumped out,' as is too often the case, by the uncertain movements of the leader's baton." With a membership that has ranged from one hundred to two hundred and fifty, skilled business management is needed to keep everything running smoothly.