The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-05-18
MARION YIN. c. A. BUILDING
OF $4,000 NEEDED S27 900 HAVE Al
READY BEEN SUBSCRIBED.
Judge Baldwin Delivers Interesting
Address I'm Behalf of the Movement
The Scope of Association Work.
pecial to the Indianapolis Journal.


MARION, Ind, May I.-Judge D. p.
Baldwin, of Logansport, addressed a large
audience here to-day in behalf Of the local
Y. M. C. A. An effort is being made to Sc
cure the erection Of an association building
to cost $4,000; of which s27, 900 has already
been subscribed. Judge Baldwin is very
popular here and his address was well re-
ceived. He spoke, in part, as follows:
Amy well-regulated Y. NJ. c.. A. is in
some respects a church, but church with
out the usual machinery of preachers and
deacons. It's doors are always open from
a. m. Monday to 10 p. m. Saturday, and
wide open, and its biggest congregation
comes invariably in the evening 1t sup
ports all kinds Of muscular Christianity
baseball, cricket boxing, rowing and what
not While by no means ignoring prayer,
it does not pray to be seen heard and talked
about. 1t Grams religion down no persons
throat, and the most successful Y. M. c. A.
is that which has passed the goody-goody
stage. Its doors are all open to young
men, Christian or pagan. and it probably
gathers more of the latter class than the
former 1t never asks what church you be-
long to, in its management nor does it mat
ter, when it comes to enjoying its benefits,
whether you belong to any church at all.
at is built both for young men with
homes and for the homeless. There comes
time in every boys life when he wants
to give his sisters the go-by and cut loose
from his mothers apron strings. This is a
universal and natural impulse, and I would
not give a straw for young man who has
not experienced it. 1t is Natures CALL the
outcome OF which is the founding of the
future home and family. No well-regulated
parent can afford to ignore it. Where shall
our young Hedging go? Where shall he
spend the time when parental and maternal
control is about TO end? Downtown? Yes,
that is inevitable. But where downtown?
At the club? At the saloon? On the street
corners or where? Why should the devil
have all the attractive places of recreation
and resort? Why the warm and friendly
saloon and the stiff, conventional church
parlor? Girls are well and their society
and influence invaluable. But spirited
boy doesn't want girls all the time. He
all right but what kind of men? And the
case with the homeless young man is still
stronger. There is no trouble with him
during his working hours. The devil is
too smart to fool with busy man, for he
knows ii is only time lost And so he waits
until the young man living in boarding
house has finished his supper and got his
downtown clothes on and then he goes for
him. The devil knows very well that while
men will fight to the death for his home.
any man was willing to die for his boarding
house his landlady. Where shall the
homeless young mamie from the country,
with the dew of his purity fresh and unsul-
lied upon him. spend his evenings? He
must and will have company, and the ques-
ton is, What kind? Where shall he find
It? Upon the street corner or in the warm.
or where? Every healthy-minded young
man refuses to spend all his evenings in
the church society. If he goes there (and
or twice a week there are five or six other
evenings to be filled. Of course, he reads,
but man shall not and cannot live by books
alone. There comes a time when books are
a thorn in the flesh, and our youth needs
human companionship. Now, the Y. M.
c. A.. Is organized mainly to meet this
crying want in our young men, This Y
devil upon his own ground and, in part,
with his own weapons. Its idea Is an at
tractive clubhouse upon the most attractive
furnished and with such attractive COM
pany and surroundings that shall make
saloons and street corners look silly and
foolish. Besides the reading and social
rooms. It furnishes the bathrooms, the
gymnasium. the athletic field and what not
for exercise and amusement. At Indianapo-
U.s. IN hs fres C. and are lot sas Of
desk q card saying, Write to your folks at
home" Then, there are the chess and
rooms I don't know that / should recon-
mend a smoking room, although great
smoker myself. Certainly / would not con-
denim a youth of otherwise useful habits
where does the CO of the Y NJ. c. A.
come in? If you don't pray and sing and
read the Bible at such meetings. how can
you arrogate the title Of Christian? Easy
enough. Christianity, as the late President
Harrison once said, is not a rosette TO be
worn in your button hole, or cockade
to put on your hat, but something TO put
into your heart to warm up your whole
character There are vastly more Chris
tians than ever get their names upon our
church rolls. The conscious Christianity is
one of the great powers of the world. Mil
lions of men and women are sweet, pure
and true-friendly. big-hearted and helpful.
who only oscasionaly see tne ir, inside 1I
take exceptions to this statement, but will
only be glad that 1t is true.
Personal fnfiuence-the warmth of hand
in hand and the ma gnetism of eye to eye
are the greatest of Christian medicines.
The profounGest principle Of ethics is the
impotence of impersonalized truth. Abstract
truth is for the most part useless truth.
Plato and Bacon, great and mighty truth
tellers, molder in our libraries. Our Saw
iors strongest point was that He lived the
truth. He never wrote a book. He talked
off-hand and His talk was so fascinating
that His disciples gathered up a few sem
fences of it here and there and made the
will look you will find that the New Testa-
ment is made UP mostly of the works of
Christ, of His treatment of the sick, helping
men and women out OF tight places in
word of q brave unselfsh life. In the
pompous words OF the theologan, Christ
was an incarnation. That means that He
was a living and sociable truth, a thing
up to that time unheard of, that the world
has ever since, in its gratitude, called Him
Our Savior Now the real Y. NJ. c. A.
work and workers are built upon this plan
They are the youths with what / cali the
gift of approach They are the best Y NJ
c. a. workers who can make up to you and
soon get the key to your pocketbook, which
lies unfortunately much lower down upon
a mans trunk than his heart. The good
Y NJ. c. a. brother is not of necessity a
goody-goody. In fact he eschews this kind
of work. He is content with ordinary SYM
pathy and kindness and lets il rest at that
1t requires man of large common sense
to fill the office of Y. NJ. c. A. secretary"
Church Dedication mt Decatur.
cnacfaI IN the Tuafananoifs journal