The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-09-19
TALK FOR Y.M.C.A.
President Beardsley of Kansas
City i'm Topeka.
Explains Why an Up-tO-Date
Building Is Needed.


The morning service at the First
Methodist church Sunday was given
over to the city Y. NJ c. A, and Mr.
H. NJ. Beardsley delivered an address
upon the work of the Y. NJ. c. A. The
service was for the purpose of arous-
ing interest in the work o& the Y NJ
c. A. and especially in the new build
ing which the Topeka association is
now raising funds to erect.
] During the past week the subscrip-
tions to the building fund have been
/ increased by more than $500, and the
fund now amounts to $S2,255 1t is pro-
posed to raise $4,000, which will be
sufficient to erect a handsome and
commodious building for the use of the
young men of Topeka.
| Mr.. Beardsley is the president of the
/ Kansas City Y. NJ. c. A. and he has
given considerable study to the work
of the association. He is an excep-
tionally pleasing speaker, and his ad-
dress dweIt upon the good the Young
Mems Christian association does the
cities in which it works in raising the
standard of citizenship, and the benefit
it is 20 the men who come under its
influence in helping them in a personal
way.
Mr.. Beardsley dealt with the pro-
blems which the cities of this country
have to meet. and after reviewing them
briefly he called attention to the fact,
that, after all, the great desire of every
father and mother is that their boy
shall grow up into a manly Christian
man. The purpose of the Young Mems
CHRISTIAN aSSoc1at ton is to help to
bring this. about Its physical depart
ment meets the need for proper physi-
cal development which exists in the
1Fwr.~4 -
the active life OF the farms to the con-
finement of Office and store. The .physi-
cal director is given the opportunity
of getting close to the lives of men
examination, and is thus able to save
many fellows, who are going astray,
from making wrecks of themselves
In my association with the men in
hands," said Mr.. Beardsley, Il have Of
ten discussed with them the question of
why the saloon is so popular with the
working men, and the answer has re-
peatedly been because of the social ele-
ment. Through their social life men
are being ruined, and it is through the
power of the social life which the
Young Mems Christian Association
partment is giving to 10000 men the op-
portunity to attend splendid night
schools and to thus make themselves of
value to :heir employers and able to
"A railroad president at recent
gathering in the east, discussing the
reason so many reading rooms are fail
ures in their effort to help men, said
that the reason they failed and the Y.
NJ. G. A. succeeded is because of their
lack of the religious element, the spirit
of self-sacrif1ce which is in the Y M c.
A. 1t is the religious life in the associ-
alton which makes it succeed-the
sacrifice of it's secretaries and it's di-
rectorS and committee men,
.,s-u- -
A. is needed to do religious work. Does
it not detract from the church? tell
them no; that every young man whom |
the church sends to work in the Y. NJ.
c. A. becomes like the rope from the |
stranded vessel to the life saving sta
tion; back over it comes man after !
man, and back, through eacn mans ef- |
fort man after man is brought into the |
THE Y. NJ. c. A. is the institutional
arm of the church. I question whether |
there is a church in Topeka that could |
afford to support all these different at |
fractions and activities for young men. |
much less are the fifteen or twenty |
churches able to do it. But the churches |
can. and do, do this essential and prac- |
tical Christian service for men and wo- /
men through the Young Mems and |
Young Women's Christian association |
In an eastern city the head of the |
family was carried away in the prime |
OF his manhood and the wife was LETT 1
with a young son and a small but am !
pie fortune. Her whole thought was to |
so use this money that it might be of |
the greatest benefit to her son as he |
grew up into a useful manhood, but at |
the age of thirteen he. too, was taken
home and she was left alone. Through
the secretary of the Y. NJ. c. a. she |
became interested in the problem of the /
young men of the town and the need !
Of a building. She first agreed to give
500. 900 on condition that a like amount |
was raised in the city. AS she became
more interested she increased this
amount until finally she gave nearly
the entire amount necessary for the
building that was above the ground.
The opening Sunday came and be-
fore the rooms were opened she was
alone in the building looking it over.
Then as the men began to assemble she
went into the secretary's office where
she could see without being seen and
when the seven or eight hundred men
VINO were assembled there began to
sing that great hymn. All Hail the
Power of Jesus Name the tears
streamed down over her face as she re-
allied that this building which she had
been enabled to help build was to go
down through the years blessing untold
numbers of men,
Secretary Lerrigo announces that on
October 4 George B. Hodge of New
York. international education secretary,
will be mere and will give stereopticon
address. showing the educational equip
ment of various Y. Nj. c. A. buildings, |
and telling what the association is do
ing in an educational way.