The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-06-01

out asking permission they were all very
repentant"
DEBT AND IMPROVEMENTS
Movement to Make the Present Ag-
E gressive Y. M CA. Work Stronger.
The friends Of the Richmond Young
Mems Christian Association have every
reason to congratulate themselves upon
the splendid record of the week In fact,
the raising Of $4,000 towards the deDt5
anu Improvement fund was the greatest
event of the week, and there is @natur-
ally rejoicing: nevertheless, much & nard
work remains to be done Some few
have complained about there being a.
debt, yet when things are looked upon
in their true light there was no way to:
prevent it, and it seems to have been the
only wise policy. In 1894 when the splen-
did effort was made to relieve the xsso-s
citation OF its Indebtedness the work was
supposed to have been accomplished, out
hard times, death and failure had thelr
results, and pledges fell short IN pay
ment, leaving considerable dehclt.sl ne ne
continued hard times of '94 and % pre-
vented loyal friends from giving TO tae
debt fund and at the same time TO cur
rent expenses. This materially decreased
Lle ASSOCIATIONS IGVeuuSS, ShiAA - 5tSAAS
fall of '96 the directors faced two issues:
First, the problem Of bringing the cur
rent receipts up to a point where they
would meet the current need. They mad
been short $1,000 a year. The other issue
was to repair the seriously-out-of-repal
building and provide attractions that
would reach men and enlarge the mem
bership. The question of accomplishing
both objects during such hard times was
squarely faced and considered by the
Board of Directors, composed OF leading
business men. and decided to be mex
pedient, if not impossible, ana it was
deemed the only wise course to borrow
the money to make the much needed i'm
provements and to go to work at once to
bring the Association to point where
the current receipts would meet the cur
rent expenses BY hard work this was
accomplished with the assistance of the
splendid baths put in at that time. ana
from a membership OF little over i've
hundred the Association has grown TO
an average membership Of a thousand
Again. it is worthy of note that in the
fall of 1895 there were but III 81 mem
bers, and in 1896 the .'full'' membership
fee was advanced to SO, and two years
later, because Of the repairs and improve
ments and the energy put into the work,
the Association had an average OF five
hundred $40 members. A better invest
ment from a business standpoint could
hardly be imagined The work in most
departments has more than doubled. The
attendance at the building is unequalleu
by any public institution in the city of
Richmond, being over four hundred
day. Everybody recognizes the value
and practicah1lity of the baths and gym
nasium, reading room. library and night
educational classes for young men ana
boys; but this is not all. There is the
magnificent religious work. including
mems meeting. boys meeting and Bible
classes, and the work OF securing board
Ing houses and employment for young
men, the cordial reception rendered
strangers and visitors. And perhaps
greater than all is the fact that the
Richmond Association is but link In
a great chain of fifteen hundred links
in the Unitedi States and Canada and
through its potent influences young men
are being brought in touch with similar
work all through the land. and the
stranger coming to our city is brought
in touch with our work.
Again. it is worthy of note that the As
ISOLATION is managed by fifteen leading
business men, representing the various
churches Of our city. These men give
their time without stint. also give liberal
ly of their means. and now that this
movement has been inaugurated by these
gentlemen assisted by leading citizens,
they should not be required to spend days
and weeks in personal calls upon bust
mes men for assistance. nichmonders
should respond to this call and the SIS, $50
still needed to make up the $4,000 SHOULD
be volunteered. Al more noble and eff
fective work would be hard to imagine.
True, the Association is not primarily a
work of rescue, it is largely a work of
prevention which is of transcendent inn
portance.
The Times will gladly receive subscrip-
lions to this fund, and turn them over to
the committee, of which Mr.. Langbourne
NJ. Williams is chairman and Mr.. S. K.
Mckee, secretary or they may be sent to
any of the following gentlemen. who are
members OF the committee: Messrs. no.
S. Bosher, E. B: Addison, S. W.ZTravers,
W. J. Whitehurst, H. A. Ills, II. u.
Eichelberger, Joseph Bryan, John r
Branch, J. Taylor Ellyson, J. D. Crump,
J. r. ". Daniel,T. D. Merrick, John 9.
Freeman and James Lewis Anderson
The repairs asked for are of Importance
and include the equipment = rooms for
bows. There is no more important work
than that Of reaching the boys Of ten
to seventeen years of age and we sincere
ly hope that every dollar of this need
will he supplied and that speedily in order
that the directors and committeeman may
have the Improvements complete for the
fall opening.