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TTIE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: JANUARY 15, 1011. . l -.t
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What the Young Woman's Christian Association is Doing , t
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Bl women visit each day the Young Important in the fulfillment or the association mil- 11 't... wO Si K k KZJrruB I
I Women's Christian Association build- slon, and are many. L.- , , .- i nnwJl J T, ' 1
mate, and the days when this number Lunch Department Popular. l-V' ": -'::-'- -' ' ti " i 1 1. ."CV?M ' 'V -vVl ' 'lllf It- It ! ; II I Vbl ,1
Conspicuous among the departments wnicn "pay II.,: 't . r, 111 ' ' ! y. V : . I ? I'i ' ' li I .. ; 6 f III VI i
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ETWEEN one and two thousand young ments which must be sustained are, if anything, more
women visit each day the Young important in the fulfillment of the association's mis-
Women's Christian Association build
ing. A thousand is a conservative esti
mate, and the days when this number
is exceeded are more frequent than the
days when it is not reached. These figures give at
once some idea of the number to whom the building
at the corner of St. Mary's avenue and Seventeenth
street stands as something more than club and in
many instances more than home. The number doesn't
give a definite idea of the scope of the work, however,
for the thousand visitors each day include many who
are there for the first time, many who come only oc
casionally as well as those by whom the association is
visited each day
To call the institution a woman's club is to apply
a term which is too narrow. It is a woman's club,
but it is much more than that. It includes many of
the advantages which such a club would offer and
more but it has not the selfishness of the club It
offers. its privileges to member and stranger, both.
The stranger is. In fact, the one to whom tho asso
ciation mipisters largely and in many ways, making
the stranger at home in the city.
, ' The reason which brings the thousand and so
young women to the building are many; so many that
their diversity would surprise the person to whom
the letters Y. W. C. A. mean chiefly a tall, imposing
building, with a cafeteria and a cafe, where you get
"splendid eatings," reception rooms, a library and an
auditorium where lectures and muslcales are held.
This is even a more complete idea than the one many
have of the scope of the work.
To many the association figures chiefly as a
place, where a great many go for the noon luncheon,
where shoppers, too, find a break in the ardors of
purchasing wardrobes for self and family.
A lot of people, young business women, shoppers,
visitors in the city and business men, too, do visit
the cafeteria or the rafe and with apparent satisfac
tion. But this, while it Is one of the most conspic
uous departments because It . appeals to the most
universal habit, the habit of eating. Is but one and
not the most typical one of the many activities.
Scope of Work Large.
.Many other people likewise know tne department
which concerns them the department which calls
them to the association for class work or to assist in
other work." A few people have some Idea of the diver
sity of the work done by the many departments and the
Importance of each in making the association fulfill
Its mission of meeting the needs of the young women
ill the city.
' To the people who have only the superficial or.
to substitute a more truthful word, the outside esti
mate of the association, the building is the center of a
business enterprise. They see the lunch room during
crowded hours, and they are frequent, and think what
a good thing this must be, an "institution which is
well established and doing well." They look at the
roll of membership 3.521 aud, estimating the re
ceipts at a dollar a member, Bee another certain
source of income. Then they bear of the sustaining
memberships it 13 a year, the life memberships at
1100 and these are not as numerous as they should
be and see another definite source of Income.
This is the superficial idea we will not be un
kind enough to say the general idea and not con
sistent with facts. The self-supporting departments of
the association, and those which will eventually be
self-supporting, are few in comparison with those
which give, give, give, to (he work of bettering condi
tions for the girls in the city, meet some of the many
.needs and receive nothing but the satisfaction of
. knowing that the work is reaching out Into and inak-
slon, and are many.
Lunch lk-part ment Popular.
Conspicuous among the departments which "pay"
as the business world understands the word, Is the
noon lunch department. The income from this
department in the year 1910 was 139,591.27; the ex
penses $32,979.33. The average dally attendance, of
which the picture gives some idea, is 800. The size of
this department Is told in the figures, but the excel
lence of the cuisine is only hinted to the wise who
realize since so many come and come again,
have a regular habit of coming, It must emphatically
be meeting the pleasure of Its public.
The well equipped gymnasium with its apparatus
for games. drills aud all sorts of gymnastics, its swim
ming pool, baths, dressing- rooms, etc., is likewise
deservedly .popular. When its classes grow to the
right proportions, when there are as many classes
as there should be, it, too, will be self-sustaining, but
at present the maintenance cost exceeds the receipts
$1,662.93 and $1,307. The picture given above shows
one of the evening classes in a characteristic drill.
Domestic scleuce and domestic arts, the two dis
tinctively home-making assistants and especially to
the business woman, are departments which charge
a small fee for the classes, but the fee Is proportion
ately so small that as yet the income does not meet
the expense. As is shown in the picture above the
cooking laboratory Is well equipped and the classes
are well attended, Indicating, emphatically, the im
portance of the work and the demand for it. The de
partment gives good, practical aud expert instruc
tion in the basic science of cooking and as such min
isters to the stability and happiness of many future
homes. The discrepancy between Income and what
must be paid out is not large and is growing smaller
each year. In 1910 the receipts were $1,161.78 and
the expenditures $1,469.86.
The kindred department, domestic arts, which
teaches the simple and complex forms of sewing, meets
a great need. too. but its fee does net cover tho ex
pense of the maintenance. The money way of telling
the year's work In the domestic arts department Is,
receipts, $246.16. and expenses, $5.j8.60. Eventually
both of these departments will, it is hoped, balance
more equally.
For the young woman ambitious to increase her
educatiou there is splendid opportunity off red in
the classes, for .which special instructions are ob
tained. Classes in the languages, classes for the study
of history, literature, painting, psychology, In fact, a
diversity of subjects. These classes are practically
eelf-sustalnlng, as none Is organized with less than a
specified number of pupils and the Instructors give
their services for a certain percentage of the fee.
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held. These are not listed. The number which Is given
as the record of the years work "382 were directed
to employment" Includes only those wbo were
definitely sent to these definite positions which they
accepted. During the last year the hoarding house
director sent 769 to rooms.
This is a department which touches directly the
girl who comes to the city and wants a place to live,
and a place to work to earn her living. It is a vital
department. It gives its services. It has no Income.
It has to be supported. It must be supported by out
side assistance.
A kindred' work, in that it deals with the
stranger at the city's gate, is the Travelers' Aid. This
secretary, who meets the trains, meets the worries of
the Inexperienced traveler, answers the queries of the
perplexed and directs the lost to shelter, has a large
clientage. Expert travelers who find it simple to get
the right train, to find thrir way even in strause
cities, people accustomed to the great world and its
ways, have little or no Idea of the puzzle and anxiety
it offers to the inexperienced Jourueyer. The Trav
elers' Aid knows that for the many a railroad Journey
offers grave and harrowing perplexities. She .meets
the traveler whose friends have fallPd to meet her.
She finds the friends or gives the traveler shelter
until they can be found. To say she rendered assist
ance to 5,5&9 people during the year 1910 is an in
complete record and does not indicate to how many
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more she gave' reliable information anc erection, for
how. many more she solved perplexities.
Girls Directed to Work.
This Is the list of the depaitments which have an
income and it Is short as compared to the list of those
which give for assistance of the individual, the good
of the community.
The employment bureau is In charge of what
is decidedly one of the ruost important branches of
the work done by the association. The secretary in
charge of this not only renders valuable assistance to
the girl looking for a chance to earn her living, to
the employer looking for good service, but acts many
times as mother confessor and encourager to the girl.
In thla same department a directory is kept of rooms
to which, the stranger in the city may be directed.
Figures do not tell the complete story of the activities
of this department. Figures do not tell of the numer
ous conferences where discouragement becomes, "Very
well, I'll try again and I will make It a go this time."
An element in the department's efficiency Is this
ability to reach and enhearten the lonely and it Is an
Rome's Queer School
A school of an entirely novel type has recently
been started at Rome, saye a writer in the Wide
World magazine, and has already given very good
results. This "open-air" academy differs from the
Cerman open-air schools, inasmuch as It Is essentially
traveling, whereas the school at Charlottenburg, for
instance, is composed of a number of pavilions. The
combined satchel and desk carried by the pupil only
weighs ten pounds, and therefore no fatigue is caused
through carrying this on the back. The pupils, to
gether with tbelr master, wander from one part
of the outlying country districts of Rome to another.
The desk is placed on the ground, the blackboard is
fixed up add the lesson begins. It is very practical,
and the pupils are able to do their lessons la any
place, as they carry with them all that is required.
It is held in Rome that this form of Instruction will
Classes for Foreljpiers.
The classes for foreign speaking girls are im
portant elements in the association's making of good
citlzeneesis. English is taught, arithmetic and other
subjects as there is a demand for them.
The extension work ot the association is another
branch of great importance. The secretary of this
holds meetings, organizes clubB among the girls and
young women In the various factories and industrial
centers. These organizations meet sometimes at the
building, sometimes at their place of work. The ex
tension work is In reality taking the privileges and
oppoitunitlcs which the association offers to the girls
who, for one reason or antther, have not come to it.
After their organization they usually do conic to the
association. There Hre three clubs which meet every
week. They have a membership of 200. The meetings
include social entertainment, gymnasium exercise,
Bible study and the study of different topics. There
are two clubs among the juniors. One of thet-e meets
at the building Saturday afternoons. The other meets
at the Tark Wilde home Monday afternoons. These
clubs have their social meetings and to them the as
sociation brings a new element In life, a new enjoy
ment, a new ambition. This department has no in
come except the satisfaction of Important work done.
The religious work of the association Includes
man;' tlble study classes, meetings held Sundays and
during the week and an effoit to develop the spiritual
bide of the life of the girl In the city.
The association building Is lu Itself an important
factor In the city life. Many meetings are held there.
Meetings of missionary societies, meetings of the
Women's Christian Temperance union, meetings of
the directors of various charitable organizations. Tho
auditorium Is In demand for entertainments, but these
are a source of income.
Important In the building Is thp rest room main
tained. Here the tired woman snatches a few minutes'
nap during her nooning and goes back to her work
as "good as new." The room Is popular, too, with
the shopper who has found shopping exhausting and
fatiguing.
Skilled Workers In Charge.
All of these activities, the administration of such
a diverse mission requires many skilled and specially
trained workers. These the association has. Its de
partments are headed by women wlih special talent
Back of these trained workers, tho staff of secre
taries, stands the board of directors, publlc-spllted
women who give of their time and wisdom for tho
"guidance and furtherance of this work whoso Im
portance they recognize. But the trained workers
mean salaries and this explains again why It Is that
the association with Its sources of Income, as detailed
above, must ask the public for assistance In sustaining
Its work. The cost of maintaining the work In tho
year 1910 was something over $57,000. Of this
amount $5,000 and more must be raised by special
subscription. The association would like very much
to raise It by increasing the number of life member
ships, which are $100 and of which they now havo
only 93. There are seventy-five sustaining member
ships. The regular memberships at the close of Decem
ber numbered 3,521, 1.000 members more than last
year at this time. There Is a campaign now to In
crease the number to 4,000 before the annual meet
iug which Is to be held January 23.
This Is a big Institution, this Young Women's
Christian association. It Is doing a big work In your
city. That you may realize something more of the
width of Its appeal, visit It some evening at 7 o'clock
when it Is about time for the classes to begin. If you
have visited it heretofore only at meal time and seen
only the rush to the cafeteria or the cafe on the fifth
floor, you'll get an entirely new idea of what It means
to different people.
Miss Lilly M. Strong Is the general secretary of
the association. The staff 0 assisting secretaries In
cludes: Miss Flora S. Keeney, assistant secretary and
educational director; Miss Ida H. Melcher, business
secretary; Mrs. Ina Mixer, director of lunch; Miss Ors
FJ. Johnson, membership secretary; Miss Sabra Wil
son, employment secretary; Miss Ethel O. Hendee, In
dustrial and extension secretary; Miss Harriet F.
Schaeffer, office secretary; Miss Florence Llljeors, as
sistant office secretary; Miss Theodato Wilson, reli
gious work director; Miss Florence, D. Alden, physi
cal director; Miss Margaret Coffin, domestic science
director; Miss Gertrude Sly, domestic arts director;
Mrs. Clara Mead, travelers' aid.
Tho board of directors are: Mrs. W. U. Harford,
president; Mrs. George Tilden, vice president; Mrs.
J. M. Aiken, second vice president; Mrs. R. O.
fc'chaeffer, recording secretary; Mrs. Edward Johnson,
corresponding secretary; Miss Halite Hood, treasurer;
Mrs. A. W. Bowman. Mrs. J. I'. Bailey, Mrs. J. K.s
Webster, Mrs. Clement Cbase, Mrs. G. W. Cherrlng
ton, Mrs. O. W . Garloch, Mrs. E. A. I'armalee, Mrs.
C. C. George. Mrs. J. V. Lord, Mrs. I). W. Merrow,
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for the work In hsnd, snd women who have given
lng itself of value In the civic life. In other words, element not included In the year's report. Many con- do much toward doing away with the large cumber special study to the problems of their work. At the Mrs. C. A. Sherwood, Mrs. G. W. Wkktrshsuk, Mrs.
tho self-suDortlDg departments are fsw, the depart- ferences which lead indirectly to employment are of Illiterate persons In the vicinity. head of the efficient staff Is the general secretary. 11. J. Klrschstelo,