The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1906-10-19
YOUNG MEMS CHRISTIAN
ASSOCIATION.

Association? Ine pest uenniIloh VIC
have yet heard given, is that 1T is
the church at work for the definite
purpose of helping young men and
boys"
One of the speakers at the First
Presbyterian church Sunday night,
seemed to belittle the social feature of
the Y. NJ. C. A. And we have heard
others endorse him along that line
with the remark that Columbia does
not need any more clubs" Neither
does Columbia need any more church
es, or Sunday-schools, or prayer places.
But Columbia does need a thoroughly
equipped. well-rounded, Young Mems
Christian Association. and the Club
features of that, which is nothing more
than the social features, is just as i'm
portant as the gymnasium, or the
bowling alley, or the reading room, or
the Bible class, or any other one fea-
ture of complete Young Mems Chris
tian Association.
Mr.. McGill, State Secretary, and who
ought to know something about this
work, does not agree with the state
ment that you do not have to dress
it up, that you do not have to allure the
boys there" On the contrary he distinct
ly thinks that you do. He says that II
all the boys were crOwding over each
other to get to a Bible class or place
for prayer, the church and the Sunday
school could do the work; but 1t Is
because the boys and young men DO
not want good literature; do not want
Bible study, that the Y. M. c. A., Is at
work to allure" them, If you prefer
the word, to a place where good In
fiuences will be thrown around them
and so develop their moral character
that they will begin to look for the
hest thing in the world, which is
found in the service of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Rev. Mr.. Cherry resents the use OF
the word religious" for any special
feature Of the Y. M. C. A. work. He
claims that it is all religious; that the
institution itself is religious; that the
physical training, social pleasures
bowling and bathing, are all religious
exercises; and that the purpose OF
the Y. M. C. A. is to develop the MAN;
not the social, exclusively, or the ply
steal. exclusively, or the mental, or
moral, or spiritual, exclusively, but
the MAN, mind, soul and body. And
certainly that is the right view OF 1t.
w. r. Webb, who has done more for
education than any other man In Ten
nessee, and who has given the Boy
Problem" longer study, placed himself
on record as opposed to the "lop-sided
man." and certainly the young man
without his social side developed is
"lop-sided."
And all the workers with whom we
talked during the recent Y. M. e. A.
convention spoke of the social, or
club" feature if you please, as the
drawing card to Y. M. c. A. 1t is
through the love of social life that the
young men are first induced to join
the association and visit its rooms;
then by tactful methods they are
weaned from bad habits and taught
higher ideals.
Another impression we wish to CON-
bat is that the local association has
been a failure; that it has done no
good. The men who talk that don't
go about the Association rooms
enough to know. Considering the lit
tie that has been done for the Associa-
ton, we think it has done remarkably
well. 1t has not reached as many
young men as it should, but 1t has
weaned quite a number of boys from
loafing at worse places. The same
speaker to whom we have alluded
said that a better place for these boys
while the speaker is dealing in theory,
the Association is dealing with facts.
The fact is the boys are not kept at
home; and as they will not be kept
at home, and will not stay at home,
the Association offers a better place
for them than the streets and invites
them to meet there And that is what
the Association is for; for the boys
who have no homes, or whose parents
cannot or will not keep them there.
And, as Home kept youths have
homely Wits there are some parents
who prefer not to keep their
larger boys tied to their