Y. M. C. A. 



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Y. M. C. A. 



country together under a republican govern- 

 ment. Unlike other organizations with similar 

 purposes, the Young Italians did not try to ef- 

 fect their ends by conspiracy, but rather by 

 open insurrection. Mazzini was somewhat im- 

 practical, and his first open move, an attack on 

 Savoy in 1834, failed. The society declined in 

 influence thereafter, but it had set an example 

 which was followed in several countries. Its 

 tricolor standard of red, white and green is the 

 present Italian flag. See ITALY, subtitle His- 

 tory of Italy. 



YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIA- 

 TION, THB> an organization for the promotion 

 of the spiritual, intellectual, physical and social 

 welfare of men and boys throughout the world. 

 The object of the organization is not to sup- 

 plant the churches, but to increase their mem- 

 bership and to serve as the "church of the other 

 six days." For nominal fees the association of- 

 fers to young men homes in its modern and 

 comfortable buildings and hotels, where they 

 may enjoy the privileges of good libraries, 

 reading and social rooms and a free employ- 

 ment bureau; members have the privileges of 

 the gymnasium, classes in commercial and me- 

 chanical studies, Bible classes, lectures and so- 

 cial organizations. Any young man, regardless 

 of race or creed, may become a member, but 

 the privilege of voting and holding office is ex- 

 tended only to members of an evangelical 

 church. Much personal help is also given to 

 those who are in need of advice and encourage- 

 ment. 



The field of work has spread from the city to 

 rural districts, and separate branches have been 

 established for railroad employees, college stu- 

 dents, soldiers and sailors, Indians and negroes. 

 Another of the later phases of the work has 

 been the development of the boys' department, 

 which is now a large and important feature of 

 every city and county association. Secretaries 

 are employed to devote all of their time to the 

 boys' work; classes and recreation rooms are 

 provided exclusively for their use, and summer 

 camps are maintained under the directorship 

 of the secretaries. 



About five-sixths of the trained and salaried 

 secretaries employed in all associations are in 

 the United States and Canada. The majority 

 of these men are university graduates or have 

 received special training in the Y. M. C. A. 

 colleges, which are located at Springfield, 

 Mass., and Chicago, and which maintain sum- 

 mer schools at Silver Bay, on Lake George, 

 N. Y., and at Lake Geneva, Wis. 



The local associations are affiliated in a 

 state, national, international and world organi- 

 zation under the administration of state sec- 

 retaries and national and international com- 

 mittees, which employ traveling secretaries in 

 the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. There 

 are about 2,600 associations in America having 

 a total membership of over 820,000; the total 

 value of their property exceeds $100,000,000. 



History. The first association was founded 

 in London in 1844 by George Williams, who 

 organized a society of his fellow clerks for the 

 purpose of holding religious services and study- 

 ing the Bible. The movement rapidly spread 

 to other business houses, and by 1848 quarters 

 containing a library and reading and rest rooms 

 were maintained in London. In 1851 associa- 

 tions were established at Montreal, Boston and 

 New York. Three years later there were twenty- 

 six branches in America, and a confederation 

 was formed of the United States and Canadian 

 associations which soon became preeminent in 

 the world movement. In 1855 the International 

 Committee was established and a convention 

 was held at Geneva, Switzerland, which repre- 

 sented 329 associations. In 1866 the Interna- 

 tional Committee established headquarters at 

 New York City. 



The early movement was chiefly religious 

 and evangelistic; the development of diversi- 

 fied work and the expansion into new fields 

 began in 1878 after the world's convention at 

 Geneva. Among the associations in the foreign 

 field are those at Tokyo, Yokohama, Shanghai, 

 Canton, Fu-chow, Calcutta, Constantinople, Ma- 

 nila and Havana. 



A notable work was carried on during the 

 War of the Nations by the British Associations 

 among the troops in practically every training 

 camp in England and at the front. The work 

 was generously supported by the war office and 

 by men of all ranks, and 700 centers containing 

 recreation and reading rooms were established 

 for the use of the troops. As soon as the 

 United States began the work of organizing its 

 national army (1917) the Y. M. C. A. started a 

 campaign to raise money for the erection of 

 recreation halls in the various training camps 

 throughout the country. A vigorous campaign 

 was also inaugurated to obtain funds for carry- 

 ing on war relief work in Europe. 



When the exceedingly important character of 

 the work in the war zones was realized by the 

 allied countries vast funds were raised to sup- 

 port the Y. M. C. A. In November, 1917, over 

 $35,000,000 was subscribed by the people of the 



