The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-12-25

less young men who live in our boarding houses or
roomers who dine at restaurants.
Take the homeless young man who has worked
all day. He wants recreation at night, and rule
he cannot find it outside of public resorts. If he
comes to Salt Lake-as nearly all young do
without letters of introduction he is as much alone
socially, as if he were on a sheep range or a mes
quite prairie He may pick up acquaintance
young men who will accompany him to various
places of amusement, and young women whose par
ents are compaisant enough to lei him escort them
to public dance halls. But, if he be a Catholic,
without good letters of introduction, his opportu
mites of making desirable social connections will
be exceptionally rare
The non-Catholic who "unites" with Protestant
church has greater chances of being admitted into
self-respecting family circles, because among Pro-
testants the church organization is the social hub
Ii he makes the acquaintance of his "pastor" and
engages in a reasonable amount of Church work"
he has offered to him a hundred opportunities of
spending his evenings agreeably and proftaby.
But young Catholic, stranger in our midst
may assist at Mass Sunday after Sunday without
once receiving the slightest recognition from peo-
pie among whom he habitually kneels The young
Catholic stranger without letters of introduction
to some Catholic family is in position similar to
that OF Moores Peri at the gate of Paradise. That
he is Catholic, of the household of the faith,
is no recommendation whatever to the heads of the
families who see him In church every Sunday.
There IS no complaint to made of this The Church
IS not an organization created for social purposes
And there is no reason why Catholic father should
tn 10 nc
young man he weets at church Nevertheless. a
little kindly interest in and little quiet inquiring
into the character of these strange young men
would be very Christian and perhaps be- in its re-
suits, the means of saving them from dangerous
associations.
We may not sympathize with the spirit of the
Young Mems Christian associations, nor with some
OF their methods but we cannot help admiring the
zeal and enterprise of the officials and directors
who hold out every legitimate inducement to the
strange young man "just come to town. to iden-
tify himself with the organization and shake "the
glad hand" extended to him. We cannot afford to
sheer at the Y M. c. A; not till we have done as
much for our young Catholics, and not even then
The sheer came into fashion with Voltaire, and
there is always a suspicion of sulphur about it.
There may be hypocrites in the Young Mems Chris
tan association. We say there may be, we do not
say there are. But hypocrisy is an old leprosy 1t
was not introduced even by Judas Before we sheer
or gibe, let find out some means of providing as
thoroughly for the leisure hours of our young man
as this Protestant organization has done and is do
ing This we have not done yet
The temptations to dissipation, late hours, ex-
the attractions of Luther's vein,
webb and Gesang-are exceedingly strong; and few
young men, homeless and weary of the routine of
work, entirely escape them. The Protestants of
Salt Lake are taking care of their young men and
strange young men settling in our midst The
Momons are ready to open their splendid gym
naslum, amusement hall and reading room for their
young men. The sectarian churches have their So |
'ials, assemblies and Conversations where their
young people meet under the eyes of the elders and
orecentors. Now what are we Catholics doing? To |
ask our clergy to take the initiative would be I'M
sair to them, for they already are overworked and
nave more than they can do. What are we Catholic
aymen going to do about it?