The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1890-01-29
AN IMPORTANT QUESTION.
Shall the Saloon or the Church Attract
Young Men?

AouhS A"S"'
The Young Mems Christian Associa.
ton of Minneapolis on recent Satur-
day night stationed an inspector at the
door of some two hundred of the saloons
of that city. The purpose was to count
the number of men and boys between
the ages of sixteen and forty who en-
tered these saloons between eight and
nine o'clock. An actual count, together
with estimates based upon it, indicated
that eight thousand persons entered
those places within one hour. Mime
apolis is a city of between two hundred
thousand and two hundred and fifty
thousand people. Therefore, one per.
son in every twenty-five or thirty in the
entire population, including children
and women, become inmates of saloons
in this short time. This fact is of
significance most startling. We have
often referred to the power of the saloon
in politics. This power Is great. But
the power Of the saloon over individual
life is greater, more comprehensive and
more intimate, than is its power in polit-
ical Vaccinations. The fact is ono
which the social philosopher as we'll as
the Christian philanthropist should con-
slider we'll.
1t is probable that many of these
young men did not enter the saloon for
the purpose of drinking liquor. OF
course, hundreds of them did enter with
this purpose, but other hundreds and
probably thousands entered for the sake
of the warmth and light, the music and
the sociability which belong to the
saloon One saloon in Minneapolis
which offers concert had some five
hundred visitors in this brief space of
one hour. Every city has thousands Of
homeless young men. The place they
compliment by calling it 'home" is a
room in an attic, bare, cold, cherries;
every evening turns them upon the
street; from the street they drift into
the saloon, which is at once morally pes
tiferous and socially congenial.
This fact carries with 1t a lesson Of seri-
Gus Importance. 1t is this: The duty OF
the churches to open rooms either in
their house of worship or to hire rooms
where young men may under the best
conditions find that goodly fellowship
which they desire. We believe the
church is spiritual institution; we be.
lieve that its methods should be evan
gelistic. But there are many men with
out the ordinary comforts of civilized
life whom it may be able to reach
through the agency of good fellowship.
The Young Mems Christian Association,
which represents the churches and
through which the churches themselves
work, should establish attractive centers
of influence in all parts of the great
cities Let the saloon be fought on Its
own ground. We fear that too many as
sociations are inclined to build expen
sive and elegant buildings, which are
however, none too elegant or expensive
in parts of the town remote from the
haunts of vice and the saloon-ridden dis
tricts. These associations, like the
churches, should carry their noble ant
attractive agencies to those parts of the
city where young men are found. Tit
devil should be fought not with the dew
lis weapons when they are wrong; bu
the devil should be fought with thos'
weapons which belong far more to Goo
than to Satan, goodly fellowship, goodl.
cheer, and the warmth of social inter
course and the light of intellectual en-
lightenment.-Chica Advance.