The morning journal-courier., 1908-03-19
THE Y. M. (. A. CRISIS.

is in financial straits. A point ap- nears to have been reached where loy- al friends of the institution find them selves confronted with the impossible ity of longer financing it from thelr private purse. They would not faiter in this task if there was an end to the trouble in sight short of reorganlz- ation of some kind. There has never been an institution in this city which has had back of it more spirit of the best sort or larger display of solicit ous interest on the part of those who want to bear cheerfuly their whole load of the responsibility which grows out of their sense of duty to the young men of the city.
 In spite of this support the associa- tion is in dire straits and the practical question arises, What is to be done to make the equipment do the work orig inaly planned for 1t? It is folly to talk of abandoning the institution and turn ing it over to business purposes eX- clusively so long as the slightest chance remains of it's being utilized in the right way, for the Christian pro lection and development of the unat- tached young men of the town. At the same time certain facts must be looked at straight in the face. The religi- ous enthusiasm which led to the build ing of such a pretentious home in New Haven was mlsdirected. A building one-half its size and costing one-half the sum expended on the present build ing would have sufficed. It was said so at the time but it was unwelcome counsel and fell upon deaf ears. The plans were accepted, the building was erected and the beginning of the end was at once in sight, save only as re- ligious fervor wagered on the willing ness and readiness of the Lord to pro- vide for it's care. Broadly speaking, there has not been moment when the friends and directors of the association lave not had their hands and heads full of projects for its relief from financial embarrassment. All that en- thusiasm and enterprise could do to ha rit of tion among the young men of the city, and the philanthropically inclined as confessed failure. The truth can no longer be concealed. In fact the way out of the distressing situation will alone be found by facing the truth and struggling with it.
 We take it that the abandonment of the Y. M. c. A. is not in the mind of any person familiar with the i'm portant work it is cut out to do. It is a worthy institution in stimulating the Christian ethics of youth in giving motion to certain useful lines of edu- cation and in intoxicating a healthy love of amateur sport. It is the clear ing house, so to speak, of number of excellent social organizations, which have found there conveniences which are not to be had in any other build ;,, tf, ,,tt u,olr therefore, it has very much to com mend it and to move it's friends to place it in a position if possible to go on with its fire work. The stumbling block is the size of the indebtedness and the cost of maintenance, two prac- tical obstacles to success along the lines thus far adopted. It is a dis couraging time to attempt to raise the debt Those who must be relied upon to give are for the present themselves stumbling along under the burden of business distress and reduced values. Whether the scope of the associations work can be curtailed and in that way money saved can be better passed upon by the directors who have been in charge than by others. The same question arises when it is asked if the building can be put to larger commer- cial uses and thus be made to yield a larger reVenue The h11ildinp iS fnrf11 nately exempt from taxation by a spe- cial act of the general assembly, though it is conceivable that if the building is to De used practically for business pur- poses the question might be asked whether it would be just for the State to extend it's sheltering arms The rights of others have to be considered here as well as the future of the asso- citation. In fact questions of this char acter crowd in upon one the moment one undertakes to settle by the rules of philosophical discussion what must have given the directors pain for many months.
 The proposition facing the directors, the trustees and the friends of the Young Mems Christian association is to raise the amount of money which originally would have been enough to