The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-05-16

The annual report of the Young Mems Christian association contains interesting figures that show the asso- citation has played no small part in Ob- taining enp1oyment for many strang- CTS who have come to the city. | A feature of the industrial boom in Bridgeport is disclosed in that some firr7S rave te hire half a dozea men to g at one good one.
 During the last year 752 men and boys asked assistance in getting eru- pleyment. From this number, ASA were placed in positions ranging from office boys to foreFnen. To place these the department received 926 calls from employers. l A comparison with the figures of last year brings out several interesting l facts, viz, 4Eo less men filed applica- tions for work than during the pre- vious year; ;-35% % more men were placed and 112@o more calls were received from employers.
 The large increase in calls for men shows that the various employers of the city are coming to the association l more and more to get first class men,: l During thea past year 274 firms or em- ployers have called upon the employ ment department from to 52 different times for all kinds of men, as shown l by the fact that one company called for 40 different kinds of men since last 1 May,
 1 Cooperation with the educational department and the boys division has resulted in getting worth-while open l ings for the students and boyss
 l Conditions to-day present great op- portunity for the work of this depart ment. The demand for high grade men is greater than the supply, and at the same time, many employers state that 1 they have never seen the 'doater'' or l the 'tdrifter'' so much in evidence as ! la year ago to hire an average of 5 men 1 to Apcrease the pay roll 1, to-day it is necessary to hire average of 10. One company employing about 2,30O men is compelled to take on 400 to l 500 men month to maintain pay roll at that figure. Safely among con ditions such as these there is need of Ia work that endeavors to find indivtd- ual men for individual positions.
 Social Work.
 pr. Smith then called for the social ! work report which was read by Alfred B. Teves, 8 member of the social com mittee. The Opportunities for ser vice have been incfeased by the growth of the membership and an aggr essive | program was carried out during the year. The average daily attendance in the building was over 800.
 The demand for rooms this year has been unprecedented and the association dornlitories have been taxed to their I utmost capacity While rents have gone up all over the city, the associa- 1 tion has maintained the same prices I for it's dorr aitery rooms in r6fer t,I aid worthy but needy young men who came to the city for employment. The l association has 8 registry of first class private families and rooming houses. During the past year 1862 men ] have been assisted in getting suitable 1 roomS A-
 TheNbowling alleys have been ex- l tremely popular as shown by the fact | that 23,818 games have been bow1cd I during the year. The billiard tables any time since their installation. Chess and checker tournaments have been a feature of the social work.
 Exhibitions by New England's chess champion and by Americas checker champion have been attended by large audiences and have stimulated interest in the games to remarkable degree. The second annual city chess cham ipionship tournament was the longest of it's kind ever held in Bridgeport. A men participated. The association 4 lobby is now recognized as the head quarters of 65 of Bridgeport's best
 chess and checker players.
 T One phase of the social work has been an orchestra organized under the leadership of Prof. J! Henry Hutzel. I Last summer boat house and dock were rented at the foot of Pembroke street. A-canoe club was organized. The association also purchased a boat, and several cruises were run on the sound. The boat club promises great
 things for the fellows this summer. I Membership Report.
 The statistics regarding the mem
 bership of the association were read
 by R. G. Kennedy. It is gratifying k@ u
 increased S3@o over that of a year ago.
 Our total membership at that time was
 1,219. Now the total membership } reaches 2,216; 1,56O in the senior di- vision and 656 in the junior division. ) The senior membership is divided as bers, 755 regular members, 358 educa- l itonaI and 279 special members The membership campaign mana ged : by Mr. sHoelSenbury.asla last October brought 1000 new members. It was one of the biggest events ever success
 fully conducted in this city.
 Women's Auxiliary
 The report of the Women's Auxiliary of the Y. M. c. A. was read by Mrs w
 H. Griffith, president The report
 stated that the last. year had been one
 of the busiest and one of the best in
 their history.
 During the year they catered for the
 Good Housing suppers given in May
 1915, for 22 Bible class suppers
 luncheons and three suppers for the
 educational department. In October the suppers for the membership
 campaign were planned and served by the ladies, but with no expense to the
 auxiliary. Last in the culinary activ- ities were the 67 suppers given for high school, grammar school and em-
 ployed boys. Total number of SUD. pers 104.
 The boys work committee, with Mrs Lucien T. Warner as chairman had en-
 tire charge of the suppers and renova- tiohs completed in the boys depart ment. The auxiliary was also fnstru- mental in collecting books for the new library of the educational department 1 The auxiliary COntribufed for +11e