264 Christian Citizenship 



not merely retain but increase their self-respect. 

 Any man who takes part in the work of such an or 

 ganization is benefited to some extent and benefits 

 the community to some extent of course, always 

 with the proviso that the organization is well man 

 aged and is run on a business basis, as well as with a 

 philanthropic purpose. 



The feeling of brotherhood is necessarily as re 

 mote from a patronizing spirit, on the one hand, as 

 from a spirit of envy and malice, on the other. The 

 best work for our uplifting must be done by our 

 selves, and yet with brotherly kindness for our neigh 

 bor. In such work, and therefore in the kind of work 

 done by the Young Men's Christian Associations, 

 we all stand on the self-respecting basis of mutual 

 benefit and common effort. All of us who take part 

 in any such work, in whatever measure, both re 

 ceive and confer benefits. This is true of the founder 

 and giver, and it is no less true of every man who 

 takes advantage of what the founder and giver have 

 done. These bodies make us all realize how much 

 we have in common, and how much we can do when 

 we work in common. I doubt if it is possible to over 

 estimate the good done by the mere fact of associa 

 tion with a common interest and for a common end, 

 and when the common interest is high and the com 

 mon end peculiarly worthy, the good done is of 

 course many times increased. 



