Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 10.djvu/564

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
LEFT
484
RIGHT

Y. M. C. ASSOCIATIONS 484 YOTJNGSTOWN cieties were formed at Montreal and Boston, Mass. About 24 associations were added during the next two years, and during the next 10 years the number reached 200. At the first convention, held in Buffalo, N. Y., June 7, 1854, a confederation was formed with a central committee, and a yearly convention. This form of affiliation continued till the Civil War. During the war the United States Christian Commission, formed in New York, November, 1861, sent 5,000 Chris- tian helpers to the field and the hospitals, and distributed over $5,000,000 in money and stores. Guided by the experience gained at this period, the reorganized movement grew rapidly after the war on the following lines: The evangelical test of active membership, a definite and comprehensive plan of work, the owner- ship of well-adapted buildings, the em- ployment of trained and paid officers, a committee of supervision for each State or Province, with a central committee for general oversight, systematic effort directed to special classes of men (e. q., merchants* clerks, college students, rail- road men, German speakers, colored men, Indians, lumbermen, sailors, sol- diers, etc.), and great prominence given to the Bible and personal work. A typ- ical Young Men's Association building contains a reception room, reading room, library, parlor, recreation room, offices, class rooms, lecture and entertainment room, gymnasium, including bowling alley, bath and dressing rooms, rooms for boys, kitchen, and janitor's den. Reli- gious and moral instruction, work in be- half of personal purity, temperance, etc., instruction in various branches of knowl- edge, practical and theoretical, social gatherings, entei'tainments and games, an employment bureau, boarding house register, savings fund, medical club, and visitation of the sick, are features. The association took a notable part in war work during the World War, both in the United States and France, and in other countries. In the spring of 1919, when this work reached its culminating point, there were nearly 1,000 establish- ments in the United States, and nearly 3,000 with the American Expeditionary Forces overseas and fully 2,000 among the army of the Allies and in prison camps, or in all over 6,000 centers. This made it necessary to enlist a staff of about 20,000 secretaries at home and overseas. The association distributed over 5,500,000 copies of the New Testa- ment, the Bible, and other scripture por- tions, and at least 20,000 000 copies of religious pamphlets and booklets. 45 periodicals were published and over 400,- 000 sheets of letter paper and almost half as many envelopes were given away to the American soldiers overseas. The post exchanges for the A. E. F. were ad- ministered by the Y. M. C. A., and the operations were carried on on a vast scale. During 1919 over 11,000 men and women were sent to Europe to assist in the conduct of the work. The entertain- ment of the A. E, F. was in the hands of the Y. M. C. A., and there were at one time 95 entertainment troupes in France, furnishing about 4,350 performances a month. Educational facilities were pro- vided for the troops abroad, including university courses at Beaune. Elemen- tary courses were conducted in the United States, as well as high school and agricultural courses. The Y. M. C. A. carried on work in every part of the world affected by the war. See Relief, War. There were in 1919 557,782 men and 181,656 boys enrolled in member- ship. There were 2,077 fully enrolled associations, and the property in funds amounted to nearly $125,000,000. The income for the year amounted to almost $30,000,000. YOTJNG PRETENDER, THE, Charles Edward Stuart, of Scotland, who was defeated by the Duke of Cumberland, at CuUoden, April 16, 1746. The Scotch lost 2,500 men killed on the field, or in the slaughter which occurred in the cruel pursuit, while the loss of the English did not far exceed 200. Prince Charles, who wandered among the wilds of Scot- land for six months, while $150,000 were offered for taking him, at length escaped from Uist to Morlaix, and died in Rome, March 3, 1788. YOUNGSTOWN, a city of Ohio, the county-seat of Mahoning co. It is on the Mahoning river, and on the Baltimore and Ohio, the Erie, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, the Pennsylvania, the Pittsburg and Lake Erie, and the Youngstown and Southern railroads. The city has 320 miles of streets, of which 168 miles are paved. There are 180 miles of sewers. The city has an excellent system of parks. Mill Creek Park includes 485 acres, and is one of the largest and most beautiful natural parks in the United States. The notable buildings include Mahoning Institute of Art, a court house, the Reuben McMillan Free Library, Y.M.C.A., and Y.W.C.A. buildings, and many handsome business buildings. There are 49 public school buildings, including two high schools. There are over 20,000 pupils enrolled in the public schools. The Catholic church maintains 12 schools, and there are several private educational institutions. The city has developed in recent years