The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-04-29
WEATHER FORECAST.
 washinGten. April 2s-For Alabama and Mississippa-Fair sfonday and Tues- day, except occasional thunderstorms in the interiory light seath winds.

lis the opportunity. for usefulness of the Y, M. c. A, greater than among Americans in the Philippines. Porto Rico, Cuba and on the Isthmus of Panama. It is inevitable that a great majority of the Americans who got first to our tropical dependencies, long distance from the United States. should be wandering and irre- sponsible." .
 He pointed out that even staid and upright men of good habits at home often yielded, when in the tropics. to dissipate. This was due in a meas ure, he thought. to the fact that there were few placas of amusement, the libraries were insufficient and home surroundings were lacking. This, he thought. was particularly un- fortunate for the men themselves and on account of the public example in view of what we are trying to do with these tropical peoples in the Philippines.
 Nothing contributes n1ore." said the secretary. ito the support of the views of opponents in our politics and pro- gress than the presence in Manila and other cities and towns of absolute Americans. whose example is anything. but edifying and form an object les son to enforce the claim made by our opponents that there Is nothing of val 'ue of American civilization for them to follow. Their people are generally a temperate people. as most tropical peoples are, while Northern peoples in the tropics are not infrequentiy given to intemperance.
 Now the way to avoid this Is to furnish place in which the leisure hours Of Americans in these dependen- cies can be passed In rational. invit- ing and moral pursuits and entertain ment. The Young Mems Christian Association is one of the most effec- tive instruments to this end that we have. Recently Mir. Mowet, of the association. raised in this country ESQ., 900 for the construction of a building in Manila, on condition that $so,o00 should be added to the $s0, 900 for this purpose by the citizens of Manila.
 Tt is speaking high for 'the public spirit of the Americans and others in Manila and for the energy of the in Manila. that in very few days af- ter the offer became known, although business conditions are by no means highly prosperous. s42,oo0 was raised and the generous enterprise has be- come completed thing"
 Club Houses in Panama
 Secretary Taft said on the Isthmus of Panama, in the American zone, the Canal Commission had constructed four club houses, one each at Culebra, Em- pire. GeorEiana and Cristobal, all alike in design. The buildings contain writ ing, card and brilliard rooms, bowling alleys, gymnasiums and shower baths A comprehensive plan has been devised whereby the Commission, workin in conjunction with the Young Mems As- socfation, will manage these and other similar buildings in labor centres. The Commission has appointed a secretary of these four club houses, four men who .are. identtfaed Swfs's the r M. C. A. The Commission has also appoint ed as superintendent of the club houses a gentleman who went to the Isthmus as a representative of the International Committee of the Y. M. c. A. The Commission pays the salaries of these men and furnishes the. houses and will give them proper libraries.
 In closing he said:
 Some questions have been raised as to whether expenditures of this money was within the authority of the Com mission. have not the slightest doubt about 1t. The authority of the Presi- dent in the construction of the canal is to build the canal and he has therefore the right to expend the money in any way necessary in the pursuance of that purpose. This Is a great enterprise. involving the moving to this strip, which connected the two oceans in the far distant tropic of a colony of from 30,000 to 50.000 people. To render them efficient, for the purpose for which they were transported there, 1t is absolutely necessary that they be surrounded with the influence and furnished with the attractions to keep them fin a moral and physical state of mind which will make them efficient laborers, to the end which the government has in view in axpending these millions. And have not hesitated. therefore. not only to authorize the construction of these club houses, under the auspices of the Young Mems Christian Association, but also to confirm the action of the Com mittee in the payment of chaplains of different denominations who officiate in the church services held in the build ings of the Association in the various labor centers across the Isthmus.
 For these reasons, have I come to bear testimony to the greatest of the associations whose strength and use- fulness this beautiful building typifes It is only one of many evidences to be found all over this country, and far distant Philippines, on the Isthmus of Panama, in Cuba, and in Porto Rico. of the great work which the Association Is doing in the moral elevation of American manhood"
 At the conclusion of the program. the Secretary and the Committee re- turned to the hotel where refreshments were served He left Dayton at o'clock for Cincinnati.