Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1913-03-01
(Literary Digest)

lave good companions and clean cH-
vironment. Not long after, he and his
wife found themselves in a northern
Michigan town and a Saturday nige.s
walk led his wife to ask:
What was that you said about wish>
ing to move to a small town to get oar
oys away from the evil influences of
big city? During all the tilre
we lived in Chicago l never heard such
e language, nor so much of it, as
we've heard tonight, going the Length
of this short street"
Another man who had had has eyes
opened to the status of village boys,
declared that he had heard language
that would shock any living man, and
seen ungentlemanly acts towards la
dies and girls which made him wish
10 whale" his own boy, whom he found
among the culprits. Their only soln-
ton was a room and entertainment o.
the sort to keep the boys off h.
street" Fortunately there was a y.
AZ. C. A. secretary of the new tyre
at hand to tell them of the plan, now
cling successful tried in the small
towns, of employing trained men and
| boys to work with men and boys, "us-
ing as basis the natural gang spirit.
In the Detroit Saturday Night this
stheme is unfolded:
1T is only after many a sorry ey-
perience that the association has d.
!. rmined that buildings and equipment
are of secondary Importance in SUE
cessful work with boys. One city as
citation recently offered $1,000 yea
to the man who would establish per-
manent work with boys outside lis
building. Some of our national lead
IS are saying that the coming assG-
cial.on will be modelled on the counet}
II ian, leader working with small
numbers, instead of the masses, using
but little equipment"
Dell G. Vandercook, who writes OF
the country work in the Detroit paper
tells of the trained expert who is call
ed to the field and enlists the assist
ance of resident forces:
twenty-five or thirty business and
professional men compose an execu-
tive committee outlining county pol
icy under which the homes, the
churches, and the schools work har-
moniously, while cooperating sub
committees and leaders of groups, all
volunteers, aret rained and directed
by the county secretary To his aid
he summons state officials, professor IS
from the Michigan Agricultural col
lege, the University of Michigan and
other state institutions, as well as
state and international association eX,
perts.
He holds that to give is better than
to receive; to serve is more pleasing
and lf-satisfying than to be served :;
and he seeks to instill this vision into
the hearts of his leaders, of whom
there may be 20 or 35, expecting they
will pass it along to the boys of their
groups with whom they work. For
these leaders are supposed to study
Aith boys and to play with them. Some
q has said there is as much differ
ence between work with boys ami
work for boys as there is between \
sponge bath and bath sponge. This
is another lesson which has come odr
of the association experiments.
The slow extension Of the WORK,
not only in Michigan, but throughout
the United States, indicates that it is
not spectacular and that the policy
has been to permit it to grow natur-
{ .ly and normally. Up to the preser;
time there are less than 20 organize
counties. Michigan, leading with the
largest number. has only nine"
When a county is opened, very little
actual work with boys is apparent the
first two or three months, we are told.
This time is required for a careful
survey of the field and for the selec-