The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-06-30
7. NJ. c. A.
Laying Of the Corner Stone Of the
New Building Yesterday.
A BEAUTIFUL DAY AND LARGE AU-
DIENCE WITNESS THE
CEREMONY.

Many of the City Clergymen Take Part
in the Observation-Disclosures by Mayor
Randall and Rev. Mr.. Ayres-Contents
of the Box-Fine Singing.
Yesterday afternoon at 2 O'Clock large
number of well known ladies and gentle
men gathered at the new building, IN
process of erection for the Young Mems
Christian Association at the head OF High
and Free streets, to take part in the lay
ing of the corner stone. President Fay
son, Superintendent Garland, Mayor
Randall and many of the clergymen OF
the city, occupied seats on the platform In
front of the derrick from which the large
block of granite intended for the corner
stone, depended.
The exercises began with singing by
the male quartette, followed by the read
ing of appropriate passages from the
Scriptures by Rev. Dr. G. W. Parsons OF
Chestnut Street church, after which Rev.
DIR. Asa Dalton of ST. Stephens, offered
prayer, followed by response from the
quartette. Rev. W. S. Ayres of the First
Baptist church then delivered this address:
REV. MR.. AYRES'S ADDRESS.
The most valuable thing any commun-
ity can have is a man. You have heard
business men say that what we need here
is great manufacturing corporation
| bringing business to our city. That may
| be true but man is worth more than a
mill Because this is a day of machinery
we are in danger of depreclatlng the man
| who makes the machine. 1t is easy to
make machine do the work of twenty
men. but one man of the true type is
worth more to community than hun
dred machines. 1t is a certain token of
| degeneration when we have come to think
| more of our machinery than of our men.
| Steel is cheaper than blood. The charge
| that our age measures men by their
machine value is an outrageous calumny,
| unless it be true-in which case it is a
sure prophecy of social ruin. This build
| ing which we are about to erect is an in
| dication that we believe in the man, and
| accept it as our trust to make him all
| that he can be made.
| We are about to celebrate our national
birthday When we first stood for liberty
we had arrayed against us the resources
| of great nation. We had little wealth.
| We had no trained soldiers. We scarcely
| had ammunition, but we had a man and
| that man was more than match for all
| the forces which could be rallied against
| us.
| At last we have discovered that we are
| all working for the same end-buSineSs
man, statesman, reformer ana preacher
| 1t has taken long while to learn it but
| wise men everywhere are admitting now
| that commercial prosperity is linked in
| dissolubly with our standard of manhood
that the only craftsmanship worthy OF
the name is that which develops men. and
even all reformauory effort is useless
which does not begin with the man. The
revival of business which overlooks the
culture of the man is doomed to ultimate
failure. The patriotism we want to de
| velop in this country Is not that which
shouts for war on the least provocation
but that which goes Quietly about the
development of citizens of whom any
nation would be proud. We say that il
our country the voter is the sovereign. i
eign shift for himself and care not how
he lives if only his vote is cast for .Oul
party.
This building stands for the truest form
of patriotism. Its purpose is to make
men who are fit to rule. And we nee(
that more than we need more silver
More even than we need a tariff.
Society was never studied so earnestl.
as in this day. The profoundest revelation
of the modern consciousness is that
man lives for society. Then societ,
should make the man. Then there is NJ
institution which SO appeals to us as tina
one which proposes to fit men for the per
Torrance of their duty to society. Tha
is the sole aim of the Y M. G.. A. TIL
great Caesar had horse marvellous il
his own way as the General. He hat
trained him for himself. Nobody couls
mount him but Caesar. When societ,
shall say to our young men, 1--WE CLAIM
you for our service, we will train you TO
ourselves, nobody may use you but our
Selves" then society will achieve some
thing of which it may well be proud
The building then belongs to the Who'll
community because it serves the com
munity. 1t is fair perhaps to say tina
the interest we take in such an institll
ton as this reveals our faith in the man.
The worth of any individual to tn
community depends on what we are abb
to make of him. Mr.. Chauncey Depev
after reviewing the great railroad system
under his management paid the highes
tribute to the Young Mems Christian AS
| sociations connected with the road. Fl
said the New York Central road ha
| better conductors, better brakement, bet
ter engineers and fremen because of thei
work They had the best engines made
before, the most palatial cars, but it take
| more than perfect engine and palac
car to make a train-it takes a man. Th
tprosperity of every business in our mids
is linked with the work of this aSSocia
ton, because when they make better me
they make better clerks, better cashier
and better superintendent.
The greatness of any community
shown by the value it sets on men.
visited large city little while ag
which had spent many thousands of do
lars on the encouragement of horse breed
ing and a fine race track, and the Y. M.
A. which proposes to make men did it