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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 27, 1904)
Tfrrf m out a iy 5 ( IRL8, do you want a husband? Gl Then why are you not In the your)? people's I ancle t lea of tome of thje progressive Chicago I churches? Thla suggestion may sound more novel than practical. That It la practical as well as novel Is proved by a glimpse Into the present condi tions of certain churches In Chicago. These are not only unusual, but there are some facts connected with them which are positively startling when taken from the Viewpoint of the maid who looks forward to finding her true Affinity In a possible husband, already waiting for her some where, but who 'has not yet assumed tangible and definite nape. Let her take courage. He may even now be In cloie prox imity. He may appear at the next affair given by the Chris tian Endeavor, or by a similar society, iris more than Hkely that he Is already In some of the men's fellowship clubs and other popular organisations, which are drawing In at this time a never before, say philanthropists, thousands of the young men who are dally coning as strangers to Chicago. He also promises to have when found " get there," qualities which are over and above a disposition toward reliability, which is es pecially desirable In a husband. For even the typical city girl on pleasure bent, who has slight ohurch affiliations. If any, or whose attendance Is a changing one, which Joins first one ar.d then another fashionable Sunday morning congregation. jr w n. Sftx$fox)m$ . fur))) C.6bb " There are. however, a great many men who have never been churchgoers In small towns who become so when they . come to the city. They have belonged to the set of men found In every small town who remain away from church, and when they come here they not only feel the need of companionship, but they see a chance to " break away " from the kind of associates which they realize are at least of no benefit In a business career. "The young fellow who comes from the country and be gins with a small position has limited resources for making acquaintances. He probably does not know a soul. He sees readily that the people he meets at Sunday baseball and other Sunday amusements are not the kind to help him to get on In any sense of the word. So he Is ready to respond to the number of Invitations to church meeting!", both social and religious! which are given to him. These Invitations are fre quent because of the special movement which Is being made in all the churches to reach suoh men. That they respond In such numbers shows that the effort Is being made along the right lines. One remarkable result of this Is that the men In many of the churches now outnumber the women. " As it Is now the church offers everything to a man. 8oclally It can give him the best acquaintances. The young women he meets are thoroughly nice girls, and that this fact Is not overlooked by the man looking for a wife Is evident In my own ohurch at least by the large number of engaged girls. " That this field la overlooked, however, as a place of A lie (yKrfc u tte : : ! --- ' atber aubJUothcr'. f ' i , --- i v. : : - a peep Into these church parties might disclose the real fairy prince J Men Outnumber the Women. Contrary to the popular impression, the young men in the churches in centain localities In Chicago outnumber the wom en three to one. This In itself is startling enough to the maid who has long associated the happy state of affairs In which men predominate with Inaccessible regions. But more than this. It Is believed by certain pastors who have had their eyes open to conditions that the young men who come into the churches when they first come to Chicago are the ones who make their way and become the rich and influential citizens of thla and other communities. The " poor boy " of today who is to be the rich man of tomorrow is the poor young man who Is In the church. " The presence of large numbers of rich and Influential citizens in our churches is a matter of common knowledge," ays Dr. William J. Matthews of the Central Park Presby terian church, " but the fact which is generally overlooked is that most of them began their connection with the church when they were poor boys. I have noticed It times without number that the man who has enough energy and method not only to come to church out of business hours but to serve in different offices of the church work, has the kind of energy that takes him through business successfully also. I can re call now a number who started in my own church In Engle wood eight or nine years ago. AH of them had little or noth ing, but one of them now gets $18,000 a year, another became superintendent of the Chicago South Side street railway a few years ago and has since gone away to take a better posi tion. There was still another who came in at ithe same time who Is now the manager of a large wall paper house. Such Instance are common. It is the young man with energy, who seeks the work of the church, and the need he has for cul tivating method, if he continues In It, has a strong tendency to make him excel in business. " Of course the advantages of the acquaintance which he forms are evident. There are numberless coses of men get ting better positions than they have already through the help of friendship made through this channel. But what Is of more importance, there are still more cases of men changing a kind of business that would most probably have proved a wrong selection, by having some special bent in a certain direction developed by church resources and associations. J J Gves Him a Sochi Life. " It is the personal touch with Its social life, however, which draws the strangers who come here Into the church far mors than any idea of business advantages. As a rule, I don't think that even the man of nonreliglous training who drifts Into the church does so with any view to the business side or with any more selfish motive than the need for com panionship. And although I believe, and in fact I know, that to the man who steps actively Into the field of ohurch en deavor, there follows a. certain amount of success, at ths tune time I believe that If thai Is hi only motive be deserves to, and he will, get left. f(tt .frank .6:r)ratwV meeting primarily as much as it Is, I am often surprised. The men that girls meet In this way are far more likely to be reliable than any other chance acquaintances. The same may be said even more strongly of the young women. But even though the average young woman Is much above the average young man morally, the woman outside the church is, strange to say, harder to reach than the young man outside the church. I have gotten response often from a half dozen men !n less time than.it has taken me to arouse even the beginning of interest in the girl vhose entire enjoyment lies in the gayest forms of amusement. There are business girls whose associations and recreations re not safe and reliable, either from a matrimonial point of view or any other. It Is this class of girl that I have found It more difficult to reach than even the young man who has before spent his time in gambling halls. He will become interested in church questions when she will not When once he does he seldom goes back. One reason for this Is, of course, the average Chicago young man is apt to be a stranger, and so appreciates the attention more. He comes here from a small place and he Is lonely, while she is a " city " girl to whom attention of this kind does not .al ways appeal." In Dr. Matthews church alone the Men's Fellowship club contains 150 members with the result as admitted by this pastor that a large percentage of the girls are engaged. Down in the churches that lie within a mile of the Cook county hos- pttal, where there are about 5.000 dental and medical students, the proportion of men is even greater while the proportion of engagements and marriages correspondingly Increase. J Record of One Church. The happy and demure looking brides shown on this page are all girls who met their husbands In church. Moreover, they are all Christian Endeavor girls, and all have been re cent brides in one church In which the marriages have fol lowed each other with amazing rapidity, and the record of will oh puts to blush the best showing of similar announce srients made by any society column. The churoh is the Cali fornia Avenue Congregational church, of which Dr. D. F. Fox Is pastor, and the record here appended was printed In a recent number of the church paper: Since the last greet Ins wis liuvd the following among our rounf people have joined betrts and hopes in the bleued and sacred bonds of Chrlitlan marrlace: June B Frederick V. Kaae. Ruth Hark. Residence, 234 Gladys v cnue. . June T Frank A. Bchrelner. Edith McOlll. Residence. 1033 West Tan Burcn street. June 28 Walter Holmes. Mary Brown. June 20 William Vlckery. Flora J. Douglas. Residence. S04 Clark avenue, Austin. July 14 Dr. Paul R. Blbtrts. Gretta M. Bldcbotham. Residence, 2070 Wilcox avenue. Aug. - 26 Grant P. Beaton, Virginia Himlin. Residence. 6S1 War ren avenue. Sept. 21 Dr.'Georre F. Palmer. Maud E. McLeod. Residence, Ks wanes, 111. And the List Is Growing. One of these happy brides in the picture, with her sister, who Is a bride of Juno 28, to Mrs. Harry L. Olbbs, who was V - j 8 Jtttt'.drant p . Beaton married In June of last year. Since the little paper was print ed there have been added the following, all from the same church, and all In one way and another the result of the won derful matchmaking gifts of Mme. Christian Endeavor: Albert Watson and Blanche Beaton. 383 Dearborn avenu. H. V. McGuerron and Hazel Beaton, 1282 Adams street. Allen Decker an d Lucille Turner, 602 Colorado avenue. Robert H. Kellog and Carrie McGlll. 1102 Jackeon boulevard Dr. A. Clayton Bennett and Edith Phillips. 1078 North California avenue. Two of these couples show the different ways in which Mme. C. E. exercises her friendly offices In bringing young people together. Carrie McGlll had lived on Van Buren street in the same house for twelve years. Robert H. Kellog had lived at an almost corresponding number on Jackson boule vard for eighteen. They had known members of each other's family slightly since they were children. Yet neither ever knew that the other existed until they met a year ago in the C. E. reception. Another different kind of romance was that of pretty Ruth Clark. When Frederick V. Kaae came to America from Hol land a few years ago he did not know that he would drift to Chicago, where he finally came to take a responsible position with Nelson Morris. Still less did he dream that the girl he was to marry was waiting In that unknown part of the new world. But he drifted out to Dr. Fox's church one night and met the crowning Joy that fate had in store for him. , Their Onty Chance to Meet. " When young people are not situated so aa to meet In other ways that are strictly conventional," said Dr. Fox, " the social side of the church life may be said to be the only safe way they have of meeting. When once they are married they have a good chance of happiness because of correspond ing tastes and ideas. The young man who once becomes in terested is likely to make a good husband, because he hi likely to remain In the churoh, and of course none the less so if he is married. The plan I find best is to give each man Just one thing to do, tell him when and how It needs to be done, and then let him know that I depend upon him for it. In this way men do not become tired and feel that too much Is put upon them. And, by a system af.puttlng each new ar rival at work as quickly as possible, and replacing it always with something else, the young man who onoe becomes In terested is almost certain to become more so Instead of droo ping out, "To what do I attribute the large number of marriages?" aid Dr. Fox. "To the fact that it is essentially a young people's churoh in which all offices are filled by men under 40, and in which many are even much younger. Everything in it is conducted by young people. At certain times they are all brought together socially, sometimes the men taking charge and sometimes the young women. Many who started with me a few years ago are now Just reaching the age of young womanhood and young manhood, and are now taking an active part in church affairs. When this is the case It Is not surprising,' perhaps, that we should have a large number of marriages."