Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-17

these services The first open air sermon
ever listened to came from the lips of that
Christian soldier. Gen.O. o. Howard as he
stood on the street corner. addressing Y.
NJ C.. A. meeting. mounted upon q box
This purely religious work (which then en-
gagged the energies of the Y. M. c. A. Is
now done, and perhaps,to better advantage.
by other agencies, notably the Central
Union Mission. 81
There occur to me- as among our leaders
and supporters in our work. In the seventies
the names of William.J q. Rhees, one of the
surviving original members, believe; Will
liam Ballantyne, o. G. Wight, Charles B.
Bailey. Francis H. Smith, Warren Choate,
James Gilillan Elphenzo Youngs, E. w.
Woodruff, Jerome F. Johnson. Marshall B.
Cushman. c. H. Meriyin. alexander Bia-
B. Sleman. E. B. Barnum, Charles E. Fos-
ter, Fred T.. Pickford, William Lamborne,
Cornelius Burlew, Octavius Knight, L. L.
Crounse, A. S. Pratt, F. w. Pratt, Alfred
Wood and many others, some of whom are
still on the rolls of the association. The
general secretary was that devoted man.
George A. Hail.
Il wish the young men who manage the
affairs of the association Of today, and who
have brought its 9,ork to so high a plane
of usefulness might know how much we
all owe to the noble work of this pioneer
secretary. No man before or since has ever
done a better or more enduring work for
young men than he did in the early seven
ties.
Rev. John G.. Ames
my term of service as president of the
associa ton extended from 1873, when 1 sue
ceeded Maj. Thomas P. Morgan, who felt
constrained to resign the office on being
appointed chief of police Of the city, to 1883,
when, in consequence Of Ill health, I was
obliged to retire from active service
I'm 1873 the home of the association was
;,,oo IoJJ n%I-
subsequently burned and later rebuilt, and
now occupied for very different purposes
This building was erected by joint stock
company, primarily for the use of the asso-
citation, but some differences having arisen
between the directors of the association and
the representatives of the joint stock COM
pany the association found itself barred
from it's rooms on July 1, 1881, and was in
consequence compelled to seek quarters
elsewhere. 1t therefore removed Temporal
rily to 9O7 street, remaining there until
November I, 1881, when it removed to
rented quarters in S04 e street. the uues-
lions at issue having in the meantime been
referred to the courts for decision. 1t was
deemed best in order that future difficulties
and controversies might be avoided that
the association should sever all connection
with the joint stock company. The new
quarters, while serving as temporary eX-
pedient, were altogether unsuited for asso-
citation work, and therefore it was early
decided to make an effort to secure a
building elsewhere, more centrally located
and which should be the property of the
association itself. In these new quarters,
however, very delightful house warming
occurred on November %, 1884, when the
association welcomed it's secretary, Mr..
Harding to his new field of labor. On Feb
ruary 6, 1882, it was decided to purchase
what was then known as Chamberlins
Club House, located on New York avenue
between 18th and 18th Streets which was
formally occupied by the association Oc-
tober 16, 1882.
. ut is seen by this statement that this may
properly be denominated the migratory
or wilderness period of the associations
history, though it can hardly be said with
strict propriety that the time of It's resi-
dence in Lincoln Hall was period of bond
age, nor that when it had reached it's New
York avenue home it had then entered the
promised land-that was not reached until
later in it's history.
Among the interesting incidents of this
period may be mentioned the gathering
here of from 100 to $50 of the delegates to
the international convention held in Balti-
more in 1879, over which convention the
distinguished evangelist, Mr.. Moody, pre-
sided. The delegates visiting Washington
were received at the White House by Pres-
dent Hayes, who later in the day was him
self present at a general meeting to well
come them on the part of the Washington
public in Lincoln Hall. ] Ga.
"A course of popular lectures was main
tatned during the winter months many of
Which awakened much interest on the part
of the public. Among 2the most distin-
guished lecturers at that time We're Joseph
Cook, Archibald Forbes, the eminent war
correspondent; Prof. Proctor, the astron-
structive series of medical lectures and Of