PAUL SAID IT

Here is what Rotary founder Paul Harris had to say in July of 1912, the year that the National Association of Rotary Clubs changed its name to the International Association of Rotary Clubs.

“What is Rotarianism?There are already more than Six Thousand answers to that question ‑ and there are many, many more to follow. How do I make that out? There are more than Six Thousand Rotarians in the world and many more to come. Each has his own individual conception of Rotarianism and he will continue to have it even if a brief concise definition of the word be generally accepted. You can't hold Rotarianism in words any longer than you can hold the spirit of brotherly love in a bushel basket.” Paul P. Harris, writing the July 1912 issue of the National Rotarian.

Today there are 200 times more Rotarians than in 1912. If we continue to answer Paul’s question, perhaps in the next decade there will be 2,000,000 members. The growth of Rotary was rapid in the early years. According to the Appendix of the first edition of “My Road to Rotary,” in twelve more years the membership had increase nearly 17 fold. By 1930, there was another fifty percent increase to 150,000. By 1938, despite the depression, another 50,000 had become Rotarians. Shortly after Paul’s death, the 1948 total was 320,000. However, as Rotary Founder Paul Harris noted, the most important means of Rotarianism lies with each of us.