Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-07-25
Efforts of the Y. M. O. A. Directed
to That End.
WHAT SECY PUGH SAYS ABOUT IT
Several Generous Offers Have AL
ready Been Made.
A MEETING TOM ROW

Many members Of the Young Mems Chris
:ian Association visited the ruins of their
old home all day today, and mourned over
the loss of the building and the equipment
of the association. But the ruins were
hardly cold before the spirit of rebuilding
sprang, phoenix-lke, from the wreck. Sec
rotary Pugh reached town last evening
from Pennsylvania, where he and his wife
have been spending a short vacation, and,
with characteristic energy. he began to
start thu work of raising funds for the new
association building that, he says. will be
erected as surely as the old one was
burned.
and" says Mr. Pugh, cit will be a credit
to the city, and great addition to the new
Washington. 1t will cost a good deal of
money to do it, and We have all got to
work hard and make sacrifices, but have
supreme confidence that the friends Of the
association will stand by us in this emer-
gency, and that in short time the ball
will DE rolling swiftly toward a fine, ew
home"
Temporary Quarters.
The first thing to be done is to provide
temporary quarters for the association, for,
the secretary says, "the boys must have
a loafirg place" Mr. Pugh started in at
once this morning to provide quarters. and
in short time it was announced that for
the present the association office would be
located at the Foundry Church, at the cor
ner of 14th and G streets, just around the
corner from the old house. But this will
be only for a short time, as 1t is recognized
that the members do not care to be restrict
ed to church building, and would prefer
some other place, even If there is but one
room. So Mr.. Pugh opened negotiations
with the owners Of an office building on the
same block as the old house, and 1t is
probable that in few hours the members
will be informed that the officers are settled
for the present in this place. and that they
will be just as welcome to that place at
all times as they always were at the other
Sympathy Expressed.
Letters of sympathy began to- pour in
upon Mr.. Pugh at once. One of the earliest
received was from Rev. E. D. Bailey of the
board of managers Of the Central Union
Mission, saying:
You have my cordial sympathy in the
calamity which has befallen the Y NJ c.
A. I only hope your building was well in.
sured. SO that you can rebuild at once.
I have just written to Mr.. Williamson. in
wiling the association to take up quarters
in the mission building until better ar
rangements are made. 1 think we could
make you comfortable there and 1t would
be real pleasure to render such assist
ance. I hope you will accept the invita-
ton"
On consideration it was concluded that
it would be better to keep the temporary
quarters of the association in the same vi
cinity as the old building, and so this in
vitation has not yet been accepted.
The New Building Boom.
The editorial that was printed in last
evenings Star has started the rebuilding
plan in fine shape. On every hand this
morning the members of the association
were commenting on the value Of the sug
gestions therein contained, and already the
spirit of giving is abroad in the land.
There was preliminary meeting Of the
board of trustees OF the association held
last evening" and it was decided to place
the work of raising the fund in the hands
of the building ard finance committees.
Mr.. John B. Larner is chairman of the for
mer, and Mr.. S. W. Woodward of the lat
ter. The thanks of the board were tender
cd to Ths Star and the other newspapers
e.. the city for their prompt and hearty
support In the movement for new build
ing. and President L. Cabell Williamson
and Recording Secretary Lichliter were
appointed a press committee.
There will be q further meeting Of the
board of trustees tomorrow at 1880 o'clock
in the offices of B. H. Warner & Co.. 916
F street. at which further plans will be
discussed. 1t is expected that by this time
there will be some large subscriptions to
be announced. Indeed there has already
been something done in this line. Mr.. B. H.
Warner this morning told a reporter for
The Star that he would be one of twenty
five men to give $1,000 for rebuilding
enterprise, and one of his partners, Mr..
G. W. F. Swartzell, announced that he
would be another of this number.
The Financial Situation.
So far no definite ideas have been formu-
lated by the officers or members of the as
ISOLATION In regard to the amount of money
that will be needed for the project of re-
building the home of tn. organization. Mr..
Pugh stated this morning that the total in
debtedness of the association will be be-
tween $1,000 and 5000. 1t will not exceed
the latter figure. This can be liquidated
out of the insurance money, $l4,5OO, which
will leave balance of $3.50. at the least.
AS the contents of the buildings, so far as
is now known. were totally destroyed by
the fire, the association will possess, when
the site is cleared of the ruins, this amount
in cash and the lot on New York avenue.
which contains 1900 square feet.
Mr.. Pugf's first general estimate is that
the rev home Of the association should
cost not less than $150,000 He has already
had offers from real estate agents in con-
siderable number suggesting lots of ground
of various degrees of availability and or
different sizes. as sites for the new asso-
citation house. One of these Is on H street
between 18th and 14th streets, and an
other is on Massachusetts, avenue between
the same streets Mr.. Pugh does not think
that 1t would be good policy to attempt
to rebuild On the same site, as he believes
the new association building should he OF
such dimensions and Of such character
as to require at least 10000 square feet of
ground
To Build for the Future.
.oThe people of Washington" he said,
| will be ashamed of us in three years If
| we attempt now to rebuild on the old site.
| for we would be obliged to put up build
ing that would be totally inadequate In
that period. and the result would be most
disastrous to the association. We have had
for five years an average membership OF
11SO, 1 believe we ought to have in a
city of this size 1900 at the very least,
| and, indeed that is very small number
We could easily secure that number If we
possessed the proper facilities for all the
branches of the work. Dayton, Ohio, with
| 40 600 inhabitants, mas 1000 members in its
Y. NJ C. A. There. were during the last
| YEAR 333 members in the educational de-
| partment, and there should have been
1000, but we simply could not handle any
more than this number in our poorly
| equipped building.
| "If today we erect a building costing
| $4,000 on the old lot we will attract a
| great many members perhaps, and in two
1 oxr-in he, U6pd n 16