New Britain herald., 1916-05-05
PLAN CHANGES AT
 "Y. M" CONVENTION
More General Discussions and
 Fewer Platform Addresses

Cleveland, O., May 5.-A number of important matters affecting the administration of the Young Mems Christian Association of North America will come before the inter national triennial conventiOn-the legislative body of the brotherhood- which will be held in Cleveland be- ginning May F, continuing through the 18th. It is said that the meeting will be one of the most significant of any of the previous thirty-nine meetings that have been held There will be a thousand guests at the con- vention, in addition to the two thousand accredited delegates and many hundreds of Corresponding members" The associations eligible to representation include 700 city as- sociations, 250 railroad, 800 college, and 60 county or rural associations, as we'll as the army and navy branches.
 The convention marks it's fftieth anniversary of the establishment of the international committee, and the change in leadership of the commit tee from Richard c. Morse, who for forty-six years was it's general sec- retary, and who is now retiring, to John R. Mott, recently elected gen. eral secretary.
 One of the questions to be- voted upon is a proposal to increase the element of democracy in the super vision of the brotherhood. On an initiative resolution which has been approved by an overwhelming vote of the directors of the associations in all parts of the United States and Canada it is proposed that the lay delegates will hereafter have a much larger proportion of the convention devoted to discussions from the floor, with fewer addresses from the plat form. While the large assembly of the convention will be in Gray's there will be this year a greater number of smaller sectional n 1eetings with a greatly increased opportunity for discussion and legis- lation. The hall of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and various Cleveland churches will be the places of holding these sectional The Cleveland association ie also dismantling the second floor of it's large building to accommodate an exhibit of Y. M. c. A. buildings, equipment and efficiency.
 The importance of the associations work with the armies in Europe will have special attention. Hundreds of trained secretaries who have been sent over from the United States and Canada and who have been at work in the trenches as well as with the prisoners on both sides of the lines will report on this phase of Y. M c. A. work.
 The question of the supervision of the associations in foreign lands such as China, Korea, Japan, India, Panama, Philippines, Cuba, Argen- tine, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and other countries will also be con- sidered. A special commission has been studying for three years the tremendous expansion of the associa- ton movement abroad, and the find ings of this commission will be pre- sented by L. Wilbur Messer of Chicago as chairman.
 The convention will be called upon to decide whether or not it will capitalize retirement fund for sec retaries who have practically com pleted their lifetime of service. This commission is headeed by F w. Aver of Philadelphia. He will prOb ably ask that the fund be capitalized to begin with at S1,O0O,OOO, perhans more. It depends upon the actuarial studies which he is now having made
 This retirement fund will parallel that provided by many of the de-
 nominations for clergymen, by the
 Carnegie fund for professors in col leges, and such retirement funds as