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VOLUME ONE.
NO. FOETY.
The Young Men's Christian ation
An Account of its Origin and its Present Work.
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Sir George Williams.
a human characteristic as is that of a univer
sal complaint against adverse conditions, and it is
only occasionally that a thinking person seeks the
source of the influence which has brought benefits
into his life. For instance, if one would ask the
average young man today, 11 What is the Young
Men’s Christian Association, and how was it or
ganized?” the chances are that he would answer to
the latter question, “I do not know,” and to the
former he would say, according to his own standard,
either “It is a place where a man may get general
instruction cheaply” or “It is a place where for
a small annual sum you have the use of a splendid
gymnasium and an up-to-date reading room.” While
all of these answers are obviously true yet all of
them combined form only half the truth regarding
one of the best known and most useful organiza
tions which marked the history of the nineteenth
century, and which bids fair to incorporate itself
into the history of all our future civilization.
Material benefits most certainly accrue to the
members of this Association, but the primal cause
of the great world-wide movement was not a ma
terial but a spiritual one, and its origin was a di
vine spirit of helpfulness which grew in the
heart of a humble young Englishman who began to
work for the uplifting of his kind more than sixty
years ago. This young man was merely a clerk
or an apprentice in a dry goods shop in Bridgewa
ter, England, who in 1837, when he was but a lad
of sixteen years, felt the divine touch in his life
and in his heart, and who became an ardent Chris
tian himself and who was, naturally, anxious
for the welfare of his fellow workers. “What”
you may ask, “could a poor boy alone and unaided
accomplish, save for, perhaps, the very few of
, bis personal friends and acquaintances?” The
, answer to this question will be found in the fol
lowing history of one of the greatest organizations
in • the world today. An organization which has
done more for the making of pure and honest citi
zenship and for the spread of the Gospel “even
unto the uttermost ends of the earth” than any
other one movement which the world has seen. For
It is a fact worthy of
more than passing com
ment that the average in
dividual accepts the alle
viations offered to him by
helpful institutions and
organizations with but
little questioning as to the
source or reason for the
existence of such potent
influences for good, and
the same is true of our
acceptance of providen
tial provisions for our
comfort and happiness.
This quality is as much
ATLANTA, GA., NOVEMBER 22, 1906.
this young English clerk was George Williams, the
founder of the Young Men’s Christian Association.
A man of humble parentage, but who was knighted
in later life by Queen Victoria as a royal recogni
tion of his service to humanity—a man who was
brave enough and strong enough to disregard the
limitations of his surroundings and to reach out
for a yet wider circle until he put himself in touch
with young men of every class and every country
and united with other Christian workers for the sal
vation and the service of his kind.
Yet the story is a simple one enough—the young
apprentice left the small town of Bridgewater and
in 1841 he took a position with the Aim of Hitch
cock & Co., St. Paul’s Churchyard, London. It was
customary in those days for the employes of a
large firm to occupy rooms on the premises, and
George Williams soon found himself one of a small
colony of young men, all engaged in the same
work by day but having no common bond and no
congenial employment for their hours of leisure.
He soon discovered, also, that many forms of vice
were common in this group , and being himself im
bued with a great spiritual light he first sought the
one or two kindred spirits who were near him and
together they decided to meet each evening in the
bed room of one or the other and to invite their
fellow workers to join them in a simple religious
service. This service was preceded and followed by
social converse which in itself proved an attrac
tion to those lonely young men. Mr. Williams, rec
ognizing fully the active need for some organiza
tion which should insure a continuance of the work
as well as of its increase, approached Mr. Hitch
cock, the head of the firm, with the request for a
room to devote to the purposes of these meetings.
To his surprise Mr. Hitchcock, who was regarded
as an austere and hard man, was impressed at once
with the plan presented to him, and he not only
gave the desired room, but also accorded the young
men his heartiest interest and support.
First Step in Organization.
It was then decided to attempt like organization
with the young men in other large firms, and the
success of this attempt being so marked, new and
larger meeting rooms were needed. At a meet
ing held on June 4, 1844, it was decided to organize
a “Young Men’s Christian Association” the avowed
object of which was to “improve the spiritual con
dition of young men engaged in the drapery (dry
goods) and other trades.” The name was chosen
as being an exact statement of the purpose of the
organization. During the period of formation John
C. Symons and William Creese acted as voluntary
secretaries but in 1845 it was found that the work
devolving on the secretary was of such a nature as
to demand a man’s full time; hence T. H. Tarlton
was engaged as the first salaried secretary of the
first Young Men’s Christian Association.
One by one other elements besides the purely re-
ligious one was introduced into Association work
and today branches of this great organization may
be found in every part of the civilized world.
Those of France and Switzerland are directly
traceable to the London movement, as of course,
all the American associations are likewise, for
branches of the London organization were very
early formed in Montreal, Canada, and the United
States was eager and anxious for the work within
our own midst.
First American Association.
The very first American Association was the one
founded in Cincinnati in 1848 under the name of
“Young Men’s Society of Enquiry” which name
was changed to the “Cincinnati Society of Relig
ious Enquiry” and in February, 1853, this society
added to its name the words “and Young Men’s
Christian Union.” The transition to the present
name and the increase to the present vast field of
work was but a natural step in the progress of a
movement designed for the best good of the young
men of our country—organized by these young
men and brought today to a state of usefulness
which even surpasses the brightest dreams of its
founder.
Growth of the Work During Sir George Williams’
Life.
To but few men is it given to see the full frui
tion of a most cherished plan, but Sir George Wil
liams was a shining exception to this rule. Thie
work which he began in a small and humble way
grew of its own momentum, as it were, until before
his death, which did not occur until November 5,
1905, lie was able to personally witness results
which seem little short of miraculous when viewed
in the aggregate. It is said that the young men,
twelve in number, who met in the old store of
Hitchcock & Co., contributed just sixty cents a
week to “Association” purposes, and as figures
speak more convincingly than mere statements of
facts, we can say that at the close of 1905 in North
America alone more than SIIO,OOO was expended
weekly—that this sum, amounting to $7,000,000
yearly, was contributed by 400,000 members; also,
that the membership of the Y. M. C. A. in other
countries numbers about 300,000 with a yearly con
tribution estimated at about $4,000,000! Comparing
also, the one room in which the parent association
met it is of interest to note that over $10,000,000
is being expended for new buildings, and that ev
ery building erected for the use of the Young Men’s
Christian Association is just one more stone in
the Temple of Right and means just one more step
toward the Source of all Righteousness.
Varying Branches of the Work.
While the religious element in the great work is
never subservient to any other, yet it was soon un
derstood that the principal way in which to contrib
ute to the real usefulness of young men was to give
TWO DOLL AES A YEAE.
FIVE CENTS A COPY.