Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-01-13
Y. NJ. C. A. BUILDING
SHOULD Be IN CITY,
SAYS FREQUENT GUEST

81 wonder why the people of Water
Vile don't wake up and build or in some
way arrange for a Y. NJ. c. A. building
in the city, remarked a man who is a
frequent visitor here the other night as
, he stood on the street and noticed the
large number of young men and boys
hanging about with nothing to do and no
where to 60 He then went on to say
that WaterVile was a manufacturing
city, that great many young men came
here from other places and secured places
in the mills and it was to this class of
men as well as the local boys that Y.
NJ. c. A. would particularly appeal. AS
it is in Watervile at the present time,
the pool rooms and the moving pictures
are the only places for young fellow
to go. The man then went on to sug-
gest that there was place in the city
which is almost ideal for Y. NJ. c. A.
building. At a small cost 1t could be
made into exactly the kind of building
that is most needed here and he had no
doubt that if a responsible body of men
got together and agreed to pay the rent
! on 1t for a term of years the owner
would make the necessary improvements.
| building on Silver street formerly owned
by Hon. Cyrus w. Davis There is am
pie space on the second floor for offices,
game rooms and reading rooms and the
| big hall would make good gymnasium,
not perhaps Just what is wanted, but still
far better than none at all. On the third
I floor also would be ample room for baths
and dressing rooms. In regard to the
| pense, the State Y. NJ. c. A. now has
/ Headquarters in the city. which are APP
| parently much crowded, There is no
! doubt but what they would gladly move
| their headquarters to this building and
would thus contribute the amount " the
rent they are paying now to the rent OF
| the building there. Then doubtless they
/ would he able to so arrange their office
force that a man might be hired who
/ would have general oversight of the
| building and at the same time would be
| employed and in part at least paid by
them. That would leave only one man
! it would be necessary to employ IN the
! building and would reduce the expense
J of maintenance.
: The matter has been talked up with
a number of the young men Of the
city and almost without exception they
| say that they would be delighted to
| nave chance to join and would be
willing to pay for the use of the gym
nasium, the reading room and the 9TH
, er privileges, anywhere from So to $40
year. In this way the building ought
! to be made nearly, if not quite self
supporting The moral good to the COM
munity cannot be measured in dollars
In the opinion of the most OF the peo-
pie who have talked on the subject.
Said one prominent citizen. the
churches and all the other societies for
good in the city are all doing their
share in reaching the people that they
are expected to reach, but there is a
large element among the young men of
the city who are not being reached by
them, and it would be possible to get
them into better influences by a Y NJ.
{. A. building and from purely mercen-
airy motives 1 believe that it would De
good thing for the city as 1t would
bring better class of young men into
our mills and they would pass their
evenings in the Y. M. instead of in
pool rooms and at the moving picture
shows and would study and improve
themselves frequently where now they
are throwing away their evenings. I
can think of no better thing for the
Chamber Of Commerce or the State Y.
Nj. c. A. officials in the city to do than
to start this movement and see that
1t goes through to a finish" The opin-
ion OF this man is the opinion of
Sreat many men in the city and there
seems no reason why it could not be
carried out if the effort was made and
it was not attempted to go into the
thing too deeply.