Trench and camp. [volume] (Augusta, Ga.) 1917-1919, 1918-04-10

I know of no movement for the better
ment of mankind that has expanded or
developed more than the idea that George
Williams put into motion when he organ
lied twelve men into Y. NJ. G. A. The
tremendous growth of the thing has re-
suited in the founder being completely
lost sight of. Really 1t was the wish or
the founder to be thus treated. lie was
content to be nothing so that His Master
might be glorifed. Had he been more OF
a self advertiser we would know more
about him today than we DO; AZ the
time I met him he was about sixty years
of age, but In appearance and activity
you would not have taken him to nave
been more than forty-f1Ve. There was q
reason for it. He had never abused ms
body He was converted at is and got
busy so quickly that the devil had no OPP
portunitY to ruin what nature had cone:
Mr.. Williams was born in the west OF
England at Dulverton, in the county or
Somerset. 1t was my privilege to be born
in the next county, just over the line.
At The age of 20, Mr.. Williams went to
London and entered a wholesale dry goods
bouse as clerk. He was either mem
Der of the Congregational or baptist
Church. where he was converted, IKE
Sturgeon in a small Methodist Church.
In London he took an intense interest IN
church matters and at the age of % he
with some of his fellow clerks, formed an
association of twelve for the purpose OF
holding weekly prayer meetings in the
house, and calling themselves the Y NJ
c. A.
To go back a little, Mr.. Williams was
born, of middle class parentage, in 1921,
two years after the birth of the English
Princess who was afterwards made Queen
Spurgeon commenced his ministry at ~
Thirty or forty years afterward he be-
came the head of the firm whose service
he entered as a boy. of 20
One of us one day asked him how he
managed to get there. He replied: Honor
God and He will honor you. = That was
just exactly how he managed to get to
the head of the great dry goods firm of
Hitchcock Williams and Co.
Those twelve men have become great
multitude, that no man can number. Ana
there are some of us who today humanity
speaking, would be outside of the MEM
bership of the church were it not for the
work Of George Williams, and the Y. M.
C. A.
He was bundle of nerves. one of those
men that could never be still I'll was the
same when making a speech. He could
not follow a text. 1t was extremely easy
for him to get away from the conSld-
Grafton of text to personal selection, lie
oftentmes spent the week end, in the
west of England and when 81 his own
home county, he would invariably visit
our Y. M. G., A. When we knew he was
coming we would always call a meeting in
the waiting room Of the Great Railroad
station of our city. For two reasons
First, because Mr.. Williams would only be
with us between trains. Second, because
men, There was no thought at that time
of separate organization for railroad
men but in these meetings held in the
railroad station waiting room, we see the
unconscious inception of the idea after
wards put into force in the creation of
railroad Y. NJ. c. A,
Mr.. Williams would conduct the meet
ing and it was always very simple SER
vice. 1t was extremely natural for him
to preside At the time he was the pres-
dent of the National y. M. c., A. The
hymns he would ask for were always, fun
of the gospel, and taken from the book
used by Moody and Sankey, whose evan
gelistic work in England always had the the
Williams General Booth was at that
time coming to the front and the two
men, as speakers were very similar in
their ways from the text.
1t was my pririlege upon several oc-
casions to preside at the organ when Mr.
Williams presided over the meeting. Mr.
Williams strong point was personal APP
peal to young men and few there were
that could escape him. He had but one
thought, the spiritual welfare of men. The
social or physical work OF the Y. M c. A.
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