The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1893-06-23
THE NEW SECRETARY.
CORDIALLY WELCOMED AT THE
Y. M. C. A.
Ex-Secretary Peck Eulogized Tntere st
ing Exercises Last Night at
Association Hall.

evening 10 attenu the dual reception
given in honor of the incoming secre-
tary, d. w. Corbett, and the retiring
secretary, H. w. Peck. H. +. WITCH.
man occupied the chair The first
item on the program was a violin solo
by Mr.. Wall c. B. Ripley, president
Of the association, gave the address Of
welcome to the incoming secretary,
and in a cordial and hearty manner
welcomed him to the association and
homes of the citizens. Mr.. Ripley
spoke very warmly of the hospitality he
himself had received on coming to the
Islands some three years ago
Mr. Corbett replied, thanking the
president for his words of welcome,
after which he spoke of the three-fold
work Of the Young Mems Christian
Association Its work Of rescue; its
work of prevention and its work of
education.
It's WORK OF RESCUE This is not
its first, or necessarily most important
work, but it is first in the order of our
thought this evening.
AS building is much easier torn
down than rebuilt, so it is with the
destruction of human character. 1t is
very easy 10 tear down it is not so
easy to build up, Now, of course, a
work that looks to the building of
destroyed manhood and the rebuilding
of character must necessarily be difficult
of accomplishment. And yet this work
needs to be done. There are men
down and they need to be lifted up,
and so one of the phases of our work is
illustrated by that hymn:
"Rescue the pershing, care for the dying,
Watch them in pity from sin and the grave. "
The Work OF PREVENTION. - l
wish to emphasize this part of our work.
There comes into your city young man
from the United States. He is an
entire stranger to city of homes with
out home He rents a room some
where, but at nighttime he comes
into the street for life, excitement
and fellowship. There are usually two
places open to him day and night :
I. Y. M. c. A g. Saloon.
Suppose he wanders into the Associ-
alton, welcomed by a hearty hand
shake, strays into the reading room,
finds books and papers, He goes into
the gymnasium, finds men building up
their bodies. He goes out and in, and
by and by hears sound of some
familiar Gospel hymn, and strays, all
urconsciously, into a Gospel meeting,
There he hears about Christ, perhaps
in way he has never heard before;
Christ for the young man, and he takes
that Saviour as his Saviour; he is con-
verted, as we say, and he becomes a
member Of the Church.
There are two methods of meeting
method of resistance, and
method Of counter attraction. The
method of resistance is illustrated by
the old story in Greek mythology of
Ulysses, who when he had to sail past
the point where the sirens sang and
lured men to destruction, had his sea-
men fill their ears with wax and bind
him to the mast so that he could not,
and they hearing not, would not yield
to the seductive songs as others had,
and be dashed to pieces on the rocks.
The other method is that of counter
attraction, which is illustrated by an
other story of Greek mythology, that of
the voyage of the Arg 1nauts, who when
they had to sail past the same point
took with them Orpheus, sweet singer,
and when the sirens sang their sweetest
they cared not because they had with
them one whose songs were truer and
better.
My friends, it is not so much our
duty to reach these men after they
have found their way into the saloons
and places of evil, as it is to keep them
from going into those places. 1t is not
our place to answer the inhdel argu-
ments of young men so much as it is
to keep them from reading those books
by supplying better books; it is not our
duty SO much to help them after they
have gotten down, as it is to keep
them from going down. This is the
very genius ofthe work for boys. 1t is
said that small boy in New York ran
up in his haste and thoughtlessness
against great gruff man on the street,
who said, "But what are you, anyway. u
The boy replied, 81 am the stuff they
make men Of
Engineer Kennard lay dying, and
dying horribly under the locomotive
that had turned on him in the fearful
wreck. Willing hands were stretched
out to help him, but he said, "Never
mind me, boys, flag that second
Atlantic" There are men in our midst
whom it may be too late to reach, but
we have the boys in this city
THE Work OF EDUCATION The
association educates in a three fold
way. 1t develops the young man
physically; it teaches him that he who
controls his physical power for Jesus
Christ as truly serves God in a gymna
stun as the prayer meetings Second
it educates through its evening classe!
and fits men in lines that will be usefu
in every day life. But more impor