THE BOSTON YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.
BY RUSSELL STURGIS, JR.
In the year of our Lord 1844, a young clerk, named George Williams, consulted with a few others and determined that something should be done to save the young men, who came by thousands to London, from the terrible temptations and snares to which they were exposed. The old times had passed when the young man came to the city recommended to some friend who would feel a personal interest in him, either take him into his own house or find some good home for him; who felt responsible for him and bound to know where he went and with whom he associated; who often had him at his own board, if not regularly there, and who expected to see him in his family pew on Sunday.
Old Building.[2]
Perhaps this state of things had, from necessity, ceased to be; perhaps the introduction of machinery and the employment of large numbers of young men in the cities made this personal relation no longer possible. Whether possible or no, the fact remains that this close relation between employer and employed ceased. There are, even now, some noble exceptions to this, as in the case of Mr. Williams himself, and the firm of Samuel Morlay and Company.
The young man to-day comes fresh from the pure air and clear lavish sunshine of his country home, where summer's flower-decked green is a continuous feast, and winter's glories a delight no less. Whether upon the snow in sleigh, or hillside coasting, or the swift skate on the frozen river, or at evening's cozy fireside before the blazing logs, all rejoice in simple pleasures, and prayer closes the day. Dear country home, where every sound is ministry; the morning cock and cackling hen, the birds' hopeful morning song, the twittering swallow, noon's rest and healthy appetite, the lowing cattle, the birds' thankful evening note, the village bell--old curfew's echo, the pattering on the pane, the wind in the treetops, the watchdog's distant bark for lullaby, and quiet restful sleep; his greatest sports--those of the evening village-green--the apple bee, the husking, and the weekly singing-school.
He stands at evening gazing at the splendors of the blacksmith's glowing forge, and in the morning says "good-by" to all, and starts upon his journey to the city.
[pg 249]
Arrived, and having found employment, he works from a fixed hour in the morning till evening, then he goes home--where? 'T is all the home he has--all he can afford: a room, or perhaps a part of a room, on the upper floor of a tall house, in a narrow street--houses all about- -the view all brick and slate,--the sunshine never penetrates to him-- the air is close and heavy; not one attraction is there for him here. But on his way from work he must perforce pass many a front, where the electric light casts its brilliant beams quite across the street. Yes, this proprietor can well afford the costly allurement--it pays--a very wrecker's light to lure to destruction. Its baneful brightness makes day of that dark narrow street. Within is warmth, companionship, music, wine, play,--all that appeals to a young man's nature. What wonder that he turns in here rather than go on to his cold, dreary room.
Once in, he is welcomed; hearty good fellows they seem. True, they are very different from his old friends in appearance, manner, and language, and he at first shrinks from them, but the wine-cup soon obliterates distinctions, and he feels that he has never met such choice spirits before. Laughing at their jokes and coarse stories, he forgets all in the wild excitement of the moment. His voice is now the loudest. He sings, shouts, and, at length, losing consciousness, only wakes sick and utterly miserable. He determines it shall be the last. Never will he be seen there again. But he has entered upon a path of easy descent, and lower and lower he falls. He is hurrying to death.
His employer cares only that he is at his place in the morning and remains there at work till the evening. He cannot follow him, and should the young man's habits become such that it "no longer pays" to employ him, he is dismissed and another is quickly found to take his place. Vast numbers of young men were going down to death in the cities, when George Williams and his friend determined to do something to keep them from destruction, and thus they formed the first Young Men's Christian Association in the world, on the sixth day of June, 1844.
In the autumn of 1851, a correspondent of the Watchman and Reflector, a religious paper published in Boston, wrote an account of his visit to the London rooms. Captain Sullivan saw the article, and having himself visited the London Association, he spoke to others, and the result was a meeting in the vestry of the Central Church, on December 15, 1851, of thirty-two men, representing twenty congregations of the different denominations.
This meeting was adjourned to December 22, at the Old South Chapel, in Spring Lane. A constitution was adopted on December 29. Officers were chosen January 5 and 10, and the work began in earnest.
Mr. Francis O. Watts, of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, was the first president of this, the first Young Men's Christian Association of the United States. It is a strange coincidence, easily understood by the Christian, that on the twenty-fifth of November, one month previous, without any knowledge on the part of Boston, the first Young Men's Christian Association of America had been organized at Montreal, in Canada.
[pg 250]
The constitution adopted was based upon that of the parent Association, and provided that, while any young man could be a member and enjoy all other privileges of the Association, only members of evangelical churches could hold office or vote. The reason for this was clear and right. Those who originated the parent Association, and those who formed this, believed in the doctrines of the Universal Church of Christ--in the loss of the soul and its redemption only by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ; nor could they be satisfied with any work for young men which did not at least aim at conversion.
The chairman of the international committee thus speaks, in February last: "When any Association sinks the religious element and the religious object which it professes to hold high beneath secular agencies and powers, it ceases to deserve the name of Young Men's Christian Association. It belongs then to a class of societies of which we have many, and in which, as Christian young men looking to the conversion of our fellows as the supreme object, we have no special or peculiar interest." The tenth annual report thus speaks upon this point: "The tie which binds us together is a common faith. We hold this faith most dearly, and believe it to be essential, and therefore worthy to be protected by every means. We cannot be expected, surely, to do so suicidal a thing as to admit to the right of equal voice in the government of our society those who are directly opposed to the very essence of our being."
NEW BUILDING.
The benefits of the Association are for all--its management alone is restricted.
[pg 251]
There are now nearly twenty-five hundred Associations in the world, all upon what is called the evangelical basis, and in the United States and British Provinces only Associations upon this basis have membership or representation in the International Organization, formulated in Paris, in 1855, thus:--
"The Young Men's Christian Associations seek to unite those young men who, regarding Jesus Christ as their God and Saviour according to the Holy Scriptures, desire to be his disciples in their doctrine and in their life, and to associate their efforts for the extension of his kingdom among young men."
It is a fact that whenever the attempt has been made, and it often has, in any Association, to give an equal right in the management to those who are not of our faith, that Association has either soon adopted our basis or ceased to exist.
The spiritual benefit of its members having thus always been its ultimate end, the London Association, during its early years, did no other work; and no sooner was the Boston Association formed than it, too, took it up. For a while, it carried on a Bible-class and a weekly prayer-meeting; but in May, 1857, a daily prayer-meeting was established, and has been continued almost without intermission to the present time. The visitation of sick members, the distribution of tracts, and the conduct of general religious meetings, have been the regular work of special committees. These last have been held when and where they seemed to be called for: on the Common, at the wharves, on board the ships in the harbor, and, especially during our Civil War, on board the receiving-ship Ohio; in the theatres, at Tremont Temple, and at the Meionaon, where, at various times, for weeks, a noon meeting has been held for business men.
The Association has also been the rallying-point and chief instrumentality in great revival movements, under the direction of the churches, and especially in that under Mr. Moody in the great Tabernacle. The Boston Association has never forgotten the chief object of its existence, nor, though not without some fluctuation, has it intermitted its religious work.
We have said that in London the work was at first wholly religious. In this country, however, the social and intellectual element in young men was immediately recognized and measures taken to satisfy them. Therefore pleasant rooms were at once secured, carpeted, furnished, hung with pictures, and supplied with papers, magazines, and books; and, as the work enlarged and additional and more commodious rooms were obtained, the literary class and the occasional lecture in the room at the Tremont Temple building, expanded, in its first own building at the corner of Tremont and Elliot Streets, into evening classes, social gatherings, readings, and concerts; and here first we were able to give to our members who wished them the advantages of the gymnasium and bathrooms. And when, through the munificence of the business men, the Association was enabled to take possession of its present building, certainly excelled by no other in the world, either in beauty of exterior or accommodation, every appliance for physical, social, intellectual and spiritual work has been made possible.
[pg 252]
Visit the building with us. There it stands, at the corner of two broad streets, and in the midst of the finest public and private buildings in the city. Unique in architecture, simple in design, warm in color, and beautiful in its proportions, it is a building of which Boston may well be proud, while every Christian man must rejoice in the thought that it is built for His glory whose blessed emblem crowns its top-most gable. By its broad stone staircase, under the motto of Associations, "Teneo et teneor," and through its vestibule, we enter the great reception- room. Immediately on the left, a white marble fountain supplies ice-cold water to all who wish it; beyond, richly carpeted and well furnished, the walls hung with good paintings, are the two parlors. Here the members have withdrawing-rooms equal to those even in this favored neighborhood. The few whom we find here certainly appreciate their comfort. The pleasant room adjoining is that of the general secretary, where he is usually to be found, and where each member is cordially welcomed for converse or advice. Beyond, again, is the office, where three men find it no sinecure to attend to the continuous stream of comers for welcome, membership, or information. The library is a large, handsome, sunnyroom, well furnished with shelves, but not these so well with books; and yet, from twenty to fifty men are here quietly reading. The next room is for general reading. Around the walls on every side are papers from almost everywhere, and on the tables all the periodicals of this country, and many from abroad. All about the room sit or stand the readers, many, for the time, at home again as they gather the local news of their own town or village. The room beyond is called the "game- room." At each little table sit the chess or draught-players, while many interested are looking on.
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Here is the lavatory, complete in all its appointments, except, perhaps, that the long towel on the roller has been already this evening used by too many hands. The smell of blacking, too, indicates the wearer's pleasure in his cleaned and polished boots. In that little hall, which seats about three hundred, a lecture is being given to young men, on the care of the body, by Dr.----. This is one of six which are given gratuitously by Boston physicians.
We mount the stairs to the next story. These two rooms are rented to a commercial college. This door opposite admits you to the hall, which has seats for nine hundred persons. It is extremely simple, but the tints of the walls and ceiling are delightful, and you have only to listen to those members of the ---- Club, who have leased it for their concerts, to realize that its acoustic properties are perfect.
Still higher, we find the room of the board, where, once at least in each month, the directors sup at their own expense, and manage the affairs of the Association. Here, too, its various committees meet. In the room adjoining, a French lesson is going on; in that, German; in this, penmanship. Still higher up we find the "Tech" Glee Club practising, and this large room adjoining is filled with those who are learning vocal music. The building seems a very hive--something going on everywhere.
Let us now descend to the basement. The gymnasium is here in full blast. Men in every kind of costume and in every possible and, to many persons, impossible position, while the superintendent is intently watching each to see that he is properly developing; every kind of bath and many of them are right at hand, and dressing-rooms with boxes for eight hundred persons.
And this great building and all these appliances are the gift of the citizens of Boston to the young men from the country. Many of the donors remember the time when they came lonely to the city, and determined, if they could prevent it, that no young man, to-day, in the same position, should be without a place where all of which they so greatly felt the need is supplied.
These needs are thus supplied. Early in the history of the Association, a circular was sent to every evangelical pastor in New England, asking him to give information of each young man coming to the city, that he might be met at the station or received at the rooms.
[pg 254]
Let us sketch a case: We have received word that John ---- is to arrive from G---- by such a train. During the journey, thoughts of the dear ones he has left crowd upon him. He is already sick for home, as he looks about him and sees no familiar face. He has left harbor for the first time. All before him is uncertain: all about him strange. He reaches the city; friends are there at the station to welcome this and that one of his fellow-travelers. He knows no one. No one cares for his coming. No one? Yes, there is a young man scanning closely the faces which pass. Suddenly his eye encounters our traveler, and at once the question: "Are you John ----? 'Tis well. I am from the Association. We are expecting you." Together they go to the building, and, even before reaching it, our stranger is not quite a stranger. One man at least is interested in him. "This is the building." "What, this fine place ready to welcome me? Why, this is grand!" Here, too, is the electric light, but not baneful this, no wrecker's false gleam, but like the light upon the pier, showing safe entrance and anchorage. "This is our secretary. Mr. D., this is John ----." "Glad to see you. Had you a pleasant journey? What can we do for you? You want a boarding-place! Well, here is the book. What can you pay? Very well, Mrs. B. has a vacancy and it is just the place you want. I will send some one with you there. Your recommendation was such that we have found a situation for you, and they will be ready to see you to-morrow. We have an entertainment this evening, and I shall be glad to introduce you to several young men." Imagine, if you can, what such an introduction to city life is to a young man, and what is his coming to the city without it. He is no stranger now. He has found comfort, companionship, sympathy, occupation. His heart goes home indeed, but it is in thankfulness that he writes and describes his surroundings, and glad is he at the close of the evening to join with others in, prayer and thanksgiving to his mother's God, for the blessings of the Association; and later, in the quiet of his own room, he renews his thanks, sleeps peacefully, and, full of hope, takes hold of work in the morning. He is directed to the church of his choice and is introduced to the pastor. Thus, at the very first, he is surrounded by good influences in a city where thousands are on the watch with every allurement to tempt just such strangers to destruction of both soul and body. Should John ---- be ready, in his turn, to help others, work enough can be found for him in one of the several departments of social or spiritual life.
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Should he fall sick, a committee of the Association visit and care for him, and, if necessary, watch with him. There have been many cases where young men have been carefully tended during a long illness, and a few where even the funeral expenses have been borne by the Association, and even burial given to the body in the Association lot at Forest Hills Cemetery. This is no fancy sketch. Many, many actual Johns are here pictured, and many souls will, by-and-by, be found thanking God that he put it into the hearts of his servants to establish the Young Men's Christian Association.
But whence this well-appointed building? Within the first year of its life, a building fund was projected, and, as far as we know, this was absolutely the first step in this direction taken by any Association, either in this country or elsewhere. A library fund was also started at the same time.
A few subscriptions towards
a building were obtained,
which, in 1858, amounted to $1,200
In 1859-60 were added 1,644
In 1873 (for altering and
furnishing), 5,700
In 1873-74, 4,400
In 1874-75, 7,800
In 1882, the estate of Daniel
P. Stone gave 25,000
Inspired by this, a meeting
of citizens was held at the
Brunswick, where committees
on finance were appointed,
and the result was a subscription
of 175,000 $220,744
By will have been bequeathed:
By Charles H. Cook, 300
" Miss Nabby Joy, 5,000
" J. Sullivan Warren, 13,059
" Dr. George E. Hatton, 5,000 23,359
And by subscriptions in connection with, Fairs:
1859--Chinese Fair, 4,787
1873--Bazaar of Nations, 12,246 17,033
--------
$261,136
We have mentioned "Fairs." These have been three in number; each being held in the Music Hall, and owed their success, not only to the energy of the young men, but to the hearty sympathy and untiring exertions of the ladies of the Boston churches.
The first was held in 1858, and netted $9,650
The second was called the Chinese
Fair, all the decorations being Chinese,--a
pagoda reaching fifty-six
feet to the very height of the hall,
which netted 33,000
The third was the most elaborate--the
Bazaar of the Nations; the Music
Hall being made to represent a street
of foreign houses, where, by persons
in costume, the goods of the different
nations were sold. It came in
the spring and immediately after the
fire, but netted 28,673
--------
$71,323
[pg 256]
It is certainly to the credit of the Association that up to 1882, when the large subscription of $200,000 was secured, the amount raised through the exertions of the young men and the ladies exceeded by more than $10,000 all moneys subscribed.
The influence of the Boston Association has not been merely local. Through Mr. L.P. Rowland, long its general secretary, and now the veteran secretary of the United States, in his capacity of corresponding secretary of the international committee, the first State work was done and Associations formed in all parts of Massachusetts. The present Boston building is now the headquarters of the Massachusetts committee, where the State secretary may always be reached. The secretary of the Association is a member of the State committee, a present member of the board, and an ex-president is now chairman of the same. In national matters, also, the Boston Association has responded to every call. In the early days of the war a drill-club was organized by one of its board, and he, as well as a large number of his men, went into service. And at the call of Mr. Stuart, of Philadelphia, the committee of the Christian Commission was represented by an ex-president and an army committee formed in the Association, which sent the large sum in money of $333,237.49, and immense stores of all kinds to the field.
The same committee acted as almoners at the time of Chicago's great fire, and also when the Western woods fires caused such suffering.
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Without boasting, for much more might have been done, the Boston Association has no cause to be ashamed of its history. Beginning with all ready to criticize, and many disapproving, the Association has worked itself into the confidence of the community; and the Reverend Joseph Cook, who was introduced as a lecturer to Boston under its auspices, thus speaks of the Association at the close of its quarter-century. He says:--
"First, That there is a vast amount of work which should be done for young men in cities, and that, as the proportion of the American population living in cities had increased since the opening of this century from one twenty-fifth to one fifth, the importance is great and growing.
"Second, That neither individual churches taken separately, nor individual denominations taken separately, can do this work easily or adequately.
"Third, That all the evangelical denominations united in a city can do this work easily by the organization of a Young Men's Christian Association as their representative."
A short time ago a committee of conference, made up of eight leading city clergymen and as many laymen, two of each denomination, unanimously passed the following resolutions:--
"Resolved, That the great and peculiar dangers to which young men are exposed in this, as in other cities, clearly calls, for the work of the Young Men's Christian Association.
"Resolved, That the Association represents the Church working through its young men for the redemption of young men, and, therefore, it is entitled to the continued confidence, support, and co-operation of the churches."
After long years of patient and steady work, the Boston Young Men's Christian Association has secured the confidence of the Christian community to the extent of more than $300,000, in the palpable form of stone and brick, which beautifies one of the finest sites in our city. It stands also as a monument of the liberality of Christian Boston and her appreciation of this great work for young men in the Master's name.