The Washington herald., 1915-12-26
WHAT CHURCH PEOPLE.
ARE SAYING AND DOING

w
! 100000 from this estate will so to reli-
gious and educational institutions.
The editor OF the American Lutheran
Survey suggests the establishment OF
(, factories or business enterprises for the
special employment OF men and women
who want to begin life over again. He
| asks:
Has Christendom any place where
tainted lives can be remade? Or are spe-
/ cial places for the remaking Of such lives
not necessary and desirable? Ought
Christian society to take people who have
been leading grossly sinful lives and who
express a desire to begin life over again
Into its bosom. making no distinction be-
tween them and those who have not gone
so far astray?-For. "All We like sheep
have gone astray.''
| Opinion which says that such people
should not be taken into the ordinary
places afforded by our social and in
] dAstrial conditions is not necessarily
harsh and un-C6ristian. A Qaiestion Of
wisdom and kindness Is involved. 1t
may well be carefully considered whether
a reclaimed woman, fresh from the pol
| lutions and poisons of the half-world,
| can Win W1SQOm anu Sdttty Uc tdAch
| into family home as a domestic. 1t Is
worth pondering whether it is wise to
take a reclaimed convict into the aver
age business house without further evil
| dence of his worthiRess than his earn
estly expressed desire to begin life over
| again.
Not only is II doubtful whether such
solutions of the problem can be adopted
with safety for those with whom the re-
claimed will be thrown into contact. but
1t is also questionable whether it Is a
kindness to them to place them in COM
pany where it may easily happen that
they will be treated unkindly by those
| with whom they are thrown into contact
Could not philanthropists found fac
tories. industries of various kinds. the
| chief end and aim of which would be to
| furnish wholesome. honorable. remunera-
| tive employment to the reclaimed, but
which would be carefully guarded from
| being termed institutions for rescue pur-
poses? while such factories would be
making lives. they might be making
manufactured articles like those turned
| out by other factories, thus paying for
| the investments made. Leaving such
factories after a year or two and apply
| ing for work elsewhere, the remade man
| and woman would not need to tell pros
pective employers that they have Just
come from lives of shame.
In the absence of special factories for
| this purpose. could not more of our
philanthropic manufacturers so arrange
| their plants that men and women just
reclaimed could safely for themselves
| and others) be employed and helped to
gain self-rsspect and standins'
From February I to March next
| the Young Women's Christian Associa-
| ton of the United States will celebrate
| with a national jubilee the fiftieth an
niversary Of the founding of that or
| ganization. February / will be OBJ
served as a nationwide membership
| rally day, when all members of as
| sociations will come together for a
demonstration of what the organiza-
| tion means to them. On February %
| there will be an historical presenta-
tion of association work. Girls of
1 Yesterday and Today" which has been
especially prepared for use by the 96S
| city. council and student associations.
| This will be done pictorially. There
will be only two speaking parts. one
F, the girl of 1866. the other the girl of
1916, who. dressed in the costumes of
those times, will interpret to the au-
dience the scenes that pass before
them. February 6-7 will be observed
| as pioneer days. during which time
every individual ever connected with
| the association work in any way Is
asked to get in touch with the asso-
| citation which was her first interest.
| either personally. by letter. or tele-
gram. On March 3, which will be the
fftieth birthday of the Y. w. c. A.
work in America. a service of rejoicing
will be held.
The first Young Women's Christian
Association in this country was de-
veloped in Boston in 1866. when ladies
of Boston formed a society in behass
of self-supporting girls who came to
the city to seek employment. The aim
of this was to fit them for self-sup-
port. Rooms were opened, a secretary
was put in charge to aid these girls
| in finding employment. There were
also some social and protective fea-
lures. as well as religious meetings
and Bible classes. Two years later a
boarding home was started. Later
buildings were erected providing for
the physical education of young
women.
All the city Young Women's Chris
| tian Associations began early to en-
| phasize the religious meetings and
| Bible instruction. As early as 1872. the
New York City Young Women's Chris
| tian Association commenced a Bible
! class which shortly afterwards at
tanned an average attendance of six
! hundred. Sunday afternoon was the
regular time for meetings. with men,
bers or outside speakers presenting a
religious theme. and often a Sunday
1 evening supper was served after this
vesper service or Bible class. Bible
| study was in charge of the secretaries
and other trained leaders. and later.
of pastors in the city.
Employment agencies, referring
! young women to business positions
and domestic situations. have always
been included. Cooking also was in
troduced in all associations as suitable
teachers could be found for this
| branch. The early associations. almost
without exception. opened boarding
| houses for young women. chiefly for
those engaged in self-support. or prep
| aration for it. In 1874 the Philadel.
phia association built the first sum-
| mer home for its members at Asbury
Park Later boarding homes began to
open their dining rooms to outside
guests and in 1891 Kansas City. Mo-,
| installed the first self-serving lunch
room cafeteria.
Educational classes have been a
gradual development until today al
most every subject is taught that
could be found in the curriculum of
schools from the grammar grade to
the university. The educational de-
partment of the Y. W. c. A. has been