The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-01-25
DEFENDS THE
COUNTRY BOY
Says He is no Worse Than
the City Lad.
COUNTY Y. M. C. A. BUSY
Offering Opportunity to Ru-
raj Youths.
New Life and the Masculine Ele-
ment Put Into Struggling Country
Churches -.'Tsrrors" Tanned.

T.. W. pearsall, the Secretary oil
the New ork State Committee OF
the y. M. &. A. asserts that the
country boy finds more tempta-
lions to do wrong and fewer helps
to do right than the city boy. Mr..
Pearsall's position has been at
tackled by other observers who de-
clare that the country boy has the
best chance by long way To grow
up decent man.
The Country Department of the
~ M G.. A. which is rapidly ex-
tending into the country towns, is
giving the country boy an equal
chance with the city young man,
the college student and the railroad
man. 1t finds him no worse than
any other boy If he has the chance
to have an organized movement for
the cultivation of character.
Professor Myron Scudder has said:
"The country situation Is very
important and menacing one. / can
cay after - years experience in
the educational work of country dis
tricts that the tendency in the
country life of children is distinct
ly downward. An ever increasing
number OF undesirable men are
drifting into farm labor and it is
far easier for boy to go wrong
in the country than in the city.
| 1t is bad place today to bring
up boy. The farmer has the latest
magazines, and his house is better
heated and lighted than ever be-
fore. but the Improvement in his
condition does not reach down to
THE children, and the expulsive
forces OF country life are depopu-
iating the farming districts. We
/, must introduce some force into
|country life which VIII make 1t
more attractive and tend to hold
the younger generation in the coun-
try. The Y. NJ. G. A. is such
force. The church is dead, but un-
buried There seems no hope for
the country church today, unless
|somebody like the Y. M. G. A. can
come in and vivify it,.
Recent reports coming to the. In
ternational County Department te--
of its peculiar success Among the
correspondence is a letter from the
select men of a town in Essex
County, Mass, rendering thanks to
the official inc ,harge for the good
influences apparent on group or
High School fellows, who the year
previous had driven eight different
90, g,r .,,,, All, nIgI,t
In the same country short time
before two young men united with
the Church these were the first
male accessions in any church in
that town for six years. These
young men are becoming moral
factors in the community. One OF
them is now superintendent OF
sunday school, and the other presi-
dent of Christian Endeavor So
ciety. The lack in the country
churches, which has long been rec
| ogniZed is that of the masculine
element in It's management and
meetings. These County Assocla-
uons seem to be supplying this
in considerable measure where
they have been at work.
Eighteen Sunday schools in a
Minnesota County with l305 schol-
ars, have but thirteen men teach
ing in its Bible classes, but in an
piled fifteen young men as teach
ers to Bible classes through its
training; while in IA New Jersey
town an Association group provided
leaders for Mission Sunday
school among street boys from It's
effectively taught classes.
Many pastors of weak and strug-
Cling churches in the small town
in the country had looked upon
the y NJ. G. A. as an tnterloper
and possible rival which would
deflect the attention OF young
men from the services OF the
church These fears are shown to
have been groundless. In u Maine
village of 300 population, whore
there are only live male members,
under twenty-five years OF age in
the two churches, twenty-six young
men are now in the County Asso-
citation Bible class. This includes
several fellows who have been
known as "terrors Four of them
have now joined the church Ac-
,cession from these Bible classes
have nearly doubled the number OF
young men in the church. Strange
to say the leader of this class Is
la Syrian, now a respected mer
chant, who came to the town some
years before as pack peddler.
In Oneida County there is Bible
study group OF fifteen made vi
OF young men brought up In cana
boat builders community among
the worst kind OF influences, and
seven of these have been led tl
unite with the church.
Strange to say one OF the mos