The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-04-26

4
more are needed as the federation
already has twenty-three. However,
about sixteen more singers are need
ed also. He said that the work
which has been done in the rural
community has been very much ap.
preciated by the farmers, which is
shown by the large attendance.
The Financial Side.
Rev. Heermance then took up the
financial side. So far the cost has
been about $40, while only S23
has been received i'm collections.
There was no reason why this should
not be self-supporting. The people of
the school house should pay the ex-
pense for the services brought before
their doors. The field now raises
about One-third of the expense. The
people should get subscriptions or
have some box socials and thus put
the service on self-supporting ba-
sis. He praised the work of Rev.
Balm as an organizer and spoke on
the necessity of visitation. Every
point, he said, should be visited and
service given.
These school houses i'm the rural
districts should not only be used for
religious purposes but also as social
centers; literary societies could be
organized, and a travelling library
secured, besides using the school as
Il center for athletic societies for
the young people, and some day it
would then be possible to have a
big field meet. He was sorry that
| F. M. Deerhake was about to leave
at this time, when his services were
so valuable, as he was just begin
ming to become acquainted with the
, county.
The setting apart of Saturday aft
ernoons as half-holidays except in
the very busiest season, was also
being encouraged and in some dis
tricts it had been established. This
would tend to stop the evil of Sun
day baseball, he thought, and show
to the boy that living on the farm
was not all hard work.
1.-THE Older Boys"
w. d. Willard spoke briefly on
THE Older Boy" He took up the
religious life of the boy centering in
three branches: First, the Y. NJ. c.
A.; second. Sunday school, and third.
, the home. He said that there were
about 500 boys from fourteen to
twenty years of age in Mankato.
Out of these about 125 to $50 were
reached, leaving majority still I'M
touched. He said that the encour-
agement of organized classes in the
Sunday school was one method of
bringing in the boys. AS an exam
pie, he cited the case of the Y. NJ.
c. A. Boys Gospel Regiment He
| wanted conference in which the
Sunday school teachers and all in
terested in boys could get together
and thresh out the matter and plan
ways and means for teaching how to
bring up the boys. ..
Education of the Parents.
particular emphasis, was the educa-
ton of the parents. He said that the
responsibility of fatherhOod was
/ most sacred one, but one that was
often belttled or overlooked 1t
could be handled only in a spirit OF
, constant prayer. The conditions of
bringing up the boys have changed
from those of a century ago. Now
the home tasks have, to a large eX-
tent, been taken away and the paren-
tai control thereby weakened, be-
cause of the fathers being taken
away so much from home and
bringing the boy into proximity of
evil.
There has also come among us
a class of people of low ideals. 1t
is up to you, Christian men, to solve
these problems We are to blame
if the boys go wrong" he said. lone
of the roots of evil is the pool
room where so much deviltry is con-
cocted." He did not object to the
game of pool, but to the surround
ings and associates found in the
pool rooms.
j. r. Brandrup gave an interest
ing address on Social Service He
said that Mankato was & great
school town, and if the citizens neg
lected to bring the city up to
high moral standard, the outside par
EMS would hesitate in sending their
children to Mankato. From a finan-
cial point of view, the schools meant
more than any other industry to the
city On an average there are 1000
students here who spend about 5000
each annually, thus bringing in about
100000 dollars a year, which is
spent with the merchants in this
city With the increase Of the two
new schools the student population
will also increase.
However, this was of secondary
importance. The conservation of
the lives OF the young men and
women was the greatest part. If it
could be advertised to the world
that Mankato was a city without
saloons, and a place where no lives
were wrecked, it would be one of the
greatest things that the city could
do. For this Mr. Brandrup was
loudly annlauded