The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-05-29
OPPORTUNITY FOR
''Y' IS WORLD WIDE
Speakers Give Local Audi
ence New Vision of
the Work
FOREIGN COUNTRIES
APPEAL TO AMERICA
Already Established in 20 Countries and
Work During War Creates Additional
retaries.


Demands on This Country for Sec
retaries.
Notable as have been the accomplish
ments of the Young Men 5 Christian
association, they are small by compari
son with what may be accomplished if
the association can meet the world OPP
portunities which have opened before
it, to large extent as the result of its
work during the European war. Some
Of these opportunities and the demand
for men were presented to good sized
audience in the chapel of the Centre
Congregational church last evening,
when three Y. NJ. c. A. men of interna-
| tional reputation discussed different
| phases of the topic, The World Work of
| the Young Men s Christian Association
of North America The subject was
wonderfully well presented and the au-
| dience received an entirely new vision
of the scope of the work of the Y. NJ.
c. A.
The speakers were Owen f. Pence
| who is soon to return to Constantinople
where he served as general secretary OF
the student Y. NJ. c. A. at Robert col
lege from Feb. 1914, to the time Turkey
entered the great war; w. j. Wen, gen
eral secretary of the Chinese Student
| Christian association in America; an6
Dr. John II. Gray, national physica
director of the Y. NJ. c. A. for Indi;
| I
sided
Mr.. Pence referred to the forward
look of the various church denomina
tions and said that the world move
mcnt of the Y NJ c. A. was fully a
essential and did not overlap the churcl
movements. The association work al
ready has been established in 90 coun
tries and has proven its ability to be
come Indigenous to the various coun
tries
: Referring to the recent criticism o
Di the - growing out of the war. h
l said that the criticism was reeedins
2 as ii was bound to do, being built o
r only part of the facts. The crit
Q cisms were characterized as fly speek
e when placed over against the grea
e work of the association. He did nc
think it necessary TO take time to g
a into the reasons and explanations, a
: that was not the aim of the meeting.
e Three days after Gen. Pershin
5 reached France Mr.. Pence arrive
Y there The French did not realize tha
e anything could be done in the line q
Y. NJ C. A. work for their men, bu
5 it was instituted through the efforts {
! Cen Petain and as result the ass'
) citation has been overwhelmed with I'll
e appreciation of the French. Italy want
l. the work continued there on perm:
nent basis The work in Russia has IL
It co-operation of both the Kerensky an
e Bolshevik governments. The people
II the Balkans are not the warlike peop
d that some have pictured them to b
is They have fought because they new,
lie have known anything but self defen'
at the cost of blood At Bucharest, IL
metropolis of Roumania, there a.
100000 inhabitants, but there is M
an uplifting moral influence of an
r kind and they are begging the Y. \
C. A. to send them leader or two
establish a character building infiuen
for the salvation of the young men
N At Salonica, Jerusalem, Damascu
Cairo and other cities in the far Ea
there is similar call, and it lies
the power of America, almost alone.
in give the cooperation they need III cha
70 acter building.
m Mr.. Wen was presented by the fir
n speaker, and he told of the develo
v ment of the work IN China and the o
IL portunities there. First he told of t
o. friendly feeling of China toward t
w United States for various causes. VIII
10. China was on the brink of being par
re toned America came to her rescue.
e. means of the American indemnity ful
nd growing out of the Boxer trouble 3
he | Chinese students are receiving the
he education, the speaker being one
ry them America was the first nation
Id recognize China when she became
public.
Politically China is in a chaotic &C
dition and is ruled by the military p,
ty. Old moral standards prevail, a
,or only Christianity can save China,
speaker declared The Y. NJ G. A. h
become a part of China IS national Ii
"a 1t is giving the Chinese the spirit
90 sacrifice and service and the spirit
al. | giving. In the war work campai
America asked China to contribl
100000, which both this country a
- China considered large sum becal
of China s poverty Yet China
sponded to the call with $1,250,0
This statement caused an -outburst
applause.
c Great opportunities have been oper
up in China in the way of markets
cause of the war, and China will fa-