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them every possible advantage of mental and physi
cal development which, added to the spiritual in
struction as well, would unite to form “the arche
typal man, that lets us see the amplitude of Na
ture’s first design.” Hence, it was decided to add
to the association work classes in the rudimentary
studies, later on technical instruction was also
given to members of the Associations, and when a
General Conference was held in New Orleans some
years ago, it was decided to add a department for
physical developmnt. This movement was met with
considerable opposition at first which was finally
overcome and this branch of the work has been one
of its most successful features. Now the most mod
ern gymnasiums are to be found in connection with
each Asociation and a physical director of high
Christian character is at the head of this depart
ment. His work is as carefully and conscientiously
performed as is that of the secretary and a special
course of study is now requird to fit young men to
hold either the position of secretary or physical
director of a Y. M. C. A.
Evolution of a New Profession.
This need of men of ability to direct the affairs
of local branches of this great work has resulted
in the formation of an entirely new profession, and
hundreds of young men in all parts of the world are
regularly preparing themselves for this work. In
addition to the secretary of local associations there
are field secretaries who travel early over a pre
scribed circuit supervising in a general way the
work of local branches, and recently there has
been added a new office, that of “County Secre
tary,” whose duty lies in visiting small towns ;and
rural communities and forming associations at some
point equally convenient to the people scattered
in the special locality, j;hus bringing within reach
of everv class the benefits which the Association
offers.
Y. M. C. A. In Large Cities.
But the most effective work accomplished by the
Y. M. C. A. is that done in large cities where young
men are constantly exposed to every form of temp
tation and where they are so often in need of actual
guidance for lack of which they choose, often un
wittingly enough, the wrong paths. Many of these
city associations are provided with boarding or
lodging departments, and young men without
friends who really desire to lead lives of usefulness
are taken into the official family as it were and
given every possible encouragement and stimulus
toward the right. Employment is found for idle
men, congenial training given to ignorant applicants
and paths of “Right Living and High Thinking”
are clearly shown to all who seek to find the way!
The Different Needs Met.
In addition to the forming of Y. M. C. A. branch
es in the principal countries of the East—China,
Japan, Korea and the Philippines—the work has
steadily progressed in every country of Europe and
in the entire North American Continent. One
strong reason for this is that the varying needs of
the commercial and industrial world are met and
strengthened by work in Y. M. C. A. classes. For
instance, there is one entire branch of the work
devoted to employes of railroads and always des
ignized as the “Railroad Y. M. C. A.” These meet
ing rooms are established near large railroad shops
and terminals and they average a daily attendance
in this country of 34,000 men. When it is re
membered that there are 1,200,000 men in the em
ploy of railroads in North America the need for this
work will be readily recognized. In addition to
the regular Association work done in the railroad
branches there are classes in practical railroad en
gineering, the handling and care of engines, etc.
$300,000 is annually contributed by large railroad
corporations toward this branch of the work which
is ample testimony of the estimate in which it is
held by railroad employers.
Special attention and training is given in
industrial work, such as the mechanical arts, cop
per, coal and gold mining, marble working, steel
manufacturing and almost every branch of me
chanical work in which young men are engaged.
This department appeals strongly to foreign born
men for it was noted that in one industrial branch
The Golden Age for November 22, 1906.
alone there were 22 different nationalities repre
sented.
The Railroad Y. M. C. A. In Atlanta.
As we go to press an event of more than local
interest is being enacted in Atlanta in connection
with the opening of a new home for’ the Atlanta
Railroad Y. M. C. A. This home consists of eight
perfectly equipped rooms furnished with every pos
sible device for comfort and convenience of its
members and situated in a desirable point for use
of railroad employes. The officials of all the in
terested rail lines entering Atlanta have been in
vited to attend this opening as all have expressed
interest in the event, some of the high officials be
ing themselves ardent Y. M. C. A. men
Mr. C. J. Hicks, of New York, and Mr. H. O.
Williams, of Richmond, Ya., senior railroad secre
tary of the International Committee of the Y. M.
C. A., will both be present and address the men
at the opening.
The entire day of the opening, Nov. 22, will be
marked by appropriate events, there being a re
ception given by the Ladies ’ Auxiliary in the
afternoon and a similar reception for men in the
evening when the speaking will occur. The occa
sion is one of which the young railroad men of
Atlanta may well be proud, and it is believed the
new branch of the great Y. M. C. A. Movement will
be thoroughly appreciated by all.
Separate Branches for Separate Classes of Men.
It has also been found expedient to found separate
branches of the work for the various types of men
of different nationalities with which the country is
now so full. There is a special department devoted,
to work among the Indians, also among colored
men, while soldiers and sailors have yet other
branches fitted for their special needs. The sail
ors, particularly, are helped by this work and in
ports where these young men land without friends
the presence of the Y. M. C. A. is a safeguard
from the manifold dangers and temptations which
beset the sailor when he is doing unaccustomed land
duty.
The Student and Mission Work.
While it is impossible to even mention every
phase of this wonderful work, yet we must speak
of the “Student* Diepajrtment ” where Christian
workers are trained for foreign mission fields.
There are 720 Student Associations with more than
50,000 members during 1905, while 275 workers
sailed for foreign fields making 3,000 Student Vol
unteer missionaries since the Volunteer Student
Movement began.
The work in foreign and non-Christian lands is
also constantly increasing for there were in 1905
300 Associations in 10 non-Christian countries with
60 English and American secretaries.
The Work in the South.
While every state in the south is characterized
by its full quota of active and useful Y. M .C. A.
work, and while there are splendid buildings for
the exclusive use of Y. M. C. A. purposes, there is
stilt heed for more activity in this line—-in other
words for more education of the people as to the
benefits of Y. M. C. A. work. In Georgia, and es
pecially in the capital city of Atlanta, the value
of this work has long been recognized and one
of the most enduring monuments to the late and
still lamented Henry W. Grady is the Y. M. C. A.
building in Atlanta. This building was secured for
the city by Mr. Grady’s personal efforts and
while entirely adequate at the time it was built it
is today too small for the many and increasing de
mands made upon it. The local seretary, Mr.
Walker White, is active in Association matters and
his work in Atlanta is ably furthered by his as
sistant, Mr. T. R. Weems, the Physical Director.
As has already been said, it is beyond the possi
bility of the subject to give it adequate attention in
an article of this length but in bringing the work of
the Young Men’s Christian Association before the
public it is hoped that even this brief mention will
serve as a sort of stimulus to the people for even
further support than that yet given, for it is safe
to predict a most brilliant and successful future for
any enterprise which is marked by such wonderful
achievements in the present and by a history so
nearly approaching the marvelous in the past.
Items of General Interest.
A Russian does not become of age until he is 26/
London’s population doubles in about forty-five
years.
More than 2,000 persons die of measles in London
every year.
The population of Chicago now almost exactly
equals that of Vienna.
Benares, the sacred city of India, is visited an
nually by nearly 2,000,000 pilgrims.
Yellow is far the most permanent color in flow
ers. It is the only one not affected by sulphurous
acid fumes.
The average size of a laborer’s family in England
and the United States is three persons; in Germany,
five persons.
Recent investigations show that snails have a
sense of smell, which, however, is not loeadized,
but extends over the greater part of the body.
In Bohemia courtships are abnormally long. In
that country engagements frequently last from
fifteen to twenty years.
The smallest thing with a backbone is the sina
rapan, a little fish recently discovered by scientists
in the Philippine Islands. It measures about 1-2
inch in length.
In the museum of the Louvre, Paris, is a pearl
necklace belonging to the Thiers family. The neck
lace was once worth $1,250,000, but the pearls are
dying, and in a few years they will be worthless.
Mrs. Garret A. Hobart, wife of the late Vice-
President, has given to the trustees of the First
Presbyterian Church of Paterson, N. J., ground on
which to erect a new church, and has also donated
$2,500 to the building fund.
Justin McCarthy, the historian and ex-leader of
the Irish party, is now living in retirement at
Westgate-on-Sea. McCarthy is still busy, but his
sight has become greatly impaired. He dictates for
an hour or two every morning to an amanuensis.
Lord Charles Beresford is a staunch teetotaler.
“I am now 60 years old,” he said recently, “and
since I have entirely given up wine, spirits, and beer
I find I find I can do as much work, both physically
and mentally, as when I was 30, if not more.”
The first Secretary of .the Chinese Legation in
St. Petersburg remarked the other day that the
Chinese government has a stronger hold on its
people than the Russian has on its own, and that
the Chinese people are less cultivated and more op
pressed.
When Arthur J. Balfour was Secretary for Ire
land he once asked the celebrated Father Healy:
“Do the Irish really hate me as much as the news
papers say?” The grim old wit replied: “My
dear sir, if they only hated the devil half as much
as they hate you, my occupation would be gone.”
It is a distinct tribute to the United States gov
ernment to note that during the present year there
has been but one case of yellow fever on the
Isthmus of Panama, directly due to the sanitary
precautions taken by our government. While there
are twenty one thousand men employed on the
Isthmus the average .sick list during August, the
most unhealthful month in that locality, was
only about forty-two to the thousand. This
condition of affairs is all the more remarkable when
it is remembered that the unhealthfulness of the
Isthmus was one of the principal bars to the work
of Count de Lesseps on the Panama Canal.