The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-07-18
wELL-DIREorED BENEyoLENcE.

vanderbiit's Premium for Mental and Moral
Improvement of His Employees.
Special to the Indianapolis Journal.
NEW YORK, July 17.-Work has begun on the
edifice to be erected by Cornelius Vanderbilt.
close oy the Grand Central Depot, for the mental
and moral Improvement of the employees of the
Vanderbilt railroads The architects plans
were complete before the enterprise was made
public, and contracts for the stone and brick
had been made Ground for the foundation
has now been broken. Cornelius Vanderbilt is
deeply interested in the scheme, and has come
into town from Newport to see it started. ''WiAd
notions have been engendered by this perfectly
simple thing" he said, in reply to inquiries. al
have heard that schools in rairoading were
to be a feature; also, that all en-
ployes on our lines would be required
to be Cfistians, according to a standard of ex-
animation established by me- and so on through
a ridiculous lot of fancies. Now, all that is
comprehended in the intention of this house is
to provide quarters wherein our men, in their
idle hours, may spend their time to their own
advantage. Practically, that means reading
rooms, where daily and weekly journals, the
magazines and library will be at the command
of the frequenters; gymnasium, In which the
teachers and apparatus requisite Tor pleasant
and beneficial exercises will be maintained, and
and a hall for secular entertainment and re-
ligous worship am a churchman and wish
that every man in our employ was the same;
but shall have no irritating evangelism done
in this building. The men viii be cordially in
vited TO attend the regular prayer-meetings, the
Sunday schools and the sermons, but it is a
curiously absurd error to suppose that mean
to coerce them in the least. There's no such
thing as making Christians of railroaders by
force, any more than other men,
Mr.. Vanderbilt was asked if the rurnor was
true that Sam Jones had applied for permission
to hold revival meetings in the new house. with
the desperate and forlorn purpose of saving rail
road employees from the general evil of their
lives
''It is true that have received propositions
from many persons, including several revival
Hts was the reply looking to special labor in the
building, but shall decline all such suggestions.
No, no; there will be no treatment of railroaders
as though they were wickeder than the average
of men. They're not. They are above it-far
above No sane manager OF railroad employs
drunkards, or men in any way reckless At the
same time, the irregularty of their hours, the
spending of their leisure here and there, away
from home, and perhaps the hurly burly of their
business. tends to make them irrelgous. What
they need is place always at hand to spend an
idle hour in, and whore they will find all the in
fiuences good. In the basement of this building
1.-THE Grand Central Depot, in which the conver.
sation was held we have .az4d hall open
day and night for six years on the same plan.
The new house will be enlargement of the fa-
cilities-that's all Therell be plenty of news
papers. without discrimination as to politics;
the selection of weekly journals will exclude
only those that are notorionsly vicious the books
will include instructive works, especially in NOR
ais and railroadng, but will not stop short of
good fiction; the gymnasium WILL no doubt, have
boxing gloves. along with the other appliances
for physical culture, though l don't think there
will be any slugging matches; and the religious
influences and services will be non-sectarian. but
earnest and, hope, effective; though shall
not let loose any wild reviyalists upon our men,
as though they were awful sinners"
Shall you conduct religious meetings in per-
son."
Occasionally, no doubt, as I have done here
tofore; but am not gifted in that way and shall
try to provide better men for that duty"